Meghalaya

Savitri Thakur, the Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development, continued her three-day official tour of Meghalaya with a number of on-the-ground evaluations meant to improve the state's welfare delivery systems. Thakur evaluated the operational efficacy and care standards of important women's and children's development facilities in Shillong on the second day of her tour. These facilities included the One Stop Centre at Ganesh Das Hospital, Shakti Sadan at Mawroh, and a Child Care Institution in Mawkasiang. The visit was expanded to include rural areas, where the minister inspected the Aqua Park-cum-Visitor Information Center at Khliehshnong, the Community Health Center and Anganwadi Center at Mawsmai, and schemes under MGNREGA, PMAY-G, and PMGSY. In order to avoid centra...

More than 20 schools across Meghalaya have adopted Project MATE (Mind Activation Through Education), an initiative by AIIMS-Delhi to help students manage stress and anxiety through structured mental wellness strategies. The programme, developed by Dr. Nand Kumar, Professor of Psychiatry at AIIMS, is being implemented under the Meghalaya Programme for Adolescent Wellbeing with CSR support from Oil India Limited. It targets students from Classes VI to VIII, promoting holistic development and mental resilience. “Today’s students face a host of pressures—from academics to online distractions,” said Dr. Kumar. “Project MATE equips them with tools for emotional balance and mental strength.” A key element of the programme is the MATE-5 concept, which encourages children to form a circle of fi...

A team from the Wildlife Department on Wednesday discovered the carcass of a wild elephant in the forested region of 14 Mer, near Byrnihat in Meghalaya's Ri Bhoi District. Authorities strongly suspect that the animal died due to electrocution. The carcass was found during a field inspection and investigation led by Leening Wahlang, Range Forest Officer of the Wildlife Department. Preliminary findings suggest the elephant might have come into contact with high-voltage power lines running through the forest, which likely led to its death. While an official post-mortem is awaited, forest officials are treating the case with urgency and have initiated further inquiries into how such hazardous infrastructure came to intersect with a wildlife habitat. The presence of live electric wires i...

While the high pass percentage in the SSLC examinations has been widely celebrated across the state, it has also presented a significant challenge for the state government insofar as accommodating the surge of students seeking admission into Class XI is concerned. This year, a total of 55,475 students passed the SSLC examinations, surpassing the state’s existing Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) capacity of 51,000 seats. To bridge the gap, the East Khasi Hills district administration convened a meeting on April 14 with heads of all educational institutions offering Plus Two (HSSLC) courses. During the meeting, the district administration appealed to the heads of institutions to enhance their student intake without compromising the quality of education. Following th...

Rajya Sabha MP Wanwei Roy Kharlukhi has accused the VPP of opposing muscle power in principle while allegedly endorsing what he described as “goondaism” in practice. Speaking to reporters, Kharlukhi criticised the VPP leadership for remaining silent following an alleged attack on the homes of National People’s Party (NPP) supporters by individuals he claimed were affiliated with the VPP. He pointed out that the victims of the attack belong to the Khasi-Jaintia community. “Their leaders speak of love for the jaitbynriew (community), yet they have not condemned the attack. They claim to be against muscle power, but their actions reflect support for goondaism,” Kharlukhi said. He also took a dig at the VPP for demanding an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the Jaintia Hills Autono...

More than 30 shops owned by non-tribals allegedly operating without valid trading licences from the KHADC were closed down by the Federation of Khasi-Jaintia & Garo People (FKJGP), South East Khasi Border Circle, on Monday. The crackdown took place at Sonatola, Nongkriah, and Balat markets under Mawsynram in East Khasi Hills. In a statement issued on Monday, president of the FKJGP South East Khasi Border Circle, Kyrmen Shangdiar, said the action followed surprise inspections of trading licences in various local markets along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Mawsynram Block. During the checks, the federation found that many non-tribal shopkeepers lacked trading licences, while others were operating with expired licenses issued by the district council. Notably, non-tribal shop owners...

Deputy Chief Minister and Urban Affairs Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar on Monday assured that the state government is likely to take a final call on the Harijan Colony relocation issue during the meeting scheduled on April 28. The High Court has deferred the hearing in the case until April 28 to allow the government and the Harijan Panchayat Committee more time to explore an early settlement. The issue has dragged on for years without a conclusive decision, ever since communal tensions flared in 2018 and a High-Powered Committee was formed under public demand. The government has approached the Ministry of Defence for the allotment of 2.5 to 3 acres of unutilised defence land opposite the Harijan Colony. However, the matter appears to linger a little longer, with another round of meeting...

In a significant step towards improving air connectivity and regional development, Shillong Airport is set to undergo a major expansion that will allow it to accommodate larger aircraft by 2026. The project, estimated at ₹119 crore, is expected to transform the airport into a vital hub for northeastern India.  Announcing the development, Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister and Transport Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar stated that the expansion work is scheduled to begin soon. He informed the media that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already floated the tender for the ambitious project. “This initiative will not only expand the airport’s capacity but also open up the region to wider air networks, making travel more convenient and boosting our state’s economy,” said Dhar. The plan...

The BJP’s Meghalaya unit will organise workshops and awareness campaigns across the state to dispel misinformation about the Waqf (Amendment) Act. State BJP leader Gagan Jain told reporters on Saturday that a direction in this regard was received from the party’s central leadership. “We were enlightened about the Act. We were told to dispel all the misinformation that the Opposition is carrying forward,” Jain said. The BJP leader also said this is a very important Act that will ensure there is a right to appeal if the Waqf Board decides to take away the properties of somebody. “Earlier, there was no right to appeal against illegal and wrongful approach to properties by the Waqf Board. Now, this Act will take care of it,” Jain added. Recently, the Shillong Muslim Union (SMU) had conv...

Seeking to end the months-long impasse in the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), the state government has now urged Governor CH Vijayashankar to take up the matter with the central government. Expressing concern over the prolonged deadlock, Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma on Sunday said since the state has limited authority to intervene into the matter directly, it is in constant communication with the Education Ministry to find solutions to the problems. “The Chief Minister is in touch with the Ministry and he is updating the Centre from time to time. I also at my level have taken it up with the Centre to find a sustainable solution at the earliest,” he said further adding, “We met the Governor and discussed the issue and requested him to take it up at his level.” “I personal...