News of 20th May 2007
National | Shillong | International | Editorial | Regional | Sports
Purno not in Presidential race
Indore:
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma on Saturday denied that he was in the race for the President.As political parties deliberate on the next President, former Lok Sabha Speaker said that incumbent A P J Abdul Kalam deserves a second term as he has brought a lot of prestige and honour to the post.
"In my personal opinion, Kalam deserves a second term in the country's highest office as he is not only an intellectual, renowned scientist and a man of principles, but he has also brought lot of prestige and honour to the post. He has done an excellent job in his term as President," Mr Sangma said.
He said in a coalition set up, it was always better to discuss important issues among the constituents and then should come forward with an alternative.
However, in a coalition set up, "just being a deserving candidate is not a criterion," he said.
"The courtesy and culture of coalition demands that the issue be discussed among the constituents," Sangma said when asked why his party NCP was not coming out openly in favour of Kalam. He also clarified that even the name of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was not discussed so far among the constituents for the top job and the CPI-M's view in this regard was their own.
When asked whether he is in the race for the top post, Sangma said: "Luck is an important factor in one's life. You need to have luck to reach such posts".
Speaking on the recently-concluded Budget Session, Mr Sangma that passing of law without discussion in Parliament within five minutes was not proper. Every political party must understand its responsibility, he underlined.
He said foreign origin issue against Congress president Sonia Gandhi still loomed large and he was firm on his stand. (Agencies)
ICSE, ISC results announced, pass percentages up
NEW DELHI:
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) on Saturday declared Class 10 (ICSE) and Class 12 (ISC) examination results.While 97.96 per cent of candidates appearing for the Class X exams were successful, the pass percentage for Class XII was 96.96 per cent, Sangita Bhatia, assistant secretary of CISCE said.
"While Class X results have improved by 1.96 per cent point in comparison to the previous year, in Class XII, nearly 3.5 per cent more students qualified the exam compared to the previous year," Bhatia said.
In Class X, girls did better than boys. While 98.53 per cent girls passed the exams, among boys 97.51 per cent were successful.
Around 90,000 students appeared for the Class X exams and 44,000 for Class 12 exams across the country. Nearly 1,500 schools are affiliated with the CISCE. (PTI)
India, China to hold jt military exercise
New Delhi:
Seeking to bring their military to military relations to a new high, India and China may soon hold their first-ever joint military exercise-- an anti-terrorism manoeuvre, Army Chief General J J Singh said here on Saturday."I am going to propose the holding of such manoeuvres," Army Chief told PTI on the eve of his departure for Beijing on a week-long visit as the head of a tri-service delegation. (PTI)
CBI chargesheet on Nithari killing
Ghaziabad:
Bailing out Moninder Singh Pandher again, CBI on Saturday filed its fifth charge sheet in the Nithari serial killings of women and children against his domestic help Surinder Koli for raping and murdering a 14-year old girl.This is the first case from where the gory series of criminal activities of Koli began and the 14-year-old Rimpa Halder was his first victim whom he allegedly kidnapped, raped and later killed. She was also the first victim whose flesh he had eaten after killing her. (PTI)
Oxford apologises for Bangalore-Bengali goof-up
Bangalore: The venerable Oxford University Press (OUP) has apologised for the blunders it had committed on the origin and name of Bangalore and Bengalis in its 2005 edition dictionary and has frozen the sale of the copies.
"OUP is deeply sorry about the errors that have been brought to our attention...We have frozen the stock of the book and stopped selling the same from our warehouses and will be pulping the remaining copies," OUP said in a statement Saturday.
The apology came hours after the Karnataka government sent a letter to OUP pointing out the serious errors in the publication.
In the wake of apology protests planned against OUP here on Monday have been called off.
The Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Place Names, 2005, has turned the history of both Bangalore and Bengalis upside down. According to it, Bangalore is "a city which takes its name from the fact that it was founded as a mud fort in 1537 by Kempe Gowda, a local chief of Hoysala Kingdom, in an area where the population spoke mainly Bengali. Bengalis took their name from a local chief called Benga." First, Kempe Gowda, the local chieftain who built Bangalore, was born some 200 years after the Hoysala dynasty had ended.
