High level sources later that under the agreement that India will not subject its military nuclear programme and fast breeder reactors to international safeguards. Classification of India's future nuclear reactors into civilian and military will be its sole decision and there will be "no debate" on these.

Announcing the deal, the Prime Minister told a joint press conference with Bush that they had reached a "mutually-satisfactory understanding" on the implementation of the July 18 deal. India has "successfully completed" preparation of a separation plan and will approach the IAEA for working out "India-specific" Safeguards Agreement and an Additional Protocol.

Bush told him that he now would approach the US Congress to amend the US laws. This entails guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel and reactors and lifting of restrictive regime with regard to trade in dual-use technology. The US would also approach the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for adjusting its guidelines.

Terming the agreement as "historic", Bush said "this was going to be a difficult deal for the Prime Minister to sell to his Parliament but he showed great courage and leadership. "And it's difficult for the American President to sell to our Congress, because some people just don't want to change and change with the times." He, however, asserted that the deal was "necessary" and "in our interest" and expressed confidence that he "can sell this to our Congress."

Bush said civilian nuclear energy for India was essential to ease pressure on the world's oil and other fossil fuels due to increasing demands by India along with China and the US. A Joint Statement issued after the talks said "this historic accomplishment will permit our countries to move forward towards our common objective of full civil nuclear energy cooperation between India and the US and India and the international community as a whole."

It also welcomed India's participation in the International Thermonuclear Energy Research (ITER) on fusion energy as an important further step towards the common goal of full nuclear energy cooperation.The two sides also entered into agreements on a wide range of areas for economic, scientific and technical cooperation in the fields of agriculture, space, education and health.

Condemning terrorism on a day when two bomb blasts rocked Karachi, killing five including a US diplomat, Bush, who will in Pakistan on Saturday, said it was important to talk with President Pervez Musharraf about continuing fight against terrorists.

Referring to the Indo-Pak relations, the US President said the two neighbours have a "historic opportunity to work towards lasting peace. Prime Minister Singh and President Musharraf have shown themselves to be the leaders of courage and vision and I encourage them to continue making progress on all issues, including Kashmir."

Bush began his packed day receiving a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan where he spoke about fostering a very important relationship with India, later drove to Rajghat to pay his tributes to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi before going in for talks with Singh.

The two leaders also addressed the CEOs Forum followed by the Prime Minister's lunch in honour of the visiting dignitary. While the Left leaders kept away from the lunch and President APJ Abdul Kalam's banquet, a cross-section of political leaders attended them.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition LK Advani called on Bush who also met various religious leaders.Lok Sabha Speaker Som-nath Chatterjee, however, was conspicuous by his absence at the Prime Minister's lunch and sources said he was not keeping well. (PTI)

New Delhi: Official sources said the last lap was very tough and it was only after endless bargaining tha the deal could be finally put across. The Indian side eventually managed to convince the Americans about some of their key concerns. New Delhi's insistence that the Fast Breeder Reactor programme will not be placed under IAEA safeguards was finally accepted by US officials.

US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, US Under Secretary of State Nicho-las Burns and other key officials held intensive parleys with MK Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran till late Wednesday night and held another round Thursday morning.

New Delhi: Cracking the whip, the Election Commission today directed the Centre and the poll-bound States not to release fresh funds under the MPLAD and MLAs/MLCs Local Area Development Fund till the completion of the polls.

Observing that the Model Code of Conduct has already come into force, the EC said in a communication to the Cabinet Secretary and Chief Secretaries of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Pondi-cherry that no fresh release of funds under the MPLAD should be made in any part of the country where the poll process was in progress.

No work shall start in respect of which work orders have been issued. The works could start only after the completion of election process, it said adding if a work has actually started that could continue. There shall be no bar to the release of payments for completed work, subject to the full satisfaction of the concerned officials, the communication said. (PTI)

"Doctors from Government medical colleges in Auranga-bad, Nanded, BJ Medical College in Pune, and government hospitals from Solapur have joined us in our strike," Secretary of Maharashtra Association Resident Doctors Ajay Oswal told PTI here.

Oswal said adding the doctors had not heard from any government authority on their demands, which include an increase in the stipend and a decrease in the doctor patient ratio. (PTI)

Lucknow: In a show of strength after being jolted by desertion in its ranks in the wake of the Allahabad High Court verdict on rebel BSP MLAs, Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party on Thursday paraded 29 ministers, who along with 13 others had defected in 2003, before the media and sought disqualification of those who quit its fold.

On the other hand, BSP supremo Mayawati, upping the ante against Mualayam Singh Yadav Government, met Governor T V Rajeshwar and demanded its dismissal following the high court order derecognising the split in her party.

