tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16851645772420384052024-03-12T19:59:45.108-07:00North East IndiaMahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.comBlogger625125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-35141346374794526062011-05-30T21:48:00.000-07:002011-05-30T21:49:21.447-07:0036 killed in two road mishaps in Assam<div style="text-align: justify;">GUWAHATI/GOLAGHAT: Thirty-six people were killed and 17 others injured in two road mishaps in Assam where a bus carrying a marriage party fell into a pond and an oil tanker caught fire this morning.<br /><br />31 passengers, including 12 women, were killed and six persons critically injured when a bus carrying a marriage party fell into a pond in Kamrup (Rural) district last night.<br /><br />The bus travelling from Guwahati to Dihu in Rangia sub-division of the district, fell into the 40 ft deep pond at Rajabari when a wooden bridge it was crossing gave in.<br /><br />Among the killed were the bridegroom Naba Kumar Sarma, his parents and friends. Three children were also among the victims, police said.<br /><br />Six passengers were rescued and admitted to Mukundo Kakoti Civil hospital in neighbouring Nalbari district, the police said.<br /><br />toi</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-573351416180798902011-04-15T05:10:00.000-07:002011-04-15T05:11:02.786-07:00Rongali Bihu celebrations in Assam<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">STAFF WRITER 17:2 HRS IST</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Guwahati, Apr 15 (PTI) Mellifluous voice of the cuckoo, lilting Bihu songs and enchanting notes of flutes and buffalo horns heralded the spring festival of Rongali Bihu as Assam welcomed the new year with traditional gaiety today.<br /><br />Replacing the strident cacophonous campaigning for the assembly elections that ended on April 11, the joyous Bihu songs with lyrics of youthful love played to the background as young men and women danced merrily.<br /><br />Bihu pandals were seen at many places where cultural programmes will be held throughout the Assamese Bohag month.<br /><br />Beginning with Goru Bihu yesterday when the cattle of the household were given a ceremonial bath at the village river or tank, this agrarian festival marks the new year today for the state.</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-69222112709784263652011-04-04T21:52:00.000-07:002011-04-04T21:53:06.023-07:0075% turnout in Assam first phase poll<div style="text-align: justify;">GUWAHATI: An estimated 75% voters today exercised their franchise in the first phase of the Assam assembly election covering 62 of the 126 constituencies, which was by and large peaceful.<br /><br />"The figure is likely to cross 75% as reports from remote areas are still coming in", Additional Chief Electoral Officer M C Sahu said.<br /><br />Deputy Election Commissioner Alok Shukla told reporters in New Delhi that polling was "very, very peaceful today. No major incident of violence has taken place".<br /><br />Today's poll in Assam marked the start of the democratic exercise that will also cover Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry in April and May. While Assam will have two-phased poll, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry in one phase and West Bengal in six phases ending on May 10. The vote count is scheduled for May 13.<br /><br />Polling was brisk and peaceful and by late afternoon the turnout figure was about 65% which is likely to increase and touch 75%, he said.<br /><br />Polling personnel are yet to return from remote booths and then only the exact figure could be ascertained, he said.<br /><br />Sahu said the election was by and large peaceful and there was one incident of clash between the polling agent of a political party and voters in a polling both in Karimganj constituency where polling was stopped for sometime.<br /><br />"The matter has been reported to the Election Commission which will take a final decision and let us know", he said.<br /><br />There are 85,09,011 voters in the first phase of polling while the second phase of election for the rest 64 constituencies will be held on April 11.<br /><br />A report from Jeraigaon said the mother of absconding top Ulfa leader Paresh Baruah, who is opposed to peace talks with the government, cast her vote in Assam's Dibrugarh district today saying she had always reposed faith in democracy.<br /><br />Her youngest son Bikul Baruah, a school teacher, with whom she lived, was on election duty as a polling officer. Her two older sons Bimal Baruah, an employee at the Army's supply depot at Panitola, and Pradip Baruah, also an armyman, voted along with five family members.<br /><br />A report from Sibsagar/Dibrugarh said overground cadres of Ulfa will not exercise their franchise in Assam assembly polls though arrangements for postal ballots for them has been made by the Election Commission.<br /><br />Ulfa Vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi told PTI that the outfit had already announced that it would boycott the polls but not disturb the poll process.<br /><br />Shulka said there were a couple of minor incidents like a clash between supporters of two parties assaulted a polling personnel by some voters at a polling station where polling was interrupted.<br /><br />In a polling station, the polling official did not press the button in the EVM leading to some discrepancy in the voting and polling was boycotted in some polling booths on developmental issues, Shukla said.<br /><br />A decision on repolling in some of the polling stations after getting reports from the polling parties, he said.<br /><br />TOI</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-62743240987715259272011-03-29T05:03:00.000-07:002011-03-29T05:04:28.474-07:00EC grip keeps West Bengal peaceful<div style="text-align: justify;">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.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The turnaround has been so dramatic that the chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi lauded the administration on March 23 for the performance.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />ht</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-15433647256192678782011-03-29T05:02:00.000-07:002011-03-29T05:03:28.384-07:00Land acquisition policy to be formulated: Mamata<div style="text-align: justify;">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.