EC grip keeps West Bengal peaceful

The Election Commission bosses in New Delhi are maintaining a 'dawn to dawn' vigil on the law and order situation in Bengal with direct and daily liaison with the district administration, driving down the graph of political violence in the districts. EC is directly keeping a tab on the districts, through the chief electoral officer of the state. Reports are being sent from 6 am to 6 am for a period of 24 hours, daily to the EC office.

"We seek reports from each district of Bengal everyday. We have a detailed format, which records the smallest of incidents, apart from arms haul and executing non-bailable warrants. We are also keeping a watch on media reports on a daily basis," Vinod Zutshi, deputy chief election commissioner told HT over phone from Delhi.

EC's grip on the situation has come as a pleasant surprise in a state that was sliding down the violence graph fast in 2010 with a few deaths everyday from political violence.

In fact, the spectre of a blood bath before and during the elections was so widely felt that blood banks were advised to store blood in excess so that they could be used before and during the polls.

The turnaround has been so dramatic that the chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi lauded the administration on March 23 for the performance.

In early January Quraishi had met all the DMs and SPs and highlighted three points for emphasis – seizure of illegal weapons, preventive arrests and execution of non-bailable arrest warrants.

"Through sustained pressure EC has been able to instill a sense of fear among the political parties and administration for the first time in Bengal," said a bureacucrat in Writers' Buildings.

Already 200 companies (about 20,000) of central paramilitary forces were deployed in West Bengal more than a month ago. In January while the administration asked for about 20-25 companies, the EC ordered 100, and then added another 100 in the next month.

One such confidential report in the possession of HT highlights the details. The report of March 2, of Burdwan district report details the illegal arms and explosive seized, number of persons under preventive detention, execution of non-bailable warrants and the number pending.

The report also highlights incident of violence with full details. Each incident of violence in dealt in separate sheets. Even whether onlookers or others are injured has been recorded. Significantly, political and communal affiliations of the persons involved are also highlighted.

"EC officials are taking to tasks anyone, be it DM or SP if ones fails to carry out its directives. On regular occasions, a number of them have been pulled up. The Delhi officers are often getting directly in touch with us," said a police super of one of the South Bengal districts.

Recently, the Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti, Kolkata Police Commissioner was removed, after EC pointed out that he has spent over three years in the same post.

Before EC took the law and order situation in its grip, even Governor M K Narayanan had repeatedly expressed his concern for the deteriorating law and order.

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Land acquisition policy to be formulated: Mamata

Kolkata: Confident of coming to power in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday assured people to accord priority on setting up a land bank and formulating a separate land acquisition policy of the state till a national policy was framed replacing the existing Land Acquisition Act.

"We must set up a land bank and land acquisition policy of the state's own until a national policy is framed replacing the existing Land Acquisition Act," Mamata said in an interview to a local TV channel.

Speaking against forceful acquisition of land, Mamata said the Left Front government had failed to formulate its own land policy, unlike many other states.

Land acquisition policy to be formulated: Mamata

"The existing Land Acquisition Act is draconian. We have to wait till a new legislation comes replacing the existing one," she said.

Besides land bank, Mamata was also confident of setting up employment bank to create opportunities for the unemployed youth.

"For me agriculture is an inspiration and industry is a thrust with both dependent on each other," Mamata said.

To a question about a large number of political prisoners in the state, Mamata said she would review each and every case and take the help of Human Rights

organisations, if required, to initiate right steps on this issue.

Asserting the state should progress in every sphere, Mamata said that a 'knowledge mission' in Bengal is most essential for the development of the state, which have lost its growth momentum during LF regime.

Underscoring more power and prestige for the minorities, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and refugees, Mamata was confident of building a developed state with the participation of a cross section of people.

Though she nominated a sizable number of women as candidates for the upcoming Assembly poll in the state, Mamata described herself as "neutral" and "not a feminist".

"I am not a feminist, I am neutral", she said. Setting aside the ruling party slogan for "improved Left Front", she referred to LF government's "moribund financial condition."

Once in power, her government would first identify how funds of over two lakh crore were misused and the state turned into a bankrupt one, the TMC chief said.

"We will then take our own decision to make a turnaround in state's economy," she said, adding "discipline and work culture has to be restored for a true environment for development".

Mamata alleged that CPM and BJP have entered into a secret deal in a bid to defeat her candidates.

"They (CPM and BJP) have identified 18 constituencies including those in the border district of North 24 Paraganas in a bid to defeat the TMC," she said.

"As part of the understanding, BJP will campaign that they are the champions of Hindutva in a bid to woo the Hindus," she said.

Turning her guns on the Marxists, she said Karl Marx used to champion the cause of the have-nots. But the CPM here has been torturing the have-nots.

She claimed the CPM has been able to cling to power by resorting to 'scientific rigging' in previous assembly polls, but this time they would not succeed.

Mamata said the fact that a majority of CPM MLAs did not opt to contest this time was an expression of no-confidence to the party in power before the elections.

The TMC chief said those who did not want change, would vote for the Left. "But no vote should be wasted."

On the rebel Congress leaders threatening to contest as Independents, she said, "They are the like cuckoos who appear in spring and contest as independents when elections come just to help CPM."

Mamata entered into a seat-sharing deal with Congress on her terms, leaving Congress 65 seats out of the total 294 to Congress. But the release of the list of Congress candidates by the party high command in Delhi yesterday sparked dissent in the state Congress.

Shankar Singh, Congress district president of Nadia, has threatened to put up candidates in all 17 seats in the district against TMC candidates while Congress MP and Murshidabad district chief Adhir Chowdhury said he would not campaign for TMC candidates.

5 IPS, 2 IAS officers transferred in West Bengal

Kolkata: Five IPS and two IAS officers in poll-bound West Bengal were transferred on the direction of the Election Commission, chief secretary Samar Ghosh said here on Monday. The transfer orders came 10 days after Kolkata Police Commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakraborty was removed on a similar EC direction.

An official source said Vineet Goel, Joint Commissioner of Traffic Police, Kolkata, was appointed DIG (Midnapore range) in place of Anil Kumar. Neeraj Kumar Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, was appointed as DIG (Murshidabad range). The post was so long lying vacant.

K Jayaraman will replace Ajit Sarkar as Superintendent of Police, East Midnapore district, the source said. Ritesh Mohan was appointed Divisional Commissioner of Burdwan, while Pramal Kumar Samanta, District Magistrate of

Malda will be replaced by Rajesh Sinha.

5 IPS, 2 IAS officers transferred in West Bengal

The state will have a six-phase poll between April 18 and May 7.

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New faces in Bengal candidate lists mark a departure

KOLKATA: Political parties bracing for the crucial April-May Assembly polls in West Bengal have put up a number of new faces, marking a departure after many years in the composition of candidate lists.

The ruling Left Front, facing its toughest battle since 1977 when it came to power, leads the pack by injecting fresh blood in almost half of the total 294 constituencies, throwing out some prominent, but tainted names.

Veteran Left Front leader and general secretary of the state Forward Bloc Ashok Ghosh told PTI that some ministers against whom there was public resentment on account of their non-performance have been dropped.

''Similarly, some sitting MLAs of the Left Front and leaders against whom there were complaints of high-handedness, the opportunists and those who worked for personal aggrandisement at people's back were denied nomination,'' Ghosh said.

Ghosh, the senior most leader in the Left Front, however, pointed out that in some cases legislators faced with old age and health complications have been replaced by fresh blood.

CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat said recently the broad rule was that those who had two terms in the Assembly would not be put up again.

But, exceptions were made in the cases of Chief Ministers of West Bengal and Kerala Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and V S Achuthanandan respectively, taking into account their vast experience in running state governments.

The Left list has 149 new faces including Fuad Halim, son of outgoing Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim, in the prestigious Ballygunge constituency, and 25-year-old Shatarup Ghosh in Kasba constituency who is the Left front's youngest candidate.

As many as nine ministers, including four junior ministers, are among the 80 sitting MLAs who have been dropped from the candidate list. Of them, Forward Bloc's Rabindranath Ghosh and CPI`s Nandagopal Bhattacharjee have been denied tickets because of ill-health.

While senior CPI-M minister Partha De from Bankura volunteered to skip the polls, Tourism Minister Manab Mukherjee relinquished his claim on Beliaghata to make way for Anadi Sahu, the Labour Minister.

The changes are expected to blunt the sting of the opposition parties' campaign on the so-called lavish lifestyle of ruling Marxists, Left Front insiders said.

The Left Front introduced new faces in most of the 14 seats in Maoist-hit Jangalmahal. Controversial faces like former Haldia strongman Laxman Seth, Lagandeo Singh from Howrah and Majid Ali from Sashan in North 24-Parganas district were dropped.

By injecting new blood in 149 Assembly seats, the Left Front has conceded a moral defeat to the Trinamool Congress well before the coming Assembly polls, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly and senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee said .

The Trinamool Congress candidate list also contains not only new, but also exciting faces like FICCI Secretary General Amit Mitra, former chief secretary Manish Gupta, two former IPS officers Rachpal Singh and Sultan Singh as well as seasoned politicians like Subrata Mukherjee, ex-city mayor, and present mayor Sovan Chatterjee.

''Our list has more than 100 new faces. The idea is to infuse new blood,'' Trinamool Congress General Secretary Mukul Roy said.

