The Northeast Notebook

Nagaland8217;s women, voters and officersTHERE may have not been a woman candidate in Nagaland8217;s lone ten lakh voter strong Lok Sabha ...

Nagaland8217;s women, voters and officers
THERE may have not been a woman candidate in Nagaland8217;s lone ten lakh voter strong Lok Sabha constituency but that8217;s not a comment on women power in the state.

As many as five polling booths in the state, where elections were held last Wednesday, were manned entirely by women officials, which probably led to the heavy turnout of women voters. There was nearly 100 per cent turnout of women voters in these five booths, state election officials said.

Tough homework for Guwahati children
DESPITE a drive launched by the Sarva Siksha Mission in collaboration with several NGOs, Guwahati has about 15,000 children who work as domestic help. They are among the 20,000 children who have been categorised as 8216;out of school8217; while over 1,300 others have been working in different shops and establishments.

According to a survey conducted by the Don Bosco Youth and Educational Services DBYES, only 500 of these children have been brought back to schools during the past two years.

Mizoram draws the line further
WORRIED over the increasing number of non-tribals 8216;overstaying8217; and taking up various jobs in the state, the Mizoram government last week tightened the rules of the inner-line permit system under which all non-tribal people from outside have to obtain a permit to enter the hill state.

The inner-line permit, a system introduced by the British administration over 100 years ago, is a restriction that also prevents non-tribal outsiders from staying in the hill state for more than a specified period of time. Other states of the northeast where this system exists are Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Meghalaya closes saw mills to save forests
THE Meghalaya government last week ordered closure of eleven saw mills that were set up in violation of a Supreme Court order of January 1998. This move will help stem rampant felling of timber in the dwindling forests of the state.

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Efforts by the authorities, however, have not brought felling to an end. Meghalaya is one of the main supplier of clandestinely felled timber in the entire region, some of it which makes its way to Bangladesh.

Tripura tribal council short of funds
THE Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council TTAADC, established under provisions of the Sixth Schedule, has apparently failed to improve the lot of poor tribals. Council officials say the state government was giving it insufficient funds.

The Council, that covers nearly 60 per cent of the state8217;s tribal population, has received only Rs 29 crore in three years against an annual demand of Rs 50 crore.