According to sources, simmering discontent has hit the Congress camp with several senior Congress legislators accusing the Chief Minister of depriving them of ministerial berths and other MLAs of the party expressing unhappiness over distribution of portfolios to six ministers.

Sources said senior Congress legislator and former minister Rowell Lyngdoh was unhappy over not being made a minister.

Mr Lyngdoh and his loyalists from West Khasi Hills have reportedly resented the inclusion of former Assembly Speaker Martin M Danggo in the Lapang-led Council of Ministers.

There were reports that Mr Lyngdoh could join the race for the post of CLP leader in case Mr Lapang failed to garner support from non-Congress MLAs to win the trial of strength on the floor of the Assembly.

The Congress strongman from West Khasi Hills had even made public his intention in a section of the media recently.

A section of Congress legislators are also dissatisfied with the allotment of major portfolios to six ministers which, according to them, is not at all "a good strategic move."

Some senior Congress functionaries feel that by distributing all important portfolios to the six ministers of the his Cabinet, Mr Lapang is discouraging legislators from non-Congress camp from joining his fold.

They have also expressed surprise over Mukul Sangma having obtained the Power portfolio despite his role in the controversial power deal.

TURA: A female pachyderm trampled a man to death in Purakhasia area on Thursday morning while another person manged to escape from its clutches, forest officials informed on Friday. The victim, Devanan Koch (35), was travelling between Nokchi and Halchati with his friend on a bicycle when they came across the mother elephant and its baby crossing the road. While his friend ran up a nearby hillock, Devanan was not so lucky as the pachyderm chased him down a slop before killing him. Loss of habitat to the ever increasing human population has pushed the elephants to a limited area of forest cover causing regular collusion between the two. This is the second instance of man versus animal conflict in the Garo Hills during this year.

SHILLONG: Congress legislator Charles Pyngrope was elected as the MUA candidate for the post of Assembly Speaker at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting here on Friday.

Twenty-one out of the 25 Congress legislators, who were present at the meeting, unanimously elected Mr Pyngrope as the party nominee for the post of Speaker.

The election of the Speaker will be held on March 18, a day before the trial of strength for the Lapang-led ministry.

Though Congress faces an uphill task to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly, Chief Minister DD Lapang is confident of surviving the floor test on March 19.

He, however, admitted that anything can happen, saying Congress is keeping in touch with "all light-minded people."

"We will continue to contact them (light-minded people) till the morning of March 19. However, we would not reveal the secret," Mr Lapang said at a press conference after the CLP meeting here on Friday.

He said he had asked all the CLP members to be present on the day of trial strength for his ministry.

Mr Lapang said Dr Roytre C Laloo had been elected as the spokesperson of MUA.

Former Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Salseng C Marak will file his nomination papers on Saturday at 11 am for the election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the State scheduled for March 26.

Mr Marak has appealed to all members of the Legislative Assembly to vote for him.

He said Congress' position in the recently-concluded Assembly elections was very bright but false propaganda by some vested interests had affected the performance of the party to a certain extent.

"I believe Congress is only the party that can give a stable government," Mr Marak said

SHILLONG: Surrendered members of HNLC have urged upon the government to grant them general amnesty and also decided to work under one platform for their welfare as well as peace and development in the State.

Over a hundred former members of HNLC on Friday held a get-together here in the city since their first batch came overground in 2003.

Besides asking the Central and State governments to grant general amnesty to all members of the rebel outfit returning to the mainstream, they decided to form an association to ensure their welfare and protection against "various kinds of exploitations."

Addressing a press conference after the get-together, former HNLC chairman Julius Dorphang said surrendered members of the outfit had formed an interim committee to study in detail the various aspects of formation of an association to address their problems.

"The committee has also been assigned with the task of drafting a constitution and finding a suitable name for the association," Mr Dorphang said, while pointing out that "we want the surrendered HNLC tag permanently removed from all our future activities."

He said the committee would take up with the State Government the issue of better rehabilitation package for the former HNLC members.

"We also want the government to frame policies and programmes that would indirectly benefit our members," Mr Dorphang said, adding, "We have come back to the mainstream to promote peace and harmony in the State."

