Page 42 - Assam

Election Commission comes out with final report on Assam delimitation

The Election Commission on Friday published its final report on the delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam, keeping their total numbers unchanged at 126 and 14, respectively. In its final order, the poll panel has revised the nomenclature of one parliamentary and 19 assembly constituencies. According to a statement by the poll body, 19 assembly and two Lok Sabha constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs). One Lok Sabha and nine assembly constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs). It said more than 1,200 representations were considered before finalising the report. Forty-five per cent of the suggestions and objections received by the panel were addressed in the final order. All assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the state were delimited (redrawn) based on the 2001 Census. "The Census figures of 2001, as published by the census commissioner, have thus alone been considered for this purpose," it noted. One ...

Assam reserves 3.24% seats in ITIs under OBC quota for 5 communities

The Assam government has decided to reserve 3.24 per cent seats under the OBC quota in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) for Ahom, Moran, Matak, Chutia and Koch-Rajbongshi communities. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, held in New Delhi on Wednesday night. According to a cabinet communique shared by Sarma on Twitter, a total of 786 seats, representing 3.24 per cent, have been reserved under the Other Backward Classes (OBC)/ MOBC (More OBC) for students from the Ahom, Moran, Matak, Chutia and Koch-Rajbongshi communities. Tea garden and ex-tea garden communities are already availing 5 per cent reservation within the OBC/MOBC category, it added. Assam's Moran, Motok, Chutia, Tai-Ahom, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea-Tribes communities have been demanding ST status for many years. The cabinet also decided to rename the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department as Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs ...

Northeast will unite to make Narendra Modi PM for third term: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister and BJP's chief troubleshooter in the northeast Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday asserted that despite the ethnic strife in Manipur, the party will win both the Lok Sabha seats from the state in next year's general elections. He called upon party workers to get ready for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and focus on increasing organisational strength across the region so that it can win maximum number of seats. Addressing a vistarak' meet of the region here, Sarma said, "People are asking how will the BJP fare in Manipur. I want to tell them that we will win both Lok Sabha seats from the state. "Though there are clashes now, when it comes to making Modi the prime minister for a third term, the entire northeast will be united," he said. He said due to development work undertaken by the Narendra Modi government, prices of essential commodities in Manipur have not increased as much as compared to 2012, when the state had witnessed prolonged national highway blockades by .

Manipur police files FIR against Assam Rifles for 'obstructing' search ops

The FIR was filed on August 5 when police alleged that the Assam Rifles blocked police vehicles on the Kwakta Gothol road in Bishnupur

Assam to table bill to end polygamy within this fiscal year: Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that his government will try to table the bill in the Budget Session of the Assembly in 2023

Govt employees play major role in execution of pro-people policies: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that officials and other staff members of the state government have a major role to play in the fruitful implementation of pro-people policies of the government. The commitment of the officers and employees towards their duties and assigned tasks was indispensable for a welfare state, Sarma said at the Lok Kalyan Diwas programme organised to pay tribute to the state's first Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi here. A Lok Sewa Adhikar Aayog will also be established soon with the aim of expediting the speed of public services delivery, he said. ''The officials and government employees are one of the main pillars of public services and so on this day we award state government employees who have displayed exemplary dedication towards their assigned duties'', Sarma said. The awards are in two categories- Lok Sewa Awards (for non-gazetted employees) and Karmashree Awards (for gazetted employees) and this year, 75 employees were selec

Assam govt outreach drive: CM, ministers to visit over 25,000 villages

The Assam Chief Minister, ministers, senior government officers, and other staff will visit 25,501 villages across the state over a period of 15 days

Bajrang Dal camp organisers booked for imparting arms training in school

Assam Police have registered a case against Bajrang Dal activists for organising an arms training camp at a school in Darrang district. The case was registered with Mangaldai police station under Section 153A/34 IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony). ''Reference video related to training by Rashtriya Bajrang Dal at Maharishi Bidya Mandir, Mangaldai, a case has been registered vide Mangaldai PS case no 357 U/S 153A/34 IPC," Darrang Police tweeted. Assam Director General of Police G P Singh had directed the Darrang district superintendent of police to register a case and take lawful action against those allegedly involved in organising an arms training camp as seen in a video that has gone viral. ''Reference Mangaldai video-SP@ Darrang_Police has been instructed to register a case under appropriate sections of law and investigate the matter and take ..

