SC panel to check border fencing works
SHILLONG: A Supervisory Committee set up by the Supreme Court of India to supervise border fencing works on the Indo-Bangladesh border reached Shillong on its three days visit to Meghalaya. The Supervisory Committee will visit Border Security Force out posts at Dawki and Baghmara to supervise border fencing works. The high level committee lead by A K Mangotra, IAS(Retd) along with D K Pathak, IPS(Retd.) Ex-DG BSF and Abdul Mannan, H K Lohia, IPS, IG BSF(HR), eastern command, Kolkata also accompanying the committee. On the arrival at Ftr HQ Meghalaya BSF, Sabu A Joseph, Deputy Inspector General/PSO briefed the committee about the present status of border fencing works and prevailing security scenario at the border as well as in the state.
90 percent vaccination target in SWGH
AMPATI: South West Garo Hills district is set on the road to success under the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) with the target of achieving over 90 percent coverage in immunisation of all children from 0-2 years and all pregnant women in the district. Compared to the last round of Mission Indradhanush, there is better participation of the community under Intensified Mission Indradhanush, the first round of which was started on October 7, and many of the dropouts and refusal cases has been covered due to the concerted efforts of the district medical team along with the support of the community.Altogether, there are 38 sessions of vaccination in the first round with the target of 335 children and 111 pregnant mothers. Deputy Commissioner CVD Diengdoh, who is also the chairman of District Task Force on Immunization (DTFI) along with the district Health officials visited some of the session sites as part of their supervision and monitoring of the immunisation process.Diengdoh interacted with the medical staff, beneficiaries and the community members and briefed them on the importance of receiving the vaccines regularly on time.The first round of IMI will end by October 14, while the next will commence from November 7.
NEHU prof felicitated, committee formed
TURA: A lecturer of the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) was recently felicitated by the NEHU Teachers’ Association for her contributions to the study of socio-linguistic and Morphological Garo Language.Dr Angela W Ingty, who joined the Department of English in 2002 and completed her PhD in Garo Morphology, was felicitated on her superannuation by the association on Monday at NEHU Tura Campus at Chasingre near Tura.As part of the occasion, a five-member interim committee comprising faculty members for Tura campus was formed with Dr Ramona Sangma, Dr Nikme Ch Momin, Gino A Sangma and Prof CP Suresh as members and Prof Sujata Gurudev as the convener of the committee.
NIFT organises national symposium
SHILLONG: The department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology, Meghalaya, in association with the PhD students of MihirKanti Chaudhuri, FNSc, FNA, former vice chancellor of Tezpur University, Assam, is organising a National Symposium on ‘Recent Trends in Chemical Sciences (RTCS 2017)’ on October 12 and 13, at NIT Meghalaya, Bijni Complex, Laitumkhrah. The Symposium is being funded by North Eastern Council (NEC), Shillong, Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Atomic Minerals Directorate (under DAE) and RITES Ltd. The Symposium will be inaugurated by BB Biswal, director of NIT, Meghalaya while the key-note address will be delivered by MK Chaudhuri. Many eminent chemists of the country will attend the symposium and deliver speeches on frontier areas of Chemical Sciences. A special ‘Felicitation Programme’ for MihirKanti Chaudhuri, who was born in Shillong and served North Eastern Hill University for more than two decades will also be included. Research scholars of various research institutions and Atomic Mineral Directorate, Shillong will also take part in Poster session.
Social Audit Workshop conducted
SHILLONG: A three-day Social Audit Workshop on the Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017 for state nodal officers of various departments was conducted by the Programme Implementation and Evaluation Department, Government of Meghalaya from October 10-12, at Hotel Polo Towers. The topics that were covered at the programme include, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Midday Meal, health services, programmes implemented in the area by the Joint Forest Management Committee, services provided by the MeECL, PHE department and the Police department, Swachh Bharat Mission, employment and skilling, among others. Programmes or schemes implemented by the Planning Department, Border Areas Development Programmes, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and National Food Security Act and programmes implemented by the Food & Civil Supplies were also taken up.
