Tight security vigil in Assam ahead of I-Day

A security  personnel keeping vigil on the Brahmaputra river on Wednesday in Guwahati ahead of Independence Day celebrations. (NNN Photo)

 

Guwahati, August 13 : Ahead of the Independence DAY celebrations, the Tarun Gogoi government has beefed up  security across Assam even as five militant organisations operating in the Northeast gave a call to boycott the celebrations and asked people to observe a general strike on August 15. According to official sources, security has been tightened at all airports, railway stations, marketplaces etc to thwart any terror attacks in the run upto the celebrations. The Assam Police fanned out its commandos in Guwahati to keep an eye on suspected elements and foil any subversive acts.
“We have beefed up security to ensure violence-free celebrations on August 15. The challenge though begins for us from today,” ASP Guwahati, D Deuri, informed NNN.
“Taking a lesson from past experiences, we are currently into frisking each and every vehicle that enters the city. However, frisking all vehicles may not be always viable,” he said. In the light of this, the police asked people to be on alert.
It is worth mentioning that on October 30 last year, over 50 people were killed while scores others injured in three deadly car bomb blasts in the city. Bodo militant outfit National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) was blamed for the blasts. Even now, police are wary that ULFA and NDFB could strike jointly in Guwahati.
According to reports received security has been tightened in Kokrajhar and the four Bodo-dominated districts in Lower Assam given that they appear to be vulnerable to terror attacks. Also tight security measures have been taken in central and upper Assam cities and towns with the Army looking after security of vital installations, in particular, the oil fields. In Central Assam’s Sonitpur district, security forces recovered two IEDs, including one weighing eight kgs, on Wednesday.
The call for boycott of the celebrations was given jointly by ULFA, NDFB, Kamatapur Liberation Organization, Manipur People’s Liberation Front and Tripura People’s Democratic Front. Two days ago, in a joint statement, the five militant organisations called an 18-hour general strike in the Northeast region starting from August 14 midnight and appealed to “our peoples to display their solidarity against the colonial occupation of the region by India, the common enemy, by making the boycott and general strike a complete success”.

Army probe into molest bid

Guwahati, July 31 : The army has ordered a court of inquiry to ascertain facts relating to an allegation of a soldier attempting to molest a woman inside her shop at Haflong on Tuesday.

Defence spokesman Rajesh Kalia today said the court comprising two officers and a junior commissioned officer are probing the circumstances leading to the allegation of molestation.

“They will submit the report within a week,” he said, adding the inquiry had already started.

The official said a trooper of the 8 Sikh regiment, lance naik Gurvinder Singh, was alleged to have committed the offence when he had gone to the shop to buy undergarments.

“The woman then followed the soldier out of the shop and hurled a stone that hit him and then shoved him around saying he tried to molest her,” Kalia said.

The woman’s brother lodged a complaint with the police.

The spokesman said the situation was brought under control when a junior commissioned officer intervened and also apologised to the girl “if he (the soldier) had actually misbehaved with her.”

The spokesman said there was a group of seven-eight soldiers on routine patrol duty when the incident allegedly occurred.

It was also alleged that the soldier was in an inebriated condition when he made the molestation bid.

Sources said several people were witness to the woman chasing and hitting the soldier, but none came out to intervene.

“She also reprimanded the crowd saying that women should not be thought of as being weak and that all should stand up against such attacks on modesty of women,” an eyewitness said.

Assam editor’s murder: CBI under scanner

The acquittal of the main accused in the murder of prominent Guwahati-based journalist Parag Kumar Das has shocked Assam and also brought to the fore shortcomings in the CBI’s investigation.

“The judgment ( by the Kamrup Metro District and Sessions Court) has exposed the hollowness of our inquiry and law system,” said Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, editor of Asomiya Pratidin, of which Das was executive editor.

Das was killed in broad daylight on May 17, 1996 while picking up his son from school. The case was handed over to the CBI by the state government after the Assam Police could not make any headway in the first two years.

But in Tuesday’s judgment, District and Sessions Judge Dilip Kumar Phukan is understood to have pointed out several loopholes in the CBI inquiry which included failure to come up with any concrete and conclusive evidence against the accused, Mridul Phukan, a surrendered ULFA militant.

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The CBI had chargesheeted Phukan and three other former ULFA militants named in the case, but the other three had died in the meantime.

In an interview with a private TV news channel here last evening, Phukan himself said that the CBI had never interrogated him except for asking a few questions on four or five occasions. The police or the CBI had also never arrested Phukan in connection with the case.

