GUWAHATI, June 1: The Gauhati High Court today restrained the Northeastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) from enforcing its decision to curtail power supply to the Assam state Electricity Board (ASEB) by 75 per cent. Meanwhile, the NEEPCO and the ASEB today came into an understanding and according to aseb sources, the power supply will be regularised from tomorrow. A division bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising Justice WA Shishak and Justice NS Singh today admitted a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Gautam Uzir. The court also directed that the NEEPCO be informed of the High Court's order by the registrar general of the court. In his petition, Uzir said that the ASEB owes NEEPCO Rs 654.21 crore for power supply since January 1, 1997 and despite payments made by the consumers of Assam, the ASEB is using money for payment of salaries of its employees instead of making payment to the NEEPCO. Further, the state government owes Rs 230 crores to the ASEB. He said that for the fault of the Assam government and the ASEB, the NEEPCO should not be permitted to reduce supply of power, as electricity has now become an essential service rather than a luxury. Uzir said that the NEEPCO is a central government undertaking and it can not make the people of Assam suffer as its decision to curtail power supply is contrary to public interest. He sought a direction on the state government to make funds available to the ASEB for making payment to the NEEPCO. He also sought a direction to restrain the NEEPCO from effecting powercut. The PIL said that the NEEPCO should have resorted to arbitration proceeding under clause 34 (6) of the articles of Association of the NEEPCO and should not have unilaterally imposed its decision to cut 70 per cent of power supplied to the ASEB from June 1, 2000 as it will hit the essential supplies like medical, water supply etc. which, in turn, will seriously jeopardise the daily life of the people. Justice Shishak and Justice Singh issued notice returnable in one month. Notices on behalf of the ASEB was accepted by senior advocate NN Saikia and J Chutia, on behalf of the Assam government by advocate C Choudhury and by advocate KK Mahanta on behalf of the central government. The central government has been made a party in the case as the petitioner sought the intervention of the Centre in resolving the issue. Our Staff Reporter adds: Meanwhile, the NEEPCO and the ASEB today arrived at an understanding following a discussion between the ASEB chairman Jatin Kumar Bora and the NEEPCO chairman cum managing-director Pradip Kumar Kotoky. An ASEB release said that Kataki expressed satisfaction at the release of Rs 23.61 crore against the outstanding dues and assured that the power supply would be regularised from tomorrow. The release said that the state government, at the initiative of the power minister, Hitendra Nath Goswami, released an amount of Rs 16.11 crore, while, the ASEB paid Rs 7.50 crore from its own sources. The ASEB release said that due to shortage of natural gas, the Kathalguri power project of the NEEPCO would produce only 100 MW of power today, while, the hydel power projects of the corporation are also not working to their full capacity due to a technical snag. The ASEB has already opened a letter of credit account of Rs three crore per month for hydel power purchased from the NEEPCO. The Board also assured to open a similar letter of credit account of Rs four crore for thermal power. The Board further assured that Rs 100 crore of the outstanding dues of the NEEPCO would be paid by March 2001. The ASEB has requested the NEEPCO to supply more hydel power than thermal power. (Law Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 2, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 2: Northeastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO) has restored regular supply of power to all Northeastern states with immediate effect in compliance with Gauhati High Court directive in this regard. However, the NEEPCO chairman-cum-managing director, PK Kotoky has appealed to all the Northeastern state governments and electricity boards to clear the outstanding dues payable to the corporation within a reasonable period of time thereby bail it out of the present financial crisis. Five NE states and two state electricity boards of the region owe to NEEPCO over Rs 933 crore for receiving power from the corporation. The NEEPCO chairman-cum-managing director had made it very clear that the corporation was not in a position to keep its power station running unless the staggering outstanding dues is cleared by the states immediately. It may be mentioned that the NEEPCO today received the Gauhati High Court directive restraining it from executing its decision to regulate power supply to NE states for non-payment of outstanding arrears. Till yesterday after NEEPCO had announced its decision to regulate power supply to only 25 per cent, NE states and state electricity boards paid total amount of about Rs 62 crore to the corporation. Out of all the defaulters, Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) owes NEEPCO the highest Rs 623 crore as outstanding dues for receiving power since January 1, 1997. The NEEPCO through a letter dated May 29, 2000 had asked the ASEB to pay at least 50 per cent of the arrear immediately. However, as the ASEB was not in a position to pay the amount immediately, the state government in greater interest submitted a payment schedule to the NEEPCO yesterday, according to the Power minister, Hitendra Nath Goswami. Goswami today informed The Assam Tribune that, in addition to opening an letter of credit account of Rs 3 crore for buying hydel power from the NEEPCO, the ASEB has proposed to open another LoC account of Rs 4 crore for buying thermal power per month. The LoC account are opened to avoid accumulation of arrears. The ASEB is also contemplating to buy as less thermal power as possible from the NEEPCO in immediate future. The reason is thermal power is costlier than hydel power. To supplement the gap, the ASEB is trying to strike a deal with Meghalaya state Electricity Board to buy more hydel power from it. The MeSEB now provides the ASEB with 40 MW of hydel power per day. Now, the ASEB plans to buy at least 25 MW of additional hydel power per day from the MeSEB. The Power minister further informed that the state government in the payment schedule submitted to the NEEPCO had promised to pay Rs 100 crore per year to clear the outstanding dues of over Rs 600 crore. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 3, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 2: Massive anti-encroachment drives are on the cards to clear the natural drainage channels of the city, besides an amendment to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Act to authorise the Municipal Corporation to penalise the illegal earth cutters from the city hills. The drives against the encroachers on the natural channels are to start from the next week. This impression was given by the Chief Minister and senior government officials at a press conference here this morning. The press conference was held at the Secretariat Conference Hall to brief newsmen of the outcome of a meeting of the Chief Minister with the heads and senior officials of public works, irrigation and flood control departments and the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the GMC on the drainage problems of Guwahati. The meeting assumed significance against the backdrop of yesterday's havoc created by storm water in the city. Giving a detail of the Guwahati Metropolitan Area Storm Drainage Improvement Programme undertaken by various departments under the state government with HUDCO Loan Assistance, the Chief Minister said that of the 23 schemes prepared under the programme with a time frame of two and half a year since December 6, 1999, at the cost of Rs 95.80 crore, ten schemes were launched in the first phase since December 6, 1999. Of these ten schemes, 85 per cent of the construction work of the new sluicegate over the Bharalu river at Shantipur has been completed, while the six RCC bridges over the Bharalu are expected to be completed by the end of 2000. The construction work of the RCC silt-pits at Navagraha Road, Pensionpara Road and Karnachal Road had to be abandoned due to excessive rainfall and silt deposition from the hillside, said the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister who holds also the portfolio of GMC, also claimed that 80 per cent of the work of construction of the drain along north of Railway line from the Chandmari Flyover to the Railway Open Drain near the Voltas building has been completed so far and the rest of the work is expected to be completed by July next. This drain along with the above silt-pits is expected to free the GNB Road from the havoc created by the silt-loaded runoff from the nearby hills, he said, adding, one more silt-pit is also proposed near the Chandmari Red Cross Hospital to improve the situation in the area. Besides, he said, more than half of the construction work of the storm drainage schemes at Shantipur-Durgasarovar area, Bishnupur area, Kumarpara-Machkhowa area, Lachit Nagar area and Anil Nagar-Nabin Nagar area has been completed and the remaining portion of the work is expected to be completed by July next. Similarly, 55 per cent work of the Beltola-Hatigaon area storm drainage scheme has been completed and the scheme is expected to be completed by July next, he said. The implementing agencies, which include the PWD, irrigation department, flood control department, town and country planning and the GMDA, will also take up some other schemes like improvement of Saru Sola Beel, resectioning of the Bharalu river, among others, in the next phase. But the agencies, however, are facing problems due to the untimely and incessant rains, encroachment over the drainage systems, unwillingness of the residents to given away parts of their land for construction of drainage channels, besides soil erosion from the surrounding hills and chocking of drains as a result of indiscriminate dumping of garbage, he said. The coffer dams constructed at different locations in the upstream of the Bharalu to facilitate construction of the sluicegate over the rive at Shantipur also resulted in the inundation of the low-lying areas adjacent to the river by the storm waters, he said. When asked to specify the areas where the local residents are not giving away parts of their land, he said that the areas include Ajanta Path, Hatigaon and Machkhowa. He also said that encroachment on the natural channels like the Basistha river, Bharalu and Mora Bharalu are noticed in various areas. When asked as to what measures the government agencies are contemplating to treat the city drain water before it being released to the Deepar Beel, the Chief Minister said that preparation of the project for the purpose will require some time. It is worth mentioning here that channeling of drain water without any treatment to the Deepar Beel has posed a serious threat to the aquatic life the Beel, which is considered to be a wetland of national importance. Official sources here alleged that the encroachment on the Bharalu is such that at its zero point on the west of the RG Baruah Road, the width of the river is reduced into 30 feet against its original width of about 100 feet as recorded in the 1964 revenue records. Similarly, the river has been reduced in to a 7.5-metre wide drain at the Lachitnagar Kanaklata Path crossing, even though the revenue records claim that the river had a width of about 15 metres there, said the sources. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 3, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 3: The Union minister of state for urban Developmentd Bandaru Dattatarya today raised hopes for construction of a satellite township in North Guwahati when he stated that HUDCO would provide assistance to the tune of Rs 200 crore for implementing the project. Addressing a press conference here after paying visit to Meghalaya and Assam, the Union minister said the central government had attached more importance in housing and urban development sector for the Northeast region. Accordingly, HUDCO has enhanced the loan allocation for the region to 10 per cent of the total housing loan allocation each year. For the current year HUDCO has allocated minimum Rs 212.02 crore for housing development in the Northeast region. The minister informed that the state government had submitted a Rs 114 crore project for improvement of water supply, drainage, roads and solid waste disposal. The ministry would take necessary action after examining the schemes. He informed that as on date, 316 schemes had been sanctioned with a loan component of Rs 1061.49 crore in the region. HUDCO financial assistance was being considered for some important projects in the region. The projects include construction of two flyovers in Guwahati - at Ganeshguri and Ulubari Chariali with a loan of Rs 17 crore and Rs 16 crore respectively, storm water drainage for Guwahati with a loan assistance of Rs 69.06 crore, water supply scheme for Guwahati to enhance its capacity from 75 million litre per day (MLD) to 240 MLD with a loan assistance of Rs 100 crore for the first phase. Other such projects are New Shillong Township project, New Itanagar Township project, massive police housing project in Nagaland with a loan assistance of Rs 28 crore. The minister today advocated that the flyovers at Ganeshguri and Ulubari Chariali should be constructed simultaneously. He assured to clear the Rs 17 crore promised for Ganeshguri flyover soon. In view of the increased thrust of the ministry for Housing and Urban Development in the NE region, the HUDCO has decided to expand its network in the region by setting up its zonal office in Shillong, regional offices at Kohima and development offices at Agartala, Kokrajhar, Imphal, Itanagar and Aizawl. Till recently HUDCO had been operating in the region with a regional office at Guwahati and development office at Imphal. Earlier this morning the Union minister reviewed various projects, implemented in the city and other urban areas in the state in a meeting with senior officials from town and country planning department, Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Municipal Administration, Assam State Housing, Assam Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board and HUDCO. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 4, 2000)

