Assam Eagle

Brahmaputra Master Plan to cost Rs 32,410 cr

2011-03-14T22:32:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, March 14 – The Master Plan for flood management of Brahmaputra river is estimated to cost Rs 32,410 crore at 1983 price level, Minister of State for Water Resources, Vicent H Pala said.

The Minister’s reply was to a question by Bhubaneswar Kalita, who wanted to know whether the Master Plan for flood management and integrated development of water resources is expected to cost Rs 54,750 crore.

The Brahmaputra Board has prepared a Master Plan for the Brahmaputra river and the approved Plan was sent to State Government for implementation. The flood control, anti-erosion and flood protection works are planned, implemented and funded by the State Government according to their own plan and priorities. The Central Government provides the assistance to the State Government for implementation of flood management programme, the Minister added.

The schemes undertaken by Brahmaputra Board have generally performed well. Concurrent evaluation of implementation of schemes in the reaches identified by the Master Plan and taken up by the State Government has indicated satisfactory performance, he said.

About protection of Majuli, Pala said that Phase II and III of the Plan is estimated to cost Rs 115.03 crore. About 21.95 per cent of the work taken up during last financial year have been completed till February. The Phase I of the Project was taken up in 2005 at an estimated cost of Rs 56.07 crore and 99.50 per cent of the work have been completed.

Emergent measures at the cost of Rs 4.99 crore as recommended by the standing committee of experts on Majuli was undertaken in May 2008 and completed in September 2008.

Cong declares 6 more candidates for Assam polls

2011-03-14T09:03:00.001-07:00

New Delhi, March 14 (PTI) Congress today finalised the candidates for six more candidates for Assam assembly elections.

With this, the candidates for 124 constituencies in the 126-member state assembly has been finalized.

The party had yesterday released the list 118 candidates, including Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi from Titabar. Other prominent among them were Debabrata Saikia, son of former Assam chief minister Hiteswar Saikia, and Sushmita Deb, daughter of former union minister Santosh Mohan Deb.
22 new faces found place in Congress'' first list of candidates. So far, 21 women have already been given tickets.

The seats for which candidates have been declared today are Tezpur, Gohpur, Haflong, Gopalpara West, Jamunamukh and Tingkhong where Rajen Borthakur, Monika Bora, Gobind Ch.
Langthasa, Rejaul Karim Chaudhury and Atuwa Munda would contest.

AGP brings out vision document for election

2011-03-14T08:12:00.001-07:00

Guwahati, Mar 14 (PTI) The opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today brought out a vision document titled "Vision 2030 for Assam" in view of the ensuing assembly election in the state.

Formally releasing the document, party president Chandra Mohan Patowary said as the AGP represents the aspirations of state''s regional identities, it had requested eminent academicians and intellectuals to prepare the vison document.

Complimenting those who were instrumental in making the document, Patowary said the party will concentrate on "people sensitive, sustainable inclusive development for the people of Assam".

"The vision plan will incorporate all the critical issues that needs to be addressed with long and short term measures for ushering in a progressive state", he said.

Lambasting the Congress-led government for its claim of bringing in development in the state, the AGP president said the slogan of development was only election oriented.

"Actually there has been no growth and the state''s per capita income is one of the lowest. We want to emphasise the need for sustainable growth", Patowary said.

The vision document which includes infiltration, border issues and agriculture will be incorporated in the election manifesto of the AGP to be declared soon, he said.
PTI SB CR

From Assam with love

2011-03-14T02:50:00.001-07:00

RAHUL VERMA comes away with a skip in his step after savouring eastern delights

One of the nicest things that's happening around is the opening up of regional food centres in Delhi. There was a time when the only regional cuisine we knew of was South Indian, and there too our knowledge was mostly superficial. But in the last few years, our state bhawans, once restricted to government employees of that particular state only, have been opening up to the public. And there's nothing quite as wonderful as eating the food of say, Tamil Nadu or Nagaland, cooked the authentic way.
But even more heartening is the fact that regional food is breaking out of state owned bhawans as well. Last week, my friend told me that a new Assamese eatery had opened up near Jawaharlal Nehru University. This, I later learnt, was located in the Assam Association office, and run by the association itself. The address is Srimanta Sankaradeva Bhawan, A-14-B, Satsang Vihar Marg, Qutub Institutional Area.
Directions
To reach this place, if you are going from the IIT Gate, take Aruna Asaf Ali Marg and move towards Vasant Kunj. Ignore the road going towards Katwariya Sarai and keep going straight. After a while you'll see the Qutub Institutional Area on your left. Look out for Sanskrit Bhawan. Take the first turning to the left after that. This is Satsang Vihar Marg. The third building on your left is your destination. The canteen is on the first floor. The place is clean and basic. There are tables and chairs laid out, and you can sit and eat a meal that will take you straight into the heart of Assam. The food is not just authentic, but delicious — and so reasonable that you almost feel bad you've eaten so much for so little.
We had been invited by the vice-president of the association, so our food was gratis in any case. But I was astounded when I heard the prices — a vegetable thaali is for Rs.75 and a non-vegetarian thaali comes for Rs.150.
Let me tell you what the thaalis consist of. The vegetarian one has a mound of rice, salad, two pieces of begun bhaja (or fried brinjal), a plate of masoor dal with nice juicy jackfruit seeds, khar (a wonderfully light dish cooked with soda-bicarb and green papaya), and lai pata, which is a much-loved saag of the East. The non-veg thaali has all this, and two fish dishes —– one plate of tenga fish, which is a light and tart fish cooked with tomatoes and potatoes, and another plate of mustard fish, prepared with a heady mustard paste, green chillies and mustard oil. If you want to add a plate of chicken to your meal, you can get it for Rs.75. Personally speaking, I found the chicken a bit too spicy.
I saw that people at other tables were asking for — and getting refills, though I suppose they wouldn't give you second helpings of the fish.
I really enjoyed my meal. The food was light and tasty, and quite like what you'd expect to get in Assamese homes. It left me with a happy feeling inside. When I went back home, my heart was doing a Bihu dance!

AGP candidate's home attacked

2011-03-12T07:00:00.003-08:00

Jorhat , March 12 : A hand grenade exploded early on Saturday morning at the residence of opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate Dulen Nayak, at Moriani in upper Assam's Jorhat district, the police said. Though the house was damaged in the blast, no one has been injured in the explosion that occurred at about 4.10 AM. Nayak said he heard a loud sound and found his window panes broken and the roof of the sitting room damaged by the blast.

Police sources said unidentified miscreants hurled the grenade at Nayak's house near Kathalguri tea estate.

Investigations were on to know the culprits and their motive.

The AGP contestant accused the ruling Congress of being responsible for the explosion, but the Congress denied the charge.

Locals slam Assam Government ahead of polls

2011-03-12T07:00:00.001-08:00

The people of Assam have voiced displeasure over the government for not doing any development work in the region.

Locals said the roads were in great disrepair and major drains of the East Guwahati area had been choked for months by garbage and filth.

"Though I am a voter from East Guwahati constituency and I have seen in last 10 years, during the election times, the candidates come here to do some development and after the elections they all forget it. And it is the practical aspect," Hamen Das.

Some locals said they would not vote Congress.

"I have already made up my mind that I won't give vote to Robin Bordoloi (Congress party's legislator). I would not support Congress government anymore. Since last elections, they forget the bad conditions of this area and did nothing for the development of this area," said Apoorva Bhagawati.

Local leaders also slammed the Congress government for the shortage of electricity and basic amenities.

"The Congress Government failed in all aspects, especially in a city like Guwahati, where during summers, people use boats for transportation. Apart from this, people have to walk for kilometers to get a few drops of drinking water and that is especially in this region," said Dhirendra Nath Adhikari, a candidate for East Guwahati from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Elections will be held in Assam on 4 and 11 April in two phases for the 126 member state assembly.

The Election Commission has stated that 23,813 polling booths are being set up for the state's electorate of 18 million.

For the first time, overseas Indian citizens of Assam can also enroll themselves as voters and will be able to vote. (ANI)

All we need is a Nitish in Assam

2011-03-12T06:59:00.001-08:00

A roadside dhaba at Makum, in Tinsukia district, was abuzz with a group of three voters discussing the state's political future. One among the three was a Chinese, but with Indian voting rights.

"What would it be like after the election? I think we need someone like Nitish Kumar as chief minister," the young Chinese stated in chaste Assamese, with an accent peculiar to upper Assam.

His son-of-the-soil Assamese friend nodded in agreement. "True. Where has all the money from the Centre gone? We don't see any development here. But Nitish, I read in the papers, has changed the face of Bihar."

Thereafter they turned their attention to power minister Pradyut Bordoloi. They wondered what would be the fate of this man from Margherita. "Pradyut, I think will have a tough time. Kamakhya (BJP candidate for the seat) will sure tower over all."

The Chinese friend then murmured something to his friends which sounded like the "HBS factor".

His other two friends agreed with him. "HBS is a true player. He can turn things around," one said from the group.

It was obvious they were alluding to the very influential health minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, "HBS" for short.

Sipping tea from glasses, the three huddled together as if sharing a secret and then broke into a laughter. The Chinese said, "I pity the AGP, which was once the party of the people. Now they are in absolute mess. But I want them back."

This time his friend did not agree. "They are good for nothing. When you break the trust, not once but twice, you might as well stop approaching the people for votes."

The Chinese tried to cool him with friendly pats. "Boss, I think people might just be looking at some kind of an alternative. Only if we were all educated."

Political activity gearing up for election in Assam

2011-03-11T00:08:00.001-08:00

In Assam, hectic political activity is gearing up after the issuance of formal notification for the first phase of Assembly Election scheduled to be held on 4th of next month. But no candidates have submitted nomination forms on the first day of notification (10th March). The last day of filing nominations for this phase of election cancellation of nomination has been fixed on 17th and 21ST of this month respectively. The ruling coalition partner of Congress, Bodoland People’s Front and BJP declared their first and third list of candidates respectively.

WWF boss to meet kidnapped volunteers

2011-03-10T22:57:00.001-08:00

Guwahati, Mar 11 : WWF-India boss Ravi Singh will meet the six-member volunteers’ team tomorrow at Kokrajhar, who were recently released by their abductors, before they finally go back to the wilds to work.

A source said Singh, who is the secretary general of WWF-India and also its CEO, would meet the volunteers who were abducted when they had gone to count tigers in the Ultapani area at Chirang reserve forest in Kokrajhar district.

The meeting will be held at Circuit House, Kokrajhar, where he will also meet BTC officials to thank them for their help.

“It is more of a thanksgiving gesture,” the source said.

The interaction with the BTC officials could also result in new areas of co-operation with the organisation.

The source said the BTC officials would also be interested in meeting the young volunteers, who were working in their area, before they were abducted.

Following the release of the volunteers, the conservation organisation is planning to start some pioneering initiative in the BTC area.

While three boys — Syed Naushad Zaman, Gautam Kishore Sarma and Pranjal Kumar Saikia — were released on February 17, the girls —Tarali Goswami, Shrabana Goswami and Pallabi Chakrabarty — were released on February 8.

The meeting with Singh will encourage the volunteers to keep up their work despite having faced rough times.

“All of them are raring to go back to the wilds. They are still at Tezpur analysing the data, which they had collected before they were kidnapped,” the source said.

The next probable places where the volunteers could be going are Nameri in Sonitpur district and Pakke in Arunachal Pradesh.

The organisation has already made it clear that it would not give up its work as it was involved in a national project on tiger estimation.

The source said the volunteers could be back to the forest in a week’s time.

“There could be better security provided by the park where the volunteers would be going,” the source said.

Eco-sensitive tag for Kaziranga

2011-03-10T22:55:00.000-08:00

Move to regulate activities harmful for park

ROOPAK GOSWAMI

Protection priorities

Guwahati, Mar 11 : The authorities of Kaziranga National Park are now taking the initiative for declaration of the park as an eco-sensitive zone. This will help restrict or prohibit activities which are not conducive for the park in the future. It will also ensure that it does not fall prey to “pressures” like floods, economic activities, climate change, land use change and road development around it.

A park official said the authorities were going ahead with declaring the park as an eco-sensitive zone, which would classify activities into three areas — prohibited, regulated and permissible — to minimise, or preferably eliminate, any negative impact on it and ensure that the park is safe for the future.

Though the ministry had earlier said “lands falling within 10km of boundaries of national parks and sanctuaries should be notified as eco-fragile zones”, it later modified it, saying that the declaration of eco-sensitive zones should be site-specific and relate to regulation rather than prohibition of specific activities.

Assam’s chief wildlife warden Suresh Chand said the eco-sensitive zone will be notified by June. The ministry of environment and forests has already prepared an indicative set of activities under three categories — prohibited, regulated with safeguards and permissible for consideration.

This set of activities, prepared by the Centre for consideration, has placed construction of hotels and resorts in the regulated category. This actually belies concerns raised by many that hotels and resorts around the park will be prohibited. Fencing of premises of hotels and lodges have also been put in the regulated category along with widening of roads.

The Centre has asked the state to convey a strong message to the public that an eco-sensitive zone is not meant to hamper their day-to-day activities but to protect the zone from any negative impact and refine the environment around the area.

“All this propaganda by some people that their businesses will be affected is simply false. What we are saying is that it needs to be regulated with safeguards so that there is no negative impact on the park. We will have to look towards the future of the park and we do not want it to be doomed,” a forest official said.

A joint paper by Unesco — United Nations Foundation on Opportunities and Challenges for Kaziranga National Park over the Next Fifty Years — a few years back had already warned about the future threats. It said the “continued survival of Kaziranga National Park over the next century and consolidation of the conservation successes achieved in the last hundred years will therefore depend to a large extent on what happens beyond the park’s boundaries and also on ensuring that management options elsewhere, in the river and in the surrounding landscape, do not undermine the ecology and integrity of the park.”There is already a directive from the ministry that an inventory of different land use patterns, types of activities and types and number of industries operating near the protected area, be carried out for declaration of an eco-sensitive zone.

UK Indians can sign up for coming polls

2011-03-10T22:52:00.001-08:00

LONDON: People of Indian origin in the UK from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry will be able to vote either by post or by being physically present in their constituencies in the assembly polls in April-May this year.

Acting on the government of India's notification giving voting rights to NRIs, the Indian high commission on Thursday invited NRIs in the UK to register as voters.

"This is the first time overseas Indian citizens will be enrolling as voters in accordance with the amendment to Representation of the Peoples' Act," said the Indian high commission.

Make stand clear on Assam Accord: AASU

2011-03-10T22:51:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI, March 11 – All the political parties should take a pledge to give up their hopes for getting the votes of the foreign nationals and to implement the Assam Accord within a specific time frame if voted to power, demanded the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU).

Talking to The Assam Tribune, AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said that all the political parties should make their stand clear on the issue of detection and deportation of foreigners as per the provisions of the Assam Accord. He called upon the political parties to give an assurance to the people of Assam that if voted to power, they would take strong steps to throw out the foreign nationals and jehadi elements from Assam within a specific time frame.

Bhattacharya alleged that the parties should make it clear what steps they would take on issues like updating of the National Register of Citizens, scrapping of the clauses of the Citizenship Act, which provided citizenship to the descendants of the foreigners who came to India up to 2004, protection of the land of the satras and historical places from encroachment by the

foreigners, constitutional safeguard to the indigenous people of Assam on the basis of clause 6 of the Accord, special constitutional status to Assam with right over land and natural resources etc, demand for reservation of seats in Assembly, parliament and local bodies for indigenous people, etc.

On the Chief Minister’s recent statement that the Hindu refugees from Bangladesh should be treated as refugees, Bhattacharya said that Assam has already taken the load of the foreigners up to 1971 and it would not be possible for taking any more load. The foreigners who came to Assam after 1971 should be deported irrespective of their religion.

AASU president Sankar Prasad Roy said that the parties should make their stand clear on the issue of implementation of clause 7 of the Assam Accord, which provides for steps for all round economic development of the state. The parties should openly declare their stand on the demand for declaring floods and erosion as national problems etc. He also called upon all the political parties to make public their stand on the issue of construction of big dams in seismically vulnerable areas. He also said that the failure of the Government to reopen the Ashok Paper Mill is an unpardonable offence and demanded that the implementation of the ongoing central projects should be expedited.

AASU general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi said that 50 per cent of the state is not covered by the four lane highway project and the implementation of the project in the entire state is very slow. But the political parties are silent on the issue, he added.

Seba seeks public help to curb cheating

2011-03-10T04:35:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI: The Board of Secondary Education of Assam (Seba) authorities are on a red alert after incidents of mass copying were reported from various examination centres. Seba is now making plans in advance to curtail such malpractices and is urging the public to come forward and cooperate with them for the purpose.

B C Konwar, chairman of Seba, said, "There have been incidents of copying, but we haven't taken any steps as of now because we are waiting to get all the reports from supervising officers, zonal officers and inspectors of schools. After gathering all the reports, we would take steps accordingly."

L N Sarma, Seba secretary, stated the board does not encourage any malpractices and he added that a supervising officer was expelled from an examination centre in Lakhimpur after he was found indulging in some suspicious activity.

"We would take stern measures if such incidents are brought to our notice. Exams are very crucial in a student's life and career and we cannot let anybody play with their future," he said.

Konwar also said there is no point in blaming teachers and authorities as this would not lead to any permanent solution.

"Whenever something goes wrong, people blame Seba, but this won't help solve the problem as we, on our part, are also helpless. So it is essential that everybody should come forward and cooperate with us," he said.

"We should remember that we cannot put a student's career at stake, so every one should come forward and help curb malpractices," he added.

Mottocks fear disturbances during polls in upper Assam

2011-03-10T01:38:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI: People of the Mottok community fear disturbance during elections in the upper Assam belt, especially after Ulfa commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah appealed to people there to oust the Congress government from power in the state.

Asking Congress to chalk out immediate plans to field a Mottok candidate in the Chabua constituency, the Sadau Asom Mottok Sanmilan and its youth wing on Wednesday threatened to start a massive campaign against the party.

"This elections, the Mottok community will play a crucial role in making a government here. The ruling party is not doing much to consider our demands for the last decade and we are determined to go against it if no ac-tion is taken urgently," said Anil Gohain, the president of the body. He added that the recent threat from Ulfa to Congress was possibly nothing but a political strategy of the ruling Congress to draw sympathy votes. "Ulfa's influence in upper Assam can't be overlooked. Though the threat from the banned group might be a trick to create a negative image of Ulfa, Congress wants to set a clean image in itself in upper Assam this elections. You can't predict," he said.

It may be mentioned that the Ulfa hardliners had urged the people to rise against Congress this elections. Ulfa, in an email, pointed out the failures of the state government in dealing with regional and local issues.

The Sanmilani complained that the state government has not given promi-nence to tribals people in the cabinet to raise their problems in the Centre. "In Chabua constituency, more than 60 per cent people belong to the Mottok community. But Congress has never given a Mottok representa-tion from Chabua. Even we want New Delhi to know about our prob-lems," Gohain said.

Assam tea industry expects higher prices

2011-03-09T08:31:00.001-08:00

Supratim Dey

Kolkata/ Guwahati March 10 :

With the carryover of last year’s stock being nil, Assam tea industry is expecting price realisation to be in line with last year or even better in 2011. Also, with the weather being “normal” till now, tea harvesting has already begun in many areas of the state.

“As there has been no carryover this year, there is absolutely no reason why price realisation should not be as good as last year or even better in 2011,” said Bidyananda Barkakoty, chairman of North Eastern Tea Association (NETA).

Harvesting of crop, Barkakoty said, has already begun in many areas of Brahmaputra Valley as the weather has been “more or less normal”. In past, the tea production in the initial months in the state had suffered due to unfavourable weather conditions, with the worst being in 2009 when the sate witnessed a drought-like condition.