Moulakandi VEC secretary clarifies on allegations
SHILLONG: The VEC secretary, Moulakandi, West Garo Hills, Kalu Sk has rubbished the allegations of misappropriation of funds in the implementation of projects in the area. Earlier, the residents of Moulakandi had submitted a complaint to the Deputy Commissioner stating that the VEC secretary had abandoned two projects of VEC – embankment with boulder sausage and retaining wall with community land development after doing 30 percent of the works and misappropriated the materials and wages. However, in a statement issued here, the VEC secretary said that it was a baseless complaint that and it was a repetition of the media reports which appeared in February and subsequently a reply was also given in response to the allegation. “The project has already been completed and payment has been made. Only those whose muster roll was not prepared due to their non-participation and absence during the work were not paid the wages. In fact, an inquiry was already conducted by the ombudsman for the works and report submitted after which, the payment was duly made. The reply to their RT1 was already submitted to the office of the BDO, Selsella, but the complainants never bothered to collect the reply from the office of the BDO”, VEC secretary said.“The complainants are ‘anti -social elements, who have nothing else to do”, he added.
Cops arrest student leader for extortion
JOWAI: Police arrested Solomon Rymbai, the general secretary of Pnar Students’ Union, for demanding money from several government officers and businessmen in West Jaintia Hills.“We have received many complaints against him. Today, we arrested him at Lad-war bypass in Shahtngit close to Jowai,” a police officer said. Police informed that Rymbai, 24, had served several demand notes to government officers, including JHADC officers and businessmen in Jaintia Hills, demanding huge sums of money from them. A resident of Mukhla village, Rymbai was arrested on March from Phramer for a similar case where he had demanded money in the name of the HNLC from a wine store owner in West Jaintia Hills.
500 women join Cong in Nartiang
JOWAI: The Nartiang Block Mahila Congress Committee has claimed that around 500 women have joined the party at a meeting held at Nartiang on Wednesday. The Mahila Congress meeting was attended by Meghalaya Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee president, Joplin Shylla and JHADC Congress MDC, Laitsing Shylla, besides others. New leaders of the block were also elected in the meeting. The meeting elected A. Marboh as president and Deimonmi Rymbai Kam as secretary besides other members of the Committee.
Lookout notice for accused in call centre scam
SHILLONG: The office of the Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills district has issued a lookout notice for four persons who were involved in the call centre scam. The four wanted persons who were named include- Naimesh Kapadnekar, Paresh Aasnani, Anish Rajan and Pradipkumar Harishchandra Maurya. They are all residents of Ahmadabad, Gujarat. In another statement, police said that a woman identified as Grassmida Nongrum, daughter of R Shynret, is wanted in connection with a Laitumkhrah Police station case. Any person having information can contact 9436117661 or 0364-2223069/ 0364- 2222277. The identity of the informant will be kept secret, police said.
Rilbong residents annoyed over power cuts
SHILLONG: Frequent power cuts at several intervals have brought hardships to the people of Rilbong and surrounding areas for the last two days.The MeECL had not made any announcement of load shedding during the period. On Wednesday, power went off from 11am to 4 pm affecting the day’s varied activities. Similar was the case on Tuesday.
Survey employees now required to be physically fit
SHILLONG: The State Government employees working under land records and survey department would now have to be much more fitter following an amendment in the Meghalaya Survey Service Rules, 1997 by the State Cabinet here on Wednesday. Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said that as far as recruitment is concerned, the Cabinet felt that the employees in the Directorate of Land Records and Survey department should be fitter as they have to undertake extensive walking within remote areas of the state and the Indo-Bangla border. As per the amendment, the employees now must have good physique and free from infirmities. They are also required to have good eye sight as they have to conduct telescopic mapping and missing even a single dot while mapping could lead to huge mistakes. In addition, the employees must be able to do a brisk walk of 5 kilometers in 45 minutes.