IMPHAL, June 3: An eleven-member parliamentary estimate committee has reviewed the telecom facilities, achievements and development targets in Manipur and five other north-eastern states excluding Assam during a discussion session held at the conference hall of the state guest house here on Saturday. The committee led by its chairman and MP Ummareddy Venkateswarlu, who arrived here for a special visit and inspection programme, also thoroughly discussed the main problems faced by the telecom officials while carrying on with their developmental progrmames. The chief general manager of the Northeastern telecom Circle Viswanathan and 14 other top officials of the NE telecom Circle apprised the visiting committee members of the activities and problems. In response to a series of queries from the members, Viswanathan categorically stated that due to the lack of proper transportation and irregular power supply, most of the development works had been affected in the region. While submitting his progress report to the visiting MPs, he further expressed that "development of infrastructure like exchange buildings consume more time compared to other circles as the materials required are not readily available locally and certain items are bought from Guwahati and Calcutta". Regarding the telecom facilities in the villages of the six NE states, he also admitted that 30 per cent of the villages were provided with telecom facilities till March this year. A total of 1,186 villages against 5,629 were covered with VPTs (village public telephone) in Meghalaya. However, 77 per cent of villages in Tripura were given telecom facilities while in Mizoram about 50 per cent of the villages were provided telecom facilities. He further said that altogether 4,336 villages out of 14,446 villages of the six NE states, excluding Assam, were already covered with VPTs. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 4, 2000)

