Page 56 - Assam

Assam Police seizes 2000 kg Burmese betel nuts smuggled from Mizoram

Assam Police foiled a smuggling attempt and seized 2000 kg of Burmese Supari (betel nuts) concealed inside of the oil tanker in Cachar district, which was illegally transported from Mizoram, said

Assam Rifles recovers drugs worth Rs 6.66 crore in Mizoram, four held

In a joint operation carried out with the Excise and Narcotics department, Aizwal, Assam Rifles apprehended four persons and recovered 20000 Methamphetamine tablets worth Rs. 6,66,60,000 in Aizawl District's Tuikhurhlu area.As per the officual press release from the Assam Rifles, two vehicles (Hyundai Grand i10 MZ 05A8395 and Maruti Ciaz MZ O1T 5265) were also seized.The operation, led by inspector General Asam Rifles comprised of the Aizawl Battalion of 23 Sector Assam Rifles, was conducted based on specific information on December 29."Approximate cost of the recovered Methamphetamine tablets is Rs 6,66,60,000-(six crores sixty-six lakh sixty thousand only). The seized consignment, vehicle and apprehended individuals were handed over to Excise & Narcotics Department, Aizawl on December 29 for further legal proceedings," stated the release by the Assam Rifles.As per the statement, the ongoing smuggling of illegal drugs is a significant cause of concern for the state of ...

ED attaches Rs 4.09 cr worth of assets of former APSC board member

ED has attached assets worth Rs 4.90 crore of a former board member of Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) in connection to a money laundering case, officials said on Thursday

Massive hailstorm damages nearly 4,500 houses in 4 districts of Assam

A massive hailstorm swept through several areas of upper Assam, damaging nearly 4,500 houses in four districts, officials said on Tuesday. According to an Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report, a total of 4,483 houses were damaged across 132 villages in Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar and Tinsukia districts. Almost 18,000 people have been affected, and the families hit by the hailstorm were supplied with tarpaulin sheets, it said. The severe hailstorm lashed the upper Assam areas late on Monday and early Tuesday, an official of the Dibrugarh district administration told PTI. The ASDMA report said 4,481 houses were partially damaged, while two structures were completely destroyed. A total of 3,009 houses were damaged in Charaideo, followed by Dibrugarh (1,232), Sivasagar (220) and Tinsukia (22), it said. Several schools have also suffered damages along with crops in large areas of agricultural land in the hailstorm, a rare phenomenon in this part of the state du

EC begins delimitation of assembly, parliamentary constituencies in Assam

The Election Commission on Tuesday said it has initiated delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam, and will be using the 2001 census figures for the readjustment of seats. The Commission said a ban has been put in place effective January 1, 2023 on creation of new administrative units in the state till the exercise is complete. Under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 1972, the last delimitation of constituencies in Assam was effected on the basis of 1971 census figures by the then Delimitation Commission in 1976, the poll panel noted. The move to redrawing the assembly and parliamentary seats of Assam as per Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 has been initiated following a request from the Union Law Ministry. Delimitation is the process of fixing limits or boundaries of the territorial constituencies in a country or a state with a legislative body. "The Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election ...

Grenades, ammunition recovered from Assam tea garden, says police

A cache of grenades and ammunition were recovered from a tea garden in Assam's Dibrugarh district, a senior police official said on Monday. Two Chinese grenades, two magazines of AK-series rifles, 12 bullets and a pistol silencer were recovered from South Jalan tea estate. The items were spotted by garden workers on Sunday night, Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police Shwetank Mishra. We are trying to ascertain to which militant outfit those explosives and ammunition belong. We have interrogated some people but no arrests have been made so far, Mishra added.

Risk of data tampering in Assam's NRC updation process, says CAG report

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has flagged the risk of data tampering in the NRC for Assam, due to improper software development related to data capture and correction during the updation process of the citizenship document. A highly secure and reliable software was required to be developed for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) updation exercise, but during the audit, lack of proper planning in this regard came to the fore. The updated final NRC, which validates bonafide Indian citizens of Assam, was released on August 31, 2019, with total 3,11,21,004 names included out of 3,30,27,661 applicants, though it is yet to be notified. The CAG submitted a report for the year ended in 2020, on the last day of the winter session of the Assam Assembly on Saturday, which pointed out that 215 software utilities were added in a haphazard manner to the core software. It was done without following the due process of either software development or selection of vendor through ..