Interestingly, Mukul Roy's son Subhrangsu Roy, a graduate in electrical engineering, is also in the fray.

The Trinamool Congress is contesting in 226 seats leaving 65 seats to its ally Congress, two to SUCI and one to NCP.

Another Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy said, ''People want to see fresh faces who are not tainted by politics. Accordingly, Mamata has brought in people who are new to politics, but otherwise established leaders in different walks of life.''

Making a comparison between the Left Front and the Trinamool Congress, Roy, who is the Union Minister of state for Urban Development said, ''Left Front's new faces are merely new faces having no identities except for their inclination to Leftist ideology.''

''The promise of 'Parivartan' or change for the better was reflected in the ideas of Mamata Banerjee and the list of candidates selected by Trinamool Congress had amply borne this out,'' Derek O'Brien, vice president of Trinamool Congress, and a well-known host of quiz shows, told PTI.

''I am delighted to be a soldier of change led by Mamata Banerjee. It will be a historic moment when Mamata becomes chief minister of West Bengal,'' said Mitra who is pitted against Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta in the Khardah assembly constituency.

Manish Gupta, who has been fielded in the Jadavpur seat against West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, was the Chief Secretary to both the late CPI-M leader Jyoti Basu and Bhattacherjee. He retired in 2001.

Three other former IPS officers - Abani Joardar, H A Safwi and former CBI Joint Director Upen Biswas - are also among the new faces in the Trinamool list besides Nure Alam Chowdhury, a former judge of Calcutta High Court and playwright Bratya Basu.

The state Congress Chief Manas Bhuniya said its candidate list contained 36 new faces.

''In 36 out of the 65 seats we are contesting, there are new faces,'' Bhuniya said.

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Manipur ex-Dy Speaker, 2 others acquitted

GUWAHATI, March 28 – The concept of eco-tourism which has found favour especially with the enterprising youth of the State is gradually changing rural economy, with many educated boys and girls getting involved with such tourism projects.

As this concept has been gaining ground, it has popularised ideas such as eco picnics, eco excursions etc amongst the nature lovers and students and to further propel ecotourism in the State, the Ecotourism Society of Northeast India has come up with a project of eco excursion for educational institutions of the region.

It needs to be mentioned here that another group of dedicated youths under the banner of Wave Ecotourism has been organising eco picnics for students regularly. As part of such eco picnic, the students learn to respond to nature and act as her sentinel.

According to functionaries of Ecotourism Society of Northeast India, the decision to launch eco excursions was taken in the backdrop of lack of exposure of the students to the rich treasures of the region.

“The times have changed. Gone are the days when excursions were just a fun outing. Now excursions are learning oriented, to understand the world around us, to find out the unexplored,” said Gautam Dutta, president of the society.

Dutta added that such eco excursion would introduce the young generation to the unexplored nooks and corner of their region and would go a long way in boosting the eco tourism efforts.

The main objectives of the eco excursions will be to highlight the eco tourism resources of North East India among the young generation, to create awareness among the students and motivate them towards the tourism industry.

Some of the destinations on such eco excursions will be Dibru Saikhowa National Park, Sivasagar, Tawang, Bomdilla, Bhalukpong, Manas National Park, Kaziranga National Park etc, informed Dutta.

asssam tribune

Manipur ex-Dy Speaker, 2 others acquitted

NEW DELHI, March 28 – In an embarrassment to the Delhi Police and intelligence agencies, a Delhi Court has acquitted former Deputy Speaker of Manipur Assembly T Shaymkumar Singh and two others of charges of being involved in terror acts.

Additional Sessions Judge Satinder Kumar Gautam acquitted the three, who had been charged with various stringent provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

He, however, convicted the two Manipuri youths, arrested along with the former Deputy Speaker in 2006, on charges of impersonation and carrying fake identity cards.

While convicting the two youths, who claimed to be human right activists, the court, however, freed them on March 18, setting off their sentences against the period of their detention in Tihar Jail.

The two had been languishing in Tihar jail since October 2006 after their arrest along with Singh outside the Indira Gandhi International Airport by the Delhi Police on a tip off by the Intelligence Bureau, which suspected them to be members of outlawed United National Liberation Front (UNLF).

Singh, who had been able to secure bail during his trial, was Deputy Speaker of Manipur Assembly between August 2007 and April 2009.

“The prosecution has been able to prove only the charges (of impersonation) under section 419 of Indian Penal Code against accused MJK Singh and PG Singh (the two Manipuri youths),” the court said.

It said, “Rest of the (terror-related) charges against accused TSK Singh, MJK Singh and P G Singh have not been proved beyond all reasonable doubts since the testimony of prosecution witnesses did not inspire confidence to bring home the guilt of the accused persons as per charges framed.

“The testimony of prosecution witnesses does not reflect with the frame-work of the administration of criminal law and justice delivery system. The testimony of prosecution witnesses in cross-examination have created several dents which reflect the manner in which the investigation has been conducted as their testimony failed to inspire confidence to the judicial scrutiny,” the court said.

It noted that only the identity cards recovered from the two youths were found to be fake.

In its order, the court, on basis of depositions by various prosecution witnesses, came to the conclusion that the three Manipuris had been arrested by the Delhi Police on the basis of a tip off from the Intelligence Bureau.

“Prosecution witness Ravinder Kumar Tyagi (a police officer) has admitted in his statement that during the probe, he came to know that accused Singh is a politician, contractor and social worker and he contested the Assembly election,” the court said.

It said, “In his cross-examination, Tyagi admitted that Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma (who arrested the three), has briefed them about the information received from the Intelligence Agency.”

Though the police had also booked them for allegedly colluding in their terror activities, the court found out that two other persons arrested by the police never knew the third and they could never hatch any criminal conspiracy jointly.

“So far as charge under section of 120 B of the IPC (criminal conspiracy) is concerned, the two accused persons did not know the third accused before the arrest and there is no prior meeting of mind,” the court said.

The court acquitted the three of the terror charges on the basis of its findings during the cross- examination of Special Cell’s Assistant Commissioner of Police Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, who had investigated the case.

“ACP Yadav specifically stated in cross-examination that no evidence could be collected against Singh to the effect that he was trying to help the two high ranking member of banned organisation UNLF to established their base in Delhi,” the court said.

“He further admitted that no separate evidence could be collected regarding harbouring of two other accused by T Shyamkumar Singh. There is no evidence on record to show that the accused persons had any intention set up to base camp at Delhi. – PTI

ASU adviser takes Govt to task over mega dams

Correspondent

JAMUGURIHAT, March 28 – Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya, adviser of AASU and president of the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), has vehemently criticised the role played by the State Government on the issue of mega dams.

The AASU adviser’s reaction came at a press conference held at the Swahid Bhavan here recently after completion of the Jeevan Raksha Yatra. The press conference was attended by Anowar Ahmed, president of the Sonitpur AJU, Golap Kalita, president of the Jamuguri Press Club and other print and electronic media correspondents of the locality.

In order to generate awareness and protest against construction of mega dams, 26 ethnic organisations including the AASU and TMPK (Takam Mising Poring Kebang: All Mising Students’ Union) had organised the Jeevan Raksha Yatra and volunteers of the districts units of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur had taken out a huge bike rally from Jonai on the occasion.

The rally was attended by more than 200 motorcyclists led by Tolaram Gogoi, finance secretary of AASU, Arnold Taye, cultural secretary of AASU and Mahanta Doley, president of the Dhemaji unit of the TMPK. The motocyclists traversed 330 kilometres, resting at Gogamukh and Gohpur before reaching Jamugurihat. They were welcomed by people on their way.

In the meeting organised on the occasion in front of the Swahid Bhavan here which was conducted by Duldul Borkataky, central member of the AASU in the presence of vice president and organiser AASU, Tolaram Gogoi explained the aims and objectives of the Jeevan Raksha Yatra. Bhattacharya, participating as the speaker, said that the Central Government during the last 60 years had hardly given anything except politically neglecting and economically depriving the people of Assam.

Against the advice of the experts, the work on the mega dam in Lower Subansiri has been going on in full swing and another mega dam is in the offing in the Kameng river (Jiabharali) which will bring untold miseries to the people of Sonitpur like the one at Lakhimpur by Ranganadi mega dam, he said.

He also pointed out that through the Power Grid Corporation, a deep-rooted conspiracy had been hatched by the Central Government to take away electric power from Assam to North India, which must be objected to by the people of Assam. He cited the example of torture and reign of terror on the peaceful protesters of Assam such as the arrest and humiliation of Mohendra Hazarika, central member and district organiser of the Asom Sena and Dharmendra Nath, elder brother of Abhijit Nath, district general secretary of the AASU by police on fake charges and condemned such atrocities in the strongest terms.

He also appealed to the people to organise mass movements against mega dams and construction of electric towers in the collective interest of the people of Assam.

IIMC soon in Aizawl

Newmai News

AIZAWL, March 28 – The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) will soon make its present felt in Mizoram when at least one course of study commences in July - August this year.

This was stated by Sunil Tandon, Director General of IIMC, New Delhi when he called on Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla at his bungalow in Aizawl a couple of days back.