Barkakoty further told Business Standard that the industry in hopeful that even if the weather plays truant, prices would remain firm in 2011. “Though we don’t know how the weather will be later, but we don’t think prices would be below last year’s average,” he said.

In 2010, the average prices of Assam tea have been Rs. 130.39 and 112.93 respectively in Kolkata and Guwahati auction centres.

The average price of Assam CTC (leaf) tea in Kolkata auction was Rs. 131.69 and that of CTC (dust) was Rs. 128.07. Similarly, average prices of CTC (leaf) and CTC (dust) had been Rs. 117.99 and 117.26 respectively in Guwahati auction.

Though Assam witnessed a bumper production and healthy price realisation in 2009, thus bringing the industry out of 10 years of recession, production took a hit last year due to excessive rainfall. Total tea produced in Assam in 2010 was little more than 480 million kgs as compared to 499 million kgs in 2009.

Assam accounts for around 55 per cent of total tea produced in India. The total tea production in 2010 in India was 966 million kgs.

Inadequate public access to budget info by Assam govt: CBGA

2011-03-09T04:41:00.000-08:00

Guwahati, Mar 9 (PTI) The Assam government is not providing adequate public access to budgetary information that have been tabled in the assembly, according to a study by an organisation ''Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA)''.
Advocating the need to address the lacunae at the earliest to ensure better fiscal decentralisation, the study also identified a number of good practices adopted by the state government. It, however, found major gaps in public access to budget information.
"The state government does not provide many of the budget documents on the government website and also does not release to the public any report on the steps taken to address audit observations," CBGA Executive Director Subrat Das said.
Besides, in the process of formulation of five year plan and annual plans, most of the consultations are held with the legislators with few officials from the respective departments only.
The state plan documents also do not provide extensive information on women''s component plan or gender budgeting, Das added.
The analysis points out the state government does not clearly explains the basis on which various departments are reporting allocations under scheduled caste sub-plan, tribal sub-plan and women''s component plan and gender budgeting.
The budget documents further do not provide segregated information on devolution of funds to rural and urban local bodies at different tiers, he said.
The documents also do not provide information on the district-wise break-up of allocation and expenditure from the state budget.
On the positive fronts, the state government''s budget document provides complete information about outstanding debt at the beginning as well as at the end of the fiscal year.
The documents present extensive information on the transfer of resources between public sector undertakings and the state government, researcher Yasmin Banu Laskar of the North East Network which coordinated with CGBA said.
The state government also produces all the statements that are required under the disclosure norms of the State''s Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act.
The state Finance Commission has been constituted in a timely manner at regular intervals over the last decade, Laskar said.
Assam government also provided detailed information about allocations across various administrative departments under Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and Tribal Sub Plan with major head-wise allocation, she added.

Assam election parleys gain momentum

2011-03-09T03:55:00.000-08:00

Guwahati, Mar 9 (ANI): With only a day left for issuing of notification for the first phase of election in 62 Assembly constituencies of Assam, hectic parleys are continuing within the political parties for deciding candidates and poll alliances.

The regional party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has struck a poll deal with the Bodoland peoples Progressive Front (BPPF) in some constituencies of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) districts and adjusted some seats with the Gana Shakti party.

The AGP has also declared four more names of candidates. With this, the party has so far announced its candidates for 70 seats against the total of 126 seats in the State Assembly.

However, Congress has finalized a panel of candidates against 70 constituencies from where several aspirants have sought tickets.

The tentative list will now be finalized in the election committee meeting of the AICC to be held in New Delhi March 12.

Meanwhile, the Assam Government has made some bureaucratic reshuffle after the visit of the full Election Commission on Tuesday.

The Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (Metro) and the Karbi Anglong have been transferred. Similarly, the Superintendents of Police of Kamrup (Rural) and Golaghat districts have also been transferred.

The Election Commission on Tuesday said it is satisfied with the security arrangements in Assam and is optimistic that the state Assembly elections will be fair and peaceful.

"We are very optimistic about free, fair and peaceful polls in Assam. I am very satisfied with the law and order arrangements. It is very good. Our comfort level is very high with their preparedness," said Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi.

The full team of Election Commission also reviewed the law and order situation with the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and Director General of Police.

"We had individual meetings with the political parties which mostly raised the issues about polling stations, security forces and the need of CCTV in sensitive booths," Quraishi said.

Altogether 137 officers who were posted in their home districts against EC rules will have to be transferred, Quraishi said.

Elections will be held in Assam on 4 and 11 April in two phases for the 126 member state assembly.

Besides Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry would hold provincial polls between April 4 and May 10.

For the first time, overseas Indian citizens of Assam can also enroll themselves as voters and will be able to vote.

Ex-rebel bombs in-laws for dowry

2011-02-17T22:20:00.000-08:00

Rahul Karmakar

Guwahati, Feb 18 : What happens when a son-in-law turns out to be a former rebel used to explosives and easy money? He blows up the fine line between dowry and extortion. A bomb packed in a schoolbag ripped through the house of Rajen Das in western Assam’s Goalpara town, 180 km west of here, on Thursday morning. The blast injured eight persons including six minors.

Acting on Das’ suspicion, police arrested his son-in-law Prem Barman in Kokrajhar town, some 120 km west of Goalpara. “We have sent a team to fetch the man wanted for attempt to kill his in-laws,” Goalpara district police chief Luis Aind told HT.

Das, a fish trader, was sure his son-in-law had tried to wipe out his family following a marital discord. “He was threatening to blow us up unless I paid him Rs 50,000 to enable him to expand his business,” he said.

Barman, who runs a small shop in Kokrajhar, had married Das’ daughter 18 months ago. “It was only after the marriage that I came to know he was a surrendered member of the militant Bengali Tiger Force and tended to be violent,” said Das, 55.

“He has been torturing my daughter to extract money from me.” Things came to a head a fortnight ago when Das went to Kokrajhar to bring home his daughter, who is pregnant. “I brought my daughter home but not before Prem beat me up and threatened to come after us,” said Das.

Police said they were certain Prem had carried out his threat. “Das had come to inform us about a mysterious bag lying on the verandah of his house, but it had exploded by the time we reached the spot,” said an officer of the Goalpara police station.

While Das was away, his neighbour Jiban Mallya tried to open the bag. The inevitable happened; Mallya was grievously injured along with his three children.

Also hurt were three children and an adult in Das’ extended family.

Prem, however, claimed he was innocent though he admitted he had threatened to bomb his in-laws’ house. “I haven’t been out of Kokrajhar for days,” he said.

Goalpara, bordering Bangladesh, has often faced problems from infiltrators and cross-border miscreants. Part of the district also borders Meghalaya and is prone to ethnic clashes such as the one between the Garo and Rabha tribal people in January this year.

Assam ministers’ wives are crorepatis

2011-02-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Sample this. A senior minister’s wife in the Tarun Gogoi government owns 17 plots of land. Wives of at least four ministers in Assam are crorepatis, including one who is a second-time MP.

Assam has put these and other details of assets owned by the wives of as many as 13 of the 19 ministers, including the chief minister, on its official website. Gogoi and his ministers had declared their assets on January 15.

The net worth of Gogoi’s wife Dolly is Rs 36,72,932, which includes two plots of land worth Rs 13.36 lakh, jewellery worth Rs 1,24,650, bank deposits worth Rs 5,29,868, and a Swift car valued at Rs 5,43,252. She has Rs 17,72,367 as investments in shares and NSC, the website said.

Chief Minister Gogoi’s own declared assets were worth Rs 35.90 lakh.

Interestingly, the declaration of Malati Barman, wife of State Revenue Minister Bhumidhar Barman, includes 17 plots of land in Nalbari apart from a house each in Guwahati and Nalbari. This is in addition to 14 plots her husband showed in his declaration last month.

The declarations, made public on Wednesday, show at least four spouses of ministers in the Gogoi Cabinet are crorepatis. Rani Narah, wife of Culture and Sports Minister Bharat Chandra Narah, tops the chart with assets worth Rs 3.84 crore. Rani Narah, a Lok Sabha member from the Congress, has land, houses and flats in five places including one worth Rs 1.90 crore in Delhi.

Aziza Nazrul, wife of Food and Civil Supplies Minister Nazrul Islam, has total assets worth Rs 1.65 crore. Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, wife of Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is worth Rs 1.44 crore, which includes a flat worth Rs 37.20 lakh in New Delhi and a house in Guwahati worth Rs 39.61 lakh.

The net worth of the assets of Nazreen Hussain, wife of Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain, is Rs 1.08 crore. That includes land worth Rs 17 lakh and house worth Rs 31 lakh.

Misings in Assam celebrate Ali Aye Ligang festival

2011-02-17T06:00:00.002-08:00

Guwahati, Feb 17 : Thousands of people celebrated the traditional Ali Aye Ligang festival in Guwahati in Assam.

It is the main festival of the ethnic Mishing community of the region, in which they perform traditional rituals and dances.

P. C. Doley, a local, said the festival is celebrated on the first Wednesday of the Phagun month, which starts from mid-February.Ali Aye Ligang is a traditional festival of Mishings, the second largest tribe of Assam. This cultural festival is usually observed on the first Wednesday of Phagun (mid-February) month and is uniformly celebrated by Mishings in Assam," said Doley.

Young boys and girls, dressed in traditional attire, danced to the tunes of traditional musical instruments and drumbeats.

Misings want to preserve the traditional values and pass them to the next generation.

"It's really nice because those who are pursuing studies outside Assam visit the region on the occasion of Ali Aye Ligang and enjoy being a part of it. It's an occasion to meet people and have a get-together with them", said Alka Kutum.

The Ali Aye Ligang also marks the beginning of sowing season.

Atlanta receives order worth Rs104 crore from Assam government

2011-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Atlanta will begin the work on the project in the second week of April 2011

Mumbai based infrastructure development company Atlanta Ltd, in consortium, has received an order worth Rs104 crore from the government of Assam for improvement of existing single intermediate lane of NH-44 to two lane with paved shoulders.

"We will begin the work on this project in the second week of April 2011. The stipulated time period for completion of work is 48 months," stated Rajhoo Bbarot, managing director, Atlanta Ltd.

On Thursday, Atlanta ended 1.55% up at Rs78.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while the benchmark Sensex increased 1.13% to 18,506.82.

Backyard bomb injures four of family in Assam

2011-02-16T22:41:00.001-08:00

Guwahati, Feb 17 : Three children and a woman, from the same family, were injured when a bomb stashed inside a schoolbag in their backyard exploded in Goalpara district of Assam Thursday, police said.

The schoolbag was lying in the backyard of the family's home in Goalpara town. On noticing the bag, the family tried opening it, leading to the explosion. Goalpara is about 180 km west of Guwahati.

Preliminary police investigations say some militants might have left the bag in view of stepped up security in the area.

Medals galore for Assam

2011-02-16T21:36:00.001-08:00

Guwahati, Feb. 17 : Assam today tallied a silver and bronze medal in sepak takraw in the ongoing 34th National Games at Dhanbad in Jharkhand.

While the Assam women bagged silver in the team event, their male counterparts had to remain content with bronze today. The women went down to Manipur 0-2 for the silver while Nagaland tallied the bronze defeating Andhra Pradesh 2-0.

In the men’s team event, Assam got the better of Mizoram 2-1 for the bronze.

Manipur won the gold defeating Delhi 2-0. Assam has, so far, tallied 17 medals, including two gold and four silver, in the mage event since Saturday.

The two gold medals came in lawn bowls. The tandem of Mridul Bora and Ruptu Gogoi took top spot in the men’s pairs and the team of internationals Manu Kumari Pal and Nayanmoni Saikia and rookie Ananya Saikia bagged the other gold in women’s triples.

The lawn bowlers had so far tallied a silver and a bronze medal. The silver came in men’s triples by the team, comprising Ananda Kumar Narzary, Mridul Borgohain and Mohd Raja.

Bongita Hazarika and Tania Choudhury had to remain content with bronze in the women’s pairs.

Another discipline where Assam have so far tallied two silver and eight bronze medals is wushu.

Rajandra Gharti Magar won a silver in men’s sanshou below-56kg and Sunita Devi Moirangthem bagged another in women’s sanshou below-60kg.

While Assam were placed 12th in the tally today, Manipur were leading the tally with 19 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals.

Last 5 years best period for Assam:Chief Minister

2011-02-11T00:17:00.001-08:00

Guwahati, Feb 11 : Exuding confidence of returning to power for the third straight time, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today claimed that his last five years in office were the best years for the state in terms of development.

''The last five years have been the best period for Assam since Independence in terms of development,'' Mr Gogoi said, addressing a press conference.

Of the last ten years that he has been in power, Mr Gogoi ranked the first three years, since 2001 when he took over from Asom Gana Parishad(AGP), as the most difficult and challenging period.

''Those three years were most difficult. There was total lawlessness with the militants calling the shots. There was huge flight of capital. The economy of the state was in the red. The government exchequer was not only almost empty but there was a deficit of Rs 500 crore and we had to bear a loan amount of a whopping Rs 2000 crore,'' he said.

''Things started to look up from the fourth year and this tenure has been the best for the state,'' he added.

Mr Gogoi said he was confident of the Congress remaining in power for the third consecutive term in the coming Assembly elections.

The Chief Minister said during the AGP rule, the 11th Finance Commission’s award was only Rs 13,280 crore whereas the 13th Finance Commission awarded the government Rs 57,832.70 crore.

He further said, ''It is an irony that both the terms of AGP under the leadership of PK Mahanta were the darkest chapter in the history of Assam. Various scams like seed scam, shallow tubewells, green house, veterinary scam ruled the roost during Mahanta’s two terms in office.''

Shot seven times, rhino dies

2011-02-08T23:43:00.001-08:00

Jorhat, Feb 9 : A rhino died of its injuries late last night after it was shot and wounded by a group of poachers at Gopaljarani under Gohpur police station in Sonitpur district.

The rhino, which is believed to have strayed out of Kaziranga National Park, had attacked and injured a policeman yesterday.

In another incident, a boy, who was attacked by a rhino on January 14 morning in a village near Kaziranga, died of his injures at the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh early this morning.

Sonitpur (East) divisional forest officer Amrit Das told The Telegraph that the male rhino, which had entered Gopaljarani village with seven gunshot injuries, died late last night.

The forest department removed the horn of the adult rhino.

The DFO said the group of poachers had chased away the animal from Kaziranga on Monday morning and the animal had crossed over the Brahmaputra and entered Bartamuly on the north bank of the river under Gohpur.

He said after getting information on the incident, a joint team of forest and police personnel rushed to the site and prevented the poachers from attacking the rhino and taking away its horn.

Das said the encounter between the poachers and the team lasted for some time after which the poachers fled into thick bushes in the chaporis (sand bars) in the area.

The team conducted a search but could not apprehend the poachers.

The critically injured rhino fled to Gopaljarani village in the afternoon and drew the people’s attention, who came out in large numbers.

A police party along with forest staff reached the village to control the animal, the DFO said.

Mousam Baruah, a personal security officer of the Gohpur sub-divisional police officer, was injured when he was trying to control the crowd and came before the charging rhino.

On January 3 this year, a seven-year-old girl, Kunti Mahali, was injured after being attacked by a rhino that strayed out of the park and entered her residence at Bogorijuri.

On Sunday, a female rhino chased and gored homeguard Nitul Dutta to death in the park.

He, along with two other forest guards from the Mahkhuti camp, was on a routine anti-poaching patrol duty on foot.

On January 14, Salim Ahmed, a ranger of Orang National Park, was seriously injured when he was attacked by a rhino at Islampur, nearly 7km from the park. He was trying to chase the animal away.

Farmers for probe into employment scheme

2011-02-08T02:33:00.001-08:00

Guwahati: All block offices in 126 constituencies of the state may be locked from February 14 as the All Assam Shramik Krishak Kalyan Parishad (AASKKP) has set February 13 deadline for the government to inquire into financial anomalies in various MGNREGA schemes in the state.

"We seek a CBI investigation into the anomalies in MGNREGA as well as in the Chief Minister's Special Scheme for Farmers. The government had allotted Rs 58 crore and 81 lakh for the benefit of more than two lakh farmers, but only half of the money reached the beneficiaries," said Pradip Kalita, general secretary of AASKKP.

Reason to hope?

2011-02-07T22:35:00.001-08:00

The United Liberation Front of Asom’s decision to begin talks with the Union government on February 10 without preconditions is the clearest sign so far of Assam’s sanguinary history of militancy nearing its end. While a full end is still in the domain of hope, Ulfa has appeared to be edging nearer to the democratic mainstream for a while. According to the statement read out to the press by the Ulfa spokesperson, the organisation has come round to “unconditional” talks because it believes that continuing to seek “a military solution” would be “suicidal”, given the current political situation in

Assam. It is significant that Ulfa has dropped the “core” issue of “sovereignty” and its insistence that talks be held in a third country in the presence of a UN observer.

While announcements such as this are hardly ever spontaneous and draw from behind-the-scenes negotiations, the situation in Assam has indeed changed. Ulfa’s decision not only seems to reflect that change but it is also an admission of the game having slipped out of its hands. Ulfa “chairman” Arabinda Rajkhowa’s statement of intent after his release on bail on January 1 had indicated as much, although “commander-in-chief” Paresh Barua still eludes Indian authorities. The inherent difficulties of waging a prolonged armed struggle against the state, involving the murder of civilians, begin to weaken and crack open the mechanisms of terror. The process of securing the peace and mainstreaming the militants begins the minute those cracks appear. That’s what the Indian state has learnt from Punjab to Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir to Nagaland; and that’s how Ulfa has been tamed. The process involves a careful calibration of armed offensives on one hand and political overtures and diplomacy on the other. Thus, over the last few years, most of Ulfa’s top leaders had been caught, either in India or its neighbourhood, and jailed. And now, Ulfa’s general council has agreed to unconditional talks.

But there is an equally important strand in the Ulfa story. It tells us of the possibilities that open up when relations with neighbours are substantively addressed. The Centre may not have been in a position to sit with Ulfa for unconditional talks without Bangladesh’s cooperation in catching, imprisoning and handing over Ulfa leaders. It is important that these gains are not frittered away in an Indian state’s internal politics. The focus of the talks and the government’s priorities should therefore seek to both normalise Assam and further strengthen partnership across the Indo-Bangladesh border.

Maternal death rate still high in Assam

2011-02-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

GUWAHATI: Despite state government efforts to improve maternal health, maternal mortality rate continues to be high in the state as per Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) records.

Last year's record (from GMCH) shows there were 12,971 deliveries and out of this figure, there were 72 maternal deaths. When compared to the all India figure, which is 382 per lakh, it works out to around 550 here.

As per GMCH officials, the major causes of maternal death are septic abortion and eclampsia and this is mainly noticed among referral patients mainly from lower Assam and parts of Meghalaya.

An official said, "Most of the deaths are recorded among referral patients, those who come from outside the state. The patients come at the last moment when the situation is already bad, and most of them die on the way. But, those who are admitted on time, are given proper treatment and care."

Besides that, simple measures such as, regular medical check-ups, proper medication and maintenance of hygiene coupled with nutritious food can go a long way in ensuring maternal health.

Issues like maternal health were discussed at a seminar on the first day of the three-day golden jubilee celebration of the GMC. The seminar was presided over by Dipika Deka, a professor at AIIMS, along with other professors of the gynaecology department of GMC.

On Friday, a special seminar on HIV/ AIDS, organised by the Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS), was held. Junmoni Deka, a medical student, said, "Seminars like this will be very helpful for students as there's so much to learn from such dignitaries."

Gogoi’s multi-crore amnesia ails DSA

2011-02-07T00:20:00.001-08:00

SARAT SARMA

Nagaon, Feb. 7 : Nearly one-and-a-half years have passed since chief minister Tarun Gogoi promised the people of Dima Hasao that he would upgrade the district’s only playground under a multi-crore rupees infrastructure development project.