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />Speaking against forceful acquisition of land, Mamata said the Left Front government had failed to formulate its own land policy, unlike many other states.<br /><br />Land acquisition policy to be formulated: Mamata<br /><br />"The existing Land Acquisition Act is draconian. We have to wait till a new legislation comes replacing the existing one," she said.<br /><br />Besides land bank, Mamata was also confident of setting up employment bank to create opportunities for the unemployed youth.<br /><br />"For me agriculture is an inspiration and industry is a thrust with both dependent on each other," Mamata said.<br /><br />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<br /><br />organisations, if required, to initiate right steps on this issue.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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".<br /><br />"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."<br /><br />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.<br /><br />"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".<br /><br />Mamata alleged that CPM and BJP have entered into a secret deal in a bid to defeat her candidates.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />"As part of the understanding, BJP will campaign that they are the champions of Hindutva in a bid to woo the Hindus," she said.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The TMC chief said those who did not want change, would vote for the Left. "But no vote should be wasted."<br /><br />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."<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-71779884105529939522011-03-29T04:59:00.002-07:002011-03-29T05:00:50.719-07:005 IPS, 2 IAS officers transferred in West Bengal<div style="text-align: justify;">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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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<br /><br />Malda will be replaced by Rajesh Sinha.<br /><br />5 IPS, 2 IAS officers transferred in West Bengal<br /><br />The state will have a six-phase poll between April 18 and May 7.<br /><br />ibn<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-60875343476064462912011-03-29T04:59:00.001-07:002011-03-29T04:59:26.788-07:00New faces in Bengal candidate lists mark a departure<div style="text-align: justify;">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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />''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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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 .<br /><br />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.<br /><br />''Our list has more than 100 new faces. The idea is to infuse new blood,'' Trinamool Congress General Secretary Mukul Roy said.<br /><br />Interestingly, Mukul Roy's son Subhrangsu Roy, a graduate in electrical engineering, is also in the fray.<br /><br />The Trinamool Congress is contesting in 226 seats leaving 65 seats to its ally Congress, two to SUCI and one to NCP.<br /><br />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.''<br /><br />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.''<br /><br />''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.<br /><br />''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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The state Congress Chief Manas Bhuniya said its candidate list contained 36 new faces.<br /><br />''In 36 out of the 65 seats we are contesting, there are new faces,'' Bhuniya said.<br /><br />toi</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-90965601687380658752011-03-29T04:58:00.001-07:002011-03-29T04:58:32.564-07:00Manipur ex-Dy Speaker, 2 others acquitted<div style="text-align: justify;">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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />asssam tribune<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-63003521281413597142011-03-29T04:57:00.003-07:002011-03-29T04:57:40.994-07:00Manipur ex-Dy Speaker, 2 others acquitted<div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />Additional Sessions Judge Satinder Kumar Gautam acquitted the three, who had been charged with various stringent provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />Singh, who had been able to secure bail during his trial, was Deputy Speaker of Manipur Assembly between August 2007 and April 2009.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />It noted that only the identity cards recovered from the two youths were found to be fake.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />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.”<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />“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</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-42103721407372919102011-03-29T04:57:00.001-07:002011-03-29T04:57:19.042-07:00ASU adviser takes Govt to task over mega dams<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Correspondent</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-45096472247012410512011-03-29T04:56:00.001-07:002011-03-29T04:56:33.228-07:00IIMC soon in Aizawl<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Newmai News</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />asssamtribune<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-13165898206739609752011-03-29T04:55:00.000-07:002011-03-29T04:56:01.216-07:00Meghalaya okays environment schemes<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Correspondent</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />The Cabinet also approved the formation of Meghalaya Water Resource Agency that would help convergence of various State departments having linkages with water resource.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />asssam tribune<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-53995152466320392772011-03-29T04:54:00.000-07:002011-03-29T04:55:15.295-07:0048 pc rise in tiger population in NE<div style="text-align: justify;">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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />There is positive news from other Naxal-affected reserves including Indravati (Chattisgarh), Simlipal (Orissa), Valmiki (Bihar), Palamau (Jharkhand), he said.