The 29 ministers, who are among the 40 BSP MLAs who had quit the party and later joined SP, were presented before the media by SP State general secretary and PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav at the Chief Minister official residence here.

Two of the 40 MLAs who joined SP in 2003 were disqualified by the court earlier while five including two ministers met the Uttar Pradesh Governor and returned to the parent party. S S Yadav claimed all the remaining 33 BSP rebel MLAs were with the government.

Asked about the absence of 4 MLAs, he said three ministers Nawab Kazim Ali, Kutubuddin Ansari and Virendra Bundela could not make it owing to personal commitments while Amar Mani Tripathi was currently in jail. Using carrot and stick in its strategy, Yadav claimed SP was in touch with the five breakaway MLAs, who had met the Governor and returned to BSP, and was pursuading them to come back and warned action under the anti-defection law could be taken against those leaving SP.

The SP also petitioned Assembly Speaker seeking disqualification of the five BSP rebel MLAs, Deputy Leader in the Assembly Ambika Chaudhary told reporters here. The SP's threat to its deserters came a day after Assembly Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey had said that he would examine if any petition regarding their disqualification is brought before him.Yadav said the government enjoyed support of 243 MLAs, including 15 of Congress, in the 403-strong Assembly.

Even as SP battled to keep its flock in tact, another BSP rebel MLA Ram Kishan, Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Development System Corporation with ministerial rank, on Thursday resigned saying he had "no moral right" to continue in the post after the Allahabad High Court judgement.

Three ministers--Jaiveer Singh, Surendra Vikram Singh and Dharam Pal Singh--who originally belonging to BSP, had resigned yesterday. BSP chief Mayawati met Governor Rajeswar and urged him to start the proceedings of dismissing the state government which has been "reduced to a minority" following the Allahabad High Court decision. She also termed the trust vote won by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in the Assembly on February 28 as "illegal and immoral."

"The trust vote won by the Yadav government by 207 to nil in the 403-member House earlier this week is unconstitutional as it included the votes of 40 BSP MLAs who had been reverted to their parent party through the High Court verdict and the government is clearly in minority now and hence needed to be dismissed," Mayawati said in a memorandum submitted to the Governor.

Meanwhile, Mulayam Singh Yadav alleged at a rally in Delhi that Congress was conspiring to pull down his government and impose President's rule in UP. (PTI)

The petition alleged that the brigand had first been killed by the Special Task Force, set up by Tamil Nadu police to capture him, but shown as gunned down in an encounter.Stating that her allegations were devoid of merit, the court said she had not provided material in support of her contention.

Allowing an appeal by the state government, the bench set aside a single judge order, issued in February 2005, directing the Revenue Divisional Officer, Dharmapuri, to hold an enquiry into the death of the outlaw and register a case. In February last year, Justice K P Sivasubramaniam had directed the RDO to complete the enquiry into the encounter death of Veerappan within a month and to register an FIR thereafter. The order was, however, later stayed. (PTI)

The railway authorities have ordered a probe into the incident, they said. (PTI)

New Delhi: The visit of the US President on Thursday stirred a hornet's nest in Parliament with RJD, a key UPA constituent, joining outside supporters Left, SP and BSP in the protest amid demands for taking both Houses into confidence over pacts inked by the two countries.

While the issue of the agreement reached between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and George W Bush did not figure in the Upper House, which returned to normal business after an adjournment during Question Hour, the matter was raised by agitated Left members in the Lok Sabha. RJD's Raghunath Jha and Ram Kripal Yadav said in Lok Sabha that Iran and Iraq were old friends of India and their party associates with the Left in protests against the visit.

Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' (JD-U) sought to embarrass allies and constituents of the UPA saying they should withdraw support to Government if they were serious in the matter and accused them of indulging in mere "shadow boxing". He said the JD-U too opposed the visit.

"Naturally, the Prime Minister will come to Parliament and tell what has happened," he said.

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister dismissed a Left charge that there was a tacit understanding between Congress and BJP over the visit and asserted the Congress was second to none in fighting imperialism and colonialism. After Dasmunsi's response, the House resumed discussion on the Railway Budget.

Earlier, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 1400 hours, minutes after it met this morning as SP and Left members protested vociferously against the visit, raising slogans like "Go back, Bush; Go back, Bush". It was the same story in the Rajya Sabha which had to be adjourned till noon shortly after it met for the day as slogan-chanting Left and SP members demanded suspension of Question Hour to discuss withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.

As soon as the Upper House met, SP members demanded an apology from the Prime Minister for receiving Bush at the airport. Members of AIADMK, IUML and TDP also protested. (PTI)

Giving details of the legislation, Deora said it provided for statutory status to the regulator and contained certain specific provisions for the gas sector. The Bill is aimed at regulating refining, processing, storage, transportation, distribution, marketing and sale of petroleum and gas products, the Minister said.