Respite for flood-hit upper Assam

TINSUKIA/GUWAHATI. The overall flood situation in upper Assam improved slightly on Sunday with the Brahmaputra and its tributaries showing a receding trend.

Though the mighty river was flowing above the danger mark, its level was receding in Sivasagar, Jorhat, Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh districts.

In Sivasagar, floodwaters have receded by over a foot in most areas of the district, including the residential localities of Nazira, Sivasagar town and Sonari sub-division in the last 24 hours. The district administration has stepped up its process to provide relief and rehabilitation among the flood-hits.

However, the water level of the major rivers like the Desang, Dikhow, Safrai, Towokok and the Dorika River was flowing much above the danger mark.

On the other hand, the district administration has sent as many as eight medical teams to several flood-hit areas to assist the affected people, apart from ferrying essential commodities.

Over 200 villages and at least 100,000 people have been hit by the deulge that created havoc in Sivasagar on Saturday by submerging over 60 per cent of its area, including many arterial roads disrupting traffic in various areas.

On Sunday morning, traffic resumed on B G Road that connects Sivasagar with Nazira. The road was closed after floodwaters submerged a major portion of it. However, traffic along Borali Road connecting Sivasagar and Nazira was disrupted after a portion of it near Mothiasiga was washed away by the swelling waters of the Dikhow.

Train movement was hit near the Bridge No 504 between Simalguri in Sivasagar district and Mariani after the floodwaters touched the bottom of the girder.

Speed of all trains passing through the stretch of the bridge has been restricted to 10 km an hour. Railway patrol team members have been deployed near the bridge to keep a close watch of the situation. Floodwaters also gushed in the railway colonies affecting 96 families, a Northeast Frontier Railway official said.

On Saturday, floodwaters washed away a 10-month-old baby and a two-and-a-half-year-old child at Nazira Khona Tea Estate in Sivasagar district's Charaideo sub-division. Since June 1, the deluge has affected over 200,000 people in Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Bongaigaon, Nalbari, Kamrup, Barpeta, Chirang and Kokrajhar districts. A crop area of 5678.33 hectare has also been damaged by the calamity.

Militants brought to Guwahati

Guwahati: The ‘Commander-in-Chief’ of the militant group Dima Halam Daogah (DHD-J), Jewel Garlossa, and his two accomplices, who were arrested on Wednesday night in Bangalore, were flown in to Guwahati on Friday. On their arrival at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International airport here, an Assam police team took the trio to an undisclosed location under heavy security.
Deputy Inspector-General (Central Western Range) G.P. Singh, who led the team to Bangalore, told journalists that Garlossa and Partha Warisa, senior DHD (Jewel) leader, and contractor-businessman Samir Ahmed would be produced in the court in a day or two.
Apart from the arrest of its chief, the DHD (Jewel) suffered another jolt when its foreign secretary Frankie Dimasa was killed by the police in the Borbori area of the city on Thursday. The slain militant leader, who was arrested in March 2008, had jumped bail and returned to jungle.
The DHD (Jewel) is a breakaway faction of the militant outfit Dima Halam Daogah (DHD). The DHD, under the leadership of Jewel Garlossa, signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre on January 1, 2003. However, on June 24, 2004 Jewel was expelled from the outfit.
The DHD leaders who led the coup against him alleged that Jewel had already formed a private army called “Black Widow” to create terror in the hill district despite the ceasefire agreement.
Jewel Garlossa became one of the most wanted militant leaders as the Black Widow led by him has been creating terror in southern Assam’s Norh Cachar Hills district by targeting trains, resorting to abduction for ransom, extortion of government officials and railway staff.

Memorial for Assam agitation martyrs

GUWAHATI: The All Guwahati Students' Union (AGSU) on Monday unveiled a stone at Chandmari in memory of 855 people, who died during the six-year-long Assam agitation against illegal migrants.

The 12-feet high stone has been made by sculptor Biren Sinha. The memorial stone contains the piece of stone on which an Aasu activist Dulal Sarma wrote, "We will rather give blood, not oil" with his blood in 1980.

"On that day, hundreds of Aasu supporters had hit the streets to protest against the export of oil from the state. The agitation went on despite harsh measures by the government," former Aasu activist Khanin Chandra Das said.

He said he is quite upset as the agitation failed to attain its desired goal. Similar views were echoed by Bisheswar Hazarika and Kuntala Deka, both former Aasu activists, who were present at the function.

