Mukuls SOS for Central forces With the law and order situation in Garo Hills worsening,Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has sent an SOS to the Union Home Ministry to rush in additional Central forces to help control the situation. Sangma has requested the MHA for 12 additional companies of the Central Reserve Police Force and three companies of the Border Security Force,besides two companies of Rapid Action Force to be made available for 15 days. While rape cases have been rocking the state for the past few weeks,last week,Tura the headquarters of West Garo Hills witnessed mob violence over the molestation of a mentally challenged tribal girl by some migrant labourers from Assam. govt Bans plastic bags in kohima With Kohima,the town that was the scene of the most famous battle that British forces fought during the Second World War,getting more tourists in the recent years,the authorities have taken a slew of measures to make the hill station as attractive and clean as possible. The latest such measure is restriction on sale and use of polythene and plastic bags,so that the town becomes eco-friendly. Kohima,whose annual Hornbill Festival held every December has found a place in the Indian tourism calendar,not only gets hundreds of European tourists every year but also attracts war veterans from Britain and other countries that were part of the Allied Forces during World War II. tripura to recruit more women in police force The ruling CPM and opposition Congress in Tripura may not see eye to eye on all political issues. But when it comes to ensuring measures intended at curbing growing crimes against women,the two have decided to work together. An all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar,and attended by representatives of 12 political parties this week,stressed on setting up more women police stations and recruit more women into the state police force. While three all-women police stations are already functioning in the state,70 police stations have made women held-desks operational in the recent weeks. Bru repatriation still a far cry A year after then Union home minister P Chidambaram visited Kanchanpur in east Tripura and assured that the Centre would repatriate the 30,000-odd Bru refugees to their original villages in adjoining Mizoram,the uprooted tribals continue to languish in the make-shift refugee camps spread over the Kanchanpur subdivision. Last week,however,a joint team of officials from the two states visited the camps to renew efforts to send back the tribal families to Mizoram. The officials also said that the refugees would be given a rehabilitation grant of Rs 80,000 each and free ration for one year,once they return to their native villages. But as the monsoon has already begun,the refugees are not yet ready to move. Samudra Gupta Kashyap