MUMBAI, June 6: Mrinal Kumar Sarma has been appointed new managing director of the Northeastern Development finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) with effect from June 1, a NEDFi release said here today. Sarma has also served in the Assam Industrial Development Corporation Limited and was associated with all the major industrial projects of Assam from the stage of conceptualisation to the implementation, the release said. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 7, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 7: The Federation of Industries and Commerce (FINER) has expressed the view that the Railways can play a pivotal role in the economic development of the Northeastern Region of the country. In a memorandum to the general manager of the NF Railway, Rajendra Nath, the FINER demanded that the Railways should announce a separate purchase policy for the region to give preference to procure required items from the local units only. The memorandum said that the local industrial units, involved in manufacturing various items, are not given preference by the Railways. There is ample scope for ancillary units in the Northeastern Region as a large number of items are procured by the Railways from outside. Setting up of ancillary units in this part of the country would help the unemployed youths of the country to be come self-sufficient, the memorandum said. The FINER said that the entrepreneurs of this region are facing hardship in getting allotment of rakes and wagons for movement of materials because of the single track problem. The FINER demanded that the double track facility should be extended from New Jalpaiguri to New Guwahati. Sufficient number of rakes and wagons should be made available at Lumding for carrying foodgrains and other commodities to various destinations like Silchar, Karimganj and Dharmanagar, the FINER demanded. The FINER stressed the immediate need for introducing a 'parcel express train' between New Delhi to Dibrugarh via Guwahati for faster and efficient movement of perishable agro and horticulture commodities. The FINER said that the farmers are not getting their due because of problems of transportation of goods by road. "It is also reported that some of the bad elements stationed at the Srirampur check gate are collecting ransom from the trucks coming to the region,' the FINER said. To feciliate faster movement of passenger traffic, the FINER demanded introduction of superfast trains like the Satabdi Express between Howrah-Guwahati, Chennai-Guwahati, Dadar-Guwahati, Jaipur-Guwahati and Bangalore-Guwahati. The FINER also stressed the need for introducing chair car bodies in the superfast express trains. The FINER demanded that the railway fare concession being given to the students should also be extended to Rajdhani and other super fast express trains. The memorandum said that the inter-city train running between Guwahati and Tinsukia takes abnormally long journey time. The FINER demanded that the journey time needs to be reduced and the quality of the sleeper coaches should be improved. The FINER demanded immediate steps to improve catering service in the Rajdhani express. The FINER further demanded that immediate steps should be taken to minimise the abnormal delay in running of the long distance trains. Stressing the need for introduction of new routes, the FINER also said that the Northeast should be included in the proposed Trans-Asian Railways. The FINER also demanded reopening of Silchar-Karimganj-Sylhet-Chitagong route and the rail route connecting Golakganj with Calcutta via Bangladesh. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 8, 2000)

AGARTALA, June 7: The Tripura government has announced an information technology policy for development of the IT sector in the state. Announcing this here on Sunday, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar told newsmen that the state Cabinet in its meeting on Saturday approved the IT policy of the state, including incentives for IT-based industries. According to the policy, promotion of IT education would be taken up in the state through government and private educational institutions in a phased manner. Computerisation would also take place in various state government departments, he added. Sarkar said the state government would provide incentives for encouraging setting up of IT industries and added that most of the states in the country were taking interest in the IT sector and have formulated their IT policies. The Tripura government had already set up a separate directorate of information technology. With the formulation of the IT policy, the state government could give impetus to IT development in Tripura also. The state government also proposed to set up a software technology park here to encourage IT investment in Tripura, the Chief Minister added. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 8, 2000)

NEW DELHI, June 7: In the first-ever exercise of its kind, the Union home ministry Tuesday reviewed the implementation of Northeastern Council (NEC)-sponsored road projects, with the central government estimating a requirement of additional Rs 591 crore for completion of the pending projects in the region. The meeting assumes significance for more reason than one, as the ministry has now made six-monthly reviews of all NEC projects mandatory. Tuesday's review meeting of road projects was the first in the series and review of pending projects in other sectors would soon follow announced the ministry spokesman and additional secretary (Northeast), PD Shenoy, who chaired the meeting. The meeting held at the North Block here was attended by chief engineers of all states PWDs of the region, officials from the Planning Commission, ministry of surface transport, Union finance ministry, transport and financial advisors of NEC, among others. The meeting decided to seek an additional assistance of Rs 30 crore from the Planning Commission. Till March 31, 2000, the Central has sanctioned 946 crore for completion of 42 projects in the state, while it was estimated that an additional Rs 591 crore was required for completion of these projects. The ministry also directed the NEC's standing monitoring committee to go for frequent physical verifications and the expenditure finance committee was advised to submit its revised estimates within next 60 days. The state government would also be requested to provide security if needed in some of the project sites, Shenoy added. It was decided that all projects with a value of over Rs 10 crore would now be reviewed periodically. Currently there are 42 such projects out of which there are 12 projects that cost more than Rs 50 crore. According to figures released here, out of the 3714 km of road formations in the region, 3,334 km have been achieved. Of the 3,147 km of pavements, 2476 km have been similarly achieved. In the region, there are 267 bridge projects out of which 219 have been constructed, Shenoy said. Out of the total project, 19 are being executed by the state PWD, while Border Road Organisation has been entrusted with 23. Shenoy said that it would henceforth also be mandatory for review of all projects under the NEC where 50 percent of funds are already released. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 8, 2000)