"The foreigners' problem is still a burning issue in the state. Aasu should try to solve it," Das said. Altogether 855 Aasu activists sacrificed their lives during the Assam agitation, which eventually ended in the Assam Accord of 1985. But the current Aasu leaders are annoyed with the activities of their former leaders. "The then leaders betrayed the state. The new generation of Aasu activists will never excuse them. But, we will never stop working towards our goals," Aasu presidents Shankar Prasad Roy said.

"We should not forget the sacrifice of martyrs. So we are putting up this memorial stone. We vow to carry on with our struggle," Aasu general secretary Tapan Gogoi said.

Aasu adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya said the people of Assam should retrospect and help Aasu save the indigenous people of the state.

Assam govt orders probe into skeleton recovery

Guwahati , May 25 : The Assam government today ordered a probe into the recovery of skeletons from a dumping ground of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation here.
The Kamrup (City) District Administration has ordered a probe to be conducted by the Circle Officer, official sources said.

The six skulls and bones found yesterday from a dumping ground in Fatasil Ambari area, which is being developed as a housing project, have been sent for forensic test, they said.

The site was a dumping ground for GMC till 1974 where unclaimed bodies found in the urban area were used to be disposed.

Assam MLA injured in mishap

Jorhat (Assam), May 7 : An Assam MLA was today injured when his car rammed into a stationary truck at Burapahar near Kaziranga National Park.

Police sources said that the accident occurred when Rupjyoti Kurmi, Congress legislator from Mariani, was on his way to Guwahati from his constituency.

Two of his personal security officers and the vehicle driver were also injured. They were taken to Guwahati Medical College Hospital where condition of the driver was stated to be critical.

Kurmi and his PSOs were out of danger, the police sources said.

Teakwood seized

SILCHAR, May 2 : Lakhipur police along with forest officials of Jirighat seized three trucks carrying illegally chopped teak wood. Acting on a tip off, the police and forest officials nabbed three trucks (No. MN-04-0043, MN-01-6776 and MN-05-2605) and a huge quantity of teak wood chopped in six feet size and packed in gunny bags were recovered.
Drivers of the trucks have reportedly confessed that these wood logs were being carried from Lalung of Imphal west and were supposed to be delivered to Guwahati. Police suspect these wood were actually from Myanmar.

Twin explosions in Assam, narrow miss for Kamrup Express

Guwahati, Apr 13 : A major tragedy was averted late Sunday when two powerful bombs exploded on a rail track in Assam a few minutes before a crowded passenger train was to cross the blast sites, officials said.

A police spokesman said the first explosion took place around 10.30 pm IST near Nilalong, close to Diphu, the headquarters of Karbi Anglong district, about 320 km east of Assam's main city of Guwahati.

"It was a narrow miss for the Kamrup Express," a senior police official said.

There was another explosion a few kilometres ahead of Nilalong.

The two explosions took place at the locations about 10 km apart — both on the rail track.

"The explosions were near simultaneous and took place a few minutes before the Kamrup Express was scheduled to cross the blast sites," the official said.

"The rail track is completely blown away and there are huge craters with the Kamrup Express now stranded," a railway official said.

"Rail links within the state would remain snapped until Monday."

The Kamrup Express was on way from Guwahati to Dibrugarh in eastern Assam carrying about 600 passengers.

Police said militants fired at the train when it slowed down after the second blast.

"There were no casualties in the firing," the official said.

Police blamed the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF), a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the majority Karbi tribe, for the attack.

This is the third attack on trains in Assam in the past three days.

On Friday, a trooper was killed and 17 injured when tribal militants attacked the Barak Valley Express in the adjoining North Cachar Hills district, while two security personnel were gunned down and 13 injured in a similar attack on a goods train in the same district on Saturday.

Meet on kids caught in conflict

Guwahati, March 25 : Caught in the crossfire between militants and security forces, the future of young children in the Northeast does not appear to be too rosy.

Speakers at a conclave on early childhood care and development — organised by global outfit Plan India — highlighted how “armed conflicts”, an euphemism for militancy, has been causing displacement of a large number of families with children across the region irrespective of social status and economic background.

“The armed conflicts have caused severe harm to children — from physical harm to mental stress. These children are in the most vulnerable stage of their lives and yet they are deprived of care and support services,” Biswajit Chakrabarty, a former professor of Cotton College, said in his paper on Quick Survey of the Status of Young Children in the Northeast.

The issues discussed in the two-day workshop will be incorporated in the India Country Report, which will be sent to UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Geneva later this year.

The conclave, co-hosted by Forum for Creche and Childcare Services, was organised in order to initiate a reflection on the status of children in the Northeast.

