GUWAHATI, Nov 30 ? Though eviction drives are carried out from time to time, encroachment of forest areas remains a major problem and according to records available with the State Forest Department, more than 1700 hectares of forest land in the greater Guwahati area is in the grip of encroachers.

Highly placed sources in the State Forest Department told The Assam Tribune that the total reserve forest area in greater Guwahati is about 32,730 hectares, covering eleven reserve forests ? Khanapara, South Amcheng, Hengerabari, Amcheng, Jalukbari, Fatashil, South Kalapahar, Garbhanga, Rani...

GUWAHATI, Nov 30 ? The rhino and the tiger are two extraordinary animals which in their natural habitat and behaviour pose no threat to human beings, yet anthropogenic factors have threatened the survival of both the species within their habitats in India?s North East, as in other parts of Asia and Africa.

Recognising this fact, a consultation workshop ?Rhino and Tiger Conservation-Education Project? was organised by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), North-East, in the Assam State Zoo recently.

The workshop supported by the US Fish and Wildlife Services, saw representatives from the...

GUWAHATI, Nov 30 ? The Union Ministry of Rural Development has taken a serious note of the tendency of banks not to extend rural credit in the North-east (NE). Union Minister of Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has decided to take up the matter with the Ministry of Finance.

Addressing newspersons here this afternoon, Singh said that rural development programmes in several areas of the region have failed because of the attitude of certain bank officials to deny loans to the needy people. He said that some of the bank branches in the region have recorded zero finance.

?While the well-to...

VIENTIANE, Nov 30 ? China and India have moved closer to finalisation of the guidelines for resolving the contentious boundary dispute which has a direct bearing on Arunachal Pradesh. When Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao this morning ? their first meeting ? he gave enough hints to his counterpart that India would like any solution to the boundary dispute to be on the basis of the ground realities. ?Any accommodation reached should take into account ground reality,? Dr Singh was quoted as having said, even as the Chinese Premier confirmed his visit to Delhi in...

VIENTIANE, Nov 30 ? Insurgents operating in India?s North East enjoying safe haven in Myanmar, Thailand and other ASEAN countries have rough days ahead, with a mechanism to build institutional linkages for intelligence and information sharing on movement of militants being set up. The ?ASEAN-India partnership for peace, progress and shared prosperity? that was signed by Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh here today might spell trouble for the North-east based militant outfits.

Taking off from where India and ASAEN left off in Bali, it was agreed today to strengthen and expand effective...