Assam Tourism gets boost withFive-decker cruise liner

MV Charaidew. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Oct. 22 : A five-decker luxury vessel with a spa, hair salon and luxury cabins will set sail on the Brahmaputra early next year, with the Assam tourism department tying up with the Faridabad based-Far Horizon Tours, in a bid to revamp river tourism in the state.

“The luxury vessel is expected to elevate the standard of river cruise tourism in the region,” a tourism department official told The Telegraph.

Two luxury cruise vessels — MV Manashputra and MV Charaidew — ply on the Brahmaputra but the new liner, MV Mahabahu, will be “world class,” having almost five-star facilities.

The vessel will travel from Guwahati to Dibrugarh, covering Kaziranga and Orang National Parks and the historic towns of Tezpur and Sivasagar during a seven-day itinerary.

There will be no night cruising. However, night excursions will be organised for tourists at some of the destinations like Kaziranga and Orang.

Far Horizon Tours, having the experience of operating cruises on the backwaters of Kerala, is one of the top tour operators in Asia and its maiden venture on the Brahmaputra is set to be a major attraction for tourists, especially foreigners.

The cruise vessel was bought through public-private partnership at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore, of which the tourism department will contribute Rs 4 crore.

The official said the new luxury vessel would have five-star facilities, including international telephone services on board via satellite, apart from internet and cable TV. The 28-member crew will include two masters, a cruise director, eight navigators and 17 hospitality staff.

The new liner will be 55 metres in length and 10 metres in breadth with five decks, including one inside the hull and the top one as an open sun deck.

“There will be 29 individually-designed twin and double bedrooms, including suites, nine luxury cabins, 12 deluxe cabins and six standard cabins. Suites and luxury cabins will have private balconies as well as bathtubs and showers,” the official said.

He said all necessary steps have been taken to make the new cruise liner top-class. Austrian Klaus Rom, having 25 years of experience in international luxury river cruising, has already been appointed as cruise director.

The Assam tourism policy has stressed abundant water resources and unique waterways of the state. It emphasises harnessing the potential to provide a unique experience of river tourism on the Brahmaputra and its many tributaries. The state government has been planning to take up a riverfront beautification project in Guwahati to develop the bank of the Brahmaputra here to attract tourists. Plans are on to shift the government establishments from the riverbank to other locations.

Locals help to restore KNP’s animal corridors

GUWAHATI, Oct 22 – In a novel initiative, the local tribal community has joined hands with WWF-India and the Forest Department for restoration of degraded animal corridors linking Kaziranga National Park with the Karbi Anglong hills.

The restoration drive seeks to secure lost habitat comprising degraded forests through afforestaion, and the Panbari-Dolamora corridor critical to elephant movement from Kaziranga has been taken up under the project.

The first phase of the drive saw a community plantation at Longdili-Bijuli, a degraded hill of five hectares owned by the local Karbi community. The plantation sites are located at the south-eastern end of the Panbari-Dolamara corridor on the Karbi Anglong foothills covering jhum (slash-and-burn agriculture) fallow land requiring restoration.

“It is encouraging that the people are lending a helping hand to conservation. It is through a participatory model that long-term success of conservation can be ensured,” Hemari Teron, executive member (Forest), Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), said.

Sounding upbeat over the development, PJ Bora of WWF-India who is engaged with its Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Conservation Programme, said that several animal corridors in the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape needed urgent restoration, and community participation could hold the key to brining in the desired changes.

“We have been interacting with the local people and they are ready to be stakeholders in conservation through participation. This will benefit both people and wildlife. The importance of the Panbari-Dolamora corridor can hardly be overemphasized as it is intrinsically linked to elephant movement,” Bora said, adding that restoration of corridors would minimize the man-elephant conflict in the area.

Most of the animal corridors in the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape have been facing tremendous anthropogenic pressures leading to habitat degradation and disrupting the much-needed connectivity between the national park and the Karbi Anglong hills. A direct visible consequence of the development has been the escalating man-elephant conflict in the areas bordering Kaziranga.