Om Birla to inaugurate new building of Assam Legislative Assembly today

All existing and former Parliamentarians, members of the Assam Legislative Assembly, and other invitees will be present on the occasion

Rohingya infiltration 'alarming' and threat to nation's security: Assam CM

Infiltration by Rohingyas from Bangladesh through Assam's Karimganj district is 'alarming' and a threat to national security, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday. There is a network of brokers who bring the Rohingyas into Tripura, from there to Karimganj in Assam and then the rest of the country, the chief minister said while addressing a press conference at the conclusion of the two-day conference of superintendents of police in Bongaigaon. ''Five police teams from Assam are currently in Tripura and working with the state government to act against the brokers,'' he said. The situation is alarming and anyone entering the country illegally without valid papers is a threat to the security of the country, Sarma added. ''We have already informed the Centre and sought help from central agencies along with the cooperation of the Tripura government'', he added. The Rohingyas do not stay in Assam but move to other parts of the country, he added. ''We, however, adopted the

Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited, GAIL sign interconnection agreement

Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL) and GAIL India have signed an interconnection agreement to connect the North East Gas Grid (NEGG) of IGGL with the Barauni Guwahati Pipeline (BGPL) of GAIL, according to an official release on Saturday. The agreement was signed by IGGL chief executive officer Ajit Kumar Thakur and GAIL's zonal chief general manager R Choudhury here on Friday. The interconnection agreement will facilitate connection of the NEGG with the BGPL at three locations - Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Baihata and Panikhaiti in Assam, Thakur said. The interconnection agreement will pave the way for making the NEGG a part of the National Gas Grid, he said. The pipeline for interconnection will be laid by GAIL at an estimated cost of Rs 15.16 crore. The amount will be reimbursed by IGGL to GAIL. IGGL is laying the 1,656km-long NEGG at an estimated project cost of Rs 9,265 crore. The project has so far achieved a physical progress of 75 per cent with scheduled mechanical ...

SC puts Gyanvapi survey on hold, refuses to stay Assam delimitation

Several important matters were taken up for hearing by the Supreme Court today. Here's a list of them

Assam, Meghalaya meet discussed 3 areas of differences amid border issue

The regional committee meeting, held at State Guest House, Koinadhora in Guwahati, featured Assam's Agriculture Minister Atul Bora and Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong

Assam delimitation: EC gets divergent views on renaming constituencies

In its three-day-long public hearing on Assam's draft delimitation proposal, the Election Commission received more than 1,200 representations from various groups, including those who shared divergent views on matters such as renaming assembly constituencies. According to an official, representations came from a wide array of groups, each presenting their unique perspectives on multiple issues related to the delimitation process to redraw assembly and parliamentary constituencies. Political parties, ethnic organisations, social and cultural groups and individual citizens made more than 1,200 representations before the poll panel. "During the public hearings, various groups shared conflicting views on a particular matter. There were certain demands by the groups which were beyond the remit of the delimitation exercise. But EC was able to bring diverse groups with divergent views on one table for the delimitation exercise," an official said. Some representations were made to increase

Assam to ban packaged drinking water bottles of less than 1 litre

The Assam government has decided to ban packaged drinking water bottles of less than 1 litre from October 2. From October 2024, bottles of less than 2 litres will also be banned in the state, Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma said after a cabinet meeting on Friday evening. "The cabinet decided to ban the production and use of drinking water bottles made of PET of less than 1 litre in volume. The ban will come into effect from October 2 with a three-month transition period provided," he said. Polyethylene terephthalate or PET is a type of polyester that is widely used in the production of plastic bottles, films and other products. It is known for its strength, flexibility and chemical resistance. "We will also strictly implement the ban on single-use plastic in the state as per the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021," the chief minister said. At the cabinet meeting, consolidated administrative approval was given for phase I of ADB-aided 'Climate Resilient Brahmaputr