Gogoi announced a Rs 50-crore package during a ceremony at the Dima Hasao Sports Association playground on October 2, 2009 that included the infrastructure development of the playground. The lack of drainage system and boundary and players’ accommodation leave the district sports association praying to the weather gods even when a district-level tournament is organised.

“We think the chief minister has forgotten the promise. We are waiting from some support either in cash or kind,” said a sports association officebearer.

The association and its playground in Haflong was established in 1952. The only assets of the organisation include an Assam type office building, an indoor stadium built in 2002 and a gallery along one side of the ground.

“Soon after the chief minister’s Haflong visit, we prepared a masterplan of Rs 5 crore. It included construction of a boundary walls and drainage system, a dormitory where at least six teams can be accommodated and a swimming pool. The proposal was placed before the district autonomous council authorities. We do not know when our dreams will see the light of the day,” the officebearer said.

Recently the association’s playground was named NL Daulogupu Sports Complex.

The general secretary of the sports association, Thai-Tsho Daulogupu, said, “Last time we had to postpone the Nindu Langthasa inter-club football tournament because of bad ground condition. Once this was one of the best grounds for national-level tournaments.”

“We hope the state government might listen to our aspirations for a better sports environmen,” Daulogupu said.

No aid for clash-hit pregnant women

2011-02-06T05:24:00.000-08:00

GOALPARA: Their deliveries are imminent and yet there's no food and medicine to nourish them in this critical stage. More than six women are expected to go into labour shortly in the relief camps set up by the administration after clashes between the Rabhas and the Garos rocked the villages of Darakona, Haloapara and Thurikapara in the first week of January. But there's no healthcare for them as also the infants who've been suddenly thrown into a strange harsh world.

The Nibari Primary, M E and High School in Kukurkata area along the Assam-Meghalaya border are brimming over with hundreds of such women, children and men who fled their native places in fear. "More than six women are expecting. Their husbands are concerned about their health," said Amulya Kumar Rabha, assistant in-charge of the Kukurkata camp.

The women are not only being deprived of medical care but also nutritious meals. "We are just being fed rice, pulses and cauliflower," said Pandu Rabha. He said essential medicines like iron and folic acid tablets are not available at the camps. There's no special meal for pregnant women and children.

Dhiren Rabha said they are given food twice a day and both meals comprise the staple rice, pulses and cauliflower. "How can expecting women and children get nourishment?"

A doctor visits the camp occasionally. "There's no one coming regularly to check the pregnant women," complained Amulya Kumar Rabha, another camp resident, adding that women are being forced to sleep on beds of hay, including those who have babies to take care of.

Mukut Rabha, a 60-year-old, was yet accept the reality that he had lost everything in the violence that erupted on that night of horror. "My house was burned down. I cannot go back to my home. And look where I am staying now."

At least nine people were killed and around 50,000 people displaced in the ethnic violence that began on January 1. Altogether 103 people were arrested and 25 cases of attempted arson and rioting registered in Meghalaya, where 26 villages have been affected and about 1500 houses burnt during the clashes. The Assam and Meghalaya governments carried out continuous joint patrolling in the ethnic violence-hit areas along their borders in a bid to restore peace after the clashes. Recently, authorities concerned have been trying to ensure that no displaced students miss their Class X and XII board exams due to the violence.

Poor leadership bane of Assam Muslims

2011-01-17T21:39:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI, Jan 18 – Some serious challenges confront members of the Muslim community in Assam, and there is a need for government as well as non-government interventions to address those. Areas which require a strategic approach range from education to politics.

This was an observation common to several speakers who took part in a symposium 'Muslims in Assam: Challenges and Opportunities', organised by the Centre for Development and Peace Studies, Guwahati.

Badruddin Ajmal, MP and president of AIUDF, identified a number of factors contributing to the present condition of Muslims in Assam. "Education is one of the most crucial challenges facing the community, and lack of it has closed the avenues of development for many people," he noted. He highlighted the poor education opportunities to people who lived in remote areas such as chars and chaporis.

Absence of strong Muslim political leaders, in his view, was another factor that had left the Muslims in a disadvantageous state. Barring a few, most political leaders have proved to be ineffective in addressing the need of the already deprived community, he observed.

The MP from Dhubri mentioned that the community in Assam continued to feel insecure as they have been targets of violence. Referring to the 1983 massacre in Nellie, he said that more than twenty years after it had happened, there still was no proper enquiry on the incident that led to the deaths of many Bengali speaking Muslims.

Discriminatory attitude to Muslims was identified as a hurdle in achieving a just and equitable society, and this was demonstrated even in the way the State Government functioned. Ajmal cited several instances in which the State Government failed to provide employment to Muslim youths in recruitment drives of recent years.

Regretting that directives from the Union Government were being ignored by the Assam Government, the AIUDF president stated that even after funds were sanctioned by the Union Government those were not utilised for the welfare of the minority communities.

In his address, Dr Monirul Hussain of Gauhati University's Sociology and Political Science Department emphasized that Muslims in Assam as in rest of India did not constitute a single homogenous group. He could recognise at least four major groups of the community in Assam who had distinctive cultural and linguistic traits.

Among those were Assamese Muslims, Na Asamiya, Urdu and Hindi speaking Muslims, and those in Barak Valley. Many of them have felt the effects of political developments, including those who were taken in preventive custody during the 1965 war with Pakistan.

He said that a section of Muslims in Assam, including the immigrant Muslims, felt the pressure when it came to issues such as citizenship. The situation is made more complicated by the fact that there was no credible data to substantiate the real size of the migrant population in Assam.

The senior academic pointed out that the Muslim community was in difficult situation because of existing political dynamics of the State. While a section of them was put under pressure by certain quarters, another political group tried to take advantage by promising them political support and patronage.

Having better educational opportunities was one way for the Muslim community to get empowered and its effects in time will be felt in many others spheres, he noted. Formation of a larger middle class through education and economic growth would even reflect in areas such as family planning in the near future, he added.

In another session, the participants deliberated on Madrassa education in Assam and the need for a new curriculum. They agreed that there were several drawbacks in the existing system, and those need to be attended if students have to benefit from their education.

The concluding session of the two-day symposium saw a discussion on Islam and modernity, with special reference to Assam.

Drug dose for Assam birds, buffaloes to stay fighting fit

2011-01-17T00:01:00.001-08:00

Rahul Karmakar

Mid-January ‘Magh’ or ‘Bhogali Bihu’ is Assam’s festival of feasting, but for birds and buffaloes that play a man-made role during the event, the only food is a mixture of intoxicants dominated by marijuana. The festival is also the setting for bloody fights involving bulbuls and buffaloes and the
combatants are drugged prior to the contest “to bring out the fighters within”. It was no different this year.

The Assam forest department ritually warns of action against those capturing bulbuls for ‘festive’ fights during Magh Bihu. Animal rights activists too lodge complaints at police stations to prevent the fights.

However, on Saturday, nearly 400 bulbuls, about 20 cm-long songbirds, fought and people made money off them.

The fights were held on a makeshift platform in the Hayagrib-Madhav temple complex at Hajo, 35 km west of Guwahati. The birds were kept on a leash tied to a cloth belt around their torsos. Handlers goaded each bird with a banana to fight the other.

Animal rights activist Sangeeta Goswami said, “It’s a pity the forest minister (Rockybul Hussain) did nothing despite our memorandum on January 12 seeking a ban on the fight under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.”

Chief wildlife warden Suresh Chand said, “Catching these birds is illegal, and we asked fight organisers to avoid this tradition.” However, locals said no one had the right to meddle with tradition.

Goswami argued, “Should tradition be an excuse for trapping birds with fine, almost invisible nets and feeding them 108 kinds of intoxicants to make them fight to the finish?”

Activists had also moved the authorities to prevent buffalo fights at Ahatguri, 85 km east of Guwahati. However, the fights were conducted on Sunday.

Assam PWD minister has more assets than CM Gogoi

2011-01-15T21:46:00.001-08:00

Guwahati, Jan 15 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister TarunGogoi has less assets than his Cabinet colleague Ajanta Neog,going by the details of their property put up on the officialwebsite.

The assets of Gogoi and some of his ministerialcolleagues were put up in the government''s portal today.

Gogoi has declared the value of his property to beRs 54 lakh which include two residential plots and a buildinghere and a flat in New Delhi.

According to the website, the chief minister has atotal liability of more than Rs 18 lakh.

PWD minister Ajanta Neog has property of Rs 66 lakh,while Social Welfare Minister Akon Bora has assets worth Rs19 lakh.

While the income statements were uploaded in theofficial website, there was no clear picture of the totalincome and expenditures of many of the ministers.

When contacted, a government spokesman said thewebsite will be updated soon and only then a clear picturewill emerge.

Other ministers have not disclosed their assets, whilesome of them have shown item-wise fractional display ofproperties and liabilities.

The assets of prominent ministers like CulturalAffairs Minister Bharat Chandra Narah, Transport MinisterChandan Brahma and Education Minister Gautam Bora and Labourand Employment Minister Prithvi Majhi were not available inthe website.

Cry for CBI probe into clashes

2011-01-15T21:38:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI: The Assam Sanmilita Mahasabha and Nikhil Rabha Jatiya Parishad have jointly demanded a CBI investigation in the recent Garo-Rabha clash along Assam-Meghalaya border.

They have also demanded deployment of central security forces in the ethnic violence-hit area.

Nikhil Rabha Jatiya Parishad general secretary Banikanta Rabha told re-porters on Friday, "It has been 14 days since the clash broke out, but still the governments of both Assam and Meghalaya haven't taken any concrete steps for the clash victims; no security measures have been taken also."

He added: "Altogether 41 villages in both Assam and Meghalaya have been looted and set on fire. Almost 20,000 villagers have been ren-dered homeless and are currently staying at relief camps."

He also mentioned that on January 7, they had sent a memorandum to governors of both the states, stating demands, including each clash victim should be given a compensation of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 3 lakh to those who was gravely injured. "Till now, nothing has been done," he added. "We don't know why the government is indifferent towards this problem as the situation is really grave and people are still in a state of shock," he said.

Majiur Rehman, the working president of Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha, said: "The government cannot do away with such an attitude. So we have demanded that the governments of both states should furnish a proper data of the number of people who have lost their lives in the clash and those who have lost their homes and property before the public."

He added that the police, too, are showing complete indifference, neglecting their duty to ensure law and order.

"Police are playing mute spectators in the entire issue, stating that they don't have the authority to take an action, as it belongs to another state. The Meghalaya police, too, aren't bothered at all," Rehman added. Both the organisations have called for a protest against the government at the Dispur Last Gate on January 15.

Big boost for Assam cement

2011-01-13T21:57:00.001-08:00

Guwahati, Jan. 14 : The cement sector in Assam today got a Rs 450-crore investment with Birla Corporation Limited signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Assam Mineral Development Corporation for setting up a 1 million tonne cement plant.

The plant — to be located in the Umrangsu area of North Cachar Hills — will be commissioned in 27 months. It will produce 3,200 metric tonnes of cement or about 64,000 bags per day.

“These are signal investments from outside which show that Assam is a safe place and can also absorb the investment,” principal secretary, mines and minerals department, Ravi Capoor, said today at the MoU signing ceremony.

The MoU was signed by B.R. Nahar, chief executive officer of Birla Corporation, and J.P. Baruah, managing director, Assam Mineral Development Corporation, in the presence of Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

Capoor said the company was selected through an open bidding system by advertising the matter in various media. Twenty-three companies had submitted their offers and Birla Corporation was selected. In the first phase, Jaiprakash Associates Limited was selected and in the second phase, Birla Corporation was selected.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi said the day is a milestone in industrialisation of Assam. “This gives a positive signal to the investors and the misconceptions on security problems have been cleared,” Gogoi said.

Chairman of Birla Corporation Limited H.V. Lodha said Assam has the capability to compete and was a good option for investment. “This will give confidence to others in investing in Assam,” he said.

Lodha said the region offers a huge potential for cement players and the present capacity of the plant would be increased.

The corporation has offered 12.5 per cent free equity to Assam Mineral Development Corporation and also a facilitation fee of Rs 100 per tonne of limestone extracted.

The mining lease will remain with the AMDC and will not be transferred to Birla Corporation Limited, which will have to acquire land on its own.

The company today deposited one per cent of the equity base as earnest money, which is Rs 1.5 crore. The earnest money shall stand forfeited and MoU will be cancelled if the project is not commissioned within the time specified and will be liable for cancellation if the project remains non-functional for a period of 24 months after commissioning.

During the functioning of the project the interests of the AMDC as well as the state government will be protected by two directors nominated to the board of directors of the joint venture promoted company by the AMDC.

An AMDC official said once the project was implemented and the flow of revenue starts, the corporation would be use it for increasing its activities for locating mineral deposits and their utilisation.

BJP will come to power in Assam: Gadkari

2011-01-09T23:55:00.000-08:00

Guwahati, Jan 10 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Saturday said the party would be able to form the next government in Assam by ousting the Congress from power in the upcoming assembly elections due in the next couple of months.

'The BJP is confident of forming a government in Assam as the people have been fed up with rampant corruption and scams in the state,' Gadkari told journalists on the sidelines of the party's two-day national executive meeting.

The BJP leader lashed out at the Congress party both at the centre and in Assam for 'unleashing a reign of corruption' and 'nepotism'.

'I am sure the national executive would inspire the people of Assam to seek a change and vote for the BJP,' Gadkari said.

He also cited a Vision Document for the Northeast, an agenda to boost development and bring about a social change in the region by way of good governance and strategies.

'There is a need for a change in Assam and the northeast as a whole where the Congress party has been ruling for years on. We promise to provide good governance and corruption free rule if given a chance,' the BJP president said.

UPDS rules out poll politics

2011-01-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

Guwahati, Jan. 8 : The United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) has ruled out any possibility of the outfit entering electoral politics after signing the proposed peace accord.

Talking to The Telegraph, UPDS general secretary Saiding-Eh alias Horensing Bey dismissed speculation that the group was planning to float a political party after the outfit is disbanded in the wake of signing the accord.

“The main demand of the UPDS is creation of a separate state for the Karbis, which is yet to be achieved. For the time being, we have agreed to greater autonomy for Karbi Anglong for the sake of restoring peace in the trouble-torn district, showing respect to the wishes of the people,” he said.

“However, we will continue with our statehood demand in a peaceful and democratic manner and till we achieve our goal, there is no question of the UPDS entering electoral politics,” Saiding-Eh said.

However, he said they might support any candidate in the elections who is sympathetic to their cause so as to keep up the pressure on the government for early implementation of the accord.

The UPDS chairman also thanked the Peoples’ Alliance for Peace Agreement — a platform of 56 organisations, including political parties, students, women and cultural formations — for supporting its peace endeavour.

Saiding-Eh said they have made it clear to the government that whenever a State Reorganisation Commission or any other commission is constituted by the Centre to examine the statehood demands, their demand for statehood must be included in it.

The proposed peace accord will provide more autonomy to Karbi Anglong by replacing the present Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council with a new territorial entity, to be known as Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territory, under the amended provisions of the Sixth Schedule.

The UPDS general secretary said the accord was expected to be signed this month, paving the way for the outfit to lay down arms and return to the mainstream to usher in peace in the hill district.

“The settlement formula for the peace accord was freezed at a tripartite meeting between representatives of the UPDS, the Centre and the Assam government at New Delhi on December 23. The accord will be signed soon after the draft agreement is approved by the cabinet committee on security,” he said.

According to the agreement, the proposed Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territory will have executive and legislative powers and 64 subjects in the state list will be transferred to the territorial council. The autonomous territory shall have three revenue and administrative districts — East Karbi Anglong, Central Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong with headquarters at Koilamati, Singhason and Hamren respectively. It will have 50 seats, five to be filled through nominations.

The UPDS was formed in 1999 in a merger of the erstwhile Karbi People’s Front and Karbi National Volunteers formed in 1994. The outfit entered into a ceasefire agreement in 2002 and holding negotiations with the government since then.

Red sander seized in Assam

2011-01-06T23:37:00.001-08:00

Guwahati, Jan. 7 : A truckload of red sander logs, which was illegally smuggled to the state, was seized by sleuths of the Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences, from Patgaon in Kokrajhar district last night.

The logs were concealed under sacks containing rice and soyabean.

The sleuths seized the truck (bearing registration number HR-55/C 0759) and arrested its driver Sarabjit Singh, hailing from Bihar’s Ara district.

The challan produced by the driver showed that the truck was carrying rice from Bardhaman district in West Bengal to Agartala in Tripura.

The superintendent of police (BIEO), S.A. Karim, said, the team seized the consignment with the help of local police. “The operation was carried out based on a tip-off. The BIEO team was lead by deputy superintendents of police (BIEO), U. Chetri and A. Ahmed. The owner of the truck is Randhir Singh of Gurgaon. We will try to track him down to ascertain the origin and destination of this consignment,” he added.

Though the logs are not yet weighed, the SP said the approximate weight of the seizure will be seven to eight tonnes and its value in the international market will be about Rs 5 crore.

Red sander is grown in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Another police official said the consignment was probably brought from south India and was supposed to be smuggled out of the country.

“We have information about the smuggling of red sander to Myanmar through northeastern states as the wood has great demand in the Southeast Asian countries,” he said.

Red sander, also known as red sandalwood, has a huge demand in China and Japan as it is used for making musical instruments, furniture, traditional medicine and toys.

It is also believed that because of the presence of radioactive elements like thorium and uranium, red sanders might be used as a coolant in nuclear reactors.

This could be one of the reasons for the Southeast Asian nations becoming a preferred destination for the logs.

18,000 displaced by Garo-Rabha clashes

2011-01-06T23:34:00.001-08:00

SHILLONG/TURA, Jan 7 – Over 18,000 Garo and Rabha tribals have been displaced from their homes in Assam and Meghalaya due to ethnic clashes between the two communities. The figure could further increase, official sources said.

The situation continues to remain tense with the death toll from the ongoing violence rising to seven by Thursday.

One of the six injured Rabha labourers who were attacked at Gokulgre village, near Bajengdoba, on Wednesday afternoon succumbed to his injuries at Tura civil hospital today. Biswajit Rabha, aged 32, hailed from Norgatatipara village under Krishnai police outpost. Three of his associates had died at Gokulgre itself during the mob attack.

Across the border in Assam, authorities retrieved the body of 55 year old Mintong Momin from Salpara early this morning. He reportedly died from a police firing that took place in the area after mobs tried to torch Rabha houses in that part of the state. The deceased hailed from Chotcholja village of Kharkutta police outpost.

A relief team has been rushed from the State capital here to assist rehabilitation of victims. The situation in East Garo Hills in Meghalaya and Goalpara district in Assam is far from normal.

“We have set up six relief and rehabilitation camps in Kharkutta, Mendhipathar, Dainadubi and Dilma in East Garo Hills district. There are over 3,000 victims in the camps from both communities,” Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi said over phone from Resubelpara in Garo Hills.

The district administration is taking all steps to provide blankets, clean and safe drinking water, food and medical assistance to the displaced victims.

“We are doing our best to ensure that no lives are lost. The medical team has been moving around in these camps to prevent outbreak of any disease,” Bakshi added.

In Goalpara district, the number is much higher. PK Goswami, the Deputy Commissioner of Goalpara district said, by evening today 15,400 victims were lodged in 12 relief camps of the district. The victims are from both communities.

“We are providing all help to the victims. Security is a big concern now. Once that issue is addressed we would seriously look into rehabilitating the victims,” Goswami said over phone.

Both the Deputy Commissioners have had telephonic conversations this morning and are coordinating to bring the situation under control. They said that although the situation in their respective districts, is under control the overall law-and-order situation is far from satisfactory.

“No freash violence were reported today in the district,” Bakhsi and Goswami said about the law-and-order situation in their respective districts. The ethnic clash has claimed the lives of four people in Garo Hills yesterday. Several others were injured.

