Page 18 - Northeast India

Manufacturing disrupted at Sikkim plant due to flash floods: Alembic Pharma

Alembic Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday said flash floods in the Teesta River has led to disruption in operations at its Sikkim-based manufacturing plant. "We would like to inform that due to flash floods in river Teesta because of cloud burst, water entered our manufacturing facility at Namthang, South Sikkim, and hence manufacturing operations stand disrupted with effect from October 4," the drug firm said in a regulatory filing. There is no loss or harm caused to any personnel, it said, adding that the assessment of loss will take a while. All assets of the company are adequately insured and necessary intimations have been given to insurance companies, it added. A sudden cloud burst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim has resulted in flash floods in the Teesta in Lachen valley, which was compounded by the release of water from a dam. Shares of Alembic Pharma were trading 1.31 per cent down at Rs 780.50 apiece on the BSE.

IOC to invest over Rs 2,600 crore to set up greenfield units in northeast

Indian Oil Corporation has firmed up plans to pump in over Rs 2,600 crore in setting up several greenfield units and expanding its facilities across the northeast over the next few years, a senior company official said. The board of IOC has already approved various new projects, while some are in the process of getting the nod, with the leading energy firm in talks with the local governments in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur to finalise land parcels for the greenfield units. "Northeast is one of the most important regions for Indian Oil and much focus is given here by the top management. We have planned to augment our operations by enhancing refining as well as petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) storage capacities," IOC Executive Director (Indian Oil-AOD) Ganesan Ramesh told PTI in an interview. The company is at present carrying out nearly a dozen projects, both greenfield and brownfield, across the region, entailing a total investment of Rs 2,612 crore, he said. "We have a major

Poor water quality in 44 of 46 localities of Shillong, govt to launch probe

More than 95 per cent of drinking water supplied to 46 localities of Shillong is harmful for consumption due to the presence of bacteria, high iron content and low pH value, a report of the State Food Testing Laboratory has stated. Concerned over the quality of drinking water supplied to residents of Shillong, the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People, a social organisation, collected water samples from the 46 localities of the city and sent those for testing on August 22. The report, which came recently, indicated that water in only two localities -- Demthring and Mawblei was safe. "The water samples showed the presence of Coliform and E. Coli, low pH value (acidic), high turbidity, and iron content above the prescribed limit indicating that the water in these localities was unsafe for drinking," an office-bearer of the organisation told PTI. Acidic water causes corrosion of pipes while high iron content has health implications and the presence of faecal coliforms in water

Earthquake of magnitude 5.2 jolts Meghalaya, nearby states; no loss of life

An Earthquake of Magnitude 5.2 shook Meghalaya and nearby states on Monday evening, the National Centre for Seismology said. There was no immediate report of any loss of life or damage to property. The tremor occurred at 6.15 pm in North Garo Hills district in the northeastern state at a depth of 10 km. The epicentre is around 3 km from Resubelpara, the district headquarters. The jolt was also felt in nearby states such as Assam and the northern part of West Bengal and Sikkim. "We have not received any report of loss of life or damage to property," said an official of the disaster management authority here. The northeastern states fall in the high seismic zone, and earthquakes frequently hit the region.

Mob tries to attack Manipur CM's ancestral house, army foils attempt

A mob tried to attack Chief Minister N Biren Singh's empty ancestral house on Thursday night, despite a security clampdown and curfew in the Imphal valley. Security forces, however, were successful in foiling the attempt after firing in the air. Singh lives in a separate, well-guarded official residence in the centre of the state's capital. There was an attempt to attack the chief minister's ancestral house at Heingang locality in Imphal. Security forces stopped the mob around 100-150 metres away from the house, a police officer said. Nobody stays in the house now though it too is guarded round the clock, the officer said. The police officer said, Two groups of people came from different directions and approached the CM's ancestral residence but they were stopped. Several rounds of tear gas shells were fired by RAF and state police personnel to disperse the mob. The authorities switched off the electricity connection in the entire area to help reduce the visibility of the protes

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Fresh clash along Assam-Meghalaya interstate border, one person injured

One person was injured in a clash at a disputed area along the Assam-Meghalaya interstate border as locals from both sides used bows and arrows and catapults to attack each other, officials said on Wednesday. The incident occurred on Tuesday in the disputed place along the boundary between the Lapangap village in Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills district and the Tapat area under the Hamren subdivision of West Karbi Anglong district of Assam. A person from Karbi Anglong district was injured, while no one from the Meghalaya side was seriously hurt in the incident, officials said. The situation was brought under control after police teams from both states visited the spot and placated the locals. The situation remained calm but tense on Wednesday morning as a fresh clash between the villagers from both sides was reported, an official from Meghalaya said. Some huts belonging to Khasi farmers in Lapangap were also burnt down, escalating tension in the area, a senior official of West Jain