There are several versions on how the name Bangalore came into existence. The most popular is that it is derived from 'Benda Kalu Ooru" (boiled beans city). Legend has it that an elderly woman offered boiled beans to a tired king who was passing through the area and he named the place 'Benda Kalu Ooru'. It has been anglicised to make it Bangalore. Apart from the 200-odd year gap between the rule of Kempe Gowda and the Hoysala dynasty, it is surprising how the editor of the dictionary John Everett-Heath found it convincing that Bengali was spoken in this area and the Bengalis got their name from a chief called Benga, say historians. (IANS)
KSU
opposes uranium hearing By Our Reporter SHILLONG:
Student
body threatens agitation
Addressing newsmen here on Saturday, KSU president Samuel Jyrwa said that despite the government claiming from time to time that it was yet to take any decision on uranium mining, "but the truth is that it has engaged its various departments so that the NOC could be issued to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) at the earliest." "The move to organise this public hearing is one of such steps," Mr Jyrwa said.
The recent notification of the UCIL seeking applications for the posts of doctors and nurses to work at Wahkaji PHC was somewhat very confusing, he said adding "how can outside company take over the responsibility of the State government?".
He, however, said that if the government was serious about development of West Khasi Hills then the public hearing should be held by the State Planning Board not by the State Pollution Board.
The KSU leader also crticised the state government for its failure to find a solution to the influx problem. "The government-appointed committee on work permit is taking so much time to submit its recommendations," Mr Jyrwa rued adding that large number of foreigners were coming to the State everyday.
The KSU is also planning to meet Chief Minister DD Lapang in this regard.
No plan to change load shedding timing: MeSEB
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG:
The MeSEB has no plan to change the present timing for load shedding. Giving this indication, MeSEB Deputy General Manager Mr W L Lyngdoh and Superintending Engineer Mr T Passah on Saturday said "no direction has come to us in this regard".At present the water level at Umiam lake is 3175.5 feet. The maximum limit of the water level of the lake is 3220 feet. The load shedding will continue as this is just the pre monsoon rains; once the monsoon starts, there is hope to tide over the crisis.
It may be mentioned that the MeSEB and Nation Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) signed two agreements in the first week of this month to purchase power.
Meghalaya is purchasing 40 MW power from the NTPC's Kahalgoan plant in Bihar and another 21.24 MW would be supplied from NTPC's Farakka project in West Bengal, Talcher Kaniha in Orissa.
Mawkajem mishap toll mounts to 18
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The death toll in Friday's bus accident at Mawkajem has risen to 18 with the recovery of seven more bodies from the accident site on Saturday. The process of removing bodies continued till 3.30am on Saturday. But the ill-fated bus is yet to be pull out.
An official statement on Saturday said that out of 26 injured persons, who were brought to Shillong Civil Hospital, four succumbed to their injuries, two others were referred to Woodland Hospital for further treatment and one was released after the administration of first aid.
In Pynu-rsla Community Health Centre , 27 injured persons were admitted of which 10 were discharged after preliminary treatment and 7 were referred to Shillong.
Meanwhile, the state government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10,000 each to the families of those killed in the accident and Rs 5,000 each to the critically injured persons.
Meghalaya Chief Secretary R Chatterjee accompanied by East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Mr B Dhar on Saturday visited Civil Hospital here to enquire about the medical facilities provided to the injured. The Chief Secretary directed the hospital authorities to provide best possible medical care to the injured.
Condolence: Meanwhile, Governor B L Joshi, Chief Minister DD Lapang and Union Tribal Affair Minister PR Kyndiah have sent condolences to the families of victims of Friday bus accident at Mawkajem.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, the Governor while expressing sympathy and condolences to the bereaved families, wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Mr Lapang also expressed shock over the incident and wished speedy recovery to all those injured.
In a message, Mr Kyndiah also wished speedy recovery for the injured people of the ill fated bus. "My heart felt sympathy lies with the members of the bereaved families," he said
Meanwhile, the Lakyrdem Block Youth Congress also condoled the death.
Mawkhap mourning: Tragedy struck Mawkhap village with the Friday's accident claiming 7 persons from this village.
A pall of gloom descended on Mawkhap, 2 km beyond Mawkajem, as the villagers thronged the hamlet on Saturday.
A mother and one-year old child are among the victims of the bus accident from Mawkhap village.
Two killed in road mishaps
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG:
Two persons were killed in two separate accidents in the city on Saturday. A truck driver, identified as Sahadep Das of Tripura, was killed on the spot after the vehicle he was driving overturned at Laitkor on Saturday.In another incident one person was killed after the scooter (ML05 C 9224) he was driving skidded off the road at a place near NEEPCO in Saw Furlong. The deceased is identifed as Allanbert Kharsynteng (35) of Mawlai Mawiong.