Sunil Tandon at the outset, applauded the Mizoram chief minister for his initiative in setting up IIMC Campus in Aizawl and extended happiness for his cordial cooperation at all levels with the Institute. Tandon apprised Lal Thahawla that the campus would require at least 10 acres of land for the setting up of the Institute in Aizawl adding that he had identified a suitable plot of land for the purpose. Tandon also stated that Aizawl will be one of the eigth All India Entrance Test Centres across the country, which he said, will be conducting the test on May 24 this year.

Lal Thanhawla on his part informed him that the Mizoram government steps up all out effort in hastening the establishment of the Institute in Aizawl.

To ensure the speedy setting up of the institute and accelerate the pace of progress, New Delhi has appointed L.R.Sailo, a retired I&PR Director who is currently the Press Secretary to Chief Minister as “Special Officer’ to undertake all essential for the purpose.

It may be recalled that it was Ambika Soni, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting who had given a nod to go ahead with the institute at the request of Lal Thanhawla.

asssamtribune

Meghalaya okays environment schemes

Correspondent

SHILLONG, March 28 – Exhibiting concern for environment, the Cabinet today approved implementation of several new schemes in Meghalaya, including the much-talked about Integrated Basin Development and livelihood (IBD&L) programme.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said after the Cabinet meeting that an initial amount of Rs 15 crore has been earmarked for the IBD&L programme. Moreover, another ten crore has been earmarked for two other new programmes.

The IBD&L, he said, would help replenish the depleting ground water level, protect catchment areas and also integrate various development programmes for people living near water basins.

“Various agriculture, horticulture, tourism programmes would be introduced for people living near water basins and steps would be taken to protect the environment together with the stakeholders,” Sangma said. The IBD&L programme would be directly supervised by Sangma himself with the Chief Secretary, WMS Pariat and other ministers to assist him.

The Cabinet also approved the formation of Meghalaya Water Resource Agency that would help convergence of various State departments having linkages with water resource.

The agency would look into aspects of providing clean safe drinking water, protection of forest, issues related with industries and their effect on water bodies and similar other matters. Sangma said the government has set aside an initial fund of Rs 5 crore for the new agency.

The Cabinet also framed rules for enactment of the Meghalaya Cement Cess Act, 2010 that would eventually pave the way for collecting cess of Rs 20 per metric ton. The state government is likely to generate an additional Rs 12 crore annually from the cess.

“The Cement cess Act was there. Now the Cabinet approved rules to enact the Act so that cess can be levied on cement,” Sangma said. The annually cement production in the state is about six million metric ton.

Creation of Meghalaya Institute of Entrepreneurship (MIE) and Meghalaya Institute of Governance (MIG) was also approved by the Cabinet with an initial fund allotment of Rs. five crore each.

MIE would study employability of youth in the state and introduce new training and counselling programmes, while MIG would provide training to government officials to plug loopholes for better implementation of government programmes.

asssam tribune

48 pc rise in tiger population in NE

NEW DELHI, March 28 – The rate of increase in the population of tiger in the North-east has surpassed the national estimate, with the region marking a 48 per cent increase against the all India average of 12 per cent. Population of the big cat has reached 143 in Assam, while in the rest of the North Eastern States, the population has remained stable.

The tiger population in the country has risen to 1706 compared to 1411 in 2006 – a 12 pc increase that excludes the big cats of Sundarbans, the latest Tiger Census said.

In comparison, the tiger population in the hills of North-east and Brahmaputra Flood Plains has increased to 148 from 100 recorded in 2006. Tiger Census is held every four years.

Thanks to the conservation efforts, the population has marked an increasing trend in Assam. Mizoram, the population of the endangered species has remained stable. Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are the two States where the population of tigers has decreased.

According to the latest estimate, the total area occupied by tigers in Assam has increased to 2206 sq km from 1164 sq km in 2006. In Mizoram, the population of the big cat has remained stable at five, while there was no data available for Arunachal Pradesh.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, however, waved the red flag, pointing out that the tiger population in the North-east was a matter of concern, while nationwide the over-all scenario was grim. In Assam, the famous Manas National Park has poor tiger density, the Minister said.

Ramesh was releasing the All India Tiger Estimation Exercise for 2010 here this afternoon in presence of Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Union Minister for Water Resources, Salman Khursid.

The census was released at the inaugural session of the three-day International Tiger Conference on Monday. The international conference on tiger conservation and global workshop on implementation of the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) is being addressed by vice president of World Bank, Isabel Guerrero, besides MP, former chairman of the Task Force for creating Project Tiger, Dr. Karan Singh.

The Minister further said that hydropower and irrigation projects posed a major threat to tiger conservation. He cited the example of hydropower projects in Bhutan, which have impacted tiger corridors in India.

Referring to Arunachal Pradesh, the Minister underlined the need to protect the biodiversity in the State, where maximum number of hydropower projects are coming up.

Earlier, releasing the ‘India Tiger Estimate 2010’ Jairam Ramesh said “the mid-point range” of tigers in the country is 1706. The previous census in 2006 did not cover Sundarbans

“This figure at 1636 is a 12 per cent increase of 1411 and is welcome news,” Ramesh said, admitting that there have been higher than normal tiger mortality figures in 2009 and 2010.

“The most positive news has been reported from Naxal-affected Nagarjuna Sagar Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh. We have estimated the number of tigers there to be 60,” the Minister said.

There is positive news from other Naxal-affected reserves including Indravati (Chattisgarh), Simlipal (Orissa), Valmiki (Bihar), Palamau (Jharkhand), he said.

India currently has 39 tiger reserves, representing around one-third of the country’s high density forest area.

The new finding of the 2010 National Tiger Assessment is that most of tiger source sites continue to maintain viable tiger population. There was evidence of new areas populated by tigers like Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Shivpuri National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

The assessment also points out that the area occupied by tigers outside protected areas has gone down considerably, highlighting the need for securing corridors for tigers to move between source sites.

assam tribune

New technology dominates poll campaign

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 25 – A far cry from the days of wall writings and banners, poll campaigning in Assam this year is all set to piggy back on technology. Not just in urban areas, major political parties will spend time, effort, and money to influence voters through cell phones, internet, along with audio and video CDs even in rural hinterlands.

Penetration of electronic communication tools to the remote corners of the region is among the determining factors for the new trend.

A source in the Congress party mentioned that the reliance on technology will prove cost effective to reach out to a large number of people simultaneously. Plans are afoot to highlight the positive developments of the Tarun Gogoi led Government in varied formats suitable to different media.

The party is also contemplating whether to launch an sms campaign to reach out to young voters, and emails could be the other format that can be used in the run up to the elections.

Always willing to embrace technology to promote the party’s poll promise since the time of late Pramod Mahajan, the BJP too is planning to use technology to its advantage in Assam.

Party campaigners in the State while admitting the power of public meetings and person to person contact during campaigning said that professional media managers might be consulted in shaping its campaign strategy.

Amal Das, a supporter of AGP said that the regional party should seriously consider the use of sms and emails in carrying out a sustained campaign. He believes that it would save the party a lot of time in spreading its reach among the young voters who are tech savvy.

All the parties, however, are wary that the messages generated do not violate the strict code of conduct in any way, and which will create a boomerang effect.

Audio and VDO CDs with direct or oblique political messages are also being planned by parties as well as a few independent candidates. It would bring a windfall to local singers and composers, who are already getting ready for Rongali Bihu programmes.

assam tribuene

NSCN-K no to exploration in Nagaland oil field

Correspondent

DIMAPUR, March 25 – Stating that all mineral reserves in Naga homeland belong to the Naga people, the NSCN-K has asked Indian or foreign companies be it Canoro, Spice Jet or any other company who have expressed desire to explore and extract crude oil from Champang oil field under Lotha region to halt all preparations immediately as it does not recognize any MoU between parties for exploration at the oil field.

In a release issued by its MIP, the NSCN-K said it will consider extraction of crude oil only if the interested company agrees to first install and run oil refinery in Nagaland, in which case at least a thousand jobs to Naga could be assured.

Any extraction of natural resources by any company in Naga soil will have to be done only if it benefits the people and future Naga generations, it said.

The outfit said no politician or group of the day has any right to grant permission to exploration companies to extract wealth of the Nagas.

Further, stating that exploration and transportation of crude oil from Nagaland to other States is unacceptable as that would mean zero employment opportunity for Naga youth, the release said a wealth for hundred years will not be allowed to run dry in ten years.

The NSCN-K further asserted it will strictly ensure that the national wealth of the Nagas is preserved.

Trinamool Cong final list released

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 25 – The Assam Pradesh Trinamool Congress today released the final list of 14 candidates for the phase-II Assembly elections. The party also announced that the official candidates for Bilasipara West Constituency (constituency No. 26) would be Hatem Ali Choudhury, and for Lumding (constituency No. 92) the new official candidate would be Uma Bhowmick.

K D Singh, TMC Rajya Sabha MP and in-charge of the north-eastern States, while releasing the final list, said, “It is indeed a sad story that the red-tapist administrative system is so strong that often, the poor find it hard even to voice their grievances, let alone having any hope of solutions or justice. The fundamental rights that were guaranteed to every Indian citizen in the Constitution are being routinely and callously denied to those who need it most.”