He said the legislation, which has incorporated 47 of the 49 recommendations made by a Parliamentary Standing Committee, had been brought to protect the interest of consumers and entities engaged in petroleum and gas activities.It would help in ensuring uninterrupted and adequate supply of petroleum and gas in the country besides promoting competitive markets, he said.

The Opposition on Thursday slammed the Railway budget saying it had failed to address the safety aspect and had overlooked needs of the common man. Participating in the resumed discussion on the Railway budget, BJP's Laxminarayan Pandey said it had failed to spell out steps to address the safety aspect. "Security on trains is one of the biggest issues for passengers. But the budget makes no mention of this," he said. (PTI)

Babugarh (UP): The Indian Army has produced the subcontinent's first horse foal by developing equine embryo transplant technology (ETT) in the country. The healthy baby stallion, born last month by embryo transfer technology, was named 'Army Pride-Gaurav' by Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman in the Equine Breeding Stud (EBS) here on Thursday.

In 2005, under the leadership of Commandant of the EBS, Col Deepak Badial, research was conducted by Lt Col Devender Kumar and the embryo transplant technology developed for the first time in the Indian subcontinent. The procedure for ETT is very technical and requires quite hygenic conditions, Lt Col Devender Kumar told reporters. By this technology, in 2005 EBS Babugarh achieved 38 pregnancies in mares at fertility rate comparable to the natural service and got the first foal 'Army Pride-Gaurav' last month.

For the birth of 'Gaurav', a stallion named 'Passion' was selected to fertilise a mare of selected breed. Later, the embryo from that mare was transplanted into the other mare for growth and birth, the RVC officer added. Commending this leap of Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) as a''much needed fillip to equine breeding,'' Lt Gen Pattabhiraman said by this a major ''hurdle'' has been crossed (to get the quality breeds of horses in the country). (UNI)

New Delhi: It was Laura Bush's day out on Thursday and the US first lady made the best of it -- interacting with Indian muppets and imparting maths lessons. As President George W Bush negotiated ticklish issues with the Indian leadership, his wife packed a lot in a hectic schedule that included visit to spastic and homeless. "Terrific" is the word Laura used to sum up her day that included the grand ceremonial at Rashtrapati Bhavan, a visit to the Samadhi of Mahatama Gandhi, a TV studio that produces programme for pre-school children, a institute of juvenile justice and Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.

Breaking away from the Presidential entourage, Laura made her first lone appearance at a studio in Film City, Noida where she met with the characters of Indian version of the famous American cartoon serial Sesame Street and participated in the shoot of one of the episodes. Not minding the take or re-takes, the US First Lady was a sport while acting with the lead characters of the serial 'Chamki' and though novice at acting, she knew how to charm cameramen whom she obliged at every venue by providing enough photo opportunities.

Describing how her daughters had grown up enjoying the famous serial in America, she hoped the Indian version will have the same impact on the kids of this country. Sesame Tree is a pre-school educational programme where teaching is done through methods of fun.Making a next stop at the Prayas' Institute of Juvenile Justice, the First Lady, who interacted with the homeless and slum children, replied to host of questions and admitted that there was "a little bit" of discrimination between the men and women in United States also.

On whether there were kids like them who could not afford education, Laura said, "Sure, there are children in the US who cannot afford education." But she also mentioned that there were public schools for them and as per law education was compulsory for all in America.

Laura, who was welcomed at the institute in a traditional Rajasthani way, was so taken by the emotions that she kept calling the children, who were preparing for the event for days, for photographs with her. After sharing official lunch, hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, with her President husband, Laura once again continued with her own programme by making a stop-over at "Jeevan Jyoti", Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity-run home for disabled and spastic children.

Though for these kids even uttering a simple word is a daunting task, but they made Laura tap her feet on their songs for which Laura left messages of love in their notebooks. A moving experience for everyone, including first lady's personal staff, the kids at "Jeevan Jyoti" tried to get the attention of Laura by presenting her with various paper-made cuttings for which she kept thanking them. The home is dedicated to caring for youngsters with a range of physical and emotional disabilities. And before winding-up her day's activities, Laura, the first lady to accompany US President on his official trip, never forgetted to thank everyone for making it "terrific". (PTI)

Mr Lapang raised the issue of transfer of land for projects like construction of road-cum-flyover from MG road, extension of parking lot at Luckier Road, widening and improvement of junction near Anjalee Cinema Hall, shifting of sweepers' colony and construction of approach road to Khlieh Iewduh Parking lot.Mr Lapang informed the committee that necessary proposals regarding the requirement of land would be provided to the Army authorities for their consideration.