TURA: Charisma, a sympathy wave or a people's representative? No one knows towards whose side the balance will tilt in the March-22 by-election to Baghmara constituency in South Garo Hills as the battle-lines are clearly drawn for the contest in which seven candidates, all first timers, are hoping to see their political dreams come true.

Under normal circumstances, the political antennae for a by-election to Baghmara seat would be of limited significance, as it would add one more to the MLAs' tally, though it is the birth place of Meghalaya's first Chief Minister.

Baghmara this time round has proved to a "treasure trove" for all parties, given the fluid political scenario in the State where no single party has won a clear majority in the just-concluded elections.

Congress is hoping to cash in on the sympathy wave generated by the demise of their late MLA Sengran M Sangma and has fielded his young son Arjun W Momin. Congress bigwigs, including Chief Minister DD Lapang, are expected to campaign for their party candidate.

NCP, on the other hand, has brought forward their grassroots worker Sato R Marak to penetrate the Congress campaign and add to their MLAs' tally in the new Assembly. NCP's Garo Hills strongman Purno A Sangma arrived in Baghmara on Friday to add teeth to his party's strategy.

There are two women candidates seeking to make a mark in electoral politics. No woman candidate received the people's mandate from Garo Hills in the just-concluded State Assembly polls.

UDP has fielded Florence T Sangma, while Gentilla R Marak is an Independent candidate. UDP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Dr Donkuper Roy is also scheduled to campaign for Mr Sangma.

The four Independent candidates, including Lazarus M Sangma, Hembilstone K Sangma and Julius M Sangma, could prove to be the deciding factor in this election.

During the last elections to Baghmara constituency, Sengran M Sangma of Congress had defeated NCP strongman Lotsing A Sangma by 1648 votes. Congress polled 7703 votes against NCP's 6055. The lone Independent at that time, Robert T Sangma, managed to get 1060 votes.

While the constituency stretches from Rongra in the extreme side of the border to Siju covering the Balpakram National Park the decisive battle for votes is expected to be fought in the heavily-populated areas of Baghmara town. Areas such as Malikona (near Baghmara bazaar) and Dabet (towards Rangdokram), which have high concentration of voters, will be the prime target of all candidates and parties.

According to sources, the State Government owes Rs 65 crore to MeSEB in terms of pending power bills of various departments.

The Police Department alone has to pay an outstanding Rs 20.88 crore followed by Shillong Municipal Board with Rs 8 crore and Health Department with Rs 5 crore.

Meghalaya State Electricity Regulatory Commission (MSERC) recently ordered MeSEB to issue notices to all the defaulting government departments under Section 56 of the Indian Electricity Act for immediate clearance of pending electricity bills.

JOWAI: Chief Executive Member of Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council Hamberus Nongtdu presented the Council's Budget of Rs 56 crore with a supplementary demand of Rs one crore in the Budget Session which started on Friday.

The Budget presented by the JHADC chief includes the provision of Rs 1.10 crore for meeting the cost of conducting election to the District Council, which is due early next year.

For implementation of various forest development schemes, the JHADC kept Rs 65 lakh while Rs 87 lakh went for bamboo, tea and grapes plantations. Rs 4.35 crore was allotted for construction and maintenance of Council buildings, rural roads and others.

For construction of Iawmusiang market and MDC's Hostel Rs 12.75 crore was provided and Rs 3.6 crore was allotted for normal development and MDC schemes.

The JHADC chief also re-introduced two Bills - JHADC (Trading by Non-tribal) Regulation (Addaptation) Bill 2007 and JHADC (Members Pension) (Third Amendment) Bill 2007 -- in the current session.

According to the Members Pension Bill, the Council members, who were elected only once to the House, will get a pension of Rs 5,000 while those elected twice will be paid Rs 8,000 per month. The members elected thrice will get a pension of Rs 11,000 per month.

The Budget and the two Bills presented in the House on Friday will be discussed on next Monday and Wednesday.

The first day of the session on Friday lasted only ten minutes and out of 30 members in the House only 26 attended the proceedings.

Shillong: The Presbyterian Church, Sohryngkham has made special arrangement for parking of vehicles during the sixth KJP Synod Mihngi to be held at Sohryngkham on Sunday.

For vehicles coming from Shillong area — light vehicles will park along the sides of the National Highway and heavy vehicles at Mawdngong, Madan Football Sohryngkham Neng and Wah Sohryngkham.

