GUWAHATI, Aug 26 : “Asom is today facing the extremes of both flood and drought. While some parts of the State are reeling under floods, some are facing drought-like situation. The State Government has to take up come up with proper relief measures for the drought and flood victims,” said Communist Party of India national executive member Promode Gogoi at a press conference today in Guwahati.
Gogoi said the party had submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi yesterday. In the memorandum the party has demanded a special economic package for the drought and flood victims of Asom, said Gogoi. “The drought-like situation has affected agriculture in many districts. Farmers have been badly hit. On the other hand, floods have wrecked havoc in districts like Dhemaji and Lakhimpur. A special economic package is needed to rehabilitate the victims,” said Gogoi.
The party has also asked the State Government to restore communication links in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji.“Due to the breakdown of communication links, relief measures are not reaching the victims,” said Gogoi.
River dam projects have been grabbing headlines in the recent past with many organizations vehemently protesting against such projects. Gogoi however welcomed the river dam projects taken up by the State Government. He said,“These projects will help in the production of power and in comprehensive irrigation schemes. But work on the Lower Subansiri Project should be stalled till the submission of the final report by the expert committee appointed by the Government.”
Gogoi urged all political parties to rise above their political interests and to work unitedly for a solution to the flood and drought problems in Asom. CPI has called for a stir across the State on August 31 for immediate fulfilment of their demands. THE SENTINEL
Guwahati, Aug 18 : An army jawan tested positive for swine flu in Assam today, the second confirmed case of flu in the state.
Nayak Raj Kumar Sinha had complained of swine flu symptoms and his samples sent for testing to the Indian Council of Medical Research at Lahowal in Dibrugarh which came out positive, Regional Director of Union Ministry of Health Parthajyoti Gogoi told PTI.
51-year old Sinha is currently being treated at the isolation ward of Army Base Hospital at Bashistha here.
Earlier, 21-year old Dheeraj Yadav had tested positive and was undergoing treatment at the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital here where his condition was stated to be stable.
Assam's Joint Director of Health Services Dr G P Sarma said the state health department had so far sent 43 samples for testing.
| NGO endeavours to compile trilingual dictionary in association with Dimasa Sahitya Sabha | ||
Guwahati, July 22 : The land of the Dimasas may be in a state of deep and perpetual turmoil, but that hasn’t stopped efforts to bring out the first trilingual dictionary on their language. Once out, seeking the Assamese or English equivalent of Dimasa words would no longer be a tall order as the dictionary would be in Dimasa-Assamese-English versions. The initiative has been taken by the Anundoram Barooah Institute of Language, Art and Culture, a city-based voluntary organisation, in association with Dimasa Sahitya Sabha, the apex literary body of the Dimasas. “Though there had been a couple of word books on the Dimasa language, the need for a complete dictionary was felt for long. This is the first attempt to compile a comprehensive dictionary on the ethnic language,” the institute’s director, D.K. Kalita, said. He said the Dimasa Sahitya Sabha has extended cooperation by nominating a panel of experts to help compile the dictionary. “It will take nearly a year to develop the dictionary and we have targeted around 20,000 words,” he added. Kalita said the primary objective behind the project was “to boost the language spoken by around 75,000 Dimasas in the state since grammar and dictionary are the basic requirements for development of a language.” “Moreover, we feel that such projects will promote amity among the ethnic communities of the state,” he added. The institute also has Mising-Assamese-English and Rabha-Assamese-English dictionaries to its credit and is developing similar dictionaries on Bodo and Karbi languages. Kalita said they would take the help of Bodo and Karbi sahitya sabhas for the compilation of Bodo-Assamese-English and Karbi-Assamese-English dictionaries. For compilation of the proposed dictionaries, the institute is holding a workshop on lexicography at its headquarters at Rajaduar in north Guwahati. Nominees of Dimasa, Bodo and Karbi sahitya sabhas, former director of Mysore-based Central Institute of Indian Languages P.N. Dutta Baruah and head of the department of linguistics, Gauhati University, Jyoti Prakash Tamuli, will be resource persons. Renowned scholar T.R. Taid, eminent linguists Upen Rabha Hakacham, Madhu Ram Boro, Lilabati Saikia Bora and Malini Goswami, compiler of dictionaries Sumanta Chaliha and Asam Sahitya Sabha president Rongbong Terang are also participating in the workshop. Kalita said the dictionaries would contain the head words, international phonetic alphabets, grammatical notes and meanings of the words in Assamese and English. |
GUWAHATI, July 9 – Violence against women continues to remain a major concern for the police as reports of such crimes have come in from different parts of Guwahati. Significantly, many of the cases registered with the police relate to victims from weaker sections of society living in slum areas. Police acquainted with recent trends in crime against woman say that in and around Guwahati, many incidents have taken place in Hatigaon, Athgaon, Fatasil Ambari and tracts parallel to the railway tracks. Some of the violence starts with domestic disputes, and perpetrators include husbands in inebriated condition.
