Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

Kolkata, Jan 1: Winter is the time when most of the handicraft trade fairs are organised the maximum. Kolkata is also hosting the North East Crafts Fair at the Salt Lake Central Park. The fair has been organised by the North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Department to showcase and promote products of the North East to other regions of India. The products originating from the handlooms as well as handicrafts sector are a sight to behold. On exhibit are Naga shawls, silk saris, traditional jewellery, Assamese saris and many other items to catch the eye of the visitors from all the North East states of India like Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram. The traditional skills passed down from centuries are visible in exquisite textiles and jewellery on display at the fair. Artisans are at hand to enthrall the visitors by giving demonstrations in the art of making the handicraft products. According to sources it takes a few months to produce the supe...

Cancer centre in all NE States mooted: Imphal, May 13: Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss who arrived here today as part of his North East itinerary has expressed satisfaction over the measures taken up in the health sector particularly on Immunisation, HIV/AIDS, Cancer, TB and Malaria. Interacting with the media at the Jubilee Hall of RIMS this evening, the Health Minister said that since the North East people are susceptible to Cancer, the Centre has decided to open Regional Cancer Centres in all the North East State. Significantly, RIMS had earlier announced that majority of the lung cancer cases reported in the country are from the North East States particularly Manipur. Though health care facilities are perceived to be poor in the remote areas of the State, Ramadoss however noted that the health care scenario in the North Region is satisfactory. There are plans to improve the infrastructure at the Primary Health Centres, Primary Sub-Health Centres, Community Health Centres et...

Dr Meinya petitions Patil on state affairs: New Delhi, April 22: Member of Parliament from Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency Dr Thokchom Meinya, drew the attention of the Union Home Minister for taking up some specific measures for bringing normalcy in Manipur. Participating at the discussion on the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Home Affairs for 2008-09 in the Lok Sabha yesterday, Dr Meinya referred to the Status Report on the Internal Security situation in India which pointed out that the main challenges to internal security and law and order situation in the country centred around terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir, North East and Naxal affected areas and communal violence. He observed that while the situation in Jammu and Kashmir continued to show definite improvement, the overall situation in Assam and Manipur in the North Eastern Region remained an area of concern. Even though the counter insurgency operations had been stepped up in the region, killings of civi...

NE talents dominated reality shows in ’07: Guwahati, Dec 21: The North East, in the year 2007, virtually became the latest talent scouting ground for reality shows aired on all the premier television channels, as singing talents from the region had a field day round the year. The region’s singing talents led the brigade from the front and stamped their authority domination in all the major reality-based singing talent hunt shows on television that were screened during the period. From Amit Paul in Sony TV’s ‘Indian Idol III’ to Joy Chakraborty in Zee TV’s “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa World Challenge’ to little Anamika in the ongoing Zee TV’s kids’ competition Sa Re Ga Ma pa, NE’s warriors kept the regions flag flying high on national television. “With the arrival of the music-based reality shows on television and their latest trend of choosing the best through SMS and telephone voting, NE emerged as a virgin ground for these shows and it is paying dividends to the efforts of the youngsters from the...

Manipur particularly vulnerable, says PM: Imphal, Dec 20: Touching on a whole gamut of issues concerning the internal security of the country, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the problems of the North East States and Jammu and Kashmir are unique and stressed that the situation is vulnerable in Manipur and Nagaland. Addressing the Chief Ministers’ Conference on internal security at New Delhi on Thursday, the Prime Minister said the North East States and Jammu and Kashmir are unique and added that these regions suffer from poor infrastructure and communication facilities. “It has been our sincere attempt to improve these facilities so that these States too can benefit from our booming economy,” said the Prime Minister. However these states have vulnerabilities on the internal security front which needs to be discussed, said Dr Singh and added, “Each sate has its specific nuances and characteristics and we cannot generalise the problems. “There are many regional and trib...