OFTEN called Scotland of the East, Shillong is back on the aviation map after a gap of 15 years. Alliance Air started its 50-seater ATR aircraft service last week. While the initial three-days-a-week service will link Shillong to Kolkata, the Centre’s promise to interlink all the state capitals of the northeast by air remains a dream.Mizoram’s capital Aizawl has meanwhile finally been linked to Guwahati, while Agartala has been linked to Silchar in Assam.Assam Leopard changes spotsWHAT do authorities do when a leopard makes an appearance in an urban area and causes chaos? The police in Dibrugarh in Upper Assam shot it last week. The police said no tranquilizer was immediately available, so they had to kill the leopard. In most towns of Assam, the big cat has become an urban menace. Reports of trapping leopards in Guwahati are common.Withering rhododendronsRHODODENDRON, the wonderful flower of the Eastern Himalayas, is fast disappearing due to continuing environmental degradation in Arunachal Pradesh. Growing at an elevation of 1,500 metres to 4,500 metres, rhododendrons are considered sacred flowers by the Buddhist lamas of the famous Tawang monastery. But reports from Tawang said the monastery would perform their rituals without ‘sheng’ - as the flower is called locally. Reports quoting WWF-India said Arunachal Pradesh is home to 52 species of this rare plant that takes six years to bloom.Abductions halt tradeA SPATE of abductions by various militant groups in Meghalaya brought trans-border trade between India and Bangladesh in the northeastern sector to a grinding halt last week. As many as 10 customs stations—two in Meghalaya, four in Tripura, one in Mizoram and three in Assam—will be closed until the respective state governments review and spruce up security. Armed militants in Meghalaya abducted a customs inspector and six coal exporters last month leading to this sense of insecurity.Reviving folk musicNEIL Nongkynrih could have stayed back in London. But this Shillong youth returned home after spending 14 years abroad. His mission: he wants to revive the rich traditional folk music of Meghalaya and the northeast. He has already started choosing boys from villages to train. Last week, he was in Guwahati to raise funds for a spastic school, where he enthralled the audience with a wonderful fusion of Western classical and Khasi folk music.
