About Meghalaya : Blog Title the same as above

Arrest warrant issued against Delhi publisher

Posted by Sinlung

SHILLONG, Feb 26 – Armed with a Court order, a four-member Meghalaya police team would head for Delhi on Saturday to arrest the owner of Skyline Publisher, Ram Mohan Jha.

Jha is accused of “outraging religious feelings” after one of his copy books from his publication house depicted Jesus Christ holding a beer can and a cigarette.

The cursive writing copy book was meant for school students of class I. Concerned parents from a local school first alerted authorities about the “objectionable” depiction of Christ.

The district authorities later registered a case against the Skyline publisher under section 295 A, Indian Penal Code. The district Court here issued an arrest warrant against Jha yesterday.

“Inspector N Thohrem would lead the team to New Delhi along with three others to arrest the publisher of Skyline books,” a police official said here.

Meanwhile, Jha has issued a public apology here stating that the picture of Christ was “erroneously” carried in the copy book after being downloaded from the internet.

Meghalaya task force to curb influx

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb. 24 : The cabinet sub-committee on influx, chaired by labour minister Paul Lyngdoh, today decided to constitute a task force involving pressure groups to oversee the groundwork for effective implementation of the work permit system to inter-state workers.

Lyngdoh had a meeting with the Khasi Students Union, Federation of Khasi-Jaintia Garo People, Garo Students Union and Jaintia Students Union to discuss ways and means to effectively check the influx of migrant workers who do not have valid documents to prove their nationality.

Lyngdoh told reporters after the meeting that the state government would soon issue a notification highlighting the new amended rules to the existing Inter-State Migrant Workmen Regulation Act, 1979 (amended in 1985), to implement the work permit system in the state.

He said the proposed task force would be empowered once the government notified the amendment to the existing workmen regulation act.

While the deputy commissioners will be the licensing authority at the district level, the labour commissioner will be the one at the state level.

Lyngdoh said so far the government has notified only about the registering authorities. The criminal antecedents of the workers will also be verified at the time of submitting application for licence or work permit according to the proposed amendment, which is yet to be notified as well.

The labour minister admitted that there is delay in the effective implementation of the existing act because of staff shortage in the department.

As the labour department is under-staffed, 252 more people are needed in the department to implement the work permit system.

Villagers scared to return home after Bangladesh Rifles (BDR)-Border Security Forces stand off

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb.23 (ANI): A standoff between Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Border Security Forces (BSF) in the hills of Meghalaya state has prompted the villagers of nearby areas to flee their homes.

The Indian border forces exchanged fire on Sunday (February 14) after the BDR forces attacked the locals of Muktapur village.

Hordes of villagers, who fled their homes after the incident, are now too scared to return to their village.

"When the firing started in Muktapur and ... from the security personnel of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), we were scared and did not know what was going on and therefore fled the place," said Manoj Mannar, a local villager.

"We are fishermen and the security personnel of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) stopped us from fishing and threatened us to leave the area. But we did not, as this is our land. We own this land. Why should we go back? So, after we refused to move from the area, they stationed their flags in that area," Biren, another villager lamented.

Speaking on the issue, R C Laloo, the Revenue Minister of Meghalaya state said that the Governments of India and Bangladesh have formed two joint working groups, which conducted a joint survey of the disputed area.

"Since it is an international border (issue), it has to be taken up by the central government. The governments of India and Bangladesh have formed two joint working groups to go into the details of claim and counter claim of the two countries. One of the joint working groups will go into the question of undemarcated stretch of the Indo-Bangla border," said Laloo.

During the recent visit of Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, New Delhi and Dhaka signed five agreements, including treaties on tackling cross-border crime and combating terrorism.

Indo-Bangladesh ties have become cordial in recent months.

Bangladesh has sought demarcation of a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

Bangladesh annually imports about $2 billion U.S. dollars worth of products from India, and earns nearly 400 million US dollars from exports to India.

Sangma pennning autobiography

Posted by Sinlung

Tura (Meghalaya), Feb 23 (PTI) A tribesman from a Northeastern hinterland who went on to make a name for himself in Indian politics, former Lok Sabha speaker Purno A Sangma is busy these days penning down his life's journey, political and otherwise.

The book, titled 'Beyond Reservation', will delve as much into his rich and varied experiences of life as into tribal communities across the world.

Planning to release his autobiography in September, Sangma said the book would give a message to every tribal that they should not be content with reservation. They should instead strive for making a mark on their own.

The book will also give an account of many Northeasterners who made it big in life and made the country proud as well, he said.

Meghalaya mulls blasphemy law in "smoking Jesus" row

Posted by Sinlung

By Biswajyoti Das

GUWAHATI (Reuters Life!) - Christian outrage at a school book picture showing Jesus Christ holding a beer bottle and a cigarette has spurred authorities in Meghalaya to draft an anti-blasphemy law for schools.

Police in the state have seized the notebooks and are taking a New-Delhi based private publisher to court on accusations of offending religious sentiments.

In the notebooks, which were meant for handwriting classes, the Jesus picture accompanies the word "idol" and is used to illustrate the letter 'I'.

"The proposed law will help the government take action against such publishers," Ampareen Lyngdoh, Meghalaya's education minister, told Reuters on Tuesday.

"In absence of such laws, officials are unable to take action against publishers who commit such offences, which leads to public outrage."

The publisher has apologised to the people of Meghalaya and recalled all copies of the notebook from the market. The picture has also enraged Christians in Punjab and sparked protests, local media said.

Christian organisations across the state have condemned the incident and demanded the government pass a law to monitor all school books for offensive content before they are circulated.

"The publication of the picture has deeply hurt our religious sentiments, and (the) publisher has violated the provisions of Constitution of India," said a statement by the Indian Catholic Youth Movement in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya.

'Radical Islamic' JuD slams India over 'offensive' Christian Jesus cartoons

Posted by Sinlung

Lahore | February 22, 2010 4:51:41 PM IST

The Tehreeke Hurmat-e-Rassol, which is an umbrella group of Pakistan's religious parties, including the banned Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JuD) held a protest march in Lahore condemning the publication of offensive cartoons of Jesus Christ in Meghalaya.

The group held a protest rally in front of the Lahore Press Club during which people were seen holding JuD's flag and placards condemning the publication of caricatures.

During the agitation, people also chanted slogans against India and the publisher of the cartoons, The Daily Times reports.

The protestors also asked the Muslim world to cut ties with New Delhi and demanded that India should be declared a 'terrorist country'

Slanderous remarks against women land Dy CM in trouble

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong | Monday, Feb 22 2010 IST

Womens right organisation today demanded an unconditional apology from Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Bindo Lanong within 24 hours for making 'derogatory' remarks against women.

Mr Lanong reportedly called some women right activists 'venomous vipers' in a press conference held last Friday. ''These women are against everything, they are like 'venomous vipers','' he had stated.

The Deputy Chief Minister was reacting to an article written by a local English daily editor in which he was criticised for claiming there was no oppression of women in Meghalaya, at a regional level conference on womens rights organised by the National Commission for Women here last Thursday.

''Crime against women is increasing in Meghalaya, a fact acknowledged by the Chief Minister D D Lapang himself during his speech at the meeting. So how can his deputy differ on the issue,'' Patricia Mukhim, Editor of a largest English daily here, said.

Today, women right activists met the Deputy Chief Minister in his office and submitted a memorandum and demanded that Lanong tender an unconditional apology within 24 hours.

The women right activists further threatened libel suit for his 'venomous viper' remark against women, if he didnt apologised. The women right activists further demanded that Lanong withdraw his statement that there was 'no oppression' of women in the state.

Mr Lanong denied making any statement and said, ''This is nothing but falsity.''

Meghalaya wants tiger census in state

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb 22 (PTI) With the alarming loss of tigers and their habitats in India, the Meghalaya government has advocated for more advanced technology in sampling the actual numbers of the big cats in the state.

The forest department has asked the Wildlife Institute of India (WWI) to adopt advanced census-taking techniques to find the exact number of tigers in the state, Chief Wildlife Conservator S Kumar said here today.

The unofficial estimates of the tiger population in India is as low as 1,411. However, the estimate was arrived at following a census in 17 states which have tiger reserves.

"The census did not include states like Meghalaya. As per the 2002 census, the state has around 47 tigers," Kumar said.

