Imphal, March 14: The Congress led Secular Progressive Front (SPF) government has drawn up the tentative list of portfolios for the 21 member strong Council of Ministers amidst some high voltage drama and frayed tempers. The Council of Ministers includes 17 Cabinet ministers and four MoS. Chief Minister O Ibobi retained the key Finance and Home portfolios. Ibobi also retained Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Cabinet and other departments not allocated to the any of the ministers. The tentative list of the portfolios are : K Govindas (MSCP, PHED), Ph Parijat (CPI, FCS), C Doungel (NCP...

GUWAHATI, March 13 ? All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) adviser, UG Brahma will be fielded as common candidate of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bodoland Legislature Party (BDLP) and Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) for Rajya Sabha election. At a meeting held today, the AGP, BJP, BDLP and ASDC leaders selected the ABSU leader as a consensus candidate to fight the Rajya Sabha election which will be held to three seats from the State.

Meanwhile, the ruling Congress party which enjoys support of 75 MLAs including four NCP MLAs, will field Dwijen Sharma and Karnendu...

RAJA CHUTURSING KSHETRA (Ulukunchi, Karbi Anglong), March 13 ? The president of the Tiwa Mathonlovi Tokhva (Tiwa Sahitya Sabha) Sri Balai Ram Senapati stated that the age old language of the Tiwas is presently in a state of being forgotten by the majority of this ethnic tribe. Addressing the open session of the Tiwa Sahitya Sabha, Sri Senapati said that the larger chunk of this tribal populace has for various reasons opted for taking Assamese as their medium of studies in school and colleges. The language in actual form currently in practice only in some areas of the hills of Karbi Anglong and...

GUWAHATI, March 13 ? The North-east with its unparalleled scenic beauty, rich cultural heritage and abundant wildlife can emerge as a major tourist destination provided infrastructural bottlenecks are removed and opportunities given to the private sector for investment in tourism. Making above observation, Sri BK Goswami, former Secretary of Tourism, Government of India, today said that participation of the private sector can give the much-needed thrust to the tourism industry in the State while the Government should take the role of a pro-active facilitator. Sri Goswami is now acting as...

GUWAHATI, March 13 ? The Power Minister Sri Devanand Konwar today admitted that the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BTPS) of the Assam State Electricity Baord (ASEB) has turned into a white elephant and under the present circumstances, it would be difficult to revive the project. Replying to a call attention motion by Sri Hemendra Nath Brahma (BDLP) in the State Assembly today. The Power Minister said that the BTPS has turned into a totally unviable and uneconomic project. The Minister said that three of the four units of the BTPS which had an installed capacity of 240 MW are out of order...