Earlier, moving a Zero Hour notice, PT Sawkmie (MDP) said the Wahlang Committee had earlier made recommendations on the re-organsation of the State Police. He suggested that the State government should look into the aspect of having better police control room, computerisation of police stations and upgradation of weapons.

In his reply, the Chief Minister said that Government was committed to look after the interest of the police personnel.

Replying to Mr Sawkmie's question, the Mr Lapang said efforts were initiated by the government to modernise the police force including upgradation of weapons. 

He also said since many police personnel are posted in remote areas, the government is thinking of providing hostel facilities for them and residential schools for their children. He, however, praised the police force for its contribution and said that Meghalaya police is one of the best in the country.

In reply to a question by PT Sawkmie (MDP), Mrs Marak told the Assembly that as NEIGRIHMS being a Central project, the State has its own limitations.

According to Mrs Marak, there was delay in procuring equipment due to change of technology, limitations of local vendors supplying equipment in the North-East. The project cost Rs 422.60 crore includes a 500-bed referral hospital with teaching at postgraduate level.

Moving a call attention motion regarding the implementation of HSRP, Mr Chaudhuri said that the judgement of the Gauhati High Court says that common people should not be affected by the agitations called by the NGOs regarding the matter. He urged the government to see to it that the rate of the HSRP is reviewed to benefit the people.

According to Mr Chaudhuri, the government should make sure that the scheme is implemented without further loss of time, so that the NGOs are unable to take the public for a ride.

Replying to the motion, Transport Minister Mrs Deborah Marak said the government was in favour of reviewing the HSRP rate. She said a committee headed by Chief Minister DD Lapang met on March 26 and decided that the rates of HSRP could be reviewed.

However, Mrs Marak said the State was compelled to go ahead with the implementation of HSRP due to the direction of Gauhati High Court. She said that the doubts related to the HSRP as raised by the NGOs are a non-issue.

According to the Minister, if a person can buy the vehicle worth several lakh rupees, he or she can afford HSRP.

Mr Ritchil's body, which was handed over to the family members recently, bore several torture marks. Though deceased's wife had filed a complaint with the Modhupur Police Station no FIR was registered even after lot of protest, Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of the renowned human rights body said.

Many NGOs in Bangladesh protested against the inhuman killing of the Garo leader. Incidentally, Bangladesh has substantial Garo population specially in the hill tracts and some of the Garos have made it to high echelons of the society including the Bangladesh parliament.

Mr Ritchil who was killed last month has been targeted for opposing the construction of an Eco-Park over 3,000 acres of Modhupur forest under Tangail district of Bangladesh inhabited by the Garo indigenous people. About 25,000 indigenous Garo people faced eviction because of the Eco-Park.

Earlier, one more Garo Piren Snal was killed on the spot and 25 others including women and children were injured in police firing on the controversial issue. After the declaration of the state of emergency in January this year, the Forest Department officials restarted the construction of the controversial boundary wall for the Eco-Park but had to abandon following protest by indigenous peoples led by Mr Ritchil.

Answering to the incident of torching of several check gates belonging to various Government departments and private parties in Garo Hills on Wednesday, Mrs Marak said she was awaiting the report on the matter.

"I admit the presence of illegal toll gates and this problem should be dealt with firm hands," Mrs Marak said.

Most of the illegal tollgates reappeared after being dismantled by police in various districts of the State.

SHILLONG: The CCIB has decided to go ahead with its proposed office picketing on April 10 and 11 and 48-hour road blockade from April 12 morning till there is "concrete evidence" of suspension of border fencing work by the NBCC in Umkiang-Rattachera sector of Jaintia Hills.

The government on Wednesday had asked the NBCC to keep in abeyance the fencing work along the State's international border with Bangladesh.

"We saw in the newspaper that the government had asked the NBCC to keep the border fencing work in abeyance but so far there is no proof that the work has really been suspended," Coordination Committee on International Border (CCIB) spokesman GH Kharshanlor on Thursday said.