The Committee informed that as per Ministry's policy, land which Ministry of Defence agrees to give to the State government in return thereof, land of equal value would be required to be transferred by the State government to the Army. Later talking to newsmen, Major General Nanda said that the State government was yet to come out with a proposal regarding the requirement of land.

"We have suggested the Chief Minister to send a detailed proposal mentioning specific areas required for public purpose so that the matter could be pursued with the Defence Ministry," the GOC said adding that Mr Lapang assured to send a proposal within a month's time.

It may be mentioned that Mr Lapang during one of his trip to New Delhi, took up the issue with the Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Mr Lapang was even assured by Mr Mukherjee that the Defence ministry would consider the request. The High Powered Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Defence following the request from the State Government on the issue of optional management of land in view of urban expansion around Shillong Cantonment.

The Chief Minister was assisted by Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Donkupar Roy, Home Minister, Mr HDR Lyngdoh, Urban Affairs Minister, Mr Friday Lyngdoh, Chief Secretary and senior officials of the State government. Major General A K Nanda, GOC 101 Area was accompanied by Brigadier VK Srivastava and others.

SHILLONG: An earth quake of moderate intensity measuring 5.3 at the Richter scale rocked the state at 10.47 pm on Thursday.Upper Shillong Meteorological Observatory said that the epicentre of the quake was in the latitude 24.4 degree north and longitude 94.0 degree east. The quake was also felt Manipur and Myanmar border region.

SHILLONG: A battered body was recovered from a jungle at Forest colony opposite MeSEB head Office, Lumjingshai on Thursday morning. The body, yet to be identified, was completely bare and bore several injury marks. The victim appears to be labourer. Police suspect that miscreants dumped the body after killing him on Wednesday night.

SHILLONG: The house of one Gopikar Anchand Dey at Lumparing was gutted partially when a fire broke out from the kitchen of his tenant on Thursday afternoon. There was no casualty. Sources said that the people of Lumparing locality brought the fire under control before the arrival of the fire brigade.

SHILLONG: Concerned at the spat of terror strikes in the North-East, a meeting will be held here on Friday to chalk out an action plan and better co-ordination among various intelligence agencies in the country.Official sources on Thursday said that the representatives from various intelligence agencies of the country would take part in the meeting scheduled to be held at BSF headquarter.

The officials from Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB), Assam Rifles, CRPF, BSF and others will also take part.The issues like insurgency scenario in the North-East, cross border movement of militants and infiltrators and law and order problems would figure in the meeting.

SHILLONG: Though all is not well within the MDA since a section of Congress MLAs still insist for a change of leadership, the Secretary of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) and the MDA Mr Charles Pyngrope has said that the multi-party coalition will complete it full term under the leadership of Chief Minister DD Lapang.

Talking to newsmen after a meeting of the MDA MLAs held at the residence of Mr Lapang here on Thursday, Mr Pyngrope said that the MDA partners expressed confidence in the leadership of Mr Lapang. When pointed out to the signature campaign reportedly launched by some Congress MLAs seeking a change in the leadership, Mr Pyngrope, while ruling out any such move, said that the MDA would complete its full term.

Referring to Thursday's meeting, he said that the MDA wanted to ensure that the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues were not humiliated in the Assembly during coming Budget session like in the past when the government's move to construct Assembly building at Mawdiangdiang was rejected.

The Congress leaders namely R G Lyngdoh, E D Marak, MI Sirkar, Irene Lyngdoh, Nithuram Hajong, Zenith Sangma and Boldness Nongum were absent while Mr BG Momin of UDP also failed to attend the meeting. 

NCP flayed: The Congress has criticised the NCP for playing an "opportunistic politics" in approaching both the Congress and other coalition partners to form an alternative government. "The NCP, on one hand, has sent feelers to join hands with the Congress to form a government and at the same time the party has also approached the regional parties to have an alliance," Mr Pyngrope revealed.

He said that despite the efforts of such forces, the MDA resolved that the present coalition would continue till 2008.

Delimitation: The MDA meeting also discussed the delimitation of Assembly constituencies. Mr Pyngrope said that the government hoped to have new delimited constituencies in the state by 2008. "After delimitation out of the two constituencies of East Khasi Hills one might go to West Khasi Hills and another to Ri Bhoi. There will not be any change in the constituencies of Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills," he added.

SHILLONG: The Congress-led multi-party coalition Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) completes three years in office on March 4, devoid of much to write home about.Despite its claim to improved law and order situation, Centre's decision on IIM, implementation of RTI, efforts to complete NEIGRIHMS and beautification of Police Bazaar are the plus points, the coalition hardly has anything tangible to show.

Its failure in tackling MBOSE issue, urban oriented development, lack of concentration on human resource development and inability to complete pending projects including Assembly building and Shillong bypass were other drawbacks of the MDA, are some of the glaring drawbacks of the MDA, feel a cross section.

