SHILLONG

Till date the southern states were infamous for boundary disputes. But this malaise seems to have spread to the north-east where Assam and Meghalaya are locked in a border row over a remote village Lampih following the potential discovery of uranium in this tiny hamlet. To ensure that Lampih remains with it. the Assam Government has dangled lots of carrots including a health centre and motorable roads for 31,200 villagers who have to travel for six hours on horseback to reach the nearest road.

A series of programmes, including poster campaigns, cleanliness, quiz competitions and slogans, marked World Environment Day celebrations in Meghalaya today.

Is Cherrapunji, Meghalaya's most attractive tourist destination, losing its status as the wettest place on Earth? For over a century, Sohra, the local name for Cherrapunji, has been described in the geography textbooks as a place that receives the highest annual rainfall in the globe. However, in recent times, the status of Cherrapunji has been challenged, as records of high rainfall reported at Hawiian islands and coastal Cameroon regions.

As high as 49 per cent of Meghalaya's population lives in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) margin while the East Garo Hills district has topped the BPL list in the state with 55.94 per cent families living in abject poverty. Official sources said here today that in the Jaintia Hills district, the number of such families registered was the least with only 33.51 per cent living below the poverty line. Similarly, the Ri-Bhoi district recorded 49.94 per cent of such families with altogether 32,590 households in the BPL list.

JORHAT

No wonder, the index of industrial production (iip) is on a roller-coaster. The 9 per cent gdp growth targets may well remain just that

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has criticised the Meghalaya government for its failure to provide safe drinking water to the people under various schemes. "The objectives of the schemes remained largely unachieved because of significant shortfall (53 and 45 per cent) in providing safe drinking water to the identified habitations during 2002-2007,' the CAG report stated.

Even before the caves in Meghalaya can reveal clues to climate change, rampant mining is destroying their wealth. AMARJYOTI BORAH goes deep into the issue Meghalaya carries a bewitching world

Regulating mining in Meghalaya is tricky. Since Meghalaya is a Sixth Schedule state, the state government and the mining department do not have a direct control over its mineral resources; it is