Dy CM defends action against KSU leaders 
Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has defended the arrest of two Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) leaders in the wake of the MBoSE imbroglio saying it was done to maintain ‘public order’. In the last few days, a lot of ‘public disorder’ by certain organisations was witnessed and the state could not afford such ‘unpleasant’ things, Sangma said. Some arrests of leaders of ‘certain organisations’ were made as a result of this, Sangma said without naming the KSU and the arrested. “The government’s bounden duty is to protect the right of every individual and maintain public order to prevent lawlessness,” he said, justifying the government action. KSU vice-president Michael War and education secretary Kitborlang Dkhar were arrested on August 1 and booked under the stringent Meghalaya Preventive Detention Act.

“Repeal Armed Forces Act” 
Demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, Amnesty International India in association with many social and students bodies, staged a peace rally in Imphal recently. The rally started from Thangmeiband Athletic Union ground and passed through the main streets of Imphal. Security forces deployed in the state committed many crimes and atrocities in the name of counter-insurgency operations under the banner of Draconian laws like Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 which was imposed in Manipur since the past few decades. People of this region had been protesting the repeal of such laws from NE.

Nagaland Cong rejects State logo, white paper 
Opposition Congress rejected the recently adopted Nagaland state logo and the government white paper on utilisation of special central grant of Rs 365 crore. “We are not opposed to a state emblem but we reject this DAN logo because it was adopted by the state cabinet without any transparency and procedure,” Opposition leader I Imkong said. The Congress leader pointed out that instead of the Chief Minister himself choosing the artist and the logo, the government should have appointed an expert committee to finalise a state emblem taking all into confidence. He said, “It might be the DAN government logo but it cannot be a state emblem, hence we cannot accept it.” The Nagaland Government adopted the state logo on August 15.

Terror robbing Assam of dev: Jairam
Terming the insurgency   problem as one of the main hurdles for advancement of Assam economy, Jairam  Ramesh, MP and National Advisory Council member     said that had there been      peace in Assam, the    production of crude oil       would have gone much      higher. Even the down        stream projects in Bongaigaon and Numaligarh have been hampered by the militancy. Investment by private and public sector was also badly hit by the militancy, he added. He further informed that two national parks of the State — Kaziranga and Manas — are expected to come under a UNESCO-aided multi-million dollar biodiversity management project very soon.

Airline service for NE soon : Patel  
Promising dedicated airline for the North-Eastern Region (NER), Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel informed that the North Eastern Council (NEC) was yet to finalise the proposal. The Minister said that NEC has considered a proposal for setting up a dedicated airline for the North-East by promoting a joint venture airline, as a public-private enterprise. The Council has given an ‘in principle’ approval for pursuing the matter with the concerned ministries. The details of the proposal are yet to be worked out by the NEC. Mr. Patel further said that the Centre was willing to allow private airlines to operate international flights out of North-East if the volume of traffic increased in the Region.

Ex-ultra bags    best community action award
Monimanik Gogoi of Salmari Digholia under Tingkhong Police Station of Dibrugarh district bagged the Chief Minister’s Best Community Action Award for Development, 2005. Assam Minister for Forest and Power Pradyut Bordoloi gave away the award to Gogoi  at a function organised to celebrate the Independence Day at Chowkidinghee playground. Monimanik Gogoi has been influential in the uplift of the condition of the rural youths     in Joypur and Tingkhong blocks. He is recognised for mobilising local youths to form self help groups for self employment with the assistance of Oil India Limited, Duliajan and Joypur blocks. Gogoi, who joined the proscribed outfit ULFA decades ago, surrendered in 1998. Since then, he has been working extensively toward community service.

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