Crematorium
By Our Reporter
Shillong: Meghalaya Urban Affairs Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Saturday said electric crematorium was scientific, environmental friendly and hygienic.
Commissioning the Rs.3.81 crore Centre-sponsored scheme Shillong Electric Crematorium here, Mr Lyngdoh said the people should not be reluctant to avail the facility to keep pace with development.
First electric crematorium of NE commisioned in city
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The first ever electric crematorium in the North-Eastern Region built at a cost of Rs 3.81 crore was commissioned by Urban Affairs Minister Paul Lyngdoh at a function held at the crematorium premises in Jhalupara on Saturday.
This new electric crematorium will take only around one hour for burning of the body completely. After burning, facility for collection of the ashes is also present. Considering the multi-religious fabric of Shillong City, two prayer halls with pulpits have also been constructed near the entrance of the cremation hall. All cremation related activities have been accommodated at one floor only.
Addressing the gathering during the inaugural function, Mr Lyngdoh said, "we are going through a period where the living and the dead are struggling for a space, adding that this newly constructed crematorium has come at the right time to ease this problem.
"The new crematorium has also provided the people of Shillong with an option to move away from the traditional method of cremation, and used this new system which is both scientific and eco-friendly," Mr Lyngdoh said. Moreover, he called upon the people from different sections of the society to join hands in making this new crematorium operational. Mr Lyngdoh added that the Urban Affairs department would ensure that the downtrodden and the economically handicapped are able to use the new crematorium without much difficulty. Meanwhile, adviser to Chief Minister Friday Lyngdoh said that with land getting scarce, he was sure that the Christian community would have to use this crematorium in the near future as this was one of the best solution.
Mawprem MLA Manas Chaudhuri lauded the Shillong Cantonment Board for providing the land to construct this crematorium and also the Urban Affairs department for making this project a reality.
Former Urban Affairs Minister James Marvin Pariat said that it was really a good feeling to see the project that was planned a decade ago was finally inaugurated on this day.
Another Former Urban Affairs Minister Roshan Warjri hoped that this project would go a long way in helping the people. She also hoped that the State government may allow the poor to use the crematorium free of cost. It may be mentioned that after bringing the body to the crematorium, necessary registration and other formalities would be carried out. This project that was funded by Union Ministry of Urban Development was started on August 5, 2005 and completed on August 5, 2006.
Medical assistance on a war footing inW Garo Hills
From Our Correspondent
TURA: Caught off guard by a malaria outbreak in Purakhasia which led to the death of several people, the government has gone into an overdrive pumping in doctors and medicines to the remote areas of West Garo Hills as part of its renewed fight against the disease.
The West Garo Hills district administration has through the National Rural Health Mission released a sum of one lakh rupees for each of its 24 health centres to purchase emergency medicnes and microscopes for dealing with malaria and diarrhoea cases. Funds have also been released to purchase paediatric medicines for children in the fight against malaria.
Chloroquine is no longer to be used as the first line of treatment against malaria due to the parasite's resistence to the drug. Doctors are to directly administer Artemesin based Combined Therapy (ACT), a more powerful and effective drug against PF malaria.
Coupled with that is an extensive anti-malaria drive in the form of health camps taking place in 24 regions of the district. Pharmacies are being restricted from selling over the counter drugs without a prescription and all fever cases must be screened with a blood test for malaria. Health workers have been asked to remain at their work stations and strict action is being contemplated for anyone found absent from their medical duties.
The condition of health services in the rural areas could be well gauged from Thursday's camp at Purakhasia where villagers from as many as seventy villages flocked to the health centre seeking medical attention and the six doctors who were present had a trying time.
Villagers carried in sixteen critical patients battling for their life against plasmodium falciparum (PF) malaria and doctors were able to save fifteen lives. Sadly, twelve-year-old Bardin Ch Sangma of Rochonpara village could not be saved and she died in front of those who had trekked so far to get her medical aid.
There have been as many as 1625 positive cases of PF malaria in the district during the last two months and the official death toll from the disease has been put at 44 casualties.
While lack of awareness among villagers on the dangers of malaria has been attributed as part of the cause for the outbreak, yet, Nokmas (village headman), ASHAs and members of the recently constituted Village Health and Sanitation Committees have been playing an important role in their respective areas. Many of the sick were brought to the camp by these grassroot vigilantees.