In the North-East, only Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Assam were covered during the census conducted by the WWI in 2008.

Meghalaya NCP leader quits party

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb 22 : Apparently unhappy over the recent election of state president of NCP's Meghalaya unit, a senior leader has resigned alleging "lack of democracy" in the party.

PM Syiem, the East Khasi Hills NCP district unit president, tendered his resignation to party leader and Opposition leader Conrad Sangma yesterday.

He resigned from the post protesting the manner in which recent elections were held where the state president of the party, WR Kharlukhi was re-elected, sources said today.

Syiem and his supporters had walked out of the meeting called to elect the party president on February 16.

Although top NCP leaders claim that Kharlukhi was elected unopposed and that there were no contestants for the top post held on February 16, several members were unhappy with the manner in which the election was conducted.

Meghalaya govt to ask ASI to study Baitbari site

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong | Saturday, Feb 20 2010 IST

The Meghalaya government has decided to ask the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to analyse and study the ancient archeological site at Baitbari.

''It is a very important site and believed to have been inhabited by ancient civilisations over centuries ago,'' Deputy Chief Minister in charge Arts and Culture Bindo M Lanong said.

The archaeological site is located in the Purana Baitbari in Meghalayas West Garo Hills district along the Southern bank of the Jinjiram river.

''Baitbari is the treasure house of ancient civilisations and it would definitely become one of the finest tourist spots if developed. It would also benefit scholars,'' Mr Lanong told reporters here yesterday.

In the early nineties, the Meghalaya government and ASI (pre-historical branch) conducted a joint exploration-excavation in Baitbari.

The excavation unearthed a mud-cum-burnt brick fortification running at least 5 km in north-south direction in a horseshoe fashion with both ends on the bank of the Jinjiram river.

The excavation also exposed a beautifully planned burnt brick temple lying buried under a mound covered with thick bushes during the exploration.

In course of excavating the debris, about 28 terracotta tiles depicting the figure of Gods and Goddesses like Ganesh, Parvati, Kubera, Yaksha and dancing figures were discovered from within and around the outer face of the wall at the base.

The third impressive discovery was the exposure of the site of an octagonal temple with eight miniature Octoone, each having a Shiva linga.

The fourth find was the discovery of a Buddhist stupa.

Meghalaya govt yet to aid displaced villagers: MLA

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong | Saturday, Feb 20 2010 IST

Congress MLA Lakhmen Rymbui today alleged that the Meghalaya governent was yet to provide any assistance to the displaced villagers in Jaintia Hills district along the India-Bangladesh border.

Talking to reporters, Mr Rymbui said the displaced villagers were languishing in makeshift camps for about a week.

''More than 100-odd families had fled their villages in Muktapur, Amki, Amlympiang and Amsynram in Jaintia Hills. They were taking shelter in the camps in the forests nearby following a gunbattle between the BSF and BDR on February 14. I am very disappointed with the state government for not providing immediate relief,'' the local MLA said.

The government should help those people and ensure that they return to their homes safely, he said.

Meanwhile, Minister In-charge of Border Areas Prestone Tynsong assured that assistance would be provided to the displaced villagers ''as soon as possible''.

Chief Minister D D Lapang also directed Chief Secretary W M S Pariat to submit a report on the displaced people, it was learnt.

People-friendly mining policy in State: Lanong

Posted by Sinlung

SHILLONG, Feb 21 – Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Mining, Bindo Lanong yesterday assured a “people-friendly mining policy” and requested the public not to be mislead by rumours.

“People with vested interest are spreading rumours in the State about the proposed Mining policy. I request the people not to be misled by such rumours,” Lanong said.

Assuring that the State was in the process to frame a “people-friendly Mining policy”, Lanong said there was “no truth” that the government would confiscate mines and mining areas through the proposed Mining policy.

The government, he added, is guided by law and it would not do anything that would harm the interest of the public. Lanong said, he met several mine-owners and coal dealers and gave them similar assurances.

“The Mining policy would not go against anyone who deals in coal or limestone, but against those who compromise the safety of lives and the environment,” Lanong said.

The State Government released the draft Mining policy on October 2 last year to stop the unscientific coal mining in Jaintia Hills that has polluted the environment. However, many argue the policy was drafted to facilitate Uranium mining in Meghalaya’s West Khasi Hills district.

The State Government has now sought opinions from political parties, social organisations, experts to be incorporated in the final draft.

Meanwhile, the 33-member committee headed by Lanong on Uranium Mining would hold its first meeting on March 2.

Meghalya Govt files case against a Delhi Publisher

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong: The Meghalaya Government has initiated criminal proceedings against a Delhi-based publishing house, Skyline Publishers for depicting Jesus Christ in an objectionable manner in a school book.

The Education Department in Meghalaya has registered a case under the 295 A of Indian Penal Code (IPC). Jesus Christ was shown holding a beer can and cigarette in the school copy books for class I students.

The Police have seized a large number of such books from different schools and book stalls across the state. Further details are awaited.

Smoking Jesus

Posted by Sinlung

PTI

Motor cycles of Christen community burnt by local shopkeepers and residents in Majitha town near Amritsar, Punjab.

'Smoking' Jesus Protests: From Meghalaya to Majitha

Shillong \| Feb 19, 2010	PRINT	SHARE	COMMENTS

Police have registered a case against the publisher and seized around 123 books carrying an "objectionable picture" of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette in one hand and a beer can on the other which has sparked a controversy triggering condemnations from various quarters.

"We have registered a case under Section 295(A) against Skyline Publications of New Delhi for hurting religious sentiments. We have seized the books from the distributor as well as the school where it was supplied," DSP Vivek Syiem told PTI today.

He said a police team will be leaving for Delhi soon to carry forward the investigation, indicating that persons responsible would be arrested.

Authorities of St Joseph Girls Higher Secondary School here, where the cursive writing book was supplied among the students of Class I to IV, yesterday filed an FIR against the publisher after the objectionable picture of Christ came to notice.

The cursive writing book meant for Class I is a spelling tutor. For the alphabet 'I', the word 'Idol' is used in the book. Against this word is printed the picture of Jesus Christ with the scandalous representation.

The picture is also printed in other cursive writing books of Class II, III and IV.

The Skyline Publication has tendered an apology for hurting the people’s religious sentiments.

"Action has been initiated to retrieve the erroneous book from all places where it has been sent," the publication said in a statement last night.

Condemning the lack of respect for religious symbols, Father Dominic Jala of Shillong Archdiocese said he has referred the matter to the Bishops Conference in New Delhi which would pursue it further.

"We are shocked and hurt by this act where Jesus Christ has been portrayed in a highly objectionable manner. We condemn the total lack of respect for religions by the publisher," the Archbishop said.

Tension in Punjab

Tension prevailed in Majitha town when irate shopkeepers set afire 25 motor-cycles of Christians who allegedly vandalised their business establishments during their protest against the controversial textbooks.

Police said a group of about 50 people from the Christian community were allegedly forcing shopkeepers of Majitha town, about 20 kms from Amritsar, to pull down their shutters while protesting.

When the protesters started vandalising the shops and smashing the shutters and glow signs, local residents and shopkeepers assembled and attacked them.

Seeing people assembling in large number, the agitating men fled the spot leaving behind their motor-bikes.

The shopkeepers and residents then set afire 25 of their vehicles, they said.

The situation in the Majitha assembly constituency became tense following the incident, police said, adding police force have been deployed in the town.

Meghalaya to protect ancient site

Posted by Sinlung

Lanong visits Garo hills
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bindo Lanong: Conservation conscious

Shillong, Feb. 19: The deputy chief minister in-charge of art and culture, Bindo Lanong, today said the Meghalaya government was making efforts to protect the archaeological site at Baitbari in West Garo Hills from encroachment and destruction.

After a three-day visit to the Garo hills, Lanong told reporters today that the government was initiating development programmes, including construction of roads leading to the site and fencing, to protect the area from encroachment and destruction.

He added that the matter would be taken up with the Archaeological Survey of India for analysis.

Lanong said the ancient archaeological site, believed to have been inhabited by ancient civilisations over centuries, would provide ample scope for young generations for research and tourism promotion.

“No doubt the site will benefit scholars in the field of research and archaeological studies. Moreover, this will also promote tourism, as Baitbari is a treasure house of ancient civilisations,” the deputy chief minister said.

