Dry dusty weather makes life miserable

GUWAHATI, Feb 28 – Since the dry spell is more, winter rainfall as a whole has failed to keep the surface wet, which is leading to the warm day. Moreover, as there are enough sand dunes in the form of chars over the riverbed and exposed hills are also there around the city, the dust raising gusty winds (pachowa) during the daytime have been causing the uncomfortable hazy condition, specially in Guwahati and its neighbourhood.

This is the explanation provided by the weather office for the warm day and dusty condition that have been making life miserable here. This condition is however, expected to be over within a day or two.

The weather office here has said that a cyclonic circulation over North Assam and adjoining Arunachal Pradesh with a trough aloft extending up to 3.1 kilometres above mean sea level was witnessed today. Under its influence, rain or thundershower may occur over isolated places in Arunachal Pradesh and NE part of Assam during the next 24 hours since today morning, Weather will be dry over the rest of the region during the period, said the weather office.

In Guwahati, dust covered hazy sky during the daytime and development of thunder clouds towards the evening/night hours during the next 24 hours have been predicted by the weather office today.

According to Director, Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), H Pathak, usually, there is less rainfall in the region during the winter season as compared to the other seasons. However Arunachal Pradesh gets more rain during the winter in comparison to the rest of the region.

The effective weather system, which brings rainfall over the region are normally seen as cyclonic circulation and trough in lower level of atmosphere over Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining sub-Himalayan West Bengal, West Assam, West Meghalaya and North West Bangladesh. Such types of weather systems persist for two to three days over this region producing rainfall. But if such systems pass away within a day, rainfall cannot be expected over the region.

Frequency of such systems observed over this region reflects the frequency of rainfall here. Practically, in most part of the winter season, easterly and northeasterly winds prevail in the lower level of atmosphere, which contribute to fair weather — that is sunny days or partly cloudy sky. That means, to get rainfall over the region the weather system must change the direction of easterly-northeasterly wind to southerly/southwesterly wind, which carry moisture form the Bay of Bengal to the region.

This winter, on most of the occasions, passing away of weather systems (cyclonic circulation/ trough in lower level of atmosphere) were mainly observed. This has resulted in less amount of rainfall, leading to a practically dry winter season, said the RMC Director.

AASU seeks exams probe

Guwahati, Feb 28 : The AASU today sought an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the re-examinations of the higher secondary final conducted by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council in 2008.

AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya said they had written to education minister Gautam Bora, demanding an impartial probe.

“From various sources we have received evidence of irregularities in the re-evaluation by a section of council officials, which is a matter of very serious concern for us, as it affects the interests of the student community,” he said.

Bhattacharyya said they were ready to share the evidence with the investigators if the state government orders a probe. He said they had taken up the matter with the council’s chairman, Mohsin Ali. “We were forced to seek the intervention of the education minister since the council chairman failed to respond to our demands,” he added.

AASU president Sankar Prasad Ray said they had reasons to doubt that money mi-ght have changed hands dur-ing re-exam. He demanded disciplinary action against the council’s controller of examinations, Pradip Kalita.

The AASU leaders said they had evidence to substantiate their allegations but refused to give details. “Our demand is very simple. Since there were allegations of serious irregularities during re-examination, let there be an independent inquiry to find out the truth,” AASU general secretary Tapan Gogoi said.

He said the council deviated from its pattern of showing original and revised marks and revised results in the result sheet of the re-examination.

Scheme to safeguard mothers

Guwahati, Feb. 28 : Dispur today launched the Ma-moni scheme to cater to the health of expecting mothers after Majoni, a project to care for the girl child.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi launched the scheme at Rabindra Bhawan, along with health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. J.B. Ekka and Mallika Medhi, senior officials of the National Rural Health Mission, which will implement the scheme, were also present.

The government will spend around Rs 80 crore annually from the Assam Bikash Yojana for the scheme. The state spends around Rs 500 crore to boost the health sector. Under Majoni, every time a girl is born in a government-run hospital in Assam, a fixed deposit account of Rs 5,000 will be opened in her name to be encashed when she is 18.

Launched just days before the code of conduct for the general elections comes into force, both Gogoi and Sarma were not coy about admitting that they would not mind if the Ma-moni scheme helps the ruling Congress get some votes. “Some people may dub the move poll-oriented but our politics is for the welfare of the common man,” Gogoi said.

Sarma said it was the Gogoi government’s endeavour to do as much as possible for the common man. “This scheme is not only about giving money to pregnant women. It is about creating awareness. Most suffer because of ignorance and unsound financial condition. In order to ensure a healthy pregnancy, a balanced diet and regular ante-natal check-ups are a must. Iron deficiency often leads to anaemia, which affects both the mother and the child. If somebody feels that we are doing a good thing and votes for us, then what is wrong?”

Dual voting rights along Asom-Meghalaya border

SHILLONG, Feb 27 : The bye-elections to Umroi Legislative Assembly in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya unveiled the double-voting rights of at least 1,800 people residing in 11 border villages in Karbi-Anglong district. These villagers are from Umthli, Umwang, Madanumwang, Khliehumwang Letpatung, Sabuda, Umsohlaper, Umsder and Jatalong. Although, they brought with them the EPICs issued by the Meghalaya Government, they also have EPICs provided by Asom.

This was discovered today after hundreds of voters from these far-flung villages under Karbi Anglong trek to Mawlasnai polling booth in Ri-Bhoi district today chosen among the candidates from the Congress, the United Democratic Party (UDP) and the HSPDP as their representatives to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.

Moreover, they also admitted they cast their votes during the last Asom LA elections and the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) elections. Besides knowing the candidates contesting in the Umroi bye-polls in Meghalaya, they are also aware of their own MLA from Chynthung constituency of Asom. They called their MLA to Asom Assembly as ‘Ma’ Rongpi and know Pradip Rongpi as their representative in the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC).

Interestingly, most of these villagers have enjoyed double voting rights since the creation of Meghalaya. A villager of Umwang told The Sentinel in Sabuda today, “I have been casting my votes during the Asom elections as well as the Meghalaya elections for the past 20 years”, even as he cited that there are many who have done the same in the past many years. However, barring their little reference of a local member of the autonomous council, these villagers have seen only a bit development works from both the states (Asom and Meghalaya). The massive turnout of the electorates to the bye-elections showed the emotional attachment to Meghalaya, but they do not deny that they are living in a disputed area in Asom.

This morning, a group of electorates were stopped by Assam Police and CRPF personnel from walking to Mawlasnai to cast their votes, and it is learnt that the top officials from Shillong made a telephonic intervention later that things were smoothen.
In the afternoon, Additional Director General of Police B Kezo accompanied by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Eastern Range had a meeting with the officials from Asom at Sabuda. Sources said that the meeting agreed to allow the willing villagers from these villagers to go and cast their votes.

Thieves attack BSF jawans

Dhubri, Feb 28 : Three BSF personnel were injured when a mob, led by cattle thieves, attacked them near a border outpost in Assam’s Dhubri district last night.

BSF officials said the three jawans were attacked while returning to Mosolabarichar outpost after seizing eight cattle heads, which were being smuggled out to Bangladesh from Mahamayachar.

“Nearly 300 residents of nearby villages, led by the cattle smugglers, tried to free the cattle forcefully and attacked the jawans — R.P. Thakur, Ravi Shankar and Arjuna Rao — with sharp weapons. Finding no other way out, the jawans opened fire to disperse the mob,” a senior BSF official said. 

The jawans fired three rounds in the air, but the mob did not disperse.

While no one was injured in the firing, Thakur sustained serious head injuries in the mob attack and was admitted to the Dhubri Civil Hospital. His condition was said to be stable. 

The National Border Construction Corporation has been erecting riverine border fencing in Mosolabarichar as a pilot project for the past three years. But neither the fencing nor border patrolling by the BSF has deterred thieves who smuggle out cattle through the porous border areas of Dhubri district.

The general secretary of the Dhubri district unit of the AASU, Dibakar Barman, said the situation had deteriorated over the years. 

and would become worse if the government did not take notice of the situation. 

He urged the Centre to ponder over the situation in the sensitive border area where BSF jawans were being frequently attacked — not by terrorists but by cattle smugglers. 

“What will the BSF do if terrorists attack them? The Union government is playing with the sentiments of the people and has made a mockery of the Indo-Bangladesh border. It has neither been able to stop influx from Bangladesh nor transborder smuggling nor the activities of anti-national elements in the border areas. It is just a silent spectator,” he added.