Interestingly, violence against women have also been reported from families which are economically well-off. “Earlier not many cases were reported to the police, but with the Supreme Court making its stand clear, women who are aware of their rights approach the police more often,” said a police personnel based in Guwahati.
In the only all women police station at Pan Bazar, eight cases have been registered till in the first week of July, while 13 cases were filed in June. May saw a high of 18 cases, and in April seven cases were lodged. Most of these cases related to violence against women, and the victims hailed from different parts of the city.
Here it needs to be mentioned that the actual figures for the city would increase because many cases do not get registered in the Women Police Station as they are registered in local police station. Actual numbers would also be higher because some cases do not get registered at all.
According to police sources, although much has been focused on dowry related violence, occurrence is relatively low among local communities in Guwahati. Among a few other communities, dowry related violence, however, is comparatively higher.
Significantly, it has also been revealed by sources that some of the cases registered as crime against woman actually could be motivated, and at times have caused undue harassment on the accused. “Yes, there are genuine cases, but from time to time cases have been filed which actually have little factual basis making it difficult for us to proceed,” said the official.
The flood situation on Thursday turned grave in Assam following heavy rainfall in the catchment areas as red alert was sounded in Majuli, the world's largest river island, and Lakhimpur.
Official sources said more than two lakh people of nearly 300 villages have been affected due to breach in embankments at Majuli and Lakhimpur.
In Majuli, an embankment was breached on Thursday morning at Nayabazaar inundating Jengraimukh, Fuloni, Halodiati, Kherkotamukh and Nayabazaar.
In Lakhimpur, a 100-metre stretch of the "geo-fabric" embankment, constructed by a Malaysian company at a cost of Rs 140 crore, was breached on Wednesday at Matmora affecting nearly 200 villages.
East Dhakuakhana, Matmora, Kherkota, Dangdhara, Dimoruguri, Kekuri and Dholpata were among the areas which got submerged.
Heavy rainfall in the catchment areas in the foothills of the Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh resulted in floods in Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Sonitpur and Jorhat.
A red alert has been sounded in these areas and personnel of National Disaster Rescue Force were engaged in rescuing the marooned people.
Water level of the mighty Brahmaputra was flowing close to the danger level at Guwahati.
April 25 : Guwahati’s hills, which have become an eyesore with encroachment and rampant cutting, might get back their place of pride soon with Dispur deciding to convert them into tourism spots. The plan will achieve three objectives at a go — beautify the hills, prevent encroachment and check antisocial activities. Sources said the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority was working on the plan with the help of the tourism department and the Assam Tourism Development Corporation. An Assam government official said, according to the plan, the GMDA and the tourism department would first regenerate the forests in the hills and then dot them with eco-friendly resorts, flower gardens, water fountains and watch towers. The first phase of the project will cover Nilachal and Sarania hills, where the Kamakhya temple and Gandhi Mandap are situated. “Guwahati is the only city in the country that is surrounded by 14 hills. Unfortunately, the condition of the hills has become a cause of woe for the city dwellers. The rampant destruction of the hills because of human encroachment causes landslides and flash floods. The city’s green cover is fast declining because of encroachment on the hills. Something must be done on a war-footing to develop and protect the hills for the city’s future,” the official said. AC Nielsen, a New York-based global marketing research firm, suggested that urgent steps be taken to develop and protect the hills for the beautification and ecological balance of Guwahati. The US firm is currently conducting a survey to create a comprehensive database of hill dwellers. The official said the government would involve the hill dwellers in the plan. “The people who have been living in the hills for more than 15 years will be given permanent settlement by the Kamrup (metro) district administration on the condition that they will be actively involved in tourism promotion and anti-encroachment activities,” the official said. According to the government records available, 1,23,979 people resided on the 14 hills in 2000. The survey recorded 26,985 number of households on the hills with 8,681 permanent structures, 7,510 semi-permanent structures and 10,794 temporary structures. “Another aim of the project is to prevent antisocial activities. Since the hilly areas are not easily accessible, criminals usually take shelter in such places to carry out subversive activities in the city. Beautification of the hills will not leave space for such elements to take shelter,” the official said. | ||
 |
| Shops downed shutters during the bandh in Guwahati on Saturday. Picture by Eastern Projections |
The Centre has asked the Assam government to chalk out a comprehensive security plan to prevent violence during the ensuing Lok Sabha election. The Centre has directed the Assam government to draw up an action plan to ensure that militant attacks do not take place in Guwahati city, the two troubled hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar and other vulnerable areas of the state, official sources said in Guwahati on Friday.