Meanwhile, the Meghalaya Peoples’ Human Rights Council (MPHRC) today demanded that both governments (Assam and Meghalaya) must take immediate steps to avoid further loses of lives.

It further urged that all incidents of human rights abuses in the context of the violence be thoroughly investigated and that the perpetrator(s) of the crime are promptly brought to justice.

Sangma briefs Chidambaram

Shillong, Jan 6: Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today briefed Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on the situation in ethnic-violence hit Assam-Meghalaya border areas and urged Defence Minister A K Antony to deploy army in the disturbed areas.

AASU effort to defuse tension

2011-01-06T23:33:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI, Jan 7 – Assam Government should take immediate steps to ensure safety and security to the life and property of the Rabha people living in Meghalaya, said the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) in a press statement here this evening. The students’ body has demanded a meeting of the Chief Ministers of both Assam and Meghalaya on the present developments that rendered thousands of families homeless, besides killing several people, in East Garo Hills district.

Meanwhile, the students’ body has been in touch with the Garo Students’ Union and All Rabha Students’ Union leaders to bring back normalcy to the troubled areas. The students’ body has also made an appeal to the people of both the Garo and Rabha communities to maintain peace and amity.

In the statement jointly issued by AASU president Sankar Prasad Roy and its general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi alleged that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has totally failed to persuade the Meghalaya Government to take adequate measures for the protection of life and property of the Rabhas living in the neighbouring state.

The AASU and its Goalpara district unit have been taking stock of the situation in Goalpara district and its neighbouring Meghalaya areas. They have also been distributing relief materials among the victims of the ethnic clash.

Common people of both the Rabha and Garo communities living in Assam-Meghalaya border areas in Goalpara and East Garo Hills districts respectively of Assam and Meghalaya, who are now divided in two rival camps due to the misdeeds of some miscreants, are haunted by the fear of being attacked any moment by the people of the rival groups. People of both the ethnic groups have been complaining that the security measures adopted by the local administrations in both Assam and Meghalaya are not adequate to ensure their security.

However, at local levels, initiatives have been taken up by the people of both the ethnic groups to provide shelter and relief to those affected during the violent incidents that rocked these parts of the two states.

KMSS rally over NC Hills scam on Jan 10

2010-12-28T23:10:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI, Dec 29 – Peasant organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) today announced that it would hold a massive rally at Dispur Last Gate on January 10 next in support of its demands in connection with the multi-crore-rupee scam in the NC Hills Autonomous Council.

The peasant organisation has been demanding resignation of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for the alleged involvement of his Government in the NC Hills (Dima Hasao) District Autonomous Council scam. It has also been demanding the arrest of former Governor Ajai Singh and Ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma, Khorsing Ingty, Gautam Roy and Rokybul Hussain for their alleged involvement in the scam.

The KMSS said in a press release here that through its proposed January 10 rally, it would be making an attempt at issuing a warning to the Union Government and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to punish the guilty. It would also ask the AICC general secretary in-charge of Assam Digvijay Singh not to shield any of the guilty persons, said the peasant organisation.

Noted RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and convenor of the National Alliance of People’s Movement Dr Sandip Pandey are also expected to participate in the rally, the KMSS said.

The peasant organisation alleged that Chief Minister Gogoi has been misleading the people with his wrong assertions on the NC Hills Council scam. The Chief Minister is making assertions contrary to the findings of the Government agencies, which reveal the involvement of his Government in the scam, said the peasant organisation.

Why this tiger's death has Assam worried

2010-12-28T23:05:00.000-08:00

Guwahati: More evidence of why we need to come together to save the tiger.

Disturbing photographs show a five-year-old female Royal Bengal Tiger who was found dead near the Panchnoi river bordering the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park in Assam.

The tigress had not been injured. She was discovered less than a kilometer from the Park's boundary.

The entire area was searched for clues to her death, but so far, there has been no breakthrough in the investigation.

The post-mortem report states that she may have been poisoned, but further tests will be conducted.

A high-alert has been sounded in the entire National Park, believed to house 14 tigers.

In order to stop villagers nearby from killing tigers to protect their cattle, Orang National Park Management had introduced a spot-compensation for each cattle lost to a tiger. That policy seemed to be helping. But this latest incident has forest officials worried about whether villagers are really prepared to cooperate in new schemes to save the tiger.

Writer takes up cudgels on behalf of Assamese-Chinese

2010-12-27T22:50:00.000-08:00

Durba Ghosh
Guwahati, Dec 28 (PTI) Eminent Sahitya Akademi winning Assamese writer Rita Chowdhury''s untiring effort to give voice to the Assamese Chinese community, who formed the backbone of the tea industry here, has found expression in her latest work of fiction ''Makam''.
Makam, or The Golden Horse, which became the best-selling book of the year in Assam, portrays the pain, suffering and alienation of a community who were brought by the British to work as labourers in the then fledgling tea industry.
The community by the sheer dint of their hard work and capacity to assimilate with the local community went on to carve a niche for themselves in the most prominent industry as well as in other spheres in the state.
"The book is very close to my heart and I am very possessive about it. I am overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to my book by not only readers here, but also those in other parts of the country and abroad," Chowdhury said.
She said she was not content with the fact that the book had been received so well by the people. "I want justice for the members of this community who have suffered immensely in the land of their birth. Above all, we want the ignominy of them being branded a spy be wiped out permanently," she said.
The world of Assamese Chinese went topsy turvy in November, 1962 on the eve of the signing of the Indo-Chinese treaty after the hostilities when 1,500 of them were picked up from Upper Assam town of Makum and taken to a detention camp in Deoli, Rajasthan, Chowdhury pointed out.
The story of the Assamese Chinese is a tragic tale of how in one day they were rounded up and told that they are being taken temporarily to a place for their own safety as the war was on, put into jail, stripped of all their wealth and belongings.

Tigress ‘poisoned' to death in Assam National Park

2010-12-27T22:48:00.001-08:00

Carcass detected by staff in a dense patch of vegetation

A Royal Bengal tigress of the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, about 150 km from here, is suspected to have been poisoned to death by miscreants.

Mangaldai Wildlife Divisional Forest Officer Sushil Kr. Daila told The Hindu on Monday that the five-year-old tigress was found dead near the Panchnoi river under Camp No.2 of the Park around 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The carcass was detected by the camp staff in a dense patch of tora vegetation while patrolling on foot. It bore no injury marks and nothing unusual was noticed at the spot, less than a kilometre from the Park boundary.

Area searched

The entire area was searched using elephants and on foot but nothing was found, he added.

The carcass was brought to the Range headquarters and the post-mortem and disposal was carried out in accordance with the protocol.

The post-mortem report cited suspected poisoning as the cause of death but has recommended forensic examination for confirmation.

Samples of vital organs have been collected and will be sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory in Guwahati on Tuesday.

Alert sounded

“A high alert has been sounded in the entire National Park following the death,” Mr. Daila said.

The post-mortem team comprises Mr. Daila, Range Officer Salim Ahmed, representative of the National Tiger Conservation Authority Firoz Ahmed, representative of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau Kishore Sarma, government veterinary surgeon Govinda Kalita and local NGO Otters.

Buffalo calf

Around 4 a.m. on Monday, the Park staff arrested a person from Nichlamari village for keeping captive in his house a wild buffalo calf born a couple of days ago just outside the Park boundary.

Jawans arrested in arms loot case

2010-12-22T20:42:00.001-08:00

Nagaon, Dec. 23 : Seven jawans of 9 Assam Police Battalion (APBn) were arrested in connection with the arms lifting case from Bokajan police station barracks on Monday.

They were produced in Diphu court this morning and remanded in judicial custody.

Karbi Anglong police said investigations had begun yesterday under the supervision of superintendent of police Anurag Agarwal.

The police, however, are still clueless about the missing arms.

“We suspect the involvement of criminals and militants in the case. However, the battalion members may have helped bring arms from the barracks. It is very unfortunate and shameful to say that they are not above suspicion,” said a high-level source in Karbi Anglong police.

The 9 APBn commandant, Mihir Goswami, rushed to Bokajan yesterday from the battalion headquarters in Borhampur after the incident came to light.

“The incident is under investigation by the district police. We hope their investigation will reveal the true picture,” Goswami said.

“We have 16 personnel in our battalion, of whom one died on Sunday. The remaining 15 comprise one sub inspector, two lance naiks, two havildars and 10 constables. Of them, two were on leave, one had gone to Silchar with the body of the dead jawan, one had gone to the headquarters, three were on patrol duty and one was in the police station. The remaining seven were sleeping inside the barracks. Today, all seven were arrested on suspicion of their involvement in the arms lifting case,” Goswami said.

All the 15 jawans were deployed in Bokajan 10 days back from their battalion headquarters.

Arms and ammunition lifted from the police station included one SLR with seven magazines and 100 rounds of ammunition, two rifles with two magazines and 140 rounds of ammunition, a bayonet and two mobile handsets.

The arms were lifted from the battalion barracks at night when the arrested jawans were apparently sleeping. The incident came to light when jawans on duty returned to the barracks the next morning.

This is the first such incident of arms lifting from a police station campus in Karbi Anglong district.

Same conditions being applied for all: Gogoi

2010-12-22T20:39:00.002-08:00

GUWAHATI, Dec 23 – Asserting that insurgency was on the wane in Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said that the State Government was applying the same conditions for talks with the ultra outfits desirous of having a dialogue.

“There is no discrimination on the conditions for talks for different militant outfits. The same conditions apply for all," Gogoi said at a press conference.

Expressing confidence that the anti-talk faction of the NDFB would join the peace process, Gogoi said that indications were there that its chief Ranjan Daimary, too, would join the peace process for a negotiated settlement of its grievances.

“We have indications that Daimary would also join the peace dialogue. The Bodo National Conference is also trying to get the anti-talk faction involved in the peace process,” Gogoi said.

Claiming that insurgency had taken a backseat following “sincere peace efforts” by the Government, the Chief Minister said that it used to be the State’s number one problem, but it’s no longer so.

“We have been able to bring the level of insurgency down through since we assumed power. This reflects our sincerity in addressing the vexed issue," he said.

Gogoi said that on the economic front too, the State made substantial improvements more so when compared to the situation during the AGP’s regime. “Our tax collection now stands at Rs 23,623 crore in nine years as compared to AGP's Rs 4,213 crore,” he said.

Terming infrastructure development as a major objective, Gogoi said that the Government had laid special stress on improving rural connectivity. "Today a hundred new buses have been introduced meant for rural areas across the State, and we intend to increase the number," he said, adding that another 250 buses were also introduced under the JNURM for the city.

Rising silk yarn prices hit weaving industry

2010-12-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

SUALKUCHI, Dec 23 – The continuous rise in the prices of essential raw materials of pat and tasar fabrics has been posing a serious threat to the livelihood of the weavers of Sualkuchi since the month of August. They have expressed dismay at the alleged inaction and indifference of the authorities concerned to take steps to check the price hike of these items. The rise in prices of the raw materials has led to rise in the prices of finished products which are not finding many purchasers. So the weavers and master weavers are feeling the pinch of hike in prices of raw materials and are resorting to distress sale of their products. At this critical juncture, the preservers of the cultural heritage of Assam are fearful of losing ground in the absence of their handlooms. Finding no way out, the people of the silk village meet frequently to discuss among themselves to find a solution to the problem which threatens to jeopardise their livelihood.

In response to a call for a public meeting given by the Sualkuchi Tant Shilpa Santha, the only weavers’ association formed in 1972 and affilated to CITU, the people irrespective of political affiliations gathered at the Gandhi Maidan recently and voiced their fears about the security of their lives. Addressing the meeting chaired by Kanak Kalita, former CITU leader and the adviser of Sualkuchi Tant Silpi Santha, Tapan Sarmah, secretary, CITU, Kamrup district committee, criticised the Government’s alleged apathy in checking price hike of the raw materials of silk products and said that CITU has always stood for safeguarding the local industries. He said that Sualkuchi is the pride of Assam as it has preserved the handloom industry which has generated employment opportunities to the residents of the area as well as the people from different places for their livelihood.

He reiterated that the price hike of the silk yarns is due to the direct effect of the globalisation and liberalisation policies of the Government and the people of the village should join hands in the anti-economic policy movement being launched by the Centre of Trade Unions of India. In this connection, Sarma called upon the people to take part in the proposed rally of the CITU, Assam at Guwahati on January 4. The trade union leader also stressed the need of presenting a white paper on the problems of the handloom sector and the remedial measures to be taken for resolution of the problem to the parliamentary standing committee. For this purpose, Sarma called upon the people to prepare a white paper for safeguarding the silk industry.

Addressing the meeting, Tirtha Nath Kakoti, president of the Santha, narrated the woes of the weavers and the master weavers of the village. He said that price hike and the distress sale of the products have created dangers for handloom owners. On an average, 10 weavers are losing their jobs every day and consequently these loomless weavers are losing their means of livelihoods. If such a situation is allowed to continue, starvation among the weavers will emerge in the village.

In his address, Phanidhar Das, assistant editor, Asomiya Pratidin and a resident of Bansar, demanded that the issue of providing protection to the silk industry of Sualkuchi should be discussed in a special session of the Assam Assembly. Dulu Chaudhury, an Asom Gana Parishad worker, put emphasis on setting up an auction market for selling and purchasing silk yarns at Sualkuchi while Dr Atul Das stressed the need of a united move to compel the Government to take early action to save the industry from any further deterioration. Ganesh Kalita, former president, Paschim Sualkuchi Gaon Panchayat and Bhrigu Ram Das, secretary of the Santha, demanded of the Government to provide immediate relief to the weavers of the village.

After a threadbare discussion, the meeting resolved to demand yarns at cheap rates for the weavers and master weavers through government agencies. The meeting also decided to give memorandums to the Central and State governments to curb the price hike of the silk yarns and establish an auction market at Sualkuchi. The meeting resolved to launch an agitational programme if the Government fails to address the problems.

Assamese film maker set to enter record book

2010-12-18T05:16:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI, Dec 17 – A young, unheralded filmmaker from the State has come up with an extraordinary effort that could propel him into the hallowed pages of the Guinness Book of World Records.

The filmmaker, Ashok Sarma’s accomplishment lies in directing what he claims to be the world’s longest one-take feature film.

The 93-minute film – That Night – In Quest of His Beloved – is longer than the current record holding Uruguayan movie The Silent House by Gustavo Hernandez which has a duration of 79 minutes.

That Night – In Quest of His Beloved narrates the experience of a person who, after the mysterious disappearance of his beloved, sets about investigating the incident. The theme is woven around a murder mystery, with a haunted bungalow and roaming spirits accentuating the weird effect.

“I was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope, and had been planning to do a long single-take movie – quite a challenging task as the filmmaker has to express the story without dialogue and with no cut between the shots — since 2008. After completing the script, I sat with actor Pradeep Nisith discussing all the nitty-gritty. I had to plan meticulously on every aspect of the shooting since there could be no retake,” Sarma said.

The direction, concept, story, screenplay, art direction, and direction of photography have all been done by Sarma himself. “I selected Pradeep Nisith because he has vast experience in the field of drama acting. He is a sensitive artiste and very intelligent,” Sarma said.

The actor, too, has found the experience to be different. “It has been a great experience and I consider myself to be lucky to be associated with this movie. I discussed with the director several times the nuances of characterization, movement, emotion, etc., and was soon at ease with my role,” Nisith said.

Sarma, a resident of Guwahati and a businessman by profession, is also a short-story and script writer. An electrical engineer by qualification, he has an uncanny knack for doing things unusual – the remarkable ability to draw four different pictures with both hands and feet at the same time being one of those gifted attributes.

The young filmmaker intends to screen the film in January next year. He has also approached the Guinness authorities for getting his feat recognized in the coveted record book.

Another noteworthy feature of the film is that several children played a key role in the making of the movie. While Gitarth P Sarma (11) and Raj Narayan Medhi (12) are the chief assistant director and the assistant director respectively, nine-year-old Sunayana Devi is the make-up assistant.

A host of acclaimed filmmakers such as Scorsese, Kubrick, PT Anderson, De Palma, Altman, Welles, Cuaron and Hitchcock had experimented with the genre of single-take films. The advent of digital filmmaking made it possible to shoot a feature film without a single cut, i.e., in one take. Earlier, visual moves were used as a transition between shots as was done by Hitchcock in Rope.

Centre sanctions 470 Cr rupees for road projects in Assam

2010-12-14T20:12:00.001-08:00

New Delhi, Dec 15 : In Assam, the Centre has sanctioned over 470 crore rupees for implementation of several road projects in the State.

This has been informed by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Mr. Kamal Nath in a letter written to the State Chief Minister Mr.Tarun Gogoi.

The major road projects to be taken up included double laning of connecting roads between Lumding-Diphu-Manja, Haflong-Jatinga, Baska-Bamara, Morigaon-Jagiroad, Kokrajhar-Karigaon and Uldalguri-Rowta.

The State Public Works Department will be executing agency for the new road projects.

Expert group for discussing seismic issues on Subansiri dam

2010-12-13T23:16:00.001-08:00

‘Detailed geological map of the site needed for a fruitful discussion'

Guwahati: The Expert Group that went into the downstream impact of the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydro Electric Project being constructed by the NHPC at Gerukamukh on Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border has written to the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on Hydropower and River Valley Projects that the proposed discussion on seismological issues relating to the river dam should be held at the project site to facilitate any necessary explanation or field verification of the reality at the site itself.

Members of the Expert Group told journalists here on Monday that the EAC meeting held in Delhi on December 11 decided that a meeting of smaller group of experts would be held on January 7 in Delhi to discuss the seismological aspects of the Subansiri Lower HEP project. Members of the Expert Group also attended and deliberated in the EAC meeting.

The Expert Group in a letter to Dr. R. Nath, Chairman, Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on Hydropower and River Valley Projects, on Sunday also insisted that the proposed discussion on seismic issues should include all members of the expert group to avoid any ambiguity regarding collectiveness of any decision that comes through.

The Expert Group also stated in their letter that before holding any more discussion the detailed geological map of the site and area of influence, micro-seismic data and results of two-dimensional seismic survey and paleo-seismic study were needed to be furnished by the NHPC as without these documents a meaningful and fruitful discussion is unlikely. The Expert Group claimed that while all technical arguments of the group were by and large supported by a range of documents, those arguments made by others including those by the NHPC were mostly not supported by documents.

The Expert Group reiterated its stand that various seismic parameters considered by the NHPC for designing the dam were not correct and they needed to be corrected and accordingly the dam structure be redesigned to ensure safety and stability.

Blow to NDFB, deputy chief nabbed

2010-12-12T23:35:00.000-08:00

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

The anti-talk faction of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) has suffered a major blow with security forces arresting its deputy commander-in-chief B Jwangkhang alias George Boro in Mizoram.

Jwangkhang, the main accused in the October 2008 serial blasts in Assam that had left nearly 100 people dead, had last month stated that the outfit would kill 20 “Indians” for each of its cadre killed by security forces. The outfit did go on to kill 22 people, most of them Hindi-speaking settlers, in a series of attacks on November 8 after one of its cadres was killed.

The CBI, which had earlier chargesheeted Jwangkhang for the serial blasts, had also announced a cash reward for information leading to his arrest.

Sources said Jwangkhang was recently in Bangladesh and had sneaked into India and reached Aizawl. Security forces, who were tracking him, zeroed in on him after he checked into a hotel in the Mizoram capital. He will be handed over to the Assam Police in a couple of days.

Assam eyes baseball at grassroots

2010-12-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

The Assam senior girls baseball team at Cuttack. File picture

Guwahati, Dec. 9: The Assam Baseball Association is eyeing the grassroots to promote baseball — considered by some as the American version of cricket — in the state.

“We have introduced the game, which is similar to cricket, in two city schools — Delhi Public School and National Public School — to start with. We plan to promote the sport in two other schools here — Sarla Birla Gyanjyoti and Hindustani Kendriya Vidyalaya — as well,” Ashma Begum, the secretary of the association, told The Telegraph.

