The Northeast Notebook

Nagaland funds for churches THE BJP may be part of the ruling coalition in Nagaland but that has not stopped the Democratic Alliance of Naga...

Nagaland funds for churches

THE BJP may be part of the ruling coalition in Nagaland but that has not stopped the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) from giving funds to the Church. Chief minister Neiphiu Rio last week released Rs 60 lakh to the Church—Rs 1 lakh for every constituency—saying it would help the Church contribute towards the peace process in the state. Rio, however, has not specified how the money would be spent and this has attracted much criticism.

Lifeless waters

ENVIRONMENTAL degradation and unmonitored fishing has endangered many exotic fish species of the northeast, that is home to 260 out of about 600 fish species of the country. The fish in danger are the garua or giant catfish—once found abundantly in the Brahmaputra, pabho or pabhda and ten other species. Researchers at the Guwahati University say pesticides and other poison used in killing fish has led to the present situation.

Road blocks as rights

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THE Meghalaya government’s ordinance making bandhs and road blockades unlawful may have been welcomed by the common man but several student groups and opposition parties have termed it undemocratic. Leading the protest is the influential Khasi Students Union, which has threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement. Chief minister D D Lapang says the move was made seeing that the common man was fed up with bandhs and blockades.

Crackdown on cyber cafes

WORRIED over school and college students spending hours in cyber cafes browsing pornographic sites, the Manipur government has brought about several restrictions on the 60 odd cyber cafes in the state capital.

Parents say they are unable to stop their children from going to these cafes and have appealed to the authorities to monitor them.

IIT reaches out

IIT GUWAHATI, the youngest of the India’s leading technology family, is reaching out to outer space. A ground station is being set up here that would be linked to a micro-satellite transponder at Anna University, Chennai, which will help those in the northeast willing to become space researchers gain practical knowledge of the subject. The ISRO-aided project at Guwahati will be one of the four such projects to be initiated in the country.