NE television to produce films
Mayurath Films, the sister organisation of first satellite channel of North East India NE Television will produce six to ten regional films annually to promote local talents and tourism industry of the region. The CMD of NETV, Manoranjana Singh revealed that the organisation had decided to promote the entertainment industry of the region in view of the large number of films produced in other parts of Eastern India. “In other languages in India like Bengali and Oriya, 30- 40 films are being produced but in NE the number is very small. The maximum Assamese film that was produced in a year is only 14,” rued Mrs. Singh. She informed that they had already invested 12 crore for the television channel and another 8 crore are in pipeline. She hoped that the entertainment industry in NE region would get a shot in its arm after their entry into it. Mrs. Singh also announced that they would produce more than 100 musical videos by the end of this financial year and very soon the NETV wo uld make its presence in Dhaka.

Militants attack Manipur minister
Ultras made an unsuccessful attempt to bomb the house of Urban Development Minister L Nandakumar Singh. Unidentified two-wheeler-borne militants hurled a powerful grenade at the private residence of the Urban Development Minister L Nandakumar Singh at Nagamapal, but it failed to explode. Unidentified militants had also attacked the same house of Singh about a month ago. The police were investigating whether the attack was related to an extortion notice served on the Minister by a militant group.

Jayashree alleges mass rigging in Dhubri 
Independent candidate for Dhubri parliamentary constituency Jayashree Goswami Mahanta has made serious allegation of mass rigging particularly in the Gauripur LAC. Ms Mahanta alleged that in several polling stations of Gauripur, the presiding officers on duty cast votes in favour of the AGP on the plea of helping the ignorant voters. Ms Mahanta further alleged that she caught red-handed one Abdus Sattar, presiding officer of the polling booth at Vivekananda Vidyapith, Dhubri, while he was allegedly trying to rig. “Some of my supporters in Khurdimari were assaulted and detained by AGP workers on the eve of the polling,” she alleged.

NPCC accuses NPF of violating  code of conduct
Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC), in a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), has alleged that the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) government has violated the model code of conduct by misusing government machinery and funds. The letter, sent through the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the State, alleged that the DAN ministry in March last had released Rs. 2,08,98,000 through the Executive Engineer (Roads and Bridges), Dimapur, to a contractor and out of that 60 per cent was deducted by Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) as party fund. The letter said Rs 49,000 was released on March 31 last and another Rs 1,59,98,000 were released on March 29 last. The NPCC said “this is totally against the election model code of conduct.”

Nagas cannot accept BJP now: NSCN (IM)  
The NSCN (IM) has come out strongly against the BJP. Terming its stance on the Naga political issue as “diabolic’’, the organisation blamed the BJP for the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing it of playing a harmful role under the garb of religion and culture. The Nagas had despised the entry of the BJP in Nagaland till the last Assembly election, NSCN (IM) said and added that the party was, however, allowed to make its political journey into Nagaland by accommodating them with seven seats in the House in the hope that they would be in a position to deal with the Naga problem. The underground outfit further alleged that BJP in Nagaland, however, began to speak in different languages. The Nagaland BJP unit started interpreting the events in Nagaland through RSS colour without taking into account that “terrorist’’and “separatist’’ were two separate things that have no application in the Naga political movement, it said pointing to the Nagaland BJP executive resolution passed in December 15 last year. It   further charged the BJP with succumbing to the “communal line’’ and said the Nagas could not accept the BJP now.

Assam repolling peaceful 
Amid tight security, repolling in 29 polling stations passed off peacefully in Assam. Repolling was held in 16 polling stations in Mongoldoi, seven in Kokrajhar, three in Guwahati, two in Tezpur, one in Dhubri and one adjourned poll in Barpeta. Repolling had been ordered due to various reasons in these constituencies.

Jamir calls for reconciliation among Nagas 
Former Nagaland chief minister S. C. Jamir has called for reconciliation amongst the various factions and involvement of all section of the people to find amicable solution to the long-standing problem. Mr. Jamir opined that all factions should reconcile as they are fighting for the same Naga cause. “They should reconcile to the fact that they all belong to one Naga family. They have to reconcile to the fact that all belong to Christian and believe in God,” he remarked. “If such challenges are met, there is no problem for unity amongst the Nagas,” said Jamir. He stressed the need to reconcile to the fact that political solution of the Naga problem rests with India and one have to reconcile to the fact that Prime Minister will never compromise on sovereignty. He said that all faction should come together with united voice to talk with Government of India. 

BJP brands Congress ‘anti-people’ 
BJP has alleged that the “anti-people’’ attitude of the almost 50-year-long Congress regime  at the Center had relegated Arunachal Pradesh to the back seat in terms of development. Deputy Chief Minister Kameng Dolo exhorted the people to excerise their franchise in favour of the ‘saffron brigade’ to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee  to form a “people-friendly’’ government at the Centre. The Deputy Chief Minister also urged the people to judge the right person, who could serve the State better and look after the development activities of  the area.