The district administration, which is monitoring the situation round the clock, has empowered the village committees to undertake extensive awareness drives against malaria. This includes a weekly cleaning day of the village, spraying of DDT, use of impregnated mosquito bednets, reporting and and bringing the sick to the health centres for treatment.
Though appreciative of the government's efforts to contain the disease, villagers wonder why so many lives had to be lost in the process.
They are also skeptical as to how long the government will keep a doctor in their area and are seeking a permanent posting.
State ready for JNNURM
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Urban Affairs Minister Paul Lyngdoh said that the Urban Affairs department was all geared up for the implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM) in the State.
Addressing the gathering at the inauguration function of the new electric crematorium here on Saturday, Mr Lyngdoh said that JNNURM is a flagship programme of the Union Ministry of Urban Development to improve the civic amenities and facilities of the various cities in the country.
"The department is hopeful that the Union Ministry will soon give the sanction of those projects under the JNNURM where the DPR has already been submitted" Mr Lyngdoh said.
Meanwhile, Mawprem MLA Manas Chaudhuri said that with the successful implementation of this project we would definitely see a new and improved city of Shillong in the next few years.
"Especially with seven years left for Shillong city to complete its 150th anniversary and this face lift of the city has added more meaning to it" Mr Chauduri said.
Fraud in the name of Reliance
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The Reliance Company official in the State has informed the various Customer Service Point in the city that the recharge voucher of Rs 150 has been totally stopped by the company, but surprisingly the retail shops are still selling the Rs 150 recharge voucher at twice the original price.
Some reporters caught red-handed one such shop -- New Communication, a retail shop of reliance recharge vouchers at Jhalupara selling the 150 recharge at a higher price.
When the employees of the shop were asked, they informed that they are getting the voucher from Communiqué, Police Bazaar.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, a representative of Wahlang Communications (a shop which runs a Reliance Company Customers Service Point) M SK Joshi said that the action on the part of the officials was uncalled for.
"By doing this, they cheated not only the people who run the CSP for the company, but also the customers," Mr Joshi said. He said that if the company officials continue with this kind of activities, then in no time the company would be thrown out of the State.
Meanwhile, the Reliance Company official refused to give any comments.
The SC acts
Judicial activism has come in for sharp criticism, but in most cases the Supreme Court takes a move in the right direction. Its directive on ragging in campuses is most welcome. Ragging is no longer the lark associated with British public schools, Oxford and Cambridge as described in English fiction, for instance in Evelyn Waugh’s ‘ Decline and Fall’. It is not a friendly kind of frivolity whereby freshers in academic institutions of repute in India are inducted into the student fraternity by senior students. The spirit of camaraderie is entirely missing. And no action is taken unless there is a death or a case of serious injury. Students who complain are so victimised by their seniors that some of them have to leave after all the travails that they have to go through to get admission. This particularly hurts the socially deprived. Some students even commit suicide. Out of 64 cases of severe ragging reported in the media between January 2005 and December 2006, 11 resulted in death, 10 attempted suicide and in 23 cases serious injury was sustained. The whole exercise has become a form of sadism. In 1999, a 21-year-old student in Tamil Nadu was murdered for resisting a senior’s attempt to rag him. Sexual abuse is also a common occurrence. It has become prevalent in the whole of India, especially at expensive institutions. The IITs are specially known for the practice. There was a heated controversy over ragging at IIT, Kharagpur in the 1970s but it blew over.
Why is it difficult to stop ragging? It is a sign of mounting violence in society. Another factor behind it is politicisation. The affiliation of some students and teachers to political parties makes them unassailable. Extra-academic authorities wield their clout. Student discipline has become a policing matter, sometimes dragged to courts. The college authorities are unable to expel guilty students if they have connections in high places. Why should it be necessary for the guardians to step in? The college authorities should be in a position to keep the academic atmosphere unpolluted. If ragging results in murder and rape, the court has to intervene. But why should such gruesome incidents take place? The apex court has now made it mandatory for colleges to file FIRs against students accused of ragging based on the recommendations made by the Raghavan Committee set up by the Union HRD ministry. The law forbids any form of torture but the authorities in the past tended to overlook even extreme cases. The media and cinema should also stop taking a light view of it. For instance, the ragging scene in a blockbuster like ‘ Munnabhai MBBS’ caused great amusement but did not show what awful repercussions it might have.
