Another quake jolts North East

A
n earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter Scale shook parts of the north east region late on Sunday night.

The quake, epicentred in Indo-Myanmar border region, occurred at 11.56 am and was felt in many parts of the region, including Shillong and Guwahati, Central Seismological Observatory sources said in Shillong.

There was no report of any damage.

The Seismological Observatory in Shillong has recorded 28 quakes in the region this year till September. In 2008, the total number of recorded quakes were 24.

On September 21, an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter Scale was felt in the region. It was the biggest quake in the region in the last 20 years.

The quake had left over half a dozen dead in neighbouring Bhutan where it was epicentered.

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Gegong Apang still a force to reckon with

H
e could have made history as India’s longest serving chief minister, but fell short with a score of 23 years against West Bengal’s Jyoti Basu’s 24.

But Gegong Apang set a record of sorts — making Arunachal Pradesh the first Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state.

In 1996, the Congress party he had been leading turned regional — the Arunachal Congress — lock, stock and barrel.

And when he decided in 2003, the Congress and the Arunachal Congress turned saffron.

Apang, 60, defends: “A remote state like Arunachal Pradesh, always dependent on the Centre, is better off aligning with whichever party or coalition rules New Delhi.”

But today, he has more enemies than friends, most of them allegedly in the Congress he rejoined before the 2004 Assembly elections.

“Everyone knows him inside out,” says Alo Libang, a popular radio artiste who is contesting the Yingkiong-Tuting assembly constituency on a Nationalist Congress Party ticket.

Libang’s rivals are the BJP’s Katan Komboh and Apang himself, who’s never lost the seat since 1980. There are a little over 10,000 voters in this constituency.

But those who know Apang are wary of writing him off. One of the 40-odd millionaires contesting the 2009 assembly elections, Apang’s assets have risen from Rs 32 lakh (Rs 3.2 million) in 2004 to Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million).

A party leader based in state capital Itanagar said, “One needs money to win elections in Arunachal Pradesh, whatever his or her status.”

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Friends at Centre, foes in state: Trinamool, NCP not with Cong

E
lections in Arunachal Pradesh have so far followed a pattern — the party or coalition ruling from New Delhi wins assembly elections in the state.

Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, a Congressman, is confident that his party will retain power in the state.

There is no contest in three seats, and Khandu’s constituency is one of them. The party is putting up candidates in all the remaining 57 assembly constituencies in the state.

Though Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Trinamool Congress are the Congress’s allies at the Centre, they are contesting independently in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Congress’s main worry, though, is disgruntled elements within the party — 14 MLAs of the party are contesting this time on the tickets of the NCP, Trinamool and BJP. The BJP has put up candidates in only 18 seats against 39 in 2004. The NCP is fielding 36 candidates, the Trinamool 26, and the People’s Party of Arunachal 11.

While the Congress is harping on the prime minister’s Rs 24,000 crore infrastructure development package in its campaign, the others are highlighting the security threat from China, no movement in empowering women, and corruption.

Changing sides has been part of the state’s politics.

In September 2003, most of the Congress and the regional Arunachal Congress MLAs changed sides overnight to give the BJP its first government in the northeast.

But after the Congress-led government was formed at the Centre in 2004, many came back to the party to give it a simple majority in the assembly. The party won 34 seats in the 2004 state elections against the BJP’s nine.

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Hit by ball, Meghalaya cricketer dies

A
young cricketer, representing Meghalaya Under-19 team, died after being hit by a ball during a practice session.

Barun Passah, 18, was hit by the ball on head on September 30.

There was no bleeding, although he complained of some discomfort and uneasiness on reaching home, an official of the Meghalaya Cricket Association said, adding he was immediately rushed to the Guwahati Neurological Research Centre (GNRC).

Passah was operated on October 2.

However, he succumbed on Saturday.

Meghalaya Cricket Association (MCA) and Shillong Cricket Association in a joint meeting here this morning condoled the demise of the young and promising player.

The MCA has also sought financial help for the family from the BCCI.

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Bandh affects normal life in North Cachar Hills

N
ormal life was affected in central Assam's North Cachar Hills district following a BJP sponsored 10-hour district bandh today in support of their seven-point charter of demands.

Business establishments, educational institutions, offices, banks remained closed, while vehicles kept off the roads, official sources said.

Train services, however, remained unaffected by the bandh which began from 5 am.

The bandh was called by the BJP district unit demanding among others peace talks with both factions of militant outfits Dima Halam Daogah and DHD-Jewel and restoration of the NC Hills Autonomous Council.

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