Imphal, May 12: The proscribed United National Liberation Front (UNLF) today accused the army of disturbing peace in Sajik Tampak in Chandel district of Manipur since it launched counter-insurgency operations there and vowed to “fight to the last”. Reacting to the army’s declaration of continuing its operations, the outfit in a statement said, “The Indian occupational force says they are here to stay. We say we are here to fight to the last.”

The statement, signed by the assistant publicity secretary of the outfit’s central committee, accused the army of scripting fake encounters, executions...

Dibrugarh, May 12: A young researcher from Dibrugarh University’s department of life sciences has been chosen by British Petroleum to spearhead its Gangetic river dolphin conservation programme in Assam. Abdul Wakid is one of 29 conservationists from 25 countries to be selected from a list of 350 to conduct the campaign to save the globally endangered species. The yearlong programme is scheduled to get under way in October.

Known as shihu in this part of the country, the population of the Gangetic river dolphin in the Brahmaputra has dipped because of various factors. A mere 266 dolphins were...

DIBRUGARH, May 12 – Litterateur, Narayan Ghatowar, who is also an important functionary of the AASU-sponsored Asom Unnati Sabha has said that he is pained by the “unnecessary political debate on whether the tea labourers of the State are Assamese or not.” Speaking to The Assam Tribune here today, he said that it is universally understood that Assam’s tea labourer community is an intrinsic part of the Assamese society, and regretted that Congress leader Paban Singh Ghatowar has raked up an uncalled for controversy by asking if he is an Assamese or not.

“Paban Singh Ghatowar is an important...

GUWAHATI, May 12 – A happy blend of natural elements and human enterprise carries immense possibilities for the production and marketing of ornamental fish in the North-east. Globally the market for ornamental fish stands at around 50,000 crore rupees, to which the Indian producers contribute a miniscule four crore worth of produce. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), which opened its office in the city last year, is now planning to play a major role in the export of ornamental fish from Assam and some of the neighbouring states. The strategy for identifying the North...

SHILLONG, May 12 – A group of Meghalaya MLAs today said that President A P J Abdul Kalam had assured them that he will endeavour to send experts in the field of uranium mining to allay apprehensions about the exploration of the radio-active mineral in the state, reports PTI.

This was conveyed by the President himself when a group of 15 MLAs from Meghalaya, led by Speaker Martin M Danggo, called on him at Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi yesterday. “There is no danger in Uranium mining,” Kalam, himself a scientist, reportedly told the legislators who briefed newsmen here today.

The President's...