TURA, Nov 17 – Dr Rekhamoyee A Sangma has earned the distinction of being the first among the Garos to head a medical institute by taking charge of the Silchar Medical College as its new Principal on November 9.
Dr Rekhamoyee took her MBBS degree in 1973 and joined the Gauhati Medical College as a Demonstrator in Pathology. She became the Professor of Pathology and Head of the department in 2002.
Incidentally, Dr Rekhamoyee is the eldest sister of Meghalaya Rajya Sabha MP, Thomas A Sangma.
Bundi (Rajasthan), Nov 16 (PTI) Three women labourers from Assam, including a minor, were rescued from a farmhouse in the district today where they were allegedly tortured for over three months.
Reena (16), her mother Savetri Rajbar (40) and Neeta Sharma (50) were rescued from Lakshmipura village after villagers heard the screams of the victims in the farmhouse, police said.
District Women Congress President Rekha Kalosiya, who has extended shelter to the victims, told PTI that the women were brought from Haryana on the pretext of being employed as labourers for daily wages. However, upon their arrival in Lakshmipura the farmhouse owner had forced Reena to marry his younger brother.
"When Reena and her mother refused the marriage proposal, the owners tied their hands and feet, and tortured and harassed them brutally," said Kalosiya.
However, Additional SP Nand Lal Pavan said, "Torture to the women has not been proved so far".
The farmhouse owners, Naresh Malik and his brother Sunil Malik, have been taken into custody and a case of alleged harassment, exploitation and torture of the three women have been lodged against them, police said, adding no arrest has been made.
Students take out a rally in Kokrajhar.
Dhubri, Nov. 16 : The All Koch-Rajbongshi Students’ Union (Biswajit Roy) today launched the first phase of its agitation for a separate Kamtapur state by taking out padayatras and holding meetings in lower Assam districts.
The students’ union took out padayatras in Bongaigaon, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Barpeta and Dhubri districts and submitted memoranda to the deputy commissioners of Chirang and Kokrajhar, demanding that New Delhi and Dispur take immediate steps to carve a Kamtapur state out of Assam and West Bengal.
Hundreds of activists of the students’ union joined the march from Agomoni to Ratiadoh in Dhubri district, from Bengatol to Chapaguri in Bongaigaon district. They held meetings at Chapaguri and Sorbhog in Barpeta and Agomoni in Dhubri district.
The union’s series of agitation will include a sit-in in Delhi on November 25, 12-hour rail and road blockades on December 14 and 27 and a 12-hour Assam-West Bengal bandh on December 30.
The students union and the Separate State Demand Committee, which was formed by various organisations of the Koch Rajbongshis in West Bengal and Assam, have been demanding the creation of Kamtapur state by carving out 15 districts of Assam and six districts of West Bengal.
The president of the Dhubri district of the students’ union, Monoj Roy, while addressing a public meeting at Agomoni bazar after a 10km padayatra from Ratiadoh to Agomoni in Dhubri district, said it was the agitation for their existence and they would go to any extent for the fulfilment of their demands.
“It is the question of our socio-economic and political rights. Moreover, for long we have been deprived by both the states, Assam and West Bengal, but now we want our own homeland for the Kamtapuris,” he added.
The president of the union, Biswajit Roy, said they were not demanding anything new but the area ruled by the Koch dynasty. People living in the areas ruled by the dynasty are Koch Rajbongshis, he said.
“Neither the Assam nor the West Bengal government has treated the community on a par with other communities. As a result, the community is lagging behind in all aspects. The movement will continue till a separate state is carved out,” he added.
In Kokrajhar, the Koch Rajbongsi United Forum organised a rally from Dimalgaon to the office of the deputy commissioner and submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through the DC’s office.
The demonstrators damaged a car belonging to the principal of Kokrajhar Commerce College, R. Singha, near UN Academy on JD Road, injuring the driver of the vehicle, S. Chakraborty. The demonstrators threw stones at the car, breaking its windscreen, and thrashed the driver. The principal was not there at the time of the attack.
Samudra Gupta Kashyap
Three days after Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said his government was not opposed to building of dams on Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh, the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) have begun a fresh agitation against the dams.