IMPHAL, June 7: Students of the north-eastern states currently studying at the Central Agriculture University (CAU) in Imphal have been facing a hard time due to the authority's failure to provide necessary infrastructure. Though the CAU is the only one of its kind in the region and was upgraded to the status of a Central University in 1993 by the then Union agriculture minister Balram Jakhar, the university authority has failed to expedite various development programmes in the interest of the students community. Most of the students at this university also alleged that the university funds are being misappropriated. As a result, the approach road inside the campus as well as the hostels are in pathetic condition. When this correspondent visited the CAU recently, most of the so-called hostel rooms where the students of the NE states are accommodated were found in horrible conditions, with roofs leaking. In view of the prevailing condition of the CAU, the student community tried to pursue the matter with the higher levels by forming a students body. But it was allegedly foiled by the vice-chancellor SS Bhagel. It is also learnt that the vice-chancellor Bhagel threatened the students with action if they formed the body. On the other hand, the students more often than not have to attend their classes standing as enough chairs are not available in their respective classrooms. They also have to stand in long queues to use a microscope or other laboratory equipment which are also outdated. On top of this, they are also facing acute water shortage in their hostels even though the university is located in the vicinity of a water supply scheme. (Sobhapati Samom; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 8, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 7: Indian Lac Research Institute (ILRI), Ranchi has conducted an extensive survey in traditional lac growing areas in the state, so that an action plan can be formulated to revive the practice for the benefit of tribal farmers. Two senior scientists from the ILRI, A Bhattacharrya and KK Sharma, in course of their survey, interacted with a large number lac producers in Karbi Anglong and Kokrajhar districts. Both the scientists while talking to The Assam Tribune informed that basic problems faced by lac growers in the state are lack of any organised marketing network and acute shortage of brood lac. Moreover, there are some other 'technical' problems which is plaguing the traditional practice of lac growing in the state. Regarding the problem of marketing, the scientists said the zonal office of Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation Limited had assured to provide marketing avenues for lac producers of the state from this year onwards. The ILRI scientists also conducted two training programmes for lac growers at two villages near Amchoi bazar area in Karbi Anglong district and six villages in Kokrajhar district. Altogether 47 lac cultivators from Kro Keng Dang and Morten villages of Amchoi area participated in the training programme conducted on May 27 last. About 75 farmers attended the training programme at Haltugaon, Itugaon, North Balajan and Haldibari villages of Kokrajhar district. About 15 kgs of brood lac were distributed among these farmers by the ILRI scientists. The scientists observe that Kokrajhar area has a great potential for lac cultivation. They said the host trees - Bel and Pipol - used by lac cultivators there are known to yield high quality lac. The ILRI scientists informed that to remove acute shortage of brood lac, the ILRI has taken up a project to procure brood lac locally and distribute them among farmers of the state in October this year. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 8, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 8: The government of Assam has formulated a strategy for reform and restructuring of the power sector in the state and drafted a policy paper for the purpose. The state government entrusted the Administrative Staff College of India to undertake a study for reform and restructuring of the Assam state Electricity Board and the policy paper has been drafted on the basis of the report of the staff college. As per the policy paper, the state government proposes to set up an Assam Power Corporation initially to take up all functions of generation and transmission of the ASEB. Subsequently, generation part can be separated into one or more generation companies. While, the transmission part should be entirely in the public sector. The generation could be selectively introduced to private participation through joint venture, the policy paper prepared by the state government, said. The government, as a part of the reforms, proposes to set up two distribution companies. Distribution in the urban areas can be leased out in phased manner to private entrepreneurs. The reform proposal also include setting up of an Assam Rural Electrification Corporation with the mandate for taking up capital investment works in the rural areas. The corporation would be funded from the plan funds. The policy paper said that a single member state Electricity Regulatory commission should be set up to determine the tariff for electricity, to determine tariff payable for use of transmission facilities, to regulate power purchase and procurement process, to promote competition, efficiency and economy in the activities of the power industry. A three-member State Electricity Regulatory commission, as suggested by the Administrative Staff College of India can be considered in due course, the policy paper said. The government is of the view that it should be given powers to levy cess or tax on selected category of consumers. The policy paper further stressed the need for taking steps for safeguarding the interests of the employees of the ASEB in the successor entities and suggested the need for creating a trust fund to ensure payment of pensionary benefits to the retired employees. While a single member State Electricity Regulatory commission can be set up immediately, an Assam Electricity Reform Act would have to be enacted for the reforms proposed by the state government. Restructuring of the ASEB became inevitable after the central government made it clear that it would stop all financial aids if immediate steps are not taken to restructure the Board. The policy paper drafted by the state government gave a detailed background of the events leading to the drafting of the paper. It also gave a brief account of the present power scenario in Assam and said that against the installed capacity of 574.4 MW, the ASEB has been producing only 140 to 150 MW of power. The state has to depend substantially on power imported from other sources to meet the demand but inspite of the imports, the state faces a shortfall of about 12.5 per cent during the peak period. On the financial position of the Board, the state government said that against a monthly expenditure of Rs 70 crore, the average monthly income is only between Rs 40 to Rs 42 crore. One of the main reasons for the low income is very high transmission and distribution loss. This loss consists not only of the technical loss, but also due to non-technical losses, which relates to power overdrawal and theft, the government report said. Due to the fact that there is a large number of unmetred consumers in the rural areas, they tend to overdraw power. Some other reasons for low income and high expenditure include unsatisfactory billing and revenue collection, uneconomical tariff structure and abnormally high overhead expenditure. The accumulated losses of the ASEB as on March 31, 1999 stood at Rs 2428.55 crore. The report further said that short term solution of injecting funds would not improve the situation substantially and "under the circumstances the question of reforms and restructuring the power sector assumes importance." The policy paper revealed that a meetings of the Chief Ministers were held on October 16, 1996 and December 3, 1996 and these conferences recommended some policy prescriptions in the shape of a common minimum national action plan for power. The programme noted that the requirements for future expansion and improvement of the power sector can not be fully achieved through public resources alone and it was essential to encourage private sector participation in generation, transmission and distribution. The state cabinet considered the common minimum programme in February, 1997 and accepted the programme in principle. The cabinet also decided to set up an independent state electricity regulatory commission. (R Dutta Choudhury; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 9, 2000)