Assam CM Himanta launches projects worth over Rs 973 cr in Dibrugarh

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday laid the foundation stones and inaugurated projects worth Rs 973.38 crore for Dibrugarh district. The CM, attending the last programme of the first phase of 'Bikakhor Babe Eta Pokhek' (a fortnight for development initiatives) at Tingkhong in the district, urged people to take part in an economic revolution to give a fillip to the state's overall development. Assam had "witnessed many agitations, 'dharnas' and 'hartals' over the years but it is the time to concentrate on rejuvenating the intellectual, cultural and developmental landscape" of the state, he said. Outlining plans for the development of Dibrugarh, the CM announced that strengthening and improvement of the river bank of Buridihing at an estimated cost of Rs 250 crore will be taken up. The government plans to set up a zoo at Tingkhong in the district and the Ahom ritual of offering obeisance to Me-Dam-Me-Phi will be celebrated at historic Tipam, Sarma said. As part of

Assam, Arunachal Pradesh hold border talks; likely to resolve disputes

The third round of regional committee-level border talks between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam succeeded in resolving certain issues along the interstate boundary, ministers of the two states said. Addressing a press meet on Wednesday, Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora and Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein said a "threadbare discussion was held in a cordial atmosphere" to find a solution to disputes involving three districts along the boundary. Mein said the committee members had visited the disputed areas in Namsai and Lohit districts of Arunachal Pradesh and Tinsukia in Assam, and interacted with various stakeholders before attending the meetings. "We have come to the conclusion that there are no longer any issues in these areas," he said. Bora said the committee will submit the report of the meeting to the chief ministers of both the states, and they in turn will hand it over to the Centre. "People of both the states want to live in peace. It is usually some

Expecting big investments, Assam grants industry status to tourism sector

Assam granted industry status to tourism anticipating big investments and further boost to the sector

Assam cabinet approves township on land of Hindustan Paper Corp in Morigaon

The Assam cabinet on Monday approved a proposal for developing a township on 550 acres land of defunct Hindustan Paper Corp in Morigaon district near Guwahati which the state government had acquired in March, minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said. Briefing the press following the cabinet meeting, he said it also gave its nod to a proposal for according industry status to the tourism sector, paving the way for businesses to avail incentives provided under the state industrial policy. Baruah said the land in Jagiroad will be developed as a satellite township of Guwahati. "The township will be set up on 550 acres of land following discussions with the local people but the preliminary decision for a satellite town was taken at today's meeting," he said. The Assam government on March 28 announced the acquisition of Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Hindustan Paper Corp's (HPC) two defunct paper mills in the state for Rs 375 crore. The Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) successf

Congress MP Khaleque says Messi was born in Assam, gets trolled on Twitter

Congress Lok Sabha MP Abdul Khaleque was brutally trolled on social media after claiming in a tweet that Argentine football legend Lionel Messi was born in 'Assam'

'Sudden' lockout declared in Assam tea garden; 500 workers in agitation

About 500 labourers of a tea garden in Assam's Hailakandi district have launched an agitation after the authorities allegedly declared a sudden suspension of operation. The workers of Gaglacherra tea garden, located about 20 kilometres from Hailakandi town, have been protesting against the garden authorities' decision since Thursday following the lockout declared on the previous day. Local administration officials as well as a tea association have initiated steps to sort out the matter between the two sides. A team of officials, comprising magistrate Jhintu Bora and labour officer PK Malakar, visited the garden on Friday and assured the labourers of taking up the matter with the district deputy commissioner. The garden authorities could not be contacted. President of the local panchayat Radheshyam Kurmi alleged that the tea estate authorities secretly put up the lockout notice on Wednesday night and left the premise. Thursday was the payment day and the authorities fleeing in thi