The Meghalaya government had in November 1991 undertaken a short exploration in collaboration with the ASI (pre-historical branch).

A joint exploration-excavation was taken up in December 29, 1992.

According to the Meghalaya government, the findings were encouraging as they revealed the potential of the place to be enlisted in the category of archaeological sites of national importance.

The excavation unearthed a mud-cum-burnt brick fortification, running at least 5km, with both ends on the bank of the Jinjiram river.

The fortification is nearly 15 square km in area.

A beautifully planned burnt brick temple lying buried under a mound covered with thick bushes was also dug up during the exploration.

While clearing the debris of this temple, nearly 28 terracotta tiles depicting gods and goddesses like Ganesh, Parvati, Kubera, Yaksha and dancing figurines were discovered at the base of the wall.

The third discovery was an octagonal temple with eight miniature Shivalings.

The fourth find was the discovery of a Buddhist stupa.

Govt asked for report on kids from Meghalaya

Posted by Sinlung

NEW DELHI: In the wake of recent reports that suggest the hand of Hindu organisations in trafficking of tribal children, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Thursday asked the Karnataka government to submit a report on the status of children from Meghalaya and other North Eastern states studying in various educational institutions in the state. Children, belonging to tribal groups in Meghalaya, are allegedly converted to Hinduism.

Acting on complaints of child trafficking from Meghalaya and other North Eastern States to Karnataka in the guise of providing better education facilities to children, the NCPCR on Thursday convened a meeting of officials from the governments of Karnataka and Meghalaya.

Chairperson of NCPCR Shanta Sinha asked the Karnataka government to submit details of the mutts, community and family care centers and other hostels in each district of the state, with the list of children from Meghalaya studying in them.

She also directed that the Child Welfare Committees in each district must review the status of children and their well-being on a regular basis.

The NCPCR directed the Meghalaya government to form a coordination committee to examine the issue of children being sent to Karnataka for pursuing education.

The Committee would evolve terms of reference to monitor such children and establish processes of transparency and accountability while children are sent to study in other states.

Shanta Sinha asked Meghalaya to evolve procedures for parents seeking to contact their children and being informed periodically about their children’s welfare in Karnataka. If need be some parents may be sent to see their children in Karnataka, according to the official release.

Shanta Sinha TNIE that a large number of children from Meghalaya, below the age of six years, are studying in Karnataka.

Lapang calls for women empowerment

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong: Concerned over the discrimination faced by women, Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang today said the strength of the fair sex cannot be ignored and underscored the need for total involvement of women in the process of change, progress and development.

“Throughout the world, women are still beset with numerous problems of discrimination, exploitation, gender oppression, besides other social and economic problems which have hindered their progress,” Lapang said at a regional-level conference on women’s rights here.

He said crime against women in the North East was increasing as in other parts of the country.

“The National Commission for Women has identified some of the factors that have hindered the progress of development of women. There is a serious concern at the increasing rate of crime and atrocities committed against women,” he said.

Lapang called for an effective strategy mechanism on women’s right guaranteed under the provisions of the Constitution.

Stressing that women need to be empowered with knowledge, awareness and capacity building, he said there is an urgent need for widespread movement by women for peace and development.

KSU demands apology

Posted by Sinlung

Students ‘hurt’ by offensive picture of Christ, says union

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Shillong, Feb. 19: The Khasi Students Union today asked Skyline Publishers to tender an unconditional apology to the student community in Meghalaya and the union for hurting their sentiments by depicting Jesus Christ with a cigarette and beer can in textbooks for junior classes.

The KSU also threatened to resort to its “own course of action” if the Delhi-based publishers failed to apologise to the student community.

Meghalaya police yesterday confiscated a large number of cursive writing exercise copies and textbooks published by Skyline Publication, Delhi, that carry these pictures .

The general secretary of the students’ union, Hamlet Dohling, told this correspondent that a mere apology from the Delhi-based publishers to the religious community was not enough.

“We represent the students and the publishers should tender an apology to the students of Meghalaya in general and the KSU in particular,” he said.

The students’ union said the textbooks were meant for children and such a wrong characterisation of Christ would affect young minds.

“The misinformation spread by the wrongly-printed pictures of Jesus is a serious offence as it will malign the minds of young students,” Dohling said.

The KSU urged the government to blacklist the publishers and not to allow sale of their books in Meghalaya.

The Federation of Khasi,Jaintia and Garo People said there was no other way but blacklisting the publishers to prevent a repetition of the mistake.

It added that the government should ban the publishers from distributing any textbooks in Meghalaya.

“We will also write to the state government to seize the remaining copies of the textbook available in the market,” its president Emlang Lyttan said.

Synjkuk ki Seng Samla Shnong, a Shillong-based NGO, also wanted the government to blacklist the publishers as wrong representation of Christ had hurt the sentiments of all.

The North East India Christian Council has asked the publishers of the books to issue an unqualified apology for hurting the religious sentiments of the people. Archbishop Dominic Jala said today he had spoken to all bishops and a meeting would be held in Guwahati on February 24 to discuss the matter, among others.

“We will take necessary steps after the meeting and the matter will also be discussed by the education commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India,” he said.

Rank and file

Posted by Sinlung

United we rule: Donkupar Roy (left) with D.D. Lapang

Meghalaya: It’s raining chief ministers

By Seema Hussain

The tiny Meghalaya had 21 governments in 38 years. Just two of them completed their five-year terms. The pine-lined ‘abode of clouds’ has more to boast of. In 1978, a mere six years after formation, the state elected D.D. Pugh chief minister by lottery. In 2001, an Independent legislator, F.A. Khonglam, became CM. And now, there are four people enjoying the chief minister’s rank.

D.D. Lapang became chief minister last May. Two others shared his rank—State Planning Board chairman Donkupar Roy and Meghalaya Economic Development Council chairman J.D. Rymbai, both former CMs.

As if that was not enough, Lapang offered the same status to friend and state Congress president Friday Lyngdoh on January 28. Lyngdoh will not have executive powers, but will function as “political adviser” to Lapang, according to a government notification.

Lyngdoh had the deputy CM rank before the elevation. “Roy and Rymbai are former chief ministers from a different party,” says opposition MLA Manas Choudhuri. “But I see no logic behind the elevation of Lyngdoh.” Congress insiders say it was appeasement. Lyngdoh has of late been voicing grievances of Lapang’s detractors.

The Congress has 28 MLAs and the support of 10 from the United Democratic Party in the 60-member Assembly. The main opposition is former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma’s Nationalist Congress Party with 15 MLAs. At least eight rebel MLAs in the Congress are loyal to Lyngdoh.

But the CM-rich government has few takers. “This is a bizarre attempt to ensure the longevity of the Congress government, and will put immense pressure on the state exchequer,” says Kong Norris, a schoolteacher. “Apart from four CMs the state also has a couple of deputy CMs—Mukul Sangma and Bindo Lanong.” Opposition leader Conrad Sangma says “the government is wasting money just to stick to power, and that, too, when the state does not have enough funds to pay salaries of its employees.”

Lapang is unfazed. He says more MLAs would be raised to CM rank, if required. His is the third government in the state since the March 2008 elections. Any bets on how long it will last?

A fleet of 120 diesel buses for Shillong soon

Posted by Sinlung

SHILLONG, Feb 18 : Shillong city will soon have a fleet of 120 fully-built diesel buses for which the process of tendering for supply and maintenance is going on.

Informing this Urban Affairs Minister Prestone Tynsong said: “The buses will be pressed into service very soon.” He said three of the five companies that responded to the bid — Tata, Mahindra and Leyland — have qualified for the technical bid. “We will now open the commercial bid and decide to place the formal order,” Tynsong added.

The buses — 100 mini buses of 35 seaters and 20 standard buses — will be pressed into service within three months under the comprehensive mobility plan of JNNURM, Tynsong said.

Similar buses under the scheme are already in States like Arunachal Pradesh. The state-of-the-art bus has a floor height of 900 mm against 1100 mm in normal buses with stairs adequately designed for easy entry. It has automatic hydraulic doors and four destination boards, two inside and two outside, for display of stations.

It has standing capacity while the seats are designed as per the AIS023 under the guidelines of Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD).

Meghalaya notifies committee to study uranium mining

Posted by Sinlung

SHILLONG, Feb 18 – Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Bindo Lanong and in-charge Mining and Geology, would head a 33-member committee to examine the impact of uranium mining in the State.

