SHILLONG, March 18: For the first time in the history of the Jaintia Hills, development workers and community-based organisations in the district have set aside their differences and decided to pool their resources to achieve their common goal of development. Over 30 representatives of 20 community-based organisations of the district today attended a meeting in Jowai to work out the modalities for a joint development initiative. The meeting, convened by the Jowai-based Mar Chaphrang Development Society (MCDS), decided to create a network of community-based organisations. "There are hundreds of...

SHILLONG, March 18: The Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC) has decided to introduce some new bus services besides resuming several suspended services from March 20. MTC sources said a new daily morning service from Guwahati to Umrangso via Shillong and Jowai and vice versa will be launched on March 20. Another daily morning deluxe service from Lad Rymbai to Guwahati and back will also be started from March 20. The corporation, which is running at heavy losses, will also resume its suspended daily morning services from Shillong to Tura and Shillong to Silchar. The suspended night bus service...

IMPHAL, March 18: The transaction volume of the Indo-Myanmar border trade has come drastically to an all time low of just Rs 3 crore from the earlier Rs 70 crore involved annually. Officials have attributed the decline to the hike of custom duty on the trade items. Talking to media persons in Moreh yesterday one official of the border trade expressed hope that the decline would be checked as the Customs duty has been reduced by 10 percent after the introduction of the Union Budget in the Parliament. He said the trade method continues to be in the barter system but the rate of export is greater...

UDALGURI, March 18: The forthcoming Assembly election in the State is appearing to be an uncertain proposition for the veteran State politicians belonging to various political parties following the direct support of different students' organisations to their respective Independent candidates. In the recent political development, it is seen that the students organisations, though they are leaving no opportunity to claim themselves as 'non-political' outfits are found in direct 'wait and see' political negotiations with 'like-minded' parties. And in the same vein the political parties - both...

AGARTALA, March 18: The CBI has taken over the probe into the murder of Congress MLA Madhusudan Saha who was gunned down on February 20 by unidentified assailants near his residence. The Opposition Congress had been vocal in demanding a CBI probe into the incident, to which the government later conceded. Two senior officers of the apex investigating authority (Calcutta wing) - Satyaranjan Banerjee and Amalendu Dhar - arrived here yesterday and held discussions with the first inquiry officer of the case. The CBI sleuths were also handed over papers and other related materials by the criminal...