NBWL to carry site inspection of Balpakram
GUWAHATI: The National Board for Wild Life (NBWL) has decided to undertake a site inspection of the uranium deposit in Balpakram National Park in the State in response to the proposal submitted by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to de-notify an area of 8 square kilometers at Rongcheng Plateau in Balpakram National Park for exploratory uranium mining.
A highly-placed source informed that the Board at a meeting held in New Delhi on April 12, had decided to send a site inspection team led by one of its standing committee members to Balpakram National Park in South Garo Hills district in view of the DAE's proposal.
The go-ahead from the NBWL holds the key for the DAE's bid to explore uranium in Balpakram given that any non-forest activity like exploratory drilling inside a national park requires approval from the NBWL. The inspection team of the NBWL is expected to give ear to rising protests against the attempt to mine uranium inside the national park area in the State.
The Rongcheng Plateau in Balpakram National Park has been identified as a site for high grade, large tonnage uranium deposits. The total uranium ore deposit in Khasi and Garo Hills region of Meghalaya is estimated to be 9.2 million tonnes and it is of immense importance to the country considering the fact that India has set a target of 20,000 MW of nuclear energy by 2020.
Anti-mining forum opposes mining proposal
Meanwhile, the Garo Hills Anti-Mining Forum (GHAMF) has opposed the proposal of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to carry out exploratory Uranium mining inside Balpakram National Park.
The forum was of the opinion that drilling activity in whatever form will undoubtedly upset the forest's natural harmony, since the park is home to several endemic species of plants and animals including almost 250 species of birds. Reiterating that the forum would fight tooth and nail against the exploratory drilling, the anti-mining forum said that since the DAE had elaborately justified the exploratory drilling in terms of sourcing uranium for India's nuclear energy needs, it is evident that the exploratory drilling is a precursor to full-scale uranium mining.
It may be mentioned that the Garo Students' Union has already declared its opposition to the project.Chamling demands tribal status for Sikkim
Gangtok: Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling on Thursday asked the Centre to grant tribal status to Sikkim in view of the "common ethnic and socio-cultural identity" of all indigenous communities in the state.
He was speaking at a function attended by President Pratibha Patil.
Chamling sought reservation of assembly seats for 'Limboos' and 'Tamangs' communities after their inclusion in the schedule tribes list seven years ago, besides raising the strength of the state legislature from the present 32 to 40 to "accommodate democratic aspirations of various communities".
The Chief Minister also asked the Centre to include the indigenous 'Bhutia' and 'Lepcha' languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. (PTI)BJP leader detained for planning protest during Patil’s visit
Gangtok: A BJP leader, Padam Bahadur Sharma was on Thursday taken into preventive custody for planning to demonstrate before President Pratibha Patil to persuade her against inaugurating a tourist villa-cum-amusement park which was built through alleged misuse of public money.
Sharma, the South Sikkim district BJP President, was taken into custody as soon as he reached the newly-constructed tourist hotspot where he had proposed to lie down on the road to block the cavalcade of the visiting dignitory, a police official said.
Sharma had earlier in the day publicly announced his plan to stage a protest before the President to persuade her against inaugurating the amusement park alleging corruption and misuse of public money in the project.
The BJP leader had late last year filed a case in the Delhi High Court against Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling alleging he held dual nationality of Nepal and India. (PTI)Hmars urge Mizo Govt to hold talks with HPC-D
Aizawl: The Hmar community, living in the Mizoram-Manipur border areas today urged the Mizoram government to initiate peace talks with the Manipur-based underground Hmar People's Convention-Democrat (HPC-D) for a lasting solution to the Hmar insurgency problem.
A press statement issued by the Sinlung Hills Area Village Council Co-ordination Committee said that the Hmar community living in the area adjoining Manipur border have been facing extreme hardships due to insurgency for years.
"We implore the state government to broker peace and hold talks with the HPC-D so that the Hmar community in Mizoram can have long lasting peace and development," the statement said.
