Explore Business Standard
The situation remained tense but under control in two districts of Karbi Anglong in central Assam on Wednesday, with no fresh violence reported in the troubled areas, officials said. Two persons were killed, and at least 45 others, including 38 police personnel, injured on Tuesday as fresh violence erupted in Kheroni area in West Karbi Anglong district. Assam Police DGP Harmeet Singh and IG (Law and Order) Akhilesh Kumar Singh suffered minor injuries during stone-pelting. "As of now, the situation is under control. There was no violence throughout the night and this morning. However, it is very tense as the two warring communities started mobilising in small numbers at different places," a senior official told PTI. After deploying five more CRPF companies in the area, security forces conducted a joint flag march in the morning, he added. The Karbi and Bihari communities have been at loggerheads over allegations of encroachment on the Village Grazing Reserve (VGR) and Professional
Former Union minister and four-time BJP MP Rajen Gohain from Assam's Nagaon parliamentary constituency resigned from the party along with 17 other members on Thursday, officials said. In a letter to state BJP president Dilip Saikia, Gohain said he was resigning from the primary membership of the party and stepping down from all party responsibilities with immediate effect. Seventeen other BJP members, mostly from Upper and Central Assam, also submitted their resignations to Saikia, sources said. Speaking to PTI, Gohain said he resigned as the party had failed "to fulfil the promises made to the people of Assam and betrayed the indigenous communities by allowing outsiders to settle in the state." He had represented Nagaon parliamentary constituency for four terms from 1999 to 2019 and had served as the Union minister of state for railways from 2016 to 2019.
The Sikkim government has decided to open the battlefield destinations of Doka-La and Cho-La for domestic tourists from October 1, officials said. In a notification earlier this week, Chief Secretary R Telang said Indian tourists carrying voter identity cards would be allowed to visit the two sites under strict guidelines for security and environmental protection. The decision was taken under the Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan initiative, the notification said. Doka-La and Cho-La are located near the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction. According to the notification, tourists will be required to obtain permits from the tourism and civil aviation departments through registered tour operators or travel agencies. "Permits shall be issued only upon submission of one-night homestay booking confirmation from designated areas along the Silk Route Kupup, Gnathang, Zuluk or Padamchen," the order stated. Tourists will be required to pay a permit fee of Rs 1,120 per person, which includes wildlife .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled infrastructure projects worth Rs 5,125.37 crore in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday. From a function at the Indira Gandhi Park in Itanagar, he virtually laid the foundation stones for two major hydropower projects in Shi Yomi district, and a convention centre in Tawang. The Tato-I project, with a capacity of 186 mw, will be developed jointly by the Arunachal Pradesh government and the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) at Rs 1,750 crore. It is expected to generate around 802 million units of electricity annually. The 240-mw Heo project will also be developed by the state government and NEEPCO at Rs 1,939 crore. It is expected to produce 1,000 million units of electricity each year. These projects, to be developed on the Yarjep river, are part of a larger effort to expand Arunachal Pradesh's hydroelectric capacity, contributing significantly to regional energy security, officials said. Modi also laid the foundation stone for a
Tata Group hospitality firm Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) is putting the spotlight on the North East for new properties in line with India's ambition of developing the region, according to its Managing Director and CEO Puneet Chhatwal. The company has a portfolio of 15 hotels with 1,348 rooms in the North East, and six hotels with 634 rooms in the pipeline. Developing properties in the East and North East has been a part of a strategic initiative, Chhatwal told PTI. "Like 50 years ago it was Goa, 30 years ago it was Kerala. More recently, you heard about Lakshadweep. Now it is the North East -- which is also in line with India's ambition of developing the North East -- our contribution as a Tata Group company," he noted. Elaborating on some of the new projects that the company is undertaking in the North East, he said,"IHCL has committed to projects like Jagiroad in Assam, opposite the Tata Electronics factory that is coming up." Moreover, he said,"There are also the conversion
At least 500 tourists were stranded in various parts of North Sikkim on Saturday as the main road was blocked by landslides due to incessant rains, officials said. On the other side, the search for the missing eight tourists was disrupted by heavy rains, and it was finally called off after the water level in the Teesta river increased, they said. One person was killed, two injured, and eight others went missing when a vehicle in which 11 tourists were travelling plunged into the Teesta river in Mangan district on Thursday night. The vehicle plunged more than 1,000 feet into the river near Munsithang along the Lachen-Lachung highway. As multiple landslides have struck the main road connecting Chungthang to Lachen and Lachung, at least 500 tourists are stranded in various parts of North Sikkim, an official said. "No tourist permits have been issued today, and will also not be issued tomorrow for visiting north Sikkim," he said. The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has .
Arunachal Pradesh has attracted investment proposals worth Rs 6,357 crore through the signing of 16 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) during the Rising Northeast Investors Summit, held in New Delhi from May 23 to 24, an official statement said here. The agreements include key sectors such as agri-biofuel, afforestation, healthcare, education, information technology, tourism, and renewable energy. The MoUs were signed between the state Planning & Investment secretary, and representatives from various companies, the statement said. Among the major projects is a Rs 2,324 crore investment proposal by Agri-Biofuel Global Ltd to convert agricultural waste into aviation and maritime fuel, while Developer Group India Pvt Ltd committed Rs 1,760 crore for afforestation and carbon credit monetisation, along with additional investments for bamboo plantations. Inlamobi Pvt Ltd has proposed Rs 1,000 crore to set up a European Blue Valley Fragrances & Flavours Ayush cluster, while Medhavi ...
The North East Tea Association (NETA) on Tuesday welcomed the Assam budget's proposal for an AI-driven, blockchain-based tea auctioning system in the state. It also lauded the extension given to the exemption of green leaf cess for another two years. "The proposal in the state budget presented on Monday for an AI-driven, blockchain-based tea auctioning system is an excellent initiative and we welcome this step of the government," NETA advisor Bidyananda Barkakoty said on Tuesday. According to the budget proposal, the Assam government will work with tea industry stakeholders to introduce India's first AI-driven, blockchain-based tea auctioning system to enhance transparency and efficiency. The digital platform will revolutionise the tea trade by ensuring secure transactions and fair pricing. The initiative will strengthen Assam's position as a global leader in the tea industry, it said. Barkakoty pointed out that a blockchain auction is a decentralised, transparent and tamper-proof
An economic blockade by a tribal body was underway in Kuki-Zo inhabited areas in Manipur on Friday to protest against alleged action by security forces on women in a village in Kangpokpi district, officials said on Friday. Another organisation, Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), also observed a 24-hour shutdown in the district to protest against the alleged baton charge on women on December 31 in Saibol village. The tribal body Kuki-Zo Council said the economic blockade that started from midnight of January 2 would continue till 2 am on Saturday to protest against "disregard for tribal rights and dignity". Vehicular movement and transportation of essential commodities passing through the Kuki-Zo inhabited areas would be restricted during the blockade, the organisation said. Kuki Zo Council would intensify its protest if the women injured in the alleged baton charge by security forces are not compensated, the tribal body's chairman Henlienthang Thanglet said in Churachandpur. A clas