Acquisition of land by the government for the New Shillong Township (NST) is all set to encounter a fresh road block.

SHILLONG: Leading NGOs of the State including the KSU, CSWO, FKJGP and four Rangbah Shnong have opposed a proposal of the State Government to acquire land in certain villages as part of the expansi

SHILLONG: The unhindered drilling of groundwater in Shillong city is posing a great risk to the water levels.

With the growth in city’s population and unregulated construction of buildings it has been observed that residents go for drilling of deep tube within their residential compound. As of now, the building by–laws in the State do not prohibit the drilling for underground water by residents within their compound.

Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Secretary T Lyngwa on Sunday informed that the last slot of Government sanctioned SPTS buses would be hitting the streets of the capital in May.

Speaking to The Shillong Times here on Sunday, Lyngwa said, “Twenty more buses will be coming by the first week of May.”
It was in July 2011 that the Government introduced the Government run buses sanctioned under the JNNURM and since then the number of buses have been increased but the bigger buses have not yet reached the State.

SHILLONG: UDP legislator Jemino Mawthoh has questioned the State Government for failing to take concrete measures to arrest the problem of urban congestion in the State.

“Out of the total urban population in the State, 60 per cent of the population is concentrated in Shillong city. The increase in the population in Shillong is a result of huge floating population and also the large migration of people from the rural areas to the city,” Mawthoh said while moving a motion in the Assembly on Tuesday.

SHILLONG: The State Government has decided to adopt a number of measures to revamp and re-strategize the public transport system in the city.

SHILLONG: People’s lifestyle has always been a factor in one’s health and this is true in Shillong too. With the rise in what doctors consider unhealthy life style the death rates too are rising.

In the last 5–6 years Meghalaya has seen a huge rise in Cancer rates in the state with 1038 cancer cases being registered in Civil Hospital Shillong alone. Addressing this issue, a Specialist from the Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Judita Syiemlieh informed that in recent years especially in 2009 and 2012 there was a huge rise in the numbers of cancer cases being reported only in Civil hospital Shillong. She added that the number would be many fold if we take into account the cases that go to other states of the country for treatment.

Shillong: Since December last year electricity has been playing truant in Shillong city. The situation beyond the city is even more pathetic. When consumers call the Area Manager’s office they either get an engaged tone or are told that the telephone is temporarily out of order. But that is hardly their fault. It’s the entire system that is creaking.

After the corporatisation process MeSEB became MeECL. The nomenclature changed but the Government continues to run the Corporation like a department and the Chief Secretary who is burdened with running the entire Secretariat is also expected to be the corporate wizard to turn the sick MeECL around.

SHILLONG: The Travelling International Uranium Film Festival India 2013 has chosen Shillong as one of the cities to showcase films on the different aspect of Uranium mining and Nuclear Energy in the world.

This two-day event will be inaugurated tomorrow in the city. International Uranium Film Festival is a global event organised by the Uranium Film Festival in Rio de Janerio, Brazil and in India it is being held in collaboration with an Indian filmmaker Shriprakash.

SHILLONG: As many as 60 land owners including farmers staged a protest on Wednesday near Mawryngkneng demanding compensation for the land used for constructing the Shillong By pass.

The villagers from Diengpasoh, Thangshalai and Mawryngkneng together with KSU also stopped the construction work in the area between Mawryngkneng and Diengpasoh.