Page 6 - North East

People in Assam's Biswanath celebrate after getting district status

Earlier, on December 31 last year, the Assam cabinet had decided to merge four districts with their parent districts

Ahead of assembly polls due next year, Arunachal BJP to undergo reshuffle

Ahead of assembly polls due next year, the Arunachal Pradesh unit of BJP underwent a reshuffle of its state office bearers. The reshuffle, executed by state BJP president Biyuram Wahge, was officially ratified by the BJP central office in New Delhi, a party statement said here on Friday. Tadar Niglar has been designated as the state general secretary, while Romin Babom and Dotum Sora have been entrusted with the roles of state secretaries. Kohman Lungphii Ngemu will be the new BJP Mahila Morcha state president, while Ritemso Manyu will be the state president of Yuva Morcha and Gumsen Lollen the state president of Kisan Morcha. Kame Yangfo will be the new state president of ST Morcha while Sambu Siongju will be the new state president of Minority Morcha. These designations were accorded the stamp of approval from the central BJP office, the statement added.

Railways constitutes 4-member committee to probe bridge collapse in Mizoram

The Ministry of Railways has constituted a four-member high-level committee to inquire into the cause of the collapse of a under construction railway bridge in Mizoram's Aizawl district in which 22 workers were killed, officials said on Friday. The committee will submit its report within one month from the date of formation, according to the order issued by the Railways ministry on Thursday. The four-members of the committee are BP Awasthi of RDSO, Dr Dipti Ranjan Sahoo of IIT Delhi Sharad Kumar Agarwal of IRICEN and Sandeep Sharma, Chief Bridge Engineer, NF Railway, the order said. Works-I branch of the Railway board will be the nodal branch for the functioning of the committee and submission of report for consideration by the railway board, implementation of the committee's recommendation and all related issues..., the order said. The under-construction railway bridge in the Bairabi-Sairang new line project near Aizawl collapsed on Wednesday killing 22 workers and injuring three

Chandrayaan-3: Arunachal CM hails Isro scientists that studied in state

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has congratulated two former students of Itanagar-based North East Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), who were part of the ISRO team which conducted India's successful Moon mission - Chandrayaan-3. Pankaj Nath, a 1990 batch student of the institute, was a member of the ISRO team that designed the landing propulsion of Chandrayaan-3. Another former NERIST student of the same batch, Subrata Chakrabarty, is also a member of the ISRO team, who designs and develops spacecraft valves. So proud of Shri Pankaj Nath, an ISRO scientist and one of the brilliant brains behind designing the landing propulsion of #Chandrayaan-3. Shri Nath had completed his B Tech and M Tech from NERIST in 1990, the chief minister said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. NERIST is a deemed-to-be university under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. I am equally elated about another NERIST passout, Sri Subrata Chakrabarty, 1990-batch, for ..

Mizoram bridge collapse: 23 from Bengal feared dead, 18 bodies found

Of 26 workers present on the under-construction railway bridge that collapsed in Mizoram's Aizawl district, 23 people are believed to be dead, though the police have recovered only 18 bodies, officials said on Thursday. Three of those working there are in hospital and undergoing treatment while five are missing, they added. All the 26 people working there were from Malda district of West Bengal. The Railways said the accident that took place on Wednesday was due to the collapse of a gantry, which was being launched on the under-construction bridge over the Kurung river. A high-level committee has been constituted to probe the incident involving the under-construction bridge, one of the 130 bridges in the Bhairavi-Sairang New Railway Line project. All 18 bodies have been identified. They are Naba Chawdury, Mojammel Haque, Narim Rahman, Ranjit Sarkar, Kashim Sheikh, Samrul Haque, Jhallu Sarkar, Sakirul Sheikh, Masrekul Haque, Saidur Rahman, Rahim Sheikh, Suman Sarkar, Sariful Sheikh

HM Shah speaks to Mizoram governor, CM after 17 killed in bridge collapse

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday spoke to Mizoram Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati and Chief Minister Zoramthanga and assured them all possible assistance after 17 workers were killed when an under-construction railway bridge collapsed in the state. Several others are still feared trapped at the site, near Sairang, 21 km from Aizawl, as 35-40 workers were present when the incident occurred this morning. "Anguished by the tragic accident in Mizoram. I have spoken to the Governor and CM Mizoram and assured all possible assistance. The NDRF and local administration are on-site, conducting rescue operations. My condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured," Shah wrote on 'X', formerly Twitter.