The CCIB also informed that the Government is yet to invite them to discuss the fencing issue despite the announcement of agitations.

The Government-constituted Coordination Committee on Border Fencing (CCBF) headed by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Donkupar Roy will hold a meeting on April 12 and the CCIB has been served a notice in this regard.

However, the CCIB refused to accept it as a formal invitation for talks stating -- "We have not received any official invitation for talks. The notice that I received on Wednesday evening is only about the CCBF meeting which has nothing to do with our agitation and demand," Mr Kharshanlor clarified.

He also said that the government should not consider the notice served to the CCIB to attend the CCBF meeting as an invitation for talks.

Chief Minister DD Lapang and Jaintia Hills DC Frederick Roy Kharkongor are "feigning ignorance" about the ongoing fencing work in Jaintia Hills, he alleged.

Govt to ask NBCC to halt fencing: Meanwhile, the State government has decided to ask the NBCC to suspend all kinds of border fencing work in all the disputed areas along the State's international border with Bangladesh until problems like loss of agricultural lands, alienation of people and land compensation are solved.

The decision was taken on Thursday at an emergency meeting convened by the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Donkupar Roy, who is also the Chairman of the Coordination Committee on Indo-Bangladesh Border Fencing (CCIBBF). The meeting was attended by five ministers, BSF officials, NBCC officials and DGP BK Dey Sawian.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, newly appointed Chief Secretary Ranjan Chatterjee said that the government had asked the NBCC to stop the fencing work in Umkiang and other disputed areas where farmers are unhappy over loss of agricultural land due to the fencing.

Meanwhile, the CCIB has exempted the NEHU from the purview of the office picketing, according to PRO of NEHU Kynpham Nongkynrih.

The 73-year-old Joshi, who was appointed as Delhi's Lt Governor on June 9, 2004, has been appointed as Governor of Meghalaya with effect from the date he assumes the post, a Rashtrapati Bhavan Communication said here on Thursday.

Mr Jacob was first appointed as the Governor of Meghalaya in 1995. He was appointed for another term in 2000.

Former IAS officer Tejendra Khanna will be the new Lieutenant Governor of the national capital. An official source said Khanna has been appointed as the new Lt Governor with effect from the date he assumes charge of the office. Khanna is likely to be sworn in on Friday.

Governor of Nagaland K Sankaranarayanan has been asked to assume the additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh in addition to his own duties during the absence on leave of S K Singh, the communication said. (PTI)

SHILLONG: Is there any need to change the nomenclature of the State from Meghalaya to a name that truly reflects the identity of its indigenous people? The legislators on Thursday aired mixed views on the matter in the Assembly on Thursday.

During the Question Hour, answering a question by PT Sawkmie (MDP), GAD Minister Prestone Tynsong said there was no plan to change the name of the State from Meghalaya to any other name.

However, the questioner said the name 'Meghalaya' does not suit the tribal character. Mr Sawkmie said as other states had changed their names, Meghalaya could also follow the suit.

To this, Mr Tynsong said that the suggestion to rename can be accepted and the matter would be examined by the GAD committee.

Manas Chaudhuri(Ind) expressed doubts whether the committee under GAD was competent authority to decide on the change of name. He said it needed constitutional amendment.

HS Lyngdoh (HSPDP) wanted to know the true meaning of Meghalaya.

After the Minister replied that the literal meaning of Meghalaya was abode of clouds, Mr Lyngdoh, contradicting this said that as per Greek dictionary, the meaning of Meghalaya was "the place of frogs." He suggested that it is better to change the name Meghalaya into Khasi-Jaintia State and Garo State.

To supplementary questions by Sengman R Marak (Ind), Tonsing Marak (Congress) and PM Syiem(Ind), Mr Tynsong said there was no demand from any quarter to change the name of the State.

The State government is yet to receive Rs 33 crore for running both online and paper lotteries in the State for the last five years.