MUMBAI, June 9 -The government would spend about Rs 220 crore over the next 18 months in the north-eastern states of the country to set up 487 communication information centres (CIC) in a bid to help IT penetration in that region. 'Since IT penetration in the country is low, such centres will enable even the uneducated to get a first-hand experience of the technology,' Union minister for information technology, Pramod Mahajan said after inaugurating 'joincollege. com,' an education portal here today. Commenting on the recent US visit, he said many Indians were ready to sell or donate their used PCs to the government and educational institutions but custom duty was proving a deterrent. 'I will take up this issue with the Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha,' he said. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 10, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 9: Centre has declared the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi Airport here as an international airport. The airport's director, BK Srivastav, in a communique to the assistant commissioner, customs, here yesterday said a Union civila aviation ministry notification declared that the airport would henceforth be known as 'Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport.' (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 10, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 10: The Gauhati High Court has admitted a writ petition seeking the court's directives for instituting a CBI inquiry into alleged corruption and misuse of public money in procuring land for construction of Haflong House in New Delhi by North Cachar Hills Autonomous District Council. The petition was filed by one Rajat Thousen, a resident of Haflong. The petitioner stated that more than Rs 24 lakhs were sanctioned and disbursed way back in 1989 in order to buy land and construct Haflong House in New Delhi. Alleging gross misuse of public money in procuring a plot of land in New Delhi, the petitioner raised question about the ownership of the plots on which the proposed Haflong House is yet to be constructed. Justice A K Patnaik of Gauhati High Court admitted the writ petition by issuing a Rule and issued notice to the respondents. As per the petition the North Cachar Hills Autonomous District Council (NCHADC) in 1989 decided to buy either a building or a plot of land to set up Haflong House in the national capital. As no suitable building was found, the Council decided to buy a plot of land and construct Haflong House. With the purpose, the then principal secretary of the Council, P Johari, then executive member RK Daulagupu and MM Punnoose, the then chief engineer of the PWD, went to Delhi. They decided to buy a plot of land measuring 19,500 square feet belonging to one Vimal Kumar, located at Chattarpur village, Mehrauli, New Delhi under Khasra No 29. On the plot there were a few poultry sheds and small rooms. Subsequently, a proposal was presented for buying the plot before the Council at a value of Rs. 20,40,000 only. It was submitted before the Council that another sum Rs four lakh shall be required to improve upon the existing structures on the plot. Thereafter, the executive committee meeting of the Council on May 2, 1989 approved the proposal. The principal secretary then, by an order dated May 5, 1989, sanctioned the approved amount of Rs 24,40,000 for purchasing and development of structure on the plot. The principal secretary on behalf of the Council entered into various agreements like general power of attorney, special power of attorney etc. with the owner of the land Vimal Kumar on May 16, 1989. Kumar on the same date had sworn and signed various documents such as affidavit, will, indemnity bond, undertaking etc in selling the plot of land to the council on receipt of an amount of Rs. eight lakh through the principal secretary. After taking possession of the plot, the Council authorities started construction work which had to be stopped immediately as one Pawan Kumar served a legal notice on the Council and Vimal Kumar for vacating the plot of land claiming that he had purchased the land from Vimal Kumar earlier in 1983. He also filed an FIR at Mehrauli police station. Pawan Kumar then forcibly took possession of the land in 1991. The principal secretary of the Council then supposedly rushed to Delhi and settled the whole matter with Pawan Kumar. The principal secretary further employed hired security personnel for three months to keep vigil on the plot so that recurrence of further encroachment can be avoided. The Council had to pay Rs 3,825 per month for paying the securitymen. The principal secretary further sought approval for an amount of Rs 50,000 to carry out some extension work on the existing structures on the plot. The amount was approved by the then chief executive member of the Council, GC Langthasa. The petitioner stated that though the issue of procurement of the plot of land was thereafter stated to be settled, it raised questions and doubts in the minds of the people and several members of the Council whose repeated appeals to produce the documentary proof of the possession of the plot of land by district council fell in deaf ears. The petitioner alleged that in the subsequent years there were many controversies regarding the ownership of the plot of land. The district Council for not having the necessary valid documents of ownership had to pay huge amounts of money to settle the issues with different parties. Fed up with never ending disputes over the plot the district Council under G C Langthasa once wanted to sell off the plot but the move was scuttled by some newly-elected members of the council. The petitioner raised doubt as to whether the plot of land is still under the possession of the district Council or whether any valid documents are available with the Council for ownership of the plot. The petitioner, therefore, has sought intervention of the High Court in the matter and issue directives for engaging the CBI or any other appropriate investigating agency to probe the land purchase deal in Delhi regarding the Haflong House involving public money amounting to more than Rs 25 lakh. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 11, 2000)