<br /><br />India currently has 39 tiger reserves, representing around one-third of the country’s high density forest area.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />assam tribune</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-41893641955786287832011-03-26T02:51:00.001-07:002011-03-26T02:51:41.363-07:00New technology dominates poll campaign<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Staff Reporter</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />Penetration of electronic communication tools to the remote corners of the region is among the determining factors for the new trend.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />assam tribuene<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-14870947979979396342011-03-26T02:50:00.003-07:002011-03-26T02:50:55.149-07:00NSCN-K no to exploration in Nagaland oil field<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Correspondent</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The NSCN-K further asserted it will strictly ensure that the national wealth of the Nagas is preserved.</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-68973397539546864072011-03-26T02:50:00.001-07:002011-03-26T02:50:22.946-07:00Trinamool Cong final list released<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Staff Reporter</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.”<br /><br />‘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.<br /><br />“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.</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-28144418566695634822011-03-26T02:49:00.001-07:002011-03-26T02:49:48.796-07:00Himanta files papers from Jalukbari<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Staff Reporter</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />Sarma filed his nomination around noon in the office of the Returning Officer located in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metro).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The supporters also entered into a scuffle with some of the policemen regulating the vehicular traffic.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />assam tribune<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-47631140344290160602011-03-26T02:48:00.002-07:002011-03-26T02:49:15.668-07:00Exhibition at State Art Gallery<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Staff Reporter</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br />assam tribue<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-91277607440535266062011-03-26T02:48:00.001-07:002011-03-26T02:48:39.982-07:00EC takes stock of security scene<div style="text-align: justify;">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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />With the campaign for the first phase gathering momentum, deployment of Central Para-military Forces, despatched for election duty was worked out, said sources.</div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-66653418507148720302011-03-26T02:43:00.001-07:002011-03-26T02:43:29.357-07:00ULFA calls strike against PM's Assam visit<div style="text-align: justify;">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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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".<br /><br />"Dr Singh has divided the ULFA to destroy the organisation," also asserted the e-mail signed by ULFA central publicity wing convener Arunudoy Dehotia.<br /><br />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".<br /><br />"Till the rights of the indigenous people here is established, such bandh calls will continue," the ULFA warned. </div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-10773085178069656212011-03-21T06:52:00.001-07:002011-03-21T06:52:32.424-07:00Gauhati Law Reports goes online<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Staff Reporter</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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<br /><br />of presentation and timely publication.<br /><br />He added that going online is another milestone in the journey of the law journal.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />assam tribune<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-44328549918484888092011-03-21T06:50:00.000-07:002011-03-21T06:51:21.043-07:00Super bugs threaten to eat into vitals of tea industry<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ajit Patowary</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />Moreover, he said, organic pest control methods are yet to become fully successful at commercial level, particularly in endemic condition and severe infestation.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />assam tribune<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-15670663004691106352011-03-21T06:49:00.002-07:002011-03-21T06:50:17.662-07:00MGNREGA wages not paid in Sikkim<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Correspondent</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />He termed the allegations baseless and said that few villagers manhandled him during the course of heated discussion.<br /><br />assam tribune<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-42720591152699409022011-03-21T06:49:00.001-07:002011-03-21T06:49:48.345-07:00‘Nagaland Govt delaying pension benefits’<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Correspondent</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.”<br /><br />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. </div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685164577242038405.post-90506425541120882952011-03-21T06:48:00.000-07:002011-03-21T06:49:04.887-07:00Centre averse to 100 pc excise duty relief<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Kalyan Barooah</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Further, it was felt that extending the North-east exemption to existing petroleum refineries would generate similar demands from other sectors.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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’.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />assamtribune<br /></div>Mahendra Maharahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08285954725709528558noreply@blogger.com0