Answering a question by Manas Chaudhuri (Ind), Chief Minister DD Lapang informed the Assembly that while the State received Rs 19 crore for running online lottery, Rs 10.49 crore was received from the firms running paper lottery.

Mr Lapang said the due from the firm running online lottery is Rs 25.80 crore. He also said from the five distributors of paper lottery, the government has not received Rs 7.23 crore.

SHILLONG: The legislators who took part in the debate on the State Budget expressed concern over the tardy progress of the state over years.

Continuing with his discussion, Mr PT Sawkmie (MDP) said that Meghalaya should get the facilities under the backward area fund like all the other poor states in the country. He also urged the government to provide more employment to the youth in the State by taking up employment generation programmes.

"The government should also look into the aspect of providing employment opportunities to the physically challenged," he said.

Participating in the discussion, Mr PM Syiem (Ind) stated that the price hike of commodities needs to be controlled by the State government. He also added that the government should initiate measures to diagnose the inflation.

Stating the need to provide good governance, Mr Syiem said that money is pumped to different departments but what lacks is proper monitoring of the same.

Mr HS Lyngdoh (HSPDP) narrated the plight of the people in the border areas due to the border dispute. He also urged the government to implement important programmes and policies that will benefit the people.

Education

During the question hour, Higher and Technical Education Minister RG Lyngdoh informed that while the State has 2,595 elementary schools run by the government, the number of such private schools is 6015.

Replying to a question by Mr PT Sawkmie (MDP), the Education Minister said that the state has 33 higher and technical level government educational institutions.

Mr Lyngdoh also said that the private institutions are not taking opening permission since they are not under the aided category.

In replying to a question put forward by Mr Manas Chaudhuri(Ind), Deputy Chief Minister Dr Donkupar Roy said that the issue of liquidating the liabilities of the defunct Shillong Banking Corporation Ltd is pending with the Gauhati High Court.

SHILLONG: In a major breakthrough, police of East Khasi Hills District busted a gang of thieves and recovered a number of solen items which includes three air conditioners, two CPU, keyboard and two batteries. A major part of the recovered goods were stolen on February 19 from the office of Radio Lala Positive Pvt. Ltd, part of M/S Positive Television Pvt. Ltd. (NETv).

The mastermind of the gang was Pradeep Purkayastha, proprietor of a computer shop located at Upper New Colony. His modus operandi was to entice workers of offices having electronic goods and with their assistance later rob the offices. He would later interchange parts of the goods and sell the different parts of the electronic goods to customers. This was done in order to deceive the police.

Along with Pradeep Purkayastha, the others arrested include Sujoy Roy of Barapathar, Arjun Barman of Mawpat, Emol Rajbongshi of Kokrajhar, Kunal Choudhury of Lum Mawrie and Rajdeep Purkayastha of Upper New Colony.

SHILLONG: At an impressive ceremony held on Thursday at the 1st MLP Battalion Mawiong parade ground, altogether 84 recruits were inducted into the Meghalaya Police Force.

The Inspector General of Police (TAP) Mr MS Syiem, IPS took the salute of the passing out parade of the 32nd batch of Recruit Constables. The new Recruit constables comprised of 31 AB constables and 53 driver constables. They joined the 1st MLP Bn Training Centre on July 29,2006 and underwent 32 weeks of a thorough training programme prescribed for a full-fledged policeman, before qualifying to join as fulltime police force.

Mr Syiem lauded the new recruits for their impressive passing out parade and affirmed that from henceforth they are no more recruit constables but regular inducted police personnel of the Meghalaya Police. He called upon the new recruits to utilise their training to the best of their ability to serve the State, the country and the community around them by winning the goodwill of the people.

Mr Syiem encouraged the recruiting constables to don their khaki uniform with honour and execute their duty with integrity and pride. He stressed on the importance of teamwork to get success in endeavours.