‘For the People, By the People, of the People’ is a basic directive of the Indian Constitution. But with the passage of time, selfish interests took over and created circumstances and systems that are anti-poor and anti-underprivileged. Today a large number of people live below the poverty line and face hunger and starvation. Those who lack food to feed their children, scorn the talk of other ‘basic’ rights. It seems nobody has compassion and empathy for the poor any more, and all privileged sections are bent upon keeping the status quo, forcing these hapless masses to a life of inhuman slavery,” he said.

“The educated youth of the poor live a destitute life in the face of continued unemployment and poverty, and are forced to return to the lowest form of physical labour, which is so unfortunate,” Singh rued.

Himanta files papers from Jalukbari

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 25 – State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today filed his nomination as a Congress candidate from Jalukbari constituency for the ensuing Assembly election in the State.

Sarma filed his nomination around noon in the office of the Returning Officer located in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metro).

Prior to filing of nomination, thousands of supporters took part in a procession shouting pro-Congress slogans near Latasil playground which led to traffic snarls in the locality for hours.

The supporters also entered into a scuffle with some of the policemen regulating the vehicular traffic.

The political processions taken out prior to filing of nominations have been compounding the woes of the commuters for the last few days with movement of vehicles coming to a standstill for hours.

This has not gone down well with the citizens who feel that the politicians have no right to disrupt the people’s routine for the sake of showing their political strength before the polls.

assam tribune

Exhibition at State Art Gallery

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 25 – The yearning of the child for a clean and idyllic environment was clear and loud at the ongoing exhibition of painting, sculpture and handicrafts at the State Art Gallery here organised by Shilpa Sadhana Chitrakala Vidyalaya. The six-day exhibition, which will conclude on March 26, has many paintings by artists as young as 6 and so on showcasing rural background and life revolving around it.

These paintings depict the greenery of a village far away from the hustle and bustle of city life, the simple rustic folks who go about their work in a leisurely manner and the birds and animals that bond with human beings.

A visitor to the exhibition Nitali Rajkhowa, who is also a teacher and presently a resident of the capital city, said that it is common for most of the children to express the longing for a green environment. “My child is very happy when he visits his grandparents in Upper Assam. He enjoys running on the narrow tracks in the tea gardens. I think the desire to breathe in a clean and green environment is inherent in a child,” she said.

A teacher of the art school Doree Devi said that young students despite being born and brought up in the capital city express the longing for a rural surrounding in their paintings. “All the works of our students exhibited here reflect their originality of ideas. We did not give them any hint on the thematic front,” said Devi adding that the exhibition has been an exposure for the young artists. For the first time, the school has organized an exhibition in the State Art Gallery.

It needs to be mentioned here that apart from the young artists, the exhibition also has works of citizens from various background. Right from housewives to astrologer and lawyer, all the participants have one common interest–that is utilize their spare time in creative works.
assam tribue

EC takes stock of security scene

NEW DELHI, March 25 — The Election Commission (EC) today discussed sealing of borders and deployment of forces with the officials of Assam and West Bengal and their neighbouring States.

The meeting attended by Chief Secretaries and Director General of Police fine tuned the security related matters ahead of the Assembly Polls. Assam Government was represented by Chief Secretary Naba Kumar Das, Director General of Police, Shankar Barua, and CEO Hemanta Narzary among others.

The neighbouring States of Assam including Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram were represented by their DGPs. The meeting was also joined by DGs of Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, all neighbouring West Bengal, besides officials of the Home Ministry.

The meeting also took stock of the internal security situation and detention of wanted criminals. The possible threats from militant outfits including ULFA, NDFB and Left Wing extremists (LWEs) were also discussed, sources said.

With the campaign for the first phase gathering momentum, deployment of Central Para-military Forces, despatched for election duty was worked out, said sources.

ULFA calls strike against PM's Assam visit

GUWAHATI: The Paresh Baruah faction of ULFA has called a 12-hour Assam bandh this Monday to protest the visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to campaign in Assam for the Assembly polls.

The prime minister has "failed" to keep his written promise to discuss all the core issues for political solution of the Assam-India conflict, the outfit said in an e-mail to the media.

Accusing Dr Singh of "being the prime minister after acquiring his Assam residency documents without following rules", the ULFA alleged, "under his leadership a new conspiracy has been hatched to divide Assam and make the Assamese community extinct".

"Dr Singh has divided the ULFA to destroy the organisation," also asserted the e-mail signed by ULFA central publicity wing convener Arunudoy Dehotia.

The underground group also threatened to call such strikes even when other central ministers or leaders from any political parties come here as "colonial India has sown the seed of divisiveness among the indigenous people of Assam and the North-East region to continue its domination here".

"Till the rights of the indigenous people here is established, such bandh calls will continue," the ULFA warned.

Gauhati Law Reports goes online

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 20 – Gauhati Law Reports, a 30-year-old law journal from the North-east, went online on the occasion of its pearl jubilee celebration recently.

The occasion was graced by a confluence of legal luminaries, including Justice Dalveer Bhandari of the Supreme Court, who launched the online edition of the journal.

Lauding the efforts of the team of Gauhati Law Reports, Justice Bhandari said that it required Herculean effort to regularly bring out a law journal that is characterized by accuracy of facts, quality

of presentation and timely publication.

He added that going online is another milestone in the journey of the law journal.

In a seminar organized on the occasion, there was a unanimous call from the legal experts for a judiciary closer to the hearts of people.

Speaking in a deliberation on the topic ‘Good governance-need for a change in approach of judiciary’, Justice Bhandari stated that the huge arrears in courts at all levels had become a major hurdle in the way of justice delivery system.

Justice Amitava Roy of Gauhati High Court, taking part in the deliberations, said that judiciary had a key role to play to keep under check the self-serving nature of man that often induces misuse of State power for personal gain.

Justice IA Ansari of Gauhati High Court said that justice delivery system was not only meant for maintaining law and order but also to ensure good governance in a welfare State, a press statement mentioned.

assam tribune

Super bugs threaten to eat into vitals of tea industry

Ajit Patowary

GUWAHATI, March 20 – As if taking a leaf out of a science fiction novel, some bugs are transforming themselves into super bugs, thereby making the common pesticides worthless in the State’s tea estates.

Besides helopeltis—the Tea Mosquito Bug that has been keeping the tea planters of the State scary for the past several years- this list of the bugs turning into super bugs, also includes insects like looper caterpillar. Looper caterpillar is gradually attaining resistance against the common pesticides used in our tea estates.

Disclosing this, renowned consultant tea scientist P Bordoloi told this correspondent that helopeltis is found in some areas to be resistant to the common pesticides. The looper caterpillar has also attained such resistance against certain common pesticides in North Bengal tea estates and they are found to be gradually attaining such resistance in Assam too.

Constant use of the same kind of pesticides is leading to the transformation of these insects into super bugs much to the anxiety of the tea planters and the scientists as well, Bordoloi said. Repeated failure of pesticide at recommended dose to achieve the control of the targeted pest is reported almost regularly in the tea plantations.

Resistance develops through the overuse or misuse of a pesticide against a pest species and results in survival of resistant forms of the pest and the consequent evolution of populations that are resistant to that pesticide, he said.

He attributed this development to the lack of knowledge among the tea planters about the adverse impacts of the regular use of the same kind of chemicals to control the same species of insect, together with the less scientific research on the subject of Insect Resistance Management.

“Research work is less in tea in regards to control of the specific pests with respect to the resistance they develop,” said the noted tea scientist.

Moreover, he said, organic pest control methods are yet to become fully successful at commercial level, particularly in endemic condition and severe infestation.

On the prevailing pest-related scenario in the State’s tea estates, he said that so far helopeltis infestation is low but red spider is more active this time. However, the problem will arise from May next, when the export season starts.

As, he said, there are restrictions on the use of many pesticides in the importing countries. By and large all the tea estates here know the lists of maximum residual level (MRL) of the pesticides for the European Union (EU) countries.

But there is confusion due to discrepancies on large scale in the MRLs fixed by different countries. The updated lists of MRLs of the importers like Japan, USA and Russia are mostly not readily available at producers’ level here, he said.

assam tribune

MGNREGA wages not paid in Sikkim

Correspondent

GANGTOK, March 20 – The villagers under Luing Perbing Gram Panchayat have complained of non-payment of wages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for the past three months.

The villagers have complained to the local media that the payment of the wages have been entrusted to a company “Calance”, which has failed to pay more than 200 workers since December.

The villagers have also accused the company of not returning their bank cards that were taken away two months back. “When we inquired about the payment in the meeting of the Chief Minister’s Financial Inclusion we were abused by the Project Manager of the company”, said a villager Padam Gautam today.

According to the villagers, a false FIR of manhandling was registered by the Project Manager Sunil Thakur, which led to the arrest of innocent villagers.

The Project Manager said that the payment has been delayed due to mismatch of the fingerprints. “The payment would be released soon as more than 340 default bank cards are yet to be re- issued”, Thakur told the media.

He termed the allegations baseless and said that few villagers manhandled him during the course of heated discussion.

assam tribune

‘Nagaland Govt delaying pension benefits’

Correspondent

DIMAPUR, March 20 – Alleging that the State Government is deliberately delaying the process of their pension papers and all other benefits, the Nagaland Senior Government Employees Welfare Association asked the government departments to act according to the rules as they are governed by Service Rules.

