Shillong, March 5: The BJP and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today announced a deal on propping up a consensus candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats in Meghalaya so as to jointly take on the Congress.

In a joint news conference today, the BJP and the NCP announced the formation of a co-ordination committee of both parties soon to decide whether to contest under the aegis of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or the United Democratic Front of Meghalaya.

Addressing the news conference, presidents of both the BJP and the NCP state units said the co-ordination committee would wait for...

Jorhat, March 5: Concerned over the drastic reduction in bird population over the past few months, the state forest department will soon carry out a survey on the avian population. The department has sought help from NGOs to carry out the census on birds. Honorary wildlife warden of Assam Santa Sharma said there had been a drastic decrease in the number of birds during the past few months.

This is in sharp contrast to the increase registered in the last couple of years in the state, she added. ?The main factor responsible for the decrease in bird population is poaching,? she said, adding that...

Kohima, March 5: On the first anniversary of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) government?s being in power, state BJP leader Hokishe Sema called for resolution of the Naga political problem within the lifetime of this generation of leaders.

Defining the fine line between independence and sovereignty, the former chief minister asked the Naga people to show that they were sovereign. He said various overground and underground organisations were working sincerely and the government of India had the desire to solve the problem.

This is the second time in two years that Sema addressed a...

Guwahati, March 3: Architect of the controversial Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act Abdul Muhib Mazumdar today rejoined the Congress after a long hiatus, but ruled out immediate return to electoral politics.

Mazumdar left the Congress in 1995 following differences with the then chief minister and party president, Hiteswar Saikia. However, the controversial act, which he drafted as law minister in 1983, brought him close to the party again.

Welcoming Mazumdar back into the party, Assam PCC president Paban Singh Ghatowar said, ?He recently appeared before the parliamentary...

New Delhi, March 3: There is finally hope for Majuli. The Jorhat-based Rain Forest Research Institute has decided to implement an anti-erosion project, based on unconventional methods, to stop the riverine island from being gobbled up by the Brahmaputra.

The scheme, jointly sponsored by the National Mission for Bamboo Applications and the Jorhat Zilla Parishad, envisages planting of different species of bamboo and grass in the affected zones of the island, as they are known to have properties that help check erosion.

The project not only promises to be effective, but is also likely to open up...