According to Rev PB Basaiawmoit, "human resource development is very much lacking, the government need to vocationally prepare the people. This has been lacking in successive governments of the state." Sensing that the government's interest in privatising corporations, he suggested that instead of inviting MNC, the system should be made as such that the people of the state can buy shares and also have a sense of ownership.

"With its adhocism and populism strategy, the state government and its planning board has never released any report stating their five year or annual plan for the development of the state", Rev Basaiawmoit pointed out. 

According to opposition MLA Mr Edmund Sangma, the MDA government is a "non-performing government. In spite of the stability provided by the amendment of the Tenth Schedule, they could not do anything for the benefit of the state".

Acknowledging the one achievement - the IIM, Mr Sangma felt that 'more could have been done especially with the Congress being both in the Centre and the state. In spite of that they "failed miserably in handling the border dispute with Assam and Bangladesh", he said.

Defending the coalition, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Donkupar Roy felt that the road network and bridges in rural areas are a big achievement of the MDA government. He said, "we have achieved quite a lot in rural development - roads and bridges especially in rural areas is almost everywhere."

Dr Roy said, "despite the setback in power generation, the coverage of rural electrification is increasing." According to him, the MBOSE problem was for a short period of time but now it is "not a problem anymore". MPCC president OL Nongtdu was of view that "in a coalition, one cannot get desired results. There are many hassles in coalition."

"Targeted schemes and projects cannot be fully fulfilled in coalition government - the functioning of the coalition government is not the same as that of a single party", the State Congress chief said.

However, Mr Nongtdu said the achievements of the MDA government include the Kolkata Meghalaya House, solving the Crowborough problem and developing eco-tourist parks.

Uni adds from Imphal: Reports of death of dogs in Bishenpur district of Manipur, specially near Loktak lake where a large number of migratory birds come, has caused panic throughout the State. Veterinary officials said no case of bird flu was detected and all samples sent to Bhopal had tested negative. Forest and Veterinary officials had started a campaign to create awareness about the disease.

Earlier, the import of poultry products was banned and strict vigilance maintained at all border areas. Manipur shares border with Myanmar and strict vigil was being kept at Moreh, the entry point from Myanmar.

Shillong: The Khasi Hills District Autonomous Council has effected a major reshuffle in the administrative set up and allocated portfolios amongst the Members of the Executive Committee. As per official notification here on Thursday, the Chief Executive Member H S Shylla will take charge of the General Administration, Personnel, Finance and any other departments not allotted to any member.

Forest and Environment, Planning, Jhum Control, Trade (Ri Bhoi District) departments had been entrusted to Deputy Chief Executive Member W Mynsong while Executive Member R V Lyngdoh would be in charge of Development Trade (East Khasi Hills District) and Enforcement, Council Affairs, Law and Legal matters.

M Nongrem, Executive Member, will take charge of Elaka Administration (West Khasi Hills District), Revenue Collections, Social Customs.

F M Mawphlang, Executive Member, will look after Elaka Administration (East Khasi Hills District), Resource Mobilisation, Inter Elaka Boundary Dispute.

J T S Thongni, Executive Member, will take charge of Land, Trade (West Khasi Hills District), Marriage and Divorce, Mr C B Syiem (Executive Member) will hold the Elaka Administration (Ri BHoi District), Council Buildings, Cash Crop Development including Rubber Plantation.

Dr P W Khongjee (Executive Member) will look after the Health, Mines and Mineral, Information Technology, Cadastral Survey.

Sanbor Shullai (Executive Member) will be in charge of Taxation including Professional Tax, Labour Service Licenses, Information and Public Relation.

Mr Blah has been appointed as the incharge of Markets, Education, Town Committees, Administration, Waste Land Development, Youth Affairs, and lastly, Mr S Rashir (Executive Member) will take charge of Transport, Fisheries, Arts and Culture, Public Health and Sanitation.

Shillong: Nongspung MLA John Anthony Lyngdoh has informed that as per the assurance of MBOSE Executive Chairman, Nongspung Higher Secondary School will be one of the centres to hold the SSLC Examination from next year.

The permission is provisional and subject to the fulfillment of the terms and conditions required by the Board. The examination will be conducted strictly as per the rules and regulations of the Board.

Other centres that will conduct the examinations are: Mawryngkneng Secondary School, Smit Higher Secondary School, District Pyndensohsaw Presbyterian Secondary School, Dangar, St Jerome Secondary School, Nongmynsong, Amwi Secondary School, Thangbuli, Zekabari Secondary School, Zekabari, and Monabari Secondary School, Monabari.