Appealing to all the departments to expedite the process of their pension papers to enable them to get their due benefits, chairman of the Association Roko Pier and secretary Thunglamo Ovung in a release today warned that that if they fail to uphold the laid down rules and continue harassing the NSGEWA members, they will be forced to file a PIL against the defaulting departments and claim interest on pension money beyond three months as per relevant Pension Rules.

Stating that the government has not even spared the process of withdrawal of their GPF money which is the hard earned money of each individual employee, the senior employees said delaying payment of GPF money at retirement is against the rules governing provident fund.

Also, alleging that that the DAN Government is trying to politicise the issue, the Association said “The DAN Government’s intention is to see some of the NSWEGA members starve to death due to extreme poverty as they held up pension benefits after a lapse of 16 months of forced retirement.”

The senior employees also alleged that the DAN Government has completely deprived the NSGEWA members of the 6th ROP benefits and added that consequent upon the implementation of Nagaland Retirement from Public Employment (2nd Amendment) Act, 2009 and subsequent retirement under the Act upto 31-10-2010, the government has branded these retired employees as ‘antagonist’ and adopted a ‘punitive policy’ to victimise and punish the employees, particularly those who retired as per the retirement Act between 31-10-2009 and 31-03-2010 and punished them like law offenders/criminals.

Centre averse to 100 pc excise duty relief

Kalyan Barooah

NEW DELHI, March 20 – Even as the four refineries in the North-east face financial meltdown, the demand for 100 percent Excise Duty concession from the current level of 50 per cent has few takers in the Union Finance Ministry.

Faced with resources crunch, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas took up the long-pending demand for concessions with the Department of Revenue of Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry has been informed the issue of 100 per cent concession to refineries of the North-east was examined in the past and it was not found advisable to support an unviable unit through fiscal instrument whose impact is always not transparent.

Further, it was felt that extending the North-east exemption to existing petroleum refineries would generate similar demands from other sectors.

“Therefore, it has been decided by the Ministry to extend a uniform concessional rate of 50 per cent of the effective rate of Excise Duty (basic, special, AED and special additional duty of excise) to all the four refineries in the North-east including Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), Indian Oil Corporation, Digboi and Guwahati and Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemical Limited (BRPL),” Parliamentary Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas said in its latest report submitted to the Parliament.

But the panel remarked that it noted with concern that no action has been taken by the Government on their earlier recommendation for excise duty concession from the current level of 50 per cent to 100 per cent. “The previous recommendation should be implemented and excise concession should be increased,” the committee recommended.

Meanwhile, deteriorating financial health of oil refineries in the North-east has led the Parliamentary panel to urge the Central Government to take corrective measures.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee has expressed its unhappiness and noted with concern the financial health of oil refineries in the Northeastern region due to high landed cost of imported crude oil and the entry tax on crude oil being charged by the State Governments, which is affecting the profitability of the refineries.

In its latest report submitted in the Parliament, the Standing Committee has urged the Ministry to scrupulously implement the recommendations of the expert committee in all the refineries of the region to make them economically viable and profit earning.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas told the committee that as part of the remedial measures, the Government had formed a committee to study ‘optimisation of capacity utilisation of the refineries in North-east’.

The committee had submitted its report to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and action has been taken to augment crude oil production in the region by offering acreages under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) and also enhance oil recovery through Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods, the report said.

Meanwhile, both the public sector oil giants, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) have failed to meet targets due to non-availability of drilling rigs both in on-land and off-land areas. As against the target of 274 on-land wells to be explored by ONGC during the first three years of 11th Plan, only 201 wells could be explored.

Similarly, OIL has drilled only 33 wells during the same period. Non-availability of drilling rigs had also adversely affected Oil’s drilling programme, as out of 10 in-house drilling rigs, refurbishment of eight drilling rigs is reported to be in progress, the report said.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has reported back to the Parliamentary panel that non-availability of drilling rigs has severely affected OIL’s drilling programme.

OIL, at present, has 10 in-house rigs in operation in Assam, which are vintages varying from 20-30 years. In addition, one in-house drilling rig is deployed in Rajasthan. Due to its age, the performance of the rigs in Assam has deteriorated to a large extent, leading to frequent failures and operation downtime.

assamtribune

Mamata outfoxes Cong, names 228 candidates

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today unilaterally announced candidates for 228 constituencies for the Assembly elections in West Bengal, leaving 64 seats for the Congress and two for ally Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI).

She also asked the Congress to announce its candidates for the 64 seats by Sunday, failing which she would name her party candidates for these seats as well.

“I have waited for 18 days since the talks started just because I am in favour of the alliance. Had there been no time limit, I would have waited till eternity — but a lot of paperwork is involved. If it was possible, I would have waited till the counting day on May 13. But we have certain limitations and, so, after waiting for a long time, I am announcing our list at the nick of time,” said Banerjee.

“The TMC is a very disciplined party and our list of 294 candidates has been ready for a long time. This list has the names of 228 candidates only. If the Congress does not come to ground level, then we will declare the names of 64 more candidates on Monday. With that, the number of minority community and women candidates from TMC will rise to 64 and 45 respectively,” said Mamata. The Trinamool’s list announced today has 42 candidates from the minority community and 34 women so far.

The Congress, on its part, said it would discuss the issue and decide whether to contest 64 seats or more. “The announcement of seats by Mamata is unilateral. We will discuss in the Congress and then decide whether to contest 64 or more seats,” said Shakil Ahmed, AICC member and the party’s observer for West Bengal.

WB polls: Displeased Congress to take a final call after Holi

Expressing displeasure on Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee's list of 228 candidates for the upcoming West Bengal polls, the Congress on Saturday said the party will take a final decision over the issue after Holi.

"We wanted an alliance with Trinamool Congress in West Bengal...we still want an alliance with them to defeat the Left government in the state... this is the will of the people of West Bengal that that there should be an alliance between Congress and Trinamool Congress," AICC spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told a news channel.

"She announced the list unilaterally yesterday leaving 64 seats for us...we are not in agreement with the list announced. The Congress leadership will take a final call after Holi...we will consider her offer and take a final decision," he added.

Dictating terms to Congress, Trinamool Congress on Friday unilaterally announced its list of 228 candidates for the election to 294-member West Bengal Assembly and set a Monday deadline for Congress to accept the 64 seats allotted to it.

Besides the Congress, two seats were allotted to the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI).

"On the basis of my talks with the Congress on Thursday, I have left 64 seats for Congress," Mamata told reporters in Kolkata.

Slamming the Congress for the delay in reaching a final conclusion in the seat sharing talks, Banerjee said: "We have waited for 18 days, but why is there still a cloud over it? I respect our alliance and therefore, I am leaving 64 seats."

She said that the TMC will wait till Monday for the Congress to come around or else she will declare the rest of the candidates with the party manifesto.

Both parties had reportedly reached an agreement over 68 seats. But the dispute is now over the quality or winnability of the seats.

The Congress wants three more winnable seats, which the TMC does not want to part with.

The differences between the Congress and the TMC appeared to have diminished following reports on Monday that both parties had softened their respective stances over the sharing the 294-member West Bengal State Assembly.

The state will have elections in six phases. The first phase of voting will take place on April 18, second phase on April 23, third phase on April 27, fourth phase on May 3, fifth phase on May 7 and sixth phase on May 10.

The total number of assembly constituencies in West Bengal is 294, of which 68 are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 16 for the Scheduled Tribes.

The Election Commission has said that polling will take place at 51,919 polling stations. (ANI)

CAG unearths scam in Meghalaya

Correspondent

SHILLONG, March 18 – Heard about the proverbial “fox in the chicken coop,” but never: “Speaker vacated residence in May 2008; but no trace of the Rs 11.81 lakh poultry coop!”

Sounds bizarre, but it is true. The Assembly Secretariat incurred a loss of Rs. 11.81 lakh due to submission of a ‘fictitious bill’ for construction of a poultry coop at the official residence of former Speaker, MM Dangoo.

But, what takes the cake is that when the Speaker vacated his official residence neither the coop nor a single chicken was present at the residence!

“Approval of such construction (poultry coop) at the official residence (Speaker) from the public money was not only unethical but also unauthorised,” the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report castigated.

This is not the first instance that the CAG has unearthed financial mismanagement during Dangoo’s tenure as a Speaker of the legislative Assembly.

Dangoo did not hand over goods installed in his residence before vacating his official residence in May 2008.

Included in the list of items were: two Sony LCD TV 50 inch worth Rs 7,87,500, one set of PIV Lenovo worth Rs 1,40,712, one air conditioner worth Rs 1,92,440, three wall fan worth Rs 23,400.

A cycling machine, tread mill, weight machine, pixna, TFT monitor, revolving chair (one each) were also purchased by the then speaker.

In all goods worth crores of rupees were missing after Dangoo vacated his official residence.

assam tribune

Crimes against women rising in Tripura

Correspondent

AGARTALA, March 18 – Crimes against women continues to haunt the law enforcement agencies in Tripura with spiralling number of cases of rape, molestation and dowry death.

The State witnessed maximum number of rape cases in 2010 when compared to 2008 and 2009. According to statistics, while a total of 238 rape cases were recorded with police in 2010, the number was 204 in 2008 and 190 in 2009.

Out of total registered rape cases in 2010, investigation in 79 cases is still going on while chargesheet has been filed in 147 cases. However, Investigating Officers (IOs) could not crack the nut in 12 rape cases.

