Imphal, May 17: Three departments of the Manipur government — public health engineering (PHE), irrigation and flood control and forest — are about to join forces under one policy, set to be initiated by the PHE to conserve the state’s water resources. “A joint meeting of the three departments will be held soon at the chief ministerial level to chalk out a strategy to conserve water resources,” PHE minister Irengbam Hemochandra Singh said today.

IMPHAL, April 26 – Power-starved Northeast States, including Manipur, should initiate steps to replicate the idea of tapping renewable power as in and around Maharashtra’s Nagpur city. This was shared by almost all the 20 journalists from Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh who recently toured Nagpur to witness the various agro-based power projects and others being taken up by Bharatiya Janata Party national president Nitin Gadkari under his Rs 500-crore Purti Group of companies.

IMPHAL, April 15 – The scientists at the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) Manipur centre have successfully induced breeding of Khabak (Bangana dero), an indigenous minor carp of the region in an extended breeding season.

“We have successfully started to breed Bangana dero in an extended breeding season following our attempt since last year,” Fishery scientist Ch Basuda of ICAR, Manipur centre said. “So now the fish species can breed even in September which is beyond normal breeding season (June-August).”

The Manipur government has miserably failed in containing the widespread practice of starting wildfire for hunting and clearing the mountain slopes for cultivation. The tribals have found that the ashes from the burnt trees and other vegetations are natural manure. The raging wildfire also drives away the terrified wild animals to a particular direction, where the armed hunters wait for the killings.

The water supply division of the Public health Engineering has notified the people that since the water sources had dried up the water reservoirs and supply plants located in some parts of Imphal can no longer supply water to the people. Meanwhile, government and private hospitals are depending on raw water supplied by the commercial water tankers. There are reports and photographs in the local newspapers showing these water tankers collecting water from dirty and polluted moats and ditches for supplying to the people as tap water.

The Manipur government is working on a plan to allow only those who have garage space to buy four-wheelers and two-wheelers in a bid to ease traffic congestion in the city and other towns of the state. Responding to a call attention motion raised by two Opposition members in the Assembly today on the “serious problem” of traffic congestion in the city, chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh said, “Our plan is to allow purchase of cars and two-wheelers only to those who have parking space at home. This rule is followed in some of the western countries I have visited.”

Imphal, Feb. 19: The campaign against Tipaimukh hydroelectric project is gaining momentum in Manipur with various local organisations joining the anti-dam cry and demanding scrapping of the project. Today, students and villagers from 10 villages of Imphal West took out a bicycle rally in the district.
The campaign was kicked off on February 11 following a review meeting on Tipaimukh dam attended by various Manipur-based NGOs, including the Citizens’ Concern for Dam and Development.

Shillong, Feb. 17: Citizens have asked the state government to put in place a land policy as the number of landless people in the state is on the rise. The land policy and various other issues came up for discussion at the pre-budget consultation on resource allocation for 2012-13, held here today. Chief minister Mukul Sangma also announced a slew of programmes to be taken up by his government where major investments would be made in renewable sectors with a special thrust on agriculture, health, education and youth and women empowerment during the 12th plan period, beginning April.

IMPHAL, Feb 7 – Manipur- based Centre for Research on Environmental Development (CRED), an NGO, has been awarded the Green Globe Foundation award 2012 for outstanding contribution at the grass root level critical issues of environment degradation besides generating mass awareness on pollution related issues. The award was handed over to the representatives of the CRED at an award distribution ceremony at Taj Palace in New Delhi on February 2.

An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale rocked India's northeast, Myanmar and Bangladesh on Monday, triggering panic among people.

The tremor was felt at 8.47 a.m. in most parts of Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur, besides in Bangladesh and Myanmar.