Silchar, Mar 26: The northeastern region, including Sikkim, would soon be declared a Special Economic Zone, according to Union Minister for the Development of Northeastern Region C P Thakur. The department was trying to prepare a detailed proposal on the matter which would be submitted soon to the Prime Minister for approval, Thakur told a news agency here yesterday. The minister said an amount of Rs 550 crore had been sanctioned for the NE states for infrustructural development including communication. Thakur, who was here to flag off BJP's Jana Jagaran Yatra (public awareness march) said the problem of illegal migrants was a serious one and the Centre was planning to take a decision on it very soon. "The ISI was responsible for this problem and with huge amount of money was encouraging the youth to engage in violence in the area", he said.

The recent attacks in the state including the world's oldest Digboi oil refinery were examples of ISI-sponsored terrorism, he alleged.

Bureau Report