Light vehicles coming from Jowai will park on the sides of the National Highway, adjacent to the main service venue while heavy vehicles will park on the land belonging to Mr Nehlang Lyngdoh (Kyndong Mawbri Khar) and adjacent to the National Highway.

Vehicles having car passes will park at Madan Ap Khar, adjacent to the main service venue.

In a statement issued here on Friday, the HNPF while demanding shifting of Defence headquarters to other location, said army excesses on local people have been reported on many occasions in Lawsohtun area and other adjoining areas.

According to sources, Blind Rymbai had a quarrel with his two brother-in-laws identified as Tyrdong Dkhar (26) and Karbar Dkhar (Pila) on Wednesday at about 11:30 pm near their house, which led to a scuffle between them. Rymbai was killed in the incident.

Police have arrested Tyrdong Dkhar whereas Karbar Dkhar is still absconding. The deceased was married to youngest sister of the accused.

A case has been registered in this connection and investigation is on.

For the last seven years Manipuris have been waging a relentless war or protest against withdrawal of the Special Armed Forces Act from the state. The legendary resistance against the Act by Iroma Sharmila who has been on virtual hunger strike has aroused passion against the Central Government, and thousands of women have been turn by turn squatting on the pavements of the state capital Imphal. Protesters have faced the wrath of gun wielding security personnel. The question being asked: Is this law necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity?

Northeastern states have suffered the most from violent militancy, and even today the conditions remain volatile in the region. You can’t have the correct number of militant outfits operating in the "seven sisters". To be more precise insurgency has become an industry in the region. It may be due to lack of employment or love for fast lucre, and the means adopted are extortion, kidnapping and drug trafficking. Young men and women are found loitering in cities and hinterland of the state looking for suitable targets.

Powerful landlords have long employed lathi- and gun-wielding thugs to keep their opponents and an assertive peasantry at bay. Now, politicians with a criminal background also maintain such "armies". When pushed to the wall the police force and Assam Rifles personnel cross the legal limits either in self-defence or try to line their pockets by adopting the same methods as insurgents. In a sense, protectors of the citizens become murderers. And there are thousands of black sheep, who take delight in their cowardly acts.

What is also obvious is that their training does not seem to place as great an emphasis on the need to prevent excesses as one might expect in a democracy with its focus on social harmony. In the case of the army, the fact that military personnel have virtually to perform policing duties for years on end in areas affected by insurgency means that there is an even greater need to inculcate the values of restraint in the force. After all, it is trained to defend the country and not conduct anti-guerrilla operations for decades. That the Armed Forces Act has been in operation in Manipur for a quarter of a century tells its own tale.

But it isn’t only the long years that the security forces have to spend in performing duties for which they were not originally intended which begin to tell on their nerves. India’s ethnic diversity is another complicating factor, for the police and army from one part of the country can find themselves in territories and among people who can seem completely alien to them in terms of language, dress and customs, although this does not apply to the presence of the Assam Rifles in Manipur.

The failure of our political leadership to take such factors into consideration cannot be gainsaid. It is patent enough that adequate attention has not been paid to this crucial aspect of policing. Perhaps a belief that such injunctions will make the security forces "soft" has precluded a focus on human rights. In any event, it is not unfashionable in this country for people to openly mock at the very concept of human rights—a strange example of insensitive behaviour which is partly responsible for the incidents of "fake encounters" for which the Indian police is known.

Another term associated with the police is "third degree", which relates to the use of torture during interrogation, an aspect of police functioning which is routinely denied but which is known to exist. Once the security forces become accustomed to such essentially lawless behaviour against criminals, they become prone to treat everyone—suspects and ordinary citizens—in the same manner.

That the colonial rulers themselves were aware of the common failings of the supposed guardians of law and order is known from the observations of the police commission’s report of 1905. Referring to the "corruption and inefficiency of the great mass of investigating officers of higher grades", it said that "money is extorted as the investigation proceeds" and the "station house officer will sometimes hush up a case in payment of his terms". Its conclusion was that the "commission have the strongest evidence that the police force is regarded as far from efficient and is stigmatised as corrupt and oppressive".

