ULFA, scams, mega dams kept Assam in news in ’10

Durba Ghosh

Guwahati, Dec 22 (PTI) The arrest of top ULFA leaders and their eagerness for talks raised hopes of a negotiated settlement to the decades-long insurgency problem in Assam which witnessed a relatively peaceful year.

The year also saw the government and the opposition often locking horns over issues like scams and mega dams.

Most ULFA leaders, who were nabbed in Bangladesh and handed over to Indian authorities, were soon released by the state as they expressed desire to sit for talks.

The Centre and the state government's approach to the issue was also significant. The Centre appointed former IB Chief P C Haldar as interlocutor for talks with northeastern militants who, thereafter held several rounds of discussions with ULFA 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa and other prisoned leaders of the group in the Guwahati Central Jail, where they are lodged, to take the peace process forward.