Of the total rape cases (190) in 2009, chargesheets have been filed in 198 cases while final reports were prepared for six cases. However, investigation of 204 rape cases which were registered in 2008 has been wrapped up.

In 2008, police could prepare chargesheets in 67 cases within three months of registration of rape charges while it was 56 in 2010, according to reports available with the crime branch of police.

According to reports, as many as 51 dowry-related cases were registered in January this year while nine rape cases were registered during the period.

“We are taking serious steps to ensure speedy disposal of crimes against women and some cases like Dilip Guha incident have been chargesheeted within three months of registration of complaint”, said a police official here on Thursday.

On being asked about the low percentage of conviction rate (3.5), he said, “Loopholes in investigation process, hostility of eye-witness and refusal to become witness at key stages of investigation, workload on police are among the main reason behind it”.

assam tribune

529 candidates file nomination

Staff reporter

GUWAHATI, March 18 – A total of 529 candidates have filed their nominations for the first phase of the Assembly elections in the State. In the meantime, the Election Commission (EC) received 163 cases concerning violation of the model poll code of conduct, most of which have been disposed of.

Seventeen candidates have been disqualified by the EC from contesting the polls.

Revealing this at a press conference today, Chief Electoral Officer Hemanta Narzary said that of the 11,263 polling stations (including nine auxiliary ones) for the first phase of the polls scheduled for April 4, 2,093 had been identified as very sensitive and 2,985 as sensitive.

Following an EC directive to the effect, the police has been executing non-bailable warrants, with 3,035 non-bailable warrants having been executed since March 1. A total of 8,319 NBWs are pending as of now as against the original figure of over 14,000 initially, Narzary said, adding that 3,186 licensed arms had also been seized besides cash worth Rs 70 lakh.

Asserting that the polls would be a smooth and peaceful exercise, Narzary said that a hundred companies of Central paramilitary forces had arrived in the State to join the existing 96 companies.

“Another 150 companies are scheduled to arrive by March 28,” he said, adding that 60-75 per cent of the polling stations would be covered by the Central paramilitary forces.

Narzary said that the disqualification of the 17 candidates stemmed from their failure to show their election expense accounts.

Narzary said that the call centre with a toll-free number which is connected to all the districts had received 117 complaints from the public, of which 78 disposed of. “Most of the complaints have come from the Dispur constituency,” he said, adding that poll monitoring had witnessed several innovations, including the SMS-based system.

Centre yet to decide on Tea Board chief

Spl Correspondent

NEW DELHI, March 16 – The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is still waiting for a panel of officers from the Department of Personnel and Training for appointment as chairman of Tea Board.

A panel of suitable officers is still awaited from Department of Personnel and Training for making regular appointment to the post of chairman of the Tea Board, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiradtiya M Scindia said in reply to a Rajya Sabha question by Kumar Deepak Das.

However, the Minister added that the post is not reserved for any officer from any State. Till then, the charge has been given to an officer, in addition to his own duties, Scindia said.

As reported, both Assam and West Bengal are lobbying hard for the post for one of their own officers. Assam claims that it is their turn, after a West Bengal cadre officer completed his term last year.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Union DoNER Minister Bijoy Krishna Handique have written to the Prime Minister reminding him that it is now the turn of Assam to have its man as the chairman.

Though a panel of officers was finalised by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the process was abandoned and the selection process was started afresh.

16 candidates file papers in Dibrugarh

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

DIBRUGARH, March 16 – All seven candidates of the Congress from the district submitted their nominations in the district’s election offices here for the ensuing Assembly polls, while five from the BJP, three from NCP and one from AGP also placed their nominations.

The Congress candidates include – Etuwa Munda (Ting-khong), Pranati Phukan (Naharkatia), Amiya Gogoi (Duliajan), Raju Sahu (Chabua), Prithibi Majhi (Lahoal), Dr KK Gogoi (Dibrugarh) and Jibontara Ghatowar (Moran).

The BJP candidates are Prasanta Phukan (Dibrugarh), Rameshwar Teli (Duliajan), Dipuranjan Markary (Ting-khong), Ranjit Konwar (Lahoal) and Sarnalata Saikia (Moran). The three NCP candidates include Bina Konwar Baruah (Duliajan), Karthik Tanti (Naharkatia) and Bipin Chetia (Chabua).

Before the submission of nomination papers, the parties, particularly BJP and NCP, took out huge processions but were stopped near the Chowkidinghee ground. Only the candidates along with a few party workers were allowed to proceed.

Arunachal Govt urged to talk with NSCN (K)

ITANAGAR, March 16 – Concerned over the recent letter issued by NSCN (K) to all the legislators of insurgency-hit Tirap and Changlang districts in Arunachal Pradesh, an organisation has urged the State Government to start a dialogue process with various rebel outfits operating in these districts.

The letter, reportedly signed by NSCN (K) chief S S Khaplang, directed all the 12 MLAs to withdraw support from the Dorjee Khandu Government or else face dire consequences.

“The government cannot and must not continue to ignore the burgeoning problem for which developmental activities in the districts have come to a screeching halt,” the Society for Promotion of Nocte Indigenous Culture (SoPNIC) said in a communique.

It added, “Whenever there is firing between both the factions of NSCN or army operations, leaders of all hues and heads of work departments run away, leaving the common people to fend for themselves. Needless to say such practice only aggravates the problem as no one is left in the district to address them”. – PTI

They urged the NSCN (K) to withdraw the letter and requested it to resort to other democratic means to hammer out the differences amicably.

“This letter has done what killings, kidnappings, extortions, etc., in Tirap district for the last many years could not do. It has awakened the conscience of the people of the State at long last. The strongly worded letter has shaken and trampled the very foundation of our democratic setup,” it said. – PTI

Meghalaya to make asset declaration mandatory

Correspondent

SHILLONG, March 16 – After Bihar, Meghalaya would also make it mandatory for politicians, bureaucrats and government servants to disclose their assets annually.

State Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said in the Assembly today that the government was working on a policy framework to make it mandatory for politicians, bureaucrats and government servants to declare their assets annually and the policy would be implemented at the earliest. This, he believed, would help in checking corruption.

Meghalaya would be one of the few States in the country to have such a policy. Recently, Bihar made national headlines after its Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar made it mandatory for politicians and bureaucrats to declare the assets annually.

The Meghalaya Government employees must also declare their assets annually because indigenous tribals are exempted from filing Income Tax returns, so declaration of assets annually is important.

“Filing of Income Tax return is a mechanism to check assets annually. Since the tribal population here are exempted from filing IT returns, the policy would ensure that declaration of assets is also mandatory for them,” the Chief Minister said.

Stating the State Government is serious in checking corruption, Sangma further promised to overhaul the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and make it an autonomous body. Now the Chief Secretary is the ex-officio State Vigilance Commissioner (SVC).

“The ACB is not an autonomous body. The ACB is further working with a skeletal staff of ten people,” he said while promising to strengthen the organisation’s structure to check corruption.

The opposition demanded that the selection of the SVC should be done by a select committee comprising of the Leader of Opposition and others from the House as its members, to which Sangma said that the suggestion would be taken in the right earnest.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker, Purno Sangma of the NCP suggested that every department must have a vigilance officer as a means to check corruption to which the Chief Minister agreed.

Manipur innovators make a mark in Delhi

Correspondent

IMPHAL, March 16 – Manipur products have become crowd pullers in the ongoing National Innovation Foundation’s Grassroots Innovation Exhibition at Mughal Gardens in the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

The exhibition will conclude tomorrow, Manipur Information Centre, Delhi sources said.

President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil inaugurated the exhibition on March 14. The exhibition features 45 stalls showcasing 32 innovations by rural persons. This year’s focus is the North East, with Manipur having six stalls. Special focus of the exhibition was handloom and handicraft machineries from Manipur. Five innovators from Manipur are participating in the exhibition.

A physically challenged innovator, Y Mangi Singh from Kakching, who had developed a ‘Kouna mat-making machine’, was the special attraction in the exhibition. The President spent some time watching the innovator weave the Kouna mat.

Ng Nabakumar Singh of Leingang in Bishnupur district, who had invented the ‘Double shuttle loom’ was also a crowd puller. The device was getting rave reviews from experts and visitors.

The ‘Improved mechanised loom’ of Salam Rajesh Singh which made bandages also received special attention in the exhibition. The innovator received many enquiries from prospective entrepreneurs from other States to purchase his machine.

The visitors were dazzled by the ‘Electric shock-free converter’ of Ksh Nicholson Singh, of Imphal, which converts all live electric current into ‘shock free’ current.

Kh Jina’s herbal soap was a big hit. It was a rare achievement that the only woman innovator who participated in the exhibition happened to be from Manipur.

Cong likely to review candidates’ list

Spl Correspondent

NEW DELHI, March 14 – Under pressure from enraged party workers, the Assam Congress is mulling review of candidates in a few constituencies, even as Guwahati (West) and Sarbhog constituencies are still pending.

Of the eight pending constituencies, the party after a series of deliberations announced the candidates for six Legislative Assembly Constituencies (LACs). G C Langthasa has been selected for Haflong (ST), Rajen Borthakur (Tezpur), Monika Bora (Gohpur), Rejaul Laskar Choudhury (Jamunamukh), Abdur Rashid Mandal (Goalpara (West) and Etuwa Munda (Tingkhong) LACs.