AASU held a satyagraha —- attended by 10,000 students, it claimed —- in Guwahati Saturday to press for scrapping of the Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric project in Arunachal. An expert committee had recommended the dam should not be built at the present site as it is prone to earthquakes, AASU said.
KMSS on the other hand announced a series of agitational programmes starting Monday. “By supporting the dams, the government is pushing the state, particularly farmers, into a disastrous situation,” KMSS secretary, Akhil Gogoi, said.
The state Assembly had on Friday discussed issues related to dams in Arunachal, including their possible adverse impact in the state. While the Opposition hit out at the government for taking “a stand in favour of dams”, Gogoi said he had written to the PM to constitute a committee to do more studies on the likely impact of the dams in Assam.
Kaziranga, Nov 15 (PTI) Two suspected poachers were killed in an encounter with forest guards inside Kaziranga National Park today, KNP authorities said.
The two were killed during an exchange of fire between KNP forest guards and four poachers at Agratoli range at around 5 am, Park director Surajit Kumar Dutta told PTI, adding, the other two managed to escape.
KNP officials had launched a combing operation yesterday following information about presence of poachers inside the park, he said, adding there were no casualties among the animals in the park, famous for its one-horned rhinos.
Later, a 303 rifle and a bag of ammunition were recovered from the slain poachers and the police have launched a search outside KNP premises to apprehend the two who escaped, Dutta added.
GUWAHATI, Nov 15 – Assam needs at least 150 companies of Central forces to deal with the overall law-and-order situation in the wake of killing spree launched by the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB).
Highly-placed official sources told The Assam Tribune that the State Government has already requested the Centre to provide additional forces to deal with the situation and to launch an all out operation against the militants.
Sources revealed that as on march last year, the State had 149 companies of Central forces, but gradually forces were withdrawn from the State following disturbance in other parts of the country and now Assam has less than a hundred companies of forces, which is not at all adequate to deal with the situation. “We want that the force availability should be at least brought up to the 2009 level,” sources added.
The Assam Government has raised the issue again before the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram when he reviewed the security situation in the State in a meeting with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and senior officials of the State Government, police, Army and Central paramilitary forces. However, the Union Home Minister did not make any commitment on providing additional forces to the State.
Sources admitted that the Centre also has its limitations as a number of States of the country are facing problems due to acts of violence by the Maoist rebel groups and additional forces have to be deployed in those areas. Moreover, substantial amount of forces were to be deployed in Bihar for smooth conduct of the elections. However, the Assam Government is expecting some extra forces soon as the Union Home Minister is now well aware of the situation on the ground and the need for additional forces for launching an all out operation against the militants.
Official sources pointed out that with the militants belonging to the anti-talk faction of the NDFB using the jungle area along the border with Arunachal Pradesh, the operations of police and security forces are often hampered as the militants cross over to the neighbouring State whenever pressure is mounted against them. There have also been instances when the militants managed to take kidnapped persons to the jungles of the neighbouring State, sources added.
Under the circumstances, a plan is mooted to launch coordinated operations in both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to trap the militants and the Director General of Arunachal Pradesh Police has already been included in the Unified Command as a special invitee. Sources admitted that the police personnel of Arunachal Pradesh might not be well equipped to deal with heavily armed militants and the possibility of engaging Army for launching operations within Arunachal Pradesh in near future cannot be ruled out. Sources, however, did not spell out as to when Army may be deployed in the neighbouring State for launching operations saying “it would not be proper to spell out the operational details at this moment.”
Security forces in Assam have launched a massive combing operation to capture the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants, hiding in jungle areas along the borders.
The operation has been launched in some identified locations in and around Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan boundaries.
The step was undertaken after review of the the law and order situation of the State by the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram at Guwahati on Friday.
The Home Minister directed the Unified Command to launch an "all-out" operation against the ultras and tackle them with an "iron hand".
Chidamabaram, who held a meeting with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, top army and paramilitary commanders, senior police and civil officials during his brief visit to Guwahati, said security forces had been instructed to take immediate measures to arrest those involved in killing of as many as 24 innocent people, most of them Hindi-speaking, and to deal with them sternly.
