News

Agartala, June 15: Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar today expressed concern over the sudden spurt in militant attacks, reflected in the killing of a party worker and abduction of 31 people over the past few days. Sarkar said the militants were trying to make their presence felt as they were demoralised by the return to mainstream of two groups of the National Liberation Front of Tripura — Nayanbasi Jamatya and Mantu Koloi-Kamini Debbarma combine.

Sarkar told the Assembly that militants belonging to the All Tripura Tiger Force and the Biswamohan Jamatya group of the NLFT, who had set up...

Guwahati, June 15: The Tarun Gogoi government and the World Bank are close to signing an agreement to put in place a “market-driven rural economy” with assistance of around Rs 917 crore from the latter. Headed by Australian Robert Epworth, an eight-member World Bank delegation is in the state on an “appraisal mission”. The delegation is reviewing presentations by the several departments that would form part of the five-year programme Assam Agriculture Competitiveness Project (AACP), which is tipped to take-off in November. The team will meet chief minister Tarun Gogoi on June 18.

Highly-placed...

Kokrajhar, June 15: Elections to the nascent Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) appear unlikely to take place before November, leading to doubts in people’s minds on whether the new set-up will also go the Bodoland Autonomous Council (BAC) way. Though the BTC election was scheduled to be held within six months of the formation of the Interim Bodo Council on December 6 last year, it was unlikely that the elections will be held before another five months.

“The elections can be held in November at the earliest,” said BTC executive member Derhasat Basumatary.

A BTC official said that with the...

SHILLONG, JUNE 15 – Conceding to the demands of the north-eastern Chief Ministers, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has withdrawn the draft Cabinet note seeking exemption from earmarking of 10 per cent of gross budgetary support for the region. The decision was announced at a press conference by HRD Minister Arjun Singh on the concluding day of the review meeting of HRD schemes with the Chief Ministers of the region at Hotel Pinewood here this evening. Singh had presided over the meeting.

Singh also announced that an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) would be set up...

SHILLONG, June 15 – Meghalaya Speaker Martin M Danggo today announced that he would drop the disqualification of membership case against three NCP MLAs but pursue the same against two others as per the requests of complainants. Danggo informed the Assembly that the case against the three MLAs was dropped after receiving a ‘fresh letter’ from two complainants – Tony Curtis Lyngdoh and Sayeedullah Nongrum – both Congress ministers in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance Government yesterday.

The two complainants on April 1 had petitioned to the Speaker to initiate cases against five NCP MLAs –...