Indian borders on alert after mutiny in Bangladesh

Guwahati/Agartala, Feb 25 : India Wednesday put its frontier guards on maximum alert along the Bangladesh border following a border guard mutiny in the neighbouring country, officials said.

An Indian Border Security Force (BSF) official said troopers were put on high alert and additional reinforcements rushed to sensitive border areas along the northeastern states of Tripura and Assam.

“A high alert was sounded with senior officials asked to station themselves in the border outposts,” A.K. Singh, a BSF spokesperson said.

Another senior BSF official said Bangladesh army soldiers have taken over several border outposts in Feni district, bordering Tripura, after a mutiny by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troopers.

“We are monitoring the developments and as of now nothing unusual has been noticed along the border. We are ready to meet any eventuality in the event of a spill over of the happenings in Bangladesh,” the BSF official said requesting not to be named.

Tripura shares a 856 km-long border with Bangladesh, with at least 30 percent of the border unfenced. Assam shares 272 km-long border with Bangladesh.

“BDR troopers stationed in some of the border areas were found to be jittery and confused after getting reports of the clashes in Dhaka. Our boys are monitoring their activities,” the official said.

Government to give 50 per cent assistance to tea garden owners

New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Government is planning to give 50 per cent assistance to tea garden owners to accelerate their performance in the international market.

Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that an electronic auction system is already in place for ensuring better prices to tea growers.

He claimed that Sri Lanka and Kenya are keen to adopt this new method to boost their tea exports.

Ramesh further appreciated the government’s success in reopening most of the closed tea gardens in Kerala and Assam and assured that the process is on in West Bengal as well.

“Multipurpose ID cards” to check illegal migration

New Delhi, Feb 25 The government has said that multipurpose identity cards will be issued to all citizens to check illegal migration into India. Replying supplementaries in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram said that the process for preparing a register of National Population is on and it is likely to be completed by 2010-11. The Minister asserted that strict vigil is being maintained on the India - Bangladesh border to check illegal migration. Mr. Chidambaram said, enough forces are posted on the border and more are being sent but due to difficult terrain and some other reasons, it is sometimes impossible to stop the illegal migration. The Minister said, government is aware of the cross border infiltration from Bangladesh and has adopted to a multi-pronged approach to curb this.

Gas project on fast track

Guwahati, Feb 24 : Dispur is optimistic that the gas cracker project being executed by the Gas Authority of India Limited-led joint venture company, Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL), will be completed on time.

“The project will be completed on schedule and the government will provide all support for its implementation,” industries minister Pradyut Bordoloi said today.

The project is scheduled for completion within 60 months from the date its foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 9, 2007, at Lepetkata in Dibrugarh district.

The construction of the project’s buildings is on in full swing and efforts are on to complete these before the commencement of the monsoon.

The joint venture company is promoted by GAIL with 70 per cent equity participation and the remaining 30 per cent equity is being shared equally by Oil India Limited, Numaligarh Refinery Limited and the Assam government.

Bordoloi said work of more than Rs 310 crore was being executed at the site and financial commitment of more than Rs 1,450 crore had been made. “Additional contracts of around Rs 290 crore are planned for next month.”

BCPL has acquired 3,000 bighas of land for the plant at Lepetkata and 45 bighas for the compressor station at Duliajan. The consultant for manpower recruitment has been appointed and the process of appointing engineering graduates in various disciplines has started.

Tenders for construction of BCPL and CISF townships have been floated and are slated to be awarded by April. The construction work is being planned for completion by September.

All the statutory clearances, including environmental clearance, have been obtained and an outdoor consignment transport study has been completed. This will enable preparation of road and water routes for bringing big and heavy consignments to the plant location.

As the plant area at Lepetkata is on a low level, a total of 65 lakh cubic metres of earth/silt is required to raise the level ranging from 0.5 to 3 metres. “More than 180 dumpers are engaged in transportation of silt/earth to the plant area,” the minister said.

The feedstock required for the plant has been ensured by signing agreements with Oil India Limited, ONGC and NRL.

Bordoloi said the implementation of the project would facilitate socio-economic development of the region and generate 780 direct and 100,000 indirect jobs.

Plantation for the development of a green belt around the plant area has been planned for completion this monsoon.

Industrial policy in sync with nature Dispur boost for capital venture

Industries minister Pradyut Bordoloi at the news conference on Monday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Feb 24 : Dispur today announced the 2008 Assam Industrial and Investment policy with emphasis on core competencies of the state to harness its natural assets and convert these into capital.

“The 2008 policy focuses on industrial development and enterprises around core competencies like bamboo, forest-based industry like plywood, horticulture, food processing besides a new emphasis on harnessing various natural assets such as water,” industries minister Pradyut Bordoloi told reporters.

He said the cabinet had given its nod to the new policy last week and it would be notified “shortly”. The policy will be binding for a period of five years till 2013.

The minister said the new policy had been prepared after detailed discussions with a cross section of stakeholders in the field of business, commerce and industry and on the recommendations of the Abhijit Barua Committee that was set up by the government earlier to review the 2003 Industrial Policy.

“The world is changing and more importance is now being given to nature,” Bordoloi said. “Bamboo is our core strength. There are a number of species and a lot of value addition can be done.”

He said a scientific system of green accounting would be incorporated to value the natural assets of the state.

On the common complaint of delay in getting power connections for the state, Bordoloi said there would be simplified procedures and a time frame for connections.

For those who want to invest Rs 100 crore or more, there is good news as all such projects will be given mega status.

All incentives, including priority land allotment, ceiling amount of subsidy and the period of validity of tax concessions, will be relaxed on a case-to-case basis.

Applications, complete in all respects for eligibility and sanction of incentives/concessions under the policy, will be disposed of within a maximum period of 90 days.

Many new institutes like the National Institute of Design and the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology are coming up to improve the human resource development skills.

The policy provides fiscal incentives complementary to the ones given in the North East Industrial and Investment Policy 2007.

“Till now we have received investment proposals worth Rs 2,100 crore in the joint sector,” Bordoloi said, adding that shortage of land, however, was a major constraint. “But we are trying our best to manage with what we have.”

The industries have been categorised under three broad heads — green, orange and red. The green category (non-polluting industries) will not be required to obtain “no objection” certificates but the red and orange categories will need to.

The classification has been done to fast-track the process of getting clearances from the Pollution Control Board of Assam.

The minister also announced plans for setting up a number of parks to boost industrial growth. The foundation stone of a Rs 100-crore mega food park will be laid on Thursday at Tihu. Apart from this, there will be a plastic park, a bamboo park, a textile park and a jute-processing park.

“The private sector will play the lead role in these projects. The government will simply play the role of a facilitator,” he said.

A State Investment Promotion Board, headed by the chief minister, will be constituted to act as the final authority in matters of policy concerning the industrial development of the state.

The Highlights

Focus on development of quality infrastructure in terms of industrial parks, industrial clusters and industrial estates

100 per cent reimbursement of stamp duty and registration fees to encourage setting up of industrial park/estate through purchase of private/government land

Entrepreneurs will be encouraged to revive sick units. Detailed operational guidelines will be formulated for the purpose

Units promoted by women and physically handicapped entrepreneurs will be given preference in trade fair

All applications for allotment of land upto 1 acre and shed up to 500 square metres in industrial estates/industrial area/growth centre will be cleared within a maximum period of 30 days

Applications for land beyond 1 acre and shed beyond 500 square metres will be cleared within 60 days by a state-level committee chaired by commissioner and secretary, industries and commerce department

Elephant tramples man to death in Assam

Kaziranga (Assam), Feb 24 One villager was trampled to death by a wild elephant in the outskirts of the Kaziranga National Park today.

Gopal Barua (40) was trampled to death in his home at Hatikhuli village by the tusker which got separated from its herd and strayed out of the national park at Hatikhuli village, forest department sources said .

The forest department are taking measures to drive the tusker back to the park.