At long last Mr PJ Bazeley has set all wagging tongues to rest. The 'will he or won't he retire'… questions that were popping up like an unwanted advertisement on the internet have now been mowed down by an anti-virus. Otherwise we were all waiting for another showdown between the irascible Mr Lapang who very uncharacteristically organized a farewell for his chief secretary at his residence. Quite unprecedented this one! But then we must all grant it to Mr Lapang for his knack to identify and pick up a potential candidate for the Congress party come 2008.

Mr Bazeley, it is rumoured is being cheered on to jump into the bandwagon of state politics, now that he is truly retired. Letters appearing in the press have commended his incredible intelligence and asked why an officer of Khasi-Jaintia origin who is twice blest with a surpassing intellect should be asked to retire on attaining superannuation? The gentleman does have his cheerleaders one would say and that is why it is possible he might contest the forthcoming elections not from one constituency - Laban where he is residing, but also from his native place Sutnga in Jaintia Hills. Well, we wish Mr Bazeley in whatever new assignment he chooses to take up.

A more fortunate officer who has his career chalked out before his actual retirement is Mr GP Wahlang, the present Information Commissioner. He will probably hold that post for as long as "NGOs" desire him to. After all Meghalaya is the world's smorgasbord for NGOs. You can take your pick. But Mr Wahlang was not hankering for that job. He has been an avid strawberry farmer with a flair for making strawberry wine. His hands would have been full anyways. Strawberry has huge market potentials so the demand would have kept Mr Wahlang on his toes. It might be recalled that the Agriculture Department of Meghalaya developed a clear-cut vision with Mr GP Wahlang as Principal Secretary. When he speaks and thinks of action plans he knows what he is talking about and is not flying kites. His efforts have been boosted by yet another go getter, Mr KN Kumar who has pulled all the stops to make the department a happening one.

Coming to the MeSEB it is rather curious that the incoming Chief Secretary, Mr SK Tiwari was not considered fit to chair the corporation. Does this portend that somebody important will still cast his long shadow over the Corporation, post retirement? Or is it to create space for a remote controlling of sorts. Seems rather suspicious this move. It will be good to wait and watch what happens to the Meghalaya Electricity Corporation in its new avatar.

Another very welcome news is the reshuffle in the bureaucracy. At last the indispensable Mr SS Gupta is finally bidding goodbye to his favourite department - Social Welfare. But Mr Gupta still has the blessings of political godfathers. So he continues holding charge of Industries, Mineral Resources and MCCL. Some bureaucrats do have the hang of things in Meghalaya better than the locals do. They know what makes politicians tick. This is a trick of the trade which few have mastered. Those who have done so have made it in life!

Another new beginning in Meghalaya is the war on grammar that is raging in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council. Thank God for that. Too often too many important people have got away with slandering the English language to bits. That too in public. They do not care what comes out so long as they are saying something. True, English is neither our mother or father tongue. But having adopted the language officially it is incumbent upon the user to astutely use it without too many howlers, by taking the help of the dictionary. The turf war in the KHADC is however, goes beyond the pale of English Grammar. It is about political rivalry gone berserk. Otherwise one finds typos in the best of government documents and those are either corrected or rewritten. Never was there a parliamentary debate on the use or non-use of a conjunction. I would say that Mr BM Lanong was merely specialising in his favourite pastime of filibustering.

The Marriage Bill does seem to have run into rough weather in the District Council. Now that the KHADC wants the Rangbah Shnong to become the official marriage registrars it would imply that marriage certificates can be thumb impressioned. What else would an illiterate Rangbah Shnong do? Would the Supreme Court accept that certificate as a legit piece of document? Doubtful. So Mr HS Shylla who is the architect of the Bill does seem to have been a bit hasty in handing over such an important role to the Rangbah Shnong.

Surprisingly, the Churches too seem to have a grouse against the proposed Bill. Is this a resistance to something new and innovative which is usually anathema to the church? Sometimes the familiar becomes a comfort zone from which people are afraid to move away. The KHADC is a radical piece of document and it merits a thorough, intelligent discussion not just by the councilors but by academics and legal eagles. The Bill is not just about political bipartisanship. It involves people's lives and their futures. Hence it cannot be passed in a hurry. In fact the Bill calls for a wider public debate now that the Supreme Court has also stepped into the ring and given its own piece of ruling.

One other new entrant into the Collector's office is Mr Pankaj Jain an Infotech whiz kid of sorts. Apparently Mr Jain was involved in an IT programme for Bangladesh. Reason? Meghalaya does not have need of IT wizards since the much-touted IT Park remains a distant dream. Dr Mukul Sangma used to wax eloquent about the IT Park you could almost see it coming out of the clouds. But that is yet another pipe dream for one has heard or seen nothing that remotely resembles an information technology park. But Mr Jain will sure have his hands full as the DC Shillong. What remains to be seen is whether he will play by the rules or innovate and challenge himself each day.

