Imphal, January 05 2010: The upgradation works of meteorological department at Imphal Airport to a regional meteorological centre has been delayed as state government failed to allocate land for expansion of the same.

Union government has agreed to the upgradation of the meteorological department into a regional centre two year back.

Union ministry of the earth science has given the approval, a source from the department said Tuesday.

The require land for the entire upgradation of the department into a regional centre is 4 acre.

The land can be allotted at any place within Imphal area.

Authority of the department has been pressing the state government for allotment of land for the last around two years.

However, the government is not allotting the land, officials of the department lamented.

The only thing require for conversion of the department into regional centre is installation of the weather forecasting system.

The Union ministry of earth science will sanction require equipments soon.

Once the system is installed, not only the weather forecast of all districts of the state but also for other places can be released from the centre.

Seven more staffs will also be sanctioned above the present manpower strength of eight in the department.

The centre will function round the clock.

Three regional centre of the meteorological observer had already opened in the north eastern region of the country.

They are located at Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

However, only two centres at Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh are releasing weather forecast in the region for the time being.

Defying militant threats, villagers of Heirok in Manipur's Thoubal District, go ahead with Special Police Officers (SPO's) two years back in June 2007 following killing of three villagers in indiscriminating firing by armed militants during Yaosang (holi festival) in march of the same year.

Three-hundred people have joined the force and protecting the village the threats from militants who prevented them from moving out from their village.

In the approved fresh recruitment also 300 more VDFs were for the Heirok villages.

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