“Armed conflict has also caused much displacement and those displaced are being sheltered in temporary camps,” Chakrabarty said in his paper.

A large number of women migrant labourers can be seen almost throughout the region engaged in construction on roads, bridges and drainage projects.

“They constitute a significant section of unorganised workers and children belonging to these workers are totally devoid of any services — health, nutrition or pre-school education,” Chakrabarty said.

According to data released, 20-30 per cent of rural children in the northeastern states are either stunted, an indicator of chronic under-nutrition or wasted, an indicator of acute under nutrition or underweight, indicator of chronic and acute malnutrition. Some states like Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have touched alarming figures of 30-40 per cent of its children being either wasted or underweight.

Experts said the integrated child development service had performed rather poorly in the northeastern states. Corruption, under staffing, poor infrastructure and lack of awareness among the people in the rural areas are some of the hurdles plaguing their programmes.

India is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Centre will have to submit a report to the UNCRC committee in Geneva later this year.

Dust storms ground flights in Assam

Usually it is always heavy fog that grounds flights but this time it was dust that reduced normal visibility and grounded all flights at the Guwahati airport, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

Dust storms at this time of the year is not uncommon in Assam but such a long spell of dry weather is worrying. This is the first time that the airport has been virtually shut down because of low visibility due to dust storm.

"We haven't had rains for months and that has affected the atmosphere. The suspended particles has filled the air and reduced visibility due to which flying aircrafts is not possible," Guwahati Met department member D K Handique said.

Unprecedented delays and cancellations since Monday have left thousands stranded. Around 80 flights have either not taken off or landed since visibility was affected.

"We have been here since morning but not sure of what is happening. There are patients stranded," one of the passengers said.

Airport authorities have also said that the delays were due a defective ILS which has now been restored. The first flight has in fact landed this afternoon, but with the Met department predicting similar weather conditions, it is unlikely that air traffic will operate on schedule

Assam poll campaign kicks off with Congress-Opposition spat

Guwahati, Mar 17 : With the Lok Sabha polls barely a month away, the war of words between the two major political entities in Assam - the ruling Congress and opposition Asom Gana Parishad-BJP combine - has geared up.

The trend was set by the Congress at their launch of the poll campaign on March seven when the party unleashed a no-holds-barred attack on the 'unholy' AGP-BJP alliance, terming it as a 'compromise' made at the cost of the State's interest.

Party spokesman and senior minister Himanata Biswa Sarma said the AGP was devoid of any principle which is why it joined hands with the BJP which had failed to do anything for the state during its stint at the Centre.

The minister charged the Opposition party with 'sacrificing' prestigious seats including that of Guwahati to the party.

AGP president Chandra Mohan Patwary was quick to react when at a rally the next day he charged that Congress leaders were incapable of taking any independent decision and knocked at Delhi's door for 'any matter'.

Mr. Patowary in another rally clarified that the AGP was not a partner in the NDA, but only has a seat-sharing agreement with the BJP.

"There is no alliance with the BJP, it is only a agreement to defeat the Congress..the BJP will be the elder brother in the L S poll while the AGP will switch role in the Assembly election," he said.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi himself had a dig at the seat-sharing agreement, terming it as a 'huge compromise by the AGP'.

"The AGP calls itself a regional party, but surprisingly it has sacrificed prestigious seats like Guwahati and Jorhat to the BJP. So what is left of the party (AGP)?", he wonderd.

Under the agreement between the two parties, AGP is contesting six of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in fray in the State.

A Boat Ride on the Brahmaputra and a Wild Night in Assam

We are in Guwahati on Shiva Ratri–the night of Shiva. The Lord of Yogis aspect of Shiva is celebrated on this night; traditionally, all night in a raucous manner, as Shiva is among many other things, the Lord of ganas–a ragtag assortment of odd-ball beings, ascetics, lovers of ganja (marijuana), and ghouls.
 Hoping to avoid the temple-bound crowds, we charter a large boat and chug upstream to make a parikrama (circumambulation) of Umananda Nath–a Shiva temple on a small island that figured prominently in Panditji’s stay at Kamakhya years ago. We pay our respects from the boat, and take darshan from our cameras, noting the line of devotees strung around the island like a mala.
 

An even smaller island nearby intrigues us; Panditji refers to it as Patanjali’s Place. (Patanjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sutra).  But the island is off-limits according to the authority of the Antiquities Board, though no one seems to know why.  Again the camera captures the untold story, and we lumber back to the dock.

