Meningitis claims 12
AIZAWL: At least 12 infants have died due to meningitis during the past 45 days in Mizoram’s Saiha district bordering Myanmar, health officials said on Saturday. Five infants below the age of one year died during November while seven infants died in October. 14 additional beds have been squeezed into the 50-bedded Saiha district hospitals in view of the rising number of patients, the officials said, adding even free clinics have been organised in the remotest villages to safe the infants. The officials said the situation in the area might have been aggravated due to malnutrition among locals, especially among the infants. (PTI)
ULFA man nabbed
GUWAHATI: A Bangladeshi national, working as an ULFA linkman, was apprehended by security personnel while trying to cross the border in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district, defence officials said on Saturday. Acting on a tip-off, the linkman was yesterday nabbed by patrolling BSF personnel from Purakhasia border outpost, they said. Fake Indian currency with a face value of Rs 6,000 and a mobile phone was recovered from his possession, they said. The linkman was handed over to the police after interrogation by BSF, they added. (PTI)
Mizoram sans Kingfisher
AIZAWL: Air travellers in Mizoram are likely to bid goodbye to Kingfisher flights as the cash-strapped private airline is reportedly planning to discontinue services to the state’s sole airport. Sources said Lengpui Airport in Aizawl is among several airports, including Agartala and Silchar in the Northeast, which Kingfisher is pulling out from. Sources quoted Kingfisher officials as saying air services to these cities had been often disrupted by weather conditions in the past. However, the state civil aviation officials said they were yet to be informed of the Kingfisher’s plans to pull out. At present, Kingfisher operates flights between Aizawl and Kolkata thrice a week. The officials said as Air India and Jet Airways operate daily flights, there had been no shortage of air services so far. (UNI)