Aizawl, June 17 (PTI): He shed his VIP status to join community service, carrying heavy boulders on his shoulders for the construction of a house for a widower in a locality in the Mizoram capital. The man rendering manual service is Mizoram minister Robert Romawia Royte, a person who strongly believes in ''Tlawmngaina'', a Mizo ethical practice of selfless service.   Royte holds three portfolios -- sports, tourism and information and communication techn

Shillong, June 17 (PTI): Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, staggered entry of voters, use of gloves and masks besides social distancing will be strictly maintained during the June 19 Rajya Sabha election in Meghalaya, Chief Electoral Officer of the state F R Kharkongor said on Wednesday. Thermal screening and proper respiratory etiquettes have to be followed within the polling station and during trainings, he said.   Pre-COVID-19 election procedures, protocols and processes h

Imphal, June 16 (IANS): The Army troopers in a solemn ceremony bid final adieu to Manipur's braveheart Sepoy Lungambui Abonmei, who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty along the (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch Sector on June 13, defence sources said on Tuesday.   Defence spokesman Lt. Col. P. Khongsai said Abonmei was laid to rest with full military honours at Leimakhong in Imphal West district late on Monday. He said that the mortal remains of Abonmei were

Newmai News Network IMPHAL | June 16 Ten persons –three males and seven females – were tested positive during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases in Manipur to 500 on Tuesday. Of the 500 positive cases of COVID-19, 341 are active cases currently being treated at the COVID care facilities while the number of recovered cases is 159. The recovery rate in the State is 31.8 percent, according to COVID-19 Common Control Room. Of the 10 f

Maligaon, June 16 (MExN):  More than 616  Shramik Special trains reached NFR areas including Bihar, West Bengal and NE states, a press release from Subhanan Chanda CPRO of Northeast Frontier Railway stated on June 16. About 50 Shramik Special trains arrived in various locations of Assam, 23 in Manipur, 15 in Tripura, 5 in Mizoram, 6 in Nagaland with stranded people from NE states including Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Assam under

Guwahati, June 16 (PTI): The total number of coronavirus cases in Assam reached 4,319 after 10 fresh cases were reported in the state on Tuesday, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Of the fresh cases, three each were reported from Dhemaji and Udalguri, while two were from Sonitpur and one each from Nagaon and Hojai districts, he said.   The recovery rate in the state has increased to 53 per cent, with the total number of people cured of the disease (2,205) being

Guwahati, June 16 (IANS): With coronavirus infections on the rise, ahead of the formulation of new strategies, the Assam government has decided to launch the Assam Targeted Surveillance Programme (ATSP) on Wednesday to randomly test 50,000 samples in 11 days, according to officials here on Tuesday.   Assam Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Samir Kumar Sinha said the random testing under the ATSP would be conducted in four categories of people.   In h

Agartala, June 16 (PTI): Around 5,000 cashew nut growers in Tripura are facing hard times as there are no buyers for their farm produce due to lockdown and COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the harvest season is on, the growers said they are not harvesting the cashew nuts as there are no buyers.   "The cashew nuts in the fields are rotting and we are not harvesting them because no buyer has approached us for buying so far", said Bhajan Das, a cashew nut grower fr

Shillong, June 16 (PTI): The Meghalaya government has decided to allow wedding ceremonies in religious places after a request by leaders of different organisations, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said. All religious places and places of worship in the state are closed due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown and will open only for conducting wedding ceremonies.   After a review meeting held on Monday, Tynsong told the media that the request has been made by leade

Aizawl, June 16 (PTI): Four more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram in the last 24 hours, taking the northeast states tally to 121, an official said on Tuesday. Of the total 121 cases, 120 are active while one has recovered, the official said.   He said that of 705 samples tested on Monday, four persons from Aizawl district tested COVID-19 positive late on Monday night.   Three of them have returned from Delhi and one from Maharashtra recent

State Health Minister apologises to returnees   Newmai News Network Aizawl | June 15 Due to inadequate COVID-19 sample testing facilities in Mizoram, many returnees who have completed their quarantine periods have to prolong their stay in quarantine centres as they are still waiting for the results of sample testing.  For this reason, Mizoram Health Minister Dr R Lalthangaliana  apologised to those returnees  on June 15 while inspecting various qu

Newmai News Network Shillong | June 15 The Meghalaya government has decided to allow solemnization of marriages in religious places even as it has kept on hold the re-opening thereof. Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong in his daily briefing on Monday informed that several petitions have been received from various religious organizations requesting the government to allow marriages to be solemnized in religious places. It can be mentioned here that the Meghalaya g

Guwahati, June 15 (MExN): The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has provided a total of 585402 meals to passengers of various Shramik Special trains from May 7 to June 14, an official release informed.  After the Shramik Special trains arrival at NFR’s jurisdiction, it ensured that all the passengers also get sufficient food and drinking water for their onward journey towards various locations in NE states, stated the release issued by NFR’s Chief Public Relations

Imphal, June 15 (IANS): Two mortar shells of the World War II period were disposed of through controlled detonation in Manipur's Churachandpur district, police said on Monday. Churachandpur's Superintendent of Police Amrita Sinha said that the unexploded shells were disposed of on Sunday at an isolated location. Tollen villagers had found one of the 50mm shells while digging a grave and another during cleaning a nearby riverbank around three months ago. The villagers

Newmai News Network Shillong | June 15 In a big relief to the people living in the villages along the Indo-Bangladesh border areas of Mawsynram, the Government of Meghalaya has sanctioned Rs 1, 01, 20,500 for the construction of the ring well projects under Mawsynram Sub-Division. The MLA of Mawsynram, Himalaya Muktan Shangpliang, while expressing his gratitude to the Government and particularly to Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma for the sanction, said that the people living

Imphal, June 15 (PTI): The results of the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) or Class 10 examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur (BOSEM) was declared on Monday with 65.34 per cent of the students clearing the exam. Manipur Education Minister Th. Radheshyam, in a video message, said that 38,390 candidates appeared in the examination and 25,084 passed the examination with a pass percentage of 65.34 per cent. The pass percentage of boys was 70.88 p

Jorhat, June 15 (PTI): A suspected ULFA-I cadre who was apprehended during an anti-insurgency operation jointly by the army and the Assam police, was declared brought dead when he was rushed to Jorhat Medical College Hospital, a district official said on Monday. According to district deputy commissioner Roshni Aparanji Korati, the incident took place on Sunday. The Army''s 224 Field Regiment, based in neighbouring Charaudeo district had sent information on presence of

Imphal, June 15 (IANS): With a surge in the COVID-19 cases in Manipur, the state health department has set up an outreach team to take care of the elderly people lodged in the old age homes in the state, officials said on Monday.   An official of the Health and Family Welfare Department said that considering the increased number of positive cases in the state, the department has formed the outreach team to look after the aged people.   "The outreach team is n

Aizawl, June 15 (PTI): Five women have tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram, raising the state''s tally to 117, a Health Department official said on Monday. All new patients, who had recently returned to the state from Delhi, are from Mamit district, he said.   "A total of 682 samples were tested at Zoram Medical College (ZMC) on Sunday and five of them were found positive," the official said.   The fresh patients are aged between 21 and

Agartala, June 15 (PTI): With Sepahijala district reporting a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, the Tripura government has declared three entire blocks as ''containment zones'' to check the infection, officials said on Monday. Of the total 1046 COVID-19 cases in Tripura so far, Sepahijala district has reported 45 per cent of the cases, officials said, adding that of the 45 new cases detected in the state on Sunday, 44 were from Sepahijala district.