Mr DP Wahlang, former DC, Shillong was a multi-tasker running from his office to the Shillong Municipal Corporation (until he was shunted out for obvious reasons) then to the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum to adjudicate on consumer cases. On Saturdays he would slog at the Shillong So-operative Urban Bank which had almost become defunct. Wahlang has brought the bank up to a fairly respectable level and reversed the red ink substantially. Over and above that the former DC undertook some novel tourism projects in his district. But what is most creditable is his role as law keeper. Despite all the challenges he faced during the MBOSE saga, Wahlang kept his cool and the storm blew over. The Collectors of Tura and Williamnagar were not so lucky.

So here we are with a new set of bureaucrats. With this new team Meghalaya moves on to a new era in the third month of the new year. New brooms sweep well or so the saying goes. We can only wish the new team the very best and hope they sweep the cobwebs of sleaze and stench out and away from the corridors of power.

The other night I had over for dinner an old British colleague out here on a visit. I asked him about his only daughter whom I remembered as a lovely little child when her father and I were working in the same company. "I suppose she's married now", I said, "and has raised a family". "No family", said my friend, "and not married. She's been living for the past few years with a man and she seems quite happy".

He said this without the slightest trace of embarrassment. That was a westerner speaking, but there are some very sensible people in our own country who are inclined to question St Paul's dictum, 'It is better to marry than to burn'.

We, as parents in other parts of the world, must face the fact that to many young people marriage has begun to appear as an anachronistic flight from reality. There are young people who simply can't afford to get married. If, being in love, they allow their natural instincts to get the better of their conventional upbringing, are we to condemn them?

And there are couples who, having failed to make a go of their marriage, find it difficult to obtain a divorce because of certain archaic laws. Are they to remain tied to each other or should they openly flaunt the accepted norm and live in 'sin' with some other partner? I am not making a plea for promiscuity or loose living. I am fully conscious of the fact that where children are concerned, divorce is not a step that can be taken lightly. I have seen far too many young people with problems and complexes that have risen because they come from broken homes.

On the other hand, it is not unreasonable to ask if these children would have been happier living with parents who were making only a pretence of marriage while spending most of their time fulminating against each other in the presence of their children. The young people of today are far more perceptive of the faults and weaknesses of their parents than we were at their age. Given the chance, they would show a surprisingly deep understanding of the emotional conflicts that their parents occasionally have to undergo. (By arranegement with The Times of India)

Sir,

The article "Is India's noisy democracy upsetting America" by Amulya Ganguli (ST, Feb 28) is very interesting. Adding Greece to the third 'Noisy' group along with India would be appropriate. In Greece they are a noisy democracy and have yet to forgot the support of the military dictatorship by Washington DC.

During the Bangladesh crisis Mr. Henry Kissinger the then Secretary of State in the Nixon administration asked China to attack India so as to relieve the pressure on Pakistan. Was that request to China a Communist country to attack India a democracy in the name of "Cold War"?

Whether India is a counter force to China in the interest of Washington D.C. remains to be seen. However the arm-twisting will continue so long as Washington D.C. can get away with it.

Yours etc,
Kartik Das,
Minneapolis, MN. USA.

Sir,

The letter 'Paying the price' (ST, Feb 23), is shocking. On behalf of the Stephen-Hall authority I would like to clarify the name of the writer does not exist in the list of boarders. It seems that the author might be one of the culprits who is not ready to follow the rules and regulations of the hostel. And his real intension might be to tarnish the image of the Stephen Hall as well as the dignity of St,Anthony's College, Shillong.

The author has put a big question mark that where all the money, which was being collected a penalty spent. The Warden utilised that money to put up a computer lab in the hostel and the same would be completed within a few months.

Yours etc,
Gailiang (Xavier) Gonmei
Captain Stephen Hall Shillong
Via e-mail

Sir,

While framing US President Bush’s programme in Delhi, Union government should have kept in mind board-examinations in the city started from 1st March. In the hectic tension-filled examination-days, students and their parents had to waste precious pre-examination hours roaming from one road to other to reach to the venue of their examinations on 2nd March because of Bush’s various programmes in Delhi. It may be recalled that the then Deputy Prime Minister LK Adwani had felt regret on similar inconvenience to Delhi students when his visit to adjoining Noida had put student-examinees in similar trouble.

A super-luxurious five-starred hotel of status of accommodating an US president should be set up in vicinity of Indira Gandhi Airport at New Delhi to be a favourite place of stay for hi-fi foreign dignitaries for causing least of inconvinience to users of roads in the capital. Such a hotel can be either in private or public sector. It was not good that government overlooked winding of Hotel Centaur once this public-sector hotel was auctioned under policy of Disinvestment.

