The Union Minister exhorts the people from the North-Eastern region to engage themselves in self-oriented activities.

THE BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is making efforts to frame a common formula for the proper channelisation of the resources available in the North-East for the overall development of the region. Union Minister for Department of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) Dr C P Thakur said in Imphal recently that common people should get benefits of the Centrally sponsored schemes. Dr Thakur was in Manipur to attend the 8th convocation of the Manipur University. He also exhorted the people from the region to engage in self-oriented activities in producing the cane and bamboos products as 70 per cent of the country’s total bamboos is available in the North-East. The people from the region failed to supply the demands of the bamboo and cane products during an exhibition at New Delhi in July last year. He flayed Manipur Government for lack of development in the state but praised other states for focusing on the development front.

He said converting Manipur University into Central one was under consideration and the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development will be considered in the regard. Conversion of the Manipur University into a central university’ is the long standing demand of both the ruling Congress-led Secular Progressive Front in Manipur as well as the opposition Democratic People’s Alliance. He also promised that separate boys and girls’ hostels of the Manipur University would be constructed soon. The University, which was established in 1980 is currently facing acute financial shortage even though the Centre had sanctioned it in time. Regarding the launch of mobile phones in Manipur, Dr Thakur informed that the services would start by mid-December 2004.

Mobile services have been launched in Kohima, capital of neighbouring Nagaland during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit in the last week of October. The Central Government has sanctioned the necessary amount for the laying broad gauge railway line from Jiribam junction, 235 km west of Imphal along Assam-Manipur border to Tupul in Tamenglong district, the Minister informed.

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