Asian Games: Indian Wushu players disappointed after Chinese visa denial

The three Indian athletes were denied entry to China to compete in the Hangzhou Asian Games last week. The absent trio - Lamgu, Wangsu and Tega - come from Arunachal Pradesh

Trai recommendations on boosting telecom infra in NE progressive: COAI

Industry body COAI on Monday said regulator TRAI's latest recommendations on boosting telecom infrastructure in northeastern states are progressive and will drive socio-economic and digital progress in the region. TRAI's recommendation on exemption of Right of Way (RoW) charges in the rural, tribal and hilly regions for a five-year period will encourage telecom operators to invest further towards network deployments in lesser populated regions, the association said in a statement. "The industry is confident that if implemented in letter and spirit, these progressive recommendations will provide further impetus to proliferation of telecom and broadband services in the northeastern region of the country, thus propelling socio-economic and digital progress...," Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) Director General S P Kochhar said. Telcos, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, are members of COAI. On provisioning power supply for the telecom sector, TRAI

Normal life hit on 2nd day of 48-hour in Manipur's statewide shutdown

Normal life was hit across Manipur's Imphal valley districts on Wednesday, the second day of the 48-hour statewide shutdown called by Meira Paibis, a collective of Meitei women, and five local clubs, demanding unconditional release of five "village defence volunteers" arrested by police, officials said. For the second day, educational institutions, markets, banks and commercial establishments remained closed, while attendance in government offices was negligible and a few vehicles plied on the roads, they said. Across all the five districts of Imphal valley, women in large numbers blocked roads and raised slogans demanding the release of the youths. Protesters blamed the state government and police for failing to tackle the law and order in the hill areas. S Sakhi, a protester at Wangkhei in Imphal East district said, "Police continue to arrest, detain and fire tear gas shells on unarmed civilians across the five districts of Imphal valley while doing hardly anything against the ar

Seems like Cong has given Northeast to China: Assam CM Sarma slams party

A video shared by the Congress on its official handle on X, formerly Twitter, allegedly showed a distorted map of India, with the entire Northeast region missing

Mizoram facing financial constraints, Rs 3,500cr due from Centre: CM

Mizoram CM Zoramthanga on Friday said his government cannot act as it wishes due to financial constraints with funds of Rs 3,500 crore due from the Centre. Addressing the annual conference of the Mizoram Engineer Service Association (MESA) at Berawtlang in Aizawl, Zoramthanga said the Centre was unable to provide funds of Rs 3,500 crore to the state during the last three years due to the pandemic. "As we have been severely impacted by these problems and constraints, we can't do what we want to do and make new recruitment. We need your understanding as we have been impacted by several difficulties which we did not expect," he said. Zoramthanga said his government would make all efforts for the welfare of employees. He said the hardship that has befallen on the state has made him realise the need for self-dependency. Mizoram has been blessed with natural resources and a good climate, he said, urging engineers to give their best to transform the state into a land of self-reliance.

Meitei group meets Rajnath, seeks withdrawal of Assam Rifles from Manipur

Representatives of COCOMI, an umbrella body of Imphal valley-based civil society organisations, met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and demanded the withdrawal of Assam Rifles from the state, alleging that the force was acting in a biased way. The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), which represents Meitei groups, said in a statement that their representatives met Singh on Thursday at his residence in Delhi and submitted a memorandum. In the memorandum, they claimed that the Kuki groups caused embarrassment to the government by approaching the United Nations for a resolution to the Manipur crisis. They also raised with Singh the issues of narco-terrorism, illegal immigrants and their identification as well as suspension of operations agreement, the statement said. On the other side, the Kuki groups have been accusing the state police of bias. Last month, 10 Kuki MLAs of the state appealed to PM Narendra Modi to not withdraw Assam Rifles from the state, maintaining

175 killed, 1108 injured in four months of Manipur violence: Police

As many as 175 people were killed, and 1,108 others injured while 32 are missing in the ethnic strife that has rocked Manipur since early May, police officers said on Thursday. Altogether 4,786 houses were set on fire and 386 religious structures vandalised. Addressing a press conference here, IGP (Operations) IK Muivah said, In this challenging time that Manipur is in, we can reassure the public that the police, central forces and the civil administration are trying round the clock to bring normalcy back." Of the weapons that have been lost, 1,359 firearms and 15,050 ammunition were recovered, Muivah said. A large number of arms and ammunition of the police have allegedly been looted by the rioters during the violence. As many as 5,172 arson cases were reported, Muivah said adding that 386 religious structures - 254 churches and 132 temples were vandalised. "Security barricades from Phougakchao Ikhai in Bishnupur district to Kangvai in Churachandpur district have been removed w

