NORTH EAST
NEWS BULLETIN
DATE: 14/01/2013
HEADLINES
• Preparations full swing in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya,
where assembly elections are to be held next month.
• High level inter-ministerial central team led by Prafulla Kerketta,
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, on visit to Arunachal
Pradesh.
• Condemning brutal killing of two jawans by Pakistani soldiers
along Line of Control, Arunachal Pradesh unit of BJP urges
Centre to deal with the issue boldly.
• Rural information kiosks with internet connectivity to be set up in
300 villages in Mizoram.
• Nagaland enters Guinness Book of World Records for  Largest
Electric Guitar Ensemble.
• Sikkim to host international flower fair next month.
• Makar Sankranti and Magh Bihu being celebrated today even as
Maha Kumbh Mela gets underway at Prayag.
 
NEWS IN ORDER
POLLS
Preparations are in full swing in the three northeastern states of
Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, where assembly elections are to be
held next month. While Tripura will go to the polls on the fourteenth of
February, voters in Meghalaya and Nagaland will exercise their
franchise on the twenty third of next month. Political parties and
aspiring candidates have already started wooing prospective voters even
as the model code of conduct has come into force in all the three states.
On the other hand, security measures are being tightened in the
insurgency-prone region. All the three poll-bound states have urged the
Union Home Ministry, through the Election Commission of India to provide for more Central security forces to ensure smooth conduct of
the impending elections. The full Election Commission, led by Chief
Election Commissioner VS Sampath had recently toured the three pollbound states to make an assessment of the poll preparations.
 
ITANAGAR:
A high level inter-ministerial central team led by  Prafulla Kerketta,
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, is on a  five-day visit to
Arunachal Pradesh. Their visit is aimed to assess the damages caused
due to natural disasters last year in the state. The team will also verify
the worst affected areas. Chief Minister Nabam Tuki had been pressing
the Centre for sending a high-level central team for assessment of the
flood-affected areas.  
 
BJP-PAK
Condemning the brutal killing of two jawans by the Pakistani soldiers
along the Line of Control, the Arunachal Pradesh unit of BJP has urged
the Centre to deal with the issue boldly. The party has called for firm
and tough steps to send a strong message to Pakistan. Holding the
Pakistan government and its Army responsible for the untoward
incident, the BJP termed the incident as highly provocative. BJP Assam
Pradesh President Sarbananda Sonwal along with other party members
also staged a protest in Guwahati against the killing of two Indian
soldiers by Pakistani troops.  
 
AIZAWL:
Rural information kiosks with internet connectivity will be set up in
selected 300 villages in Mizoram. This is being done to enhance
communication in remote areas and create job opportunities for
educated youths. An amount of 489 lakh rupees has been allocated for
the purpose, a report from Aizawl said. The kioks aim to improve
communication between government administrators and citizens. Thesewill also provide the villagers with access to quality healthcare through
e-medicine and e-consulting.
 
RECORD
Nagaland yesterday entered the Guinness Book of World Records for
the Largest Electric Guitar Ensemble surpassing England. Three
hundred and sixty eight musicians performed at Agri-Expo in Dimapur
to enter into the world famous records book. England made the record
of two hundred and fifty musicians in 2012 at Ricoh Arena. The music
was played on the song “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”  by Guns and
Roses. The result was announced by Adjudicator, India Nikhil Shukla.
The event was organized by Sky Entertainment in association with the
Government of Nagaland Music Task
Force.                                                            
 
FLOWERS
Sikkim is hosting an international flower fair next month. More than
fifteen thousand species of flowers from the Himalayan region will be
displayed for business community and flower lovers. Flower growers
from Australia, New Zealand, Holland, the United States, Taiwan,
Nepal and Thailand will be taking part in the festival. Farmers from
Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttarakhand,
Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and seven northeast states will also participate
in the five-day exhibition beginning February 23rd. Sikkim horticulture
secretary S Pradhan said the show is being organised to promote
floriculture marketing, buyers and sellers meetings between Indian and
foreign floriculturists. Exotic varieties of nearly four thousand five
hundred species of flowers, native to Sikkim, will be showcased at the
festival.                                                  
SANKRANTI-BIHU Makar Sankranti is being cMakar Sankranti is being celebrated all across the country today even
as the Maha Kumbh Mela, biggest congregation of human beings on
earth gets underway at Prayag in Allahabad. Celebrations for Assam’s
harvest festival Bhogali Bihu or Magh Bihu began on Uruka on Sunday
with community feasts and prayers. Also called Uttarayan Sankranti
and Poush Parbon, the festival fares home-made delicacies besides
exotic fishes. Irrespective of caste, religion or language, people from all
communities in a spirit of brotherhood gather to participate in the
celebrations. At the crack of dawn today mejis, made of hay and
bamboo were set ablaze to mark the occasion.