Sonakshi Sarkar

IIM Shillong bid farewell to Prof D P Goyal, who served as the director of the institution since March 2019. Prof Nalini Prava Tripathy has now been appointed as the new director (in-charge), reports Manosh Das. "Prof Goyal's tenure has been marked by exemplary leadership, academic excellence, and significant contributions to the institute's growth and reputation," an IIM statement said. The farewell programme was attended by Shishir Kumar Bajoria, chairperson of the board of governors, DP Wahlang, chief secretary of the govt of Meghalaya, and other distinguished guests. Bajoria praised Goyal for his leadership and efforts in strengthening the academic…

The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, on Monday conferred the Padma Shri to academician David Reid Syiemlieh from Meghalaya in the field of Literature and Education during the ceremony. Prof. Syiemlieh is a scholar of history and culture of the North East and a former Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission. Born on January 22, 1953, in Assam’s Mutrapore, he graduated with honours in History in 1974 from St. Edmund’s College, Shillong. This was followed by an MPhil in 1980 and a PhD in 1985 from the North-Eastern Hill University. He taught in St. Edmund’s College (1977-1979) and NEHU…

A powerful storm accompanied by strong winds caused widespread destruction across several villages under Ranikor Block, Ranikor Civil Sub-Division, South West Khasi Hills District on the night of April 26. According to reports, a total of 23 houses and one school building were damaged. The affected areas include Nongkdait, where 10 houses were damaged, Puksora with 10 houses affected, and Ranikor where 3 houses and one school were hit by the storm. Additionally, landslides were reported along the road at Alukureng village. Clearing operations are currently underway to remove debris and restore access. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported. Temporary…

A team from the Mandya District Child Protection Unit in Karnataka on Wednesday handed over 22 children from Meghalaya to the state’s Social Welfare Department. These children were studying at the Gokula Educational Trust in Bengaluru. During the celebration of Holi at the institute on March 16, several students were taken ill due to food poisoning and hospitalised. Later, two from Meghalaya – 12-year-old Namebantei Marwein from Sohparu in West Khasi Hills and a Class VII student Khrehlang Khongtani – died. The formal handover of the 22 children took place at an event held at the conference hall of the…

Khambor Batei Kharjana from Meghalaya has secured a spot among the top 42 finalists at the Animation Film Makers Competition (AFC) of WAVES 2025 for his project "Lapalang: A Khasi Folklore Reimagined." The finalists were selected through a rigorous nine-month evaluation process led by Dancing Atoms in collaboration with the WAVES team. The participants' work was assessed by an esteemed panel of national and international jury members.

The police have urged individuals who have received extortion notes from pressure groups to come forward and lodge a complaint so that the matter can be investigated. A photograph, allegedly showing extortion notes which were reportedly issued by various pressure groups to non-tribal traders at Iewduh, has gone viral on social media. Deputy Inspector General of Police (Eastern Range) Davis R Marak told the media the police have not received any formal complaint from anyone in this regard. “It becomes a problem for us to register a case when people do not come forward. Those who have received these demand…

Congress MP from Tura, Saleng A Sangma on Thursday came down heavily on the state government for “unchecked illegal trade and smuggling activities” along Meghalaya’s border with Bangladesh. He said the continuing inaction is not only fuelling the state’s drug crisis but also endangering public health, with children now falling victim to HIV infections. Raising concerns over the deteriorating situation, Saleng said, “There might be a lot of smuggling from India to Bangladesh and vice versa, and the number of drug users has increased to more than 3 lakh within these years. A major concern in Meghalaya is the HIV…

The High Court of Meghalaya on Wednesday adjourned a PIL on the strengthening and improvement work of the 102 km long Jowai-Ratacherra project of National Highway 6 till June 18, 2025 with the expectation that the respondent authority will be in a position to file a completion report. During the hearing of the PIL, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) sought two months’ time from the court to complete the project work. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh said further to a February 24, 2025 order issued by the court, the Project…

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…

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…