The Home Minister said the Centre had no objection in holding talks with all outfits, provided, they abjured violence as dialogue was the only way to solve problems.
While expressing displeasure over the stand taken by the NDFB anti-talk faction in resolving the Bodo issue, the Home Minister said its arrested chairman Ranjan Daimary was not interested in keeping the situation under control.
He said the outfit has not yet submitted its charter of demands but has given indication that they want more autonomy for the Bodos.
It may be recalled that the Centre had earlier created Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) involving four districts of lower Assam while negotiating with another Bodo militant outfit Bodoland Liberation Tigers (BLT) in 2003.(ANI)
Goalpara (Assam): Rarely is a clash of the titans this literal.
Two fully-grown elephants were seen battling for two hours on a main road near Goalpara town, which is 2.5 kilometre from Guwahati.
Forest officials fired 11 rounds in the air to grab the elephants' attention. They then moved back in the Bhalukdubi proposed reserve forest nearby.
Hundreds of spectators watched the action.
Forest officials who witnessed the war say the elephants were from different herds. It's "mast" season, when male elephants are in heat. If the elephants are from the same herd, other males move away, leaving the bull in heat to engage with a female in the herd. But when the bulls in heat are from different herds, they often fight each other till one is killed.
Experts also say that the encroachment by humans on their natural habitat in areas like this has elephants from different herds desperate to protect their turf.
Stating that Bangladesh was a "unique place for investment", country’s industry minister Dilip Barua today asked India Inc to invest in the country, particularly in sectors like IT, pharmaceuticals and knowledge based industry.
"I would like to take the opportunity to invite Indian corporate sector to invest in the prospective industrial sectors of Bangladesh. I promise that our grand alliance government under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina will extend all out support and cooperation in setting up industry in Bangladesh," Barua said.
"Bangladesh has revised its industrial and investment policy in line with the aspiration of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation). Very recently we declared National Industrial Policy 2010 keeping in mind the opportunity and potential of true connectivity and integration among the neighbouring countries. Our government is giving more incentives and advantages to the foreign investors," added Barua.
He was speaking to media persons on the sidelines of a conference on BIMSTEC, organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and external affairs ministry.
He added that "some leading Indian companies had recently shown keen interest in investing in Bangladesh." Referring to North-East India, Barua said the region has been a focus area for Bangladesh as volume of trade between North-East India and Bangladesh has been increasing steadily.
He said that within a span of six months, two border ‘haats’ at Dawki (in Meghalaya) and Akhaura (in Tripura) will be opened to facilitate border trade between North-East India and Bangladesh.
However, Barua lamented that existing infrastructure at trade points between North-East India and Bangladesh was poor and, thus, need to be upgraded.
"In more than one decade of its existence, BIMSTEC has come a long way. Regional cooperation is now expanded to 13 identified areas in economic and social fields. It is time that we make an in-depth review of BIMSTEC", said Barua.
Barua added that a high-level group of eminent personalities from the region, comprising of BIMSTEC member countries, should be constituted to undertake an independent review of the organisation and to make specific recommendations to bring greater dynamism to the regional effort.
Barua also sought "collective effort and joint cooperation" of regional countries to address the perceived problem of displacement in Bangladesh in case of rise in sea water level due to global warming.
Jorhat: Two carcasses of a tiger and a rhino have been found inside the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, Park officials said here today.
The carcass of a female rhino was found in Gofrai camp under Kohora range of the Park by patrolling forest guards today.
The carcass of a female tigress was found from Laodubi camp area under Kohora range yesterday.
Both the animals have died due to old age, sources added.
New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Home Minister P Chidambaram will undertake a day-long visit to Assam tomorrow during which he will take stock of the prevailing law-and-order situation there in the wake of killings by NDFB and the proposed dialogue with ULFA.
The visit of Chidambaram bears significance as he would be accompanied by Centre''s interlocutor P C Haldar, who has been engaged with informal talks with jailed ULFA leader including ''chairman'' Arabinda Rajkhowa.
The Home Minister will hold a meeting with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, his cabinet colleagues and top civil and security officials and review the security situation.