Pan-Indian politics to regionalism
By Kedar Nath Pandey
The trend began in Tamil Nadu and caught on in the east, west and the rest of the south. But is it possible that Uttar Pradesh, the centre of heartland politics, is also going regional with the "mainstream" parties pushed to the margins? Assembly polls in the state have narrowed down to virtually direct fights between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. After flashes of BJP brilliance in 1996, 1998 and 1999, the general elections seem to have taken the same route.
The 2004 verdict, which he Samajwadis and their allies 38 of the 80 seats and the BSP 19, seems to have set the stage for the latest outcome. Except that the mandate was turned upside down. Three years ago, the BJP won 10 seats and the Congress nine. It's almost a replay this time. Few foresee any major change in the pattern in the near future. Just as Tamil Nadu swing between the pro-Dravidian DMK and ADMK, Uttar Pradesh will perhaps see-saw from Mayavati to Mulayam Singh Yadav and back.
What does it mean for Indian politics? Across vast swathes north of the Vindhyas, regional outfits have gained the upper hand, or at least caught up with the "pan-Indian" parties - the ones with a presence in most states. This is regionalisation of the party system. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP and the Congress may be pushed further off centre-stage.
Bihar now alternates between the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. The National Conference and People's Democratic Party fight for the Kashmir Valley while the Congress and the BJP slug it out in Jammu and Ladakh. In Punjab and Assam, the Akali Dal and the Asom Gana Parishad factions have gained enough for the BJP to do sustained business with them. Maharashtra has the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
The CPM, confined mainly to Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, can perhaps qualify as a regional party, too. Add to that the Biju Janata Dal in Orissa and southern outfits such as the Telugu Desam Party and the Janata Dal (Secular), and the only islands of "pan-nationalism" left are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.
In a state that had become a euphemism for political fragmentation along sectarian lines, the BSP's unambiguous victory in the long, seven-phase election to the Uttar Pradesh assembly heralds a decisive break with the past. Whereas the pollsters had predicted a fractured mandate, leading to either President's Rule or a fragile coalition of expediency, the voters have opted for stability and reposed their faith in the leadership of Ms. Mayavati. Barring an unanticipated act of self-destruction, UP can now settle down to five-year continuity in governance that is neither marred by revolving-door arrangements nor the political blackmail of bit players. With some integrity, dynamism and luck, the country's largest state may now even play its part in bolstering the development indices.
For Ms. Mayavati, who views herself as the head of a social movement rather than merely of a political party, the victory is a monumental opportunity. In earlier elections, she leveraged her hold over Dalit voters to entice other parties into giving her tactical support. On this occasion, Ms. Mayavati used her unwavering core support to craft a new social coalition within the BSP. The Dalit-led caste alliance, which now includes a section of upper-caste Hindus and Muslims in a subordinate role, is an inverted replica of the Congress system, which dominated the politics of the Hindi heartland till 1989. So far, this sarvasamaj experiment, which led the BSP to shed its abrasive message of caste antagonism, has been confined to one state. However, if Ms. Mayavati succeeds in using UP as the springboard for the BSP's expansion into neighbouring states, it will lead to large-scale political convulsions.
The Congress is certain to be affected most by Ms. Mayavati's national ambitions, but, as the UP results clearly show, the Bharatiya Janata Party will be equally devastated by this enlarged Bahujan community.
Indeed, it was the pathetic performance of the two national parties in UP that could be indicative of things to come. The energetic campaign of Rahul Gandhi hardly had any effect either on the Congress's tally of seats or on its share of the popular vote. Likewise, despite all the hype surrounding a dramatic comeback, the BJP lost ground dramatically. At the heart of the failure of both parties was their inability to connect with local aspirations - both dynasty and Hindutva proved a trifle too remote?
The question arises: Is this the beginning of a political revolution which will endure or just a one-off event? That the Mulayam Singh Yadav regime suffered from a massive bout of anti-incumbency is not in any serious doubt. Since 2002, UP has witnessed a wave of lawlessness, rampant crony capitalism, and muscle-flexing by radical Muslim outfits and astonishing shows of ministerial arrogance and insensitivity. The revulsion against the Samajwadi Party was strong enough to have unseated Mulayam, even if it didn't lead to the unambiguous victory of the BSP.