SHILLONG, June 11: The Shillong bench of the Gauhati High Court has directed the CBI probe into the decision of the commissioner of customs, Northeastern region, allowing export of limestone from Meghalaya to Bangladesh without meeting the conditions laid down for export. In his order on June 8, the single-bench Court of Justice N S Singh directed the CBI to present its report within thirty days. The Court took note that the customs officer had violated its interim order of May 24 last in response to a petition by the Meghalaya Exporters Chamber of Commerce (MECC). The interim order had directed that the export of limestone to Bangladesh by the MECC should not be disturbed by the Meghalaya government provided the petitioner paid a sum of Rs 3 lakh by way of security to the directorate of Mining and Geology within seven days of the order. However, the commissioner of customs, in a fax message to his subordinate in Meghalaya had instructed him to allow the export of limestone from the Shella Bazar Land Customs Station (LCS) even though the MECC had failed to pay the security deposit. On May 31, the MECC had filed another petition on seeking a waiver of the security deposit of Rs 3 lakh. At the hearing on June 8, government advocate, B P Marngar pointed out to the Court the violation of the Court directive by the customs commissioner. He also referred to the state government's affidavit filed on June 5 where it had stated that the state government had to stop the export since the limestone was mined through illegal mining operation. The MECC did not have prospective mining licence nor did it approach the government for settlement of payment of royalty amounting to over Rs 24 lakh and an additional cess of Rs 3 lakh the state government affidavit said. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 12, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 11: The development commissioner (handicrafts), Northeast, has decided to decentralise the decision making process with a view to encouraging development of handicrafts here. It has selected state-level chairmen for each of the states for recommendation of schemes. A meeting held recently decided to have the director of handloom handicrafts and sericulture, Tripura, commissioner, industries and commerce, Manipur, directors, industries and commerce, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya, commissioner of handloom and textiles, Assam and director, handloom and Handicrafts, Arunachal Pradesh as chairman in their states to recommend schemes. The Regional director, Northeast, was the person with the responsibility to make the recommendations earlier, officials there informed. It was also decided to have the Central handicraft development schemes to "complement and supplement" the state schemes. According to the officials, state-level selection committees, to approve proposals for financial assistance, were constituted some two years back to ensure transparency. However, there were no chairmen for these committees. Now, with the selection of their heads, the committees will help to speed up approvals. "We expect an improvement in the handicraft sector because of the decision," the officials said. The idea was to give more responsibility to the state governments because they have neglected handicrafts giving more emphasis to handlooms, they said. The Regional commissioner wants the handicraft sector to become a major source of employment, they added. Initially, the state corporations handled the Central schemes and their performance was not satisfactory, the officials informed. It was because of this that the Central schemes were extended to NGOs. But even here there were problems as there were no "good" NGOs in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram etc. Arunachal Pradesh did not have a handicraft development corporation. The officials pointed out that the handicraft sector was long ignored in the Northeast with the handloom sector getting more attention. But they also expressed optimism that handicrafts will become the leading self-employment activity as all raw materials are available locally and competition too is less. The officials felt handicrafts has more potential for growth. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 12, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 11: Though the cash-strapped Assam government has been repeatedly giving an impression that it is desperately trying to cut down on government expenditure at all levels, in actual terms, the state government itself has been flouting all these norms. In recent times, the state government has created as many as nine posts of additional directors and three posts of commissioner & secretary. In April, the government created two posts of additional director-general (ADG) of police. Senior IAS officers HK Deka and K Lalchhunga have been placed in the new posts as the ADGs of Assam Police - Special Branch and Border respectively. On May 17, the government promoted 183 officers of different categories in the health and family welfare department. This includes the promotion of four officers to the rank of additional director. Earlier, the department had just two additional directors. On June 1, the government promoted three IPS officers to the rank of additional director-generals (ADG) of Assam police. This time, it was the turn of IGP (ops) GM Srivastava, IGP (OSD) DN Dutta and IGP (adm) RN Mathur. Though the three officers will hold their existing responsibilities, each of them will enjoy the status of an ADG. The state government on June 2 promoted three IAS officers to the rank of commissioner & secretary. Rajib Bora, secretary finance, was promoted as the commissioner & secretary finance. Interestingly with Bora's promotion, the state finance department now has two persons in the post of commissioner & secretary. Senior IAS officer Subhash Chandra Das has been serving the department as commissioner & secretary since long. Besides Bora, secretary to the governor Saraswati Prasad and erstwhile commissioner of Guwahati Municipal Corporation - Sumit Joyrath - also have been promoted to the rank of commissioner and secretary in the same government order (Achinta Borah; The Northeast Daily; Guwahati; June 12, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 11: The municipal administration has released Rs 3218.92 lakh to the urban local bodies of Assam during the period 1996-97 to 1999-2000 for implementation of various schemes under plan and non-plan. An important scheme under implementation in the urban local bodies is Swarna Jayanti Sahari Rojgar Yojana (SJSRY), which was introduced in 1997-98 by amalgamating three earlier poverty eradication programmes, viz., UBSP, PMIUPEP and NRY. Aiming at providing gainful employment to the urban unemployed or under employed poor by encouraging them to set up self-employment ventures, the programme consists of two components-a) urban self-employment programme and b) urban wage employment programme. A total amount of Rs 1414.15 lakh has been received by the municipal administration department under the programme from the year 1997-98 to 1999-2000. Of the amount, Rs 1172.66 lakh has already been released to 23 district urban development agencies (DUDAS) headed by the deputy commissioners of the districts. As per information received from the districts, 637 proposals have already been submitted to different banks for release of loans and subsidy under self-employment programme, out of which 43 cases have already been sanctioned by the banks while the remaining 594 proposals are under process. Meanwhile the state government has prepared a time-bound masterplan and submitted it to the centre for self-employment generation scheme at a cost of Rs 290 crore. Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta would soon take up the matter with the centre to approve the scheme, a government release here stated. The scheme, which would enable to provide self-employment to 62,000 youth, includes bank loan component of Rs 164 crore while state government is to arrange the remaining 126 crore. Mahanta has instructed the concerned departments to mop up the entire resources in view of the menacing growth of unemployment in the state, which currently stands at around 18 lakh, the release added. (Staff Reporter; The Northeast Daily; Guwahati; June 12, 2000)

NEW DELHI, June 12: The Assam government has urged the ministry of surface transport to convert more state roads into six-lane national highways (NH) and strengthen the existing NHs of the north-eastern region to remove transportation bottlenecks in the region. State revenue minister, Zoii Nath Sharma, who represented the state government at a meeting of the PWD ministers held in New Delhi on Monday also requested the central government for maintaining the smooth cash flow for regular maintenance of the NHs. The main agenda was to evolve a procedure for a 'Dedicated Road Fund' created by levying a cess of Re 1 on litre of high speed diesel and petrol. He demanded the earmarking of a substantial amount of this fund for special category states like Assam. Later, He met the Union minister of state for planning and programme implementation Arun Shourie for speedy clearance of two new projects involving Rs 865 crore out of the non-lapsable fund created by the Centre for NE. One of the projects is the construction of a new bridge over Brahmaputra connecting Chandrapur and Kuruwa of the Darrang district to minimise the pressure on the Saraighat bridge. He also submitted a letter from chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta to Shourie regarding a Rs 185 crore proposal of the state government for construction of a VIP road connecting Dispur capital complex with the Gopinath Bordoloi international airport. (Correspondent; The Northeast Daily; Guwahati; June 13, 2000)