Ultras kill commandos  
Three police commandos were killed and another seriously injured in an ambush by Manipuri ultras in interior Bishenpur district. The ambush took place when commandos went to Khordak following reports that insurgents were telling villagers not to cast their votes in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in the State on April 26. When the commandos reached the spot, about 20 insurgents fired upon them from highly sophisticated weapons. The security men retaliated forcing the insurgents to retreat into the nearby jungles. The commandos chased them and were faced with fresh firing and blasting of powerful grenades. Three commandos were killed on the spot and another sustained serious injuries in the exchange of fire that lasted for several hours. The insurgents escaped into deeper jungles after about four hours.

Congress criticises NDA 
The Congress dubbed the NDA Government’s policy of tackling the insurgency as in North-East ‘’quick fix’’ and charged the BJP with acting fast in this regard to find a foothold in the region. AICC member Salman Khurshid warned the people of the region to be aware of the saffron brigade’s attempt to impose “Hindutva.’’  Mr. Khurshid rejected the BJP’s claim of its efforts in bringing back peace in the insurgency-torn area, saying late Congress leader Rajesh Pilot had already initiated peace talks with the underground rebels here. He criticised that the BJP was going much faster in this regard ‘’without exercising homework’’, saying ‘’such recklessness on tackling the major issues might boomerang, leading to irreparable loss’’.

Assam Rifles to raise strength 
Assam Rifles, which operates specifically in the country’s North-East, has planned to enhance its strength in the region, Assam Rifles DG Lt. General H S Kanwar said. After the inauguration of  Sentinel’s Ashiana, the newly constructed transit camp of  the organisation at Khanapara near Guwahati Lt. General Kanwar said the force has strength of about 60,000 through 40 battalions. Six more battalions would be added to the present strength and the process of completion would end by 2007, he added. “Our aim is to end insurgency not the insurgents. We want them to surrender their arms and join  the national mainstream,’’ he observed. He felt that some  anti-Indian extremists’ camps were still operative in neighbouring Bangladesh. The Director General further informed that the Indo-Myanmar border, where his forces were now mostly deployed, was more or less peaceful.

Major success in CI ops in Manipur  
In a major success in counter-insurgency operations in Manipur in recent times,  security forces have claimed     to have killed or wounded at least 25 militants in the Sajik Tampak area of Manipur.  Nearly 20 militants, belonging  to one of the major insurgent groups, were killed or wounded in a gun battle with the security forces in Sajik Tampak a day after the first phase of Lok Sabha polls. The encounter reportedly took place along the chain of hills in Sajik Tampak area, more than 100 km south   of capital city Imphal, between Chandel and Churachandpur districts and near the Indo-Myanmar border.

One lakh people affected  in Manipur floods 
Around 100,000 people have been affected in the Manipur floods so far. Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh inspected the worst flood-hit areas in Sangaiprou area of Keishamthong constituency. The State Government also released two truckloads of rice and kerosene for each constituency affected by the floods to be distributed at fair price rates. The rains, occasionally accompanied by storms and hail had resulted in the Nambul River overflowing at Sagolband area near Imphal. Major rivers in the state, including Iril and Nambul were also flowing above the red mark. Opposition leader L Ibomcha Singh of the Federal Party of Manipur blasted the ruling Congress-led Secular Progressive Front government for not completing its ongoing projects. He lambasted the SPF for not updating the drainage system in the State. 

Disciplinary action against BDLP MLA 
The MLA of Sidli, Matindra Basumatary had to face disciplinary action from the Chirang District Committee of the ABSU for violating the BDLP’s instruction to vote for AGP candidate Birendra Prasad Baishya in the recently held Rajya Sabha election. In a meeting, held recently at Kajolgaon, the MLA has been dropped from the presidentship of Chirang election committee. Guneram Mashahary has been appointed as the president of the election committee in his place. The ABSU and the CCBPO had asked the BDLP MLAs to vote for the AGP candidate in the last Rajya Sabha election, but he defied the whip.

One killed, eight injured in ULFA attack on CRPF 
Suspected ULFA militants struck at the heart of the Guwahati city recently, killing a girl and critically injuring eight others, including five security men, in a grenade attack. According to official sources, the seven-year-old girl died on the way to hospital. Amongst the injured, four are civilians. The incident occurred when the ULFA militants hurled a grenade on the security men who were manning a check-post. The blast created chaos in the crowded Ganeshguri area, which is barely 400 meters from the high security zone of the secretariat of the Assam Government. The ULFA militants managed to escape from the scene. It was suspected that the militants came on two-wheeler and sped off after hurling the grenade from the top of the over bridge. 

Youth front burns Manipur CM’s effigy 
A youth front in Manipur, which boycotted the polls to demand withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958, burnt the effigies of State Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and a poll candidate among others. Manipur Forward Youth Front (MFYF) activists set afire effigies of the Chief Minister, candidate of Inner Manipur seat T Meinya Singh (Congress) and M Nara Singh (CPI) and State Urban Development Minister Nandakumar Singh. They alleged Central forces in the name of searching insurgents had killed hundreds of innocent civilians. Official sources said the government had earlier ordered investigation into some killings by CBI following reports that some youths had been killed in fake encounters.

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