Man, son die in bridge collapse

truck plunges into river, driver missing

The truck at the collapse site on Sunday. ATelegraph picture Guwahati, Feb 23 : A man and his son died and a stonechip-laden truck fell into the Gelabeel river when a 207-metre-long wooden bridge collapsed this morning. The bodies of the man and his minor son were recovered later. The truck driver and his assistant were yet to be traced. The truck was on its way from Bokakhat. Rubi Bori, 23, who was walking on the bridge was flung into the river. She was rescued and undergoing treatment at Golaghat Civil Hospital. The bridge connects Bonkowl and Mohramukh in the Bokakhat subdivision of Golaghat district. Sub-divisional officer (civil), Bokakhat, Mridul Mahanta, said that Nepali Pegu, 40, and his son Paresh, 8, were coming from Bonkowl riding a bicycle when the bridge gave way around 8.30am. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered.  Mahanta said the probe would be conducted by executive magistrate Dulal Debnath.  He said the bridge, built in 1961, had become weak over the years and probably buckled under the weight of the truck which was carrying stonechips for the construction of an RCC bridge alongside the wooden one.  He said the bridge was located on the road from Kamargaon to Mohramukh, nearly 25km from Bokakhat and about 300km from Guwahati. The official said some temporary measures were being undertaken to keep communication line over the river open as far as possible. “We will be trying to repair the bridge and put it back in the next few days, but till then people will have to cross the river by boat,” Mahanta said.  The bridge caved in on its northern (Bonkowl) end close to the bank of the river. Mahanta said cranes were brought in to pull the truck out of the river.  “There is no trace of the driver and his assistant if there was any,” he said adding that fishing nets were also being used to search for bodies. “It is also possible that they have survived.”  He said though it was dry season now, the possibility of the bodies being washed away could not be ruled out.  Ranjan Pegu of Bonkowl was about to get on to the bridge with his bicycle when the bridge collapsed.  “It was just about a few metres away from where I was at that time... there was a loud noise and before I could realise what was happening, I saw the truck plunging into the river below,” he said.  He said many lives were saved because the accident happened around 8.30am.  “On Sundays, people in large numbers cross the bridge to go to the several weekly markets in the area... in another half an hour or so there would have been more people on the bridge,” he said.

St Mary’s win tourney

Dibrugarh Cricket

Dibrugarh, Feb 23 : St Mary’s High School, Naharkatia, defeated Don Bosco High School, Dibrugarh, by seven wickets to clinch the Dibrugarh district (under-17) inter-school cricket tournament title on Saturday at the Dibrugarh District Sports Association outdoor stadium, here.

In the 20-over-a-side match, Don Bosco High School won the toss and decided to bat. The team was however, bowled out for a paltry total of 60 runs in just 15.2 overs. Most of the batsmen lost their wickets because of their own fault. Ramananda Das who was eventually declared the Best Batsman of the tournament stood tall amid the ruins scoring 35.

For St Mary’s, Rajen Sonar who was declared the Man of the Match, picked up four wickets giving away just five runs, while Sunu Sarma claimed three wickets for just six runs.

In reply, St Mary’s got the required runs in just 11.4 overs losing three wickets. Rajdeep Gogoi and Rajen Sonar made 24 runs each.

For Don Bosco, Aman Das who was declared the Best Bowler of the tournament claimed two wickets for 20 runs while Abhishek Pareek claimed one victim.

The prizes were given away by the DDSA president, Munindra Nath Saikia, the District Sports Officer, Jagat Chandra Gogoi and the donors of the trophies, Doly Das and Hitesh Das.

The tournament was organised by the Dibrugarh District Sports Office with assistance from the DDSA. Nineteen school teams from the entire district had participated in this year’s meet.

Assam Police gears up for Lok Sabha polls

R DUTTA CHOUDHURY

GUWAHATI, Feb 22 – Though the dates for the ensuing general elections are yet to be announced, the Assam Police force is gearing up for the polls and a major shake up of the entire force is being done as per the guidelines of the Election Commission.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, the Director General of Assam Police, GM Srivastava said that the force is already in election mode and asserted that all the guidelines of the EC would be strictly adhered to before the stipulated date.

The DGP said that the EC has issued strict guidelines for posting of police officers before the elections and a massive exercise is on to shake up the force to comply with the EC’s instructions.

He said that as per the guidelines, any officer, who worked for three years in a particular place would have to be transferred and the same exercise is on, which resulted in the transfer of a number of police officers including officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP).

In addition to the three year rule, no officer would be allowed to function in his or her home district during the elections and the officers, with whom the EC had any problem in the past would not be allowed to be engaged in poll duty.

Moreover, the officers, who have less than six months of service left, would also not be engaged in election duty. However, the constables are not included in the purview of the guidelines of the EC.

Srivastava pointed out that the shake up in the police force turned out to be a major event as “we cannot transfer officers whimsically and before transferring and posting any officers many factors need to be looked into. But we will complete the process before the time stipulated by the EC.”

The DGP said that after the entire process of transfer of officers is completed and the officers take charge of their respective areas, the process of preparations to ensure violence free elections would start.

“What we are doing now is reorganizing the force as per the guidelines of the EC and the actual preparations of the police force for the elections will start after the announcement of the election dates,” he added.

The DGP also admitted that the threat perception from the militants during the ensuing polls is yet to be thoroughly assessed and this would be done only after the announcements of the dates of the polls.

Surveyors recount ordeal

DHD-J men rescued us from captors, say employees

(From left) Nitish Kumar, Mahinder Kumar, C. Suresh and D.S.K. Sarthak at the press meet on Saturday. A Telegraph picture Guwahati, Feb 22 : The four abducted surveyors of a Chennai-based company, who came out of their captivity a few days ago, today said they were rescued by the Jewel Gorlosa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah after a gunbattle with their captors. C. Suresh, Nitish Kumar, Mahinder Kumar and D.S.K. Sarthak, engaged in seismic survey in the troubled North Cachar Hills district for the Chennai-based Eagle Marketing Corporation, were abducted from the remote Langting area on February 5. Narrating their experience in captivity, the four surveyors said nine heavily armed men had kept them captive, but had not tortured or ill-treated them. “They made us walk from one place to another throughout the day. But otherwise they did not ill-treat us,” Sarthak said. A nascent outfit, Dimasa National Liberation Front, had claimed responsibility for the abduction. Initially, the police had suspected that the DHD (J) was behind the abduction. Sarthak said on the morning of February 17, while they were being shifted from one place to another in the thick jungle, their captors were suddenly attacked around 10am. “Before we could understand anything, the men, who were escorting us, started retaliating. The gunbattle lasted for 15 minutes after which our abductors fled,” he added. He said they were rescued by militants of the DHD (J) and handed over to the apex Dimasa tribal body, Jatikhe Naiso Hasom, the next day. The apex Dimasa organisation, in turn, handed them over to the police on February 19. The DHD (J) launched the rescue operation after Ashok Saikia, son of former chief minister Hiteshwar Saikia and the proprietor of the Indian Oil Tanking Limited (IOTL), which has engaged Eagle Marketing Corporation for the seismic survey, assured to broker peace with the Centre on behalf of the militant group. Saikia said he would use his family’s “good relations” with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to broker peace with the DHD (J). Singh, the Rajya Sabha MP from the state, is a tenant of the Saikias’ Sarumotoria residence here. Talking to reporters this evening, Saikia and the director of operations of Eagle Marketing Corporation, Veeraiah, said the seismic survey, that had been suspended following the abductions, would be resumed soon. “We have no intention to forgo the work. We have asked the state government to provide us more security,” Veeraiah said.

National Institute of Designing (NID) for Assam

GUWAHATI, Feb 21: The Central Government has sanctioned a National Institute of Designing (NID) for Asom. This was announced by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath during the inaugural function of Maniram Dewan Trade Centre in Guwahati today. “The NID has been sanctioned. We are now waiting for the State Government’s response,” Nath said, and added: “Intricate textile fabric and design institutes will help the local talent groom. The State Government had earlier proposed before the Centre for such a technology institute in the State.”

“Building adequate infrastructure is a greater challenge facing the country. Proper infrastructure helps unleash intellectual and entrepreneurial capabilities,” he said. Speaking on the tea industry, he said the sector has to take long-term measures to face the challenges posed by the global tea players.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the State has progressed in all spheres in spite of the problems of insurgency, bandhs etc. He said the trade centre will help not only Asom, but also the entire Northeast. “We have potential in handicraft, medicinal plants, food-processing, eco-tourism, tourism and other sectors. We have to develop all these sectors,” Gogoi added.