DHAKA, June 12: Seven states in India's Northeastern region and Sikkim have formed a forum to pressure the Centre to initiate a dialogue on the extension of sub-regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Ganesh Kutum, Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly, who is currently visiting Bangladesh, said, "We hope allowing transit for export and import through the Chittagong port, opening up of a Bangladeshi consulate in Guwahati and establishing direct air links between Dhaka and Guwahati would be the major initiatives to strengthen sub-regional cooperation." Kutum was speaking as the guest of honour at a meeting on sub-regional cooperation organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) in Dhaka on Sunday. Kutum said an international airport, which is about to be set up in Guwahati, will "enable us to come to Dhaka in just 30 minutes." There are lots of trade opportunities in the South Asia region, he added. Deputy speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament Abdul Hamid was the chief guest at the meeting. He said initiatives have been taken for visa-free travelling of lawmakers from the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries. Citing examples of the decade-long struggle for unification of the European Union (EU), he said cooperation within SAARC would be strengthened if people in the region could travel freely. SAARC groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Lanka. Aftabul Islam, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), who also spoke at the meeting, said currently Bangladesh imports goods worth around $1.2 billion from India while its exports to India stand at $48 milion. "There is infrastructure to extend trade with the Northeastern states of India," he observed. A 34-member Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the Assam branch, delegation led by Kutum is in Dhaka currently to open up channels of cooperation. (India Abroad News Service; The Times of India; New Delhi; June 13, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 13: In a bid to prevent rice farmers from incurring losses, the state government on Monday fixed the purchase price of rice at Rs 600 per quintal. The price, which is meant for all varieties except joha will become operational from Tuesday. As per the government's directive, all bazaar committees of the Assam state Agricultural Marketing Corporation will procure rice at the new price directly from farmers, without involving any middlemen. Despite recording bumper crops because of the installation of Shallow Tube Wells (STWs) in the recent past, rice farmers all over the state were incurring losses as they had to sell their produce at a reduced price. In the present year itself, Assam has produced 41 lakh metric tonnes of rice, a surplus of three lakh metric tonnes than the state's annual requirement. On Saturday, Assam CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta held an emergency meeting to initiate steps to arrest the fall in rice prices. As a result the Food Corporation of India was asked to fix a minimum price for procuring rice as is done in other states like Punjab and Haryana. It was decided that till the FCI fixes the minimum price, the government would procure rice at Rs 490 per quintal. This is the first time the Assam state Agricultural Marketing Corporation is buying rice directly from farmers. In the recent past, Assam has witnessed a visible change in agriculture patterns due to installation of STWs all over the state. Over 62,000 STWs have been installed in the past five years with financial aid from the World Bank and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Farmers have thus taken to multiple cropping of high-yielding varieties of rice which has increased production. (Correspondent; The Hindustan Times; Guwahati; June 14, 2000)

KOKRAJHAR, June 13: The illegal circulation of Bhutanese currency in the areas of Kokrajhar district bordering Bhutan has become a matter of concern here. But the irony of the situation is that although the matter is not unknown to the civil as well as police administration, both the competent authorities have been silent since long. The value difference between a Bhutanese Ngultrum and an Indian rupee is almost 20 paise. An Indian rupee note if transacted into a Bhutanese Ngultrum, becomes 1.20 Ngultrum. In the same way, a Bhutanese Ngultrum forms to 80 paise in Indian currency. But surprisingly enough, the Bhutanese currencies are being treated at per with the Indian currency, which is a big blow to Indian economy. A circle is working to harm the Indian economy, it has been alleged. If the concerned district authority does not take early steps to stop the use of Bhutanese currency in the border areas it is feared that the whole of the district will soon be flooded with foreign currencies. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 14, 2000)

GUWAHATI, June 13: The Assam government has leased out four sick public sector undertakings (PSUs) and is ready to hand over the Ashok Paper Mills to different private parties apparently to save them from going defunct. However, the state government is yet to formally divulge details of the deals. Sources told The Northeast Daily that the four state PSUs which have been handed over to private parties are the Assam state Weaving & Manufacturing Company Ltd. (ASWMCL), Assam Syntex Ltd., Assam Polytex Ltd. and the Assam State Fertilizer & Chemicals Ltd. (ASFCL). The state government has also decided to give the Ashok Paper Mills (APM) on a platter to a Calcutta-based private company viz., the Soneka Industries. The draft agreement of APM has already been finalised and is awaiting the final approval of the Assam Cabinet in its next meeting.However, state industries minister Gunin Hazarika said that only two state government units viz., the ASWMCL and the ASFCL have been leased out to private parties. Sources said that the ASWMCL has been given to Alps India Ltd. while the Assam Syntex Ltd. and the Assam Polytex Ltd. have been leased out to two local firms. The state government has also decided to disinvest in the ASWMCL. Accordingly, the unit will be revived along with another local company. However, the sources refused to disclose names of the companies who have taken over the sick units, details of the deals, amount of money involved and fate of these units' employees. "I can just say that the government will clear all outstanding dues of the units as well as arrear payments of the employees concerned," a senior government official said. The Alps India Ltd. is all set to start production at ASWMCL while the Assam Syntex Ltd. and the Assam Polytex Ltd. will begin production in August. (Staff Reporter; The Northeast Daily; Guwahati; June 14, 2000)

