KOKRAJHAR, Jan 2 – Dwellers along the Sankoch river in Assam have urged the authorities concerned to check the unabated encroachment by migrants from West Bengal especially in the forest lands on the Assam side along the West Bengal boundary. The public here have asked the State Government to take up the issue with the West Bengal authorities.

According to the information available here, a large portion of forest land under Ripu Mauza No. 1 lat around 113 No. pillar (khuti) of Gossaigaon sub-division of about 1000 Bighas of forest land has been under encroachment of the neighbouring State...

AIZAWL, Jan 2— Drug abuse killed at least 95 people including seven women in Mizoram during 2002, top state Excise department officials said here today, reports PTI.

The officials, quoting departmental records, told PTI that while 90 people died due to abuse of Spasmo Proxyvon, a prominent painkiller, four people including son of the former state Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla were killed by heroin and one died due to abuse of other psychotropic drugs.

The officials, however, admitted that the toll in the drug-related deaths might be much higher as there was a strong possibility of many...

GUWAHATI, Jan 1: Militant outfit National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) today suffered a major setback as the vice-chairman of the outfit Dhiren Boro alias Sungtha was arrested by Sikkim Police in Gangtok. Dhiren Boro is the second senior leader of the NDFB to be arrested within a month as only last month the general secretary of the outfit Govinda Basumatary was arrested in Rangiya when he was on his way to North Bengal from Dimabur. Highly placed police sources in North Bengal told The Assam Tribune this evening that Dhiren Boro was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of...

GUWAHATI, Jan 1 — North East Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NECCI) signed a partnership agreement with South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) at Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati on December 26. This partnership agreement outlines the basic terms and conditions for achieving specific developmental goals that directly benefits NECCI and indirectly support the growth and development of small and medium enterprises in the region.

Dr Anton de Wilde, Project Manager, SEDF and DK Sarma, secretary, NECCI, signed the partnership agreement. As per this agreement, both SEDF and NECCI will...

NEW DELHI, Jan 2 —— Notwithstanding the controversy generated by the new National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks for allegedly deviating from the secular line, history, culture and heritage of the North East Region in a break from the past, is likely to find place in the new textbooks.

The NCERT has been making efforts to give adequate coverage to the Region, Union Minister of State for HRD, Rita Verma gave the assurance to this effect. The new textbooks are being prepared with this in mind, she assured.

The suggestion by the HRD Ministry to the NCERT came...