Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

PM announces ex-gratia for Assam blast victims New Delhi, Jan 2: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh each to the next of kin of those killed in the serial bomb blasts at Guwahati in Assam. An amount of Rs one lakh each would be given to those seriously injured in yesterday's blasts, Prime Minister's Media Adviser said in a statement. The assistance would be given from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. Expressing grief over the loss of lives in the blasts, the prime minister said yesterday that the government would root out terrorism taking the recent anti-terror measures to their logical conclusion. "The government will stay steadfast in its determination to root out terrorism and that the measures initiated recently in this direction will be taken to their logical conclusion," he had said. Source : Press Trust of India (PTI)

5 dead, 51 injured in serial blasts Guwahati, Jan 1: Three blasts took place in crowded areas of Guwahati today (Thursday), shortly before the arrival of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. The Assam Chief Minister's Office confirmed that the low intensity blasts have left five persons dead and 51 others injured. The first bomb exploded in the Birubari area, injuring three persons. At least four people were injured when a suspected cycle bomb exploded at Bhootnath locality, which falls on the route Chidambaram was to take, shortly before his arrival. Three persons were injured in a blast outside a Big Bazar retail chain outlet at Bhangagarh, an upmarket commercial area near the Guwahati Medical College. Earlier, an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) kept in a municipal corporation dustbin went off at around 3:00pm leaving three persons wounded. Assam DGP, GM Srivastava has said, “One person is in critical condition. We can confirm that the perpetrators are ULFA.” ''We had inf...

Air Deccan employee was to give help: New Delhi, Apr 24: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has confirmed that terrorist outfits planned to hijack an aircraft from North Eastern Region (NER). The admission is significant because Assam Police had a couple of months back claimed to have unearthed a conspiracy to hijack an aircraft from LGBI Airport. An employee of Air Deccan was detained in this connection. Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel in a Lok Sabha reply, said that several intelligence inputs have been received by Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) regarding terrorist outfits planning to hijack civilian aircrafts from North Eastern States (NES). On receipt of intimation about any threat message from intelligence agencies, an alert message is issued by BCAS with a copy to the concerned regional Deputy Commissioner of Security with specific instructions to coordinate with the concerned agencies at the airports and to monitor the security arrangements, Patel added. An Air Decca...

Manipur retains title: Guwahati, Feb 2: Manipur expectedly retained the championship crown of the annual North East Games with dominant performances in almost all the disciplines in the 22nd edition thereby once again underlining the State's supremacy in the region. The North East Games, previously known as the North East Sports Festival, which concluded on Saturday with the closing ceremony held at the Sarusajai Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, saw Manipur outclass sportspersons of the seven other participant States in judo, weightlifting, wushu, women's football, men's kho-kho, taekwondo and boxing in addition to stupendous show by the female athletes. Moreover, the champion State secured runners-up titles in men's boxing and women's kho-kho. The overall championship trophy bagged by Manipur in the latest edition is the State's triumph for the 20th time since the competition began in 1986 at Imphal. Objective of the annual competition held under the aegis of Sp...

Manipur’s gold rush continues: Guwahati, Jan 31: Judokas and weightlifters continue to provide maximum number of gold medals to Manipur's kitty as the 22nd North East Games completed the second day on Thursday. As per official report Manipur is leading the medals' race on 24 gold, 15 silver and 17 bronze medals with Assam level on the silver and bronze medal count but five less in terms of gold medal. Tripura is in third place with a total of 10 gold, 15 silver and 16 bronze medals. The State judo team wrested seven gold and one silver medal today taking the total to nine gold, and two silver and bronze each. L Sushila (44kg/W), L Sandhyarani (48kg/W), N Santimala (52kg/W), H Ichal (56kg/W), T Rajesh (56kg/M), NK Romen (60kg/M) and T Paksana (75kg/M) won their respective final bouts as Ajit secured the men's 66kg silver medal. While the weightlifters began their campaign with three gold and two silver medals yesterday, eight more of the yellow metals were added to the tally...

CM calls for saving ponies: Imphal, Dec 27: Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on Thursday strongly advocated contributions from all sections of the society in ensuring survival of the endangered Manipuri ponies. Inaugurating the National Tent Pegging Championship at Imphal Pologround, the Chief Minister recalled history of the erstwhile kingdom of Manipur wherein rulers strived for protecting the ponies as the animal species had been associated with the role in protecting and expanding the kingdom. Stating that Manipur has history of State support to equestrian games, the chief guest of the inaugural programme also reminded that kings in the past ensured that polo remained a people's sports which automatically entailed wellbeing of ponies. Besides recounting exploits of sportspersons of Manipur in various sports disciplines, he also maintained that as a part of the State Government's determination to save the indigenous ponies from extinction 30 acres of land at Lamphelpat had b...

