Green Stop Over Uranium

While the Atomic Mineral Division is preparing the uranium pilot project at Domiasiat in the West Khasi Hills, about 140 kms from the state capital Shillong for handing over to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) by July next, the controversy attached to the issue makes it doubtful whether the project would at all take off the ground without provoking public stir.

Such a doubt is deepening as the opposition parties, specially the Hills State Peoples Democratic Party (HSPDP) leaders mounted strong pressure on the government to wrap up the pilot project as soon as possible. They had earlier served an ultimatum to the government that the AMD be asked to fold up its exploratory project at Domiasiat by December 31 last year.

The AMD has confirmed that it has located the uranium belt that spreads from Domiasiat to Cyndai in the Jaintia Hills and that the Domiasiat deposit could be profitably mined probably at a cheaper cost than the deep – pit mining at Jadugoda in Bihar since the uranium ore there is naturally exposed on the surface of the earth. “Scratch the earth and you get it,” quipped an official.

It was not easy for the AMD as it has been bounded with problems right from the inception of the project in 1989 when it faced stiff resistance from local land owners and timber traders to all its activities beginning from land acquisition to setting up the pilot mining project, as they were apprehensive of losing land and forest to the central government.

FlashBack

Proposed Nagaland Peace talks face many tangled snarls

Since NSCN(IM) is the mainstay of most of the militant outfits in the north-eastern region, providing them with arms, a settlement with this premier underground outfit, it is believed, will be a major step forward towards the goal of bringing insurgency to an end in

The Prime Minister did not disclose where and when he met the two NSCN leaders. But on February 21, Dr. V. Chishi Kanito, president of the Sema Ho Ho (elected council of the Sema tribe) told a media seminar in Kohima that Swu and Muivah had met Deve Gowda at Zurich in Switzerland on February 3. He also claimed that during the meeting Deve Gowda had indicated he was not averse to holding the talks at a mutually agreed venue, not necessarily in India. The fact of the meeting was also confirmed by other independent sources in Kohima.

However, not much progress seems to have been made since the February 3 meeting towards holding the actual talks. Reports from Kohima say both sides are working out the “modalities” of the talks. Also, sitting down for talks at the negotiating table and arriving at the substantive settlement are two different things. While the prospect for the second bristles with difficulties.

Flashback February-1995 Rhythm of Manipur

Dance and music are closely relate to with the religious, cultural process and intricately woven with social life of the people of Manipur. The rich cultural heritage of Manipur forms an important part of the composite multi – dimensional cultural heritage of this country.

Though the distinct culture of Manipur flourished, struck roots and has borne fruit, some of the indigenous art forms and musical instruments were speedily dying out due to the process of fast modernisation.

Flashback January 1995 Manipur A Feast for Tourists

Manipur lies in the lap of the outlying region of Northeastern India with Myanmar in the East. Imphal, a fertile valley encircled by ranges of high hills, is the capital town of Manipur. The valley is populated by Meiiteis and the hills are populated by as many as 29 colourful tribes. Women folk in Manipur play a pivotal role in the socio – economic life of the state.

A ‘Little Paradise on Earth’, Manipur has been described as the ‘Switzerland of India’ by Lord Irwin. Manipur, the jeweled land, is the birthplace of polo and the rarest species of land lily called Shiroy Lily which grows on the Shiroy hills in Ukhrul District and is not found anywhere else in the world. Manipur is also the land of festivals – hardly a month goes by without a festival. Manipur is also the birthplace of Ras Leela dance where the gods took to dancing.