State Industry and Commerce Minister Pradyut Bordoloi said with the opening of the new centre, international participation in trade fairs in the city will get a boost. “Trade and commerce, service and construction sectors have registered robust growth since 2001. A society with the name — Assam Trade Promotion Organization (ATPO) — has been formed to run the trade centre,” he said, and added: “The ATPO will run the border trade centres also.”

The trade centre has been built with an investment of Rs 20.38 crore on 10 acres of land in phase 1. In the second phase, an international convention centre will be constructed.
Delivering the vote of thanks, Commissioner of Industry Ravi Kapoor said an exhibition each on tourism and plastic industry will be held in the trade centre by May this year.

AAMSU and ADSU demand release of innocent youths

SILCHAR, Feb 21 : In a joint memorandum submitted to the deputy commissioner of Cachar on Thursday, All Assam Manipuri Students’ Union (AAMSU) and All Dimasa Students’ Union (ADSU), Cachar district committees, have sought his intervention for release of innocent youths arrested by police on false and fabricated charges on February 9 last.

According to the memorandum, five students identified as Hemanta Singh (24), Biswajit Singh (27), Sanjay Singh (21), Manoranjan Singh (20) and Nandan Burman (20) were arrested by Lakhipur police from Bimala Hotel, Lakhipur, while they were taking meals. All the five were put in the lock up, produced before the Court and sent to judicial custody.

Of the five youths, Sanjay Singh is a Class –X student of Chindong Leikai Manipuri High School, Manoranjan Singh is a student of Class –XII of Cachar College and Nandan Burman who is the son of Congress leader Noboda Burman, reads in class XI of St Peters College Shillong.

Their arrest, as alleged by both the Unions, was on the basis of the complaint of Chanchal Dey, a resident of Poilapool, 30 km from here, who was having personal grudge against Noboda Burman, father of Nandan. AAMSU general secretary H Layataba Singh and ADSU assistant general secretary Animesh Burman who signed the memorandum, pointed their accusing finger at Chanchal Dey for implicating the students in fabricated cases.

The Unions have demanded impartial inquiry into the matter to unearth the reason behind motivated arrest and pressed for the release of all the five since as school and college going students, their academic career is at stake.

They are to appear for their final examinations which would begin soon, the memorandum pointed out.

Lakhipur police, on the other hand, denied the arrest of the youths on the ground of rivalry or animosity between Chanchal Dey and Noboda Burman.

The fact of the case, according to the police, is that all the five youths in collusion with another teenager Abdul Haque Mazumder (20) of Ghantapara, were hatching conspiracy in the said Bimala Hotel of Lakhipur to kidnap Biju Dey, a businessman, brother of Chanchal Dey. On specific tip off, the police arrested all the six youths. Abdul Haque was also taken into police custody for interrogation.

ACA’s outstation obsession

STUMP VISION: Syed Zakaria Zuffri

Syed Zakaria Zuffri at Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. File picture In the recent Ranjit Trophy and Duleep Trophy tournaments, the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) has displayed an apparent “soft corner” for outstation recruits. By backing R.R. Parida and Anand Katti for East Zone side, which was sent packing by West Zone, the only thing one could infer was that the ACA was trying to justify its decision to field the duo in the Ranji side. Promising medium-pacer Krishna Das was there but only to cool his heels while Arlen Konwar, who scalped 14 wickets in four matches, was not on the selectors’ radar though the same player got selected after taking only seven wickets in five matches last season. Had Konwar been selected, he could have got another opportunity to impress the BCCI selectors, as there is a dearth of quality offies in India. The “soft corner” for outstation recruits was also reflected at the conditioning camps for the one-dayers. Captain Parida himself came a day before the announcement of the team. Why this special treatment? The lack of planning was also reflected in the selection of the Vijay Hazare Trophy one day team.  Katti was named standby after playing the Duleep Trophy in the main XI, while local talent Gokul Sharma was not even considered despite being in good form. The latter had scored a century in practice-cum-trial matches — performances which were “considered” for the selection. Sharma had even led the state under-22 team to the all-India quarter-finals with a 100 against Tripura and 60 against Punjab. It was also surprising to note the inclusion of Deepak Sharma, who played all the Ranji matches without a 50. Outstation recruits are also given special treatment during conditioning camps. Often most of them arrive before the announcement of the team. Why this special treatment? Returning to the action on the field, it is heartening to see competition building up with the introduction of the Elite and Plate Groups in our premier inter-district domestic meet.  It is a good initiative of the ACA. It is a laudable initiative of the ACA which should now try to make it even more competitive by reducing the number of Elite Group teams from next season. A lot of outstation players also played for various districts and I foresee that if this trend continues, there will be hardly any local player in the state side few years down the line.  ACA has done the right thing by calling for reports from the districts on outstation players but it needs to go beyond that by framing a policy that does not hinder the progress of local players.  It is sad to see Assam is following the example of minnows Tripura rather than the formidable Bengal side where services of outstation players were used to boost both Ranji and domestic cricket over a period of time instead of changing players and coaches every other year.  (The writer is a wicketkeeper-batsman and is currently with the ICL)

An eye-opener to Majuli

CHANDAN SARMAH

Documentary

Artistes perform Sattriya There are very few serious cinematic attempts to project the fate of Majuli, one of the biggest river islands of the world, which is now on the verge of extinction because of largescale erosion by the Brahmaputra. Winner of two national awards, filmmaker Charu Kamal Hazarika’s The Weeping Island is one such film that makes people think seriously about the impending dangers the great cultural site is facing. The film, which was recently screened at the North East Film Festival at Shilpgram under the auspices of Assam State Film (Finance and Development) Corporation, earned rave reviews and critical acclaim. The cultural heritage of Majuli — the tradition of a distinctive and rich cultural pattern based on the Vaishnavite faith, propagated by the great socio-cultural reformer Mahapurush Sankardev for more than 500 years — is depicted in a plain narrative style at the outset. With spectacular visuals complimented by articulate background narration, director Hazarika skilfully takes the viewers to the unmatched scenic beauty of Majuli, situated in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra. The film dwells on the geographical location of the island on the world map, mea-ns of communication, the native tribes with their distinctive socio-cultural traditions and their livelihoods like fishing, sericulture, dairy farming and agriculture. Besides, it throws light on the Vaishnavite satras, rituals and religious practices, handloom and handicrafts, mask-making, performing arts like Sattriya dance and music, manuscripts and illustrated books, miniature paintings, artefacts, environment, migratory and non-migratory birds, river dolphins, turtles and flood and erosion through stunning visuals and effective narration. Dibakar Gogoi’s innovative camerawork and Pranjal Thakur’s flawless editing deserve special mention. Another significant aspect of the film is Nava Sarma’s wonderful rendition of the background narration. However, the music of the film left a little to be desired. While director Hazarika’s effort to use music as effects in certain scenes deserves praise, the overall music pattern would have been more close to the essence of Majuli had it been composed accordingly. The film is unquestionably a sensitive eye-opener to the threats posed to this heritage river island — the nerve centre of the rich Assamese culture based on the neo-Vaishnavite movement, founded in the 15th century.

Assam Govt rush to recruit cops

Guwahati, Feb 20 : Dispur is rushing through the process of recruiting a fresh batch of constables to beat the poll code of conduct that will come into force once the notification for the general elections is issued.

The government has tied up all the loose ends and will issue a notification for the recruitment of 2,400 constables in the next few days.

Government sources said the process could not be delayed because it takes almost 18 months after the recruitment process starts for the personnel to be posted. 

Dispur has also started the process for recruitment of 115 sub-inspectors.

Sources said the government was rushing the recruitment process as the police force was facing an acute manpower crisis because of increasing pressure of maintaining law and order, fighting terror and protecting VIPs. Given the crunch, Dispur has also started withdrawing personal security officers and house guards assigned to politicians and businessman.

Besides the poll deadline, another reason prompting the rush is the Centre’s instruction, given in November last year, that Dispur should double the strength of its police force, which is now 65,000, within five years on its own. The deadline will expire in 2013. 

Dispur had told former Union home minister Shivraj Patil after the October 30 blasts that lack of adequate police personnel was a key reason for its failure to prevent blasts. It had cited the same reason at the security meeting convened by the Union home ministry in New Delhi on November 5. 

“These things don’t happen overnight. It is a long-drawn process and we have to be cautious at every step. We cannot afford any delay since we need to increase our strength and the Centre has asked us to increase our police force by 50 per cent within five years. We have to space out the recruitment accordingly to meet the five-year target as we have to do it on our own,” the source said. 