UNDP to assist India in reaching its sustainable development goals

United Nations Development Programme and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region signed an MoU formalising the collaboration

80% of decisions taken by Assam CM Sarma-led cabinet implemented in state

On May 10 in 2021, Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in as the 15th Chief Minister of Assam.

Unhappy Central Assam BJP leader Rajen Gohain resigns from cabinet post

Gohain had been representing the Nowgong constituency of Central Assam since 1999 and secured four consecutive terms until 2014

69,523 grievances redressed in July, Sikkim tops N East complaint disposal

As many as 69,523 public grievances have been redressed by different states in July, with Sikkim being the topper in disposing maximum number of complaints in the north east, an official statement issued on Wednesday said. Sikkim is followed by Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, it said. The ranking has been released by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) in its 12th monthly report of Centralised Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) for states for July, 2023. The CPGRAMS allows raising of public grievances online. The DARPG ranks states/Union Territories across four categories, i.e. north eastern states, Union Territories, with two other categories for states being bifurcated based on the number of receipt of grievances. In the Union Territories category, Lakshawdeep has got the first rank followed by Andaman and Nicobar and Ladakh, according to the Personnel Ministry statement. Uttar Pradesh has topped among the states which rec

Govt working for overall development, aiming at 8% growth: Tripura CM

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Tuesday said his government has been working for the overall development of the state and aims at achieving 8 per cent growth in the current financial year. The BJP-IPFT government, in its budget for the 2023-24 fiscal, laid emphasis on all fronts ranging from health, infrastructure building and education to farmers' welfare, he said during the Independence Day celebration at Assam Rifles ground here. As the people have reposed faith in us, the BJP-IPFT coalition has formed the government for the second time. We will surely respect the people's aspirations in the years to come," he said. Claiming that the state's development is on the "right path", the chief minister said Tripura had registered an 8.5 per cent growth in the 2022-23 financial year. "The government aims at achieving an eight per cent annual growth during the 2023-24 fiscal, exceeding the projected national figure. The outlay in sectors like health, education, agriculture and triba

Peace returning to Manipur, should build on it and find solutions: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said peace was returning to ethnic violence-hit Manipur and urged the people of the state to build on it to find a solution to the problems there. In his Independence Day address, the prime minister said that for the past few days reports of peace have been coming from Manipur regularly and the Centre and the state government were making every effort to find a solution to the problems there. "The nation is with the people of Manipur. The country should take forward the peace process which has been set in motion by the people of Manipur for the past few days. Only peace can lead to a solution," the prime minister said. More than 150 people have been killed in the ethnic violence in Manipur since May 3. The prime minister said that for the past few weeks the northeast, particularly Manipur, and other parts of the country have witnessed a cycle of violence in which several lives were lost and mothers and sisters had to face loss of dignity. "Bu

Confusion, vested interests led to loss of precious lives in Manipur: CM

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday said certain misunderstandings, actions of vested interests and foreign plot to destabilise the country has led to loss of precious lives and properties in the state. Singh said this after hoisting the national flag at the 1st Manipur Rifles parade ground here on the occasion of the 77th Independence Day function. The Independence Day celebration was held in all hill and valley districts of the state. He urged all to stop the violence and bring back the rapid progress the state had witnessed earlier. "Certain misunderstandings, actions of vested interests and foreign plot to de-stabilise the country has led to loss of precious lives and properties and many are living in relief camps," the CM said. The government is working consistently to bring back normalcy and the affected people will be resettled soon, Singh said, adding that those who cannot be shifted to the original places immediately will be shifted temporarily to pre-fabricate

Meghalaya CM highlights effective law and order for economic growth

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday stressed on the importance of good law and order situation to take forward the economic and social activities in the state. Addressing the 77th Independence Day celebrations after hoisting the national flag at the Polo ground here he said that three formal peace talks between the HNLC, Government of India and the state government are making steady progress. The CM said Assam and Meghalaya are resolving the disputed interstate border and a historic Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Assam as a first step towards resolving the dispute. He said his government has set a target to make the state a 10 billion US dollar economy by 2028. "India is on the verge of becoming the world's third largest economy and growing to a size of 5 trillion US Dollar in the next five years. In resonance with that prediction, the Government of Meghalaya has set a target of making the state a 10 billion US Dollar economy by 2028, thereby doubling o

Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act not a threat to Nagas: Nagaland CM Rio

