SHILLONG Feb 9 ? Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today dedicated to the nation the North Eastern Regional Load Despatch Centre (NERLDC) at Lapalang here, reports PTI. The Rs 263.8-crore NERLDC project of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited was dedicated by Vajpayee through remote control facility over VSAT communication system at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

The event was watched in Shillong by Meghalaya Minister for Cooperation, Charles Pyngrope, State Chief Secretary PJ Bezley, Chairman and Managing Director of Power Grid RP Singh and others. The project was completed eight months ahead...

AGARTALA, Feb 9 ? The attempt of the Indigenous National Party of Tripura (INPT) to forge an alliance with BJP came a cropper once again following strong opposition from the State unit of the BJP. The INPT, which had so far been an ally of the Congress in Tripura, sought to change the electoral partner and held talks with the BJP president M Venkaiah Maidu in New Delhi yesterday.

Earlier, Trinamool Congress leaders Manata Banerjee and Mukul Roy also discussed the INPT?s joining with the NDA in Kolkata. Following the meeting with TMC leaders on February 7, the five-member delegation comprising...

GUWAHATI, Feb 9 ?The Federation of Industries and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER) has submitted a pre-budget memorandum to the State Government demanding rationalisation of the tax structure and widening of the tax net in the State. In the memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi who holds the Finance Portfolio, the Federation suggests that the Sales Tax department in the State should initiate a special drive for registration of all eligible dealers in the State in order to widen the tax net.

The FINER is of the opinion that existing small number of registered dealers in...

GUWAHATI, Feb 8 ? The North East Students? Organisation (NESO) has called upon all the political parties to make their stand clear on the crucial issues facing the people of the region before the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, the chairman of the NESO, Samujjal Bhattacharya, alleged that none of the major political parties could take bold steps on the crucial issues of the region including the influx of foreigners, job reservation for local youths, economic development of the region etc and threatened that if the parties fail to make their stand clear before the polls...

Feb. 8: Railway minister Nitish Kumar today guided the National Democratic Alliance?s pre-poll gravy train into Assam, setting the pace for a whirlwind BJP campaign that includes plans for eight star-spangled rallies in the state and 15 throughout the Northeast in just 10 days.

Accompanied by defence minister George Fernandes and food and consumer affairs minister Sharad Yadav, Kumar flagged off work on two rail projects ? restoration and gauge conversion from Haibargaon to Moirabari and Senchowa to Silghat, both in Nagaon district.

The inauguration of the twin projects, estimated to cost Rs...