Both Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi and PCC president, Bhubaneswar Kalita left for Assam today after taking part in a series of meetings to finalise the candidates for the remaining eight constituencies. Yesterday, till late in the evening the Chief Minister, Kalita and general secretary in-charge for Assam Digvijay Singh met but failed to finalise the candidates for Guwahati (West) and Sarbhog.

For Guwahati (West) several AICC bigwigs have put their weight behind the high-profile candidates. Aspirants have met the Congress president, political adviser to Congress president, Ahmed Patel, besides other senior leaders lobbying for nomination. Those in the fray included Hemanta Talukdar, who is being backed by PCC president, Dwijendranath Sarma, former AICC secretary, Juri Sarma Bordoloi, Chittaranjan Patowary amongst others.

In case of Sarbhog seat, party is in two minds over fielding Abdus Samad, who was with the AUDF and backed by a powerful State minister in Gogoi’s cabinet, sources said.

Meanwhile, sharp reactions have surfaced over the nomination of candidates, and in what appears to be first of a spate of resignations, three-time Lok Sabha MP, Abdul Hamid has quit the party. Hamid was an aspirant for Bilashipara (East) constituency but was denied nomination.

He faxed his resignation from the primary membership of the party to the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi on Monday.

He told this correspondent that he is planning to contest as an independent candidate from the constituency.

Meanwhile, the Congress is likely to change a few candidates following local pressure. Denial of nomination to president of State Mahila Congress Sarifa Begum has prompted the High Command to intervene and she is now likely to be fielded from Dhing LAC, where Dr Idris Ali was nominated.

The candidate for Jonai (ST) from where Bolin Kuli has been fielded is likely to be replaced by Pradan Barua. He is being backed by both Kalita and Lok Sabha MP Ranee Narah. Similarly, Bhabanipur candidate Dr Manjushree Pathak is likely to be replaced by Phani Talukdar, said sources.

Talking to newsmen, Digvijay Singh said that there may be few changes in the list of candidates but added that those mainly pertained to candidates in the second phase. He added that fresh reports from block and district Congress are being sought.

assamtribune

Brahmaputra Master Plan to cost Rs 32,410 cr

Spl Correspondent

NEW DELHI, March 14 – The Master Plan for flood management of Brahmaputra river is estimated to cost Rs 32,410 crore at 1983 price level, Minister of State for Water Resources, Vicent H Pala said.

The Minister’s reply was to a question by Bhubaneswar Kalita, who wanted to know whether the Master Plan for flood management and integrated development of water resources is expected to cost Rs 54,750 crore.

The Brahmaputra Board has prepared a Master Plan for the Brahmaputra river and the approved Plan was sent to State Government for implementation. The flood control, anti-erosion and flood protection works are planned, implemented and funded by the State Government according to their own plan and priorities. The Central Government provides the assistance to the State Government for implementation of flood management programme, the Minister added.

The schemes undertaken by Brahmaputra Board have generally performed well. Concurrent evaluation of implementation of schemes in the reaches identified by the Master Plan and taken up by the State Government has indicated satisfactory performance, he said.

About protection of Majuli, Pala said that Phase II and III of the Plan is estimated to cost Rs 115.03 crore. About 21.95 per cent of the work taken up during last financial year have been completed till February. The Phase I of the Project was taken up in 2005 at an estimated cost of Rs 56.07 crore and 99.50 per cent of the work have been completed.

Emergent measures at the cost of Rs 4.99 crore as recommended by the standing committee of experts on Majuli was undertaken in May 2008 and completed in September 2008.

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Assam on alert after militant strikes

GUWAHATI, March 15 (IANS) - A security alert was sounded in election-bound Assam Tuesday, a day after militants bombed the ruling Congress party's headquarters, injuring five party workers, and killed nine Border Security Force (BSF) troopers in separate attacks.

"A state of high alert was sounded across Assam with police, army and paramilitary troopers deployed in strength to foil any further militant attacks. We would be dealing with the militants with a very firm hand," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.

Army and paramilitary columns have started a massive anti-insurgency operation in militant strongholds amid intelligence reports of more rebel strikes in the run-up to the April 4 and 11 Assembly elections.

"The militants might try to strike, especially by targeting politicians, to make their presence felt," an Assam police official said requesting that he not be named.

On Monday night, militants of the anti-talk faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) led by the elusive Paresh Baruah allegedly triggered a powerful remote-controlled explosion at the Congress office in the heart of Assam's main city Guwahati.

Five Congress office-bearers were injured in the blast which resulted in the wall and roof of the building caving in.

In yet another attack late Monday, tribal separatists of the anti-talk faction of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) ambushed a bus carrying 20 BSF troopers near Ultapani in Kokrajhar district, about 220 km west of Guwahati.

Nine troopers were killed and five injured.

The anti-talk faction of the ULFA had in an email statement last month threatened to attack Congress leaders and warned people against participating in party rallies in the run up to the assembly elections.

The ULFA in the past has killed at least a dozen Congress leaders during elections since the 1996 Assembly polls.

The ULFA statement last month said the Congress party was responsible for dividing the outfit -- luring some leaders into holding peace talks with the government.

A faction of the NDFB too is in peace mode by entering into a ceasefire with New Delhi.

Both the ULFA and the NDFB are fighting for independent homelands outside the Indian union.

More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Assam during the past two decades.

BJP announces 4th list of candidates for Assam polls

GUWAHATI, March 15 (PTI) - The BJP today declared its fourth list of candidates for the two-phase Assembly elections in Assam.

The party is contesting all 126 constituencies in the state.

Among the seven contestants are Binita Brahma from Kokrajhar East, Hemanga Thakuria from Palasbari, Atul Sharma from Dharampur, Diganta Ghatowar from Biswanath and Banti Bania from Lakhimpur.

The candidates for Kalaigaon and Sootea, announced earlier, were changed to Mridul Deka and Rakesh Sharma, respectively, BJP spokesman Vijay Kumar Gupta said.

Announcing the list on behalf of BJP All India general secretary Anant Kumar, Gupta said that the list of candidates for the remaining five constituencies of Dhing, South Salmara, Samaguri, Majuli amd Chapaguri would be announced later.

Talks were on with alliance partner JD(U) for leaving some constituencies to it, but the names were not yet finalised, he said.

Policeman, 2 ULFA militants killed in encounter

DIBRUGARH/TINSUKIA, March 15 (PTI) - A police officer and two ULFA militants were killed during an encounter in Assam's Tinsukia district today, police said.

Acting on a tip-off about the presence of ULFA militants in Tongona village under Kakopathar police station, the police launched a search operation in the village and were fired upon by the militants.

The police retaliated and a fierce encounter followed for more than two hours in which Second Officer Pranjal Saikia of Kakopathar police station was killed along with the two militants on the spot, the sources said.

While one slain ultra was identified as Tinku Mahanta alias Ilu while the identity of the other one was yet to be ascertained.

The security forces recovered one pistol, one AK-56 and an empty magazine from the encounter site.

8 BSF jawans killed in ambush by anti-talk faction of NDFB

SHILLONG/GUWAHATI: At least eight BSF personnel were killed and the same number injured today in an ambush by the anti-talk faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland in Assam's Kokrajhar district.

According to official reports, the militants of the Ranjan Daimary-led faction used automatic weapons to ambush the convoy of the BSF in remote Ultapani forest area near the Indo-Bhutan border.

A BSF spokesman, at the force's frontier headquarters in Shillong, told PTI that while three jawans were killed on the spot, five others succumbed to their injuries on way to hospital.

Some of the eight injured jawans were taken to Lower Assam Hospital and Research Centre at Bongaigaon, while others were taken to Kokrajhar civil hospital for treatment.

Critically injured were referred to a hospital is Guwahati, the spokesperson said.

The deceased have been identified as Bijoy Kumar, S K Sharma, Arabinda Dere, Bolaram Lamba, Santa Ramthree, Naresh Kumar, Kuber Bora and Hira Singh.

A combing operation has been launched by the security forces, including the Army along the Indo-Bhutan border, to nab the culprits.

The patrol was on way from Bangladoba in Chirang district of Assam to Ultapani in Kokrajhar when it was ambushed.

The paramilitary vehicle came under heavy firing inside the Ultapani reserve forest, when it was about seven km from its camp.

NGO urges for creation of Patkai Council

ITANAGAR, March 13 – A human rights group from insurgency-hit Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh has urged the State Government to expedite the process for early creation of Patkai Autonomous Council (PAC) for all-round development of these backward districts bordering Myanmar.

Tirap-Changlang Human Rights Organisation (TCHRO) appealed to the elected representatives of the two districts to pursue the demand for PAC besides initiating immediate steps to bring back peace and normalcy in the districts which of late witnessed intermittent gun battles between both the factions of NSCN for area dominance.

“The decision for creation of PAC comprising both the districts has already been passed by the State Assembly long back and it was the responsibility of the leaders of the districts and the government to pursue with the Centre but very little effort was being made in this regard till now,” TCHRO president K Longphi said in a press conference here recently.

He said that the elected legislators of the two districts were not doing enough for the development of these backward districts.

“Instead of being mute spectators they should initiate immediate steps to materialise the long pending demand of people of the areas”, he added.