Half a century later, Justice A.N. Mulla of the Allahabad High Court noted that "there is not a single lawless group in the whole of the country whose record of crime comes anywhere near the record of that organised unit which is known as the Indian police". If the framers of the laws kept this unsavoury background in mind, they would have tried to incorporate as many safeguards into the draconian laws as possible to forestall their misuse.

It is clear, however, that no such endeavour has marked the drafting of these laws. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been so many complaints against virtually all the "special" laws on the statute book from the Defence of India Rules to MISA to TADA to POTA. All these acronyms have become symbols of oppression. Now, the Armed Forces Act may well join this infamous list.

The Assam Rifles has already earned infamy as a force which has occasionally been charged with committing excesses. For the sake of record all disgruntled elements in the Army are co-opted into the Assam Rifles. "Naturally, there is bound to be breach of the legal limit to which they are expected to go in trying to maintain the law and order in the strife-torn region of the country. There is an urgent need to assuage the hurt feelings of the people and try to bring them into the mainstream of national polity. Here the role of the Central Government assumes special significance. INAV

Kerala, brilliantly described touristically as "God's own country," has been hogging the headlines this past week for all the wrong reasons. Initially, it was the bloody feud between the RSS and CPM workers in Thalassery, in Kannur district, on Wednesday, which has so far claimed 11 lives. In the past 30 years, 350 political killings have taken place in the red-saffron clashes in this infamous district. The violence spilled over to the Capital, as the BJP-RSS activists clashed near the CPM's central headquarters in New Delhi with stones, when its Central Committee was meeting. Eighteen persons were injured in the violence that lasted a couple of hours. Some arrests have been made. But the truth has yet to be fathomed. Who attacked whom first?

Not only have the Kannur and Delhi clashes had their fallout on Parliament resulting in adjournments of the two Houses, but so also on the judiciary. In an unprecedented response, the Kerala High Court has advocated timely Central intervention as the only solution to end the violence in Kannur. Importantly, it added that New Delhi should send forces that "will not yield to the political or plutocratic clout by those in power and out of power." Not just that Justice V Ramkumar also hoped that there "would be gubernatorial move to apprise the Central government of the urgent need for a permanent prophylactic action to curb further bloodshed and killings" in Kannur district "where manslaughter is a competing sport."

The observations were made while ordering an investigation by the CBI into the murder of a worker in Thalassery, which was described as the "hotbed of political; violence and carnage of the worst order." In a veiled reference to a move of the two parties to hold a meeting to stop the violence, the court observed that "all-party peace missions are nothing but a hoax to hoodwink the fickle-minded public." Past lesions have shown that restoration of peace and harmony was only "an evanescent episode invariably followed by history of repeated violence and vindictive vandalism."

Congress hopes of revival in the strategic north-east after the bashing it received in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have proved to be a pipe dream. Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, which went to the polls last week, have sent a strong signal to the Congress - wining back power is an uphill task. While Nagaland and Tripura have given a clear verdict against the Congress, in Meghalaya the party has made a back door entry to power, forcing the Supreme Court to intervene. On Tuesday last, Meghalaya Governor SS Sidhu swore in Congress leader DD Lapang as the Chief Minister, ignoring the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) and its claim of a majority in the 60-member Assembly. While the Congress has 25 MLAs, and claims support of three independent legislators, the MPA, comprising the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the United Democratic Party (UDP), Hill People's Democratic State Party (HSDP) and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) has 31 legislators.

The NCP leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Sangma, whose petition challenging Sidhu's action has been admitted by the apex court, has denounced the Governor's action as "unconstitutional and murder of democracy". However, the Governor has justified his action on the ground that he had gone by established "convention by inviting the single largest party". Furthermore, the MPA was not a pre-poll alliance." Sidhu has also claimed that he had exercised his discretion to "prevent horse trading." But Sidhu has gone wrong in having given Lapang 10 days to prove his strength on the floor of the House. Two to three days would have been more than enough if horse trading was not to be encouraged. Sangma sees this as an attempt "to please his political mentors." All eyes are now on the Supreme Court, which will hear the matter next week.