“Already we have lost valuable time after an earlier process (of recruitment) was challenged in court. We have taken extreme care to ensure that the process is not challenged (this time). Deserving candidates should only get selected,” he added.

Deprived candidates had challenged a constable selection process in 2004, leading to its cancellation by Gauhati High Court in 2006. It took almost three years for the case to be resolved. Finally on February 27, 2008, the Supreme Court upheld the appointment of 5,500 constables.

Dispur has recruited 8,650 constables and 360 sub-inspectors since 2007.

Money, job for trucker’s family

Nagaon, Feb 20 : The district administration today decided to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation to the family of the truck driver who was gunned down by three forest guards on Tuesday night.

The administration has also assured the family of a permanent source of earning in due course.

The assurances came after demands were raised by two associations of truck drivers for adequate compensation and a government job for a member of the victim’s family. 

A high-level team led by additional deputy commissioner P.K. Rajkhowa, today visited the victim Kasem Ali’s residence at Mohkhuli, around 3km from the district headquarters, and assured them of financial assistance within three days and a source of earning for a member. 

Additional superintendent of police Mujibur Rahman said the three forest guards were today produced in the chief judicial magistrate’s court that remanded them in judicial custody. 

The trio, who were arrested yesterday, have confessed to gunning down the driver, after the latter had ignored the signal of the guards, who were in an inebriated condition, to stop at a Koliabor check-gate after a brief altercation, police said. 

Hundreds of people accompanied by the Nagaon units of Truck Drivers Association and Truck Owners Association met the representatives of the district administration and demanded punishment to the culprits as per the law of the land. 

The two associations later submitted a memorandum to deputy commissioner J. Balaji in this regard.

“We want a high-level inquiry into the matter, adequate compensation to the family, punishment to the culprits and a government job to one of the members of the family,” said Nirmal Nath, a member of Nagaon Truck Owners Association. 

However, the overwhelming support from the fellow truckers was of little consolation to the family

“They would give me Rs 1 lakh, some promises and assurances. But will that be enough to help realise the dreams we had for our four children?” asked the victim’s wife Rasheda, who is still in a state of shock.

Lakwa thermal power plant boosts output

GUWAHATI, Feb 19 : It is good news for this power-starved State. The relentless efforts of the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) and the Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd (APGCL), together with the improvement in the gas supply position, have mounted the generation capacity of Lakwa Thermal Power Station in a significant manner.

This has raised the State’s own power generation to around 250 MW now, on an average, from 228 MW on February 14.

According to Ashim Bhuyan, Managing Director (MD) of the APGCL, the power station generated 125.34 MW of power at 9 pm of February15. This is 5.34 MW more than the installation capacity of the gas-based power plant.

On February 14, the plant generated an amount of 122.2 MW of power at around 7-30 pm. Around 10 pm that day, the plant generated an amount of 123 MW of power, followed by 125.34 MW around 9pm of February 15. During peak load hour of February 16, the plant generated 122 MW of power, said Bhuyan.

The supply of gas to the plant has been streamlined. The Oil India Ltd (OIL), the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and the Canadian company CANARO have been supplying gas to the power station at an enhanced rate. The CANARO has been supplying gas to the plant from its Amguri field, said the APGCL MD.

The machinery of the power station at present has, in fact, the capacity to generate up to 126 MW depending on the ambient temperature. This is because of the good upkeep of the old machinery. Some of the machinery were installed in 1982 and some others were installed in 1984. Normally, the life span of thermal power plant machinery is 25 years or one lakh working hours. But the ASEB/APGCL engineers posted at the Lakwa Power Station are maintaining these machinery in a praise worthy manner, said the APGCL MD.

He also claimed that if the constraints in transmission is done away with and adequate gas supply of 1.2 million cubic standard metres (CSM) is ensured, this plant of seven turbines can generate at 100 per cent plant load factor (PLF).

The ASEB/APGCL have been generating 250 MW of power at present and they are purchasing the rest of the power the State requires from the Central Sector Units. The peak load hour (5pm to 10 pm) power requirement of the State is between 750 MW and 850 MW, while its off-peak load hour (6 am to 5pm) requirement is between 350 MW and 450 MW.

Apparently, the ASEB is not resorting to any load-shedding these days, the APGCL MD said. However, he maintained that there might be some local constraints causing disruption of power supply in some areas.

Sabha for inclusion of Geography, History

SANJOY RAY

 DHEMAJI, Feb 19 The Asam Sahitya Sabha has called for inclusion of Geography, History and Sanskrit as compulsory subjects in the curriculum at High School level from the next academic session. Reasoning that not much importance has been laid on these subjects at High School level, the Sabha, in its resolution, stated that inclusion of the subjects as compulsory ones would go a long way in strengthening the prudence of the students.

”We urge the State Education department and other departments concerned with preparing curriculum to ensure the same in the larger interest of the society,” the resolution adopted by the new committee of the Sabha at the culminating day of its 70th Sabha session stated.

The open session was presided over by Rong Bong Terang. The second open session also reiterated the need for according the status of a wildlife sanctuary to Paba reserve forest at the earliest.

Taking strong exception to the recent incidents of violence, the Sabha further demanded of the State and the Central Governments to initiate effective measures to combat terrorist activities in the country.

Condemning the October 30 serial blasts in the State and the subsequent Mumbai carnage, the apex literary body has also warned the Governments against complacency and urged it ensure safety and security of the general public.

The Sabha also pressed for a permanent solution to the problem of illegal immigrants by issuing citizens identity cards on the basis of the Delhi Declaration. The Sabha observed that the Centre and the State Governments, over the last three decades, had failed to address the problem of illegal immigrants and that had posed a severe threat to the identity of the indigenous people.

“We want an early solution to the problem,” the Sabha resolution stated, stressing the need for timely completion of fencing work along the Assam-Bangladesh border.

The Sabha further urged the Government to set up an Engineering College, a Medical College and an Agricultural University on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river.”

Conversion of meter gauge into broad gauge, especially in the northern part of the Brahmaputra, needs to be given special emphasis by the Union Railway Minister,” the resolution stated. Awards were also distributed by the Sabha later in the evening. The five-day long session came to end with a cultural function.

Assam Police personnel getting a raw deal

R Dutta Choudhury

GUWAHATI, Feb 19 – Though the job of police personnel in Assam is considered toughest as compared to their counterparts in other states of the country because of presence of a large number of extremist groups, the facilities available to the police in Assam can be considered the worst among all the states of India.

Time and again, even Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has admitted that no other state in the country has so many active extremist groups and the recent intelligence inputs about the game plan of the foreign-based jehadi elements to create disturbance in the State added to the woes of the police personnel.

Under the circumstances, keeping the morale of the police personnel high is the need of the hour but the State Government has failed to provide facilities comparable to the other states to the men in uniform.

According to records available with the Assam Police, the salary structure of the police personnel in Assam is the worst among all the states of the country. Police sources told The Assam Tribune that the pay structure of the Assam police personnel is even much lower than their counterparts in the other North East States.

Sources revealed that the basic pay scale of an officer of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DSP) starts at Rs 4,300 per month, which is the lowest in the country. The pay scale of a DSP in Kerala is the highest as it starts at Rs 12,930, followed by Karnataka, where it starts at Rs 11,400. The pay scale of a DSP in the neighbouring states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland start at Rs 8,000 while, it starts at Rs 6350 in Meghalaya and at Rs 7800 in Tripura.

Sources said that the pay scale of an Inspector in Assam starts at Rs 4960, which is also the lowest in the country and the highest pay scale is paid in Karnataka, which starts at Rs 10800, followed by Kerala, which starts at Rs 10790. Sources revealed that the basic pay scale of a Sub Inspector in Assam starts at Rs 3850 that of ASI starts at Rs 3010, that of head constable starts at Rs 2890 and the basic pay scale of a constable starts at Rs 2650. The pay scales of all the ranks of the police personnel in Assam is substantially lower than the pay structures in all the other states of the country and police sources admitted that it is difficult to keep the morale of the men in uniform high under the present circumstances. Even the states like Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, which are not facing problem of militancy, are paying much higher salaries to the police personnel, sources pointed out.