Nagaland sets up select committee to examine state's Municipal Bill 2023

The Nagaland Assembly on Thursday constituted a seven-member Select Committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister T R Zeliang to examine the Nagaland Municipal Bill, 2023. The Assembly had on Tuesday decided to refer the Bill to the Select Committee after the members deliberated on the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) election which has not been held in the northeastern state for almost two decades. The announcement about the formation of the Select Committee was made by Speaker Sharingain Longkumer before declaring the session sine die. The detailed order on the working of the Committee will be notified by the Assembly Secretariat, but normally any such panel set up to refer to a government bill needs to submit its report within three months, Longkumer told PTI. The Bill was tabled in the House on September 12 by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio following a deliberation of the members on matters of urgent public interest on Urban Local Bodies Elections. During its March session, the Assembly had

Himanta Biswa launches projects worth Rs 136 cr in Assam's Barak valley

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday rolled out various infrastructure projects worth Rs 136 crore in Cachar district of Barak valley. Sarma, who is on a two-day visit to the Barak valley, inaugurated two bridges and laid the foundation stone for a new building for the office of the Cachar District Commissioner here. "To decongest Silchar City, HCM Dr @himantabiswa inaugurated the Badrighat bridge over River Barak connecting Barenga and Kashipur," the Chief Minister's Office said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Built at a cost of Rs 58 crore, this nearly "one km-long bridge along with its approach road connects the NH-37 and NH-54 on the Silchar Fulertal Road", it said. "HCM Dr @himantabiswa has inaugurated the 2nd RCC bridge in Barak Valley, today. Built at a cost of Rs 14 cr (crore), the bridge, over River Sonai, is the first bridge giving road connectivity to more than 7,000 people residing at Dungripar village in Sonai," the CMO said in a separate post. Later

Manipur violence: Protesters defy curfew, over 40 injured in backlash

More than 40 people, mostly women, were injured after security forces fired several rounds of teargas shells to disperse thousands of protesters who tried to breach security barricades at Phougakchao Ikhai in Manipur's Bishnupur district on Wednesday, officials said. The injured have been rushed to Bishnupur district hospital and Moirang public health centre for treatment, they said. Defying curfew, hundreds of locals came out of their houses at Oinam in Bishnupur district and squatted in the middle of a road around 2.30pm to block the movement of police and other central forces' personnel who were on their way to Phougakchao Ikhai from Imphal, officials said. Around 11.40 am, protesters on way to Phougakchao Ikhai were stopped by state police forces which had put a barricade at Kwakta, around 2km away. Though police fired a few rounds of teargas shells, the protesters overran the barricade and proceeded towards Phougakchao Ikhai. No one was injured in the commotion, officials ...

Manipur govt shifts last of 10 Kuki families in Imphal to Kangpokpi

The Manipur government has shifted the last of 10 Kuki families comprising 24 members from Imphal's New Lambulane area where they had been living for decades and did not move elsewhere even after the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur four months ago. These families were taken to the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district on the northern side of Imphal Valley early on Saturday, as they had become "vulnerable targets", an official said. The last of 10 Kuki families were provided "safe passage" to Motbung, in Kangpokpi district, some 25 km from Imphal, he said. But Kuki families alleged that they were forcibly evicted from their residences in the New Lambulane area to Motbung. S Prim Vaiphei, one of the volunteers guarding the Kuki locality in the heart of Imphal, said that a "team of uniformed armed personnel claiming to be acting under directions from the Home Department came to New Lambulane, Imphal in the intervening night of September 1 and 2 and forcibly evicted the last remaining

Assam govt to introduce bill in state assembly to ban polygamy: CM Sarma

"We will finalize the Bill in the next 45 days. I think I will be able to introduce the Bill in the assembly in December this year", said Himanta Biswa Sarma, CM, Assam

Except Assam, north-eastern states lag CMVR implementation: Dealers' body

Barring Assam, other northeastern states are "lagging" in implementing rules about paperless and online registration of vehicles, an automobile dealers' body claimed on Saturday. It urged all states in the regions to expedite the implementation of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) for these online services aimed at easing the procedure for customers as well as dealers. While some states like Assam are doing commendable work in implementing CMVR, others are still lagging. It should be understood that the rules are framed to make it convenient for customers as well as for dealers, Federation of Automobile Dealers' Associations CEO Saharash Damani said at a press conference here. Sharing the status of CMVR implementation in six northeastern states, he said Assam has achieved it in all six parameters, from online issues of registration marks to digitally granting trade licences to doing away with the need for vehicles to be inspected or documents to be sent to regional transport ..