Assam speciality tea auctioned for Rs 1.15 lakh per kg at private auction

A specialty tea from Assam's Dibrugarh district was sold for Rs 1.15 lakh per kg at a private auction on Friday, the proprietor of the tea estate said. 'Manohari Gold Tea' fetched the price at an auction on private portal Tea Inntech, Rajan Lohia of Manohari Tea Estate said. "Due to the cap of Rs 1 lakh per kg set by the Tea Board India at Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC), we had to sell this batch through private auction this year," Lohia said. This is the highest price fetched for tea at such auctions anywhere, he claimed. One kilogramme of the specialty tea was bought by RK Tea Sales, he said. Tea from the Manohari brand, especially its gold variety, had been fetching high prices at the GTAC over the years, setting new records in the process. Manohari Gold had sold for Rs 99,999 per kg through GTAC in December 2021, which was matched by 'Golden Pearl' of AFT Techno Trade that also went under the hammer at the same auction house in February this year. This high price was sur

Assam CM unveils, lays foundation stones of multiple projects in Lakhimpur

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday inaugurated and laid foundation stones of various projects worth over Rs 1,031 crore in Lakhimpur district. He also launched a special immunisation drive for children and pregnant women during his visit to the northern district. "As part of our 'A Fortnight for Development' initiative, inaugurated 13 and laid foundation stones for 13 projects worth ?1,031.68 cr in Lakhimpur district," Sarma wrote on Twitter. Several road projects and an RCC (reinforced cement concrete) bridge over Kakai river were inaugurated by the CM in various parts of the district during the day. Sarma laid foundation stones for an embankment on the right bank of Dikrang river and a bridge over Subansiri river, besides a slum project, an inter-state bus terminus and other infrastructure initiatives. "During my visit to Lakhimpur district, launched Special Immunisation Drive 2.0 at Ghunasuti. Under this, every child will be vaccinated, while pregnant women will

Assam's Gamosa, Telangana's Tandur Redgram, Ladakh's apricot get GI tag

The government has granted Geographical Indications (GI) tag to various products, including Gamosa of Assam, Tandur Redgram of Telangana, and an apricot variety of Ladakh. The commerce and Industry ministry said on Wednesday that the total number of GI has reached to 432. "Famous Gamosa of Assam, Tandur Redgram of Telangana, RaktseyKarpo Apricot of Ladakh, Alibag White Onion of Maharashtra have got their GI tags," it said. The top five states holding maximum number of GIs are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala, it added. Recently, the government has supported the promotion of GIs by approving an expenditure of Rs 75 crore for three years for promotion at awareness programmes. A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicraft and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its

Assam govt launches 'Orunodoi 2.0', scheme to benefit over 1 mn people

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the second version of 'Orunodoi', the flagship scheme of the state government aimed at providing financial security to disadvantaged families

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma rolls out projects worth Rs 894 cr in Majuli

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday rolled out a slew of projects worth Rs 894 crore in Majuli, the world's largest river island, an official release said. Sarma laid the foundation stone for improvement and upgradation of a road from Balichapori in Majuli to Bongalmara in Lakhimpur, including construction of two bridges over Luit and Subansiri rivers, it said. "The project is being implemented under Government of Assam's flagship programme Asom Mala' at a cost of Rs 694 crore. The chief minister also handed over cheques to families affected by land acquisition for construction of the road to connect Balichapari to the bridge," the release said. Sarma also laid the foundation stone for the main campus of Majuli Cultural University at a cost of Rs 51 crore, upgradation of Government Industrial Training Institute at Bangaon and a central mid-day meal kitchen. Besides, to address the perennial flood problem of Majuli district, he laid the foundation stone for constructi

Men can't marry 3-4 women, will have to change such system: Assam CM Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that there is a need to change the system of men marrying three-four women to give justice to Muslim women

Assam CM Himanta announces projects worth Rs 856 cr for Morigaon district

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced that the government will implement various projects, including setting up a medical college, entailing a total investment of Rs 856 crore in Morigaon district. At an official function here, Sarma laid the foundation stone of the 430-bedded Morigaon Medical College and Hospital to be constructed at an expenditure of Rs 650 crore. "The medical college will also have 100 MBBS seats for students. I assure you that the college will be ready around the 2026 Assembly elections," he said. In 2021, the assembly polls were held in March-April in the northeastern state. The medical college complex will also have one cancer hospital, a nursing college, a nursing school and one dental college, Sarma said, adding "We want to build Morigaon as a hub of medical education". The chief minister also announced three flood control schemes, involving the repair of embankment breaches and other measures, in the district at a total cost of Rs