Patanjali's Island

Interestingly, this is the night of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the Caribbean, and of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. We have residents of both these festive cities and the Caribbean islands in our group, so the unity of the world’s traditions is well represented on our pilgrimage.
The talk turns from King’s Cakes to parades when from our bus windows we spot a flock of the ubiquitous tube lights strung together and marching down the street behind floats featuring Lord Shiva, Kali, and other deities in the local variety of Mardi Gras and Carnival parade.
 

How is it that this particular night as defined by the phase of the moon, is celebrated by Hindus in a small city in Assam in the same way as Christians all over the Americas on the other side of the planet?  We may speak a different language and understand the Divine from a different angle, but the same sun shines on us all, and the same moon moves our minds and hearts and compels us to dance in the streets.

Peace rally in Guwahati

Guwahati, Mar 2 : Hundreds of people in Assam took part in a campaign against non-violence and vow to establish peace in region.
Participants, many of whom are victims of ethnic violence said that they yearned for peace and normalcy.
The campaign was launched under ‘Aashwas’, a project of Assam Police that works for the upliftment of the children affected by militancy, insurgency and violence.
“This is anti-violence advocacy. We don’t want that more children of Assam should suffer. So many people have suffered for years. People feel pity for them when they listen to their experiences. So, we are taking out a peace rally,” said Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Inspector General of Police, Law and Order.
Later, a candle light procession was organised.
United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which has been fighting for the independence of Assamese people in a conflict that began almost three decades ago and has killed thousands of people has been behind many incidents of violence.
ULFA has been fighting for independence for Assam since 1979 and accuses New Delhi of exploiting the state’s resources and doing little to develop the province.
It also accuses non-Assamese people of plundering the state’s resources and spoiling its culture.
More than 20,000 people have been killed so far in the ULFA insurgency.

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.

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.

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.

Flyover, road bonanza for Six Mile

An aerial view of the Six Mile flyover after it was thrown open by chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Feb 15 : Dispur announced the launch of a multicrore-rupee scheme to improve road connectivity in the state as chief minister Tarun Gogoi 

inaugurated the Six Mile flyover and a four-lane road, connecting Six Mile with National Highway 37 via Jaya Nagar, here today.

Speaking at the inaugural function, PWD minister Ajanta Neog said the new project, christened Chief Minister’s Urban Road Development Scheme, would start with an initial outlay of Rs 40 crore.

Gogoi said the government had accorded top priority to improvement of road infrastructure, including bridges, and so there would be no dearth of funds for the projects to be taken up under the new scheme.

He said the 1.65km-long road would be named after Assam’s literary icon Lakshminath Bezbaruah.

PWD commissioner and secretary M.C. Boro said the four-lane flyover would considerably ease traffic congestion at that stretch of GS Road. The flyover will make entry into and exit from the Gateway to the Northeast — as the city is referred to — smoother.

The Six Mile is the first major junction after Khanapara for those entering Guwahati from the eastern side.

“You can now just sail over to the heart of the city,” a PWD official said.

Boro said the construction of the arm of Six Mile flyover, connecting it with Panjabari Road, and the arm of Bhangagarh flyover, connecting it with Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) Road, will be completed in three months.

The salient features of the Six Mile flyover include “New Jersey-type crash barrier” at medians for more safety, provision of rotary underneath the flyover for smooth movement of vehicular traffic, carpeting of the flyover’s road surface with mastic asphalt and bituminous concrete, nine high mast lights for better illumination and reinforced earth wall on approach roads.

The flyover is the tenth such bridge in Guwahati. 

Admitting delay in construction of the flyover, Guwahati development department minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said it was because of certain constraints such as flaws in the initial design of the flyover prepared by the consultant engaged by the PWD.

Gogoi said though the government had prioritised improvement of road infrastructure here, it had accorded equal importance to development of roads and bylanes in other urban centres across the state.

Silchar club gears up for action today

Hailakandi, Feb 14 : Silchar Tennis Club is gearing up to witness some high-adrenaline matches with the two-day North East Tennis meet starting here from tomorrow.

The chairman of the organising committee, Vivek Poddar, said players from Mizoram, Manipur, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Nagaon and Silchar are expected to participate the tournament, which will take place in singles, doubles and veterans category.

The organisers are hopeful that this meet would boost the experience and energy of the local players.

The Silchar Tennis Club has already trained about 300 local players and at present 70 youngsters are being trained at the facility under the hawk eye of Jitu Kumar, a coach from Guwahati.

The main objective of organising the tennis meet is to encourage the budding players of Barak Valley, Poddar said.