Page 11 - Himanta Biswa Sarma

Special drive against child marriage to be held every 6 months: CM Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his government would continue its crackdown on child marriages and a special drive against the social evil would be conducted every six months. He said the director general of police (DGP) has been instructed to conduct a preliminary survey for the next round of crackdown on child marriages towards the year-end. Sarma's comments come after an NGO report on Wednesday maintained that the state government's action against child marriage has led to a decline in the number of such cases. "Our campaign and tough action against child marriage will continue. Every six months a special drive will be conducted, and the DGP has been instructed to conduct a preliminary survey for the next crackdown on child marriages in November-December this year," the CM said in a video message on Wednesday evening. Initially, some people were "not happy with the crackdown against child marriages, but now people are preventing the social evil, even in minority ..

Congress to contest all five seats in bypolls, says Assam state chief Borah

Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah on Tuesday said the party will contest all the five Assembly seats where bypolls will be held. He also reiterated the party's opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, even as the state government asked its border police wing to advise non-Muslim illegal immigrants entering the state prior to 2015 to apply for citizenship under the new law. These decisions were part of discussions during a meeting chaired by AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh with district-level party leaders here on Monday, marking the first day of his three-day visit, Borah said. Singh plans to hold further meetings with MPs, MLAs, and other leaders to strengthen the party's organisational structure and strategise for the future. In a post on X, Borah said, "@INCAssam would contest all the 5 seats where byelections would be held. We would constitute 5 teams of senior leaders who would reach out to the grassroots. The Election Commission is yet to announce the ..

Only eight applied for citizenship under CAA in Assam: CM Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said only eight people have applied for citizenship under the CAA from the state so far. Speaking at a press conference here, Sarma noted that out of these applicants, only two have proceeded to attend interviews with relevant authorities. The Centre on March 11 implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 CAA by notifying the rules, four years after the law was passed by Parliament to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who came to India before December 31, 2014, and stayed here for five years. "We conducted outreach programmes in the Barak valley and approached many-Hindu Bengali families and asked them to apply for citizenship under CAA. However, they refused to do so saying that they would prefer fighting their cases at the Foreigners Tribunal (FT)," Sarma said. Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies exclusive to Assam to decide the nationality issu

Assam floods: Situation remains grim; water receding in many parts

The flood situation in Assam remained grim on Saturday even though the water levels have started receding in many parts of the state, officials said. The India Meteorological Department's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati has said that moderate rainfall is very likely to occur at most places of Assam with isolated heavy to very heavy rain likely over Kokrajhar district. "Low to moderate flash flood risk is likely over few watersheds and neighbourhoods of Arunachal Pradesh and southern parts of Assam and Meghalaya," it added. Meanwhile, a report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on Friday night said that seven more people lost their lives and over 12.33 lakh people are reeling under the deluge across 23 districts. The total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood, landslide, storm and lightning has increased to 106. Dhubri is the worst hit with over 3.18 lakh people affected, followed by Cachar with almost 1.5 lakh people and .

Assam govt employees get special leave to spend time with parents, in-laws

The Assam government has declared two days of special casual leave in November for its employees to spend time with their parents or parents-in-law, the chief minister's office (CMO) said on Thursday. The special leaves cannot be used for personal enjoyment and those without parents or parents-in-laws will not be eligible for the leaves, it added. "The Assam government, under the leadership of CM Dr @himantabiswa, has declared special casual leave for state government employees on November 6 and 8, 2024, to spend time with their parents or parents-in-law," the CMO said in a post on X. It said the leave must be used "solely for spending time with aging parents or parents-in-law to honour, respect, and care for them, and not for personal enjoyment". The leaves can be availed along with holiday for Chhat Puja on November 7, second Saturday holiday on November 9 and Sunday on November 10, the CMO said. It said that employees in essential services can avail it in a phased manner, and t

Assam floods: Amit Shah speaks to CM Himanta, assures full support

Shah also assured affected people in Assam that the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force working on a war footing

Assam flood crisis: Death toll touches 56, 16 lakh affected in 29 districts

Incessant rainfall and flash floods in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have caused water levels in the Brahmaputra and its tributaries to rise, leading to severe flooding in Assam