Peace prayers, festivity mark celebrations: Guwahati, Dec 25: Thousands of Christians in India's northeast joined a midnight mass in churches across the region to pray for peace and well being of the human race. With church bells echoing across the hills and dales of the region, and throngs of people packing churches to join in festive prayer and song in celebration of Jesus' birth, the northeast was drowned in yuletide passion. "Christmas is the day when people tend to forgive and forget everything and simply rejoice. This is also the day when people pray for peace and prosperity of the state, the nation, and for the entire human race at large," Thomas Menamparampil, Archbishop of Guwahati said. Worshippers across the region lit candles, sang carols and organized festive feasts to celebrate Christmas. "We organised a small Christmas breakfast for the less fortunate, the homeless, distressed and lonely, for whom the festive season would otherwise be miserable,...

KRA (U) clarifies: Imphal, Dec 23: The newly established KRA (U) has clarified that the detention of four students at Guwahati while they on their way from Chandigarh to Imphal was not for ransom. The outfit’s publicity secretary Lenin claimed that the abduction was carried out to teach a lesson to one Executive Engineer of Manipur Police Housing Corporation for informing police leading to arrest of its cadres when they approached him for some monetary help for party’s fund. One son of the EE was among the students detained by the KRA (U). Even as the other students were asked to leave, they refused, Lenin said. He further asked officials of all Departments not to challenge or defy the KRA (U) and warned that any official disregarding the outfit will be dealt with severely. Lenin also appealed for cooperation from the public towards its activities. Guwahati police tight lipped:

Trains escape date with disaster Guwahati, Dec. 21: The Adivasi militant group responsible for the explosion that killed five Rajdhani Express passengers a week ago would have spilt more blood on the tracks on Thursday evening had a railway patrol team not spoiled its plans in the nick of time. A routine inspection revealed that 10 girders and roller bearings were missing from a rail bridge over the Doyang in Golaghat district half an hour before the Mariani-Guwahati special passenger train was to pass by. The patrol party immediately alerted the nearest railway offices -- the bridge is between Jamguri and Bhilgaon railway stations under Lumding division -- and all trains scheduled to ply on that route were either suspended or halted. The Guwahati-bound Jan Shatabdi Express had crossed that portion of the track barely an hour earlier. Police said the Adivasi National Liberation Army was most likely behind the sabotage attempt. The same group triggered the blast on the Dibrugarh-bound R...

Tiger kills visitor: Guwahati: A winter pleasure trip turned into a tragedy when Joy Prakash Bezboruah, a resident of Sivasagar, was mauled by a tiger from inside its enclosure at the State Zoo on Wednesday after he had ventured too close to the animal. Bezboruah’s hand was severed in the attack and he also suffered head injuries. He was rushed to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where he succumbed to his injuries. Bezboruah was 50 years of age. According to the zoo authorities, Bezboruah, who was originally from Jorhat but was residing in Sivasagar district on account of his job, had crossed the safety barrier and was trying to take snaps of the tigers in their enclosure. Narayan Mahanta, DFO, said Bezboruah had put his hand inside the enclosure for taking photos which had provoked the tiger. “Our doctor and keepers who were at a distance were shouting at Bezboruah not to go near the enclosure, but he did not heed our employees’ warning,” said Mahanta. “The left hand ...

Ibobi calls for regional bamboo policy: Imphal, Dec 19: The Manipur chief minister has urged the Union Ministry of Development of North East Region that a bamboo plan should be executed to increase the value addition of the bamboo resources available in north eastern region, NER through a farmer friendly regional policy, an official said Wednesday. While urging the DoNER, Manipur chief minister O Ibobi Singh, who was participating in the North Eastern Council, NEC meeting at New Delhi, stated that the National Institute of Rural Development, NIRD has also recommended the need for special attention to the poor among the non-agricultural sector, particularly among the artisans and handloom weavers and small traders. The two day meeting which discussed the plan size of the NEC for the next five year plan concluded yesterday. About 17.1 percent of households in Manipur, 8.9 percent in rural and 27.8 percent in the urban, depend on non-agricultural sector for their livelihood. "There i...

Manipur to host meet in May: Imphal, Dec 18: The Handball Federation of India has approved proposal of Manipur Handball Association to host Mini (boys) and Sub-junior (girls) National Handball Championship here from May 28 to June 3 next year. The Federation awarded the competition to Manipur at its annual general body meeting held at Guwahati on December 14.

Railways win title, Manipur runners-up: Guwahati, Dec 18: Indian Railways successfully defended their title in the 36th Senior National Women’s Handball Championship defeating Manipur in a one-sided final at Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phukan Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday. Railways won the match 20-9 and in the process completed a hat-trick of wins. Railways that had nine national team players in their ranks, including the captain, were undoubtedly the favourites to win the tournament. In the final, they were a lot more superior to their opponent and once the side scored their first goal they were simply unstoppable during the rest of the game. Asmita Kumari was the star of the day scoring nine goals for the winners. The other scorers included Juliet Lawrance (4), Anamika (2), Krishna (2) and Matti Murmu (3). On the other hand, Manipur reduced through Apabi Devi (2), Ibemcha Devi (2), Laxmi Devi (2), Chunibala Devi (1), Rebika Devi (1) and Santhi devi (1). Earlier, All India University bagge...

