Manipur Govt reviews security scenario
Imphal: In the aftermath of the bomb attack of Manipur Raj Bhavan, on Sunday night, a cabinet meeting of the state government on Monday while condemning the attack, has reviewed the law and order situation. The cabinet meeting also reiterated its determination to completely eliminate such incidents from taking place in the future.
Informing this through a press note made available to the press by AN Jha, secretary to the chief minister of Manipur Monday night, a cabinet meeting on Monday condemned the incident of lobbing bombs at the premises of the Raj Bhavan Sunday night.
Reiterated its determination to completely eliminate such incidents from taking place in the future, the cabinet also reviewed law and order situation besides directing all law enforcement agencies to take extra measures to bring the culprits to book and to prevent occurrence of similar breach of law, added Jha.
The cabinet while unanimously having decided to review the security of the Raj Bhavan, will also submit its reports on priority within the one week, informed the secretary of the chief minister in the press note.
Further taking note of the various attacks carried out on certain offices and houses of officers, the cabinet has also directed all law and order enforcement agencies to deal with the cases in the sternest possible manner.
Meanwhile, an official source informed that the cabinet has decided to form a long term security committee to see into the security of the state especially regarding the various attacks on offices and houses of officers of the state.
District wise measurements will also be taken up by security committee to control such anti-social elements in the future, informed the source.
Another official source also informed that a high level security meeting was held Monday afternoon attended by chief minister and other high ranking security officials of the state held at the chief minister secretariat.
Deciding to review the law and order situation of the state, the meeting has also decided to heighten the walls of the Raj Bhavan besides fixing CCTV cameras, added the source.
The meeting also discussed to tighten the security of the VVIP areas and other sensitive zones of the state, conveyed the source.
Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the governor was attacked with explosives by a proscribed militant outfit operating in the state Sunday night at about 5:30.
However, no casualties were reported. The governor was also reported to have been out of station. (NNN)
Assam govt re-confirms bird flu outbreak
Guwahati: All confusions arising out of reports that there had been no bird flu outbreak in Assam were laid to rest after the state government on Monday re-confirmed that the avian influenza had struck the poultry here.
Bird flu was confirmed in Assam and all culling operations were being conducted on Centre’s orders, Assam Commission Secretary, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department S L Mewra said.
He also circulated copies of the Centre’s orders for culling after news reports had appeared that the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory had detected no bird flu case in Assam or West Bengal.
Mr Mewra clarified that no new cases of bird flu had been detected in the samples sent, with the state forwarding samples from 21 places again on Monday. He informed that the first bird flu outbreak was confirmed on November 27 on samples sent from Rajabazaar area of Hajo in Kamrup (rural) district. The second confirmation arrived on December 1 on poultry in Rani and Rampur development blocks of the same district and thereafter, it was confirmed in another six districts of the state. Culling started from November 28, he added. He stated that culling operations were over in all but three districts-- Bongaigaon, Barpeta and Chirang.
About 4.05 lakh poultry out of targeted five lakh had been culled till date and compensation of over Rs 1.32 crore had been given. (UNI)
World War II site discovered in Arunachal
Itanagar: A historically significant site surrounded with World War-II remnants has been discovered at Jairampur in Changlang district.
A team led by Assembly Speaker Setong Sena besides administrative and Assam Rifles officials visited Wintong, a non-descriptive village under administrative jurisdiction of Rima Putok circle, 20 kilometers from Nampong, after receiving information from the villagers,official sources said here today.
A few senior citizens of nearby villages who worked with the Allied Forces during the war described the place as a monitoring and observation camp.
Air strikes were monitored from the place and accordingly counter attacks were planned by the forces, they informed.
This isolated area is full of lush green vegetation and swaying trees singing the saga of bygone era.
The team spotted lots of morsels of war time and many empty vessels, tins and bottles of medicines and daily usable items in the vicinity. The villagers also showed a tree which was utilized by the American Allied Forces for installation of the radio network.
An aea of around 500 meters was under the occupation of about 150 soldiers of the Allied Forces, explained an old man, who witnessed the operation himself, sources disclosed.
The speaker instructed officers of constructing agencies to start work of 250 meter long footpath from the village to the site including a small approach road to connect this area with existing road including parking zone to facilitate visitors in future.
''This is an important location and a heritage site which should be renovated and maintained, Mr Sena appealed adding one barrack for security personnel should also be constructed for protection of the site''.
The villagers of Rima and Wintong volunteered to conduct a social service for cleaning the undergrowth keeping the useful trees intact, sources added.