KOHIMA, June 13: The Nagaland government has of late focussed attention on the uplift of the rural economy. It has directed the state rural department to ensure that the villages are educated to associate themselves in the formulation and implementation of the schemes. The department has further initiated steps to ensure that according to the requirements of the people living in interior areas, appropiate schemes are introduced. In this regard, the government personnel are concentrating on the Village Development Boards(VDS) as the nodal agency at the grass-roots for fastening the pace of economic development. state's R D department, the premier financing agency which provides fund for state and central sponsored schemes mentioned that the grants in aid to VDBs which was introduced way back in 1980-81 is the most important state sponsored scheme. It disclosed that from 1980-81 to 1999-2000 a total of Rs 124.11 crore was released to the VDBs under the programme for taking up various infrastructural programmes for the villages as per the model schemes. The department while stating the reason for its inability to release the fund under the programme during 1993-94 due to dire financial constraint, said that the same can be sanctioned during 1999-2000 along with the allocation for the year 1999-2000. The department is also working out the village wise allocation and the same will be released to the VDBs through the deputy commissioners, project directors(DRDAs). With this the VDBS will have three year allocation under the programme during 2000-2001; viz for 1993-94, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001. In this regard, the department underlined the need for the VDBS to pay more attention for the proper execution of such schemes and the judicious use of the fund placed at their disposal. The department is also contemplating to update the number of households in the villages and allocate funds accordingly which, it hopes, the state government will agree with. Another system of aid to VDBs is through matching cash grant which is also popularly known as fixed deposit scheme. This funds can be used as seed money and security bank loan by the VDBS themselves for enhanced and extended development activities in the villages. Another new scheme introduced during 1999-2000 is the re-structuring JRY know as JGSY with an objective of creating and strengthening rural, social and economic infrastructure for sustained development. and employment has also being significant role in extending help to the VDBs. Under the JRY programme the VDBs were given household allocation at the rate of Rs 200 from 1989-90 to 1997-98. During 1998-99 it was increased to Rs 500 but it was stated that due to limited release from the centre during 1999-2000 the household allocation was given at the rate of Rs 330. The department, also revealed that from 1989-90 to 1999-2000 a total of Rs 50.10 crore was released to the VDBs under the same programme. (Correspondent; The Northeast Daily; Guwahati; June 14, 2000)

NEW DELHI, June 14: Several ministers from Northeastern states have demanded that their states be given 10 per cent of the diesel cess for road projects, rather than on the basis of the region's consumption of petrol and diesel, reports UNI. The ministers, who were here to attend the state PWD ministers conference earlier this week, called on surface transport minister Rajnath Singh yesterday and also urged him to entrust rural road projects in the region with the PWDs, instead of the rural development department (RDD) as RDDs in the Northeast had no infrastructure. The ministers further sought Central funds for maintenance of roads constructed by the Border Roads Organisation with funds from the defence ministry but later abandoned, an official release said. The delegation which called on Singh comprised of Manipur Deputy Chief Minister L. Chandramani Singh, Assam revenue minister Zoii Nath Sarmah, PWD ministers KV. Pusa of Nagaland, Badal Choudhary of Tripura, Kynmen Susngi of Meghalaya, R. Tlanghingthanga of Mizoram, and Thupten Tempa of Arunachal Pradesh and Arun Kumar Sharma, MP. Singh assured them that the Northeast would continue to receive special attention from his ministry which was allocating 10 per cent of the funds for the region. On a request for upgrading the surface transport ministry's regional office at Guwahati, he said it had already been decided in principle to post a chief engineer at Assam capital. Singh also assured the delegation that he would take up the issue of bitumen shortage in the Northeast with the petroleum and natural gas ministry. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 15, 2000)

AGARTALA, June 14: The Tripura government has announced an information technology policy for development of the IT sector in the state. Announcing this here today, Tripura industry and commerce minister Pabitra Kar told newsmen that the state Cabinet in a recent meeting approved the policy, including incentives for IT-based industries. According to the policy, promotion of IT education would be taken up in the state through the government and private educational institutions in a phase-wise manner. Computerisation would also take place in various state government departments, he stated. Kar said the state government would provide incentives for setting up IT industries and added that most of the states in the country were taking interest in the IT sector and had formulated their IT policies. The Tripura government had already set up a separate directorate of Information Technology. With the formulation of the IT policy, the state government could give impetus to its development in Tripura too. The state government had also proposed to set up a software technology park here to encourage IT investment in Tripura, the minister stated. Kar said the IT policy focussed primarily on promotion of IT education in the state. It was proposed to start advanced courses in Tripura and also to encourage private agencies to establish training institutions not only in Agartala, but in other parts of the state. It was also proposed to provide computers and access to internet in all higher secondary and high schools of the state. The government also planned to identify an institute of excellence as a partner institution to help the state in the development of human resource in it, he stated. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 15, 2000)

AIZAWL, June 14: Canned tarmarind juice, stimulant drinks, squash concentrates in pet jars, two-minute noodles and chocolate flavoured cornflakes are just few of the several Myanmar-made consumables which have been flooding the upwardly mobile Aizawl markets since recent months. Smart packaging, a competent price tag and 'Made in Myanmar' stamp have made these goods acceptable in Mizo homes, dependent on Assam for the supply of most of the products of daily use. Many shopkeepers claimed that these goodies were not only selling well, but also competing with Indian products. "Juice concentrates, milk rusks, noodles made in Myanmar for example sell equally good if not more than local (Indian) products" said CL Chhunga, a grocery shop owner. The main reason for their increasing demand is the lack of proper marketing by Indian producers in this remote hill state. Most Mizo businessmen buy consumables at a reduced price from Silchar and resell them at a higher price in Mizoram as there are no proper marketing and sales services for these products here. "No consumer would like to pay more than the price printed for a product nearing expiry date," said Ruati, a counter assistant, adding that this situation has been exploited by Burmese businessmen to their advantages. For traders of a country where most of the industrial infrastructure was developed by China, it is not difficult to flood Aizawl with quality products, thus pulling the consumers away from locally manufactured products to some extent. While Indian products like rusks, noodles and cornflakes often reach the consumers in damaged condition changing several hands, the consumables from Myanmar complete their journey in a comparatively shorter time and in a better position from across the neighbouring international border. "And nobody minds paying Rs 10 extra for something which looks and even tastes better," says Chhunga. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; June 15, 2000)