Rubber as strategy to beat jhum and opium Arunachal Pradesh has identified rubber cultivation as a multi-pronged weapon for tackling various problems. While announcing an allocation of Rs 10 crore for rubber cultivation during the new financial year,the government said growing rubber would not only generate more income but also wean tribal communities away from jhum or slash-and-burn cultivation and growing poppy. Groups of educated youths are also being sent to Tripura and Kerala to see the transformation rubber has triggered in those states. Apart from fighting poppy cultivation in the eastern districts,Arunachal Pradesh has been struggling to prevent the deforestation caused by jhum cultivation,practised for generations by the tribal communities. Facebook trouble Fifty-seven students,most of them girls,of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Agartala are facing disciplinary action,including suspension for six months,after authorities found them guilty of putting out unsavoury remarks against a woman professor who was also superintendent of the girls hostel. After one student equated the teacher with Adolf Hitler on Facebook,the other 56 joined the conversation with comments that a seven-member disciplinary committee found deserving of action. Some of the students were in their final semester with only one month to go for their final exam. Old route,new dream Tongjei Maril,as the Old Cachar Road connecting Imphal with Barak Valley in southern Assam used to be known,is set to become a highway. The North Eastern Council has sanctioned Rs 147 crore for developing the historic 100-km road that had remained out of use after the Imphal-Kohima-Dimapur road (now NH2) and Imphal-Silchar road (now NH37) came up in the wake of World War II. Manipur deputy chief minister Gaikhangam,who described the project as a dream come true,said once rebuilt,Tonjei Maril will provide not only a shorter route to Imphal but also an alternative when the existing two highways face indefinite blockades. Rain cheer for Assam tea After scanty rainfall for five or six months,the first showers of spring in the past one week have brought cheer to the Rs-3,000-crore tea industry in Assam. The delay in spring rainfall had created concerns about a failure of the first flush,considered one of the best teas in the year. The plucking season,which normally begins in early March,has already been delayed by two or three weeks,causing a 5-7 per cent loss.