A decade back a cemetery comprising more than 1000 graves of World War-II heroes was discovered near Jairampur adjacent to the historic Stilwell Road.
The 1,726 km Stilwell Road (from Ledo in Assam to Kunming in China), was constructed against all odds by General Joseph Warren Stilwell, Chief of Staff to Allied Forces in China-Burma-India theatre. (UNI)
Of explosions, communal clashes and political unrest Assam: The year that was
Guwahati: For Assam, the gateway of the Northeast, 2008 has been one of the most volatile years marked by several violent incidents, including serial blasts and ethnic clashes, coupled with the outbreak of the deadly avian flu.
The year began with sporadic incidents of violence by the proscribed ULFA in Upper and Lower Assam districts.
The cut above the rest came in October when Assam witnessed a series of bomb blasts in four towns, including Guwahati, claiming over 80 lives. The Bodo region also witnessed large-scale communal clashes during the month.
In spite of Jnanpith-award winner Indira Goswami walking out of the 'People's Consultative Group' initiated by ULFA for talks with the Centre, a trickle of hope for peace came forth in June when the 'A' and 'C' companies of the militant group's dreaded 28 battalion declared a unilateral ceasefire.
However, the government, which welcomed the ceasefire, did not withdrew its operations against the group as its other battalions were still active in the state.
Senior ULFA leader Mrinal Hazarika along with the battalion's former commander Prabal Neog after their release from jail took up the initiative for the ceasefire. Another top leader Jiten Dutta also joined the peace efforts.
They toured several parts of the state to garner public support for the ceasefire with both the government and the army extending cooperation and support to their efforts.
Hopes for peace were dampened when ULFA disowned Neog and then came the October blasts, adding salt to the aggrieved people's wounds.
The blasts on October 30 rocked four places -- Guwahati, Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon -- killing over 80 and injuring about 400 people.
The needle of suspicion pointed to jehadi forces from Bangladesh, but the state government blamed the ULFA-NDFB combine, leading to the arrest of several NDFB cadres.
ULFA, however, denied its role in the blasts and several political parties and the public refused to buy the government's stand.
Authorities, later, claimed that all terror activities in the state were planned by jehadi elements from Bangladesh and carried out by either of the two outfits in the state.
The state initially constituted a Special Investigative Team but the probes were later handed over to the CBI.
October also saw large-scale ethnic clashes between indigenous people and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in two districts in the Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts.
Trouble began during Id-ul-Fitr celebrations when illegal migrants settled in Udalguri allegedly stole cattle belonging to members of the Bodo community.
It soon spiralled out of control with members of both communities attacking each other. The following three-day mayhem in Udalguri and Darrang districts claimed 55 lives, injured 111 others in 54 villages where more than 500 houses were set ablaze and another 1,700 damaged.
The clashes affected other indigenous communities living in the area with lakhs of people taking shelter in relief camps set up by the authorities.
Ruling Congress blamed the banned NDFB, currently on a ceasefire with security forces since 2005, for incitement and involvement in the clashes, but local people, opposition parties and the influential All Assam Students' Union (AASU) flayed the government.
They charged Congress with being "soft" on the Bangladeshi migrants alleging that the illegal settlers were a major vote bank for the ruling party.
Both the October 30 blasts and the ethnic clashes during the month once again brought to fore the issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh which has been Assam's bane since Independence.
Following the incidents, AASU, opposition parties, particularly AGP and BJP, and public organisations stressed on the need to stop infiltration from across the border. They accused both the Centre and the state government of trying to achieve political gains by ignoring national security.
On the political front, the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad witnessed a change of leadership in September with Brindabon Goswami, who was opposed to the unification of breakaway and regional parties, being replaced by Chandramohan Patowary as the party President.
Subsequently, Patowary took the initiative to bring breakaway parties formed by members of AGP like the AGP (Progressive) and Trinamul Gana Parishad (TGP), besides regional parties into the fold of the party. Later, AGP (P) and TGP merged with the AGP.
Patowary also took forward the process of seat adjustments with the BJP for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls and an understanding was reached in November.
Assam's perennial problem of flood continued to wreak havoc in the state with fresh areas suffering the onslaught of Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
Towards the end of the year, Assam was hit by bird flu in seven districts and the poultry industry had to bear the brunt though there was no report of humans beings affected so far. (PTI)
NE MPs seek industrial policy review
The Assam Tribune
NEW DELHI, Dec 23 – Calling for review of the impact of the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007, the North East MPs today urged the Government of India to rescind the Finance Ministry notification that watered down the Excise Duty exemptions.