The committee has been dubbed Joint Committee on Uranium Mining in Meghalaya (JCUMM). It comprises Ministers, government officials, scientists and members from social organisations.

The core group would examine various aspects related to health, environment, public safety and other issues related to uranium mining.

Although the committee was formed on November 4 last year the notification was issued only yesterday and the committee would submit its report to the government within three months.

Last Year, the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance Government had decided to lease out 422 hectares of land in West Khasi Hills district to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) for 30 years. The corporation in turn pledged Rs 209 crore to develop the district.

However, organisations opposed to Uranium mining in Meghalaya carried out agitations in the form of road blocks and office picketing against the government’s decision to lease out the land.

The State Government was forced to rethink on its decision and subsequently it kept all matters relating to Uranium mining on hold and formed the committee.

Apart from the Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Public Health Engineering and Science and Technology, Prestone Tynsong and AT Mondal respectively, Chief Secretary WMS Pariat, Director General of Police S Kakati, NEHU professors from the departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry, Environmental Science and Physics would be part of the committee.

Amongst the NGOs, the Khasi Students’ Union, the Coordination Committee of Social Organisations, a federation of social organisations and Associations of Meghalaya for Development Advancement (AMDA), a pro-Uranium lobby is also part of the committee.

CM urges youths to take up IT

Posted by Sinlung

English skills will be handy: Lapang

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang (third from right) lays the foundation stone of the Software Technology Park of India in Shillong on Wednesday. A Telegraph picture

Shillong, Feb. 17: Chief minister D.D. Lapang today urged the youths in Meghalaya to take advantage of the information technology and IT-enabled services in the state.

After laying the foundation stone of the second phase of the Software Technology Park of India on its office premises at Lawmali here, Lapang said the availability of a large base of English-speaking population had provided the state a huge demographic advantage in establishing IT and ITES centres.

These two areas can create employment opportunities for the local educated unemployed youths in the state.

The first phase of the park was set up here a few years ago. At present, three IT companies are functioning at the office.

Lapang said the state government was not lagging behind in participating in the IT revolution as it had been encouraging use of information and communication technology tools in all departments.

It had initiated a gamut of activities, aimed at providing IT-related services, through the IT department, he added.

The chief minister said the setting up of the park was one of the major initiatives which would be an asset to Meghalaya in the long run.

The state government had taken initiatives to develop the locally available talent pool which would provide IT companies a ready availability of youths for employment, he said.

“Meghalaya has also taken active steps to encourage the development of IT and ITES skills for the youths and we hope that with the infusion of IT in educational institutions, it will act as a platform for IT savvy youths to excel in life” he said.

The state government created the department of information technology in May 2001 to help all citizens, especially the poor and the disadvantaged section, business houses, government employees and other stakeholders, avail the benefits of information and communication technology.

The aim of the IT department is to realise its vision of transforming Meghalaya into one of the most preferred and leading destinations for investments in IT and ITES, high-end technology and electronics industry.

The IT department also wants to see that the information and communication technology help people improve their standard of living, thereby accelerating economic growth.

The state information technology department also aims at using the IT tools to increase productivity, effectiveness, speed and transparency in governance leading to an improved quality of life.

Kharluki re-elected Meghalaya NCP President

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb 17W R Kharluki has been re-elected as President of Meghalaya unit of NCP for the second term.

Kharlukhi was elected unopposed yesterday for the second term by an electoral college of 92 which consisted of MPs, MLAs besides members of the district councils, a party spokesman said today.

"We will continue to function as a vibrant opposition," Kharlukhi told reporters later.

He said efforts to further strengthen the party at all levels will continue to enable it perform well in the next assembly elections.

Lapang moves Centre on BDR firings

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb 17 Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang has apprised Union Home Minister P Chidambaram about the problems being faced by people residing along the Meghalaya-Bangladesh border following incidents of firing by BDR recently.

"The people of Muktapur village and the areas along the border with Bangladesh in Meghalaya are in grip of insecurity due to the firing incidents which also affected them economically," Lapang told Chidambaram over phone yesterday, according to an official statement issued today.

Informing the Union Home Minister that villagers in the affected areas were forced to leave their homes and take shelter in safer places, Lapang requested him to take up the matter with the Bangladesh government.

Two incidents of firing between the BSF and the BDR were reported in the Meghalaya border earlier this month.

Implement mining policy in the state after proper corrections: HSPDP

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb 16 : The Hill State Peoples' Democratic Party (HSPDP) today urged the government to implement the state mining policy only after the recommendations of two joint committees - Uranium mining and Meghalaya land transfer.

In a statement issued here today HSPDP General Secretary T Lyngdoh said the government had formed two joint committees - one to amend the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act and the other on Uranium mining last year and their recommendations were awaited. The joint committees consist of members drawn from NGOs, government officials and political parties. Mr Lyngdoh also suggested that the state government must undertake necessary corrections in the draft mining policy before adopting and implementing it.

The state government had released the draft mining policy on October 2 last year and sought opinions from NGOs, political parties and stakeholders to be incorporated in the final draft. The basic idea behind the mining policy was to oversee that minerals such as Uranium, limestone, coal and other minerals were mined in a scientific way. As of now coal is mined in an unscientific manner in many parts of the state leading to widespread deforestation and other environmental degradation with the government having little say as the mines are privately owned. ''The prevailing land holding system in the state which is a sixth scheduled area cannot be circumvented. Therefore any policy, whether for mining industrial or other purposes, must initially and primarily base itself on this unalterable fact,'' HSPDP general secretary T Lyngdoh said.

The HSPDP, however, said due to the unique land holding system and existence of acts and policies to protect the tribal people's interests in the state, the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, ''cannot be operative in Meghalaya.'' The political party, having its base in West Khasi district of the state, further suggested that an expert committee should be formed with representatives from political parties and civil society organisations to prepare the final draft.

Government notifies uranium panel

Posted by Sinlung

SHILLONG, Feb 16 : The Meghalaya Government has finally notified constitution of a Joint Committee on Uranium Mining in Meghalaya (JCUMM) comprising 32 members even as the three-month period for submission of its report to the government lapsed on February 4.

The JCUMM was constituted on November 4 to look into the various aspects, including possible health and environmental hazards, related to pre-uranium mining development projects in the uranium-rich area around Mawthabah in West Khasi Hills.

Members of the Committee, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Bindo Lanong as its chairman, have also been drawn from local NGOs opposing and supporting uranium mining besides experts from various fields and government departments.

The committee has four members from the NEHU, five from the KSU, five from the Coordination Committee of Social Organizations (CCSO), one each from the Ri-Bhoi Youth Federation, War Jaintia Students’ Union and West Khasi Hills Students’ Union (WKHSU) and six from the Association of Meghalaya for Development and Advancement (AMDA). The committee can co-opt any other expert, if necessary.

Last year the Congress-led MUA Government had decided to put on hold for three months the pre-uranium mining development works to be implemented by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in 422 square hectares around Mawthabah, and formed a committee to look into the concerns raised by the protesting groups.

Meghalaya accounts for 16 per cent of India’s uranium reserves, with deposits estimated to be around 9,500 tonnes and 4,000 tonnes at Domiasiat and Wakhaji respectively. The UCIL had to wind up mining operations in West Khasi Hills in the early 1990s due to stiff local protests, and had again applied to the State Government for permission for uranium mining in 2001. The mining project, estimated at be worth Rs 300 crore in 90s, is now estimated to cost Rs 814 crore.

Meghalaya mulls local bodies

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb. 16 : The Meghalaya PCC today formed a special committee on self-governance to explore the possibilities of an alternative to panchayati raj as the system is not applicable to the state.

Congress leader and former minister for panchayati raj, Mani Shankar Aiyar, who chaired the meeting as a special invitee here, said the special committee on local self-governance in Meghalaya formed today would examine how grassroot governance can benefit the people of the state.

PCC president Friday Lyngdoh is the chairman of the committee.

As Meghalaya has autonomous district councils according to the Sixth Schedule, the state is exempted from the panchayati raj system and thus unable to avail itself of the funds and schemes under the system.

“We have prepared some documents and discussions will be held on the ways and means to take the administration closer to the people,” Aiyar said.

The committee is expected to form a grassroot body similar to a panchayat so that several central schemes can reach the people of the state.