“Kaziranga’s southern boundary borders the foothills of Karbi Anglong, with a number of wildlife corridors connecting it with the national park. The animals of Kaziranga frequently use these corridors for crossing over to Karbi Anglong in search of food and shelter or for establishing a new home range apart from escaping from the annual floods that inundate Kaziranga,” Bora said.

Joysing Bey, DFO, Karbi Anglong East Division, underscored the need to make the community active participants in conservation, and said that the Forest Department together with NGOs like WWF-India had been trying to generate awareness on protection of wildlife and their habitat among the villagers.

“The community plantation drive at Longdili-Bijuli is an outcome of our joint efforts. The local people are coming forward as it is a win-win situation for both wildlife and the community. The people stand to gain from the plantation as it is on community-owned land,” Bey said.

The National Forest Policy recommends 60 per cent forest cover in the hilly areas for retaining and maintaining ecological integrity. As per Forest Department’s data, Karbi Anglong requires another 14 per cent forest cover to meet the criterion.

Bora said that ensuring alternative livelihood options for the local community which had traditionally been dependent on forest resources should form part of a holistic strategy to preserve forests.

“Along with restoring wildlife habitat and corridors, promoting possibilities of eco-tourism and community-based tourism, and securing alternative livelihoods through community conservation, assume significance under the circumstances,” he said.

Assam govt impanels Asian Heart Institute in state healthcare

Mumbai, Oct 21 (PTI) Assam government has empanelled the city-based Asian Heart Institute (AHI) for providing healthcare services to the people of that state.

"This new liaison is sure to benefit the people of Assam through quality health services, proper consulting. The serving and retired employees of State Government of Assam, along with eligible dependent family members who reside within and outside Assam are eligible for reimbursement," an AHI release said here today.

Eminent heart specialist and AHI CEO Dr Ramakant Panda expressed his willingness to share his expertise and offered to extend medical care to the people of Assam.

"The doctors at AHI are ready to collaborate with the medical colleges in Assam to share their expertise," he said.

"We are ready to extend all possible financial support and arrange treatment to patients from poor families as we have some trusts working for the benefit of underprivileged sections," he added.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had undergone a bypass and valve replacement surgery at Asian Heart Institute in August.

WWF to aid Manas

Guwahati, Oct 21 : The World Wildlife Federation (WWF) has evinced interest in the long-term management of Manas National Park.

This was conveyed by Carlos Drews, the director of species programme, WWF International, to A. Swargiari, the field director of Manas National Park, at Manas yesterday.

This is the first time Drews is visiting Assam.

The WWF International, headquartered in Gland, Switzerland, has been assisting the state forest department in a number of ways.

It works with local communities and turns them into agents of change in Assam.

One of the biggest programmes in which it is involved is India Rhino Vision 2020.

The second phase of the programme is yet to begin, because of some delays.

“Drews asked me if the WWF can be involved in future long-term management of Manas,” Swargiari told The Telegraph today.

Manas is a World Heritage Site in Danger at present.

Drews discussed a variety of issues with Swargiari and other officials. The topics included the role of WWF, its future interventions and on the trans-boundary initiatives with Manas Bhutan.

“Goodwill cannot be purchased by money, you have to show sincerity and devotion,” Swargiari quoted Drews.

WWF-India is aiming at securing the elephant and tiger population of the North Bank Landscape.

Some of its current activities are supporting protected areas, research, resolving human-elephant conflict, critical elephant corridors and study tiger habitats.

The North Bank Landscape is the area between the northern bank of the Brahmaputra in the south to the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the north and the River Manas in the west to the Dibang river in the east.

The total size of the landscape is approximately 40,000 square km and includes parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

The area comprises a major part of the Himalaya bio-diversity hotspot and is also one of WWF’s Global 200 eco-regions.

Drews visited the Sonai-Rupai wildlife sanctuary and Nameri today and will be in Kaziranga for two days.

He came to Assam on October 18 and was in Manas for two days.

Raids on eateries reveal leakages in public distribution system

Guwahati, Oct 21 : Barely a week after food and civil supplies minister Nazrul Islam admitted to leakages in the public distribution system (PDS) in Assam, food grains subsidised for the poor are popping up in eateries. Since Monday night, police in eastern Assam raided a couple of dhabas or roadside eateries and seized 250 quintals of rice, 28 quintals of wheat and six quintals of sugar. These commodities earmarked for fair price shops under PDS were diverted from FCI warehouses.