FM Nirmala Sitharaman on two-day visit to Assam, Tripura from Friday

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will embark on a two-day visit to Assam and Tripura from Friday, an official release said. She will participate in an investiture ceremony for conferring Presidential Awards for Specially Distinguished Record of Service to officers and staff of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in Guwahati. The Presidential Award of Appreciation Certificate, which was announced on this year's Republic Day, will be awarded to 29 officers and staff of CBIC. They were selected on the basis of their exemplary performance in their respective field of service over the years. The awardees selected this year include officers from all cadres of the service, who have consistently performed with distinction in their various assignments, including prevention of smuggling, detection of tax evasion, detection of trade-based money laundering and foreign exchange violations, besides contributions in tax policy formulation, revenue mobilisation, automat

63,000 remain affected by floods in Assam, one new death reported

The flood situation in Assam improved as the number of affected people came down to over 63,000 on Wednesday, an official report said. However, one fresh death due to drowning was reported, taking the toll of this year's floods to nine so far, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report. A total of 63,606 people, including 30,354 men, 24,868 women and 8,384 children are reeling under the impact of floods in 14 districts of the state. The number of affected was 88,911 in 16 districts on the previous day. Brahmaputra River was flowing above the danger mark in Dhubri, Tezpur and Nematighat, while its tributaries were showing a receding trend in other areas. Barpeta, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metro, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari and Sivasagar are the affected districts. Golaghat is the worst affected district with 27,526 people reeling under the floods, followed by 15,137 in Sivasagar, and 14,892 in ...

Full bench of EC begins 3 day public hearing on draft delimitation in Assam

The full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) reached here on Wednesday to hold a series of public hearings on draft delimitation proposals for Assembly and Parliament constituencies of Assam. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel along with senior officials of the ECI reached Guwahati this morning and started the three-day hearing at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra complex here. An official of the election department told PTI that simultaneous hearings are taking place in three different halls. Kumar, Pandey and Goel are present in one hall each to hear the public suggestions. During this public hearing, the ECI will meet and hold discussions with various stakeholders, including political parties and civil society, over the draft proposals on the delimitation exercise. On the first day, suggestions for Kamrup Metropolitan, West Karbi Anglong, Chirang, Baksa, Dima Hasao, Kamrup, Udalguri, Karbi Anglong and ..

Assam flood situation improves marginally, nearly 89,000 still affected

The flood situation in Assam improved marginally on Tuesday though nearly 89,000 people across 16 districts are still reeling under the deluge, an official bulletin said. The death toll in the flood this year so far has been eight, with no fatality reported in the last 24 hours, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin said. At least four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, are flowing above the danger level at multiple locations. Altogether 88,911 people in 16 districts, including Barpeta, Charaideo, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Lakhimpur and Sivsagar, are still reeling under the deluge. Biswanath sub-division (independent) also remained affected. Till Monday, the number of people suffering from the flood in 17 districts was 1,11,258. Golaghat remained the worst-hit district with 32,815 people affected, followed by Dhemaji with 23,798 and Sivsagar with 17,733, the bulletin said. As many as 2,333 flood-hit people are staying at 22 re

SC stays Gauhati High Court order of putting on hold WFI elections

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an order of the Gauhati High Court which had put on hold the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections. A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and S V Bhatti issued notices to Union Sports Ministry, Wrestling Federation of India, Assam Wrestling Association and others on a plea challenging the June 25 order of the high court. The counsel appearing for petitioner, Andhra Pradesh Amateur Wrestling Association, told the bench that a third party appeared before the high court on Sunday and got the matter stayed. He said the elections in the Wrestling Federation are getting delayed. The bench then proceeded to issue notice and stayed the high court order. The high court had on Monday fixed July 28 as the next date for hearing the petition, filed by the Assam Wrestling Association. The WFI elections were to be conducted on July 11 but the Gauhati High Court had stayed the polls, following Assam Wrestling Association's (AWA) plea seeking right to ...