In Nagaland, the Congress has paid the price of imposing President's rule in the State on January 3. It's score of 23 seats was outdone by the NDA-backed Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) bagging 34 seats. A 12-member Ministry headed by Nagaland People's Front President and former Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio was sworn-in on Wednesday, by Governor K Shankaranarayan. The Centre had sacked Rio's government nine weeks ago. Rio is confident of providing a stable government and is relieved that the Governor did not choose to keep the Assembly in suspended animation, despite having a majority. As for Tripura, it's been a clear no-go for the Congress, with the Left Front winning a thumping majority and Manik Sarkar taking over as Chief Minister for the third consecutive term with an unrivalled image of probity and simple living.

The demand for Gorkhaland is set to move into top gear, with Subash Ghisingh giving in to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). After an inning lasting two decades, Ghisingh bid goodbye to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council on Monday last. The man, who had set the Hills ablaze with the agitation for Gorkhaland way back in 1986, settled instead for an autonomous Council for 20 years. The news of his resignation from the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council brought hundreds of people onto the streets. The hill town and adjoining areas reverberated with jubilation as Ghisingh's bete noire and GJM chief Bimal Gurung won the first round in the battle for separate statehood. The month-long bandh not only had stalled Ghisingh's plans of placing the Council in the Sixth Schedule, but his entry into Darjeeling. The blockade against Ghisingh has hence been lifted and the GJM finds itself "one step closer to Gorkhaland." Who will the West Bengal Government or the Centre talk to --Ghisingh's GNLF or Gurung's GJM? The coming weeks should throw up an answer.

The controversy over the death of British teenager Scarlette Keeling on a beach in Goa has sent the State government into a tizzy. Though the 15-year-old's body was found on Anjuman beach on February 18, the case hit the headlines this past week, following allegations that she was raped and murdered, far from the police' initial description of "overdose of drugs and death by drowning." In fact, the incident has not only put a question mark on how safe is this international tourist haven, but has blown the lid over the extent to which drugs, crime and sex are a part of it. Fearing a backlash on the tourism industry, which is the State's mainstay, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had held meetings with the State police officials to ensure there is thorough investigation. Under pressure of being accused of "a cover-up and collusion" the police on Thursday, claimed that they cracked the case. Two persons have been arrested and confessed of raping Scarlette and then dumping her on the beach. The teenager's mother doesn't believe the police and has accused the Goa police of trying to cover up for the real culprits. For her the "case is not over" and she is going to "fight for justice till the end." Battered by bad publicity in the case, the government not only needs to dispel her doubts but more importantly ensure that Goa doesn't get exposure for the wrong things. ---INFA

Sir,

The results of the elections to the three Northeast states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura have once again showed the diminishing influence of the Congress in the region. Once a dominant force, it is now left doddering with regional forces forming government in Nagaland, while the Left has managed to tighten the grip in Tripura. The defeat of the Congress in Nagaland is particularly humiliating. Congress is yet to learn a lesson from Gujarat debacle. Moreover, Congress, as a responsible national party in power at the Centre, has failed to deliver the goods in the Northeastern states.

The most significant outcome of the Meghalaya elections is the overwhelming rejection of the non-performing legislators. Congratulations to the people of Meghalaya for voting out defection politics. One thing is clear from this election is that despite Congress emerging as the single largest party, former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Sangma's NCP with 14 seats seems to have managed to secure magic figure of 31 in the 60-member House with the help of the regional parties and Independent legislators.

The state has seen too many splits and mergers in the past and a stable government is still a distant dream. Performance of the present government under DD Lapang is being watched. The policy 'perform or perish' is a good reminder to the government. Do not let down the people who have voted you to power.

Yours etc.,
Bivan Rodriques Mukhim
Via e-mail

Sir,

The Indian hockey team's failure to make it to Beijing Olympics has come as rude shock for the hockey lovers of the country. It is the national game of the country. What is more shocking is IHF president KPS Gill's post-defeat remarks and he even refused to take blame for the national team's failure. Standard of hockey has taken a nosedive since he took over the reigns of IHF. The president went to the extent of saying to one of the electronic media "Olympic gold is inferior to being Asia's best". Now who's to be blamed? Are wrong people at the helm of IHF affairs? Are we giving undue attention to cricket forgetting other sports? Time has come to give due attention to our national game.

