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.
Six elephant calves named Soni, Tikla, Deepa, Sikom, Hamren, and Tinku have been relocated at Manas National Park from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation at the Kaziranga National Park.
The six calves hand raised at the conservation are the first initiative by the Assam Forest Department, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Wildlife Trust of India, with the support of the Bodoland Territorial Council (the Manas National Park falls under BTC) to translocate the elephant calves.
The calves were looked by their keepers at the conservation centre where they were bottle fed by vets. They were transferred to Manas National Park to reach there by early morning at 4 am. The animals were translocated at night, as the stress level of the animals is usually high during the day.
Before being left in the core forest area to fend for themselves, the calves will first be kept within a large but limited forest fenced area under surveillance for acclimatization, a crucial step in the rehabilitation process, before being released in the deeper forest.
The calves were initially rescued from different places and situations. Three of them were rescued from tea garden areas, two were victims of man elephant conflicts and one was rescued from a flood situation. “After the calves were rescued, they were introduced to each other and taken together for walks inside the forests at Kaziranga so as to facilitate social bonding. Now they will have to become independent of their keepers inside the fenced forest area at Manas — which may take more than a year,” said Sashanka Barbaruah, the manager, communications, Wildlife Trust of India.
The six calves ranging from there to six years include two males and four females. Of them three have been fitted with radio collars to trace them and understand their behavoiur while adapting to the new environment.
The translocation of elephant calves to Manas National Park is a part of the strategy to renew the former glory of the National Park which is currently under the watchful eye of the UNESCO team so that it can retain its title of the World Heritage Site after being denounced of it and being demoted to World Heritage Site in Danger due to large scale destruction of the park when local terrorist has destroyed the bio diversity of the park
A project called Rhino Vision : 2020 is also underway at Manas National Park, where the One Horned Indian Rhinoceros species are being transferred to the park from Kaziranga National Park and Porbitaro Wildlife Sanctuary.
GUWAHATI, Jan 31 – The education policy of the Assam Government has been condemned by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), which described it as a grave threat to school education, and especially to students in Government-aided schools across the State.
Lambasting the Assam Government’s stance vis-à-vis educational affairs, the student body demanded that the government should come up with a White Paper on its performance in the education sector.
In a press meet held here today, AASU leaders lambasted Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and State Education Minister Gautam Borah for their “utter failure and lack of vision” in promoting the education sector in Assam. They were of the belief that the Government, and the education department in particular, have prepared the ground for the destruction of school education in Assam.
“We have been drawing attention to a range of problems related to education, but so far the Government has failed to come up with a single satisfactory response,” said AASU president Sankar Prasad Rai, who added that the Tarun Gogoi government has simply failed to treat education as a priority sector.
He said that the Government’s decision to make Class V a part of primary education was ill-timed as there was a dearth of teachers and infrastructure to cater to the needs of students.
Rai expressed surprise over the fact that the Government’s decision was not preceded by a thorough assessment of the ground reality, and it would jeopardise the lives of countless children studying in Class V who would have no trained teachers or infrastructure to make learning possible.
Tapan Kumar Gogoi, AASU general secretary, in his address said that under Sarva Siksha Abhijan Mission, school education in Assam has confronted a serious crisis. He regretted that a large number of posts of teachers were lying vacant and the Assam Government has shown no interest in filling those.
Expressing apprehension over the appointment of school teachers on a contractual basis, Gogoi mentioned that teachers on contracts would not have the motivation to carry out their duties, and hence their posts should be made permanent.
AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya was strident in demanding that the Assam Government can no longer hide its shameful performance in the education sector and should come up with a White Paper stating what it has been able to do so far.
Bhattacharyya denounced the Chief Minister and the State Education Minister for failing to provide books to scores of students even after the commencement of the academic session. Further, he underlined the need to adopt a planned approach in different levels of education, which should include a rethink of the evaluation of examination answers scripts.
The AASU adviser said that there was an acute need for resurgence in the education system of the state if the interests of the students are to be protected. Referring to a recent survey carried out by Pratham, an NGO, Bhattacharyya asserted that the findings of the assessment portrayed the dismal state of school education in Assam.
The AASU leaders warned that if a favourable response from the Government was not forthcoming it would be left with no option but to go in for mass agitation. Before that, the students’ body plans to go in for a brainstorming session engaging teachers and educationists to chalk out an agenda to improve the education scene.
Jharuwagaon (Assam): On a winter evening in Assam's Jaruagaon village, six-year-old Rupjyoti is searching for his solar lantern.
This is the time when Jaruwagaon's children return home with their respective lanterns - every day since the solar lamps were given to this village in October last year as part of NDTV-TERI light a billion lives campaign.
Solar lanterns have not only brightened up the dark evenings here, but have made better economic sense.
Champabala's general store is lit up with the same lantern. She says the kerosene lamp's vapour would give her a headache. Now she works longer hours.
"After this light we all have benefitted. Children can study and we can work in the evenings. It's quite amazing," said Champabala.
Rupjyoti reluctantly sits with his school text book while his elder brother helps peal betelnut which is sold in the market the next day. The dark evenings of Jaruwagaon are now all lit up.
Ganga Devi would spend at least Rs. 150 a week buying kerosene, but now this lamp comes for just Rs. 3 a day. A supersaver. And it lasts all evening.
The village has no idea how this lamp arrived but they wanted to thank whoever sponsored it.
Jaruwagaon was sponsored by Shubhra Nag in the NDTV-TERI fundraiser for lighting a billion lives.
At least 20 villages around Jaruwagaon do not have electricity. But the idea of this solar lantern and a few peoples' willingness to come out and change lives has actually changed at least 500 lives in this village alone.
From children studying, to men working and women weaving on the loom, it's literally been a change from darkness unto light.