Assam flood situation remains critical, over 1,150,000 people affected

Assam continues to grapple with a severe flood crisis, affecting 11.50 lakh people across 23 districts, as the water level of major rivers, including the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, flowing above the danger mark, an official report said. The death toll in this year's floods, landslides and storms has increased to 48. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Golaghat district following breach of embankments, inspected flood-hit areas, interacted with the suffering population and held meetings with officials to provide relief and rehabilitation to people reeling under the deluge. Sarma is scheduled to hold a cabinet meeting on Wednesday to review the flood situation prevailing in the various districts. The current second wave of floods have affected Barpeta, Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Karbi Anglong, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Tamulpur,

Over 26% Kaziranga forest camps submerged; Assam CM assures flood rescue

With worsening flood condition in Assam, rising water levels have impacted more than 26 per cent of the 233 forest camps at Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, an official report said on Monday. As a significant portion of wildlife habitat is now submerged, scores of animals have started crossing the National Highway-715 in search of higher ground towards the southern direction in East Karbi Anglong district. However, no death of animals has been reported as of now due to the floods or accidents while crossing the highway. Floodwaters have submerged a total of 61 forest camps across Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, according to a flood report. It said 22 camps in Agoratoli range, 10 in Kaziranga, eight in Bagori, five in Burhapahar range and six in Bokakhat are submerged. Besides, 10 forest camps in Biswanath Wildlife Division of the national park have been inundated, the report added. Meanwhile, the Golaghat district administration on Sunday evening issued ...

PM Modi speaks to Assam CM as flood situation deteriorates, promises help

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday enquired about the prevailing flood situation in Assam and assured of all support to handle the crisis, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The flood situation across the state continued to deteriorate with incessant rains inundating many districts, affecting lakhs of people. "Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji called me a short while ago to enquire about the flood situation in Assam. I explained him that Assam is experiencing a second wave of floods this year due to heavy rains in Arunachal Pradesh and part of our upper Assam districts," Sarma said in a post on X. He also briefed Modi about the relief measures undertaken by the state government. Sarma said, "He assured me of full cooperation from the Government of India in this hour of crisis." The flood situation worsened in Assam on Sunday with two more persons losing their lives and over 2.62 lakh people reeling under the deluge across eight districts. Meanwhile, Union Min

Assam CM Himanta welcomes new criminal laws, seeks cooperation for rollout

Welcoming the implementation of the new criminal laws in the country, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said the state has made "extensive preparations" for this day and appealed to all concerned to cooperate in this endeavour. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) have replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian Evidence Act respectively, Sarma said in a post on X. "Today marks a watershed moment in Bharat's criminal justice system... With this, our republic has entered into a new system pivoted around modern technology and citizen-centric services," he added. The Chief Minister asserted that the new laws place utmost primacy on the safety of women, children, and the underprivileged. "Over the last many months, Team Assam has made extensive preparations towards the effective implementation of the new laws," he added. Sarma appealed to all ...

Development of Jharkhand, welfare of tribal people BJP's priority: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who arrived here on Saturday to participate in a meeting of BJP leaders, said that the development of Jharkhand and the welfare of tribal people is the priority of the saffron camp. Sarma, who is BJP's election co-in-charge, would meet party leaders to discuss its strategies for the upcoming assembly polls in the state. "The party's priority is development of Jharkhand and the welfare of the scheduled tribe community here. There has been no government in the state for past five years. Atrocities on women and tribal people increased manifolds in the state in the past five years," he said. When BJP's manifesto comes out, one can see how much work the party has planned for tribal people in the next five years, Sarma said. Asked about the bail granted to former Jharkhand CM and JMM leader Hemant Soren, he said the "BJP does not keep accounts of who is going to jail and coming out on bail". Responding to a query about whether Soren's presence w

CM Himanta reviews fee-waiver education scheme for higher education

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday reviewed the working of Pragyan Bharti', a fee-waiver scheme for free admission in academic institutes under the state's Higher Education Department. According to the scheme, all students whose parental incomes are less than Rs 2 lakh per annum are eligible for free admission for pursuing higher education courses in the state. A total of 57,469 applicants have been found to be eligible for fee waiver in the 2024-25 academic session, an official release said. The number will go up as the second merit list for admissions to undergraduate courses will be published soon, it said. Sarma directed the education department officials to launch a widespread awareness campaign about Pragyan Bharti scheme so that maximum number of eligible students can apply for fee waiver under it. The chief minister also took note of the fact that owing to unavailability of income certificates, a certain number of applicants were finding it difficult to get