“We neither want to touch the traditional institutions of Meghalaya, nor undermine the traditional leaders of the village communities. Our intention is to further strengthen the local people in Meghalaya,” Aiyar said.

Village life in rural Meghalaya

Posted by Sinlung

Umling, is a village deep in the mountainous range of Meghalaya. Villagers live off the land to support themselves. There are no roads and no water supply.

Infants play covered in mud and grime, being nursed by their elder siblings. Other children, no older than eight years old, are carrying loads twice their size and weight on their backs, helping out with the household responsibilities.

Situation is not any better for the elderly, who toil in the fields everyday without any respite. There aren’t any employment opportunities for the younger generation either since there are no industries due to militant threats. Unfortunately, this is a sight common to most of the North-East region of our country. Insurgency is a chronic problem and the region’s geography is also a contributing factor.

Over 98% of the region shares international borders with China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

In the last few years, a lot of money has been allocated by the government for infrastructure development.

One such government-led initiative is the Export Promotion Industrial Project, set up at Byrnihat, in the Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya. In this industrial zone, firms are provided basic infrastructure and incentives, like tax holidays and subsidies, to set up their operations.

The locals are of the opinion that the industries are exploiting them and their region. Unless that dichotomy is resolved, development may be far-fetched for this region. Read more here.

KSU slams Lapang govt for power cuts

Posted by Sinlung

Load-shedding during day and night

The Umiam power project: Inadequate

Shillong, Feb. 12 : The Khasi Students’ Union today attributed the power crisis in the domestic sector in Meghalaya to the defective policy of supplying more power to the non-productive industries.

The allegation came on a day the state electricity board issued a notification announcing power cuts during the day and at night, beginning today.

The Meghalaya State Electricity Board (MeSEB) stated low generation of power and inadequate supply from the central sector generating stations as the reasons for the power cuts.

According to the notification, different localities will face power cuts during the day for two hours rotation wise. From 12.30am there will be another round of power cuts for two hours in entire Shillong.

Government secretariats, the office of the deputy commissioner, Raj Bhavan, and those of the North Eastern Council and BSNL will witness one hour of power cut during daytime.

The situation is likely to continue for four months.

KSU president Samuel Jyrwa today blamed lack of farsightedness on the part of the state government for the people’s suffering from February till the monsoon.

He blamed the industries set up, mainly in Byrnihat, for consuming maximum power, leaving the domestic consumers helpless. He said the industries get all sorts of subsidies but had proven to be non-productive.

Meghalaya depends only on the 175MW Umiam hydel power project to meet the needs of the industries and domestic consumers. The state has hydropower potential of around 3,000MW.

With a demand for over 600MW, its present power generation of only 175MW, however, is hardly adequate.

The electric board’s inability to get the 126MW Myntdu Leshka hydel project commissioned has worsened the crisis.

Jyrwa said when the state government framed the industrial policy in 1997, it should have foreseen the power requirement of the industries set up in Byrnihat.

“Without studying the possible power shortage, the government allowed several industries to set up their units in the state,” he said.

The KSU leader said the state government, instead of tapping mini-hydel projects, concentrated on signing agreements for big hydel projects that would take at least 20 years for completion. As a result of the load-shedding, students preparing for various examinations will suffer.

Meghalaya CM to visit Dhaka, hopes to meet Hasina

Posted by Sinlung

Lapang: On a mission

Shillong, Feb. 12 : Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang is scheduled to visit Dhaka later this month and expected to meet Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to discuss a host of issues, including improvement of connectivity and cooperation in tourism, healthcare and education.

Lapang, along with a delegation comprising two deputies, will be leaving for Dhaka on February 24 to participate in the international trade fair being organised by the India Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Lapang said New Delhi had assured him of giving clearance for the visit. He said he hoped to get an appointment from the Bangladesh Prime Minister.

He discussed several issues pertaining to improved ties between Bangladesh and Meghalaya with Bangladesh high commissioner Tariq Ahmed Karim last evening.

“Issues regarding road, air and rail connectivity were deliberated upon. We have been seeking to begin a bus service to Bangladesh via Sylhet, besides introducing air and rail services. Karim assured me of taking up the matters with Dhaka,” he said.

Lapang has requested the Bangladesh high commissioner to open a visa office in Shillong to encourage more visitors to the neighbouring country. The chief minister also impressed upon Karim that Meghalaya, being an education hub, could be a viable destination for Bangladeshi students. “They can come here and pursue studies and be permanent tourists,” he said.

CM flays Sangma

Lapang today slammed NCP leader P.A. Sangma for criticising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for not being an elected member of the Lok Sabha.

“The North East Congress Coordination Committee (NECCC) strongly condemns the statement of Sangma. It is a highly irresponsible statement,” Lapang, the chairman of the committee, said.

A week ago, Sangma had been critical of Singh for not being a member of the Lok Sabha. “I am a strong believer of the parliamentary system of governance, but in the last several years I have been a very disappointed man...For years the Lok Sabha has failed to produce a Prime Minister,” the former Lok Sabha Speaker had said.

Altogether 21 delegates of the NECCC met Congress president Sonia Gandhi a few days ago and discussed Sangma’s statement, Lapang said.

“In India, this has been a practice from the beginning. But at no point of time has anyone made such a comment. The government has been running perfectly well, whether the Prime Minister is from the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha,” he added.

Lapang to visit B'desh, may meet Hasina

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb 12 Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang will visit Dhaka later this month, where he is expected to meet Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina to discuss a host of issues, including improvement of connectivity and cooperation in tourism, health care and education.

Lapang, along with a delegation comprising his two deputies, will be leaving for Dhaka on February 24 to participate in the international trade fair being organised by the India Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

New Delhi has assured of giving him clearance for the visit, Lapang said, adding that he hopes to get an appointment from Hasina.

Lapang discussed several issues pertaining to improved ties between Bangladesh and Meghalaya with Bangladesh High Commissioner Tariq Ahmed Karim last evening.

"Issues regarding road, air and rail connectivity were deliberated upon.

Meghalaya CM slams Sangma for statement on PM

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb 12 Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang today slammed NCP leader P A Sangma for his criticism of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not being an elected member of the Lok Sabha.

"The North East Congress Coordination Committee (NECCC) strongly condemns the statement of P A Sangma. It is an highly irresponsible statement," Lapang, also the chairman of NECCC, said.

A week ago, Sangma was critical that the prime minister is not from the Lok Sabha.

"I am a strong believer of the Parliamentary system of governance, but in the last several years, I have been a very disappointed man...For years Lok Sabha has failed to produce a prime minister," the former Lok Sabha Speaker had said.

Altogether 21 delegates of the NECCC met AICC chief Sonia Gandhi few days back and discussed the statement of Sangma, Lapang said.

Planning Commission's BPL estimates unrealistic: Meghalaya

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong: Meghalaya government has termed the poverty rate projected by the Planning Commission for Meghalaya as “unrealistic”, claiming that the survey conducted by the state’s Rural Department estimates that the state has more than double the number of BPL families as compared to the projection by the Centre.
“The poverty estimates of the Planning Commission shows the North East in general and Meghalaya in particular as having less BPL families than the rest of the country,” chief minister DD Lapang said.
“A draft document on poverty eradication in North Eastern Region should be finalized and published by National Institute of Rural Development immediately,” an official statement quoted Lapang as saying during the 58th meeting of North Eastern Council in Guwahati yesterday.
Meghalaya food and civil supplies minister, Ampareen Lyngdoh said, “While the Planning Commission in 1993-94 had indicated the poverty rate of Meghalaya at 40.86%, in 2004-05 it was mentioned as 18.50%. This is an unrealistic projection.”
She said as per the survey conducted by the State Rural Department in 2002, there were 2,05,234 BPL families in the rural areas alone which comes to around 48.90% of the total rural households.
“It would therefore be disastrous to reduce the number of BPL families and the allocation of food-grains at this juncture where the prices of essential commodities are exorbitantly high. The Centre should enhance the allocation,” the minister said.
She said the availability of sugar of between January 2008 to September 2009 was just 38 per cent and urged the Centre to increase the stock allotted to the state.
“The shortfall in the requirement of rice is around 24 lakh MT, which has to be procured from the open market. The dependency on the open market is up to 95%,” Lyngdoh added.

