“With the per capita income of the state standing at Rs 32,634, the proposed hike in the salaries of the representatives of the people is highly unreasonable,” the statement said.

According to the recommendations of the state assembly expert committee chaired by the former speaker Rokamlova, the basic pay of the chief minister, speaker, ministers, deputy speaker, ministers of state and deputy government chief whip would be hiked more than 50 per cent.

The committee recommended basic pay of Rs 90,000 for the chief minister, Rs 85,000 for the speaker, Rs 70,000 for the ministers, Rs 65,000 for the ministers of state and Rs 50,000 for MLAs.

Source: Indian Express

The association president, Regina Mawrie, said the non-teaching employees would gather at Madan Iewrynghep, fire brigade, from 10.30am to 2pm tomorrow. The strike will continue till the government implemented the revised payscales and released the 40 per cent arrears.

Mawrie said the association has been demanding the implementation of new payscales for three years now.

“We demand that the government should start disbursing our revised salary from December while our 40 per cent arrears should be released before Christmas,” Mawrie said.

Cash-strapped Meghalaya has taken a loan of Rs 100 crore from banks to pay 40 per cent arrears to deficit schoolteachers, 30 per cent arrears to government employees and pensions. However, it is unclear whether the agitating non-teaching staff will get a share of the Rs 100-crore loan.

In view of the shortage of funds, the Mukul Sangma cabinet last week approved major tax reforms to generate additional revenue for the state.

The cabinet decided to introduce Meghalaya Electricity Act, Meghalaya Tax on Luxuries, Hotels and Lodgings Act and increase the levy from 4 per cent to 5 per cent on 42 items under VAT.

Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/

Selected candidates will be eligible for a monthly pay of Rs.10,000/- on commencement of the project work.

For details, visit this link: http://www.cau.org.in/

Stressing the importance of cooperative credit structure in rural areas, Gogoi said that the government will focus on micro financing to boost the agricultural sector.

The government will start ATM services and core banking network of the Assam Cooperative Apex Bank by February next year. Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who is also the Chairman of the bank informed that both the services will be launched in February 15.

Sarma further said that the bank has recovered around Rs 100 crore from different creditors and has succeeded in registering profit of Rs 15 crore upto September in the current financial year. In the last financial year, the bank, Sarma said, had made profit of Rs 6.44 crore.

It needs to be mentioned here that the bank had incurred immense loss almost to the tune of Rs 150 crore in the last two decades and to recover the loss, the government took a major step by clearing most of its pending liabilities to the bank. “The bank is on the path of revival,” said Sarma adding that the deposit ratio of the bank has increased to Rs 1400 crore as of now and it is in a position for major investment.

On the other hand, Chief General Manager (CGM) of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) AK Srivastava who was present at the function said that it was a great positive development for the State that the government has come forward to strengthen the cooperative movement. “We expect progress in agriculture and rural credit in the next one or two years,” he said.

Source: Assam Tribune

Park said that during the 30 crusades held in different foreign countries in 2010, Nagaland is the only place where he has faced such opposition and persecution. Park said he is saddened by the ‘false’ news published in the local newspapers about GNM. He added that people should not believe in malicious news without even knowing the truth about a person. He called it unfortunate and said that the religious leaders should meet him in person to clear their apprehensions. Park said if the religious leaders of Nagaland have a problem with him, they should fix it and added: “they want to believe that what they see and hear about us is accurate, and they are rejecting us.”

Park further narrated the events which brought him to Nagaland, saying he was invited by a Naga pastor. The pastor, Park said, had attended one of his crusades in Malaysia and expressed interest in having him in Nagaland. Park gladly accepted the invitation to hold Bible crusade in Dimapur in 2009, which unfortunately, ran into controversy before even he landed in Nagaland. Despite the criticisms and accusations from various Christian and secular organisations, Park successfully conducted the crusade.

Park expressed his love for the people of Nagaland and said he wants to see the youths unite their hearts with the youths all over the world to become leaders. He said: “I hope the people of Nagaland will be blessed.” Woo Yong Kim, a missionary serving in India, also briefed the media on the controversy surrounding GNM. Kim said that the booklet published by NBCC is a false report based on information received from a Korean pastor. He said the booklet is intended to disturb and bother the crusade. He regretted that due to the false propagation many Nagas have closed their hearts to the word of God.

Kim said that GNM’s repeated request for audience with NBCC officials was turned down; instead the latter chose to express their thoughts and views through newspapers. “NBCC must protect their fellow Christians from heretics…but they must also hear what we have to say,” the missionary said. Meanwhile, the crusade entered its second night which is attracting scores of Christians from all over India and abroad. GNM is in Nagaland with a team of 170 people from Korea.

Source: Morung Express

When 66 families were ready to return home Friday, hundreds of other refugees put up a blockade on the Tripura-Mizoram highway, protesting non-settlement of their eight-point demands.

“The police arrested 655 protesters and cleared the blockade. Subsequently, 48 refugee families left Tripura for their homes,” a Tripura official said.

Mizoram Home Minister R. Lalzirliana Tuesday alleged in Aizawl that militants of Reang tribals are intimidating innocent refugees in Tripura relief camps and are trying to spoil the repatriation process.

“There are some Reang tribal extremists who are intimidating and threatening innocent tribal immigrants and also indulging in illegal activities,” the home minister told reporters.

Lalzirliana said the security forces are prepared to take firm action against these guerrillas.

A Tripura government official, however, said there was no specific report of militants’ intimidating the home-bound refugees.

“The refugees have been demanding an eight-point rehabilitation package, including formation of an autonomous district council in Mizoram, and reservation for them in government jobs and state assembly. They (refugees) want a four-partite written agreement involving the central, Tripura and Mizoram governments, and refugee leaders,” Kanchanpur Sub-divisional magistrate Dilip Chakma told IANS on phone.

“There might be a splinter group of militants. But we have no specific reports of militants’ intimidating the home-bound willing refugees,” he added.

In April 2005, the Mizoram government and the militant Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) signed an agreement after 13 rounds of talks to solve the decade-old ethnic crisis, leading to the surrender of about 1,040 militants of the BNLF and Bru Liberation Front of Mizoram (BLFM), another separatist outfit.

Both the rebel outfits have been fighting for setting up an autonomous council for the refugees.

Over 41,600 Reang tribals, locally called Bru, have been living in six camps in north Tripura’s Kanchanpur sub-division since October 1997. They fled western Mizoram after ethnic clashes with the majority Mizos following the killing of a Mizo forest official.

Source: IANS

Vice Chairman, State Planning Board Lalkhama who graced the occasion as Guest of Honour also spoke on the occasion.
Mizoram Tourism Department that organises this festival, highlighted that the purpose of this festival showcasing the rich Mizo customs and traditions is to draw more inflow of tourists to the State. The Department in fact earned as much as Rs. 123 lakhs during the past year and the State received 58, 314 tourists including 675 from abroad. At present, the Department has 42 units, 352 rooms and 759 beds.

Source: Newmai News Network, via: http://www.morungexpress.com

Khuangchera was gunned down British Army during a guerilla war and refused he refused to abandon his wounded friend. He fought the British soldiers with only a knife and the soldiers had no choice but to shoot him down.

Source: PTI