SILCHAR, May 8 ? Lack of adequate security cover and a hostile terrain make the Railway employees and the contractors engaged in the gauge conversion work between Lumding and Silchar easy targets of the militants, particularly the militants belonging to the Dima Halong Daogah (DHD). There were several instances in recent past when persons engaged in the gauge conversion work came under attack from the armed militants, and if such incidents are not checked, the gauge conversion work will be seriously affected. During a recent trip through the hill section of the Lumding-Silchar line of the...

GUWAHATI, May 8 ? Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today announced that salaries and expenditures of State Ministers and top bureaucrates would be reduced in view of the precarious financial crisis gripping the State. Talking to newsmen at Janata Bhawan here this afternoon, the Chief Minister informed that there would be 25 per cent pay-cut, 20 per cent cut on travel allowance and 20 per cent cut on telephone expenditure for all the Ministers as part of the austerity measures being contemplated by the State Government. He further informed that the Government would put ceiling on travel and telephone...

Imphal, May 08: Though announced with much hype under the Prime Minister package at the fag end of 1998, the Loktak Downstream Project is yet to take off. Sources from the National Hydro Electric Project Limited, NHPC said the project is yet to take off because the State Government has failed to provide the required security cover and also because of the wrangling overcompensation for land acquisition. NHPC which is to be spearheading the project had taken an unofficial stand that they would not be able to continue work at the project if the State Government does not provide adequate security...

SILCHAR, May 7? The Rs 1600-crore gauge conversion project between Lumding and Silchar is delayed due to several natural factors like the weather condition, rough terrain etc. However, even at the existing rate of progress, the project is likely to be completed by the year 2008. This correspondent visited some parts of the gauge conversion project sites to gather first hand knowledge of the problems faced by the Railways in implementing the ambitious project, and found that in most of the sites, the work had to be stopped due to heavy rainfall. Railway sources revealed that the working season...

NEW DELHI, May 7 ? Reiterating Centre?s conditional offer for talks with the outlawed ULFA, Union Minister of State for Home, I D Swami today while ruling out the possibility of unilateral ceasefire said the offer has to come from the militant outfit. Talking to a group of newsmen on the sidelines of the national seminar organized by All Assam Students Union (AASU), the Minister said the outfit has to first abjure violence and give up arms before negotiations. ?It is the first stated policy of the Government of India to talk to any militant outfit provided they give up violence,? he said.

On...