From Our Correspondent

 GUWAHATI: The Opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Friday took out a ‘Dispur chalo’ (proceed to Dispur) protest rally from Khanapara ground in the eastern part of the city in continuation of its protest against India-Bangladesh land swapping pact that was signed on September 6 last during the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka in the company of four chief ministers of N-E states including Assam’s Tarun Gogoi.

All the top AGP leaders including its president Chandra Mohan Patowary, former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta led the protest rally of about 5000 party workers shouting slogans against Congress-led Tarun Gogoi government in the state for agreeing to part with Assam’s land in the form of India-Bangladesh land pact.

The AGP leaders shouted that September 6 would remain a black for Assam for Tarun Gogoi’s indifference to protest the land of Assam because of his overt keenness to ‘please his masters’ in New Delhi to further his political career.

“Gogoi has no right to facilitate hand over of Assam’s land to Bangladesh in the name resolution of border dispute with Bangladesh.

No amount of reasoning by Gogoi and his government will be able to convince the people of Assam about the need to handover Assam’s land to Bangladesh so that the borer fencing could be completed,” the AP leaders said and vowed to continue their agitation till the land pact is scrapped.

The police put up barricade on the busy Guwahati-Shillong Road to prevent the AGP rally from coming anywhere near to the state’s capital complex at Dispur. The rally was stopped at Rukmini Gaon area about a kilometer away from the capital complex.

Chief minister Gogoi and his government have been maintaining that the land pact with Bangladesh would leave Assam with 1240 acres of disputed land while Bangladesh would get only 357 acres.

“The Opposition’s campaign against the land pact is baseless and uncalled for,” Gogoi said.

However, the main opposition AGP, BJP and the influential All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) have sent fact-finding teams to the disputed border areas along India-Bangladesh border and claimed to have procured land documents to prove that the land pact with Bangladesh has paved the way for transfer of Assam’s land to Bangladesh.

ITANAGAR: Aunachal Pradesh Governor Gen (Retd) J J Singh has asked Home Minister Takar Marde to submit a detailed report on the prevailing law and order in the state and the steps being taken by the government to boost confidence among the people.

The Governor said this when a six-member ministerial delegation headed by Marde called on him at Raj Bhavan here yesterday to apprise him of the various development projects implemented in the state, a press note said today.

While appreciating the efforts of various departments, the Governor asked all the ministers to formulate people-centric policies which should generate sufficient employment opportunities for the youth in rural areas, the note said. The delegation comprised Industries & Fisheries Minister Tako Dabi, Environment & Forests and Power (E) Minister Setong Sena, Health & RWD Minister Atum Welly, WRD & Tourism Minister Pema Khandu and Agriculture & Horticulture Minister Honchun Ngandam. During the discussions, the home minister briefed the governor on the present law and order in the state and the steps being taken by the police. While expressing his concern over some of the recent incidents in capital complex and other parts of the state, Gen Singh asked Marde to take strict measures to bring the guilty to book and restore the faith of the people in administration. Industries minister Tako Dabi briefed the governor on the steps being taken for development of fisheries and tea cultivation sectors in the state for promotion of rural livelihood.

He emphasized a collective development plan for the state involving agriculture and allied departments, water resource department, Forests and Fisheries etc for a planned development of the state.

Highlighting the implementation of Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutkaran Yojana (RGGVY) scheme in the state, Setong Sena said that improvement of transmission and distribution network has been taken up as a priority area by the power department. Sena, who also holds the charge of Parliamentary Affairs, emphasized on the need for regular training and orientation programmes for the members of the state assembly.

While focusing on the issue of shortage of general and specialist doctors in the state, Welly told the governor that the department of Health has initiated a proposal for creating these much required posts. Responding to the Governor’s query on the present status of Institute of Hotel Management and opening of Arunachal Tourism Counter at Guwahati Airport, Pema Khandu said that the projects will be completed as soon as possible. (PTI)

KOHIMA: Leader of Opposition in Nagaland Assembly Tokheho Yepthomi has came down heavily on the Nagaland Government for its failure to contain the problem in its nascent stage, which he claimed has only encouraged the criminals to take crime to menacing height.

A statement issued by Mr Yepthomi here on Friday said ”No word is sufficient to condemn the spate of kidnapping of school children for ransom that have taken place during the past two months in Dimapur.

What is more condemnable is the failure of the law enforcement agencies to crack even one case, the release stated.

Stating that it has become the most dangerous threat to the life of the citizens in Dimapur affecting their daily lives, he said it has created fear psychosis, especially in the minds of the non-local communities, who are pushed to the brink.

He said the people have lost confidence in the government of the day, which is evidently clear from their refusal to report the cases to the law enforcing agencies and the incidents manifest utter intelligence and policing failures.

The community policing as proposed by the Nagaland Home Minister was nothing but to pass the buck to the community for his failure, he stated.

The Congress Legislative Party leader said there is no sense in sending the state’s forces outside the state when ”our own home is under attack”.(UNI)

GUWAHATI:Dhaka has agreed to allow New Delhi to ferry food grains for the northeastern states via Bangladesh, officials said here Friday.

“After the Bangladesh government’s green signal, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Inland Water Transport Authority (IWTA) are now selecting agencies that would carry the food grains and essential items,” Tripura food department commissioner B.K. Roy told reporters.

“The issue was discussed at a meeting of food ministers and food secretaries of the northeastern states in Guwahati Thursday,” he said.

Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution K.V. Thomas chaired the meeting attended by food ministers of seven northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura — and other government officials.

The northeastern states have largely been dependent on supply of food grains from other states, specially Punjab and Haryana.

Surface connectivity is a key factor as the hilly region is surrounded by Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and China, and the only land route to these states from within India is through Assam and West Bengal.