“We caught one Sanjib Barua for hoarding the PDS possibly for sale and use in the dhaba,” said Debasish Sarma, additional superintendent of police, Dibrugarh district.

He did not rule out more raids on eateries and other illegal users of PDS commodities.

Following these raids, officials in districts bordering Bangladesh have also been asked to step up vigil. PDS kerosene, rice and sugar besides other essentials are reportedly smuggled out to Bangladesh in country boats on a regular basis.

The “dhaba discovery” has left food and civil supplies minister Nazrul Islam red-faced. Islam has been under fire from the Opposition for “turning a blind eye” to an alleged “Congress-sanctioned” PDS scam in Assam.

The allegations are based on a 2008 report by the National Council of Applied Economic Research.

According to that report, Assam topped the list of states guilty of diverting PDS commodities for sale in the open market. The diversion in Assam was worth over Rs10,000 crore, it added.

“There are 33,500 fair price shops in Assam, and it is not possible to keep tabs on all of them. There has been a diversion of 15-25 per cent PDS items,” Islam said, adding the government was trying to computerise the PDS network to plug leakages.

Amendment in Wildlife Act to empower Assam

Gauhati: In response to Assam government seeking changes in the Wildlife Protection Act the Centre recently gave its assent. Amendments in the Wildlife Protection Act will now add more teeth to wildlife crime control efforts in the state. Assam’s Minister for Forest and Environment Rockybul Hussain informed that with the new amendments coming into force punishment for various wildlife crimes would become more stringent. He said henceforth all offence under the Act would be non-bailable and prison terms for various offences would become more stringent.

“Wildlife offences that earlier involved jail terms between three to seven years, will now draw extended prison term for the accused between seven to ten years. Maximum amount of fine for various crimes too has been increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000,” the minister said adding that these amendments will be applicable in Assam. Earlier, a person convicted for a second time under Wildlife Act in Assam had to serve jail term between three to seven years. Now, because of the amended provisions of the Act such offenders would be jailed for at least ten years or even life imprisonment. The fine amount for such cases too has been increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 75,000.

In the light of the amendments, all wildlife cases committed in Assam will now be first heard in a court not below the Court of District and Sessions Judge. Earlier, these cases were first heard in lower courts. “We are happy that the Centre has given assent to the amendments requested by Assam government. The amendments which are being put into force will act as deterrent to poachers,” Hussain said.

Forest and Wildlife authority in Assam as well as various NGOs working in the sector have been calling for the need to have stringent penal provisions under the Wildlife Act given that accused usually get away with light punishment under the existing law provisions.

Assam Assembly had passed the Wildlife Protection (Assam Amendment) Bill 2009 last year and it was referred to the Centre for Presidential approval. Before tabling the amendment Bill in the Assembly, Assam Forest department consulted different departments of the state, wildlife experts, NGOs and members of the judiciary.

Assam CM not against big dams in North East India

Two time Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi has clarified that, he is not against big dams in North East India, but only against the problems pointed out by the expert panel and demanded that they should be addressed.

Tarun Gogoi has also accused that AGP ( Assam Gana Parishad) had supported big dams in North East India during their tenure in 1996 to 2001 and now that they are in opposition, they have changed their stand.

Recently, AGP had accused Congress Government in Assam of not heeding to popular sentiment by people of Assam against construction of big dams in Arunachal Pradesh. Incidentally, Akhil Gogoi, secretary of KMSS ( Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti) spearheads the ant dam movement in Assam and routinely accused by Congress leaders of wrking under influence of Prafull Kumar Mahanta, ex-chief minister of Assam.

It is interesting to note that, CM Tarun Gogoi has made his stand clear about not opposing construction of big dams in Arunachal Pradesh, in the process he seems to have been inspired by Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. Since Prafulla Kumar Mahanta too supported big dams in North East India, so, it is natural that CM Tarun Gogoi is also supporting it!

