The Northeast Notebook

Bamboo growth spills abroadBamboo boards manufactured in the Northeast are hoping to capture a major portion of the international market. B...

Bamboo growth spills abroad
Bamboo boards manufactured in the Northeast are hoping to capture a major portion of the international market.

Backed by technological support extended by the UNDP-sponsored Cane 038; Bamboo Technology Centre CBTC, Guwahati, private manufacturers of the region have already attracted buyers from Europe for bamboo floor boards. This market can bring home at least Rs 50 crore per annum at the current capacity of production.

8th Schedule status demand for Khasi
Meghalaya8217;s Khasi language has a rich history. Now the people of Megahalaya want it to be recognised under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Leading the campaign is the Khasi Authors Association, which justifies its claim by saying that non-inclusion in the 8th Schedule has hampered proper development of the language.

The Khasi language, which is also spoken in parts of Assam and Bangladesh, belongs to the Mon-Khmer group and is a rich repository of folklore.

Self help is best help, says Naga CM
Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio has found an answer to tackle the state8217;s growing unemployment problem. Forget white-collar jobs, look for self-employment, Rio told Nagaland8217;s college students last week.

He dismissed allegations that the government was not creating enough jobs and said the days when the government provided jobs just for the sake of helping the jobless were long past. His advice to the educated youth: go out of the region and seek jobs.

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Assam tourism gets a new catchline
Tourism in Assam is getting a facelift these days. With that has come a hunt for a new catchline to lure tourists. Emerald of the East is said to be first in the race, slated to compete with Kerela8217;s God8217;s own country and the Go Goa catchlines.

Better law and order situation in the state over the past five years has given a rise to tourism.

Women8217;s Commission for Meghalaya
Meghalaya will soon have its own State Women8217;s Commission. This, however, came only after the state was reprimanded by the union ministry for women and child development.

With the establishment of a state women8217;s commission, Meghalaya will be the second state in the Northeast, after Assam, to have such a forum. Interestingly, the state government had earlier missed a June deadline to establish the women8217;s commission, for which it drew a lot of flak from women groups in the state.