Imphal, February 14: The BSF is fighting a virtual war in the Henglep subdivision with a combined force of about 300 militant fighters, suspected to belong to valley based groups, according to the BSF DIG, PK Mishra who along with reporters had toured the division by helicopter today. Heavy fighting has been going on since 6 in the morning and is expected to carry on throughout the night and into tomorrow, Mishra told the IFP. The militants are well entrenched in bunkers and are blocking the way of the BSF troops approaching towards Henglep on area domination mission before the second phase of...

AGARTALA, Feb 13 – In a daredevil attempt, banned All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) militants attacked an Assam Rifles camp last evening at Ratanpur in West Tripura district. Heavy retaliation on the part of the Assam Rifles jawans forced the insurgents to retreat after about 50 minutes of fierce shoot out. No casualty has been reported. Assam Rifles sources said two big groups of ATTF militants armed with huge fire power and sophisticated weapons attacked the Ratanpur camp of the 11 Battalion Assam Rifles in Khowai subdivision at around 6 pm in the evening. “The militants opened fusillade of...

SHILLONG, Feb 13 —Union Minister of State for Development of Northeastern region Arun Shourie on Saturday asked its chief ministers to think of development in an innovative way and safeguard natural resources. Development does not mean implementing new schemes only if the respective states ignore the protection of the natural resources, he said and specially referred to the wanton destruction of forests in the name of development. Shourie, who was addressing the conference of chief ministers of the north-east said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had directed all the departments to monitor...

AGARTALA, Feb 13 — Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma has said that the MPs and chief ministers of the seven north-eastern States, Sikkim, West Bengal an Orissa will form a ‘forum’ to lobby for the development programmes in the Eastern India in New Delhi. Sangma who came here for one day tour to take stock of the party position in the State said, he along with CPI(M) MP Somnath Chatterjee will call a meeting of the MPs of the 10 States as soon as the next Parliament session begins on February 25 next.

“I have already talked to West Chief Minister...

GUWAHATI, Feb 13 — The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) in association with the Customs department has decided to launch an operation to destroy the poppy cultivation along the Assam-Arunachal border area. Highly-placed official sources said today that the operation would be launched in the last week of this month covering Upper Siang and Lohit areas. According to a preliminary survey there are 22.27 hectares of poppy cultivation in the area and it would be covered within 10 days, sources added. Giving the rationale behind the operation, they revealed that the CBN and the Customs department...