The directive came after a high-level meeting held in Guwahati recently which was chaired by Union Cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekar and attended by top officers of the army, police and para military forces, they said.
The meeting reviewed the overall law and order situation in the state in the aftermath of the serial blasts in Guwahati, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, sources said.
The meeting assessed the security force requirement in the North Eastern states to ensure violence free and fair election, they said.
The army and the state police gave separate presentations before the Central team with the police particularly pointing out the ULFA hand behind the blasts in collaboration with Pakistan’s ISI.
The police apprised the meeting that National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) members are on ceasefire and staying in designated camps but there is an anti-talk faction of the outfit, which is out to create trouble in the disturbed Kokrajhar district of the state.
The Central official revealed that more companies of para military forces will be sent to Assam particularly in view of the government’s request for more reinforcement during poll.
At present, 140 companies are engaged in counter insurgency operations and with the Centre agreeing to deploy additional force taking the total number of company’s deployment near to 200, sources said.
Although the army, which is currently deployed for counter insurgency operations in the state, will not be engaged in poll duty but kept as a stand by.
New Delhi, Feb 26 : The Union Cabinet today approved the request of the Assam Government for conversion of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati into an autonomous grants-in-aid institute of the Government of India, under the Department of Science and Technology.
This would meet the hopes and aspirations of people of Assam and North Eastern Region.
IASST would endeavor to spot local scientific talent and inspire them to attain national and global level of competence.
This would lead to enrichment of the culture of scientific research and would have significant impact on the development of resources of the Assam and the Region as a whole.
| The foundation stone of Assam Cultural University laid in Guwahati | ||
Guwahati, Feb 10 : The foundation stone of the proposed Assam Cultural University was laid here today as part of the Asam Sahitya Sabha’s initiative to take the rich and diverse Assamese culture to a global audience. Litterateur Mamoni Raisom Goswami laid the foundation stone of the university on behalf of music legend Bhupen Hazarika, who could not attend the ceremony, as he was not well. The university, set up under the Assam Private Universities Act, 2007, would come up on a 50-bigha plot at Chachal on the new VIP Road linking Narengi and Six Mile here. Modelled on similar universities in China, the university would initially impart courses in arts, humanities and social sciences. In his speech, which was read out by Sabha president Kanak Sen Deka, Hazarika said the university would fulfil a long-cherished dream of the Sabha of which he himself is a past president. “I was associated with the Sabha since my primary school days. Whatever I am today is because of it. How could I forget the blessings of the doyen of Assamese literature, Lakshminath Bezboruah, during my association with the Sabha in my childhood? I am extremely happy and over-optimistic that the Assam Cultural University would make the entire world aware of the rich Assamese literature and culture,” Hazarika said. “I have travelled to many parts of the globe. But I was pained to find the rich and diverse culture of Assam not being known to the world. A large number of ethnic tribes with their own cultures and literatures are living peacefully in Assam and that is really unique, which the rest of the world must know at a time when the human race is witnessing conflicts and intolerance,” writer Goswami said. Sabha president Sen Deka said when the Sabha conceived the idea of a cultural university there was cynicism from different quarters about the success of the project. He, however, said the state government really helped the Sabha to go ahead with the project. “The Sabha would like to thank the education minister and the principal secretary of revenue department, V.K. Pipersenia, for their individual efforts to set up the university,” Deka said. Suresh Garodia, the convenor of the project, said the Assam government has asked the Sabha to go ahead with the project and the formal letter of permission would be received within this month. He said the university would start functioning within six months from the date of receiving the formal letter. “We are exploring various funding sources to set up the permanent campus of the university at Chachal. The entire campus will be ready within five years. Besides offering various courses the university would go for comprehensive research projects on Assamese culture and literature. It will collaborate with foreign universities and invite foreign scholars for research on the state’s culture,” Garodia added. State education minister Gautam Bora said the laying of the foundation stone for the university was a historic occasion for the people of Assam. “The university would go a long way in protecting and preserving the diverse Assamese culture and literature in the face of globalisation. It would be a role model for the younger generation, which is blindly following Western culture. “The government will fully back the university,” the minister added. Ramani Barman, the joint registrar of Gauhati University, while speaking on the occasion, said the Assam Cultural University should be world class and must convert itself into a hub of study of culture and literature of Asia. He said funds should not be a constraint in running the university, as there are several people who want to pursue culture and literature seriously. |
GUWAHATI, Jan 13 – The State is receiving a loan of around Rs 1,200 crore from the Japan Bank for a drinking water scheme for the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Area. The State will have to repay only Rs 180 crore of the loan from a Japan Bank, while the Central Government will bear the burden of Rs 1,080 crore of the loan. The total amount the State will get for the purpose will stand at around Rs 1,500 crore, if the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM) allocation for the purpose is also taken into account.