“We will be holding a training camp in the oil township of Duliajan in February, for which we have had discussions with Oil India Ltd. Physical instructors of schools from across the state will be trained by coaches from the across the country at the camp. This will help spread the game at the grassroots level,” she said.

The association is optimistic about the state excelling at the national level, even as the junior boys’ and girls’ teams returned to the city from Calcutta on Tuesday without a win in their kitty. Thirty-two players, 16 each in the boys and girls’ squads respectively, took part in an under-17 national meet in the Bengal capital from December 1 to 5.

Apart from the walkover against Orissa, the boys lost their matches against Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand while the girls lost to Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The state association, formed in November last year, however, is hopeful that the younger generation would take up the game in the right earnest.

“In about a year’s time, the state has taken part in four national meets and already made a mark in two of them. The girls’ team sprung a pleasant surprise by reaching the quarter-finals at the senior nationals in Cuttack in January. We had clinched third position at the East Zone championship in the city last April, which augurs well for the game,” Ashma, a former state hockey player, added.

The state team primarily comprises players from Delhi Public School.

“We have left no stone unturned in promoting the game in DPS. The authorities have provided the requisite infrastructure and even installed floodlights for the students to practise after class,” Bibek Acharya, sports teacher of DPS and coach of the Assam baseball team, said.

“The future of baseball in the state looks bright given the performance of the state team at national meets. We have been allotted space at Nehru Stadium for training. However, we intend to use the facilities at the Sarusajai stadium soon,” Acharya said.

Asked about the cost involved in the game, he said baseball, like cricket, requires funds. “A player has to shell out a whopping Rs 50,000 for a kit bag. Hence, sponsorship, be it corporate or government, will play a key factor in how the sport takes shape here,” Acharya said.

Financial mismanagement due to deficiencies in rules

2010-12-09T01:04:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI, Dec 8 – Serious deficiencies in the North Cachar Hills District Fund Rules (DFR) is one of the main reasons for total financial mismanagement in the NC Hills Autonomous Council and over the years, no serious effort has been made by the State and Central governments to remove those. There is need for amending the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to prepare a proper DFR.

The special audit of the NC Hills Autonomous Council, carried out by the Office of the Accountant General (AG), pointed out the deficiencies of the DFR. As per the provisions of the Sixth Schedule, the financial affairs of the Council should be regulated by the DFR as approved by the Governor. The draft fund rules were proposed to be amended several times but it could not be done as the Sixth Schedule was not amended. However, it may be mentioned here that the Government of India has now proposed to amend the Sixth Schedule to make the financial rules more stringent.

The report of the special audit said that several deficiencies in the DFR remained unattended for years. There should be detailed procedure showing allotment of fund, exercising control over expenditure as per Budget, opening of bank accounts, system of placing of requirement of funds, etc., should have been introduced. The report pointed out that other inadequacies like lack of procedures to be followed and maintenance of records in case of re-appropriation of funds from one scheme to another, lack of proper procedures for making adjustments of advances, lack of accountability of withdrawal of money, etc., should de dealt with immediately.

The AG said that the DFR is inadequate on several issues in maintaining strict financial discipline. Paragraph 7 of the Sixth Schedule provides for laying of audit report to the Council but the DFR is silent about the procedure to be followed for discussion, remedial measures and submission of action taken reports. The time frame within which the annual accounts of the Council should be submitted for audit is not mentioned in the DFR. The AG also pointed out several other shortcomings of the DFR, which need to be addressed immediately.

The report said that the Council is required to submit its accounts in the forms prescribed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and subject the same to be audited. The CAG reports should be placed in the Council. But the Council is irregular in preparation of the accounts and as such the annual accounts only up to the year 2005-06 could be audited and submitted to the Governor of Assam. Audit reports only up to the year 2001-02 were laid before the Council, the report added.

Elephant electrocuted in Assam

2010-12-09T01:01:00.001-08:00

Guwahati: An elephant has died after being electrocuted in Assam.

Forest Department officials believe he was part of a herd of 100 elephants who can currently be seen in the paddy fields of Nagaon, 120 km from Guwahati.

Electric cables in this area are hanging dangerously low, said officials.

In September this year an elephant was electrocuted inside a house in a tea garden in the same district. In October another elephant died in the same way in Sonitpur district of Assam.

Images in this video could be disturbing for some viewers and are not suitable for children.

Mega dams would kill Brahmaputra: Bahuguna

2010-12-09T01:00:00.001-08:00

SHILLONG, Dec 9 – Noted environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna today warned that mega dams would kill Brahmaputra river and people living in its lower reaches of Assam and Bangladesh.

“Dams are a temporary solution to a permanent problem. After sometimes these dams will stop the natural flow of the river and destroy its ecology,” Bahuguna said at the sidelines of an international conference on ‘Sustainability: Management and Beyond’ organised by the IIM-Shillong here. He said that construction of such dams would have an adverse impact not just on the river basin but also on the eco-geological balance of the Himalayan range.

The Chipko Movement leader suggested that large-scale plantation of trees along the Himalayan ranges was the only solution to dams. “Make the Himalayas as a continuous dam by planting trees. Trees will attract more rains and give more water,” he advocated.

Brahmaputra is 2,906-km long and is one of Asia’s largest rivers that traverses 1,625 km in Tibet, 918 km in India and the rest 363 km in Bangladesh before entering into the Bay of Bengal.

Urging people to oppose construction of dams in Arunachal Pradesh, he said these dams “would devastate the environment and uproot people for short-term benefits”.

Various organisations in Assam have opposed the construction of 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Power Project in Arunachal Pradesh pointing out the serious repercussions it would have on ecology and the people.

The environmentalists further warned that apart from environmental disaster such dams would be an easy target for China to attack as Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,030-km unfenced border with the neighbouring country.

“At any point China can attack these dams as these are so close to the international border. They can bomb them anytime at times of war. The risk from the security point of view is therefore immense,” he added.

‘Truth’ drive by Cong, govt

2010-12-06T23:56:00.000-08:00

Guwahati, Dec. 7 : Under sustained attack from the Opposition over the Rs 1,000-crore NC Hills scam, the Congress and the party-led Assam government today decided to mount a joint multi-pronged campaign to convey the “truth” to the people as well the “good work” that Dispur has been doing for almost 10 years.

As part of the counter-offensive, government spokesperson Bharat Narah and chief minister’s press adviser D.K. Bora had a sitting with party spokespersons at the Assembly on how to go about their task.

They decided to meet every Tuesday and hold a conclave of block and district spokespersons here by the end of this month to educate party spokespersons about the government’s stand on various issues and development initiatives so that it promptly reaches the masses.

The move mirrors a similar initiative by the party high command on beefing up its media team and having senior cabinet ministers interact with the media to effectively counter the Opposition propaganda on graft in wake of the 2G spectrum scam that continues to paralyse Parliament.

The meeting here followed interaction between PCC leaders headed by president Bhubaneswar Kalita and chief minister Tarun Gogoi, both at Rajiv Bhawan and Gogoi’s residence at Koinadhara yesterday, reflecting their concern over the relentless Opposition attack months ahead of the Assembly polls.

Soon after the meeting, Narah said the Opposition’s charges based on the CAG’s inspection report would fall flat after December 15, by when chief secretary N.K. Das will give his report on the excess allocation and irregularities in the council.

He also went on to predict that the Congress would comfortably win the polls because the Gogoi government had done much more than the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar and Narendra Modi’s in Gujarat but somehow it has not got due publicity.

He was, however, less than convincing when asked about the lack of action on last year’s R.K. Manisana Commission inquiry report into the militant-official-politician nexus in NC Hills, saying he would have to go through the minutes of the cabinet meeting.

Opposition leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has opened another flank for Dispur to counter by accusing the Gogoi government of being involved in a Rs 180-crore NREGA scam in NC Hills. He also reiterated his demand for action against those who violated the cabinet decision on funding to NCHAC. “Dispur is trying to divert attention from the scam. What is the need of Assembly debate after the CAG inspection report which has many conclusive remarks?” he asked.

The day also saw AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary launch a party website, www.asomganaparishad.in, to “educate” the masses on why they need a regional party such as the AGP. This is an indication that the Opposition plans to match the Congress on the propaganda front.

Plight of Umrangso people remains unheard

2010-12-06T00:23:00.001-08:00

Umrongso, the only industrial township 110 km from the district headquarters of Haflong in N. C. Hills district has been the prime source of income of every organizations be it Government or non-Government, but has failed to draw the attention of all the developmental departments and agencies, alleged the conscious citizens of Umrongso.
The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation was established during the 1994 at the cost of local people’s sacrifice. They had to fight for a long time for the compensation for loss of their land but the NEEPCO never thought for the proper rehabilitation for the displaced people of their own, all the time the people had to move for. Many organizations came up to fight for the cause of these people but remained silent after few approaches to the authority concerned for the reasons best known to them only. And still people of Umrongso were forced to remain isolated, off course there were no such attempts from the NEEPCO people to assimilate with the local people. If any one visits Umrongso, will find there is a line of division in between the NEEPCO people and the local people, which is named as the security wall.
Then comes the establishments of Cement factories in Umrongso area during the year 1988 named Vinay Cement Ltd. then in the year 1999 R. C. L. and again during the later part of 2007 another one, Calcom has come. Though the management has made some agreement with some people but the local populace was always ignored following which there has been hue and cry among the locals regarding the pollution. An organization was also formed under the name and style Action Committee Cement Dust Control Cum Social Welfare Forum, Umrongso long back, and has been raising voices against the pollution following which the management had to come down for talk with representatives of the organization, but time and again the managements of Cement factories were making promises after promises to install the pollution control device even within a time frame. Then again it is learnt that one Jaypee Cement Ltd is also setting a cement plant in Umrongso area very soon. Now, again another organization has come up in the name of Cement Plant Affected Village Welfare Committee (CPAVWC) with Thong Teron as the President and Harvest Kathar as the Secretary and has already submitted its charter of demands to the AGM, Jaypee Cement Ltd recently. One S. Hojai of Umrongso had also approached the court in the matter of Cement pollution by the Cement factories but till date nothing has come out in practical.
The people of Umrangso who have been suffering a lot due to cement dust of the existing cement plants are of the opinion that their grievances would neither be considered nor addressed because none is genuinely raising voices to stop the cement pollution they raise voice for the reasons best known to them only. The entire populace has lost the confidence on such movements.

Black panther captured in Assam

2010-12-05T22:06:00.000-08:00

Big cat wounded worker, killed cattle in Maijan garden

The black panther in Dibrugarh on Saturday.

Dibrugarh, Dec. 6 : A full-grown male black panther was captured today by officials from the forest department with assistance from the management of the Maijan tea estate on the outskirts of this Upper Assam town today.

The divisional forest officer of Dibrugarh forest division, Anurag Singh, said the big cat was captured with the help of a trap set up in the tea estate.

“We had reports of the panther creating trouble in the garden for quite some time now. Only on Friday it had injured a garden worker who is in hospital now, besides the panther had also killed a few heads of cattle reared by the workers of the garden and villagers,” Singh said.

The black panther is an endangered species and is very rarely sighted in the jungles of Upper Assam these days. It belongs to the leopard family and is a Schedule I species, protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

According to environmentalists, the number of black panthers, considered smarter and more agile than leopards, has gone down considerably in the forests of the state because of massive destruction of ecology and depleting green cover.

“Because of continuous depletion in the green cover, these black panthers have almost become extinct. Therefore, the capture of the black panther is good news for environmentalists and nature lovers,” Nakul Khound, the co-ordinator of IRAB-KIRAB, an environment NGO, said.

An official of the tea estate said the panther had been creating trouble for quite some time along with some other leopards.

“The presence of the leopards and the panther in the tea estate created a lot of trouble, cattle of our workers and even dogs are being hunted by these leopards and the panther. Therefore, we requested the forest department to do something after which the cage was set up,” the official said.

On December 29 last year, another full-grown male black panther was captured by the forest department officials from Ethelwood tea estate, another adjacent tea garden. The animal was later released in the Joypur reserve forest in Dibrugarh district.

The forest department had planned to release the black panther, captured today, after a medical examination in the same reserve forest later this afternoon.

However, it could not be released as planned since it had suffered some minor injuries during the capture.

After examining the animal in Dibrugarh, the veterinary surgeon from Wildlife Trust of India, Abhijit Bhawal, said it would be better if the animal was given a few days’ time for the bruises, which it sustained after it got trapped in the cage, to heal.

“Although the panther is totally fit and healthy, it will be better if it is released on Monday or the day after, so that the wounds are healed,” Bhawal said.

The range officer of Dibrugarh forest range, Jiten Bora, said there was a possibility of more black panthers in the tea gardens and nearby bushes in the tea estates of Upper Assam.

“Since December last year, we have been able to capture eight leopards, mostly from the tea garden areas. Two black panthers have been caught, including the one captured today. We do hope that this is a good achievement in terms of conservation,” Bora said.

No excess money released: Govt

2010-12-05T21:52:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI, Dec 6 – State Government spokesperson Himanta Biswa Sarma today claimed that no excess money was released to the NC Hills District Autonomous Council without any budget provision.

Justifying his statement, he stated that the ‘excess fund’ which is being shown released comes under the non-planned and so was not accounted in the budget allocation.

Sarma, quoting the State Principal Secretary (Finance) said that the report of office of the Comptroller and Auditor General for the year 2008 and 2009 which had already been placed in the floor of the House has shown that no excess money was disbursed by the State Government during the period.

“In fact, in some cases, the report has shown savings. The excess fund which is being talked about is the fund released under non-planned heads like salaries, 12th Finance Commission and the Additional Central Assistance, which will have to be reconciled,” Sarma claimed while talking to mediapersons.

“The matter should be sorted out in the next 10 days when the Chief Secretary submits his report,” he asserted.

“The Chief Secretary who has been directed to examine the genuineness of the excess amount released would soon send all the relevant replies to the queries,” he said.

Sarma claimed that the special audit report of the Accountant General was partially leaked as the forwarding letter where the State Government’s reply was sought was retained by the person concerned, as a result of which a complete and clear picture could not come out.

Proud Jorhat village showcases its young entrepreneurial talent

2010-12-02T23:35:00.001-08:00

The Naobishi village in Assam's Jorhat District has acquired fame in the northeast region for its young entrepreneurial talent.ere, the safety of government jobs is looked down upon, as dynamic youngsters are very keen to start their own ventures.

Take the example of 29-year-old Ankur Saikia. He started a paddy collection and distribution center nine years ago.

The collection was initially limited to farmers in the village, but today, Ankur collects paddy from neighbouring villages and stores at his private warehouse. He later distributes the paddy in cities and towns like Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar and Dibrugarh.

Ankur now wants to set up a small rice mill, provided the government gives him financial assistance.

"I earn between Rs.30, 000 and Rs.40, 000 every month. This helps me to look after my family. I am now trying for a loan from the government to expand my business. In my opinion, youth should work instead of sitting home. They should also focus on development of the village so that others can also grow with them," said Saikia.

His venture provides employment to eleven other people in the village.

"I have been working with Ankur for the past eight years. I am now able to feed my family well and educate my children. I earn Rs.7000 per month and I am very happy," said Mridula Saikia, an employee.

Mahipal Majhi adds: "I get a good salary from Ankur. And with his help I am able to educate my children."

The handloom and textiles sector in Assam provides employment to many.

Twenty-one-year-old Nevidita Das from Naobaishya village has successfully taken up weaving as a profession to support her education.

She earns Rs.5000 every month and believes that youth should engage themselves in constructive work.

Das said: "I weave clothes with the help of my family members and other fellow villagers. I sell them to local tailor and earn good money. I use the money to buy books."

Many youngsters have taken up handicrafts as full-time profession.

Twenty-five-year-old Pankaj Borah has been engaged in woodcarving for his livelihood since 2004 after he completed his graduation. Today he earns Rs.10, 000 a month.

Borah said: "I want to buy a machine to expand my work that will help me bring down the cost of my products."

Naobaishya has about 600 people who are primarily engaged in agriculture. The village is going through a transformation of sorts with young entrepreneurs showing the way. (ANI)

Japanese Encephalitis finds a new target: adults

2010-12-01T23:54:00.000-08:00

Traditionally regarded as a disease of children, it is spreading among 25 to 40-year-olds

The increasing number of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) cases among adults has become a cause of concern for health experts in the country. The cases are being reported from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and some other states in the north-east.

JE has traditionally been regarded as a disease of the children and before mid-2009, the proportion of adults among JE patients rarely exceeded 2 per cent.

Assam first reported a big jump last year as many as 70 per cent of patients were above 15 years old. In UP too, the number of adult patients has been increasing since last year, although it has not yet reached the proportions it has acquired in Assam.

While counting JE cases, anyone above 15 is considered an adult, but the new patients, at least in UP, are mostly between 25 and 40 years old.

An official in the Union Ministry of Health said in view of this new trend, the Centre is examining the possibility of introducing JE vaccination for adults in selected high-risk areas. Three years ago, Nepal had undertaken JE vaccination f adults. Since children had already been vaccinated, and JE vaccination is given once in life, there was no need to continue with it.

The official said Centre will also take steps to identify the reasons behind the virus affecting more and more adults.

But without waiting for the Centre's decision, the Assam government has decided to undertake vaccination of adults in its high-risk areas in the first quarter of 2011.

Unlike Assam, however, the UP government does not want to start vaccination of the adult population, hoping that the problem would not rise to the magnitude of Assam.

"The age shift in UP is not so sharp as in Assam, so there is no plan to start vaccination of adults as of now," said Dr VS Nigam, Joint Director, Vector Born and Communicable Disease wing of the Uttar Pradesh Health Department.

Regarding the situation in UP, Dr KP Kushwaha, Head of Pediatrics Department at Gorakhpur's BRD Medical College, said: "It is true that in our record, we have noticed this trend that the number of JE as well as Acute Encephalitis Syndrome cases among adults is increasing since last year. About 700 AES cases have been reported among adults this year of these around 100 were JE."

Last year, the number of JE patients among adults was only 30, the number of AES patients was not immediately available.

Gorakhpur is located in the area worst hit by JE in eastern UP. So, the patients are invariably taken to the BRD Medical College. Since JE is, so far, regarded as a disease of the children, Kushwaha's department handles them. Whenever a patient arrives, it is registered as a case of AES, which could be caused by various viruses which are similar to JE. After tests, JE patients are listed separately.

Kushwaha said some parts of the increase could be "because the total number of AES cases has increased from about 2,100 last year to about 3,000 cases this year".

But there is another disturbing trend: while the mortality rate of the disease among children has been around 13.7 per cent, the mortality rate among adults was close to 16 per cent this year, he said.

Health Department officials said the trend has been noticed mainly in Gorakhpur and Kushinagar districts. The other JE affected district in eastern UP are Deoria, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar, Balrampur, Mau and Azamgarh.

IndianExpress

Bodo team calls on Home Secy

2010-12-01T22:40:00.002-08:00

NEW DELHI, Dec 2 – An eight-member delegation of Bodo National Conference (BNC) led by its co-convenor, Khampa Borgiary, who is also the BTC Deputy Chief called on Union Home Secretary, GK Pillai at North Block this afternoon.

The delegation included State Minister, Chandan Brahma, Rajya Sabha MP Biswajeet Daimary, pro-talk faction leader, Govinda Basumatary, Bodo Women Justice Forum chief, Anjali Daimary and vice president of Bodo Sahitya Sabha, Biseshwar Brahma, Peoples’ Forum for Peace Initiative, Dr Bijoy Daimary, amongst others.

Later talking to this newspaper, Biswajeet Daimary said that they have pressed for expediting the ongoing dialogue with NDFB (pro-talk faction) and also initiate dialogue with the anti-talk faction.