Most probably, the chief minister has forgotten that he is not talking about Cadbury’s Chocolate, if my predecessor ca have one, I would also have one! The big dams is about people of Assam who are facing danger, flora and fauna of various reserved forest who are facing extinction.

While electricity is essential for modern lifestyle as well as glitzy malls in metros, but one should not forget about the damages it does while producing electricity.

Milk production training for poor women in Assam

Jana Kalyan Sanstha, a social organisation of Dhupguri in Nagaon district, has recently started training on milk production under the Diary Project (STEP – Support to Training and Employment Programme for women) where 504 poor women were enrolled.

STEP is a policy under the Government of India’s department of women and child development, the project aims at improving the economic status of rural women through efficient and modern dairy management.

The programme was inaugurated at Dhupguri by the president of the organization, Ahmed Ali.

Jana Kalyan Sanstha is the very first kind of programme which has been started in the north-west part of Nagaon district. The local people, and also various panchayats, have largely appreciated the organisation for the STEP and wished for the overall success of the scheme in their area.

A Delhi restaurant that offers joy of Assam

'Jakoi traditional Assamese restaurant', located in Delhi's Assam Bhavan, makes visitors feel being in the northeast while relishing a lip-smacking and rich Assamese cuisine.

At this special restaurant, delicately spiced and cooked with an exquisite use of herbs, the delicacies include Maasor Tenga (tangy fish curry) and Kharisa, a fermented bamboo shoots seasoned with red chillies.

The food is served in ethnic bell-metal platters and bowls.

The visitors come here not just to relish Assam's delicious cuisine but also to enjoy spending time in an ambience that offers a feel of Assam's rich culture and tradition as well.

"Food can unite cultures. Lots of North-eastern foods are popular in Delhi. Lots of people relish these food items. It is not very spicy and so palatable to all people. It is also a good exposure to people to have north-eastern food," said Sushant Balika, one of the visitors.

"It reminds us something from back home. We are so far away from home. Traditional cooking, this is something which keeps us together, whether it is food or culture. This will be quite helpful and makes everyone happy too," said Shareen Sangma, another visitor.

However, there is more than just Assamese food on offer at this restaurant.

Traditional music instruments, books written by famous Assamese authors and photographs of personalities from the region have also been put on display.

"If I can do something for the people of Assam, it is good. That is why they have given me this restaurant to run for a period of time. I'm very grateful to the Assamese Government for giving me this opportunity to serve the people of Delhi and the entire Northeast," says Paparee Bezbaruah, the restaurant owner.

By Karam Roniya(ANI)

Assam: Kaziranga National Park to be extended soon

Bokakhat, Oct 19: The Assam government is about to complete all its legal process necessary for the extension of Kaziranga National Park (KNP), which is located at Bokakhat, Assam's Golaghat district, 238 km from Guwahati.

Rockybul Hussain, State’s forest and tourism minister, said the government is trying to settle all the legal process related to the extension of the Part, so that animals were better protected including one-horned rhinos.


A World Heritage site since 1985, Assam's Kaziranga National Park, is home to the world’s largest population of Indian rhinos and also for animals like Tiger, Swamp Deer, Wild Bufalo, Elephant and many other.

At present the Park is about 430 square kilometers, and the extension of the KNP was not legally sanctioned and thus preventing the authorities from removing villagers from the area.

There are around 184 villages situated with in the zone of the park.

Hussain said, "soon we will have the legal formalities completed for the KNP expansion and various measures is also been taken by the authorities to plant saplings in 20,000 hectares."

"In order encourage Assam's tourism sector the government is also constructing various public toilets under Sulabh International scheme," he added.

Assam cops opt for water cannon

Guwahati, Oct 19 : Assam police are ready to let loose water cannons on unruly and restive protesters.

For the first time in its history, the state police, having faced flak for resorting to lathicharge to control mob violence, have acquired four sophisticated water cannons. These come with a tank specially designed to store an indelible coloured dye. If the police decide that they want to “tag” protesters with the dye, they can press a button to inject it into the main water stream.