Flood situation continues to be grim in Assam, over 117,000 people affected

The flood situation in Assam continued to remain grim on Sunday with over 1.17 lakh people still reeling under the deluge across 10 districts of the state, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The flood waters have inundated 968 villages in 27 revenue circles in these districts, he said in a post on X. The authorities are presently running 134 relief camps and 94 relief distribution centres, where a total of 17,661 people are taking shelter currently, he added. Sarma also said that the Kushiyara river is at present flowing above the danger mark at Karimganj in the Barak Valley. On Saturday, the flood situation had improved marginally as the number of affected people decreased, though two more deaths were reported, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). Cropland of 3,995.33 hectares was still under flood waters, while 2,20,546 animals, including 47,795 poultry, remained affected, it added. Damage to various infrastructures like houses, cattle sheds

Manipur CM to discuss security issues along Jiribam-Cachar with Himanta

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh is in Guwahati to discuss security issues along the Jiribam-Cachar inter-state boundary with his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, an official said on Sunday. Following incidents of ethnic violence in Manipur's Jiribam in the first week of June, many people from the state have taken refuge in adjoining Cachar district in southern Assam. To discuss the security situation along the inter-state boundary, Singh, along with senior minister L Susindro Singh, left for Guwahati on Saturday evening, the official said. The two CMs are also likely to discuss coordination among police forces to effectively deal with militants active along the inter-state boundary, he said. Singh is likely to return to Manipur on Sunday, another official said. Sarma had on Saturday asked officials concerned to ensure there is no spillover of Manipur's ethnic violence into Assam and that all humanitarian aid is provided to the people seeking refuge from the neighbouring

Assam: Kamakhya temple's doors closed as annual Ambubachi Mela starts

The annual Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya temple, atop Nilachal hills in Assam's Guwahati, commenced on Saturday with worship stopped for the next four days, coinciding with the ritualistic annual menstrual cycle of the goddess. Lakhs of devotees attend the mela and wait for the resumption of worship and pay obeisance to the goddess. Temple authorities said the doors were closed at 8.43 am with the start of 'prabritti' and worship will resume at 9.07 pm on June 25 after 'nribritti'. On June 26, the temple door will open for darshan after a ritualistic bath and daily puja, they said. Worship is stopped and doors are closed in the temple for four days annually, when the goddess is believed to undergo her menstrual cycle. Devotees from different parts of the country and abroad converge at the annual mela, which is held in the temple premises during the period. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a post on X in Hindi, welcomed the devotees to the mela. "On the occasion of Ambubachi M

In Assam, all public servants to pay their own power bills starting July

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the chief secretary will start paying their power bills from July 1

Assam secretariat becomes India's 1st eco-friendly state govt headquarters

The Assam Secretariat on Sunday became the country's first green state government headquarters with the inauguration of a 2.5 MW solar power project on its campus, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Installed at a cost of Rs 12.5 crore, the grid-connected rooftop solar power plant will save Rs 30 lakh in electricity bills every month, he said while addressing the official programme here. "Today, we took a giant leap forward in our goal to become a Net-Zero Govt, as I inaugurated a 2.5 MW Solar Project in Janata Bhawan, making #AssamGreenSecretariat, India's first Green Secretariat," Sarma said in a post on X after the function. From now onwards, the secretariat complex will run entirely on solar power, resulting in savings of Rs 30 lakh every month on electricity bills, he added. The Chief Minister also said the government has decided that all official complexes will be fitted with solar panels, beginning with the medical colleges and universities across the state. The power

Assam CM reviews flood preparedness at Kaziranga, security deployed

Chief Minister Sarma also said that around 20 marine engine boats will be pressed into service in Kaziranga to help the forest department intensify its vigil in and around the park

Commando battalions to be deployed in Kaziranga to save animals: CM Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said three commando battalions will be deployed in Kaziranga National Park to ensure that no animal is killed during the flood season. The battalions will ensure that no animal is killed in accidents while crossing the national highway and poachers do not take advantage of the flood situation to kill wild animals, Sarma said at a meeting of civil, police and park officials at Kaziranga. Around 600 personnel of a new forest battalion will also be pressed into service in Kaziranga National Park during the flood season, he said. The chief minister directed the officials to take all necessary steps and ramp up the response system for the protection of animals. Sarma also took stock of the loss of land in the Kaziranga National Park primarily due to swift flow of river water. A joint task force will be formed comprising experts from Forest department, Water Resources department and the Kaziranga National Park to study the phenomena a