Green warriors of the Garo hills

Posted by Sinlung

Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills are under serious threat from illegal coal mining. The Garo Students Union, and its dynamic leader Prosper S Marak, have been battling to preserve the biodiversity of this region. Marak was declared Earth Hero for 2009 and also won the Young Naturalist Award for 2009

In Meghalaya’s inaccessible South Garo Hills, an ‘eco-mutiny’ went virtually unnoticed. Except for the fact that eco-warrior Prosper S Marak, president of the southern zone of the powerful student body, the Garo Students Union (GSU), was declared one of the Earth Heroes of 2009 by Sanctuary Asia and the Royal Bank of Scotland, and was awarded the prestigious ‘Young Naturalist Award’ in December 2009.   The award statement read: “The Young Naturalist Award is presented to the 24-year-old emerging green warrior Prosper S Marak for his work to protect the biodiversity of the rich Garo hills of Meghalaya, and who continues to inspire young men and women in the state to protect their natural heritage.” Prosper Marak grew up just outside the forests of Balpakram National Park and Siju Wildlife Sanctuary. He learnt to love and respect nature at a very young age.
Marak was instrumental in leading a youth uprising in five hamlets in Gongrot, in South Garo Hills, taking the ‘illegal’ miners completely by surprise. In his acceptance speech, he said: “I accept this award on behalf of my colleagues in GSU who have fought tooth-and-nail to preserve Balpakram National Park and the amazing wildlife of the Garo Hills.” The story goes back to November 2008 when an attempt was made to open up a new coal mine on the periphery of Balpakram National Park. Like all coal mining in Meghalaya, no environmental clearance or related permissions had been taken for the mine. There are approximately seven laws under which clearance has to be sought by state and central bodies before any mining activity can be initiated. In any case, coal mining cannot be undertaken by private individuals as all coal (including that in Meghalaya) was nationalised in 1967.   In blatant violation of the law of the land, ‘illegal’ coal mines continue to flourish all over Meghalaya. Local people in the Garo hills and other parts of the state operate the mines on their lands without any mining leases by the state government, under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973, that was amended in 1976.
The disputed mine was being planned in an aking called Gongrot (tracts of community land in the Garo hills are called aking). Since Gongrot is a remote aking, a road has first to be built to connect the mining area to the existing PWD road. This connecting road would have passed partly through Gongrot and partly through another aking called Halwa Atong. In order to build the road, standing forests in both akings would have had to be cut down.
In July last year, contractors came with bulldozers and began clearing the forests. The GSU swung into action. They seized the bulldozer and handed it over to the police. A protracted legal battle ensued; in the intervening period young men and women cleared the debris and began to reforest the area. They took turns patrolling the restored lands to ensure that the miners did not return to destroy what had been resurrected. “This was a symbolic act of taking the land back from the miners and returning it to the forest. All these years, our ancestors have been protecting our forests,” says Marak.   The protests startled the illegal mining mafia as well as the government that is reluctant to regulate mining in the state. Indeed, Meghalaya is the only state in the country where private ‘illegal’ mining flourishes without any hindrance. Now, thanks to the pressure, Meghalaya has put together a mining policy that is being closely assessed and will have an impact far beyond Balpakram. Marak’s associate Ginseng Sangma, also a student, believes the protests were the least they could do for the community and the forests they grew up in. They convinced over 100 school and college students to join in the innovative non-violent protest by replanting the forest stretch that had been destroyed by the bulldozers.
Sangma, now a second-year BA student at Captain Williamson Magor Memorial College in Baghmara reminisces about the early days when many species of wild animals roamed the forests, including elephants and leopards. “Now, even the lush streams have dried up due to the rampant deforestation. Forests have been cut and converted into orchards. If the trend goes on, all our natural treasures will disappear and there will be nothing left for future generations,” he says. Protests against illegal mining have been ongoing in Meghalaya’s Garo hills where a group of NGOs and citizens have set up the Chitmang Hills Anti-Mining Forum against unplanned and unscientific mining. Chitmang is the name of a peak -- the highest in the South Garo Hills -- that’s considered sacred among Garo society. In view of its importance and considering the threat to the entire region from mining, the anti-mining forum has chosen its name well.   Spearheaded by the Samrakshan Trust, the forum also comprises the Garo Students Union (GSU), Youth Development and Vigilance Committee, Southern Youth and Cultural Organisation, Atong Cultural Organisation, Siju Youth Socio-Cultural Organisation, Achik Tourism Society, Achik Youth and Cultural Organisation and Siju Ecotourism and Cultural Society. Arpan Sarma of the Samrakshan Trust says: “What is happening in Balpakram is a subset of a larger malaise. People are disgusted with the rampant illegal mining in the state.”
Apart from Balpakram National Park and Baghmara Reserve Forest, the area comprises nearly 400 sq km of community-owned lands spread over 36 akings. A large proportion of this land is forested and used by local people to earn a livelihood. Samrakshan helps local communities set up community conservation reserves aimed at preserving forested habitats on community-owned lands. It is also working in Balpakram-Baghmara to ensure that elephant habitats and critical corridors remain accessible for use by the animals.
The forum has appealed to various statutory and traditional tribal authorities. “We have sent a petition to the regional office of the Ministry of Environment and Forests in Shillong regarding violations of the Forest Conservation Act. We have also filed a complaint with the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council regarding prosecution of the headmen of Gongrot and Halwa Atong akings for felling standing forests to pave the way for illegal mining,” says Asith Sangma, president of the forum. Asith explains that Balpakram National Park, apart from being an ecological hotspot, is also a sacred place in the hills. It is called ‘land of the eternal death’ in Garo mythology, as it is believed that the spirits of the dead reside here.
“We don’t want to create another Jharia (Jharkhand)-like situation here. We will have to protect this area at the cost of our lives,” Asith says. Jharia, a town in Jharkhand, had to be shifted due to coal mine fires that could not be controlled.
Teresa Rehman is a journalist based in northeast India. She was awarded the Sarojini Naidu Award for Best Reporting on Women and Panchayati Raj in 2007 and the Sanskriti Award for Excellence in Journalism 2009

Source: Infochange News & Features

Meet on crime against women

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb. 9: The National Commission for Women has convened a meeting here on February 18 to discuss the rise in crime against women in the Northeast.

The meeting will help to frame effective policies and empower law enforcing agencies to deal with the alarming rise in crime against women and children, a member of the commission, Wansuk Syiem, said over phone from Delhi.

Syiem said the governments of the region should deal with the issues of crime against women and children urgently.

Syiem said compared to previous years, there was a sharp rise in crime against women in Meghalaya, Manipur and Assam.

According to the National Commission for Women, while rape and murder of women and children had shot up in Meghalaya, in Assam and Manipur they also suffered because of insurgency.

Syiem said the meet would discuss topics like the need to arrest the growing trend of violence against women, trafficking of women and children, women’s legal rights, women’s role in politics, empowerment of women’s self-help groups and socio-economic uplift of women.

The functionaries of state commissions for women, representing all the northeastern states, are expected to take part in the meet. Experts on women’s issues and lawyers will be the resource persons. Representatives from the National Commission for Women will provide inputs on issues related to protection of women.

The meet will highlight the legal aide the victims can avail to ameliorate their sufferings.

Several NGOs feel that women’s rights are often violated in the Northeast and rapists and murders often go scot-free.

Admitting that crime against women had assumed alarming proportions in Meghalaya, a home department official today said the government had set up women police stations in the state last year to check the trend and help the victims.

Fence hits panel wall

Posted by Sinlung

Villagers nix BSF plan

Shillong, Feb. 9 : The BSF move to fence the 130-km-long border in Khasi-Jaintia Hills has run into opposition with the Co-ordination Committee on International Border Fencing (CCIBF), comprising pressure groups, reiterating that the fencing be initiated close to the zero line and not 150 yards away from it.

The BSF inspector-general of Assam-Meghalaya frontier, Prithvi Raj, had recently said that the fencing should be carried out 150 yards away from the zero line, at the earliest. The IG also blamed the administration for not being able to acquire land and move ahead with the fencing project.

Reacting to this, the spokesperson for the CCIB, G.H. Kharshanlor, today said that fencing within 150 yards was not acceptable to them.

“We had met chief minister D.D. Lapang at the end of last year and he had directed the National Building Construction Company (NBCC) to cancel the already floated tender for the fencing work, Kharshanlor said.

