Road blocks to Dhaka bus

THE Inland Waterways Authority of India has announced night navigation on the Brahmaputra up to Dibrugarh. This could boost the region’s economy in a big way. Night navigation will facilitate plying of cargo vessels from Kolkata to Upper Assam, reducing freight charges for various goods apart from decreasing traffic on national highways.

New town to share old burden

SHILLONG may finally get some breathing space. The Meghalaya government has decided to build a new Shillong about 13 kms away from the city centre.

The new township will accommodate about two lakh people. Unlike the present city, the new township has good water sources to meet the demand of its residents.

No safe water for Assam

SEVENTY per cent of Assam’s districts don’t have any access to safe and pure drinking water. This was published by a recent survey conducted by the state public health engineering department. Though citizens of most Assam towns have access to piped water, most of the towns do not have provisions for water treatment, the survey revealed. Elsewhere in the state, over 300 water supply schemes have been lying defunct for years due to technical problems.

Low on energy

OUTSTANDING dues of various states has created a severe financial crunch to the public sector North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) which has been contributing to more than 60 per cent of the energy requirement of the region. NEEPCO says the outstanding bills amount to Rs. 1,154 crores with Assam leading the defaulters list with Rs 718 crore. Manipur comes next with a bill of Rs 132 crore, followed by Tripura which owes Rs 87 crore.