The Northeast Notebook

Meghalaya bans child labourFOR years NGOs in Meghalaya have been demanding a legislation to ban child labour. Last week their effort paid of...

Meghalaya bans child labour
FOR years NGOs in Meghalaya have been demanding a legislation to ban child labour. Last week their effort paid off.

The Meghalaya state assembly passed a bill prohibiting children below 17 years from working in any establishment. The bill, that seeks to protect children from working in shops, garages and construction, also prescribes maximum working hours for labourers in the non-government sector.

Bullet-proof, not fool-proof
THE police department in Tripura is in a embarrassing situation. Fifteen bullet-proof vehicles that the department acquired in 2001 to ensure safety of their officers in militancy-hit districts were actually not bullet-resistant.

A recent CAG report placed in the state assembly which pointed out this discrepancy, said that the Rs 65.14 lakh spent by the department to acquire these vehicles has gone waste.

Nagaland records 144 bird species
NAGALAND8217;S attempt to save birds from being hunted down by villagers received a major boost last week with a book listing the state8217;s birds8212;the first of its kind8212;hitting stands.

The book that lists as many as 144 bird species, including several migratory birds, has been distributed to all the gaon-burras village headmen so that the message on saving birds trickles down to villages.

8216;Women better off in NE8217;
WOMEN in at least three of the eight states of the Northeast enjoy more economic freedom than their counterparts in other states.

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A recent report published by the National Family Health Survey said 82 per cent women in Meghalaya, 79 in Arunachal Pradesh and 77 in Manipur have at least some money that they can spend as they wish. Nagaland, on the other hand, was listed at the bottom with the report saying only 28 per cent women in the state had some money to spare.

Manipur8217;s rail link years away
MANIPUR8217;S long standing wish of a railway link to the rest of the country is still five years away. Railway authorities say the Jiribam-Tupul broad-gauge rail link will be completed in five years 8216;only if8217; militants don8217;t cause any disturbance.

Interestingly, the railways is yet to obtain a green signal on the environment and ecological front, a must given the virgin terrain through which the proposed track will pass.