The Commandant Ms C Lyngwa, MPS, while thanking the Inspector General of Police MS Syiem, IPS, for gracing the function, commended his interest and helpfulness in the training facilities. On the occasion trophies were awarded to the outstanding recruits.

SHILLONG: Langkyrdem Block Youth Congress Committee has opposed the the proposal of Delimitation Commission to delete Langkyrdem Constituency.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, LBYCC president Bannangsan Tynsong said that if Langkrydem constituency is deleted after the implementation of the delimitation constituency then it will deeply hamper the overall development of Ri-War area adding that annually the area will loose nearly 1 crore of the MLA scheme.

"Around 63 small villages will be affected from the delimitation of the constituency which have around 22,000 voters" Mr Tynsong added.

In a statement, the GIWO said that porters working in Iewduh should be issued identity cards after verifying their antecedents in order to check the flow of non-tribal porters in the market.

The GIWO also wanted an "efficient and energetic person" to head the Mylliem Syiemship Police Station at Iewduh in order to deal with crimes and other illegal activities in the market.

The organization has appealed to the other NGOs to avoid unnecessary agitations as it "causes severe loss to shopkeepers especially those selling perishable items."

SHILLONG: Students of RB Anoopchand Secondary School, Police Bazar on Thursday staged a demonstration to oppose the decision of the school’s Managing Committee to removed the school principal Mr KK Bhattacharjee.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Managing Committee maintained that the expulsion of the Headmaster is justified as he was dishonest.

Earlier, the students of the school opposing the arbitrary decision of the Managing Committee against the Headmaster has staged a demonstration demanding his reinstatement and claimed that the decision is vindictive and threatened to go for a hartal. They claimed that the allegations are false.

It may be mentioned that the Order for suspension was passed on Wednesday and was hanged in the School Notice Board much to the humiliation of the head master and the students of the School.

Meanwhile, B.P.Bajoria, the President, and K.K.Jhunjhunwala the Secretary of the Managing Committee and O.P.Agarwal who claims to be a member of the same speaking to media maintained that the headmaster has misappropriated a huge amount of money from school fund even as the Order of Suspension has stated a sum of Rs 62,586 and a due enquiry will be constituted even as they have not filed an FIR.

The suspension order stated that the Headmaster will not be allowed to enter the school premises, office or classroom and will be getting a subsistence allowance.

Delivering his valedictory address at the Regional Workshop on Pool Finance Development Funds Schemes here on Thursay, Mr Lyngdoh said that the towns in the region also requires consultants and experts from cities in the mainland to prepare us better. He however said that the reason of the lack of facilities is the topography of the region .

The Urban Minister also hopes the outcome from this workshop will go a long way in addressing the needs of the Municipalities in the North East.

As many as 2400 village elders, nokmas, along with the secretaries and chairmans of the Village and Area Employment Councils (VECs/AECs) from eight different blocks participated in the programme.

One of the main objectives of the two day programme was to get the villagers to have a plan perspective for their own villages.

SHILLONG: The GOC of 101 Area Major General Vinod Nayanar said that ‘Know Your Army’, which will be held on Saturday next, is an annual event to familiarise the general public with the strength and capabilities of the Indian army.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Major General Nayanar said that another objective of this exhibition will be to promote better understanding of army personnel amongst the local populace and to educate the youth on the career prospects in the army.

"In this event multiple facets of the army will be shown or displayed in the forms of stalls, display of weapons and equipments, live display and also humanitarian activity like free medical and blood donation camp" GOC of 101 Area said.

He said that all school children will be provided with free transport for conveyance from school to Polo Ground to ensure massive attendance in the event. The Major General further informed that the amount spent for the event is about 5 to 6 lakhs.

The main attraction of the event is the first time ever live display of Hot Air Balloning team of 3 EMER Centre Bhopal who will display the skills of Hot Air Balooning. The other live display in the event includes heliborne operation, skills of military canines, para motor gliding, acrobatic display, sky diving and many others.

