The Northeast Notebook

Manipur8217;s drinking problemTHE Manipur government8217;s attempt to lift prohibition in the state has met with stiff resistance from var...

Manipur8217;s drinking problem
THE Manipur government8217;s attempt to lift prohibition in the state has met with stiff resistance from various women8217;s groups and NGOs.

While the state government8217;s contention is that lifting prohibition would bring more money to the state exchequer, NGOs and women groups have said it would cause more social problems.

Cure from the hills
SIKKIM got a new Tibetan medicine clinic in its capital Gangtok. The clinic has been set up by the Tibetan Medicine System and Astrological Institute founded by Dalai Lama.

Tibetan medicine uses natural herbs found in the Himalayan region and has been highly successful in curing asthma, arthritis and chronic gastric problems among others.

Tripura on the fast track
LALOO Prasad Yadav8217;s railway budget may have contained little of concern to the Northeast in general, but the Left-ruled state of Tripura is happy that it has provided Rs 80 crore for completion of the Kumarghat-Agartala broad-gauge link. Work on this link had been hit by insufficient funds.

Tripura8217;s residents have a tough time travelling to the rest of the country. Once the rail link is complete, they expect travelling to become safer and faster.

In Shillong, drive with a smile
SHILLONG is Meghalaya8217;s biggest tourist draw and its taxi drivers perhaps the rudest in the state. The state government has now launched a campaign to make them more tourist-friendly.

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The idea came from chief minister D D Lapang, who took note of articles in a local newspaper on cabbies and their rudeness and asked the civic authorities to pull them up. Lapang has also announced a set of rules to keep errant cabbies in check.

Nagaland8217;s chief
VETERAN Congress leader and former Nagaland chief minister S C Jamir has been appointed governor of Nagaland. Jamir is the second Naga to be appointed governor8212;the first was Hokishe Sema who was governor of Himachal Pradesh in the mid-1980s.

Born in 1931, Jamir is a graduate of Arts and Law from Allahabad University and has been in active politics since 1959. Union deputy minister for railways, labour and food and agriculture between 1961 and 1970, Jamir has been chief minister of Nagaland for four terms.