GUWAHATI, Dec 30 —The recent decision of the Central Government to offer special benefits to investors setting up industrial units in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal and Kutch region is likely to prove detrimental to North East Industrial Policy, (NEIP), 1997. The NEIP which has so far failed to take off in terms of luring heavy and permanent investment to the region barring a handful of packaging units, will cease to hold any attraction to the outside investors in the wake of similar sops being offered by the Government of India for setting up new industries in J&K, Uttaranchal and Kutch...

NEW DELHI, Dec 30 — Flood control works in Assam is likely to hit as funds were curtailed by Planning Commission because of a delay by the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) in submitting schemes for approval by competent authority. The MoWR did not submit flood control schemes among other critical proposals for approval leading to a drastic cut in budgetary allocation. As against a proposal for allocation of Rs 1,063.82 crore, all that the Ministry get was Rs 550 crore, which is almost half of what was sought. The reason the Planning Commission said was the apprehension that a higher...

Imphal, Dec. 30: Members of the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) today destroyed a large number of Hindi and pornographic videocassettes and discs, burning them in front of newspersons here.

The outfit also destroyed several bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor.

The RPF militants, under the codename Staforce Division-III, seized the cassettes and VCDs from video libraries in Lilong and the area near the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences here. Staforce had “executed” two drug traffickers who were caught with a kg of heroin a few months back.

The RPF had banned the screening...

IMPHAL, Dec 29 – In an effort to revive and preserve Pena, an indigenous musical instrument of the traditionally cultured people of Manipur, an eight-day-long Pena Phamshak festival was held here at Naoremthong in Imphal West district for the first time after a gap of more than a decade or so. The colourfully arranged musical festival specially on Pena which began from December 15 concluded Sunday with solo and group performance by eminent Pena players from Meitei and Tangkhul community. Such a rare and eight-day festival of Pena Phamshak was organized by the Epanat 'Punat Thijinba Kanglup...

DIMAPUR, Dec 29 — In what can be considered as a crucial and significant move, the Dimaraji Khunang Hosom (Dimaraji Gaonbura Union) has resolved to support peace talks and welcomed the possibilities of a ceasefire agreement between the Dima Halom Daoga (DHD) and the Government of India so as to facilitate a peaceful solution to the issue of attainment of proposed Dimaraji statehood. The resolution along with other resolutions was unanimously adopted during the subject meeting of the Hosom’s general meeting at the Dhansiri government high school, on December 27. The meeting of the gaonburas of...