There are total of six exhibition stalls showcasing glorious history of Indian Army by Field Composite Signal Regiment (FCSR), training and operations of Indian Army by 58 Gorkha Training Centre, adventure activities of Indian Army by (FCSR), humanitarian activities by Shillong Military Hospital, career counselling to join the army by Zonal Recruiting Office, Shillong and stalls by young cadets.

The weapons that will be displayed in the event includes Bofors Gun, Radil Relay Vehicle, Composite Entity Vehicle, Inmarsat Sattelite phone among others.

With reference to the news item under caption ‘Achieve-ment’(Dt April 5), the name should be read as Dr Regalia May Tangper . She completed her research under the supervision of Dr SM Sungoh.

In a society that is at best soporific and at worst engages in drawing room saber-rattling it is indeed encouraging to have a response to one's article. Dr H Srikanth's riposte to my critique on NEHU merits another treatise on the arguments advanced to defend his academic colleagues and their intellectual commitment. The tone and tenor of his article is reminiscent of a trapeze artist walking the tightrope. Srikanth is torn between being politically correct and blurting out the truth. As a result he has come up with a pretty diluted response which reveals yet again that NEHU scholars lack fire in their belly. No wonder they are unable to ignite minds.

Friedrich Nietzsche said liberal institutions straightaway cease from being liberal the moment they are soundly established. Could this be true of NEHU too? Now that the institution is touted as the university with potential for excellence (meaning that several more crores will come its way) the feeling one gets is that NEHU has also become a sacred sanctuary beyond the purview of public criticism. In other words NEHU is resting on its laurels and the argument is that it should be allowed to do so. About the much-touted 'university with potential for excellence', status, I dare say, NEHU earned it only because it is comparatively better than other universities in this region. In the land of the blind the one-eyed is undisputedly the king. The funds flowing to NEHU are part of the policy of appeasement of the Central Government through the UGC. It comes from having the right connections in the right quarters in Delhi. Frankly speaking, the 'potential for excellence' label is merely a phrase to justify the grant of additional funds to NEHU which is a central university.

Ideas have consequences and Srikanth has thrown up ideas relating to ethnocentrism of civil societies in Meghalaya. This is a very clever articulation on the discordant concept of civil society. Civil society is itself an emerging entity and it requires that the University give us a clear picture of what it should ideally be, so we could strive towards the ideal. When and where is civil society entirely free from all bind? The civil societies that Srikanth has in mind, and I know this from having previously engaged in this discourse with his department, in fact fall in the category of 'uncivil societies'. The mafia for instance is an uncivil society. Hence it becomes imperative that the civil elements defeat the uncivil. Agreed that there are insular organizations but that is just one small fraction of the larger human population of Meghalaya which is certainly not blinkered. The problem with this unattached mass is that they are groping for want of a direction.

Not only in the North East but even within the country, it is difficult to find a civil society that is unattached to an ethnic ideology, religious affiliation, community, caste, et al. Ethnocentrism is merely replaced by other sorts of fetters. What happened in Gujarat (2002) is a classic example of the collapse of civil society. That such a thing should happen in a more socially evolved and economically vibrant part of the country only goes to show that civil society which is liberal and absolutely free from petty encumbrances and seeks the greater good of the human race is still an amorphous idea, although, it is an urgent need. I recall that this issue was discussed by a couple of NEHU scholars outside the campus. Hence it is curious that my article was discussed in the precincts of the university. Does it not call for a larger public debate?

That NEHU is an insular monolith is borne out by the fact that when the right to information exercise had got underway, the fees charged for application for information was Rs 500. Subsequent photocopies were priced at Rs 50 a piece. Is this not an attempt to shirk public accountability and to discourage the public from asking questions? Only after several engagements, followed by complaints, were the fees reduced to an affordable amount. Why would a public institution be uncomfortable about giving out information on various subjects?