The conditions for getting the JNNURM and Japan Bank for International Cooperation, which is now known as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) loan are—there should be a single authority to manage the scheme, the board of the authority – Guwahati Metropolitan Drinking Water and Sewerage Board – should be run by an IAS officer as the managing director – the functional head of the Board.
The State would have to pay interest at the rate of 1.2 per cent on its loan share, said Guwahati Development Department (GDD) Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in the State Assembly today. He was replying to a debate on The Guwahati Metropolitan Drinking Water and Sewerage Board Bill, 2009.
He also informed the House that the State Government had also proposed to earmark an amount of Rs 16 crore to acquire the land in and outside the Ramsar site wetland Deepor Beel to free it from pollution.
The Government is also going for a sewage treatment plant for the city. This will help recycling most of the used water for various purposes. Sewage generated by the city will not be released to the wetlands and other water bodies of the city where even the ground water is facing the threat of contamination. The Government has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) for the purpose and the Japan Bank has shown interest to finance this project too, he said.
Opposing the suggestion of the Opposition members like Dr Alaka Sarma (AGP), Dr Aditya Langthasa (AUDF) and Uddhav Barman (CPI-M) to send the bill to the select committee, he said that it would delay the entire process of securing the Japan Bank loan. Many states are hankering after the loan. If the bill is sent to the select committee, this may send a wrong signal to the Government and this will finally deprive the State of the said loan, said the Minister.
Agencies like the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), North Guwahati Municipality and Panchayats of the Azara-Dharapur areas are sought to be amalgamated to create the new authority for running the scheme, as per the suggestions of the MLAs of the Greater Guwahati area, he said.
He, however, accepted a suggestion of Dr Sarma to induct a representative from the State Pollution Control Board in the authority, but, in a later phase.
Commenting on the water tax proposed in the bill, the Minister said that the amount of tax would be determined by the board proposed to run the scheme as per the approval of a regulatory body—Guwahati Water Regulatory Authority. This body will include a representative from the consumers. If more representatives of the consumers are required to be inducted into this authority that would also be done with the approval of the Finance Department, he said.
To enter into any contracts with any agency on water supply etc, he said, only the board had been authorised, he said.
Pranab Kalita (Independent) also took part in the discussion suggesting several amendments. But Dr Sarma and Kalita withdrew their suggestions and the House passed the bill through a voice vote.
| | ||
| RIPUNJOY DAS | ||
Dibrugarh, Jan 6 : The A and C companies of the 28 battalion of Ulfa, now calling themselves the pro-talks group, today took the outfit head on saying its denial of playing a role in the January 1 blasts in Guwahati was nothing more than an eyewash. Leaders of the pro-talks group said the blasts had Ulfa written all over it and attributed this to the outfit’s increasing frustration over the activities of the A and C companies which have found favour with the people of the state. A key leader of the pro-talks group, Jiten Dutta, said the Ulfa leadership was very frustrated with the activities of his group since it declared the unilateral ceasefire on June 24 last year because of which attempts were continuously made to derail the peace initiative. “The serial blasts on the very first day of the New Year was a well-calculated strategy of the Ulfa leadership — to be precise from the brains of chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and commander-in-chief Paresh Barua — only to demoralise the cadres who are with us. It was the same day when we had also disclosed before the media our plans for an autonomous Assam,” Dutta said. Although there has been a clear division in the Ulfa ranks after the declaration of the unilateral ceasefire on June 24, the pro-talks group had officially severed all ties with the outfit on January 1 and dropped the demand of sovereignty. It stated that it would sit for holding negotiations with the government on its own. On the other hand, right from the beginning the Ulfa leadership had dismissed the peace initiative by the Alpha and Charlie companies of the outfit’s 28 battalion. They termed it as a “trap by the Indian Occupational Forces.” The Ulfa leadership also expelled all those who are involved in the pro-talks group. “Arabinda Rajkhowa and Paresh Barua have been living a lavish life in foreign nations. This is why they have failed to feel the pain of the Assamese people here. We have been with the people — be it before the ceasefire or after it. From the meetings and interactions we have got a real view of the people’s hopes and aspirations. This is why we have come forward to hold talks with the government and that too for an autonomous Assam, not an independent Assam,” Dutta said. Meanwhile, police today arrested Ulfa’s self-styled sergeant major Mridula Changmai alias Krishna and recovered arms and ammunition from her at Sonari. Sources said another cadre John Singh, who was also with her during the operation by the joint police-army team, managed to flee. A search in the area is on. |
