Ludhiana: A seven-day training programme on ‘Post Harvest Technology on Rural Catchments’ for participants from SIRD Assam was inaugurated at Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) in Ludhiana on Wednesday. As many as 15 farmers are taking part in the training programme.
“At present, while consumers are paying high price for processed food, farmers are not able to increase their income. Farmers income could only increased when they would be getting share from consumers expenditure on processed food sold at higher prices in supermarkets,” said CIPHET Director Dr R T Patil and added that shifting of food processing to rural catchments would immensely benefit both farmers as well as consumers.
GUWAHATI: Top ULFA leaders led by chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa today met Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and sought his cooperation to take forward the peace process with the Centre.
Rajkhowa and seven other leaders met the Chief Minister at his official residence on the eve of talks with a central team led by Union Home Secretary G K Pillai on Thursday.
Gogoi told reporters after the meeting that this was the first time a Chief Minister had met the ULFA leadership "officially and face-to-face".
"I hope talks with the Centre is successful and they discussed with me how to take the peace process forward", Gogoi said.
Asked whether the ULFA leaders had presented their demands before him, Gogoi said, "They will tell the Centre about their demands".
Rajkhowa told reporters their meeting with the Chief Minister was "primarily a courtesy call before the talks".
"We urged the Chief Minister to speed up the process in New Delhi and sought his cooperation to take the peace process to the next phase. The modalities for the talks have not been worked out so far and will come later", he said.
Besides Rajkhowa, the other leaders of the outfit present in the meeting were Vice Chairman Pradip Gogoi, political advisor Bhimakanta Buragohain, Foreign Secretary Sasha Choudhury, Finance Secretary Chitrabon Hazarika, Cultural Secretary Pranati Deka, Publicity Secretary Mithinga Daimary and Deputy Commander-in Raju Barua.
The ULFA leaders were likely to call upon Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram though the dates were yet to be fixed.
The ULFA leaders released from jail recently have decided to hold unconditional talks with the government but the faction led by outfit's Commander-in-chief Paresh Barua was opposed to it.
Assam, which is one of the largest consumers of fish in the country and is trying hard to become self sufficient in fish production, recently organised fifth Assam Matsya Mahotsav to promote fish production in the State.
The fish festival was held from January 27-29 at Shilpgram in Guwahati.
The festival brought together national-level institutions, scientists and farmers who are working for a Blue Revolution in Assam.
It promoted fish farming among the youth and aimed at disseminating latest information regarding fish production among farmers.
The main feature of the event was the inauguration of "ANGLING PARK" at the historic NAK-KATA pond in Guwahati. It will also serve as a breeding ground for ornamental fish, which has a growing market in Assam.
Nurjamal Sarkar, Minister Fisheries Department said: "This pond will be beneficial for the people of Guwahati as they can come here and relax. I feel that such kind of facility should be started in every city.
"Our government is helping the youth by providing them loans to start their won fishery business. At this festival people can come learn more about fish farming," said Pulak Banerjee, a resident.
Many seminars and competitions were also organized that were addressed by experts who provided details about latest fish farming technologies.
During the event various stalls selling traditional fish catching equipment were set up for the visitors.
During 2009-10, 2.18 lakh tonnes of fish was produced against the 2.06-lakh tonnes produced during 2008-09.
With a gradual increase in the production of fish, Assam hopes to become self-sufficient in producing fish in the next couple of years. (ANI)
Aiming to boost bilateral trade ties, Mohammad Faruk Khan, Commerce Minister of Bangladesh visited the annual International Buyers and Sellers Meet in Guwahati on Friday .
Khan is the first Commerce Minister of Bangladesh to visit Assam, indicating enhanced economic cooperation between the two neighbours in the coming days.
Calling for better trade ties between India and Bangladesh, Khan urged the government of both countries to take immediate measures to tap the unexplored potential of the region before time runs out.
"The government, in Bangladesh, in India and the state governments have to understand that their primary task is to facilitate the businessmen in all these regions to help business. Because, if you promote business, you actually help the common people. I am sorry that we have not been able to do it as much as has been expected and wanted but I am sure we should understand that time is running out. The faster, the better," said Khan.
Organised by the Industries and Trade Fair Association of Assam (ITFAA), the event gives a platform to the small artisans to showcase their products and interact with entrepreneurs for mutual benefit.
Small artisans from all over North East region participated in the meet with an impressive array of traditional and ethnic products.
Bangladesh annually imports about two billion dollars worth of products from India, and earns nearly 400 million dollars from exports. (ANI)
The temple of democracy isn’t a temple where the gods need to be woken up with cymbals. An Assam MLA thought differently, only to find himself expelled from the assembly. Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai on Friday expelled Prasanta Phukan (BJP) for clanging cymbals - a mid-sized pair traditionally used in
an Assamese namghar (neighbourhood Vaishnavite prayer hall).
Phukan had joined some 40 Opposition MLAs in disrupting House proceedings for the fourth successive day, demanding discussion on a tribal council scam allegedly being avoided by the ruling Congress.