At a meeting called to review the implementation of the NEIIPP, 2007, chaired by Union Minister for Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER), Mani Shankar Aiyar, MPs expressed their disappointment at the manner in which the industrial policy was being implemented. They claimed that no new worthwhile investments have come to the region because certain provisions were watered down.
The high-level meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Commerce Ashwani Kumar and Union Minister of State Power, Jairam Ramesh, besides top officials of the DoNER and Commerce and Industry Ministries. Besides, officials of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) also attended the meeting. However, the meeting was marked by poor attendance of MPs of the North-east.
Secretary of the North East MP’s Forum (NEMPF), Dr Arun Kumar Sarma told this newspaper that MPs were not at all satisfied with the manner in which the Policy was being implemented.
He said the provision of Excise Duty exemption was watered down by the Finance Ministry, which is allowing duty exemption only value addition. The blanket order on excise duty exemption under the Industrial Policy has been modified by the Ministry of Finance, he alleged.
After this, industrialists are not showing interest in investing in the North-East and the Region has not attracted any new investments,” he said.
The second issue raised by the NEMPF was the accumulating backlog of the subsidies including the Transport Subsidy. The MPs pointed out that the problem was on account of the delay in making budgetary provision for the subsidies. There is no provision in the industrial policy and promotion, he said.
The MPs demanded that the Ministry of Finance take the initiative and make special provision in the next Vote on Account to be placed before the Parliament, next year, Dr Sarma said.
The Forum also urged the DoNER and Commerce Ministries to review the Industrial Policy to evaluate the outcome of the Policy. “There has been no review of the industrial policy so far, added the general secretary.
Meanwhile, the NHAI held that activities of insurgent groups in Assam and Manipur have delayed the East-West Corridor Project. The official told the meeting that the prestigious project has been particular hit in North Cachar Hills and Moreh area. They alleged failure of the State Government has not been able to provide security, resulting in number of kidnappings.
They pleaded that no contractor was willing to work in the areas, as a result of which project work has been hit.
A number of MPs suggested that the project work in these two sectors be handed over to the Border Road Organisation.
Sikkim Government seeks to increase Assembly strength
GANGTOK, Dec 23 – The Sikkim Democratic Front Government yesterday introduced a resolution in the House seeking an expansion of its strength from 32 to 40 for accomodation of all communities, reports PTI.
The resolution, which was introduced in the House by the Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling, proposed that the strength of the State Assembly be increased to 40 for providing representation for all communities, including Limboo and Tamang in proportion to their population.
With the existing reservation of seats for the Bhutia and Lepcha people, at 12, being a sensitive issue, the resolution specifically recommended that the reserved B-L and Sanghs (monasteries) at one should not be disturbed.
The proposed resolution, after endorsement by this House, will be forwarded to the Centre for necessary action in pursuance to the Union Home Ministry’s letter in September this year asking the State Government to send an ambiguous and consensual resolution from the House outlining the category-wise reservation of seats to strengthen its case for increase in the strength of the State Assembly.
Limboo and Tamang communities were included in the ST list in January 2003, but their rightful demand for reservation of seats in the State Assembly has been hanging in balance as the resolution of the demand will require an appropriate legislation or amendment in the People’s Representation Act by the Parliament.
Tourist fest: To promote tourism and attract tourists even in winter off season, Pelling Tourism Development Association (PTDA) is organizing the 4th edition of Kanchendzonga Tourist Festival 2008 at Pelling School ground from December 24 to 26.
Tshering Wangdi Bhutia, General Secretary of the organization said it is to promote winter tourism in the State since winter is considered a non-tourist season in Sikkim.
The other objective is to provide avenues of employment for the educated unemployed youths through tourism in their own locality. – Correspondent.
Famine dampens X’mas mood in Churachandpur
IMPHAL, Dec 23 – The Christmas mood of the Christians in the Kuki-Chin-Zomi tribes dominated Churachandpur district in Manipur has been overshadowed by a famine.
Most parts of the district had been hit by a famine-like situation after rodents attacked the standing crops as well as the granaries in the wake of large scale bamboo flowering.
A total of 16,050.13 hectares of cultivated land was damaged and 1,03,558 persons from 14,307 families in 264 villages in the district bordering Myanmar and Mizoram affected as per administration report quoted by Co-ordinating Mautam Famine Aid. “As the people remain haunted by the dreaded Mautam famine, their worries have overshadowed the normal cheerful mood prevailing at this time of the year. -TST
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Imphal: In the aftermath of the bomb attack of Manipur Raj Bhavan, on Sunday night, a cabinet meeting of the state government on Monday while condemning the attack, has reviewed the law and order situation. The cabinet meeting also reiterated its determination to completely eliminate such incidents from taking place in the future.