Daimary said they impressed upon the Centre to involve all factions in the peace process to avoid bloodshed in the future. Until and unless the outfits are not engaged, the guns cannot be silenced and peace would continue to elude the BTC area, he said.

He said they have conveyed to the Home Secretary the circumstances under which the BNC was formed. “We have urged the Central Government to take fresh initiative and the civil society would also help in convincing the reluctant militants including Ranjan Daimary to come for talks,” he said.

The Union Home Secretary, welcoming the latest initiative reportedly urged them to press the anti-talk faction to join the peace process. He also reportedly assured to look into their demand for fast tracking the ongoing dialogue with NDFB. The Centre has already appointed P C Haldar as its interlocutor.

When asked if they raised the demand for a separate Bodoland, the Rajya Sabha MP denied it, stating that it is not in their agenda and the purpose of the visit was to talk about the ongoing dialogue and the urgent need to restore peace in the area by silencing the guns.

The BNC was formed as a non-political platform to undertake peace initiatives and for overall development of the Bodoland area.

The conference is also trying to convince the separatist NDFB anti-talk faction chairman, Ranjan Daimary to come forward for peace parleys and also to ensure peace and unity among the Bodo people and also with those living in the area.

Meanwhile, in a Rajya Sabha reply, Minister of State for Home Affairs, M Ramachandran said that Assam Government has been asked to strengthen security in the vulnerable areas including gearing up of intelligence agencies and chalking out an operational action plan to deal with the situation.

AG report on NC Hills Council not final

2010-12-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

GUWAHATI, Dec 1 – Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has directed the State Chief Secretary to inspect whether the excess fund released to the NC Hills Autonomous Council without any budgetary provision was utilized genuinely or misapp-ropriated.

The Chief Secretary has been directed to submit the report by December 15.

He said an inquiry into the leak of the AG's confidential inspection report will also be ordered.

Gogoi, quoting from the AG report during a press conference here today, conceded that Rs 11.46 crore has been found to be given to the autonomous council without any budgetary sanction.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today sought to dismiss all the corruption charges leveled against him by the Opposition in the alleged Rs 1000-crore NC Hills scam claiming that no report by the Auditor General (AG) has so far unearthed ‘misappropriation of funds’ in the autonomous district.

“The AG report which the Opposition is referring to is not the final one. It is just the inspection report of North Cachar Hills (Dima Hasao) Autonomous Council that has sought the views of the Council and the State Government. “The report has only pointed to risk of misappropriation, but nowhere has it stated of any corruption," Gogoi said during a press conference here.

"We from our side will reply to all the queries of the AG report and the final report will be compiled only at a later stage," he stated.

It needs mention here that the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has been mounting pressure demanding resignation of the Chief Minister alleging that excess money was given to NC Hills without necessary sanction.

"It is a fact that the corruption has taken place and if any irregularity is detected in the final report, it would be immediately referred to the CBI," Gogoi said.

Stating that such excess expenditure over budget happened on several occasions, Gogoi said excess payment of Rs 13,645 crore was recorded during AGP's second tenure between 1996-2001, which was later regularized by Gogoi's Government.

“If any irregularity is detected at any level, the guilty, be it any Minister or anybody, will not be spared," Gogoi said, adding that the discrepancy of Rs 27264.23 lakh between the records of the Hill Areas Department of Government of Assam and the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council has been pointed out by the AG report, reconciliation process for which has already started.

He, however, said that the non-audit of NC Hills accounts by the AG after 2005-06 is a matter of concern.

Gogoi claimed that the Opposition was carrying out a ‘baseless, false and politically motivated’ campaign to malign him in the eyes of the people in view of the ensuing State Assembly elections.

CAG report heat on Gogoi

2010-11-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

Guwahati, Dec 1 : The ruling Congress found itself in a Catch-22 situation following mounting attack against Dispur over the special CAG audit report exposing massive corruption in NC Hills Autonomous Council even as the AGP raised the scam in Parliament today.

PCC sources said they could neither go all out nor sit silent because they were yet to know the contents of the CAG report which has assumed importance because another CAG report had resulted in the exit of telecom minister A. Raja from the Union cabinet in the 2G Spectrum scam case.

Congress’s dilemma was best reflected in its response to the demand by Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader Akhil Gogoi, besides the AGP and the BJP, for resignation of chief minister Tarun Gogoi and three of his ministers for their alleged involvement in the scam.

A circumspect PCC general secretary Haren Das said: “It is difficult to comment on the charges as we have not seen the CAG report. This question is best addressed to the honourable chief minister but we have no reason to disbelieve him about not seeing the report. ”

The Pradesh Youth Congress, however, went hammer and tongs at Akhil Gogoi for his conduct rather than the content of the allegations. Its president Pijush Hazarika, said: “Akhil Gogoi is a blackmailer. He has used the RTI to blackmail people. He is being funded by a controversial PWD contractor.”

The only response of note came from the chief minister himself. “I will file a defamation case against Akhil Gogoi, Prafulla Mahanta and Chandra Mohan Patowary for maligining us. I will also institute an inquiry to probe the leak of the CAG report which I am yet to see. As I have said before, if anything is proved, I will quit,” Tarun Gogoi asserted.

The BJP’s organising secretary, northeastern states, P. Chandra Sekhar said: “We will send a memorandum to the President through Raj Bhavan seeking the dismissal of the Gogoi government. Our leaders will be raising the scams in Parliament and holding daily briefing on the NC Hills scam.”

AASU lambasts Education Dept

2010-11-30T19:39:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI, Dec 1 – The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) today lambasted the State Education Department for its lack of preparedness to cater to the needs of lakhs of students after the imminent separation of Higher Secondary classes from the colleges of the State. The students’ body today presented a sample survey report indicating the shortage of seats to accommodate the surplus HS students.

As per the UGC stricture, the colleges need to separate the HS section from their domain and introduce semester system for the degree courses to ensure quality education in colleges.

AASU’s sample survey conducted in 21 districts of the State in 1043 prominent educational institutions including colleges, junior colleges and HS schools shows that if Higher Secondary segment is separated from the colleges, there would an immediate requirement 63,734 HS seats.

The survey was conducted in the months of August, September and October of the year 2010.

“As the colleges of the State would have to implement the UGC norms in a phased manner, the State Education Department should have started preparing for it much earlier. With no infrastructure in place and shortage of teachers in the schools and colleges, lakhs of our HS students would have to face difficulties in enrollment,” AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharyya said, while addressing the media today.

“Though a lot of junior colleges have come up in the State recently, maximum number of our students studying in government schools would not be in a position to pay the fees of these private institutions,” he added.

The sample survey also indicates that 543 out of the total 1043 institutions surveyed do not have permanent principals. Total 1,424 posts of teachers are vacant in these institutions. Moreover, the management committees of 350 institutions have persons with political background as their members.

“The AASU warned the State Government in December, 2009 after surveying 60 educational institutions of Guwahati. But unfortunately the government did not take any step to build infrastructure or appoint teachers for HS level education in the State. Government’s apathy would spoil the future of lakhs of students of Assam,” Bhattacharyya added.

Assam to participate in baseball meet

2010-11-30T02:27:00.001-08:00

GUWAHATI, Nov 30 – Assam will take part in the 22nd Junior National Baseball Championship in both boys and girls sections. The meet will be held at Saltlake Stadium, Kolkata from December 1 to 5.

The team has already left for Kolkata after attending a coaching camp at Delhi Public School from November 16.

The teams: (Boys) Rounak Agarwal, Debashis Khetan, Rajat Patni, Gaurav Baid, Vaibhav Garg, Sudipta Saikia, Abhishek Joshi, Binit Agarwal, Haptarshi Roy Saikia, Bishal Saha, Biswa Pratim Das, Abhilesh Dwara, Ayush Agarwal, Asif Ekbal, Arijit Gogoi. (Girls): Rishika Modi, Helima Brahma, Priyambada Bhagawati, Kiran Bora, Kripa Laxmi Tamuly, Neha Agarwal, Prema Pincha, Phoebe Brahma, Yashna Daolagapu, Nilakhi Talukdra, Mayurayee Borgohain, Ananya Bania, Prithivi Saikia, Niha moni Saikia, Afsaba Begum, Jafrin Haque. Officials: Bebak Acharyya – coach, Moinul Haque, Reshma Begum – managers.

Tea Tourism Festival begins in Jorhat

2010-11-26T21:09:00.001-08:00

JORHAT, Nov 27 – “A favourable atmosphere has been created for tourism in Assam during the last few years. And the introduction of tea tourism has added a new dimension to it”, said Rockybul Hussain, Minister of Forest, Environment and Tourism, after inaugurating the second Assam Tea Tourism Festival at Jorhat Court Field today.

In his inaugural speech Hussain recalled the history of Assam tea and the contributions of the pioneers of tea industry in the state.

He also discussed the potentiality of attracting tourists by the tea industry of Assam.

The minister further said that the State Government is mulling organising another festival here entitled Jorhat Utsav which would provide the people from Jorhat living outside the district and abroad a chance to get together after a certain interval of one or two years.

He also said that the process of making tea from the tea leaves, from planting till processing in the factory could be an attractive art to be watched by foreign tourists. He released the souvenir entitled ‘Destination-T at the function.

NGO’s noble bid to help the needy

2010-11-02T21:25:00.001-07:00

GUWAHATI, Nov 3 – In the hectic schedule of life the underprivileged section of the society is often forgotten or neglected. Behind the sordidness of the poverty pockets in the capital city, this section deprived of all the good things of life struggle to meet their minimum necessities which include clothes just to cover their bodies.

To help this needy section meet their requirement of clothes, Ecotourism Society of North East India collected unused clothes and distributed them amongst the poor in Guwahati.

“Just throwing a coin would not help and we know that we cannot do charity just out of emotions, but we do understand that together we can. One responsible action by each individual can bring about big changes,” said Gautam Dutta, president of the society.

The society, realising that every middle class household has plenty of old unused things like clothes and toys which are either dumped or not used any more, has appealed to the citizens to come forward and donate their unused clothes and toys.

“We are trying to provide some clothes to the needy and toys for the children so that we can bring a few more smiles around us,” added Dutta pointing out that there are hundreds of people living in the gateway to the North East who are most neglected and that their need for food, shelter and clothing can compel them to take any step, be it right or wrong.

The society collected around 300 pieces of clothes from Panjabari, Chandmari, Ulubari, Beltola, Kalapahar, Rehabari, Bhangagarh and Lachitnagar areas and distributed the same at two points in the city-- Sukleswar Ghat and Guwahati Railway Station.

The society has extended its gratitude to the citizens for supporting its cause.

“As we know that we are coming to the end of this year and very soon we will step into a new year, we would like to end the year on a positive note,” said Dutta.

AGP demands CBI probe into 'Rs 10,000 cr PDS scam

2010-10-13T22:06:00.001-07:00

Guwahati, Oct 14 : Opposition Asom Gana Parishad on Tuesday demanded a CBI probe into allegations of Rs 10,000 crore scandal in the Public Distribution System in Assam. Essential commodities like rice, sugar and wheat under the PDS system were being sold in the open market and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and the supply minister were directly responsible for such a scandal, AGP President Chandra Mohan Patowary told a press conference in Guwahati.

The AGP leader said it was a corruption involving the highest level of administration and hence has to be thoroughly and appropriately investigated.

Patowary said when former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Gegong Apang could be arrested for his alleged involvement in PDS scam, "Why similar action cannot be taken in the case of Assam."

10 injured in police firing in Assam

2010-10-13T00:52:00.000-07:00

Guwahati, Oct 13 : At least 10 protesters were injured in police firing incident in Assam's Kamrup (Rural) district on Tuesday, officials said.

According to report, thousands of people from Garo and other communities had gathered to form a human chain for their various demands at Santipur area under Boko police station in the district.

When the police intervened, the protesters came forward to break the police barricade and damaged the police vehicles. A circle officer and a police official were injured.

Police used canes and tear gas to control the situation and later opened fire on the mob, in which at least 10 protesters were injured.

The injured were taken to Rangia civil hospital.

Efforts on for river’s new tag

2010-10-12T23:01:00.001-07:00

ROOPAK GOSWAMI

Guwahati, Oct 13 : Efforts are being made to make the Brahmaputra, National Waterway 2, a “dedicated freight corridor” for the Northeast.

This was proposed by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to the DoNER ministry at a meeting in Delhi recently.

A dedicated freight corridor will enable the waterways authority regain its market share of freight transport by creating additional capacity and guaranteeing efficient, reliable, safe and cheaper options for mobility to its customers.

The waterways authority says about 20 lakh tonnes of cargo moves on NW2 annually and it has invested Rs 286 crore on development of NW2 since it became a national waterway in 1988.

“It has got great potential and all possible steps are being taken to make it realise its status as a national waterway,” a waterways authority official said.

The argument for a dedicated freight corridor gets a shot in the arm as promoters of hydropower plants coming up in Arunachal Pradesh have evinced interest using NW2 and tributaries for transportation of project cargo.

“The national waterway can be used as a dedicated freight corridor for ferrying traditional goods like jute, tea, coal from the Northeast to Bangladesh, Calcutta and foodgrain, fertilisers, fly ash, cement, steel, bitumen from Calcutta to the region,” a senior IWAI said.

The declaration of Ashuganj as a port of call in Bangladesh will improve connectivity to Tripura. while the Silghat port of call in Assam will enable transportation of products of Numaligarh Refinery Ltd and other refineries of the region to Bagabari in Bangladesh

“It has been observed that uprooted trees from the forest area in Dibrugarh-Sadiya stretch often block the navigable channel and safe movement of vessels through the main channel cannot take place. The authority plans for removing underwater wooden logs and others from the navigable channel and remove the same” the official said.

The authority has also prepared an action plan for making National Waterway 2 (Dhubri-Sadiya sector of Brahmaputra river) fully functional by 2011-12. This includes maintaining a 2.5 metre depth in Dhubri-Neemati stretch (630km), 2 metres between Neemati-Dibrugarh (138km) and 1.5 metres between Dibrugarh-Sadiya (123km).

For this purpose, IWAI has one cutter section dredger and one hydraulic section dredger (HSD) and it is getting four more cutter section dredger and one more HSD constructed for this waterway to maintain navigability.

Terminals at 11 locations are being maintained on NW2 for handling cargo vessels and ferrying passengers. The entire waterway is surveyed fortnightly and river notices are issued fortnightly.

The official said to make NW2 fully functional the linkage up to Calcutta through Indo-Bangladesh protocol route within Bangladesh should also be made fully functional in consultation with Bangladesh and the ministry of external affairs.

The official said as the road and railways have limitations because of the “chicken’s neck”, the inland water transport mode is a reliable mode for movement of cargo.

Plea & pain over academic mess

2010-10-12T23:00:00.001-07:00

AASU to raise institute pitch

Guwahati, Oct. 13 : The All Assam Students’ Union has decided to launch a mass movement to force New Delhi to accord top priority to setting up national-level institutes in the state.

AASU adviser Sammujjal Bhattacharyya told this correspondent that the students’ union would raise the demand as part of Clause 7 of the Assam Accord. He said after 25 years of the accord, the Centre had so far set up only two national-level institutes — IIT Guwahati and Tezpur University — in the state, defeating the spirit of the agreement.

“According to a conservative estimate, the state loses around Rs 200 crore annually as students go out to pursue higher studies. There were several examples in the past when poor meritorious students could not go out due to financial constraints. The AASU will not let it happen. If the Centre does not give a positive response to the issue at the earliest, we will launch a mass movement from next month,” Bhattacharyya said.

He said the union would not only launch the agitation in Assam but also go to New Delhi to raise the issue there, including in front of Parliament. He said the union would also pressure Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha, and all the MPs from the state to concede to the demand. Educational institutions and academicians will also participate in the movement.

“The ministry of human resource development had decided to set up Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) to provide quality science education to under-graduate and post-graduate students. The prime focus is to integrate science education and research with the aim of attracting bright students and world-class faculty. AASU has already met the scientific adviser of the Prime Minister C.N.R. Rao and placed the demand for an IISER. Considering the seven northeastern states, Guwahati must get an IISER to create a scientific temper and pool of scientists,” Bhattacharyya said, adding that the Centre must also set up an Indian Institute of Information Technology in the state.

AASU general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi said the state had missed the opportunity of having an Indian Institute of Management, but Meghalaya managed to get one a few years ago.

He said as the Centre would set up more IIMs in the country, Assam must not miss the opportunity this time and AASU would lobby with the HRD ministry.

Bhattacharyya said AASU would also start an agitation to force Dispur to introduce professional and job-oriented courses in colleges and universities.

He said Gauhati University, Dibrugarh University and Assam Agriculture University must get Rs 100 crore each to introduce such courses, recruit quality faculty and improve academic facilities.

Assam CM directs speedy implementation of budget-related schemes

2010-10-05T22:22:00.001-07:00

Guwahati, Oct 6 : Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today reviewed the budget-related schemes with ministers and senior officials of Forest and Environment, Tourism, I and PRD, Handloom and Textiles, Sericulture and Judicial departments here.

Minister for Tourism, Forests and Environment Rockybul Hussain apprised the chief minister of the host of initiatives taken by the department to boost the tourism sector.

He said regular shows projecting the tourism sector will be held in cinema halls, besides making of quickie and documentaries to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

Internationally acclaimed film director Jahnu Baruah has been roped in to popularise the tourism sector in a big way, Hussain added.

Hussain informed the chief minister that public toilets under Sulabh International would be set up in public places along national and state highways.

The chief minister asked Hussain to initiate steps to install the Lachit Bordoloi statue on the banks of the Brahmaputra in Guwahati.

On the forest front, Hussain said steps have been taken up by the department to plant saplings in 20,000 hectares across the state.

The process to raise the Assam Forest Protection Force was also on, he added.

Gogoi asked Hussain, who is also holding the Information and Public Relations (I and PR) department, to project the state's development in proper perspective through booklets, banners, hoardings, quickie and documentary.

The chief minister emphasized on the need to extend the fixed loud speaker system to newer areas of the state.

Mr Gogoi asked Minister for Handloom Textiles and Sericulture Pranab Gogoi to complete the process of distribution of yarn and blanket to 20,000 beneficiaries in each constituency by December.

He directed the minister to implement the Special Programme for production of Mejenkari Muga Silk.

The chief minister also reviewed the health insurance scheme for weavers.

Mr Gogoi asked Pranab Gogoi, who is also holding the judicial portfolio, to take immediate steps to dispose off the pending cases.

AG’s audit findings inconclusive

2010-10-05T21:34:00.001-07:00

GUWAHATI, Oct 6 – Though Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi recently announced the Government's decision to hand over probe of financial irregularities of eight departments of North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council on the basis of a special audit by the office of the Accountant General (AG), the audit was carried out only for a specific period and in most cases, the findings were not conclusive as relevant records were not available.

Highly placed official sources told The Assam Tribune that it was for the first time a special audit or the audit of the transactions was carried out in NC Hills Autonomous Council, but in most cases the findings were not conclusive. Sources revealed that the Government asked the office of the AG to carry out the special audit only for a specific period and in most parts of the specified tenure, the council was ruled by the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance. Sources pointed out that the Government asked the AG to carry out audit of the transactions only from 2007 to June 9 this year and even during the period, large-scale irregularities came to light. It is now clear that if the Government orders a CBI probe into financial irregularities of eight departments on the basis of the AG report, the probe would cover only a limited period.

Sources revealed that the AG office carried out test checks of eight departments after receiving the State Government's request for a special audit and the AG, in its report, informed the Government that the findings were not conclusive because of the fact that relevant documents were not available. Sources said that in some cases, the AG found that the records were not maintained in most of the cases and in some instances, even when the records were maintained, those were not kept properly making it impossible to trace relevant documents.

