News

GUWAHATI, Dec 29 — The horticulture products of the North East has often failed to make a mark in the export market primarily because of the huge costs involved in its transportation to the exporting centres. The Centre has now decided to offset this disadvantage by offering inland transport assistance for horticulture products. Exporters of banana, guava, lemon, orange, pear, pineapple, plum, ginger, passion fruit and even cut flowers from all the north eastern states, including Sikkim, can now avail the Central assistance that will considerably reduce their transportation costs. The...

AGARTALA, Dec 28 — As the clickety clicks of the rail wheels reverberated in the high hills of Langtarai range and thousands of people rejoined. Railway Minister Nitish Kumar flagged off the first train on Kumarghat-Manu sector in North district on Friday afternoon. This was the beginning of a new era of communication in this hilly land-locked state. With the opening of the 21-kilometre rail track that pierced through high hills and deep forests, the total length of the rail line in the state stands at 64 km. And it took long 38 years of wait, speculations and movements at various levels. Now...

GUWAHATI, Dec 28 — North East industrial units which had been existing prior to the North East Industrial Policy (NEIP), 1997, are eagerly awaiting some special sops from the Centre in the New Year. At the initiative of the NE MPs, the Central Government had constituted the sub-committee-III of Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee to formulate transparent subsidy for the benefits of industries in NE especially those which are outside the purview of the NEIP, 1997. The sub-committee headed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion held a meeting with representatives...

GUWAHATI, Dec 28 – Illegal felling of trees in the vast tracts of reserve forest along the Assam-Meghalaya border to the south and south-west of Guwahati is going on unabated, exposing the rich, biodiversity zone with its unique flora and fauna to the gravest possible danger. That the smugglers are having a free run should be evident from the fact that an area of 25 sq km of the Garbhanga reserve forest which is among the biggest protected areas in Kamrup district with a total area of 188.6 sqkm, has been totally degraded, at Luki. An area where the smugglers’ writ runs and forest personnel...

KOLKATA, Dec 28 – Doordarshan is planning to introduce direct-to-home telecast of its programmes in the North-east while strengthening its marketing network to earn higher advertisement revenues commensurate with its nationwide reach, reports PTI. The national broadcaster would introduce DTH telecast through KU band in eight states, including Sikkim, in the region, Doordarshan director-general SY Quraishi told reporters here today. “Work has started at 160 villages selected for the purpose. W will initially introduce the facilities at 20 villages in each of the eight states,” Quraishi said...