August 1-15, 2007

News Briefs Vol. 3 Issue No. 32

August 1-15, 2007

CPI(M) leader killed in Tripura
A CPI (M) leader Manya Kumar Tripura, who was vice chairman of the party’s Govindabari Village Committee, was killed by insurgents of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT-BM) at a remote village under Chawmanu police station in Dhalai district. Police recovered his body from Naisarampara near Indo-Bangla border on Saturday. Militants also assaulted two booth level officers (BLOs) engaged in image taking process for preparing photo electoral rolls. The two BLOs had left for Oakcherra under Chawmanu Assembly constituency along with Manya Tripura. Around 10 am, militants dragged them to a nearby jungle and beat them up brutally. The BLOs, however managed to escape from the militants’ captivity but Tripura was unlucky, police said. The injured BLOs identified as Roykumar Tripura and Kshetrajoy Reang were admitted to hospital, police said. Police said they had not sought security cover to perform their duty even though the area was vulnerable to militancy. Security forces rushed to the spot and launched a massive operation to rescue the kidnapped person. During the search operation, security forces recovered the body of the CPI (M) leader Manya Tripura (62). The incident triggered resentment among the people. The ruling CPI (M) vehemently protested the incident saying that it was aimed at stalling the image taking process. It also alleged that the CPI (M) leader was killed to create trouble ahead of the next Assembly elections slated early next year. The conspiracy against CPI (M) will not serve any purpose, it added

MP pledges development fund
Rajya Sabha member from Meghalaya, Robert Kharshiing has said that most of the amount of his MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme would be spent on rural development and for the uplift of the poor. Kharshiing inaugurated the Rs 39 lakh multi-parameter cardiac monitors including cardiac defibrillators got under his MPLAD scheme at KJP Synod Hospital. He said the same equipment were given to missionary hospitals in Jaintia and Garo Hills.

Landslides lead to closure of Sikkim temple
Ganesh Tok, a temple situated on a ridge about seven km from Gangtok, has been declared out of bounds for visitors and about 25 houses have been evacuated following a series of landslides caused by heavy rains in the area over the last few days.Ganesh Tok which offers a panoramic view of the Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest peak, is a popular tourist spot near Gangtok. The landslide at the base of the retaining wall at Ganesh Tok which occurred on July 12 is still active with boulders and sludge still tumbling down threatening houses in the area.

Arunachal Govt move to raise literacy level of girls
To increase literacy among girl children, the Arunachal Pradesh Government has launched an innovative scheme under which an amount of Rs 5,000 will be kept in fixed deposits for 50 girls each studying in class VI in every district.
As per the move, aimed to encourage families to educate their girl children, the deposited amount will be paid when the girls passed the eighth standard, official sources said. The scheme was launched by Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu at a function for Sarva Shiksha Aviyan (SSA) programme to make Arunachal Pradesh a 100 per cent literate State by 2010. Arunachal has attained 54.74 per cent literacy rate, having 44 per cent women literacy. The SSA, since its inception in 2001, raised the number of schools from 1,126 to 2,236. Altogether 3,464 teachers had been appointed and 276 cluster and block resource centres set up, Education Minister Tatar Kipa said.

Nagaland follows Arunachal, pushes migrants into Assam
The situation has turned tense in the railway township of Mariani in the aftermath of the influx of large groups of suspected Bangladeshi. These suspected illegal immigrants have been pushed into Assam by the Nagas in Mokokchung district of Nagaland. Sources said that hordes of these Bangladeshi labourers fled in a Guwahati-bound train. However, as many as 21 of them have been detained at the Mariani police station. Their interrogation is on. There were reports of more such incidents of infiltration. Meanwhile, the Jorhat District Students’ Union has asked the State Government to instruct the district administration to take immediate steps to identify these suspected nationals and deport them if their foreign antecedents are established. The district administration should take care to herd these suspected Bangladeshis together so that they do not get scattered, JDSU president Biren Saikia said. The student leader warned that the AASU unit would be forced to start a strong agitation if such incidents recur. President of Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba-Chatra Parishad Putul Dutta has asked the State Government to clarify its stand on the identity of the Bangladeshi infiltrators who have been pushed into Assam by the neighbouring States.

Lyngdoh advocates planned waste disposal in Shillong
Meghalaya Urban Affairs Minister Paul Lyngdoh asked the Shillong Municipal Board to further improve disposal of wastes in the State capital, particularly in commercial areas. Laying the foundation stone of the Rs 9.25-crore Centrally-sponsored scheme ‘Mawlonghat parking-cum-market complex’ here, Lyngdoh said as the area came up in an unplanned manner, systemic disposal of waste was paramount.
The Urban Affairs department would improve the mechanism with new planning and meet the aspirations of poeple, he said.Explaining the project, Lyngdoh said the complex would accommodate 172 vehicles at the ground level, first floor and terrace floor.He said shops constructed at the complex would be given to the displaced shopkeepers and general public.Lyngdoh said this was the seventh mega project of his department in an effort to ease the city’s traffic congestion and facilitating better economic activities.
The Minister also informed that the detailed project report had been sent to the Union Ministry of Urban Affairs to avail fund for improving the civic aminities in the State capital under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission.If this project was approved, water and sanitation problems faced by the city would be eased to a great extent, Lyngdoh said

Renewable energy programmes in NE
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India is implementing various renewable energy programmes in the North eastern region. The Ministry has sanctioned the setting up of 66 district level and six State level energy parks in the Northeastern States till January 31. Twenty-three stations using wind power programmes are being operated in six states since 2004. Further measures for wind power development in the region would be taken up. A total of 1, 246 family-type biogas plants have been set up in the region during 2006-07 till January 31. The National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP) is being implemented in NE through State departments and agencies. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) implements the programme in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. During the year 2006-07, 11,500 solar home lighting systems, 500 street lighting systems and 8,000 solar lanterns and 35 solar pumps were allocated under the Solar Photovoltaic Programmes (SPV) to the NE by the Ministry.

Your Visit No

Since April 20, 2000