Laon amount increases to Rs 30 lakh between 2003 and 2010

Laon amount increases to Rs 30 lakh between 2003 and 2010

Staff Correspondent

Dibrugarh: March 27: The Dibrugarh Development Authority (DDA) sealed 50 shops at its market complex at Chowkidinghi on charges of non payment of house rents to them since its construction in 2003. The market houses 70 business establishments, of which, only 30 shop owners have been regularly paying rent.

HUDCO, the financier of the market, served several notices to DDA on various occasions, warning them that they would acquire the entire market along with the buildings if the DDA failed to repay their loan of Rs 60 lakh along with the interest soon.

ONGC finds crude in Golaghat, Sivasagar

Jorhat, March 19: The Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd (ONGC) has discovered oil fields in Golaghat and Sivasagar districts of Assam recently and is keen to resume operations in Nagaland, which has a vast reserve of oil and gas.

This was disclosed by A.K. Balyan, the director (human resources) of ONGC at a news conference held at the state-owned company’s Assam & Assam Arakan Basin headquarters at Cinnamara in Jorhat district today.

Balyan said production had already started at the recently discovered Kasomarigaon oil filed in Golaghat district while it would start very soon at the North Geleki area in Sivasagar district.

“Besides these two discoveries in Assam, a new gas pool has been discovered at Sundalbari in Tripura, which will contribute to the proposed Tripura power project of the ONGC,” he added.

The Assam & Assam Arakan Basin unit of ONGC looks after the company’s exploration activities in the seven states of the Northeast.

Its exploration activities in Nagaland, however, had to be stopped about 15 years ago because of “local problems” in the neighbouring state. “ONGC is keen to resume its activities in Nagaland but lack of a transparent system in that state has prevented us from doing so,” Balyan said.

The senior ONGC official, who is also in charge of the company’s business development in the region, said Nagaland had got a huge reserve of oil and gas and the company would be happy to resume its activities in that state for the greater interest of the nation.

ONGC had to pack off from Nagaland in 1994 because of threats from militant organisations, especially from the NSCN (Isak-Muivah). The company, official sources said, had invested more than Rs 100 crore in infrastructure and machineries in the state before pulling out.

Balyan said the company’s drilling performance in the Assam & Assam Arakan Basin had increased from 15 wells in 2008-09 to 24 wells by the end of February 2010 and was expected to complete 29-30 wells in the current fiscal.

“Five leads to presence of new wells have already been obtained from various fields in Assam and some more are waiting to be added following testing shortly,” he added.

He said the basin had fared well on all fronts in oil and natural gas exploration. “This year also, the basin is expecting to add up a significant quantity of hydrocarbon accumulation,” he added.

The official said the Navaratna public sector unit was supplying cooking gas to Assam towns through the Assam Gas Company Limited.

“At present, around 30,000 standard cubic metre of natural gas is being supplied per day from the fields of south Assam shelf and if the market of gas in towns like Jorhat, Uriamghat, Golaghat and Sarupathar expand, there is a potential of enhancing the rate of supply,” he said.

Regarding the ONGC’s corporate social commitments towards the region, Balyan said its Assam & Assam Arakan Basin unit had contributed extensively to the socio-economic development of the community in and around the oil field areas there. “In this fiscal alone, the A&AA Basin has contributed Rs 1.8 crore.”

Balyan said the ONGC had also drawn up a project to preserve the ancient monuments of Ahom kings.

soruce:http://www.telegraphindia.com/

Film Archive’s magic touch to restore banned Assamese film

Reels of the film to be sent to Pune for scientific restoration of print; film was banned soon after release in 1952, reason not known

Thanks to the efforts of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) in Pune, the ninth Assamese feature film that had been banned 48 years ago might finally see the light of the day. Reels of the film Runumi, directed and produced by Sattriya dance exponent Suresh Chandra Goswami, have been found near Biswanath Chariali town in Assam and would soon be shipped to the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) in Pune for scientific restoration of the print.

The film, based on an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s play The Warriors at Helgeland, was banned by the state government soon after its release in 1952.