For ferrying goods, essentials and heavy machinery from abroad and other parts of the country, India has for long been demanding land, ports and rail access to the northeast through Bangladesh, which shares a 4,095-km border with India.Agartala via Guwahati, for instance, is 1,650 km from Kolkata and 2,637 km from New Delhi. The distance between the Tripura capital and Kolkata via Bangladesh is just about 350 km.

“Due to shortage of rail wagons, inadequate storage facilities and various other bottlenecks, the northeastern states have been suffering from poor supply of food grains for most part of the year, especially during monsoon,” he said.

During the monsoon season (June to September), road transport becomes very difficult in the mountain regions due to landslides, floods and other calamities.

“Thomas told the meeting that the government is very much hopeful about the transportation of food grains and essentials via Bangladesh.

Formal agreements are expected to be signed with that country only after logistical issues are settled,” Roy said.

On the key issue of storage facilities in the northeastern states, the minister said a proposal for construction of warehouses with a total capacity of 5.4 lakh tonnes at an estimated cost of Rs.568 crore has been approved by his ministry.

“A special provision of Rs.24 crore would be given as grant for the construction of intermediary godowns (warehouses) by the state governments of the region. The Planning Commission supports the proposed augmentation of storage capacity in the northeast,” he said.

There are eight ongoing projects and 39 new projects have been identified. The state governments have been requested to give all possible assistance to the FCI for identifying land for construction of warehouses, he added.(IANS)

AIZAWL: Mizoram Presbyterian Church’s social front has appealed to the Mizos to stop lending their names to non-tribals.

Voicing serious concern over this illegal practice, the church’s social front said, ”By lending our names to non-tribals, we are draining our economy for the benefit of outsiders,” the social front’s communiqué said.

There are over 264 Mizos who earn between Rs 3000 to Rs 10,000 monthly just by lending their names to non-tribals so that the latter get trade licences.

These non-tribals who use Mizo names are beetle shop owners, iron dealers and even contractors and suppliers. There are also a number of non-tribals who married Mizo girls in order to run business in the tribal state in the name of their wives.(UNI)

In this process, the state government has also lost a huge revenue as the non-tribal traders have evaded income tax by trading under the guise of Mizo tribals who are exempted from the income tax, the communiqué said.

The social front further accused non-tribal contractors/suppliers, doing the business under Mizo names, usually used/supplied sub-standard materials.

This illegal practice, the social front feared, posed threats to the social and economic security of the indigenous people of Mizoram who are specially protected from the threats of assimilation since the British time.

”The British imposed the Eastern Bengal Frontier Regulation of 1873 in Mizoram since 1930 to protect the Mizos from the plainspeople who were much more advanced in trading activities and larger in number,” it said.

The Church’s appeal came after the Young Mizo Association, the state’s biggest NGO, launched a state-wide campaign against such benami traders. The YMA has prepared a list of them and submitted it to the state government to take action. UNI

ITANAGAR: The 2,700-MW Lower Siang hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh has run into rough weather, with the apex assembly of the Adi community, the Bogum Bokang Kebang, voicing its opposition to the dam, apprehending an adverse impact on people of the area.

The three-day Bogum Bokang Kebang from September 26 to 29 at Riew Village, in East Siang district, resolved to boycott a proposed public hearing on the project, which was slated to be held on October 18, 19 and 21.

“Not an inch of land will be allowed to be submerged because of the project,” the resolution, a copy of which was made available to the press, said.

The assembly also resolved to resort to mass protests if there was any attempt to take away land from the people.

It was further decided that no meeting demanding compensation for lands on both banks of the Siang River shall be entertained in any village of the Adi belt henceforth.

The Next Bogum Bokang Kebang will be organised at Pessing village, in West Siang district, the resolution added. (PTI)

NSCN-IM chief arrives Nagaland

KOHIMA: The Chairman of the NSCN (I-M), Isak Chishi Swu arrived Dimapur from New Delhi on Thursday after holding discussions with officials with the Union government.

NSCN-IM Sources said their supreme commander has come back from New Delhi to hold some urgent talks with some of their leaders and civic bodies in connection with the ongoing talks with the Centre.

He was likely to be at Camp Hebron for a few days. (UNI)

 Blockade supporters burn vehicles

IMPHAL: Three vehicles were set ablaze by agitators who are observing economic blockades on two national highways passing through Manipur demanding conversion Senapati district into a full-fledged district.

Official sources said the agitators, who have blocked NH 53 and NH 39 in Senapati district since August one, burnt down the vehicles at Kangpokpi on Thursday which has also resulted in an abnormal hike in the prices of most commodities. The agitators had previously set fire to at least 18 more vehicles on the highways.

The Sadar Hills District Demand Committee launched the economic blockade on Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati NH 53 and the Imphal-Jiribam-Silchar NH 39 since August 1 demanding conversion of the Kuki-majority Sadar hills area in Naga- majority Senapati district into a full-fledged district.(PTI)

 Bamboo flowering in Arunachal

ITANAGAR: Farmers of several villages in Chayang Tajo and Sewa circles under East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh are spending sleepless nights following bamboo flowering on a large scale.

According to official sources here on Friday , flowering of taffo (a sub-Himalayan species of dwarf bamboo) is spreading thick and fast across the region in a north to south direction.

The farmers are scared of eminent rat menace in their areas following bamboo flowering this year which will affect their harvest.

Last year the norther villages like Tassar Sollung, Kewsse Bagang and Jayang Bagang were the first to be hit by rodent menace, before it spread in neighbouring villages of Wada Bagang, Sangchu, Tamak Sollung and Laching Bagang in the district.(UNI)