NEW DELHI, Feb 20 – The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has completed the exercise of identifying weak links on the National Highways in the North-east zeroing in on 243 bridges and 355 culverts out of which 58 bridges and 98 culverts are in Assam. The Union Minister for MoRTH, Major General (Retd) B C Khanduri disclosed in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha that these bridges and culverts so identified are planned to be taken up for reconstruction during the 10th Five Year Plan period subject to availability of funds. Meanwhile, the Minister of Department for Development of...

ITANAGAR, Feb 20 — Arunachal Pradesh government has taken up with the Defence Ministry to strengthening road communication along McMahon line in view of the ongoing massive infrastructural development across the border in China, reports PTI. “Security of the country should be the utmost consideration,” said Takam Sanjoy, government spokesman and education minister of Arunachal Pradesh, which has about 1500 km international border with China.

Development of the state’s border area could not be ignored in view of its “strategically sensitive” nature and Arunachal Pradesh government had drawn...

GOSSAIGAON, Feb 20 – The people of Gossaigaon civil sub-division have expressed satisfaction over the North East Frontier railway authorities’ sympathetic attitude for sanctioning ‘model railway station’ at Gossaigaon. As per information available here, the chief commercial manager, NEF railway Guwahati vide official notification No. C/555/0-53/PL/Pt-II dated 15 January 2003, informed the local MLA Prof Hamendra Nath Brahma that after close examination of the earlier memorandum submitted by him (MLA) the railway authority has sanctioned ‘model station’ at Gossaigaon instead of Srirampur. It...

AIZAWL, Feb 20 – The ruling Mizo National Front has got a majority by bagging seven seats in the 13-member Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) polls held last Friday, reports PTI.

Officials of the State District Council Affairs Department said here Monday that the Opposition Congress won five seats while one seat went to an Independent candidate, the officials said, adding the BJP, which contested all 13 seats on offer, failed to win a single seat.

The council’s executive body would soon be formed by the MNF as the party General Secretary and local administration Minister H...

Shillong, Feb. 20: There is a general disinterest in elections nowadays, but a small group of enthusiastic voters in Jirang constituency always look forward to the polls and enjoy the dubious privilege of being able to cast votes in both Assam and Meghalaya.

The hills surrounding Jirang, on the southern periphery of Guwahati, have witnessed a steady increase in the population of migrants over the years. The first objective of a new settler is to acquire political rights.

“Once you have voting rights, there are no legal means to banish you from the area,” says Indra Sharma, a resident of Nine...