The Northeast Notebook

Reang refugees to cast postal votes
OVER 4,000 Reang tribals, who fled Mizoram following an ethnic feud a few years ago and are living in refugee camps in neighbouring Tripura, will be able to cast their votes this election through postal ballots.

The Reangs, who are registered as voters in Mizoram, had cast their votes in the 2003 state assembly elections in specially created polling booths close to the inter-state border.

Meghalaya8217;s low female literacy
MEGHALAYA8217;S three major tribes may be matrilineal, but that does not mean everything is fine for the women in the state. Meghalaya women8217;s may be free from dowry, bride-burning and female foeticide, but their literacy rate is much lower than that of the men8212;60.41 per cent against 66.14 per cent.

Illiteracy on the other hand, says a recent report, has led to other social fallouts such as early marriages, single mothers and broken marriages.

Have power, no money
TWO major power projects taken up by the public sector North East Electric Power Corporation NEEPCO are still waiting for funds.

NEEPCO authorities, meanwhile, announced they will approach banks for structured term loans in order to ensure that their projects take off. The Northeast8217;s hydel power potential has already been estimated at 45,000 MW, which needs to be tapped with massive investments.

Counting monkeys in Jorhat
FOREST officials in the upper Assam district of Jorhat last week began counting gibbons in the country8217;s only gibbon sanctuary. Officials hope that their idea of involving neighbouring villages in conservation programmes has paid off and the number of gibbons increased.

The Gibbon sanctuary, incidentally, is only 19.5 sq kms in area, and had over 200 primates in the last count four years ago.