Manipur meet Railways in final: Guwahati, Dec. 17: Defending champions Railways will play Manipur in the final of the 36th Senior National Women’s Handball Championship on Tuesday. Manipur beat a fighting Haryana 17-15 in the second semi-final on Monday evening to move into the final. The Manipur girls led 9-8 in the first half. Manipur were the lone entrant from the Northeast in the semi-finals, beating Chhattisgarh by a narrow margin (25-23) in the quarter-finals. In a keenly contested match played at the Nehru Stadium, the girls from Manipur put up a better show but failed to convert several penalties that came their way, helping the Chhattisgarh team to remain in the hunt till the last. In the first semi-final, played at Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phookan Indoor Stadium, the Railways staved off a spirited challenge by the All India University team to march into the final this evening. The Railways won 36-26. Earlier, Railways defeated last year’s runners-up Maharashtra 27-8 in the quarte...

Manipur in quarter-finals: Guwahati, Dec. 16: Manipur remained the only team from the Northeast in the last eight stage of the 36th Senior National Women’s Handball Championship. Hosts Assam bowed out of the championship after drawing their last league encounter with Chhattisgarh 11-11 on Sunday. The quarter-finals draw will see Manipur taking on Chhattisgarh while All India University team will play Punjab, Delhi meet Haryana and Railways clash with Maharashtra. Source: The Telegraph

Inter-state buses not to carry goods banned by UGs: Imphal, Dec 14: The All Manipur Inter State Bus Association has prohibited its members and their employees from accepting cargo containing items ‘banned’ by a particular underground group operating in the state with immediate effect. This was informed by the president of the association, A Budha Luwang, in a press conference held on Friday at North AOC, Imphal. The step is being taken in view of the several recent incidents of torching and destruction of passenger buses found carrying the banned items by the cadres of the underground group. As informed by Luwang, the association, at a meeting held recently, has decided to impose penalties on motor workers, bus owners, or concerned travel agency counters involved in transportation of the `banned` items. Bus drivers and handyman who carry such cargo are to be barred indefinitely from working in any travel agency which are members of the association, according to Luwang. Similarly, bus o...

Twin wins for Manipur: Guwahati, Dec 14: Manipur defeated All India Universities 20-17 and Uttarakhand 20-4 in Group D matches to maintain their winning streak in the 36th senior national women’s handball championship at Nehru Stadium here on Friday. Manipur had beaten Nagaland 25-3 on Thursday. Source: The Telegraph

Manipur begin with a win: Guwahati, Dec 13: Manipur tamed Nagaland 25-3 in a Group D tie on the opening day of the 36th Senior National Women’s Handball championship here on Thursday. Today’s results: Railways bt Gujarat 35-7 (gr-A), Punjab held Madhya Pradesh 16-16 (gr-C), Kerala bt Uttar Pradesh 25-6 (gr-D), Railways bt Tamil Nadu 25-1, Maharashtra bt Uttar Pradesh 22-6 (gr-B), Chattishgarh bt Madhya Pradesh 18-9 (gr-C), Manipur bt Nagaland 25-3 (gr-D), Punjab bt Himachal Pradesh 17-7, All India University bt Kerala 25-10, Jammu & Kashmir bt Gujarat 15-6 Source: The Assam Tribune

Five killed, nine injured: Guwahati, Dec 13: Suspected Adivasi insurgents exploded a powerful bomb in the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express, killing five passengers and injuring nine in Assam's Golaghat district on Thursday. The blast took place in a compartment attached to the luggage van of the Dibrugarh-Guwahati-Delhi Rajdhani Express, two km ahead of Sungajan (Chungajan) railway station at 1.06 am, North-East Frontier Railway CPRO Trikal Rabha said. Five passengers died on the spot and the four critically injured were admitted to a hospital at Dimapur in neighbouring Nagaland. The five others who received minor injuries were discharged after first aid. The dead were identified as S P Prasad (24), A K Jha (30), Laxman Rai (20), Sudama Rai (45), Dineshwar Prasad (19). The critically injured are Amarnath Singh, Tapas Rai, Laxman Jha and Pradip Choudhury. The 30 other passengers in the compartment were accommodated in the three-tier AC compartment of the train that continued with its o...

3 KYKL cadres, including Lt Great, killed: Imphal, Dec 10: Three cadres of the underground Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup, KYKL, including a self-styled lieutenant, were killed by a combined team of police commandos from Bishnupur and Imphal west districts inside a city hotel on Monday morning around 10:15 am. The police recovered one AK-47 rifle with one magazine containing 22 live rounds, one 9mm pistol with three live rounds and one .36 hand grenade in the wake of the encounter that took place at the City Inn hotel at North AOC under Imphal west police station. According to a press statement issued by the SP Imphal West Clay Khongsai, the incident took place when a team of Bishnupur district police commandos assisted by Imphal West police commandos raided the hotel this morning following a tip off of the presence of some hardcore KYKL activists. While carrying out room-to-room search at the third floor of the hotel, unknown armed persons fired towards the police commandos from one of the r...