During the internal security meeting of chief ministers in New Delhi yesterday, Lapang said that villagers feared they would not be able to harvest their crop beyond the fence, if the work was initiated 150 yards away from the zero line.

Union home minister P. Chidambaram chaired the meeting.

According to the chief minister, vast fertile land would be lost if the fence is erected 150 yards away from the zero line.

Welcoming the views expressed by the chief minister on border fencing, Kharshanlor said the committee would follow up the matter during a meeting with Lapang once he returns from New Delhi.

“We will not allow the NBCC to construct border fencing 150 yards away from the zero line, come what may,” Kharshanlor added. He also said the people residing along the border and the heads of the traditional bodies should be taken into confidence before fencing was carried out.

The BSF inspector-general had earlier offered the services of the Mahila BSF battalion to assist the women in border areas while they go for farming after construction of the fence. He had assured that even if the fencing started within 150 yards from the zero line, the BSF would erect gates for free movement of the farmers from Meghalaya.

According to the BSF, border fencing will minimise transborder crimes, including smuggling.

Shillong screenplay hits facility hurdle

Posted by Sinlung

Filmmaker Shyam Benegal with chief minister D.D. Lapang in Shillong on Thursday. A Telegraph picture

Shillong, Feb. 7 : Meghalaya could become the next hot destination for filmmakers if only it could provide the necessary infrastructure.

The members of the state task force for promoting Meghalaya as a film destination, who met for the first time today, expressed concern over the lack of basic facilities for filmmakers to shoot films in Shillong.

The task force was constituted by the state government on November 24 last year.

Well-known filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who is a member of the task force, told the meeting that Meghalaya should explore ways and means to provide more infrastructure facilities and incentives to attract people from the film industry to Shillong.

Benegal said if the government did not improve infrastructure facilities and provide incentives, it would be difficult for filmmakers to come to Shillong to shoot films.

The commissioner and secretary of industries, Arindam Som, who attended the meeting, admitted that Meghalaya lacked the basic infrastructure, including accommodation and transportation.

“We do not have enough hotels to accommodate a big team of film producers,” Som said, adding that Meghalaya also lacked transport facilities.

The task force has decided to form a sub-committee to formulate within a month a policy that can help local service providers to construct more hotels and other infrastructure facilities.

The task force will hold its next meeting after the committee submits its report.

Creating a website, which would project Meghalaya as a film destination, is also on the cards.

Benegal, who arrived here yesterday, met chief minister D.D. Lapang to discuss the possibilities of film shooting in Shillong.

Lapang had met Tito Juneja, the producer of Har Pal, a film partially shot in Shillong, on December 13 last year, to explore the entry of Bollywood into the city known as the Scotland of the East.

Apex court stops French firm’s mining in Meghalaya

Posted by Sinlung

New Delhi, Feb 5 The Supreme Court Friday ordered French firm Lafarge, involved in mining limestone in Meghalaya for its cement plants in Bangladesh, to immediately stop its mining operations in the state.

The bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justice Aftab Alam ordered Lafarge to stop mining following allegations that the firm has raised funds from various international banks after mortgaging the state’s land it had fraudulently transferred to itself.

The bench ordered Lafarge Umiam Mining Pvt Ltd to stop its mining operations in Meghalaya on a lawsuit by a civil society group, Shella Action Committee, of the East Khasi Hills district in state.
The lawsuit alleged that by violating the country’s constitutional provisions, the French firm has transferred the land belonging to tribals to itself in collusion with some local groups.
The lawsuit alleged that the firm later “mortgaged the tribal land to foreign banks like the Asian Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the Deutsche Investitutions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, the European Investment Bank, the Arab Bangladesh Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank”.
“The firm mortgaged the land to raise loan of 153 million US dollars,” said the lawsuit of the tribal society.
Asking Lafarge to stop its mining operations, the bench told the firm to apprise it within three days about its mined limestone that is lying at a site.
The bench earlier on Nov 23, 2007, had allowed the firm to continue its mining operations in the state. The mining had been stopped in April 2007 by the union ministry of environment and forests on the ground that it had fraudulently obtained environment clearance for the project.
A special environment bench, headed by Chief Justice Balakrishnan, said Lafarge would be allowed to restart its mining – subject to the outcome of a cost-benefit analysis of the firm’s proposal to set up a cement plant in Meghalaya.
The bench, which also included erstwhile Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S.H. Kapadia, allowed Lafarge to continue mining for its cement factory in Bangladesh on the recommendations of senior counsel Harish Salve, who has been assisting the court in the matter.
Salve had made the recommendation to allow Lafarge to continue its limestone mining in the Khasi Hills near village Nongtrai after the French firm’s non-executive chairman and former HDFC chairman Deepak S. Parekh explained to him that the deposit of the Nongtrai mines could be best utilized by the Bangladesh plant.
Parekh in his explanatory note had told Salve that “the limestone from the mines can be best utilized in Lafarge’s Bangladesh plant as the harsh terrain of the area and the poor quality of roads makes it economically unviable to transport limestone or cement from the mining site of Nongtrai to the markets in Meghalaya”.

Cannot demote a former CM: Meghalaya minister

Posted by Sinlung

SHILLONG: Amid a row over the elevation of three MLAs of the ruling Congress-led alliance to the rank of chief minister, Meghalaya deputy chief minister Mukul Sangma today asserted that a legislators who was a chief minister in the past cannot be "demoted".

"It is not proper for any political arrangement where an MLA who was a former chief minister is demoted. This has been a traditional in Meghalaya," Sangma, also in charge of Finance department, told reporters.

He said one must understand the "political management" that is required to be resorted to in a coalition government.

"We have MLAs, who happen to be former chief ministers. So long as they are MLAs, it is befitting for us to recognize and acknowledge their services and give them the status of chief minister," Sangma said.

After the elevation of the rank and status of Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee president Friday Lyngdoh to the rank and status of chief minister, there are four political leaders in the ruling Congress-led alliance to enjoy that status.

Two leaders of United Democratic Party (UDP), which is the main partner in the alliance, also enjoys the same status - State Planning Board chairman Donkupar Roy and Meghalaya Economic Development Council chairman JD Rymbai.

Speaker to consult experts on Hek status

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong Feb. 3: Meghalaya Speaker Charles Pyngrope today said he would consult legal experts regarding disclosure of the status of lone BJP legislator A.L. Hek after he joined the Congress.

Pressure has been mounting on the Assembly secretariat to divulge information on what ground it had been declared that Hek did not fall under the anti-defection rule.

BJP state president H.S. Syiemlieh had sought relevant papers on Hek’s status as a legislator in December last year.

On January 22, a voter had filed an application under the Right to Information Act, seeking detailed information on how Hek could be called a Congress MLA since he had not resigned from the BJP.

D.B. Wanshnong from Pynthorumkhrah (Hek’s constituency), filed the RTI before the public information officer, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly secretariat, with an appeal to provide all information related to Hek’s present status.

According to the Speaker’s ruling, Hek cannot fall under the anti-defection rule as the complaint against the MLA must be lodged by another BJP legislator and not by the party president. Moreover, the legislature wing of the BJP had merged with the Congress, giving no room for the application of anti-defection rule in the case of Hek.

However, the Speaker today said he would seek legal opinion whether information on Hek’s status could be provided to the BJP president and the RTI applicant. “I have not seen the RTI application. But there is no harm in giving information, provided that there are no legal complications.”

This is the first time that an RTI application has been filed in Meghalaya, seeking papers on the Speaker’s ruling under the anti-defection rule.

Meghalaya Tourism Dept holds meeting in cave!

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb 4 – Maldives held its Cabinet meeting underneath the pristine Indian Ocean, Nepal atop the Sun-kissed Mt. Everest and now Meghalaya’s Tourism department officials held theirs inside a dimly-lit cave!

Tourism officials, village council heads, NGOs, tour operators and taxi drivers huddled deep inside the Syndai or Jogindra Cave in Jaintia Hills along the Indo-Bangla border on Tuesday with only solar lanterns and Dongmusas (lighted bamboo torches) as accompaniments during the meeting.

The conference room was of impressive proportions, 25 metre high and 30 metre wide, architectured with stalactites and stalagmites. This place was the favoured hideout for erstwhile Jaintia royals in times of war for strategising and regrouping.