Police sources said that to make matters worse, the police-public ratio in Assam is much lower than the national average, which added to the stress of the men in uniform. The Government even failed to fill up the vacant posts in the police department. However, the Government is planning to increase the strength of the force in phased manner and sought financial aid from the Finance Commission in this regard.

Another major problem faced by the police personnel in Assam is lack of housing facilities. Sources said that at present, despite some steps taken under the modernisation scheme to construct new quarters, only around 19 per cent of the police personnel of Assam could be provided with housing facilities, compared to the national average of 30 percent. Sources pointed out that because of shortage of accommodation, majority of the police personnel are forced to stay in rented houses, which is a difficult proposition in an insurgency-hit state like Assam as their families are always insecure.

Orissa and Bengal script win vs Tripura and Assam

Kolkata, Feb 18 Former Test opener Shiv Sundar Das steered Orissa to a seven wickets victory against Tripura, hitting 73 runs in 83 balls, in Vijay Hazare Trophy for East Zone here today.

In another match Bengal defeated Assam by eight wickets, easily surpassing the visitors' 269/8 in 50 overs with opener Wriddhiman Saha (102 not out) and Sourav Ganguly (62) reaching a total of 272/2 with 4.3 overs to spare.

While Orissa grabbed five points, including bonus, Bengal got four points from today's win.

Sent in to bat, Tripura were skittled out for 179 in 44 overs owing to the fine bowling from Bibhudutta Panda, Dhiraj Singh and Natraj Behera, who scalped two wickets each. Three of Tripura's batsmen were run out.

The fourth batsman, Nishith Shetty, contributed 47 runs, hitting eight 4s, while opener Sourabh Dubey made 39 for Tripura, which had defeated Assam in the opener by 29 runs.

Orissa piled up the targeted score easily in 33.5 overs (180/3), losing three wickets, as opener Natraj Behera and Shiv Sundar Das set up the base with a 72-run partnership before Behera was run out on 44 after hitting nine 4s.

Das's 73 came with eight 4s before he was caught by Joseph Bhowmick off Abijit Dey. The easy win sent a signal to the Bengal camp, which had won their last two matches comfortaby.

Ganguly and Saha shine in Bengal's victory over Assam

Kolkata, Feb 18 Opener Wriddhiman Saha's unbeaten 102 and Sourav Ganguly's 64 took Bengal to a comfortable eight wicket win over Assam in Vijay Hazare Trophy here today.

Chasing Assam's 269/8 in alloted 50 overs, Bengal made 272/2 in 45.3 overs with Saha and Manoj Tiwari not out on 102 and 26 respectively.

The win earned Bengal four points to total nine from first win's five points against Jharkhand.

Electing to bat Assam made 269 with a century from opener Sib Sankar Roy (111 in 120 balls) and 79 from Deepak Sharma in a placid wicket at Eden Gardens. Roy hit 12 4s and a sixer, blasting Dinda all around before giving a simple catch to Manoj Tiwary off Dinda.

After Jacob Martin got out on duck falling leg before from Dinda's first ball, who finished with 3/84 in ten overs, Roy and Tarjinder Singh steadied Assam's innings before the latter got run out on 26.

Assam with two defeats, first from Tripura, were now yet to script a point in one-day East Zone championship.

Deepak Sharma also contributed valuable 79 runs to team's total 269 which was commendable at Eden.

After opening partners Saha and Abhishek Banerjee, who made 68 runs before adjudging LBW off Arleen Konwar, they got Bengal 98 runs on first wicket in 17.5 overs, Sourav Gagnuly's coming and hitting ball in his typical style ensured the hosts an easy victory.

Gagnuly, who made only 17 in first match against Jharkhand, hit six 4s and two over the fence scoring 64 from 62 balls. His fifty came from a sixer on long on at Eden, reminding his flamboyant style. He was bowled out when trying to hit Konwar as team's total was 234 from 39.4 overs.

Saha, whose ton basically helped Bengal to cruise victory, hit nine 4s, said he was happy to have a century before coming IPL T-20.

In another play of the day Orissa trounced Tripura by seven wickets at Jadavpur University ground.

Sent to bat Tripura made 179/10 from 44 overs in which Nisith Shetty contributing 47 and Sourabh Dubey 39.

Orissa reached the target scoring 180/3 from 33.5 overs with former Test players Shiv Sundar Das 73 and Natraj Behera 44.

Orissa collected five points (4+1 bonus) and Tripura minus one.

In first match Tripura got four points from win over Assam.

Assam trader kills self

NEW DELHI, Feb 18 : A 37-year-old businessman from Assam allegedly committed suicide inside a guest house in Bara Hindu Rao area of north Delhi on Monday evening. The victim, Bajrang Sao, had come to the capital on Monday morning and was staying at Navyug Guest house in Teliwara area at Bara Hindu Rao, said police.

According to the police, Sao was dealing in artificial jewellery and hailed from Dibrugarh in Assam. He had checked in at the guest house, along with one Omprakash Gupta, on Monday. Later in the day Gupta had left for some work while Sao stayed in the room.

On Monday evening, some guest house staff found Sao hanging from a ceiling and informed the cops. No suicide note has been seized from the possession of the victim.

"We have informed the family of the victim in Assam and a postmortem will be conducted on Tuesday,'' said a senior police officer. Meanwhile, the police said that they are recording the statements of Gupta and other guest house staff.

90 child workers rescued in Jharkhand

Ranchi, Feb 18 : Authorities in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand Tuesday rescued around 90 child workers from hotels, eateries, business houses and other places of the district, an official said. 

“We have rescued around 90 children from hotels and different places in the district with help of an NGO. The rescued children will be rehabilitated under National Child Labour Rehabilitation programme,” Vinay Kumar Chaube, deputy commissioner of Hazaribagh, told reporters. 

He said the hotel owners and businesses who engaged these children as labourers will be punished and face penalties. Complaints will also be lodged against them.

The district administration will ensure that the freed child labourers attend schools and get vocational training with help of NGOs.

Child labour is rampant in Jharkhand due to widespread poverty. As much as 52 per cent of the state’s population lives below the official poverty line.

Assam: Congress edges over rivals in poll preparations

Guwahati, Feb 18 : The ruling Congress in Assam is way ahead in respect of preparedness for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls compared to its arch rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the regional Asom Gana Parishad.

The Congress has completed the process of collecting applications from aspirants for party nominations. A party source informed that there are over 125 applicants seeking nomination to contest from the total 14 parliamentary constituencies in the state.

It is for the first time such a large number of aspirants have applied for party nomination before a Lok Sabha election in the state, handing a tough job to the election panel of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee to recommend names to the All India Congress Committee for final selection of party nominees in the state.

Senior party leaders attribute the rush of aspirants to the 'dream run' the party is having in the state since 1999 Lok Sabha polls during which the party won two Assembly elections and tasted overwhelming success in the last two rounds of Lok Sabha polls.

The party won in nine constituencies out of the total 14 Lok Sabha segments in the state in 2004 general election.

The ruling party hopes to better its performance this election, given that the BJP and the AGP, are still trying hard to cobble up a well accepted seat sharing understanding to keep the anti-Congress votes undivided.

The seat sharing or poll understanding bid of the AGP and the BJP have faced a road block over the candidature of the prestigious Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency, though both parties have by and large decided on the modality to share other 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

None of the parties are willing to give up candidature in Guwahati Lok Sabha seat which is now represented by the Congress. The Congress is too happy with differences creeping into the AGP-BJP's efforts on poll understanding.

Bengal take on Assam

KOLKATA, Feb 18 : Bengal, who face Assam in their second limited overs match of the Vizay Hazare Trophy at Eden Gardens tomorrow, thrashed Jharkhand yesterday but left their own coach, questioning their ability to bat out 50 overs.

Mr Chatterjee opted out of today's practice session but would have seriously to think why, even with Sourav Ganguly around, his own pupils had fallen far short of his own expectations.

Apparently well-set Bengal batsmen's failure to play big innings has already been noticed, resulting in the opening pair of Wriddhiman Saha and Abhishek Banerjee being advised to blend caution with aggression.

Also, Banerjee will have to guard against fiddling with the ball outside off stump. Consistency, though, has to mark their middle order's batting too.

Captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla's composed innings in the previous match of 82 runs, however, will encourage them. With Debabrata Das back in the squad, Bengal would hope to put up a good show.

