NEW DELHI, July 10 ? A simultaneous crackdown on North East-based militants operating along with the Indo-Myanmar border and growing incidence of drug trafficking in the region were the focus of the Eighth National Level Meeting between the two countries that got underway here today. By persuading the military regime to mount crackdown on the North-east militants, mostly those belonging to Manipur including the NSCN(K) faction, India hopes to take the fight to the insurgents? doorstep. The massive crackdown on one NSCN(K) faction by the Myanmar Army in which the outfit?s headquarters was...

UDALGURI, July 10 ? At a time, when the State Police department has been observing ?Operation Green Earth Project? throughout the State with the help of other government and non-governmental social and nature organisations, conscious citizens of Udalguri area expected that the illegal felling of valuable logs by antisocial elements would come to a (temporary) end, but ignoring all such government efforts to check the deforestration process, the felling of valuable trees in and around Indo-Bhutan foothills and Assam - Arunachal foothills has been going on unabated and it is feared that the...

Imphal, July 10: Drama gripped the proceedings of the House today when L Lala of the Congress was elected unopposed as Deputy Speaker of the Assembly amidst a walk out staged by the Opposition in the morning sitting of the ongoing Monsoon session today. The Opposition staged the walk out alleging that procedures for electing the Deputy Speaker were flouted by the ruling Front. Lala was elected from Khundrakparn constituency on a Samata Party ticket and was among the three Samata Party MLAs to switch side to the Congress from the Opposition bloc, DPA recently. The sign of things to come...

SHILLONG, July 9? The north-eastern States have received funds totalling Rs 1,444.87 crore from the non-lapsable Central pool during the period 1998-99 to 2001-2002 for implementing various development schemes. Official sources said that an amount of Rs 121.95 crore was released from the pool during the year 1998-99, which jumped to Rs 509.92 crore the next year. The following year, the releases from the non-lapsable pool slipped to Rs 313.04 crore. During 2001-2002, funds released to the North-east from the Central pool was Rs 499.96 crore. Assam secured Rs 293.16 crore (about 20 per cent) of...

Imphal, July 09: Thanks to the mass deforestation and changing demographic Structure of Manipur, the total forest cover which was once a healthy 67.6 percent of the total area of 22,327 sq kms have now shrunk to only about 50 percent. Disclosing this, a reliable source said that as per the claim of the State Government the area that comes under the Reserved Forest category is 1467 sq kms, Protected Forest 4171 sq kms while 11,780 sq kms are under the other forest. This works out to a total 17,418 sq kms of forest cover. According to information deducted from satellite pictures, Manipur is one...