HPC-D was formed in the wake of the surrender of Hmar People's Convention (HPC) cadre along with arms to the state government in 1997 by Lalhmingthanga Sanate, the then Assistant General Secretary of the outfit. The HPC started an armed insurrection in 1989 demanding a separate autonomous district council for the Hmar community by slicing the north-eastern part of Mizoram.
The bloody insurgency, where a number of people were killed including state police personnel and insurgents, raged on till 1997 when the HPC and the state government signed an agreement which resulted in the creation of Sinlung Hills Development Council in the Hmar-inhabited area. (PTI)
Assembly panel to push Naga issue
Kohima: The Joint Parliamentary Working Committee (JPWC) of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly has resolved for broad based participation of all the Nagas in bringing a solution to the vexed Indo-Naga political problem.
Official sources here on Thursday said the JPWC, along with all the 60 legislators of the State Assembly, both the Members of Parliament from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, former chief minister S C Jamir and ex-parliamentarians of the state, met at Chumukedima Police Complex, near Dimapur on Wednesday and five-hour long meeting adopted a four-point resolution on the Naga political issue.
The meeting resolved to strengthen the peace process by giving support to the ongoing political negotiations.
The House further urged the negotiating parties to listen to people and expedite the talks by taking all factions into confidence and termed it as the right opportunity for the Nagas to bring an honourable solution. (UNI)
Two bombs recovered
Imphal: Atleast two bombs were retrieved by the police from different places in Imphal since Wednesday night.
Both the bombs were disposed off by the Manipur police bomb squad team.
A motor shell bomb was found by junk collectors on Thursday morning at a garbage park in Lamphelpat, Imphal.
In the other incident, a Chinese hand grenade was lobbed by some miscreants on Wednesday night at the residence of one T. Tompok Singh, Gram Panchayat Pradhan of Mayang Langjing, Imphal West district. (NNN)Aizawl sees AYUSH at its fullest
Aizawl: Hundreds of people flocked to Arogya Mela, a fair to spread awareness on traditional Indian systems of alternative medicine like Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), the first of its kind in Aizawl.
Jointly organised by the department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Central government and department of AYUSH, directorate of health services, the state government, the mela held at the Assam Rifles Ground here, had free medical check-ups, live yoga demonstrations and preparations of the Ayurveda medicines.
Inaugurated by Mizoram Governor Lt Gen (rtd) M M Lakhera on Tuesday, the three-day fair concluded on Thursday.
The Governor, in his inaugural speech, expressed the hope that AYUSH can solve the problems of people of remote places who don’t have access to healthcare facilities due to absence of doctors and rising prices of medicines.
Appreciating that Mizoram University is one of the few universities in the world to have separate department for herbal medicines, Lakhera expressed the hope that the department would come a long way in developing the home-grown medicinal plants.
Secretary of AYUSH S Salaja, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, thanked the Mizoram government for its active cooperation to make the mela a success.
Besides, upgrading the ten AYUSH clinics across the state, more AYUSH clinics would also be opened, Salaja said.
''Even though homoeopathy originated from Germany, India is the only country where its practice is legalised,'' she said, adding that AYUSH would be made accessible to all in Mizoram under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
The practitioners and manufacturers of traditional Indian systems of alternative medicine like Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) are in one platform and they could be able to show their strength in the field of health care.
''Ayurveda and homeopathy (the A and H) have become popular among the Mizos. This is the first time the people of Aizawl enjoy AYUSH at its fullest,'' said a participant of the mela. (UNI)DIS suspended for attempting to sell textbooks in Assam
Kohima: Nagaland Directorate of School Education has suspended a District Inspector of School (DIS) for attempting to sell school textbooks in Assam without government approval.
Official sources on Thursday said the DIS of Tuensang Lanu Imchen was suspended on Tuesday last after the department had taken cognizance of his offence.
Assam police had arrested Mr Imchen for disposing of a truckload of school textbooks and later released following intervention of the Nagaland government.
Now he would face departmental proceedings, the sources added.
Eastern Naga Students' Federation (ENSF) later confiscated the textbooks. (UNI)