Ranadeb Bose and Ashok Dinda will once again be relied on to stop from running riot an unenviably placed Assam, who have a competent swing bowler in D Goswami.

He took four wickets in his team's encounter with Tripura, who went on to win, though.

In the CAB Inter District Twenty Tournament at Siliguri Murshidabad Nawab clinched a seven-wicket victory over Jalpaiguri Rhinocers. In the other match today, Howrah beat South 24 Pargana Tiger by eight wickets.

Slumdog Millionaire’s Assamese connection

The internationally acclaimed ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has an Assamese connection as well.

The film which swept awards at the Golden Globes and the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) has contributions from sound designer Amrit Pritam from Assam.

He has also designed the sound of Bollywood block-buster ‘Ghajini’ before working on location for the Oscar-nominated ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ as an associate recordist for its Hindi-version.

The young sound designer has worked for 45 Bollywood movies for the last six years and hails from Jorhat in upper Assam. His specialty is sync sound, where dialogues, ambience and sound are recorded on location along with the visuals through multi-track recorders, boom and lapel microphones.

He’s reportedly said, “Sync sound does away with post-production dubbing and gets the best performance of actors as their voice matches the emotions they show on location. Unlike in the traditional method where real life sound recordings are used, the new concept of sound design in India helps technicians to create and design the sounds in the film.”

In ‘Ghajini’ he reportedly used 350 different sound tracks to arrive at the thematic metal sound as its main character (Amir Khan) was hit by an iron rod to lose his memory.

It’s good to see small town talent get some limelight in the world of showbiz.

Mechanical engineer hangs himself in Greater Noida

Greater Noida, Feb 16 (IANS) A 32-year-old mechanical engineer allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his home here Monday evening, the police said.

According to the police, Mrigendra Sharma ,who worked with Auto India Pvt. Ltd. in Noida, was found dead at his rented flat in Jalvayu Vihar in Greater Noida.

He was living alone.

At about 6.30 p.m., one of the neighbours knocked at his door but didn’t get any response. He called others and informed the police. After breaking open the door, they found Sharma hanging from the ceiling fan, the police said.

Sharma, originally from Guwahati in Assam, left a suicide note written in Assamese, said the police.

The body has been sent for autopsy.

“We are trying to find someone whom knows Assamese language to know what is written in the suicide note.

He had gone to Assam last month to leave his parents home,” Superintendent of Police (Greater Noida) Surendra Verma said.

Asom Sahitya Sabha : Rong Bong Terang assumes charge

February 17, 2009

Renowned writer Rong Bong Terang today assumed charge as president of the Asom Sahitya Sabha, which began in remote Dhemaji of Assam, involving more than four lakh people. Rang Bang Terang is the first tribal-Assamese to be the President of Asom Sahitya Sabha.

Today is the penultimate day of the five-day session of the Sabha which has successfully involved not only common people but also politicians and the administration. In his speech at the Sahitya Sabha session, which was also graced by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, the great Karbi writer proposed a concerted effort to unite all the tribal languages of Assam for the growth of the primary language of Assam.

”Certainly this is the biggest literary meet and in our knowledge nothing of this sort has been organised anywhere in the world biennially. In Assam it has been going on for past eight decades,” outgoing Sabha president Kanak Sen Deka said.

The new president, Rong Bong Terang, and the other members of the new committee today took over amidst customary pomp, gaiety and innumerable literary sessions. This is the 70th session of the Asom Sahitya Sabha and the next biennial session will take place at Dergaon.

Drought destroys joy of record winter paddy yield

A stretch of land affected by drought Cachar, Feb 17 : Celebrations of a record winter harvest in Cachar have been cut short by the imminent danger of a drought destroying the spring crops. Over 200,000 farming families in the district were awash with joy when their fields yielded 251,719 tonnes of sali crop — a paddy harvested in November-December. The figure broke the earlier record of 217,095 tonnes of crop, reaped on 97,000 hectares in 1999-2000. The district agriculture information officer, Shekhar Bhattacharjee, said another landmark achieved this year was the increase in the per hectare output. Every hectare yielded 2.6 tonnes of rice. The use of high-quality seeds and good harvest in Sonai, Kathigorah, Udarbond, Dholai and Lakhipur blocks contributed to the record output. The figure, however, is far behind the average production of Punjab and Haryana. An agriculture subdivisional officer in Lakhipur subdivision, Jagadish Nath, said: “Such a record was possible as the climate was congenial for rice cultivation. The rain was evenly spread throughout the district and floods did not torment the farmers.”  Weather’s blessings, however, evaporated by the end of October. Seeds sowed in winter for a boro harvest in end-March and early-April did not receive any rain in the past three months. Acres of crops now lie thirsting for rain and it will only be weeks before they begin to wither. The district has irrigation facilities for only 800 of the 97,000 hectares of farmland, leaving peasants to look skyward for relief. If the crop fails, even the record sali harvest will not be able to save Cachar from a food deficit. The district needs 290,000 tonnes of rice a year.  Even when the district manages to produce the 217,000 tonnes of crop expected of it, there is a shortfall, which is made up with supplies from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and states like Punjab, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. If Cachar fails to produce its quota, the district is forced to be entirely dependent on imported crop. This year, though, the district has managed to scrape through its quota with the sali harvest alone. Whether boro will add to the yield, only the rain gods can tell.

Assam students move PM for broad gauge, highway completion

New Delhi, Feb 16 : Demanding speedy completion of a broad gauge line and a super highway in Cachar district, students from Assam today sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh&aposs intervention in beginning work on the projects stalled due to militancy-related problems.

Holding a demonstration in the capital, leaders of All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students' Association (ACKHSA) and All Dimasa Students' Union (ADSU) said speedy completion of Silchar-Lumding Broad Gauge and Silchar-Saurashtra Super Highway would help revolutionise communication system for people of south Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur.

Later they submitted a memorandum to Singh.

Showing solidarity to their demands, MPs Kiren Rijiju ( Arunachal Pradesh) and Sansuma K Bwiswmuthiary (Assam) took part in the protest.

"I will raise the issue in Parliament as these are national projects. I will also talk to the ministers concerned for their intervention," Rijiju told the gathering.

Bwiswmuthiary demanded intervention of Singh, who is also a Rajya Sabha member from Assam, into the matter.

"The prime minister should look into the matter. The Central and state governments should provide adequate security for the projects,"he said.

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Absu stresses Bodo uplift

Kokrajhar, Feb 16 : The All Bodo Students Union (Absu) today emphasised the need of a literate society and called upon the community leaders to join hands to build one.

Speaking on the 42nd Foundation Day of Absu at Bodofa House in Kokrajhar, the outgoing president of the union, Rwngwra Narzary, said they have been fighting for the uplift of Bodo society since its formation.

“Our struggle continues. The time has come to build a learned and educated society,” he said. “The current period is most crucial for the Bodos. The younger generation should be vibrant and knowledgeable in every field so that they can transform the area into a developed region. Positive dreams and hard work are the only way to achieve the mission and goals and the spirit of Bodo nationalism.”

A former president of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha, Brajendra Kumar Brahma, spoke of Absu’s role in the development of greater Bodo society. 

“The role played by Absu since its inception 42 years ago is beyond comparison. Absu’s role, along with the Bodo Sahitya Sabha, in fighting for the development of the Bodo society is laudable,” he said.

“It was on this day in 1967, that Absu was formed by some college and university students and youths. It was formed to upgrade and look after the downtrodden Bodo community in the area of social, political, cultural, education, literature and economy.”

“A lot has been achieved because of the struggle and hard work but we still have lots to do,” he said. A colourful cultural programme was held.

God’s greatest gift for parents

Singer speaks of the joys of having a daughter & his latest performance

Debojit Saha with his wife Bandana and the newborn. A Telegraph picture

Voice of India Debojit Saha on becoming a father...

A few days ago, February 9 to be precise, I was blessed with my first child. It was the auspicious day of Maghi Purnima when the new member of our family came into the world.

You cannot imagine how happy my wife Bandana and I am. This is the biggest gift of God to us, no doubt.

I am in seventh heaven. The thrill of becoming a father is such that I cannot explain it in words. Naturally I am the happiest person on earth today. It is a moment of fulfilment and contentment.

I am happier because I have a girl child. I always have had a soft corner for the girl child because I somehow believe that girls are more caring and obedient towards their parents. This is not a general observation but only my personal feeling.