Amid the din, the MLA from Dibrugarh fished out the cymbals and clanged them hard in a bid to “wake up the Speaker and the treasury bench”. The inevitable expulsion followed.
“What else do you do when they don’t listen?” said Phukan, adding he wished he had louder instruments to jolt the House.
Known to be eccentric, Phukan had earlier moved about town in a bullock cart to protest fuel price rise. He also once carried a sack of vegetables on his shoulder to “augment my income by selling stuff costlier than gold”, he claimed.
The West Bengal assembly too has witnessed the use of musical instruments inviting censure. In 1996, that state’s Congress president Manas Bhuiyan and his colleagues had tried to disrupt the House proceedings with drums and metallic instruments to protest the Jyoti Basu government’s ‘misrule’
The Assam Cabinet has approved reservation of 50 per cent Panchayat seats for women. The Cabinet chaired by the Chief Minister Mr. Tarun Gogoi has also approved formation of an Upper House in State.
The Cabinet meeting held at Dispur last evening has decided to hike the Grade Pay of third and fourth grade employees of the State Government. It approved a proposal for setting up a Cabinet Sub-Committee for time-scale promotion to its employees.
The Sub-Committee has been asked to submit its report to the Government by 15th of this month. Around three lakh teachers and non-teaching staff of the State are to be benefited from the decision of the Cabinet.
The Cabinet further approved the State Sports Policy and decided to increase the sports pension from 1,500 rupees to 3,000 rupees. The All Assam Employees Union has welcomed the decision of the State Cabinet.
Guwahati, Jan 4 (PTI) With the Opposition stalling the Assam Assembly for the third straight day, state government employees will not get their salaries from March onwards if the Supplementary Demands for Grants are not allowed to pass in the House within the next three days.
"The Opposition led by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has stalled proceedings for the third day of the budget session to not allow the passing of the Supplementary Demands for Grants, which is necessary for payment of salary to government employees," official spokesman Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters here today.
"If the Supplementary is not passed in the last three days of the session then the employees will not get salary from March onwards", Sarma, also a senior minister, said.
AGP leader and former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said they were blocking the assembly proceedings demanding inclusion of all departments of NC Hills Council under CBI probe into its multi-crore scam. "The opposition has no intention to block the passage of the Supplementary.
If the government has any concern for the employees, it should have accepted the opposition demand," Mahanta said. The Assembly will be stalled till the demand was met, the AGP leader said.
Guwahati, Feb 3 : In January 1992, the leadership of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), led by chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, converged in western Assam’s Nalbari to discuss farewell to arms. Most decided to bid adieu to life underground, the rest returned to fighting for the secession of Assam from the Indian union.
This January, most of those who developed cold feet in 1992 gathered in Nalbari again to remove the last hurdle in the way of the peace process — Assam’s sovereignty. The two meetings had something in common; Ulfa commander-in-chief Paresh Barua stayed away to pursue the “same mission with new vision”.
More importantly for New Delhi, Rajkhowa and the other decision-makers were not in a position to back away this time, unlike in 1992. Their resolution to remove all preconditions for talks including sovereignty was thus expected following their release from jail “to facilitate the peace process”.
Rajkhowa and six others were arrested between December 2003 and December 2009 after being ejected from their safe havens in Bhutan and Bangladesh.
“This was inevitable; the Ulfa leaders do not have the kind of bargaining power the National Socialist Council of Nagaland has even after 13 years of declaring truce. The Naga outfit talked peace when still at its peak and it still runs a parallel government. In the case of the Ulfa, everything seems to be government-dictated,” said Haider Hussain, editor of Asomiya Pratidin and one of the members of the People’s Consultative Group Ulfa had formed in 2005 to pursue peace in vain.
“Autonomy has more or less replaced sovereignty now, but the Ulfa leadership must come out with a face-saving package that offers a Kashmir-like or better status for Assam. New Delhi also needs to respect the rebel leaders, not make it a victor-vanquished affair, to ensure an honourable solution to the 31-year struggle (Ulfa was formed in 1979). The exercise will be meaningless otherwise,” he added.
Others feel New Delhi should also realise a section of the people want an unseen force or pressure group (read Paresh Barua’s hardliners) to “check a corrupt system” and be an irritant like the Maoists, the striking power notwithstanding. “The strength of Ulfa cannot be measured by the number of the gun-carrying youth in its fold. It actually lies in the level of sympathy and sanction it enjoys in the mind of the common Assamese, despite all its follies and deviations,” said Sunil Nath, who quit Ulfa in 1992.
Whether or not Barua continues to play spoilsport, many in Assam agree that players on both sides of the table must “play their role boldly and sincerely”. Because the proposed peace process with Ulfa is linked to the fate of those with lesser outfits such as the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB). The NDFB also seeks sovereignty of areas — western and north-central Assam — dominated by the Bodo tribe. It has expressed willingness to talk, but from a position of strength, unlike Ulfa.
Dibrugarh(Assam), Feb 3 (PTI) In what could be the first instance of cyber crime in Assam, three persons have been arrested in Tinsukia district for their suspected involvement in a bank internet hacking case in which Rs six lakh was fraudulently withdrawn from an account.