Informing this through a press note made available to the press by AN Jha, secretary to the chief minister of Manipur Monday night, a cabinet meeting on Monday condemned the incident of lobbing bombs at the premises of the Raj Bhavan Sunday night.
Reiterated its determination to completely eliminate such incidents from taking place in the future, the cabinet also reviewed law and order situation besides directing all law enforcement agencies to take extra measures to bring the culprits to book and to prevent occurrence of similar breach of law, added Jha.
The cabinet while unanimously having decided to review the security of the Raj Bhavan, will also submit its reports on priority within the one week, informed the secretary of the chief minister in the press note.
Further taking note of the various attacks carried out on certain offices and houses of officers, the cabinet has also directed all law and order enforcement agencies to deal with the cases in the sternest possible manner.
Meanwhile, an official source informed that the cabinet has decided to form a long term security committee to see into the security of the state especially regarding the various attacks on offices and houses of officers of the state.
District wise measurements will also be taken up by security committee to control such anti-social elements in the future, informed the source.
Another official source also informed that a high level security meeting was held Monday afternoon attended by chief minister and other high ranking security officials of the state held at the chief minister secretariat.
Deciding to review the law and order situation of the state, the meeting has also decided to heighten the walls of the Raj Bhavan besides fixing CCTV cameras, added the source.
The meeting also discussed to tighten the security of the VVIP areas and other sensitive zones of the state, conveyed the source.
Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the governor was attacked with explosives by a proscribed militant outfit operating in the state Sunday night at about 5:30.
However, no casualties were reported. The governor was also reported to have been out of station. (NNN)
Assam govt re-confirms bird flu outbreak
Guwahati: All confusions arising out of reports that there had been no bird flu outbreak in Assam were laid to rest after the state government on Monday re-confirmed that the avian influenza had struck the poultry here.
Bird flu was confirmed in Assam and all culling operations were being conducted on Centre’s orders, Assam Commission Secretary, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department S L Mewra said.
He also circulated copies of the Centre’s orders for culling after news reports had appeared that the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory had detected no bird flu case in Assam or West Bengal.
Mr Mewra clarified that no new cases of bird flu had been detected in the samples sent, with the state forwarding samples from 21 places again on Monday. He informed that the first bird flu outbreak was confirmed on November 27 on samples sent from Rajabazaar area of Hajo in Kamrup (rural) district. The second confirmation arrived on December 1 on poultry in Rani and Rampur development blocks of the same district and thereafter, it was confirmed in another six districts of the state. Culling started from November 28, he added. He stated that culling operations were over in all but three districts-- Bongaigaon, Barpeta and Chirang.
About 4.05 lakh poultry out of targeted five lakh had been culled till date and compensation of over Rs 1.32 crore had been given. (UNI)
World War II site discovered in Arunachal
Itanagar: A historically significant site surrounded with World War-II remnants has been discovered at Jairampur in Changlang district.
A team led by Assembly Speaker Setong Sena besides administrative and Assam Rifles officials visited Wintong, a non-descriptive village under administrative jurisdiction of Rima Putok circle, 20 kilometers from Nampong, after receiving information from the villagers,official sources said here today.
A few senior citizens of nearby villages who worked with the Allied Forces during the war described the place as a monitoring and observation camp.
Air strikes were monitored from the place and accordingly counter attacks were planned by the forces, they informed.
This isolated area is full of lush green vegetation and swaying trees singing the saga of bygone era.
The team spotted lots of morsels of war time and many empty vessels, tins and bottles of medicines and daily usable items in the vicinity. The villagers also showed a tree which was utilized by the American Allied Forces for installation of the radio network.
An aea of around 500 meters was under the occupation of about 150 soldiers of the Allied Forces, explained an old man, who witnessed the operation himself, sources disclosed.
The speaker instructed officers of constructing agencies to start work of 250 meter long footpath from the village to the site including a small approach road to connect this area with existing road including parking zone to facilitate visitors in future.
''This is an important location and a heritage site which should be renovated and maintained, Mr Sena appealed adding one barrack for security personnel should also be constructed for protection of the site''.
The villagers of Rima and Wintong volunteered to conduct a social service for cleaning the undergrowth keeping the useful trees intact, sources added.