One argument advanced by the learned scholar and one that baffles, is that teaching is a specialized profession, not a social service activity. My own perception is that if teaching is a specialized activity then all that universities will produce are brilliant, cut-throat, whip-lashing monsters unfit for society. The west today places a premium on liberal education as opposed to 'specialized education' because they have seen the dangers of specialization. Specialization slots a person in one profession throughout life. Liberal education on the other hand produces rounded individuals and makes students real human beings who can feel the pangs of life as it is lived outside the ivory towers. Education is useless if you take away from it the component of social service. In fact, the end of all good education is service to humanity.

The argument that research should be judged from their utility in advancement of human knowledge and that it should not be assessed from a narrow angle of whether it serves the interests of immediate communities, seems to me to be a typical Brahmanical attitude to education. Without being parochial or bigoted, my understanding of the reasons why NEHU was started is essentially to enable the people of the region to find their feet. Hence research that does not meet their needs but serves only the larger national interest is totally out of sync. Perhaps there is a need to revisit the goals for which NEHU was established. Let us not lecture on communalism and its ignoble virtues because we see too much of that in all universities including those in our neighbourhoods. In fact, NEHU today looks more like a gurukul (without the essence of the gurukul system) where hegemony by one group of scholars is sought to be staunchly established. What is constantly practiced by NEHU scholars is to guard their respective turf. Any encroachment on that protected space leads to regular turf wars.

In the world of information technology Srikanth should not be moaning about NEHU being peripherally located. On the contrary it is strategically poised to be the catalytic agent churning out ideas on the Look East Policy, a slogan which is beginning to look more and more like a red herring. As for scholars lacking journalistic skills, one feels that a journalist writes for the common man, in common parlance, minus the jargons and convoluted language. The best language is simple and easy to read not heavy academic hocus-pocus. Scholars like Sunanda Dutta Ray, Bhanu Pratap Mehta, Ramchandra Guha write such easy prose. Do they lose their privileged positions for addressing the common man? Far from it, rather, such scholars help bring academia within reach of the least common denominator of society.

Srikanth's caption, "University and Civil Society", seems to suggest that NEHU is apart from and incapable of being a civil society. Rather, he seems to think that the two occupy separate spaces and the twain between university and civil society can never meet. This is a rather disdainful, presumptuous thinking unworthy of a scholar. Are scholars not affected by the confusion and tumult that rages in society? Are they not part of society? Or would it be more correct to say that a good many scholars treat NEHU as a temporary milking cow for as long as the cow is able to deliver milk. Apart from that, they form their own civic space, interface with their own kind and thereby create a polarized zone.

I am also intrigued by this phrase 'by and large the students are decent and academic friendly'. Does decency include a non-dissenting, apathetic, unchallenging, subservient attitude? The kind of scholars that NEHU turns out, have neither the stamina nor the interest to engage with the many problems that confront them outside the ivory tower. In fact, after so many years in the University they do not even have the tools of engagement. What a pity that NEHU is only churning out little robots who can only mimic their gurus. No wonder the best and the brightest take the first flight out of Guwahati to pursue a more outstanding scholarly pursuit. Why, even NEHU scholars themselves send their children outside the region and out of the country. This is enough to certify NEHU's credentials.

Sir,

This refers to the statement made by the Education Minister regarding the non-payment of DA to the teachers for the last two years (ST, March 23), where the Minister cited shortage of fund as the reason behind non-payment. I would like to ask the Minister why there is always a paucity of fund whenever the matter is related to the teachers especially the primary teachers? Why this ill-fated primary teachers are always at the receiving end? I wonder, if the government has ever cancelled the foreign tour programmes of the MLAs and the Ministers because of the paucity of fund! The govt is unable to pay the DA to the teachers but able enough to distribute sophisticated laptops among its MLAs. Fair enough! Probably with these sophisticated devices MLAs will be in a better position to calculate their TAs, DAs, pensions etc. and will learn the games of politics now in a more sophisticated way.