Based on an FIR filed by a businessman Sahid Khan the police arrested the three, hailing from the tea garden community from Makum area on Tinsukia district today in whose account the amount was transferred.
Khan in his FIR claimed that Rs six lakh have been fraudulently withdrawn from his savings account with Indus Ind bank branch of Dibrugarh through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) in the past two days. On investigation the police found that the amount was transferred to the accounts of the three with the State Bank of India (SBI) Makum following which they were arrested.
They confessed to the police that a person named Md Abdul Jahid of Dibrugarh had contacted them promising to pay 10 per cent as commission for the deal. The police has launched a search to nab Jahid who is absconding.
Guwahati, Feb 3 (IANS) Political parties in Assam want the state assembly elections to be held before Bihu, the Assamese New Year in mid-April, and the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has demanded that ballot papers be used instead of the electronic voting machines (EVM).
Major political parties Wednesday held extensive discussions with the full bench of the Central Election Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, that arrived in Assam's main city of Guwahati on a two-day visit to review poll preparations.
'We have come here to review poll preparedness, and during our stay we shall be holding meetings with political parties, civil and police officials, besides influential groups and teachers,' the chief election commissioner told journalists.
Quraishi is accompanied by Election Commissioners V.S. Sampath and H.S. Brahma.
'We want elections in four phases and have specifically asked the Election Commission team to discard the EVMs and instead use ballots for conducting the polls to avoid tampering of votes,' AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary said.
Meanwhile, both the ruling Congress party and Assam's main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) have demanded that elections be held before Bohag Bihu or the Assamese New Year beginning April 14.
Some political parties even sought the confinement of leaders of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), currently out on bail, in designated camps.
'All the ULFA leaders, including chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, should be confined in designated camps and carrying of arms openly should be restricted so that the ULFA cannot interfere with the poll process,' said Biswajit Daimary, leader of the Bodoland People's Front, an ally of the ruling Congress party in Assam.
Guwahati, Feb 3 (IANS) The full bench of the Election Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi arrived here Wednesday for a two-day visit to review the preparations for Assam's assembly elections.
'We will be holding meetings with political parties, civil and police officials besides influential organisations and teachers,' Quraishi told reporters.
He is accompanied by the two election commissioners, V.S. Sampath and H.S. Brahma.
The elections to the 126-member state legislature are due before May.
Both the ruling Congress party and the main opposition, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), have demanded that elections be held before Bohag Bihu - the Assamese New Year - beginning April 14.
The AGP, however, wants the polls to be held in five phases.
'We shall take into consideration all viewpoints before finalising the poll schedule,' the chief election commissioner said.
GUWAHATI: Abdul Ali, a 50-year-old man from rural Assam, is facing a sexual identity crisis of sorts, albeit on paper. His sex was put down as female' in an ultrasonography (USG) report released by the department of radiology of the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH). Not only that, his uterus and ovaries were declared to be normal in size, shape and texture!
Abdul, an anaemia patient, was admitted to the hospital on December 31, 2010. He hails from Muktapur village near Baihata Chariali in Kamrup (Rural) district. His family members, including younger brother Kashim Ali, said Abdul, had been suffering from a stomach disorder in December and he was admitted to the region's most sophisticated hospital run by the Assam government GMCH for treatment.
Doctors at the hospital took 11 days to detect the disease that Abdul was suffering from. Following their advice, the family members of the patient got an ultrasonography (USG) done at the hospital.
But Abdul and his family got the shock of their lives when the USG report, which they collected on January 11, identified Abdul a female' and clearly mentioned that his "uterus and ovaries are normal in size".
"Uterus: Normal in size, shape and parenchymal echotexure. Endometrical thickness is normal. No focal myometrial or endometrical lesion seen," said the report, attributing female physiological features to the poor man from Muktapur!
In another part of the report, Abdul's non-existent ovaries were discussed. "Ovaries: Both ovaries are normal in size and echomorphology. No mass lesion in the adnexa. No intraabdominal free fluid or adenopathy noted," said the ultrasonography report.
The fallacious report was finalized and approved by a professor of radiology at GMCH on January 11, who obviously did not think it important to scratch his grey cells for a minute before passing the report.
However, the story doesn't end with the faulty report. Abdul's family members alleged that he was even asked to take medicines prescribed by the doctors on the basis of the USG report that showed him as a female patient!
"Doctors could not diagnose his disease properly for he was wrongly shown as a female patient in the ultrasonography report," said Taher Ali, the eldest son-in-law of Abdul.
Taher, who doesn't know how to read English, also added that they came to know of the blunder the radiology department of GMCH had made only a few days ago after a doctor of the local Bihdia Public Health Centre pointed out that Abdul had been erroneously made out to be a woman after he read the USG report of GMCH.
Abdul, who belongs to the economically-weaker section of society, has been suffering from his ailment even after he was discharged from GMCH on January 15. "He is now bedridden and is being treated at his village home with the consultation of local doctors," said Taher Ali.
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