Involvement of different agencies also created a major problem in auditing the transactions. Sources said that first the police started an investigation in NC Hills Autonomous Council, which was followed by investigation by Justice Manisana Singh Commission, the CID of the Assam Police etc., and now agencies like the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are investigating different cases of financial dealings of the Council. Because of involvement of different agencies, it was almost impossible to carry out proper audit of the transactions as all the agencies reportedly seized documents and it was very easy for the Council to claim that the documents sought for during the audit were seized by other agencies.

Sources revealed that in its draft report submitted to the Government, the AG found major financial irregularities and it was impossible to trace out the flow of funds right from the consolidated funds to the contractors on many occasions because of lack of records. Sources said that no financial rule was followed by the Council and instructions to release funds were issued on blank papers and receipts were not kept against the payments.

HC orders immediate steps to fence border

2010-10-02T04:53:00.001-07:00

GUWAHATI, Oct 2 – Asking the Centre and the State Government to "seriously attend not on paper but with practical effort" to the grave problem of Bangladeshi infiltration, the Gauhati High Court today directed the Centre and the State Government to take "immediate steps without any excuse" for complete sealing/fencing of the international border with Bangladesh.

"Such a step must be given priority keeping in mind the duty cast upon the Union of India to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance," Justice BK Sharma observed while dismissing a writ petition (no. 45 of 2009) and ordering for deportation of the petitioner, a Bangladeshi national, Md Attaur Rahman who had earlier been 'deported' to Bangladesh. It also ordered deletion of his name from the voters' list.

It may be recalled the court had earlier termed the entire machinery of deportation as a farce because of the "manner and method in which deported Bangladeshis could come back to India and invoke the writ jurisdiction."

Mincing no words, the court rubbished the plea of the respondents, i.e., the State and Central governments, that fencing along a particular stretch of the border in Karimganj district had not been sanctioned because the area was intersected by rivers, and that another stretch was demarcated.

"Such excuses are not at all tenable. Does it mean that the said stretches will always remain open for the illegal Bangladeshi migrants to enter into Assam with eventual entry of their names in voter lists to enrich the political prospects of people’s representatives?... it is also not acceptable in these modern days of technology that the stretch intersected by rivers is not possible to be fenced," the court observed.

Castigating the governments for their inept handling of the infiltration problem, the court said that nobody seemed bothered about the fallouts of large-scale influx and the failure of the governments to ensure the infiltrators' deportation, which included i) illegal stay of foreigners, ii) producing children as they like, iii) casting votes by foreigners in elections including elections involving legislative assembly and parliament, iv) probable threat to the security of the State, and most importantly, v) the constant and unabated process of annihilating the indigenous people of Assam towards rendering them minority in their own homeland.

"The Union and the State Government must also take special drives for detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants whose large presence in Assam is an established fact, the fallouts of which has been emphasized by the Supreme Court in the Sarbananda Sonowal case…unless the matter is seriously taken into consideration by those at the helm of affairs with consequential follow-up effective action on a war footing, the illegal Bangladeshi migrants whom this court had earlier described as 'kingmakers' would soon become the 'kings'," the judgement read.

Observing that the counter-affidavits had been dumped by the governments only to answer the writ petition without addressing the larger issues involved about which mention was made by the court in its earlier order dated August 5, 2010, the court asked both the Centre and the State Government to clarify the queries made in the present order and also as to whether any useful purpose had been served in establishing and continuance of the proceedings by the Foreigners Tribunals.

Tetley accused of rights violation

2010-09-30T22:25:00.001-07:00

Tata Tetley, the best-selling tea-maker in the UK, has been accused of “human rights violations” after the death of three workers in India. Its parent company, Tata Tea, has been asked to apologise after a crop sprayer died of suspected poisoning at the Powai Tea Estate in Assam. According
to a report by the International Union of Foodworkers (IUF), two fellow workers caught up in protests over his death were shot dead by riot police and another 15 were injured.

“I believe that Tetley is linked to core human rights violations and the death and killing of tea workers,” said Jasper Gross, author of the IUF report.

Charities and trade unions are now demanding action from Tetley. Tata Tea part owns the Powai Tea Estate.

Tetley has distanced itself from the allegations and the company insisted that no tea produced at the Assam plantation goes into its teabags sold in Britain.

Campaigners have blamed 25-year-old Gopal Tanti’s sudden death in May on pesticides he was employed to spray on crops at the site.

German help to hone skill

2010-09-23T22:04:00.001-07:00

Guwahati, Sept 24 : A German development agency, GTZ (Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit), has shown interest in funding a project on skill development of youths in the Northeast.

The agency held a consultation meeting with different stakeholders today to discuss the various interventions required to improve the skills of the youths and to help them know their strengths.

A senior official of GTZ said the agency was now conducting a study for three states — Assam, Nagaland and Sikkim — and a report will be submitted at the bilateral negotiations between Germany and India, to be held in Germany in November this year.

“Depending on the results of the study, it might take the form of a project on skill development of three to four years’ duration,” the official said.

The agency is also looking at the role of private sector in the skill development arena.

The Assam government is taking various steps to develop skill of youths and has set up the state skill development mission and skill development board.

The government has asked the private sector to set up vocational institutes, where these sectors will have a lead role and the government will be the facilitator.

Participants in the meeting emphasised on good quality skills being imparted to the youths so that they can meet the industry demands. There is a huge demand for skilled youths in the booming construction industry.

There was also a discussion on skill development in the tourism sector.

A large number of small resorts has come up in the state where there is a huge demand for skilled professionals.

There is also a huge demand for ITI students in Assam and large number of applications have been received.

Assam Gorkha students demand release of Subba

2010-09-23T21:50:00.001-07:00

UDALGURI, Sept 24 : The incident of abduction of Ajay Subba, nephew of Moni Kumar Subba (former member of Indian parliament from prestigious Tezpur Lok Sabha constituency), has rocked upper Assam since September 14 last, the day Subba was abducted by the suspected activists of United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) from his own tea garden in Tinsukia.

Meanwhile, the All Assam Gorkha Students´ Union (AAGSU) -- a students´ body of the Nepali speaking population of Assam -- has taken the case of Subba´s abduction seriously as Subba was an AADSU adviser. AAGSU called for a 12 hour upper Assam banda on September 20 which turned violent in major places of the region.

The banda supporters resorted to violent activities and allegedly ransacked news paper distributors´ office too. As the AAGSU threatened to intensify its agitation demanding release of Subba without any pre-condition, the Assam state security forces have booked eight suspects so far. In this connection, interrogation is on.

However, till today, the police force is silent on the incident though the search operation has been intensified jointly by Assam police, army and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in upper Assam and neighboring Arunachal Pradesh state.

According to a section of media reports, the outfit behind the abduction has demanded Rs 48 million as ransom to free Subba which has created a grave concern to Subba´s family members.

Recently, the ULFA rebels have been abducting well established businessmen from various parts of the state to meet the financial needs.

It has also come to light through a reliable source that many ULFA rebels have been taking refuge in Nepal and Indian state of Jharkhand, and are reportedly undergoing training with the Maoists and naxalites.

Assam CM appeals for peace, harmony

2010-09-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

Guwahati, Sept 23 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace, order, communal harmony and tranquility ahead of Friday's pronouncement of the Ayodhya title verdict.

Appealing to the public and the media to reserve their opinions on the judgement of the Special Bench of Allahabad High Court, Gogoi said, Assam, the land of Srimanta Sankaradeva and Ajan Fakir, is always a place of love and harmony, and a role model for communal harmony."It is the duty of every citizen to preserve its tradition at this hour.

Total communal harmony must be maintained whatever may be the judgement because the aggrieved party has the opportunity to go for appeal in the Supreme Court, he said.

The Chief Minister also said that it was the governments earnest hope that all sections of people would cooperate with the Government in maintaining law and order, communal harmony and tranquility in the State and not to give room for any trouble mongers.

Gogoi further said he had directed the deputy commissioners and superintendents of police to beef up security to deal with any law and order problem that may arise after the court verdict on the Ayodhya title suit.

Economic Offences Bureau of Assam Police come under Consumer Group fire

2010-09-23T01:40:00.001-07:00

Guwahati based Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum (CLPF), a non-government registered organization in Assam, today accused Assam Police’s Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences (BIEO) of being very lukewarm in responding to complaints lodged with it against private financial institutions. CLPF alleged that certain private financial institutions are swindling vulnerable common people in the state of their hard earned money deposited with these organizations that promise very high interests of deposits in a very short term.
CLPF chief coordinator Ajoy Hazarika and Secretary Ratul Mahanta today stated that given the discouraging attitude of the BIEO to keep tab on activities and pursue cases against private financial institutions of dubious nature, chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s recent directive to closely monitor activities of such private financial institutions will come a cropper.
The CLPF today announced its decision to set up its complaint cell with a consumer helpline number to extend help and legal guidance to needy consumers who were cheated by these private financial institutions.
The CLPF today alleged that the response of the BIEO of Assam Police based in Guwahati was very lukewarm to its recent complaint against a private financial institution called Sambhaw Incorporation which claims to have its head office at New Delhi and another branch office at Chennai. The CLPF found out that Sambhaw Incorporation had duped over 1200 gullible customers in Bagsa district of Assam of their hard earned money and lodged a complaint with the BIEO. However, the BIEO instead of taking up the case asked the CLPF to lodge the complaint with the local police station in Bagsa district.
Meanwhile, CLPF launched its own investigation against Sambhaw Incorporation and to its utter surprise it found out that the organization had no office in New Delhi and Chennai as it had informed its consumers while mobilizing deposits from them.
All consumers who may want to get in touch with CLPF can call on the given helpline number 91 9854639321

Assam to be part of second Green Revolution

2010-09-21T21:26:00.001-07:00

Sushanta Talukdar

The Ministry of Agriculture has finally included Assam in the list of eastern States to be covered by the second Green Revolution.

State Agriculture Minister Pramila Rani Brahma told journalists that Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has informed Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi that Assam was also made a part of the initiative.

Ms. Brahma said Assam was initially not included in the list. Mr. Gogoi had written a letter to Mr. Pawar in this regard.

A panel of experts would be constituted to seek their expertise on the implementation of second Green Revolution in the State.

Among the eastern States, Assam has received the best performance award for National Food Security Mission (NFSM)- rice in 13 NFSM districts.

The mission aims at, among others, increasing the production and productivity of rice. Rice productivity in the 13 districts — Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Darrang, Dhemaji Goalpara, Karbi Anglong, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur and Tinsukia — had fallen below the State average.

Cleft-lipped Assam boy US-bound – for surgery and smile

2010-09-20T23:43:00.001-07:00

By Syed Zarir Hussain

Guwahati, Sep 21 : Hassem Ali, a small- time shoe vendor in an Assam village, thinks Allah has not been kind to his family. His son Nur was born with cleft deformities and was the butt of all jokes in the village.

But the eight-year-old boy from South Salmara, a sandbar in Assam’s Dhubri district, about 300 km north of here, may soon get his smile back! Next week he is being flown to Norfolk, US, to get his cleft lip and palate repaired by a team of surgeons under the Operation Smile India project.

“I always thought I had committed some big crime or sin that my son was born with such cleft deformities because of which he was unable to speak properly and had faced social discrimination…he did not have any friends in school and was always the subject of mockery,” Haseem told IANS.

Little Nur also cursed himself at times, especially when he felt like smiling but could not. “I hate myself for my disorder,” Nur said in a muffled voice.

But now there is hope for Nur.

“On Sep 26, I will take Nur and one of his relatives to the Operation Smile headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, where he would undergo at least eight major reconstruction surgeries spanning over a period of one year free of cost,” Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told IANS.

The entire operation, including travel and accommodation in the US, would cost around Rs.5 million ($108,000) and would be borne by the Operation Smile India.

Operation Smile is a not-for-profit medical service organisation based in Norfolk. Founded in 1982, it provides cleft lip and palate repair surgeries to children worldwide, assists countries in reaching self-sufficiency in these surgeries and works to reduce the occurrence of cleft lips and palates.

“Doctors here told us that such an operation was not possible in India and could be done only in the US. But frankly speaking, we didn’t have the means to even think of such a proposition and hence gave up hope of seeing my son’s smile ever in his life,” Haseem said.

But a few days ago, Haseem got a phone call from the Assam health department saying Nur would have to fly down to the US for getting his facial deformities repaired.

“I am convinced there is god in this world…our prayers were answered and maybe the life of my son would be changed for the better,” Haseem said.

Already more than 2,500 children with cleft deformities have been treated in Assam under Operation Smile India and the target is to treat more than 5,000 such cases in the next couple of years.

“We want to make Assam a state free from cleft deformities,” the minister said.

Assam is the only Indian state that has been aggressively undertaking a campaign under Operation Smile – an initiative that has already been acknowledged by the US.

The Assam health minister would leave for Norfolk Sep 26 to receive an award being conferred by the governor of Virginia, Robert F. McDonell, for his initiative on this front.

“I am honoured and feel privileged, but would like to give credit to the team of doctors and other staff involved in the project,” the minister said.

(Zarir Hussain can be contacted at zarir.h@ians.in)

Assam moots expert committee for Subansiri project review

2010-09-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Kolkata/ Guwahati Sep 21 : In view of resentment among locals, Assam has recommended NHPC to constitute a “multi-disciplinary expert committee” to “thoroughly” study all issues connected with the 2,000 Mw Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project and initiate suitable follow-up actions accordingly.

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi discussed issues concerning the project at a meeting with S K Garg, chairman and managing director of NHPC, and apprised him the view of the state government.

The project has been facing opposition from locals in Assam for the perceived threat it poses to the surrounding ecology and downstream Assam. A recent report by an expert committee, which expressed its reservations against the Lower Subansiri Project, had triggered wave of protests against the project; with political parties too joining the bandwagon.

Gogoi said that in view of the resentment among the people, NHPC should take care of all the issues.

“The power company should address all these issues properly leaving no scope for any resentment from any quarter, he said. "The dam must not pose any threat to the environment and all steps must be initiated to protect the environment, including the rich biodiversity of the State," Gogoi added.

Gogoi asked Garg to keep on apprising the state government from time to time on the steps initiated by the power company. Garg however assured that the company would “respect the sentiments of the people of Assam and take steps to address the concerns” and said the project was at its “advanced stage” and would be commissioned in 2012 in two phases.

In the wake of protests against the project, the union environment and forests minister, Jairam Ramesh, recently had a daylong public hearing in Guwahati with various civil and environmental groups.

Assam's 4% entry tax may rock BSNL’s North-East plan

2010-09-20T20:38:00.001-07:00

KOLKATA: State-owned BSNL’s expansion plans in the picturesque North-East could run into rough weather. The telecom major faces the prospect of huge time and cost overruns as loads of IT/telecom gear meant for its mobile, broadband and landline capacity build-up seldom reach these parts on time. The reason: a 4% entry tax that the Assam government levies on every piece of telecom/IT gear that enters the state.

At present, BSNL buys nearly Rs 2,000 crore of project gear every year to ramp up communication infrastructure in these insurgency-prone states, but the bulk of it rarely gets past Guwahati on time.

Since not a single box of telecom equipment can enter any north-eastern state bypassing Assam, critical gear worth hundreds of crores bound for Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya, Manipur or Aurnachal Pradesh have been lying idle for months in Guwahati. This is despite the fact that none of the north-eastern states levy a similar entry tax on the IT/telecom gear shipments.

Worse, ever since Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura were declared troubled zones, all IT/telecom gear meant for BSNL’s operations in these circles have invariably gathered dust in its warehouses in Assam.

“The 4% entry tax levied by the Assam government is proving to be a major deterrent that is hurting BSNL’s operations and expansion plans in Assam and North-East. Not only is it a huge additional cost that jacks up the final cost of delivering telecom services in Assam, it also delays all our equipment shipments headed for the six north-eastern states since Assam cannot be bypassed,” said a senior BSNL official with direct knowledge of the problem in the region.

“As a result, the gamut of equipment meant for BSNL’s mobile, landline and broadband networks in the north-eastern circles piles up for months in Guwahati as the cargo is seldom cleared expeditiously by the Assam authorities. This is hurting BSNL operations in the North-East circles,” he added.

BSNL buys some Rs 1,000 crore of telecom/IT instruments for its Assam operation alone every year while another Rs 800-1000 crore of gear is procured for the remaining six north-eastern states. The gear is a mix of BTS, BSCs, MSCs, optic fibre cables (OFC), core control gear, end-terminal equipment, which is particularly critical to BSNL’s mobile and broadband expansion plans in the region.

“Since Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram have been declared troubled locations, all BSNL equipment meant for these circles have to be stocked in our designated warehouses in Guwahati. It often takes months to ship critical project equipment from Guwahati to the north-eastern circles,” said another BSNL executive based in Assam.

Assam complies with NHRC order, pays Rs.10 lakh as relief to police firing victims kin

2010-09-20T07:30:00.001-07:00

The Government of Assam has complied with the recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to pay the families of two victims of police firing a sum of Rs. five lakhs each.

Ram Nath Chauhan and Jawahar Singh Gour became victims of excessive use of fire arms against protesters by police in Mailo area under Kheroni police station in Karbi Anglong District of Assam on August 16, 2008.

The NHRC had taken up the case on a complaint filed by Suhas Chakma of the Asian Human Rights Organisation. (ANI)

Gogoi to be fit to travel in two weeks

2010-09-18T22:50:00.001-07:00

Guwahati, Sep 19 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will be fit to travel and free from all medication in nearly two weeks, eminent cardiac surgeon Ramakant Panda who performed triple surgeries on him said Saturday.

'The chief minister is doing excellent. I would say within the next 15 days he should be able to travel and roam around freely like he did in the past. By that time, all medicines would also be stopped,' Panda told IANS.

The cardiac surgeon from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute was in Guwahati to examine Gogoi, following the surgeries last month.

'He is mentally so strong that he has recovered much beyond our expectations,' Panda said.

The well-known cardiac surgeon said doctors at the Mumbai institute were ready to collaborate with the medical colleges in Assam to share expertise.

'There could be several ways by which we can help people in the northeast. We are ready to send doctors from Mumbai to the medical colleges in Assam for sharing expertise and doctors from Assam can also visit our institute,' Panda said.

'The next possible option we are contemplating is having a branch of the Asian Heart Institute in Guwahati with the support of the Assam government,' he added.

The surgeon also announced free treatment for poor people at the Asian Heart Institute.

'We are ready to extend all possible financial support and arrange free treatment to children and adults from poor families as we have some Trusts working for the benefit of the underprivileged sections,' he said.

The Asian Heart Institute is one of the best hospitals for cardiac surgery in Asia. Panda and his team have conducted about 15,000 surgeries, including that of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Tension in Gauhati University over NSUI flag

2010-08-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

Guwahati, Aug 20 : A tense situation prevailed at Gauhati University premise here today when a group of students prevented the start of the annual Youth Festival, protesting hoisting of the flag of a student body with political affiliation.

Trouble erupted soon after the flag hoisting ceremony to mark the start of the festival, in which hundreds of students from various colleges under the University are participating.

A section of students, mostly of All Assam Students Union (AASU), protested the hoisting of the NSUI flag in the University. They pointed out that no tributes were paid to the 855 martyrs of the Assam Agitation, which is a tradition of the University. Some students also alleged that few hostels were not given formal invitation to participate in the festival.

Post-Graduate Students Union general secretary Pallavi Saikia, accepting responsibility for failing to pay tribute to the martyrs memory, sought to pacify the agitating students by assuring to ratify the mistake.

She assured the students that earthen lamps will be lit in the evening in memory of the martyrs. However, Pallavi refused to bring down the NSUI flag, though promising that no union leader will be invited as guest in any of the function.

The agitating students finally allowed the festival to proceed and called off their protest later in the noon.

AGP’s plea to act upon Hojai’s charges

2010-08-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

GUWAHATI, Aug 20 – Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today called for urgent steps to assess the bank accounts of those against whom the finger of accusation has been raised by Niranjan Hojai, the prime accused in the multi-crore NC Hills (Dima Hasao) District scam.