The BSP's social (read electoral) engineering was driven by no more than an impulse to bring together two castes worst hit by the ascendancy of the OBCs so that they could make the latter pay back. The poll verdict, in that context, reveals UP's electorate to be more progressive and politically daring than the party in which it has vested its faith. It's up to Mayavati and her comrades now to play catch-up.
The problem with UP politics is that it has so far been a clash between two elites - the rural, largely middle-caste elite and their mainly upper-caste urban counterparts. While subaltern politics, especially of the OBC vintage, has essentially been about facilitating the conversion of rural assets and social capital into modern urban assets and capacities, the traditional upper-caste elite has been resisting this incursion all the while. What has been missing in all this is a political agency of the socially oppressed, largely rural and suburban, folks. Unable to trust the elitist calls for good governance, such people have stuck to the political leadership from their respective social groups. They have evidently been content with political voice and visibility at the cost of real socio- economic transformation.
Having seized power, she will be under pressure now to outline a genuine vision to bring about a socio-economic transformation of her constituency. She would be acutely aware of how some other well-known Dalit leaders in the past had become elite and got co-opted by the existing system. It will be no mean task to work with the upper castes and yet be able to negotiate with them to realise her vision for the larger Dalit cause. She will obviously draw inspiration from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's vision of a totally new socio-economic framework to improve the lot of the Dalits. Ambedkar too believed that the Dalits could be emancipated only within a modern, developmental idiom. He clearly regarded the Indian village as the most oppressive, pre-modern entity, which perpetuated the worst inequities.
With a substantial chunk of the states being governed by regional parties - either singly or with national parties playing a supporting role - there are good reasons to believe that the space for pan-Indian issues is rapidly shrinking. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's cry for the emergence of a two-party system may strike a chord among those who are anxious to effect a greater integration of India in the world economy, but democratic empowerment has involved emerging local elites first exploring ways of exercising power locally. The UP verdict is a signal for the national parties to either reinvent themselves along meaningful federal lines - as has happened in America - or fade into irrelevance. INAV
Why this delay?
Sir,
Agreeing with the views, facts and data as purported by Mr S Kharakor (Alternative site for Assembly, ST May 2), pertaining to the proposed site for Assembly, one once again put down that any alternative site for the Assembly is totally unnecessary. As one did in the past, one respects or questions again that had the fire not gutted down the old building, would it not still serve its purpose of holding the office of Assembly Secretariat till date? Of course, since the building was quite old and was in a dilapidated condition, would not the government simply renovate it (mark the question of construction it elsewhere would not have arisen)? According to me, the best thing that our government could do (instead of wasting almost seven good years) is to use the same site. Had the government done that by now we would have had a new building! The present site is the most viable in terms of connectivity and proximity to all the brain or main offices of the state like the Meghalaya Secretariat and other Heads of the Department. Not to speak of the high ranking officials/bureaucrats and MLAs who have vehicles to take them to and fro at their beg and call. What about the Grade IV staff? These are the people who need to run up and down in the process of carrying/depositing important files or documents needed during the proceedings. One fully understands that as practiced at present, the government has to spend money by hiring taxis to be used for the Grade IV staff, but the government will never be able to pay the precious time of the House if an important file to be brought to the House is being held up in traffic jam. Secondly, if a new building is to be constructed, crores and crores of money will be spent for the construction of the MLA hostel as well whereas that money can be saved and utilized for developmental works. The MLA's hostel is in good condition. Only because of the building being burnt down, one wonders why its site itself has to be shifted? Sounds as if there is something fishy and murky about the whole setup.
Last but not the least, my head bowed down low when one of my friend from Delhi who visited Shillong after a span of six years questions me why it took seven years to reconstruct the building (of course she was not aware that it took this long stretch first to choose the new site; not to speak of the time it will take for the building to stand and be serviceable to the people). I felt a deep sense of shame and embarrassment. This makes me ask how our government and all our 60 legislators are not ashamed of all this uncalled for delays and dilly-dally tactics of the government?
Yours etc.,
Jenniefer Dkahr,
Shillong -4.
Via e-mail
50 airports in N-E by end of 11th Plan
NEC accepts Sidhu panel proposals
Aizawl: The North Eastern Council (NEC) on Saturday endorsed the recommendations of the Sidhu Committee and decided to set up a dedicated airlines for the North- East.