A decade back a cemetery comprising more than 1000 graves of World War-II heroes was discovered near Jairampur adjacent to the historic Stilwell Road.
The 1,726 km Stilwell Road (from Ledo in Assam to Kunming in China), was constructed against all odds by General Joseph Warren Stilwell, Chief of Staff to Allied Forces in China-Burma-India theatre. (UNI)
Of explosions, communal clashes and political unrest Assam: The year that was
Guwahati: For Assam, the gateway of the Northeast, 2008 has been one of the most volatile years marked by several violent incidents, including serial blasts and ethnic clashes, coupled with the outbreak of the deadly avian flu.
The year began with sporadic incidents of violence by the proscribed ULFA in Upper and Lower Assam districts.
The cut above the rest came in October when Assam witnessed a series of bomb blasts in four towns, including Guwahati, claiming over 80 lives. The Bodo region also witnessed large-scale communal clashes during the month.
In spite of Jnanpith-award winner Indira Goswami walking out of the 'People's Consultative Group' initiated by ULFA for talks with the Centre, a trickle of hope for peace came forth in June when the 'A' and 'C' companies of the militant group's dreaded 28 battalion declared a unilateral ceasefire.
However, the government, which welcomed the ceasefire, did not withdrew its operations against the group as its other battalions were still active in the state.
Senior ULFA leader Mrinal Hazarika along with the battalion's former commander Prabal Neog after their release from jail took up the initiative for the ceasefire. Another top leader Jiten Dutta also joined the peace efforts.
They toured several parts of the state to garner public support for the ceasefire with both the government and the army extending cooperation and support to their efforts.
Hopes for peace were dampened when ULFA disowned Neog and then came the October blasts, adding salt to the aggrieved people's wounds.
The blasts on October 30 rocked four places -- Guwahati, Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon -- killing over 80 and injuring about 400 people.
The needle of suspicion pointed to jehadi forces from Bangladesh, but the state government blamed the ULFA-NDFB combine, leading to the arrest of several NDFB cadres.
ULFA, however, denied its role in the blasts and several political parties and the public refused to buy the government's stand.
Authorities, later, claimed that all terror activities in the state were planned by jehadi elements from Bangladesh and carried out by either of the two outfits in the state.
The state initially constituted a Special Investigative Team but the probes were later handed over to the CBI.
October also saw large-scale ethnic clashes between indigenous people and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in two districts in the Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts.
Trouble began during Id-ul-Fitr celebrations when illegal migrants settled in Udalguri allegedly stole cattle belonging to members of the Bodo community.
It soon spiralled out of control with members of both communities attacking each other. The following three-day mayhem in Udalguri and Darrang districts claimed 55 lives, injured 111 others in 54 villages where more than 500 houses were set ablaze and another 1,700 damaged.
The clashes affected other indigenous communities living in the area with lakhs of people taking shelter in relief camps set up by the authorities.
Ruling Congress blamed the banned NDFB, currently on a ceasefire with security forces since 2005, for incitement and involvement in the clashes, but local people, opposition parties and the influential All Assam Students' Union (AASU) flayed the government.
They charged Congress with being "soft" on the Bangladeshi migrants alleging that the illegal settlers were a major vote bank for the ruling party.
Both the October 30 blasts and the ethnic clashes during the month once again brought to fore the issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh which has been Assam's bane since Independence.
Following the incidents, AASU, opposition parties, particularly AGP and BJP, and public organisations stressed on the need to stop infiltration from across the border. They accused both the Centre and the state government of trying to achieve political gains by ignoring national security.
On the political front, the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad witnessed a change of leadership in September with Brindabon Goswami, who was opposed to the unification of breakaway and regional parties, being replaced by Chandramohan Patowary as the party President.
Subsequently, Patowary took the initiative to bring breakaway parties formed by members of AGP like the AGP (Progressive) and Trinamul Gana Parishad (TGP), besides regional parties into the fold of the party. Later, AGP (P) and TGP merged with the AGP.
Patowary also took forward the process of seat adjustments with the BJP for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls and an understanding was reached in November.
Assam's perennial problem of flood continued to wreak havoc in the state with fresh areas suffering the onslaught of Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
Towards the end of the year, Assam was hit by bird flu in seven districts and the poultry industry had to bear the brunt though there was no report of humans beings affected so far. (PTI)
NE MPs seek industrial policy review
The Assam Tribune
NEW DELHI, Dec 23 – Calling for review of the impact of the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007, the North East MPs today urged the Government of India to rescind the Finance Ministry notification that watered down the Excise Duty exemptions.