Utpal Borpujari, film critic and grandson of the film’s director-producer, is coordinating with the Archives for the film’s preservation. Thirteen reels of the film in their original cans were found at the residence of Lakshminath Borthakur, brother-in-law of Goswami.

“I have been told that the cans are rusted, however unless we have a look at the film it would be inappropriate to predict how much can be restored. If the film base is nitrate it can be a difficult task. We are hoping to receive the film in the next two weeks. I am in direct correspondence with Borpujari whom I had mailed immediately after getting to know about the discovery of the reels. In fact, NFAI is very keen on restoring the film, and we would be glad to retrieve it,” said Vijay Jadhav, director NFAI.

Source:http://www.indianexpress.com

Nagaland warned over encroachment

Guwahati, March 18: The All Assam Students’ Union today threatened to launch an economic blockade against Nagaland if the neighbouring state continued to encroach upon Assam’s land.

The Sivasagar district unit of the students’ union alleged that despite its repeated requests to the Naga people not to encroach upon Assam’s land in the Geleki area, the Nagas had not stopped construction.

“The Nagas should not take our silence as acceptance, we will forget our brotherly relations if they continue to grab our land,” the president of the Sivasagar district unit of AASU, Pranab Chetia, said today.

He said vast areas in Geleki bordering Nagaland in Sivasagar district were encroached upon by the villagers from the state. According to him, if the authorities concerned take no steps these areas will be lost forever.

The student body, he said, would not wait and watch any more and would soon launch an economic blockade against the neighbouring state.

He said besides the Sonari-Namtola Road that leads to Mon district of Nagaland, the blockade would also cover the Jorhat-Mariani Road, connecting Mokok-chung district of Nagaland and National Highway 39, which connects Dimapur town, the commercial hub of Nagaland.

Most of the essential commodities are ferried to Nagaland from the wholesale markets in Assam on these three roads.

The adviser to the Sivasagar district of AASU, Kushal Dutta, said it was a shame on part of the state government that no steps were being taken to stop villagers from Naga-land from grabbing Assam’s land.

He said besides Sivasagar district, the Nagas had encroached upon reserve forest lands in Jorhat district also.

“More than 80 per cent of the land in Desoi Valley, Desoi and Tiru Hills reserve forest under the Mariani forest range in Jorhat district are under the occupation of the Nagas,” he said.

Source:http://www.telegraphindia.com/

Ulfa asks fuel dealers of Assam to reduce their prices

GUWAHATI: The banned outfit ULFA today asked fuel dealers of Assam to reduce their prices by Rs 5 within the next three months.

ULFA's central publicity committee member, Anu Buragohain, threatened to launch a "mass protest" if the fuel prices are not reduced.

"The central government is hiking the fuel product available in the state which has affected the common people," a statement issued by him said.

The oil found in the state is refined outside and sold at a higher price in the state itself which is amounting to 'injustice', Buragohain said.

PTI

Majuli Suraksha Mancha to move High Court

Majuli Suraksha Mancha to move High Court

From our Correspondent

JORHAT, March 17: The Majuli Suraksha Samannya Mancha and the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) along with a number of local people of the river island have decided to go to the High Court against the alleged anomalies in various protection projects of the Brahmaputra Board taken up in the river island. Talking to The Sentinel, Majuli Suraksha Samannya

AXX demands Assamese as State language

AXX demands Assamese as State language

From our Correspondent

JORHAT, March 13: The Axam Xahitya Xabha yesterday demanded the government to use Assamese as State language in all the government offices, financial establishments, schools, colleges and other non government institutions. They have also sent a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister to take immediate steps in this regard and warned the government that they will come to the streets with strong agitation failing to fulfil their demand.

Coming down heavily on the government, the biggest literary body of the State alleged that the government has been ignoring the matter since long in spite of repeated demands from various quarters in this regard. The organization questioned that if the Governments of Punjab and Tamil Nadu can make the use of the mother tongue as mandatory one and the violation of this rule can be regarded as an illegal one than as to why the Assam Government has failed to make it so. What prevents the government from doing such a remarkable step for the greater interest of the people living here? They questioned pointing out the implementation of State Language Act in 1960, the organization further alleged that the government has shamefully failed to implement Assamese as State language after passing more than five decades of the implementation of the said Act.