"We believe that the decision will put an end to the single most important infrastructural obstacle in the way of the development of the region," Union DONER Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer told a press conference after the conclusion of the sectoral summit on air connectivity here.
The announcement to set up the dedicated airlines for the region is expected on Independence Day this year, Aiyar said and hoped that following the decision, the region would have up to 50 airports and airstrips by the end of the 11th plan.
NEC, he said, would be able to ensure 600 flights a week in the region connecting all state capitals and other important centres.
Asked to elaborate on the decision, Aiyar said a public notice would be issued and selection would be made from the bidding airlines after examining technical and financial bids.
Our Staff Reporter adds: Meghalaya has made a strong plea for setting up of special economic zone during the 54 th NEC meeting.
Chief Minister DD Lapang in his speech on concluding day on Saturday said that to augment trade and investment in the North-East, there is a need to set up a common special economic zone for the North-East on Asom-Meghalaya border.
According to him, there should be public investment and flow of finance to improve the sectors like agriculture, horticulture, high value crops, medicinal plants, irrigation, animal husbandry veterinary, dairy production and fisheries. He hoped that the NEC would act positively to take up with the Centre on the need of setting up of the economic zone.
Deputy Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, who also attended the meeting, informed at Shillong that the priority areas discussed at the meeting include power generation, better road communication, improvement of livelihood and poverty alleviation, air connectivity, tourism, human resource development, sericulture and handloom weaving.
He said the issue of Baljek Airport was taken up at the meeting. He said that the airport would be made functional at the earliest. Dr Sangma said the urgent need was to improve infrastructure to ensure over all development of the state and the region.
3 held for issuing fake Meghalaya identity cards
Guwahati:
At least three persons, including two from Meghalaya, were arrested by police on Saturday at Boko near here on charges of issuing fake photo identity cards.Official sources said the trio was arrested at Santipur village along the Asom-Meghalaya border. The accused were undertaking a survey among the people of Garo tribe in the village for issuing fake photo identity cards from the Meghalaya government.
The Santipur village is situated well inside Asom, officials said. One of the arrested works as a peon in the Election Office of Nongstain in West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya. (UNI)
ATSUM threatens highway blockade
Imphal:
The All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur on Saturday threatened to impose indefinite economic blockade from Saturday night.on National Highway 39 and 53.The ATSUM was demanding implementation of Reservation for Manipuris in Post and Services(for SCs/STs), Tribal Reservation Bill in the current Assembly session, issuance of panel list of the recently held recruitment of graduate teachers, etc. (UNI)
Two extortionists arrested in Tinsukia
Guwahati
: Two ULFA linkmen, who were arrested on Friday, have been handed over to the police custody on Saturday. The duo was assigned by the outfit to carry out extortion in the Tinsukia district.Acting on a tip off that Abhijit Neog and Jintu Moran were slapping extortion notices to people on behalf of the ULFA, the Tinsukia police arrested the duo at Makum last night.
Police arrested them while they had come to collect the money.
Several incriminating documents were also seized from the linkmen, who hailed from Bordumsa under Kakopathar police station.(UNI)
Trans-highway railway via Manipur approved
Imphal: The Ministry of Railways has approved the signing and ratification of the Inter-governmental Agreement on Trans-Asian Railway passing through Manipur, Information Centre officials informed on Saturday. Union Minister of State for Railways R Velu had informed the Lower House in this regard on May 17, officials said.
The Inter-governmental Agreement on Trans-Asian Railway was negotiated under the aegis of the United National-Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific(UN-ESCAP) and was opened for signature during the Ministerial Conference on Transport at Busan in November 2006.
The Agreement defined and listed the railway lines of international importance, including the missing links and laid down the guiding principles relating to technical characteristics for providing seamless transport on the Trans-Asian Railway network.
The Agreement did not, however, give an estimate of the total investment required on the network, it added.
The missing link in India was from Jiribam of Manipur to Tamu in Myanmar. The construction of this missing link, as per the feasibility study conducted by Ministry of External Affairs through RITES Limited, was estimated at Rs 2,941 crore.
On this portion, Ministry of Railways had sanctioned construction of the 97 kms new rail link between Jiribam and Tupul (short for Imphal), costing Rs 727.56 crores.
The Ministry of Railways sanctioned for opening of 126 Computerized Railway Reservation Centres in the country including nine in Manipur. Accordingly, Manipur would have Computerized Reservation Centres in all the nine districts, it was further stated.(UNI)
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