New NEDFi MD
Mrinal Kumar Sarma has been appointed new managing director of the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) with effect from June 1, an NEDFi release said. Mr. Sarma has also served in the Assam Industrial Development Corporation Limited and was associated with all the major industrial projects of Assam from the stage of conceptualisation to the implementation.

Rs 220 cr for NE to set up CICs
The government would spend about Rs. 220 crore over the next 18 months in the North-Eastern states of the country to set up 487 communication information centres (CIC) in a bid to help IT penetration in that region. ‘Since IT penetration in the country is low, such centres will enable even the uneducated to get a first-hand experience of the technology,’ Union Minister for Information Technology, Pramod Mahajan said after inaugurating ‘joincollege.com,’ an education portal.

Lokapriya GB Airport goes international
Centre has declared the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi Airport at guwahati as an international airport. The airport’s director, B. K. Srivastav, in a communique to the assistant commissioner, customs, said a Union Civil Aviation Ministry notification declared that the airport would henceforth be known as ‘Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport.’

Award for preservation of Sikkim forest
The Sikkim government has instituted an award for the preservation of forest and environment, the ‘Rajya Van Sanskaran ebam Paryavaran Puraskar.’ To be given away on the Independence Day, the award would comprise Rs 5,000 cash and a citation, according to a State Government announcement on the World Environment day recently. The presentation would begin this year. Proposed to be given to gram panchayats, NGOs and individuals including private and public enterprise employee, the award would judge the recipients’ performance in preserving forest and environment in the last three years.

Arunachal Govt. urged to talk with NSCN(K)
The people of Tirap district have requested the Arunachal Pradesh Government to initiate peace process with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) immediately. In a press release, chairman of the Tirap-Changlang Union Territory Demand Committee Samlang Tangdong said that the chiefs and village heads of Tirap district at a meeting held at Khonsa, the headquarters of the district, recently had unanimously decided to press the State Government to begin the process. A memorandum was submitted to State Chief Minister Mukut Mithi for immediate constitution of a peace committee to initiate dialogue with the ultras, Tangdong said.

Rajen Gohain new Assam BJP chief
MP, Sri Rajen Gohain was chosen to lead the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam, just ahead of the Assembly elections slated for next year. Mr. Gohain was ‘unanimously’ elected president of the party replacing Narayan Borkotoky. Mr. Gohain’s selection went ahead smoothly contrary to expectations. There were other contenders for the party’s top post but they all withdrew from the contest leaving the field clear for the young leader.

61 drug-related deaths in Mizoram
At least 61 people including five women have died in Mizoram due to drug abuse since January, state excise commissioner R. Lalzauva informed. Mr. Lalzauva said that while 56 drug-related deaths were due to proxyvon, an effective pain killer widely abused by Mizo youth, the rest were attributed to heroin and other psychotropic substances. Drug-related deaths in the State mounted to 488 including 45 women since 1984 when the first such death was reported. Meanwhile, the state excise department is conducting a census on the number of drug addicts in Mizoram which is likely to be completed by June end.

Surrender
Three activists of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Prepak) surrendered before Manipur Chief Minister W. Nipamacha Singh recently, official sources said.

Clarification on food grain price hike
The Mizoram Food and Civil Supplies department has clarified that the State Government was not responsible for the hike in foodgrain prices in the State. The department, in a press release, clarified that the hike in price of rice supplied through ration was due to the cut in subsidy by the Central Government. While there were 83,000 families living below poverty line (BPL) in the State, the Centre had allotted rice quota of 20 kg per family for only 53,000 families, the release added. The government could distribute 13 kg of rice per family to 83,000 families till December, but would have to revert back to 20 kg rice per family to 53,000 families from January, 2001, the official release read.

Assam Rifles school shines
The Assam Rifles Public School (ARPS), Shillong, has broken all past records to achieve cent per cent result in class X and XII examinations of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced recently. In class X, of 39 students who appeared, 30 secured first division. The highest percentage of 89.4 was achieved by Kaustav Dutta. Of 55 students, who appeared in the class XII exam, 53 passed in first division. Master Amborish Baruah secured the highest of 87.6 per cent. The ARPS, a residential school, was set up in 1980 with a view to providing quality public school education to children of Assam Rifles personnel.

NSCN(K) ultra nabbed
In an encounter with Army personnel near Bordumsa on the Assam-Arunachal boundary, a self- styled Sergeant Major of the NSCN(K), Leyong Sanke, was injured and apprehended. Following interrogations, five more militants of the outfit were rounded up, while a revolver, a country-made rifle, some ammunition, cash and incriminating documents were seized.

Sangma appointed
Former Lok Sabha speaker and MP Purno A Sangma has been appointed member of the Commonwealth Observer Group for the Zimbabwe parliamentary elections due to be held on June 24 and 25.

Tiger population up
Census of tigers in the forests of Upper Assam has been completed, with the big cats registering an increase in their numbers compared to that in previous years, according to Upper Assam Conservator of Forests D. Haraprasad. A total of 12 Royal Bengal tigers were recorded in the area under review, while pug marks of 70 leopards were detected. Similarly in Jorhat district, five Royal Bengal tigers have been recorded, while pug marks of 21 leopards have been detected.

CBI or judicial probe into Tirap insurgency demanded
L. Wanglat, an MLA, has demanded CBI or judicial inquiry to ascertain who were abetting and sponsoring insurgency in Tirap and Changlang districts of the Arunachal Pradesh. He demanded that political leaders found guilty should be arrested and stripped of their official post. Mr. Wanglat in a statement also described as a ‘big shock’ recent allegations by NSCN that it had found 15 AK 47 rifles, one LMG, 12-bore guns, pistols, three grenades, several landmines and some carbines from Borduria village of Tirap district. He appealed to the misguided youth to surrender, join the national mainstream and stop kidnappings, extortion and mercilessly assaulting defenceless villagers. He also appealed to the ultras to release those who were kidnapped from Borduria and Paniduria villages on May 20.

Retd. headmaster held for possessing fake document
A retired headmaster of a government primary school has been arrested by the Vigilance department for possessing a fake matriculation certificate of the Gauhati University 1961, official sources said. The retired headmaster, Yumnam Rajendro Singh, is a resident of Yumnam Huidrom village, Wangoi under Mayang Imphal Police Station of Imphal district. He was also charged with manipulating his date of birth in his service book. The case was detected by L. Nilmani Singh sub-inspector of Vigilance during an inquiry into fake documents of the Education department of Manipur.