The Northeast Notebook

Shillong celebrates Dylan’s birthday
SHILLONG last week paid tributes to singer Bob Dylan. Musicians and singers from all over the country collected in the hill station on his 63rd birthday.

Shillong may not be Dylan’s hometown but the Meghalaya capital is the Indian home of Western classical as well as rock. Several noted guitarists and singers of the country either come from Shillong or have a strong bond with the town.

Arunachal’s slippery trouble
COME monsoon and the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh will once again face the annual trauma of landslides and road blocks. Last week heavy rains sent a bus down a 50-feet gorge just outside the state capital. At least 45 people died in the accident.

Massive top-soil erosion because of indiscriminate felling of trees and construction on the loose Himalayan slopes is one problem the state has not been able to end.

UNDP help for silk village
SUALKUCHI, the silk capital of eastern India, will soon become a rural tourism centre with the UNDP coming forward to support a long-term development project.

Sualkuchi, a village hardly an hour’s drive from Guwahati, produces the bulk of paat, muga and endi—the three famous Assam silks. With the UNDP project in the pipeline, Sualkuchi’s silks are definitely heading for better days.

Sending coal to Bangladesh
COAL export from Meghalaya to Bangladesh resumed last week after a gap of 22 days, bringing much relief to the coal mine owners as well as those in the export business.

Export of coal had earlier stopped with the Border Security Force (BSF) banning trucks to cross the Indo-Bangla border following reports of movement of arms and militants between the two countries.