At a meeting called to review the implementation of the NEIIPP, 2007, chaired by Union Minister for Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER), Mani Shankar Aiyar, MPs expressed their disappointment at the manner in which the industrial policy was being implemented. They claimed that no new worthwhile investments have come to the region because certain provisions were watered down.
The high-level meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Commerce Ashwani Kumar and Union Minister of State Power, Jairam Ramesh, besides top officials of the DoNER and Commerce and Industry Ministries. Besides, officials of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) also attended the meeting. However, the meeting was marked by poor attendance of MPs of the North-east.
Secretary of the North East MP’s Forum (NEMPF), Dr Arun Kumar Sarma told this newspaper that MPs were not at all satisfied with the manner in which the Policy was being implemented.
He said the provision of Excise Duty exemption was watered down by the Finance Ministry, which is allowing duty exemption only value addition. The blanket order on excise duty exemption under the Industrial Policy has been modified by the Ministry of Finance, he alleged.
After this, industrialists are not showing interest in investing in the North-East and the Region has not attracted any new investments,” he said.
The second issue raised by the NEMPF was the accumulating backlog of the subsidies including the Transport Subsidy. The MPs pointed out that the problem was on account of the delay in making budgetary provision for the subsidies. There is no provision in the industrial policy and promotion, he said.
The MPs demanded that the Ministry of Finance take the initiative and make special provision in the next Vote on Account to be placed before the Parliament, next year, Dr Sarma said.
The Forum also urged the DoNER and Commerce Ministries to review the Industrial Policy to evaluate the outcome of the Policy. “There has been no review of the industrial policy so far, added the general secretary.
Meanwhile, the NHAI held that activities of insurgent groups in Assam and Manipur have delayed the East-West Corridor Project. The official told the meeting that the prestigious project has been particular hit in North Cachar Hills and Moreh area. They alleged failure of the State Government has not been able to provide security, resulting in number of kidnappings.
They pleaded that no contractor was willing to work in the areas, as a result of which project work has been hit.
A number of MPs suggested that the project work in these two sectors be handed over to the Border Road Organisation.
Sikkim Government seeks to increase Assembly strength
GANGTOK, Dec 23 – The Sikkim Democratic Front Government yesterday introduced a resolution in the House seeking an expansion of its strength from 32 to 40 for accomodation of all communities, reports PTI.
The resolution, which was introduced in the House by the Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling, proposed that the strength of the State Assembly be increased to 40 for providing representation for all communities, including Limboo and Tamang in proportion to their population.
With the existing reservation of seats for the Bhutia and Lepcha people, at 12, being a sensitive issue, the resolution specifically recommended that the reserved B-L and Sanghs (monasteries) at one should not be disturbed.
The proposed resolution, after endorsement by this House, will be forwarded to the Centre for necessary action in pursuance to the Union Home Ministry’s letter in September this year asking the State Government to send an ambiguous and consensual resolution from the House outlining the category-wise reservation of seats to strengthen its case for increase in the strength of the State Assembly.
Limboo and Tamang communities were included in the ST list in January 2003, but their rightful demand for reservation of seats in the State Assembly has been hanging in balance as the resolution of the demand will require an appropriate legislation or amendment in the People’s Representation Act by the Parliament.
Tourist fest: To promote tourism and attract tourists even in winter off season, Pelling Tourism Development Association (PTDA) is organizing the 4th edition of Kanchendzonga Tourist Festival 2008 at Pelling School ground from December 24 to 26.
Tshering Wangdi Bhutia, General Secretary of the organization said it is to promote winter tourism in the State since winter is considered a non-tourist season in Sikkim.
The other objective is to provide avenues of employment for the educated unemployed youths through tourism in their own locality. – Correspondent.
Famine dampens X’mas mood in Churachandpur
IMPHAL, Dec 23 – The Christmas mood of the Christians in the Kuki-Chin-Zomi tribes dominated Churachandpur district in Manipur has been overshadowed by a famine.
Most parts of the district had been hit by a famine-like situation after rodents attacked the standing crops as well as the granaries in the wake of large scale bamboo flowering.
A total of 16,050.13 hectares of cultivated land was damaged and 1,03,558 persons from 14,307 families in 264 villages in the district bordering Myanmar and Mizoram affected as per administration report quoted by Co-ordinating Mautam Famine Aid. “As the people remain haunted by the dreaded Mautam famine, their worries have overshadowed the normal cheerful mood prevailing at this time of the year. -TST
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