Once the water cannon is trained on a crowd, anyone hit by the spray will be easily recognisable. The police said the dye would help them identify the trouble-mongers even if they manage to mingle with the crowd.

“So far we only had the option of the baton to control unruly crowds, sometimes causing serious injuries to the protesters. With the procurement of these water canons, we have an effective but non-lethal weapon to take on such protesters,” a police official said. The police have often come under the scanner of human rights groups for resorting to lathicharge, bursting teargas shells and firing in the air to disperse unlawful assembly of people. These vehicle-mounted water cannons also come with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at both ends of the vehicle to track and record crowd behaviour. “We will be able to see the CCTV feed later, which will help us spot and identify those involved in inciting the crowd,” the official said.

In the first phase, the police have procured four water cannons, approved by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), for nearly Rs 50 lakh each from the Mumbai-based Vijay Fire Vehicles and Pumps Limited. “These four water cannons are for Guwahati. We intend to procure more such cannons, preferably one for each district, in the next phase,” he said. These have been procured under the Assam police modernisation scheme.

The capacity of the water tank is around 5,000 litres while the capacity of the tank containing indelible ink is around 250 litres. “The water cannon can traverse 270 degrees on the horizontal plane and 75 degrees on vertical plane. It will have a discharge rate of 1,400 litres per minute (LPM) to 3,800 LPM with a span of 55 to 70 metres. The cannon can be controlled from the cabin by a joystick. The water jet can be a continuous discharge or pulsating,” he said.

Some of its additional features are amplifier or public address system, electric siren, searchlight, fog lamps and the like. He said there had been past instances of state police using fire tenders to disperse the crowd in certain emergencies but that was not very much effective.

“The problem with fire tenders is that they are specifically designed for fire-fighting and not for crowd control. Moreover, in using fire engines in case of mob violence, there is the danger of the fire tenders being damaged and firemen being injured as they are not trained to deal with such situations,” the source said.

“But the water cannons will be used by policemen who have requisite experience to handle the law and order situation. Moreover, the vehicles mounted with water cannons have iron netting on windows to protect them in case of a mob attack or stone throwing,” he added.

Floating base for quick rescue

Guwahati, Oct 19 : The National Disaster Response Force has set up its first “floating response base” in the country here to rescue and resuscitate accident victims. The move comes in the wake of increasing incidents of drowning in the Brahmaputra.

The base, which was set up on a vessel provided by the state inland water transport department, will immediately respond to accidents such as boat capsize and drownings.

Altogether 45 trained divers of the Guwahati-based 1st battalion of the force will be stationed at the base and serve as lifeguards.

The move is expected to go a long way in saving lives as 34 people drowned in the Brahmaputra in and around the city in the last two years.

The base was inaugurated by NDRF director-general Rajeev at Fancy Bazar riverfront this evening.

“Every year, several drownings take place. It was a long-felt need to establish a base of operation here so that casualties could be minimised,” he said.

Rajeev said the response base would be equipped with state-of-the-art search and rescue equipment, including 12 fibre reinforced plastic boats, four rubberboats, deep diving equipment, floating aids, victim locating cameras, load-lifting tools (used to rescue victims trapped under debris) and first-aid kits.

The NDRF, which was raised by the Centre in 2005 to handle all types of disasters, is a multi-disciplinary, multi-skilled and high-tech force capable of effectively responding to all types of disasters.

The base will be on standby round-the-clock to handle any emergency situation. It is a first-of-its-kind initiative by the force.

Commandant of the force’s 1st battalion C.P. Saxena said setting up base would reduce the response time.

“Earlier, it took more than an hour for our rescue teams to reach the accident spots from our base located near the airport,” he said.

“We are also chalking out a coordination plan with all the stakeholders like inland water transport department, river police, Mritunjoy 108 ambulance service and the district administration, among others, so that the rescued victims can be immediately transported to hospitals,” Saxena added.

The director-general told reporters that it had been agreed in principle to equip the Guwahati-based 1st battalion to combat nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) disasters.

“Out of eight battalions of the NDRF, four have already been equipped to effectively handle NBC disasters and the remaining battalions, including the first one, will be equipped in a phased manner, possibly within the next couple of years,” he said.