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Wednesday asserted that the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 2023 is not a threat to Nagas as more than 95 per cent of forest cover in the state belong to individuals or community. "In Nagaland, hardly 5 per cent of the land and forest cover belongs to the government while more than 95 per cent are owned by individuals or community," he said while replying to a query of PTI on the stand of the state government on the passing of the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill by Parliament recently. The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on August 2 and it received the President's assent on August 4. Rio while talking to reporters on the sidelines of an official function here said Article 371 (A) gives special protection to Nagas on land and its resources. He said, "We feel that it is not a threat to the state but we will make further study on its implication and we will not make any reacting for now". On the Naga Peopl

Over 8K kids of Myanmar, Bangladesh, Manipur IDPs in Mizoram schools: Govt

More than 8,000 children of refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh and internally displaced people (IDPs) from strife-torn Manipur are receiving education in schools in Mizoram, its School Education Minister Lalchhandama Ralte said. Of the 8,119 children, 6,366 students are from Myanmar, 250 are from Bangladesh and 1,503 are from Manipur, he said. Ralte said the students are receiving free school uniforms, textbooks as well as mid-day meals like local pupils. He asserted that the Mizoram government is committed to providing education to these children, who are from the Zo tribes. "The Mizoram government views Zo tribes from all around the world as one. This principle is reflected in our education sector as well. Our government not only provides shelter but also education to those in need," Ralte told reporters on Tuesday. He said that 44 refugee children had registered for class 10 board examinations in 2022 and 31 of them had appeared in it. Of the 31 students, 28 have successfull

Around Rs 3.37 trn spent for development in NE states in past 9-yrs: Govt

The government has spent Rs 3.37 lakh crore for development works in northeastern states in the past nine years, Union Minister Anurag Thakur informed Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Replying to a question on sports infrastructure facilities in the Northeast, the minister highlighted the work done by the Modi government in the last nine years for the overall development of the region. In the last nine years, the road network in the Northeast has been expanded to around 16,000 km from 8,480 km to improve connectivity, the youth affairs and sports minister said in a written reply. He added that the number of airports have been doubled in the last nine years and rail connectivity is being improved. "Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has visited the Northeast 60 times in the last nine years," Thakur said, adding that this shows the commitment and seriousness of the government for the development of the region. Currently, Thakur, said 1,350 projects worth Rs 15,760 crore, across all departments

Manipur incident unforgivable, says Mizoram State Commission for Women

The Mizoram State Commission for Women (MSCW) on Friday termed the Manipur incident as unforgivable. It wrote to the National Commission for Women and its Manipur counterpart urging them to take immediate action against the perpetrators of the gruesome crime, MSCW chairperson Lallawmchhungi said. "The commission is deeply concerned about the video in which two disrobed women are being forced to walk with hundreds of men behind them in Manipur. The act is unforgivable," she told reporters in Aizawl. "We appeal to people to immediately stop any form of violence against women," she said. The commission requested the menfolk of the Northeastern state not to use muscle power on women. Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked and constantly groped and molested by a mob. Manipur police said that four prime accused have been arrested till now in connection with the viral vid

Pact inked to connect ONGC's natural gas fields with North East Gas Grid

Indradhanush Gas Limited (IGGL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) have signed three hook-up agreements to connect the latter's natural gas fields with the North East Gas Grid (NEGG) for transportation of natural gas. The natural gas will be transported from Jorhat, Silchar and Tripura Assets of ONGC to the consumers, an official release said on Thursday. IGGL is laying a 1,656 km long natural gas pipeline connecting the capital cities and the demand centres of all the eight north eastern states. These hook up agreements will facilitate connection of the natural gas fields of ONGC with the IGGL's pipeline for evacuation of natural gas, IGGL Director Sanjay Kumar said. "The hook-up agreements signed with IGGL is a strategic move to enhance the connectivity of ONGC fields with the North East Gas Grid which will benefit both the companies', he said. It will make domestic gas available to the customers and will contribute to the country's economy as a whole, he said.

Parl panel head Sushil Modi bats to keep tribals out of UCC ambit: Report

BJP MP Sushil Modi on Monday advocated keeping tribals of the North East and other regions out of the purview of any likely Uniform Civil Code at a parliamentary panel meeting chaired by him while some opposition members questioned the Law Commission's move to begin consultation on the contentious issue, sources said. Most opposition members, including those from the Congress and the DMK, linked the push for a UCC to the next year Lok Sabha polls, sources said, adding that Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut noted that many countries had a common civil law while calling for looking into concerns of different communities and regions. He also questioned the consultation's timing. Congress MP Vivek Tankha and DMK MP P Wilson submitted separate written statements questioning the move of the Law Commission, which was represented in the meeting by its member-secretary K Biswal, to invite suggestions on UCC from people and other stakeholders. They noted that the previous Law Commission, the term of ..