Claiming that the job opportunities in various government departments for the youths of Tirap and Changlang were very limited due to the lack of development activities in the districts, Longphi urged the government to provide separate job quota to the youths.

“Though these two districts are the richest in the State from where the State Government draws out maximum revenue benefits, yet in terms of developmental activities both are lagging behind,” TCHRO general secretary T Aboh said. – PTI

6,000 youth from Garo Hills to get technical training

6,000 youth from Garo Hills to get technical training
Correspondent

TURA, March13 – Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Agatha K Sangma, on Sunday inaugurated the first-ever Bosco Academy for Skills and Employment (BASE) at Tura Don Bosco School that will provide special technical training to as many as 6,000 youth from the rural areas of Garo Hills.

The programme is funded by the Union Ministry for Rural Development under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) which aims to provide employment-linked, market-oriented training to youngsters in the age group of 18 to 35 years from below the poverty line families. Inaugurating the training academy, the Union Minister of State exhorted the youth to make full utilisation of the opportunity to avail the training programme.

“This training programme is funded by the Rural Development Ministry and is free of cost. I urge upon the youth to take advantage of it because we need to absorb the youth into the employment sector,” mentioned Agatha.

Mentioning in brief the importance of inclusive growth she said China is forging ahead due to its booming manufacturing industry. She added that our country has also taken up the challenge and has even diversified into other sectors of employment such as Business Processing and Outsourcings (BPOs), marketing, tourism and health sectors.

Under this SGSY special project, the Union Rural Development Ministry has granted four projects to Don Bosco Tech (DB Tech) to train several thousand youth of the country. In the east and North East sector Meghalaya is one of the eight States to get selected. Jowai, Shillong, Umran and Mendal are the centres which will be run by DB Tech.

Earlier, the Assistant Director of DB Tech, Fr Raju Philip, gave a brief report on the project. “The project will target the marginalised youth, the downtrodden who do not get an opportunity to avail any employment generation training,” he said. The assistant director further went on to mention that since the start of the project in May, last year, over 8,000 youth have been trained with 85 per cent of them getting employment through placements. He urged upon the rural youth to get themselves registered at the nearest Don Bosco Centre.

DB Tech will initially provide training in four categories of jobs – tourism, security, hospitality and marketing with basic skills in computers. In the hospitality sector detailed training will be given to the selected members in the food and beverages wing. Each course will be of three month duration with no provision of stipend or scholarship.

asssam tribune

NE Spring Fest from March 16

KOHIMA, March 13 – Featuring dance troupes from Myanmar, a five-day North East Spring Festival would be kicked off at Dimapur on March 16.

Being organised by the North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC) at its complex at Dimapur, the festival would be a mega North East-centric carnival capturing the mood and brilliance of Spring time, said council director Som Kamei.

The event will also feature a book fair and seminars organised by National Book Trust at the same venue where Lou Majaw of Shillong is expected to add sheen to the carnival being participated by over 500 artistes.

The festival will showcase the biggest ensemble of folk dances, folk music, puppeteers, craftsmen, poets, choral singers, theatre groups, chefs and others from the region and other parts of the country. – PTI

Meteka products at NEDFi Haat

GUWAHATI, March 13 – The eco-friendly handicraft products made from water hyacinth (meteka) are now available at the NEDFi Haat, Ambari, Guwahati. The Water Hyacinth Craft Gallery-cum-Demonstration Centre at NEDFi Haat was inaugurated recently by UK Sangma, Secretary, NEC in the presence of BP Muktieh, CMD, NEDFi.

The initiative, which was started by NEDFi in a small way in the year 2008, is now supported by the NEC under a three-year project commencing from the year 2010-11.

The project involves capacity building of 1000 artisans and facilitating them with the market linkage. During the year 2010-11, 200 artisans were trained through eight different programmes conducted in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura. To facilitate advance training, a group of 25 people were deputed to the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad for a three- week programme in the month of December, 2010. The programme helped in incorporating better design and also in improving productivity. These 25 artisans are now facilitating handhold support to other artisans for improvement of their products, said a statement.

The Water Hyacinth Gallery at NEDFi Haat will facilitate display and sale of the products produced by the artisans. The customers can buy the products from the gallery and the price she/he pays will be forwarded to the artisans.

The centre is equipped with flattening machine, looms, stitching machine, colouring dyes apart from the moulds used for different products. A master artisan will man the centre who will also guide the artisans in respect to the quality and pricing of the products.

“The project is supporting the individual artisans to participate in different exhibitions, whether it is in small towns or in big cities. Exclusive exhibitions on water hyacinth are also held at NEDFi Haat from time to time to promote the craft. The participation has helped not only to sell the products but also to popularize the same among the customers, creating future market demand,” the statement mentioned.

The Water Hyacinth Craft Gallery at the 1st floor of NEDFi Haat is expected to provide a permanent platform for marketing of the products. The products displayed in the gallery include varieties of bags, baskets, laundry bins, caps among others, apart from the beautiful jewellery made from the water hyacinth.

assam tribune

Jyotirupa full-length drama festival concludes

GUWAHATI, March 13 – The curtains came down on the 3rd Jyotirupa Singha Purush Radha Govinda Baruah full-length drama festival on Saturday with staging of Abhisar, a play based on a poem of Rabindra Nath Tagore.

The four-day drama festival at Rabindra Bhawan here could entertain the theatre lovers and on all the days a sizeable number of Guwahatians made it to the auditorium. The bouquet of plays highlighting the complexities and the decay triggered by transitions across society went well with the spectators.

It needs to be mentioned here that a total of four selected plays were staged during this drama festival.

“I really enjoyed Aitijya. It reflected the problems of the contemporary society,” said Nandita Gogoi who was present on all the days of the festival. This play was directed by noted theatre personality Bhagirathi and staged on the first day of the festival. Bhagirathi’s powerful acting kept the audience mesmerised.

Dumukshi staged on the second day of the festival was appreciated by the theatre lovers, but some pointed out that the director missed the scope of improvement. This play was based on a Rabha myth depicting love and its tragic end and directed by Sukracharya Rabha. This young theatre artiste has earned laurels for taking theatre to the grassroots.

“The festival has been gaining its popularity over the years and this year we were really taken aback by the huge response of the theatre lovers,” said Bhuban Lahkar, secretary of Jyotirupa, a socio-cultural organisation. He further added that each play was experimental and directed by young theatre artistes.

The famed Charandas Chor by Habiv Tanveer, adapted to reflect the local ethos by Anup Hazarika and Bhagirathi was staged on the third day of the festival before a full house audience.

“We are grateful to the theatre lovers for making the festival a success and we hope to give a platform to more upcoming theatre artistes and groups,” said Lahkar.

On the last day of the festival, the organisers felicitated president of Asom Natya Sanmilon Abdul Mazid, CMD of Numaligarh Refinery Dr BK Das and General Manager of Oil India, Narengi D Phukan.

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Security forces to adopt zero tolerance policy

GUWAHATI, March 13 – Maintaining law and order in a state like Assam during the elections is always a tough proposition and police and security forces have been instructed to adopt a “zero-tolerance policy” against any militant found to be moving around with weapons. Though a number of militant outfits are under cease-fire agreement and some others have expressed desire to come for talks, no one is ready to take any chances.

Highly placed official sources told The Assam Tribune that around 400 additional companies of central paramilitary force personnel would be deployed in Assam during the polls to ensure violence free elections. Sources said that 100 companies of central forces have already reached the state after the declaration of the dates of the polls and the rest would be deployed in phased manner soon. In fact, the State Government had sought 400 companies of additional forces for the polls and the Government of India has assured to provide it to meet the requirement.

Sources revealed that the police and security forces engaged in counter insurgency operations have been directed to deal with militants with strong hands to prevent them from indulging in any violence in the run up to the elections.

Replying to a question on the possibility of the militants under cease-fire with the government indulging in violence during the polls, sources said that anyone found to be moving around with weapons would be treated as a militant irrespective of whether the person is a member of an outfit under cease-fire. Same rule would be applied in case of members of the pro-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the forces have been directed to adopt zero tolerance policy in this regard.

The pro-talk group members of the ULFA will also be shifted to designated camps soon like members of the other militant groups under cease-fire agreement. But the process will take some time as setting up of the camps will take some time. Under the present circumstances, it is unlikely that the process of shifting of the pro-talk members of the ULFA to the designated camps will be completed before the elections, sources added.

Meanwhile, recent intelligence inputs of the field level members of the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) requesting the leaders of the outfit staying in Bangladesh and Myanmar to send weapons to the cadres in Assam has created tension among the police and security forces.

On the other hand, security personnel are apprehensive of possibility of the anti-talk faction of the ULFA headed by commander-in-chief of the outfit Paresh Baruah indulging in violence in the run up to the polls. As the bond between the militant groups having bases in Myanmar is strengthened in recent times, the possibility of the ULFA hardliners engaging members of the other outfits also cannot be ruled out and a close watch is being maintained on the situation, security sources added.

the assamtribune

Blast rocks Congress office in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: A blast rocked the Congress party headquarters in Guwahati at 6.50pm on Monday. Casualties are feared, police said.

2 Congress party workers were injured in the blast, Times Now reported. Police have reached the blast site and have cordoned off the blast area.

The elections for the Assam state assembly are scheduled to take place on April 4 and April 11.

toi