It is unfortunate that even today many in our country do not welcome a girl child with as much warmth as they would a male child. This, despite the fact that in every sphere, girls can compete with their male counterparts.

And we should not forget girls are the source of humankind. We all come from a woman’s womb. I cannot help but philosophise at this moment.

Though I will not impose anything on my child, but like all parents we, too, have some dreams about our child. My wife and I would prefer her to become a sportsperson. Why, I cannot exactly describe but maybe it is a field, which makes a person complete.

I also realise now that with fatherhood, I have an additional responsibility. I know I will have to now do a perfect balancing act between my professional and family life. I will have to give more time to my child. I don’t want to miss any moment of her growing up. 

As for the professional life, I have a few programmes and recordings lined up for the next few weeks.

Here I must also say about the recent cultural night at Guwahati where I performed along with some of the best singers of the state. As you are aware, the programme was held at Nehru Stadium and was organised as a tribute to Assamese music.

It was also a very emotional one, as Governor S.C. Mathur felicitated Asom Ratna Bhupen Hazarika.

Bhupenda, despite his ill health, was present on the occasion and even sang a few lines from some of his immortal creations.

Personally too, it was very satisfying programme for me as I got accolades for my Assamese singing.

Project to fight Assam floods

Guwahati, Feb 16 : Dispur is pinning its hopes of ridding the state of its perennial erosion and flooding woes on a new technique.

Assam planning and development and water resources minister Prithibi Majhi today told The Telegraph that the Centre has given its nod to a pilot project, which would use geo-textile fabric technology for the construction of a 5km embankment at Matmora in Lakhimpur district.

This is for the first time the technology will be used in the country to content erosion and flood. If successful, it would be emulated in the rest of the state and the country in combating flood and erosion.

The minister said the new technology could be the solution to the state’s biggest problem of flood and erosion. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi will lay the foundation stone of the embankment on Monday.

The government is, however, yet to finalise the agency that would carry out the construction. 

“We are looking for a suitable agency to carry out the work. But in the meantime, we want to go ahead with the formalities of foundation stone-laying,” Majhi said.

The Centre will provide 90 per cent funds of the Rs 142 crore project as grant, while the remaining 10 per cent will be the state’s share. The original proposal submitted by the state government was of Rs 206 crore.

But after a feasibility study, the Union ministry of water resources had sanctioned Rs 142 crore.

“The technology, though is costlier than the traditional method of constructing embankment with boulders and clay, is seen as a long- term solution to the problem of erosion and deluge,” Majhi said.

In the third wave of floods last year, the Brahmaputra had breached about 200 metres of embankment at Matmora causing havoc in Lakhimpur and the adjoining Dhemaji districts.

“The regular breaches in the embankments constructed in traditional methods forced the government to think of an out-of-the-box solution and geo-textile fabric provides exactly that,” Majhi said.

The CEO of the Mumbai-based Jeevan Products, an ISO 9001 company which deals in geo-textile fabric, Aditya Agarwal, said the fabric is useful to prevent erosion as it helps retain the soil. 

He said there are many methods of using the fabric to prevent flood and erosion. But the most commonly used method was using of geo-textile fabric tubes, or bags of geo-textile fabrics. In this method, sand is filled in the bag and placed along the bank of the river so as to make a retaining wall. Agarwal said minimum longevity of such a wall is 30 to 40 years.

“If an embankment is constructed with boulders or other materials, what happens is that when the water that had sipped in while coming out brings along with it soil. This weakens the surface and ultimately causes breaches in the embankment,” he said.

“The particles in geo-textile fabrics are so small that they allow only water to come out of it while retaining the soil,” he added. He said there are many methods of using the fabric to prevent flood and erosion. But the most commonly used method was using of geo-textile fabric tubes, or bags of geo-textile fabrics. In this method, sand is filled in the bag and placed along the bank of the river so as to make a retaining wall. Agarwal said minimum longevity of such a wall is 30 to 40 years.

He, however, could not explain much about the technology saying it was a new method being tried in India.

ACMS demands PLA Act amendment

DIBRUGARH, Feb 15 : The Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS), on the opening day of its silver jubilee celebration today, emerged with a few hard hitting resolutions in favour of more than three lakh tea garden workers spread across the State.

The sangha, considered to be one of the biggest trade unions in Asia, during its prolonged general council meeting today resolved to force the State government for the amendment of the Plantation Labour Act 1951 and for total implementation of the Act in the tea estates across the State.

The assembly, headed by ex Union Minister and president of the sangha, Paban Singh Ghatowar, further resolved to exert pressure on the government for grant of ST status to all the tea garden working communities.

Deliberating on the State government owned 15 sick Assam Tea Cooptation Limited (ATCL) gardens, the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha said it can no longer see their fellow workers starve and die due to the claimed low income in the ATCL gardens and advised the government to privatize the gardens for better management.

The two-day golden jubilee celebration of the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) begun with the hoisting of the unions flag by Ghatowar at its head office at Chowkidinghee here. State Labour & Employment and Tea and Ex Tea Welfare Minister Prithbi Majhi and host of central and unit leaders attended today's meeting.

Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, who was scheduled to arrive for the celebration could not make it. About 700 delegates from 22 different branches of the union gathered for the general council meeting today.

Move to develop food processing sector

Surajit khaund

GUWAHATI, Feb 15 - The Union Food Processing Ministry has identified North-east India as a potential area for development as far as processed food is concerned. The Ministry has also taken up a slew of measures, including infrastructure development and geared up the existing marketing system.

Talking to this Correspondent here today, Awadesh Kumar, Director, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, said that to explore the potential of food processing sector in the North- east, the Ministry has laid emphasis on upgrading the existing infrastructure.

"In the last fiscal, we had a budget of Rs 242 crore of which 10 per cent was allocated to the North-east", he said.

Kumar, however, observed that public-private participation is essential to develop the food processing sector in the North-east. "This region is a potential area, but due to lack of proper technology, food processing sector is yet to gain momentum for which concerned state governments should take appropriate steps in this regard," he added.

Kumar who was in the city today in connection with a seminar jointly organised by the North East Trade Promotion and Development Council (NETPDC) and Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on the occasion of 2nd Asom International Trade Fair, also suggested initiating contract farming in the region. "Contract farming with modern technology will definitely benefit the farmers in this region", he said, and added that farmers in the region have suffered post harvest loss of their produce and that needs to be brought down by providing adequate training.

He admitted that the existing marketing system has remained a major hindrance, to the development of this sector and the Central Government has, therefore, taken some actions in this respect. "To sustain in the international market, quality and packaging must be improved," he added.

Leading entrepreneurs present in the seminar highlighted the problems faced during setting up of food processing industries. "We have sufficient resources, but we do not get funds from the financial institutions while setting up of industry," a local trader of Meghalaya who has been associated with this sector told this Correspondent on the sidelines of the seminar.

Subir Ghosh, Director of Annapurna Group, underlined the need to withdraw the existing marketing tax system. "Taxation is a huge burden and that has taken a toll on the food processing industries in the North-east. We have submitted several memoranda to the authorities concerned, but in vain," he alleged.

DHD seeks Delhi role

Nagaon/Guwahati, Feb 15 : The pro-talks Dilip Nunisa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) today demanded the Union home ministry’s interference in tackling law and order problems in Assam’s North Cachar Hills district.

In a one-page memorandum to Union home minister P. Chidambaram, signed jointly by DHD chief Dilip Nunisa, its home secretary Kanto Langthasa and its organising secretary Rengsingh Dimasa, the outfit claimed that its rival faction led by Jewel Gorlosa was solely responsible for the situation. 

It demanded strong action against the DHD (Jewel), also known as “Black Widow”. The memorandum was handed over to Karbi Anglong deputy commissioner S.N. Sahu.

The DHD alleged that the local administration and the NC Hills Autonomous Council were silent on DHD (J).

“Killings, kidnappings, tortures and extortions targeting innocent people of the district have been continuing unabated. The militants of the Black Widow faction are moving freely without any check,” the memorandum stated.

It alleged that the Gorlosa group had killed six innocent people in the last two weeks and the security forces had remained a mute spectator.

It sought compensation to the families of those killed by militants in the district. 

The memorandum comes a day after the Gorlosa faction placed a four-point demand to the government in return for the outfit’s help in secu-ring the release of four abducted surveyors. Dimasa National Liberation Front had claimed responsibility for the abduction.