It is worth mentioning here that the primary teachers of Meghalaya are deprived of any retirement benefit scheme such as CPF, gratuity or pension whereas their counterparts in the states like Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa etc. are in far better position in terms of salaries, medical facilities, retirement benefits etc. But in Meghalaya the teachers do not even get their salaries regularly. Could our Education Minister be kind enough to say if an MLA can earn the right of pension by merely serving for 3 or 5 years than why not a teacher is eligible for the same even after a constructive contribution of 30 years? When all other employees of the government are drawing their salaries in the new pay structure after the due merger of 50% of D.A. with the basic, the primary teachers are still uncertain whether they are going to receive the same. Moreover, it is disheartening to see that the primary teachers are drawing their salaries @ 71 % of D.A. at present whereas the present rate of D.A. is much higher. Is the government listening?

It is learnt that the government is eager to improve the quality of education. Chief Minister DD Lapang recently said, "we want every teacher to have the best qualification" (ST, March 23). Being a teacher I welcome this whole heartedly, but at the same time I want Mr Lapang to look into the problems faced by the primary teachers. The Chief Minister should understand that a teacher can deliver quality education only when the quality of his life is improved. I feel if the government is really serious about improving the quality of education then it must change its step-motherly attitude towards the primary teachers else the dream of quality education will remain as a mere dream.

Yours etc.,
Anirudhha Datta
Shillong-4

Sir,

Apropos the letter 'Teachers' Grievances' (ST - March 28) by the General Secretary, Khasi Jaintia Deficit School Teachers' Association, I, as teacher have the, following observations :-

1. Why did the Association keep the teachers in dark for about seven months after meeting the Education Minister on August, 7, 2006 and the subsequent meeting with the Commissioner (Mrs. R. V. Suchiang)? After all, the office bearers of this Association are the representatives of the Secondary Deficit School Teachers and they owe it to teachers.

2. When the Commissioner informed the office bearers of the Association that the sub-committee constituted for extending pensionary and retirement benefit is exclusively for college teachers only and the appointment sought with the Education Minister was not granted, how could they it pending for so many months? Was it not an insult to the entire teaching community?

3. A delegation of six teachers met the present Education Minister Mr RG Lyngdoh on March, 20, 2007. What did this Association do since the day it met the previous Education Minister, Dr. Donkupar Roy till it met Mr Lyngdoh? Was it expecting some windfall gain for teachers?

4. When the teachers are in distress, how this Association allowed the government to complete the Annual Examinations, SSLC Examination and evaluations unhindered and uninterrupted? Remember "Hit the iron when it is hot".

5. If nothing concrete comes out including pensionary benefit after the dead line of April, 30, what this Association intends to do? If agitation, which is the right way, should it not keep the teachers in readiness for the bigger struggle? Time is running out.

6. This Association should chalk out a programme for spreading the agitation in the entire State taking into confidence the Garo Hills Deficit School Teachers' Association so that the teachers movement may gain bite' and sting and education comes to a grinding halt, whereupon the government is compelled to bow before its legitimate demands.

7. Why not the Association resorted to agitation when the State Assembly is on? It would have been food for the opposition MLAs to grind the Govt.

Yours etc.,
TS Nongrum
Shillong-4

Guwahati: The All Assam Students' Union on Thursday accused the Central government of putting country security and integrity at stake by keeping the India-Bangladesh border in Assam unfenced.

The Adviser of the AASU, Dr Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharrya said, "The porous India-Bangladesh border sector in Assam is being used by the Islamic fundamentalists organizations and Pakistani ISI to sneak in their agents to foment trouble in the region."

The AASU leader expressed surprise that even the decisions taken in the Prime Minister level tripartite talks to seal the India-Bangladesh border by 31st December 2006 failed to ensure completion of the project.

The AASU on Thursday warned immediate steps to complete border fencing work in Assam by the Central government failing which it would launch a vigorous mass agitation soon.