Page 47 - Assam

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 ...

SC junks petition seeking action against comedian for show 'Bas Kar Bassi'

From trying to find a middle ground in DERC appointments to hearing plea against police encounters in Assam, here's a list of important developments in the apex court today

Water in Brahmaputra continue to rise, Assam Flood situation remains grim

Earlier, Chirang and Bongaigaon districts in Assam were flooded after an increase in the water level of the Brahmaputra river due to incessant rainfall across the state

Assam CM blames Miyas' for soaring vegetable prices; opposition slams

Spiralling vegetable prices in Assam's largest city Guwahati has triggered a war of words between political opponents, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's blaming Miyas' for the escalating rates drawing sharp reactions from opposition parties. While AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal said Miyas' have been hurt' by the CM's comment, Congress and other opposition parties sniffed a collusion between the BJP and the AIUDF in communal politics' ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections. Sarma, while responding to reporters' questions on high price of veggies in Guwahati, had said, "Vegetables are not priced so high in villages. Here the Miya vendors charge us more. Had it been Assamese vendors selling vegetables, they wouldn't have fleeced their own people." "I will clear all the footpaths of Guwahati and I urge our Assamese people to come forward and start their businesses," he added. Bengali-speaking Muslims are generally referred to as Miyas' in the state, with the community largely ..

Assam flood situation worsens, number of affected rise to over 100,000

The flood situation in Assam worsened on Saturday with the number of affected people rising to over one lakh, from over 67,000 the previous day, in 17 districts of the state as major rivers including the Brahmaputra were in spate, an official bulletin said. However, the toll in the current wave of the floods remained unchanged at seven as no fresh death was reported, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin. A total of 1,07,829 people remained affected in Baksa, Bishwanath, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Tamulpur and Tinsukia districts, it said. The number of affected people was 67,689 in the same districts on Friday. Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level in Dhubri, Tezpur and Nematighat, while Buridihing and Sankosh were in spate in Golakganj. An alert was issued in the western districts bordering Bhutan as excess water was released from the ..

No reshuffle in cabinet, major changes after Lok Sabha polls: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday ruled out any reshuffle in his ministry, but said "big changes" will take place after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and before the 2026 state Assembly election. Sarma also said he has met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and apprised him of the flood situation in the northeastern state. "There will be no reshuffle (in the Assam cabinet) till the Lok Sabha polls. However, there will definitely be big changes after the Lok Sabha polls and before the (2026) Assembly election," he said here. Sarma also ruled out the possibility of any change in the leadership of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Assam unit. "The state unit president of the BJP normally completes his tenure. A president has a fixed tenure. No change takes place halfway," he said. Asked about the ongoing delimitation exercise of the Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam, Sarma said there is no opposition to it, adding that certain issues have cropped up relat

Assam CM creating divide between Muslims, Asamese people: Badruddin Ajmal

The AIUDF chief alleged further that Sarma's statement creates a chasm between the Muslims and the other Asamese people, including the youth

1.2mn houses constructed in Assam under PMAY-G in last 7 years: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday claimed that 12 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Grameen) have been constructed in the state in the last seven years. He claimed that of the 12 lakh houses constructed during the BJP rule in the state, 8.39 lakh have been built in the last two years during his tenure as the chief minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set the target of constructing 19.10 lakh houses till 2024, and of those, 12.43 lakh have been constructed, Sarma said at a function of the 'Griha Pravesh' programme for three lakh beneficiaries. "The state government has been taking all measures to give shape to the prime minister's vision of ensuring housing for all by 2024 and is implementing the provisions of PMAY (Grameen) in letter and spirit," he said. In the last three months, 3.06 lakh houses under PMAY-G have been completed, he said. The beneficiaries are being provided with an amount of Rs 1.30 lakh each in three installments in dire

State planning to ban polygamy immediately, to bring bill soon: Assam CM

The bill is likely to be tabled in the Assam Assembly in the monsoon session, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday

'Sikkim tops northeast, UP among bigger states in grievance redressal'

Sikkim has topped the northeastern states in addressing public complaints, followed by Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the Centre said on Tuesday. The ranking was made in the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) monthly report, released by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) under the Personnel Ministry, for states for June 2023. "Government of Sikkim tops the ranking among the northeastern states with a score of 66.70 per cent, followed by the government of Assam with a score of 57.45 per cent and government of Arunachal Pradesh with a score of 52.30 per cent. "Sikkim has disposed of 173 grievances with an average closing time of 43 days from January to June 2023," it said. Lakshadweep has topped the ranking among the Union Territories with a score of 70.41 per cent, followed by the Andaman & Nicobar Islands with a score of 64.55 per cent, and Ladakh with a score of 55.25 per cent, said the statement issued by the ...

133 Bengal people in Assam due poll violence: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said over 100 people from West Bengal have taken shelter in the state, fearing for their lives because of the panchayat election violence back home. Stating that the people have been provided shelter in a relief camp, the chief minister assured them of any humanitarian aid during times of crisis. While West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari thanked Sarma for providing relief to the tormented opposition party karyakartas of WB, cabinet minister of the neighbouring state Shashi Panja hinted that the Assam CM was raising a false alarm and creating a sense of panic. Yesterday, 133 individuals who feared for their lives due to violence in the panchayat election in West Bengal sought refuge in Dhubri district of Assam. We have provided them with shelter in a relief camp, as well as food and medical assistance, Sarma wrote on Twitter. Expressing gratitude to Sarma, Adhikari, who is the leader of opposition of West Bengal, wrote: I would

Assam govt releases Rs 96.21 cr grant, holds back grants to 11,480 schools

The Assam government, in April, launched its own Siksha Setu Asom Portal App to collect information about schools, teachers, students and other information

Assam to weed out 'ghost schools and teachers': Education minister

After "ghost students", Assam is planning to weed out "ghost schools and teachers", state Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said on Sunday. Special grants to schools which failed to provide complete information about staff have been put on hold, with salaries of such employees to be stopped in next two months, he said. Addressing a press conference here, Pegu said, "We had already detected ghost students. Now, there could be ghost schools and teachers." Ghost students, schools and teachers are those which exist only on paper. It is done to obtain government funds for various purposes. Around 4.50 lakh ghost students in government and private schools were detected in the state in June during reconciliation of enrolment figures with that of the previous year. Pegu said over 11,000 lower and upper primary government schools have failed to provide complete data of their staff, comprising both teaching and non-teaching, as sought by the department. "The information was to be uploaded on