At least 24 civilians have been gunned down by NDFB militants since Monday.
Chidambaram will reach Guwahati from Chennai in the morning and return to the southern metropolis in the evening.
The Home Minister is likely to suggest the security agencies in Assam to launch an all-out joint offensive against the perpetrators of the recent series of violence. Army, paramilitary forces and state police forces will take part in the operation against the ultras.
The NDFB militants are believed to have been hiding in the dense forests along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
Twenty km of either side of the inter-state border has already been declared as disturbed area.
"The Home Minister is expected to discuss with the state government the issue of modalities for future talks with ULFA," an official said.
Last week, Chief Minister Gogoi had said that to facilitate their participation in peace talks, the Assam government decided not to oppose the bail pleas of top ULFA leaders, including its ''chairman'' Rajkhowa, who are currently lodged in jail.
Apart from Rajkhowa, ULFA''s self-styled general secretary Chitraban Hazarika and self-styled foreign secretary Sasha Choudhary are currently in Assam jails while outfit''s ''vice-chairman'' Pradip Gogoi and two other leaders -- Mithinga Daimary and Bhimakanta Burhagohain -- have already got bails.
''Deputy commander-in-chief'' Raju Baruah is expected to be released from prison soon as the state government has not opposed his bail plea.
Peace talks with ULFA are expected to give a major boost to Congress party -- which has been ruling Assam for two consecutive terms -- before the Assembly elections next year.
Session extended till Thursday
Members of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti in Dibrugarh on Tuesday protest against big dams. Picture by Eastern Projections
Guwahati, Nov 10 : The Opposition and the treasury benches clashed over the mega dam issue in the Assam Assembly today even though both agreed to discuss the issue in detail in the “greater” interest of the state.
Led by AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, the Opposition mounted a strong case to get the proceedings postponed beyond Question Hour to get its adjournment motion admitted.
When Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai reserved his ruling after hearing both sides, the Opposition staged a walkout.
The treasury benches, on the other hand, sought extension of the three-day session so that other businesses of the House could be held as scheduled.
Eventually, the business advisory committee, which met after the day’s proceedings, decided to extend the session by a day till November 11.
But the highlights of the day included the “homework” done by Mahanta, as reported in today’s edition of The Telegraph, to get the adjournment motion admitted, with the Opposition sticking together against efforts by the treasury benches to pin them down. It recalled how it was the AGP, AASU and the BJP which had demanded big dams and were now doing a volte face for political gains by washing their hands off the consequences.
Mahanta quoted from a review of academician Monirul Hussain’s book, Interrogating Development, wherein chief minister Tarun Gogoi had admitted that the flood caused by the Ranganadi hydel project was because of release of a large quantity of water.
“If there is a need for inquiry into the dam issue, so be it, but now we should discuss ways to find a solution in Assam’s interest,” he hit back when health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called for a CBI probe to find out how the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation took over the construction of the Lower Subansiri dam from the Brahmaputra Board.
Mahanta was supported by AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary, former party president Brindaban Goswami, BJP president Ranjit Dutta, AIUDF’s Sirajuddin Ajmal and the Left’s Drupad Borgohain and Ananta Deka, who said the present government cannot allow the construction of dams just because the AGP had taken certain decisions during its stint in Dispur.
Independent member Bhubon Pegu, armed with maps and reports, said a catastrophe awaited the downstream area as the companies investing in the 168 dams coming up in Arunachal Pradesh had not conducted any study.
Parliamentary affairs minister Bharat Narah said Dispur would go by the House Committee decision and was even willing to foot the bill for redesigning of the Lower Subansiri dam, the bone of contention between the Opposition and Dispur.
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi, on his part, reiterated that he would oppose dams that went against Assam’s interests.
As the Assembly raged over the issue, a conference organised by the ex-general secretary forum of the Gauhati University Post-Graduate Students’ Union on Solution to Probable Problems in Assam from Dams in Arunachal Pradesh has recommended that construction of the dam be temporarily stopped till all reasonable doubts about its safety were removed.
The All Assam Students’ Union this evening also appealed to the Assembly to take strong steps regarding mega dams and updating of the National Register of Citizens.
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