The party has further demanded that the Central Government should initiate steps to extract specific information as to whom the Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel) (DHD-J) C-in-C Niranjan Hojai had meant when he said that Ministers were also involved in the NC Hills scam.

AGP chief spokesman Atul Bora today told this newspaper that the Central Government has failed to act in the desired manner in regard to the NC Hills scam despite there being tremendous pressure from the people and the Opposition. This is a very shameful development in a democratic country, which boasts itself to be the largest democratic country in the world, Bora said.

Bora also alleged that the Congress-led Government in the State has lost its moral rights to be in power because of its failure to provide

security to the life and property of the State’s people in the Charaipung area on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.

Due to the failure of the Assam Government to make its presence felt in the area, miscreants belonging to Arunachal Pradesh and the Naga militant organization NSCN have posed serious threat to the life and property of the State’s people living in that area since August 13, Bora alleged.

This is despite the statement made by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on the floor of the Assam Assembly that none of the neighbouring states would be allowed to grab even a small piece of land belonging to Assam, he said.

The local as well as the district administration have failed to contain the miscreants who have been making life hell of the Assam people in Charaipung area. To add to all these, none of the Ministers has visited the area to meet the affected people and also to assess the situation, Bora said.

66 sq km of Assam forest cover lost

2010-08-17T22:11:00.001-07:00

The Centre has admitted that forest cover in Assam has shrunk by over 66 sq km over the previous biennial assessment.
As against the national scenario, where the forest cover has increased by 45,827 Km in the last two decades from 1989 to 2009. But in case of Assam, according to assessment made by the Forest Survey of India by interpretation of satellite data, a net decrease over the previous biennial assessment in forest cover of Assam has been noticed, the Minister of State for Environment and Forest, Jairam Ramesh said in a Rajya Sabha reply to an un-starred question by Kumar Deepak Das.

Assam is not the only State in the North East where forest area has shrunk. The States where forest cover has decreased included Arunachal Pradesh (-4.85 %), Manipur (-2.45 %) and Nagaland (-6.94 %). Ramesh, also, admitted that currently, an area of 12, 41,522 hectares of forest land is under encroachments.

According to the Minister, encroachments of forest area in Assam has been reported from Nameri National Park (2100 hectares), Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park (800 hectares), Manas National Park (1700 hectares), Dibru Saikhowa National Park (300 hectares) and Kaziranga National Park (7790 hectares).

The Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh too has not escaped with 3005 hectares of the Park under encroachment, Ramesh disclosed.

Experts question nod to Assam distillery, term it a threat to river dolphin

2010-08-16T01:27:00.001-07:00

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

The permission for setting up a distillery at Rampur in Kamrup district, about 30 km west of Guwahati, has raked up a controversy with environmentalists and NGOs claiming that effluents from the plant would not only have an adverse effect on agriculture but would also pose a major threat to the Gangetic river dolphins found in the Kulsi river.

A company called NV Distilleries & Breweries (Northeast) Pvt Ltd has been granted permission by the Ministry of Environment & Forests as well as the Pollution Control Board, Assam to set up its unit at Bartezpur village near Rampur.

With poaching being rampant in the Brahmaputra, river dolphins were shifted to the Kulsi with the confluence of the Dorabeel — a major wetland — and the river becoming a safe sanctuary for the mammal.

Environmentalists have questioned the permission granted by the MoEF, with Gauhati University professor MM Goswami saying that the question of survival of the highly-endangered river dolphin has been ignored. “The Kulsi river has been already earmarked as the last resort for the river dolphin in the Brahmaputra Valley. It was after a prolonged campaign by several groups that the government declared it as state aquatic animal in 2008. A year later it was also declared as the national aquatic animal.”

People of the area have set up a Brihattar Rampur Janaswartha Suraksha Samiti to resist establishment of the factory. “We are not anti-development. But what Rampur and its surrounding areas need is a programme for sustainable development,” said Debajit Choudhury, vice-president of the Brihattar Rampur Janaswartha Suraksha Samiti.

HK Gogoi, member-secretary of the Pollution Control Board, Assam said it was on the basis of a public hearing that the MoEF gave environmental clearance to the distillery. “We also forwarded the people's reservations to the MoEF twice in the past few months,” said Gogoi.

Artists celebrate 64th Independence Day by painting on rice grain

2010-08-16T01:26:00.001-07:00

On the occasion of 64th Independence Day here on Sunday many artists marked day by arousing nationalistic feelings and patriotic fervour among people of all ages in their own unique way.

In Assam, an artist Reshmi Kankani, a resident of Guwahati, has painted the Tricolour and etched the national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' on rice grains.

Kankani said she intended to spread the message of love for the country.

"There should be love all around. All should Love the country's soil and don't resort to bomb blasts, militancy, they should stop all this and live with love and peace," said Kankani.

Kankani wants to gift the rice grain with the national flag to the Governor of Assam.

Meanwhile, Gajendra Suryakant Wadhonkar in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city painted the faces of freedom fighters such as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhai Patel and others on rice grains.

"I did not learn this art from anywhere but is a god gift and because of the support from my parents I just began with this art. This is self-creativity. I don't have any teacher and I'm taking guidance from my parents," said Wadhonkar. (ANI)

Security beefed up in Assam ahead of I-Day celebrations

2010-08-13T09:03:00.001-07:00

Guwahati, Aug 13 (ANI): Security has been beefed up in Guwahati after militant groups gave a call to boycott Independence Day celebrations.

The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) sent out an e-mail to local media calling for the boycott and a 15-hour general strike on August 15.

Security personnel have been deployed at public places like railway stations, bus stands, and at the Latasil playground, where the state’s official celebrations will take place.Passengers are being frisked at the main Guwahati city station while police personnel have been stationed at all entry and exit points of the city.

“Some organizations like ULFA have given a boycott call. So, in view of all the inputs we have received so far, we have made some fool-proof plans so that nothing goes wrong during the celebrations,” said P C Saloi, Senior Superintendent of Police, Guwahati.Meanwhile, security has also been stepped up in West Bengal following the recurrent strikes and shutdown calls by Maoists in the region.

Bhupinder Singh, Director General of West Bengal Police on Thursday held a meeting with the state police officials and other intelligence officials to assess the situation in the region.

Singh said measures were in place to ensure peaceful celebrations on the Independence Day.

“We face problem and we still are facing some problems in tackling this agitation. We don’t want any bloodshed and any kind of nuisance during the Independence Day celebrations,” he added. (ANI)

Five people electrocuted in Assam

2010-08-13T09:02:00.001-07:00

Guwahati, Aug 13 : Five people, including three women, were killed by lightning in Assam's Goalpara district on Friday, police said.

The incident took place at Chelabari village under Dhupdhora police station in the district.

"Five people, including three women, were struck by lightning when they were busy working at their paddy field," said police.

The deceased were identified as Salam Ahmed, Athela Khatun, Anuwara Begum, Alenur Rahman and Aklima Begum.

Assam to fill all teachers vacancies soon

2010-08-12T04:16:00.001-07:00

Guwahati, Aug 12 : Assam Education Minister Gautam Bora today said the state government will appoint 8000 teachers shortly to fill vacancies in various schools across the state.

''Around 8000 posts of teachers are lying vacant and the state government has already decided to fill up all the vacancies,'' Bora said at a press conference here.

He added that the education department has taken up steps to appoint additional teachers on contractual basis in various schools, where there is shortage teaching staff.

Announcing changes in the primary and secondary structure of schools, Mr Bora said, ''From next academic session, Class V will be included in the lower primary section and Class VIII will be taken in the upper primary section.''

''Further, Class IX and Class X will be included in secondary education,'' he added.

The minister further informed that the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) syllabus will be introduced from Class I to Class VIII in the state from next academic year.

Assam youth vow to defy rebel boycott of Independence Day

2010-08-12T04:01:00.001-07:00

By Syed Zarir Hussain

Guwahati, Aug 12 (IANS) Young Parismita and her classmate Dhruba, both in their early 20s, have never ever participated at an Independence Day parade. The fear of terror attacks prompted them to keep away from taking part in the national day celebrations.

Come Sunday, the two college students would make their way to the Latasil playground to witness and be part of India's Independence Day - the central celebrations in Assam's main city of Guwahati.

“Enough is enough. It is time we go and participate actively to have in us that feeling of patriotism back that has almost gone missing among the new generation,” Parismita told IANS. Dhruba nodded in unison.

A vast majority of those who have attained 30 years of age in Assam have never been to an Independence Day parade in their life as the state has been witnessing a drumbeat of violence in the run-up to the national day celebrations since the early 1980s.

This time round, a generation of young in Assam have pledged to reverse the trend by publicly pledging to defy any militant boycott call of the celebrations and mark their presence at the Independence Day parade ground in their respective areas.

“It is time we boldly stand up against militancy. There is a change in the mindset of the new generation to defy any form of rebel boycott calls,” said Joy Prakash, a youth leader from the ruling Congress party.

For many, the Aug 15 celebrations are nothing but a holiday - militant groups like the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) have for years boycotted India’s Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations to protest New Delhi’s rule over the vast region rich in oil, tea and timber.

The run-up to the events has always been violent, with rebels striking vital installations like crude oil pipelines, trains, roads and rail bridges besides targeting security personnel.

The fear compounded more after ULFA triggered a powerful landmine at an Independence Day parade ground at Dhemaji town in eastern Assam in 2004. Fourteen people were killed, most of them school children.

Such was the fear that parents stopped sending their children to Assam to attend national day celebrations.

“We need to reverse the trend by plucking up courage and motivate our children to attend Independence Day and Republic Day functions,” said Keshab Bora, a freedom fighter.

Politicians dominate Assam sports bodies: Ex-SAI official

2010-08-10T22:04:00.001-07:00

Rao recalled that it was Malhotra who played a spoilsport and dented Limba's chance of achieving something worthwhile at the 1992 Olympics Games when he sacked the archer's coach a fortnight before the mega event in Barcelona.

"The Special Area Games scheme unearthed Limba Ram in the late 1980s and he was shaping up nicely and was poised to do well in the Barcelona Games before V K Malhotra sacked his coach just 15 days before the event," he said.

Welcoming the media glare on alleged corruption in the organisation of the CWG, Rao said one of the objectives of Clean Sports India - headed by former India hockey captain Pargat Singh - was for sports persons to take over sports administration at all levels, starting from the grassroots.

"I cite the example of (former national sprint champion and member of Clean Sports India) Ashwini Nachappa, who has taken over as the President of the Bangalore district athletics body. In a few years' time she would be in a good position to take control of the state body," he said.

"It's going to be a long haul for us but we have to make a beginning. Recently, we had an awareness run at Bangalore and our organisation that started with ten persons got swelled by 100 more sports persons."

Former Olympian and Asian Games 4 x 400m relay gold medallist Vandana Rao, treasurer of Clean Sports India, said a similar run to bring about awareness in Olympic sports would be held in Mumbai on August 29.

Assam lad wins hearts at show

2010-08-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

10-year-old deemed favourite for Zee Li’l Masters finals today

Jeetumoni Kalita

Mumbai, Aug 8 : “Paisa bhi milega?” That was little Jeetumoni Kalita’s wide-eyed reaction on being asked what he planned to do with the prize money if he wins tomorrow night.

The 10-year-old from Guwahati has made it to the finals of Dance India Dance Li’l Masters, the reality show on Zee TV, and is deemed a favourite. All he wants as prize is a trophy.

During a break from rehearsals in Mumbai, Jeetumoni hardly seemed to be feeling the jitters.

He was too busy chattering away in his “thoda thoda Hindi” with fellow-finalists Vaishnavi Patil, Manoj Rathod and Atul Banmoria, and counting the hours when his family would reach. “They should be on the train now,” he said.

His father works with the CISF and is posted in Jorhat.

Jeetumoni admits he is “thoda thoda” homesick. “I have not been home in four months,” he admits. That is why in an earlier episode he had broken down on seeing a video clip of his grandmother wishing him well and urging him to make Assam proud.

Not that there is any lack of love on the sets for him. Judge Farah Khan loves him so much that she wants to take him home.

“Grandmaster” Mithun Chakraborty has gifted him a carrom board. And the audience has showered him with support. He is the youngest of the four finalists, but has topped the voting charts for three weeks in a row.

His trainer Dharmesh is upbeat about his prospects.

“Give him a strong act, like with fire or in the air, and he will sizzle. Remember what he did with malkhamb?” he said, referring to Jeetumoni’s “kya baat” salute-earning performance using the form which is combination of traditional Indian gymnastics and martial arts.

A student of Class VI in Railway Higher Secondary School in Maligaon, Jeetumoni had come to the show armed only with break dance taught by his elder brother Manoj.

Now he has Indian folk, contemporary, popping and locking, Russian folk, cha cha cha and hip hop in his arsenal. “I don’t give up easily. If a step is difficult, I keep trying it out,” said the wafer-thin boy whose favourite food item, he confesses, is wafers. This grit has stood him in good stead.

“He keeps rehearsing even after others leave,” attested Dharmesh. That helps, given the little time the children get to pick up a new form. They rest on Sunday. On Monday the trainers decide on the song and on Tuesday, the choreography. “We have three days to learn the steps. Our rehearsals start from 6am and continue till 10am, sometimes noon. We are so tired on the way back to the guesthouse that we often fall asleep in the car.” The shoot takes place on Saturday.

This Saturday of course is the decider. At Chhatrapati Sports Complex, in Balewadi, Pune, seeing him perform live will be the star father-daughter duo of Anil and Sonam Kapoor. “Asom basi raij please mok aponaloke vote di kiney jikai diyok. Jai aai Asom,” he writes out an appeal to the readers of The Telegraph in his home state.

But irrespective of the results, the slip of a boy has his priorities clear. “I want to be a choreographer when I grow up, but now I want to go back to Assam and study.”

Forest dept makes some way for jumbos

2010-08-03T23:52:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE: The jumbos will finally heave a sigh of relief! After years of man-elephant conflicts, the Karnataka forest department has begun acquiring forest land crucial for elephant corridors.

The Karnataka forest department has proposed to acquire a huge chunk of land near the Bannerghatta National Park which serves as a corridor, but has been badly encroached upon by human habitation and infrastructure.

Principal chief conservator of forests B K Singh said the Rs 34-crore Rationalization of Elephant Corridors and Consolidation of Boundaries Project involves relocating habitations. However, whether or not the Centre funds the project remains to be seen.

The project has several components. Apart from purchase of land from private parties, Rs 11.9 crore will be spent on buying agricultural land and around Rs 10.26 crore for building houses.

At least four corridors need to be acquired to ease their movement -- one near Bannerghatta National Park, two near Biligiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary linking the Cauvery wildlife sanctuary and one near Bandipur Tiger Sanctuary.

Recently, the corridor that connects Kollegal forest division to Biligiri Rangaswamy temple, was purchased, and transferred to the Karnataka government by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). For the 25.5 acre Kollegal (Edayarhalli- Doddasampige) corridor, land under private ownership was purchased by the WTI and its partner, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The corridor connects Kollegal forest division and Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary. It's the first in Asia to be privately purchased and made part of a protected area. On similar lines, the state forest department plans to purchase land for these corridors.

"The Centre has some queries about the Bannerghatta land acquisition proposal and we'll revert on them. I hope the proposal is cleared. One corridor has been acquired by WTI and we have to gradually acquire the rest," B K Singh told TOI.

Recently, after 12 deaths were reported in about three months due to man-elephant conflict, the forest department upgraded the projects to cover borders with solar fencing and to equip the anti-depredation camps better. But setting up the corridors is key to reducing such conflicts, according to experts.

"We suggested buying of critical parts of land. The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority funds should be used for strategic land acquisition. We need proactive solutions to minimize conflicts, apart from immediate response measures," said managing trustee, Wildlife First, Praveen Bhargav. He added that conflicts have intensified because there's no land use policy, and states with a large elephant population like Orissa, Assam and Karnataka have been badly affected.

CORRIDORS TO BE ACQUIRED

Karadikal- Mahdeshwar corridor near Bannerghatta National Park -- 1km long, 300-00 m wide

Talli corridor in Bangalore Rural and Tamil Nadu - 2km long, 1km wide

Yediyarhalli-Doddasampige corridor - Acquired by WTI

Kanyanpura-Moyar near Bandipura

Girl forced into flesh trade rescued

2010-08-01T04:19:00.002-07:00

NEW DELHI: A 20-year-old girl was rescued from a human-trafficking racket on Friday and two persons were arrested. Naushad (26) and Gopal (26) used to lure innocent girls on the pretext of marriage and then rape them and force them into flesh trade.

Mansi (name changed) was rescued by a resident of Mangolpuri who alerted the police, leading to the arrests of the two accused. Mansi, a native of Udalguri in Assam, was allegedly being illegally confined in a house in Mangolpuri by the duo.

Mansi had come to Delhi with Naushad two months ago as he had promised to marry her after he met her in a hotel in Assam that was being run by his cousin Alam.

Mansi alleged that Naushad raped her forcibly after reaching Delhi and also forced her to have physical relations with his other ‘friends’ in exchange for money. Naushad would beat her mercilessly when she would refuse to comply with his directions, alleged Mansi. On one occasion, Naushad and his ‘friend’ Sonu, allegedly gang-raped her, claimed Mansi.

Said DCP (outer) Chhaya Sharma, ‘‘Naushad would promise her that it would all be over once he would be able to arrange enough money.”

Plea to revive NRC projects

2010-08-01T04:19:00.000-07:00

Guwahati, Aug 1 : Twenty-five organisations of the state today submitted a memorandum to Assam Governor J.B. Patnaik seeking immediate resumption of the pilot projects to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the Barpeta and Chaygaon revenue circles.

These organisations include the All Assam Students’ Union, All Assam Tribal Sangha, All Bodo Students’ Union, All Rabha Students Union, All Tai Ahom Students’ Union, All Dimasa Students Union, All Koch-Rajbongshi Students’ Union, All Tiwa Students’ Union, All Assam Matak Yuba-Chattra Samilan, All Assam Maran Students’ Union, All Assam Deuri Students’ Union, Karbi Students Union, All Assam Tea Tribes’ Students’ Association and All Assam Gorkha Students’ Union, among others.

A 30-member delegation of the organisations called on the governor and submitted the memorandum, demanding that the pilot projects should not be stopped under any circumstances.

It also demanded that the scheme to prepare the NRC should be extended to the whole of Assam at the earliest.

“There is no flaw in the application, which has to be filled up for inclusion of names in the NRC. The government of Assam should make elaborate arrangements to publicise the procedure in simple language so that the interested communal parties and groups cannot take advantage for false propaganda,” the memorandum said.

AASU adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharyya threatened to launch a massive agitation if the government failed to resume the update at the earliest.

“The government must not allow any attempt to communalise the issue,” he said.

He said representatives of the 25 organisations met here yesterday and discussed the situation arising out of the violent activities of the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU), aimed at obstructing the pilot projects.

Bhattacharyya said they would travel to Delhi soon to submit a separate memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P. Chidambaram in this regard.

“The organisations feel that the state government has unduly interfered in the preparation of the NRC, bowing to the pressure of some communal organisations which consistently opposed the objective of the Assam Movement,” Bhattacharyya said.

In the memorandum, they also demanded an immediate halt to the construction of the big dam at Subansiri and to declare the flood and erosion problems of Assam as the national problem of the country.

In a related incident, MP and All India United Democratic Front president Maulana Badruddin Ajmal on Saturday met Bhumidhar Barman, who has taken over charge of the state in the absence of chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

Sources said Ajmal, while asserting that his party would support the government in bringing peace to the state, said the process of updating National Register of Citizens 1951 should be resumed at an early date by clearing the alleged doubts and discrepancies in the application forms.

Though there is speculation about the possible political ramifications of the meeting, AIUDF spokeperson Haidar Ali Bora said it was purely a “courtesy call”.