Yours etc.,
Adilbert Dkhar,
Shillong-3
Via e-mail

Apropos the letter 'Kudos to Patricia Mukhim' (ST, March 13), following lines should read like -- 'After the Padmashree and the extraordinary position bestowed upon her by our country's popular monthly magazine, Femina, today she has once again done us, the Khasis proud with her new award the Kelvinator GR8! Flo Women Awards, 2008, in the field of

"The agenda before the new Government has been set by the people of Nagaland and it is clear that the development of the state and improvement of infrastructure is of paramount importance," the Governor said in a message.

Expressing gratitude to the people for successful completion of the electoral process, he thanked the entire administrative machinery, police and paramilitary forces, political parties, village councils for extending their help in conducting the just concluded assembly election.

Terming Nagaland as a youthful state, he said the State has immense potential in the field of agriculture and allied sector and the large pool of English speaking young people could readily find job in the IT and IT enabled services.

"I hope that the newly sworn-in Government will fulfill the aspirations and dreams of the Naga people for peaceful, vibrant and progressive Nagaland," Sankaranarayanan said and extended greeting and best wishes to the new regime.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland Cabinet led by Chief Minister and accompanied by Protem Speaker Dr Neikiesalie Kire on Thursday made a courtesy call to the Governor at Raj Bhavan.

The first Cabinet meeting of the new ministry on Thursday decided to conduct the oath taking ceremony of the new members of the 11th Assembly on March 18 and go for a full-fledged budget instead of vote-on-account, official sources said. The House will be addressed by the Governor on March 20 and Budget will be presented on March 24. (PTI)

NFR officials said the Ministry had been in the process of implementing the project in 33 stations across the country, including one each in Tripura and Nagaland and 13 in Assam.

They said the minimum essential amenities as per norms had already been provided at these stations and under the model station scheme, further facilities would be provided at these stations as per norms depending upon category of the stations.

Retiring room, waiting room (with bathing facilities), cloak room, enquiry counter, National Train Enquiry System (NTES), Inter Voice Response System (IVRS), public address system/computer-based announcement would be set up in the stations under the project, the officials stated. (UNI)

The Opposition were demanding a statement from the Government on the issue, who later later did so, although not before the Assembly witnessed heated exchanges and an adjournment.

At the end of the Question hour, Opposition leader Chandra Mohan Patowary urged the Speaker for a statement from the Government on the recurrent violence in the state and the clashes between NDFB and BPF supporters in BTAD areas on Thursday, which left four dead in police firing.

Speaker TB Rai pointed out that the Government could not be asked to make a statement without previous notice, which brought the Opposition AGP, BJP, AUDF and Left parties, on their feet.

As the Opposition continued to create pandemonium in the House, the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

State Cabinet Minister Rockybull Hussain, on behalf of the chief minister who holds the Home portfolio, later placed a statement on the law and order situation.

He informed that the clashes between National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) youth wing had erupted in Bengtol of Chirang district after the district administration tried to move the NDFB cadres in illegal camps in the area to designated camps.

The indefinite curfew continued on Friday in lower Assam's Chirang district where four people were killed and 10 others injured in police firing on an irate mob protesting against dismantling of a militant NDFB camp on Thursday.

The curfew was imposed in areas falling in the Runikata police station area and under Bengtol police outpost at 2 pm, IGP Bodoland Territorial District Administration N M Dutta said. (From Our Correspondent and Agencies)

Engineers in Manipur are a soft target for militants operating in the State. Numerous cases of militants’ abducting engineers of various government departments have been reported. (NNN)

Aizawl: Famine in Mizoram has taken away the colour from the lives of the people, especially on their annual spring festival Chapchar Kut on Friday.

During this season, people in this capital city dress up in colourful traditional attires and throng the Assam Rifles Ground to participate in the State's biggest traditional festival on Friday.

In view of the Mautam (bamboo flowering) famine, which fell hard on the rural folk of the State, the administration has decided not to organise the festival this year.

Incidentally, the festival pulls thousands of tourists from the North East every year.

''Chapchar Kut comes every year, whereas Mautam famine comes only every 50 years,'' Mizoram Chief Secretary Haukhum Hauzel said.

The Chapchar Kut used to be jointly organised by the State Art and Culture Department, Tourism Department and the State's largest NGOs, with involvement of lakhs of rupees.

Instead, the Government has decided to spend the expenditure of the festival for famine relief fund.

However, the day is being observed as a Government holiday, with the streets of Aizawl carrying a deserted look. (UNI)