Women hold protest against ultra attacks  
Protesting the attack on the residences of two Chief Engineers of the Manipur Government by unidentified armed men, womenfolk in their traditional attire staged a sit- in demonstration. Womenfolk of Singjamei Chirom Leikai, the native place of Public Works Department’s Chief Engineer Ngangom Rastrapati were condemning the bomb attack at his abandoned residence. In 2006, his house came under attack twice. And after repeated attacks, he along with his family abandoned the house and is now staying at a government allotted quarter. Unidentified underground cadres also attacked the residence of additional chief engineer Md Aziz at Khergao Kheikhu in Imphal East district but the bomb failed to explode. Md Aziz works in Irrigation and Flood Control Department. The proscribed People’s United Liberation Front claimed the responsibility for the bomb attack at IFCD engineer’s residence. Meanwhile, the executive engineer, L Yaiskul of Singjamei Chingamakha is still missing even as his vehicle was found abandoned at Yumnam

Mizoram asks for more foodgrain
The Mizoram Government has urged the Centre to provide additional allocation of 5,740 tonne of rice and Rs 23.85 crore to tide over the acute food scarcity due to the ongoing ‘Mautam’ (famine). This was conveyed to the visiting Vice-President M Hamid Ansari by the members of the Council of Ministers at Raj Bhavan. The Ministers informed Ansari that while insurgent-infested states were given additional financial help in the name of security related expenditure, Mizoram, which was a peaceful State was being deprived of it. Mizoram should also receive the help in view of the coming famine due to massive destruction of crops, especially paddy and maize by rodents, they said. Ansari was also apprised of the efforts made by the State Government to combat Mautam and also to replace shifting cultivation by encouraging the farmers to go for alternative crops like grape, passion fruit, turmeric, potato and floriculture.

Amendments to Armed Forces Bill approved
The government cleared the amendments to the Armed Forces Tribunal Bill, 2005, to make its adjudication for service personnel more effective, transparent and equitable. Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the amendments proposed by the Standing Committee of Parliament on Defence about the Bill were cleared at the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “The proposed amendments address major concerns, which emerged during deliberation on the draft Bill,” Chidambaram told reporters after the meeting. The Bill seeks to establish an Armed Forces Tribunal to adjudicate on disputes relating to service matters and appeals arising out of verdicts of courts martial of members of the Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force. The Tribunal shall have the powers vested in a Civil Court in matters relating to enforcing attendance of any person and examining him under oath, requiring production of documents and reviewing its decisions. An appeal against the final decision or order of the Tribunal shall lie with the Supreme Court. The amendments “are expected to make adjudication by the Tribunal more effective, transparent and equitable, thereby making it more acceptable to service personnel in general,” the Finance Minister said

Law and order stable, says Lapang
Meghalaya Chief Minister DD Lapang does not feel that the State should press the panic button despite increased encounters between the police and HNLC in recent days. Within a week, six HNLC militants were gunned down and a DSP, Raymond Philip Diengdoh died, in separate encounters in the State. Two HNLC militants were also arrested during this period. “The State’s law and order situation is okay,” Lapang asserted, after a condolence meeting held in remembrance of Diengdoh, at the DGP’s office. Adding that the increased HNLC activity was not an indicator of the militant outfit trying to regroup, Lapang said, militants normally lie low and then attempt to strike. However, the State police was not taking anything for granted and was adequately geared to tackle any situation concerning militants and no additional forces were required at the present juncture, the Chief Minister informed. Asserting that offensive against HNLC would continue, he however, mourned the loss of “precious lives” on both the police and militant side. Terming the death of the slain militants also as “precious lives” lost, Lapang said the militants were “one of our own” and appealed to the HNLC to come forward for talks.

Rs 200-cr steel plant to be set up in Guwahati
Union Minister for Steel, Chemicals and Fertilizer, Ram Vilas Paswan announced a decision to set up a steel processing plant at Guwahati at a cost of Rs 200 crore. The Minister made the announcement while addressing the Editor’s Conference. The decision is part of the Steel Ministry’s move to set up 10 steel processing plants across the country. The Ministry is estimated to spend over Rs 2,000 crore, in this connection. The Detailed Project Report was reported to be ready and public sector giant Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is likely to take initiative to set up the processing units. The processing mill is slated to come up at Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, while Madhya Pradesh and Bihar will have two units each.

Rio’s call against AIDS
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio called upon people from all sections of the society to fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS and not to treat it as merely a health issue. The threat posed by HIV/AIDS is a matter of great concern and can not be solved solely by Health and Family Welfare department. The NGOs and churches must acknowledge the problem and join the battle against the spread of the killer disease, Rio said at the annual general meeting of Nagaland Legislative Forum on HIV/AIDS. He said the role and responsibility of a legislator to guide and lead the people in this battle is, indeed, very challenging and daunting. The Legislators Forum is a platform to complement and consolidate the AIDS control programmes implemented by Nagaland State AIDS Control Society.

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