Agartala-Dhaka bus service

THE Forensic Science Laboratory in Guwahati has been chosen as a nodal point by the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention for its new pilot project for Southeast Asia’s battle against drug-trafficking. The well-equipped lab will analyse samples of narcotics seized in the Southeast Asian countries following which a computerised database will be created to make monitoring of drug-trafficking a smooth affair in the region. The Northeast, being close to the golden triangle, is used as a major route by the international traffickers.

Fish do the vanishing trick

SOME of the finest fish species of the world that used to be found abundantly in the mighty Brahmaputra are soon going to be things of the past. The Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute has found a sharp decline in the number of several fish species like Labeo rohita, Catla catla and Cirrhinus mrigala in the river in the past few years. Scientists in the Institute fear that these are on their way to extinction. Though pollution is not a serious problem for the Brahmaputra, unchecked fishing in the river has been identified as one major reason behind this sharp decline.