Tuesday’s meeting, however, was no secret. Journalists from print and visual media covered the meeting and the cave reverberated with ideas and discussions of all the stakeholders on how best to promote tourism in Jaintia Hills district, having the longest cave in Asia and perhaps in the world.

“We met to promote tourism, but it was also an effort to draw attention on the issue of cave preservation and how the caves can augment income for the locals through adventure tourism,” Barnari Mawlong, Amlarem’s Additional Deputy Commissioner, who chaired the meeting and brain behind the unique convergence, told The Assam Tribune.

Many of the caves in Jaintia Hills are under threat due to rampant unscientific mining by cement plants in the district. Krem Lait Phrah-Um Im-Labit in the district has been mapped as one of the longest caves in Asia by speleologists, but the cave is under threat due to limestone mining in the area.

The Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association filed a writ petition recently in the Supreme Court, which in turn directed that a team of experts be appointed to assess whether increasing industrial activity was threatening the caves in Jaintia Hills.

The organisation so far has registered and recorded over 1,000 caves in Meghalaya of which 520 caves has been mapped yielding a cave passage of 280 kms.

The unique meeting had an immediate bearing with Forest and Environment Minister, RC Laloo saying: “these caves need to be protected; we are looking in terms of strengthening the Forest and Environment department.

Thai keen to invest in Meghalaya

Posted by Sinlung

Shillong, Feb 2

Thailand is keen to explore investment opportunities in Meghalaya with proposals ranging from tourism, infrastructure and aviation, Thai Ambassador to India Krit Kraichitt said.

''We are exploring all the investment feasibility in Meghalaya which Thai entrepreneurs can invest here,'' he told UNI.

Under the Thai's Look West Policy, Mr Kraichitt said Thailand is also trying to include India's North East tourism potential in our tourism circuit.

''The North East has a lot to offer to the world. I have seen Assam and Meghalaya's potential and we also visit Nagaland to explore our investment opportunities,'' the Thai Ambassador said.

Meghalaya Governor RS Mooshahary, who met the Thai envoy to India, said Meghalaya and North East as a whole has a greater role to play in boosting bilateral trade between India and Thailand.

''Meghalaya is one of the most peaceful states in the Northeast and investment from Thailand is welcome here anytime,'' Mr Mooshahary said.

In Meghalaya, it takes 4 to tango

Posted by Sinlung

Meghalaya has been ruled by ‘collision’ governments since 1978, says the state assembly’s website.

A Freudian slip, as parties have always collided with each other, giving the state 23 governments and two phases of President’s Rule in 38 years since it attained statehood in 1972. But on Thursday, the Congress adopted a different strategy for stability: it decided to humour all the aspiring chief ministers.

DD Lapang’s Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government elevated state Congress chief Friday Lyngdoh to the rank of CM. A year back, two former CMs, Donkupar Roy and J.D. Rymbai, were similarly reinstated.

While Lapang defended the move, John F. Kharshiing, spokesperson of the Federation of Khasi States, told HT: “I wouldn’t mind being notified as the fifth CM free of cost if it helps... improve governance...”

In 1978, B.B. Lyngdoh became chief of the Meghalaya United Legislative Party alliance government for less than a month before a lottery among the MLAs tipped the scale in favour of D.D. Pugh.

This was after Lyngdoh and Pugh led a breakaway faction of the All Party Hill Leaders’ Conference (APHLC) to victory after Capt Williamson Sangma — the first CM — switched over to the Congress.

But Lyngdoh ended Pugh’s 13-month run by teaming up with the Congress to form government in May 1979. Lyngdoh’s APHLC and the Congress set a precedent by equally dividing the rest of the term.

In 2001, independent MLA F.A. Khonglam headed the People’s Forum of Meghalaya government after the NCP toppled the 21-month-old Meghalaya Parliamentary Forum government, which replaced B.B. Lyngdoh’s government, which in turn had ousted the Congress in 1998.

Meghalaya fencing hits land wall

Posted by Sinlung

BSF blames lax govt

Shillong, Feb. 2 : Land acquisition problems and lack of support from local administration has delayed the timely completion of border fencing in Meghalaya, the inspector-general, BSF (Assam-Meghalaya frontier), Prithvi Raj, said today.

After the surrender ceremony of “sergeant” Ranjeeth Nath of Ulfa’s 28 battalion today, the BSF official said the porous borders in Meghalaya’s Khasi-Jaintia hills sector stood in the way of effective border management.

Local villagers and the Co-ordination Committee on International Border Fencing (CCIBF), comprising the Khasi Students Union, Federation of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo People and the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front have been opposing fencing in certain areas of the Khasi and Jaintia hills.

The organisations fear they will lose vast swathes of cultivable land once fencing is completed. The border residents and the pressure groups wanted border fencing to start from the Zero Line itself instead of the mandatory 150 yards from it.

The BSF also blamed the administration for its inability to start border fencing — a project of national importance.

Raj assured that even if the fencing started, the BSF would erect gates for free movement of farmers from Meghalaya. “We will also deploy Mahila BSF battalion to assist the women in the border areas when they go for farming after fencing.”

The BSF official said since the fence would minimise transborder crimes, the need to start fencing has been taken up with the Union home ministry.

Nearly 130km of the Khasi and Jaintia hills border had been left out while undertaking fencing work because of opposition from the local residents and the NGOs. The local administration was yet to act proactively to complete the fencing work, he added.

“We are keen to expedite the work and want the National Buildings Construction Company to start fencing at the earliest,” Raj said.

On areas in adverse possession, Raj said fencing could be undertaken in these areas after India and Bangladesh settled the border problem.

In Meghalaya, the adversely held areas are Lyngkhat, Kurinallah, Pyrdiwah in East Khasi Hills and Tamabil, Baljuri, Rongkhong, Amki, Amjlong and Muktapur in Jaintia Hills. Boro Hills in the Khasi Hills sector and Labhacherra and Nuncherra Tea Gardens in Jaintia Hills are also adversely held areas in Bangladesh.

Meghalaya, the state with 4 ‘chief ministers’

Posted by Sinlung

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Meghalaya has a reputation for installing and removing chief ministers faster than in any other state. But this time it has created a new record: the state now has four ‘chief ministers’, one sworn in by the Governor, two already holding the rank and status of chief minister, and a fourth “upgraded” to the same status a couple of days ago.

It was a government notification, made public by a press release of the Meghalaya directorate of information and public relations, that stated that state Congress president Friday Lyngdoh, also a legislator, was “upgraded” to the status of chief minister. Incidentally Lyngdoh was already holding the status of a deputy chief minister. According to the official notification dated January 28: “The rank and status of (Friday) Lyngdoh has been upgraded from that of deputy chief minister to that of chief minister. He shall continue to function as political advisor to the Chief Minister.”

But even as Lyngdoh attains the status of chief minister alongside Darwing Diengdoh Lapang, who was sworn in by Governor R S Moosahary on May 13 last year, two others — State Planning Board chairman Donkupar Roy and Meghalaya Economic Development Council chairman J D Rymbai — also enjoy the rank and status of chief minister. Both Roy and Rymbai are former chief ministers of the state.

And as if four persons with the rank and status of chief minister are not enough, Meghalaya, both of whose members in the Lok Sabha are ministers in the Union government, has two others who are officially designated deputy chief ministers of the state. They are Mukul Sangma and Bindo Lalong.

“Though Lyngdoh has been elevated to the rank and status of a chief minister, he does not enjoy any constitutional power. The executive powers are vested only on Lapang. It is a political decision taken by Chief Minister Lapang by taking his colleagues into confidence,” said Anish Gandhi, advisor to Lapang, from Shillong.

And though nobody in the Lapang government or in the ruling coalition would admit it, the fact remains that Friday Lyngdoh’s upgradation comes close on the heels of hectic activities in the rebel camp within the MPCC that he was reportedly heading. It was only on January 5 that Lapang had reshuffled his ministry, which prompted Lyngdoh to protest before the AICC over the style of functioning of the Chief Minister.

The Opposition, meanwhile, has hit out at the Congress-led ruling coalition for wasting huge sums of public money just to keep the coalition in power. “It is strange that the government is wasting money just to stick to power, and that too when the state government does not have enough funds to pay salaries of its employees,” said Conrad Sangma, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

The ruling Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA), which took over in May last year, has 37 legislators in a house of 60, of which 28 are Congress MLAs and nine are of the UDP. Lapang’s is the third government in the state since the March 2008 Assembly elections.