Yours etc,
Madhu Agrawal
New Delhi

"We are committed to finding a political solution to our problem despite the army unleashing a reign of terror in the state and stepping up operations against us which is against the spirit of the ongoing talks," the rebel statement said.

Both the Assam and the central government have been reiterating that the ULFA must agree for a ceasefire before direct talks with the rebel leadership. "Our guns will automatically fall silent once the government tries to resolve the problem politically," the ULFA said.

The rebel group, fighting for an independent homeland since 1979, had in October last year nominated an 11-member People's Consultative Group (PCG), a team of prominent civil society members, to begin peace talks with New Delhi. (IANS) The ULFA representatives and government peace emissaries held two rounds of talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chairing the first meeting held in New Delhi Oct 26. Singh later said he was ready to discuss "all issues relating to the ULFA".

The PCG had earlier threatened to pull out of talks with New Delhi, accusing the military of stepping up counter-insurgency operations despite the government peace emissaries during talks last month assured of "confidence building measures". "The military operations must stop and we expect the government to create a congenial atmosphere for the talks. Or else we shall not sit for talks," PCG member Dilip Patgiri said. (IANS)

NEW DELHI: While Megha-laya Transport Minister Ms Deborah C Marak is crying foul about the Centre not giving enough attention to the state and the North Eastern region in the Railway Budget, the Railway Ministry has held Meghalaya government squarely responsible for the latter's inability to provide land for the Dudhnoi-Depa BG line.

"The Meghalaya Government could not make land available for the Dudhnoi-Depa project," a statement from the Ministry said. The Railway line would have connected Meghalaya with the rest of the country through this line.

"The State government has approached with an alternative proposal for connecting Guwahati to Byrnihat," the statement said.

The Railway Budget has drawn criticism from all quarters for neglecting the N-E states.

According to the letter available with Power Department, the Union Power Ministry has also decreased power share of Mizoram from 16 percent to 6 percent. Tripura Power Minister Manik Dey on Thursday vehemently protested the move of the Power Ministry and sought reversal of the decision to slash down power share for the State. He alleged that the decision was taken to shield the Tarun Gogoi Government in the wake of the serious power shortage in Assam.

"The State Government has sought the Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to release more power for the State," he said.

Earlier in the day, political parties tried to convince the voters on the last day of campaigning by organising rallies and road shows in different parts of the poll-bound districts.Security has also been beefed up as officials said that 50 polling stations were identified as "very vulnerable" while 12 booths were treated as vulnerable out of total 189 in Dhalai District.

Guwahati: The ruling Congress party in Assam on Thursday said it would fight next month's Assembly elections under a collective leadership and not project anybody as its chief ministerial candidate. "We have decided to fight the elections under a collective leadership and not in the name of one single individual,' Bhubaneswar Kalita, the head of the state unit of Congress, told journalists. 'No one is going to be projected as our chief ministerial candidate."

The Congress, which won 71 seats in the 2001 elections, also said it would contest a majority of the seats on its own. "We might go for an alliance with some Bodo political party. We are keeping the options open," Kalita said. The selection of candidates for the polls would be done on the basis of reports from grassroots leaders across the state. 'We will put up winning candidates and our party is sure of coming back to power again,' Kalita said. (IANS)

Justice T Nk Singh, on a writ petition filed by Vikas's father, prohibited the police from interfering with the ceremony. Meanwhile, the police said a cadre of United National Liberation Front was apprehended by Assam Rifles and explosives were recovered from him on Wednesday. (UNI)

"As the first phase of the Assembly elections in Assam will be held on April 3, it has been decided to postpone the national executive meeting in Guwahati", party spokesman Arun Jaitley announced here after a meeting of the party General Secretaries. He said the meeting would now be held in May and the date and venue for the same would be announced later. (PTI)

Agartala: A retired headmaster and his son-in-law have been rescued by the Border Security Force (BSF) from the clutches of suspected insurgents of the banned National Liberation Front Of Tripura (NLFT) in a border village of West Tripura district.

Police said on Thursday that a group of about seven insurgents armed with automatic weapons yesterday broke into the house of one Ramcharan Debbarma, a retired headmaster of a senior school on Tuesday night at Parshuram village and manhandled him and his son-in-law. The ultras then forced Ramcharan and his son-in-law to accompany them in two motor cycles which they took from the house and drove towards Chargharia, the Indo-Bangla international border, three km from Parshuram.

When BSF challenged them at Chargharia, the ultras opened fire and the BSF jawans also retaliated and after a 10-minute encounter the ultras managed to sneak into Bangladesh territory. The BSF later rescued the two persons and recovered the stolen motor cycles. (PTI)