News

GUWAHATI, April 6 — The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) under the provisions of amended Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, is likely to be formed in the first part of May. The State Assembly has already passed a Bill for repealing the Bodoland Autonomous Council Act to pave the way for creation of the BTC. Official sources said that the Bill for amending the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution would be placed in Parliament shortly and with both the Congress and BJP supporting the same, there should not be any hurdle in passing the Bill. The interim BTC executive council is likely...

Agartala, April 5: The dissident faction of the National Liberation Front of Tripura, led by Nayanbasi Jamatya, is continuing its low-key offensive though speculation is rife that its militants might soon surrender to the security forces.

A group of militants of the Nayanbasi faction last night abducted a Tripura State Rifles (TSR) jawan from Tufaniamura area under Takarjala police station of Bishalgarh subdivision.

Despite combing operations by police and the TSR, the hostage remained untraced. A tribal civilian, suspected of involvement in the abduction, was arrested by police.

Police...

SHILLONG, April 5— There is no move to bring the Garo Hills under the purview of the Disturbed Areas Act, Meghalaya Home Minister, R G Lyngdoh has said. Talking to The Assam Tribune in his office chamber here Friday, the Home Minister said the government does not want to deploy army in the militant-infested Garo Hills. “Army deployment usually leads to harassment of innocents as witnessed in the neighbouring states,” Lyngdoh observed. He, however, cautioned that if the situation did not improve in the Garo Hills the government might be compelled to seek military assistance.

Meanwhile, the...

GUWAHATI, April 5— The Oil India Limited (OIL) is going ahead with its plan for business restructuring as part of its preparation to cope with the changed de-regulated environment in the country’s petroleum sector. Making a statement at a seminar organised at Guwahati Press Club here today on restructuring of the Oil India Limited, the premier oil companies Senior Adviser on Strategic and Corporate Planning, Nripen Bharali said any further delay in restructuring would seriously undermine the OIL’s business prospects and consequent growth opportunities in the future. This, he said, would affect...

New Delhi, April 5: The Meghalaya government has begun preparing a policy to turn the state into a favoured tourist destination and to open up new avenues for employment and income-generation.

Meghalaya tourism minister and former chief minister, F.A. Khonglam, said the policy was necessitated by the “lack of response” in the sector “despite the state’s tremendous potential”.

“It is surprising that the previous governments did not think of formulating a policy that would clearly spell out the thrust areas in this sector. Now that the exercise has begun, we expect it to be completed before...