Page 7 - Assam

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

Assam Cabinet clears recruitment for 10,000 positions: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Recruitment for about 10,000 government posts was sanctioned by the Assam cabinet on Wednesday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. It also cleared reservation in top positions in the government for retired officers of the armed forces to improve work culture, he said. Briefing reporters after chairing a cabinet meeting at the Gandhi Mandap here, Sarma said the decision on the recruitment was in line with fulfilling the promise of providing one lakh government jobs in the state. "The cabinet has today approved the third Assam Forest Battalion, with an intake of 1,100 personnel and based in Lakhimpur. Another 1,700 vacant posts in the Forest Department will also be filled up," he said. Around 6,000-7,000 appointments in the Education Department, including regular and contractual, have been cleared, and the advertisements for these will be out by December 31, he said. The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) will also soon advertise for around 700 posts, he added. "We have .

Projects worth Rs 40,000 cr to be launched in Assam in next 2 months

As a part of the Assam government's initiative to launch a slew of development projects, CM inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of as many as 12 projects in Nalbari district

Assam Assembly to discuss child protection issues during budget session

Assam Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary on Monday said child protection issues will be discussed in the House during the budget session. A day will be fixed when all MLAs and UNICEF officials and other stakeholders will discuss issues being faced by children and ways to resolve those, he said while speaking at a function to distribute fellowship awards to journalists to commemorate World's Children Day here. An amount of Rs 1 lakh will be earmarked for every legislator to create awareness about child protection and drug abuse in their respective constituencies. Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) chairperson Sunita Changkakoti said child trafficking is the most inhuman problem faced by children in the state. "We take suo motu cognisance of such cases but most of the accused manage to get bail which is a matter of great concern," she said. UNICEF Northeast chief Madhulika Jonathan highlighted various problems faced by children in the region, particularly

HIV cases in Assam surge with 2,269 more testing positive since April

Since April, 2,269 people have tested positive for HIV in Assam, which is much higher than the previous two years, according to official data. A total of 5,57,747 samples were tested from April to October this year. Of that, 2,269 samples turned out to be positive for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), according to the Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS). Among these patients were 131 pregnant women, it said. In 2021-22, a total of 2,366 HIV cases were detected in the state, while it was just 1,288 in 2020-21. ASACS Assistant Director Rajib Sarma said Assam has 25,073 people living with HIV (PLHIV) as per NACO HIV Estimation Report 2021. "Out of this, 45 per cent of PLHIVs are female. Children living with HIV is 3 per cent," he added. The total number of people alive by taking Anti-Retroviral therapy (ART) is 10,765 in the state. "The HIV prevalence rate in India is 0.21 per cent and the same rate in Assam is 0.09 per cent," Sarma said. As far as the HIV prevalence in the

CM Sarma announces additional Rs 5 crore for Assam Agitation Welfare Trust

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday announced an additional Rs five crore for the Assam Agitation Welfare Trust. The trust was formed with an initial corpus of Rs five crore and with the chief minister's announcement of additional Rs five crore, the total amount at its disposal will be Rs 10 crore. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting, chaired by the chief minister, to discuss matters related to future tasks as well as measures required for strengthening the trust, an official release stated. Sarma said the amount would be utilised to provide various relief measures to family members of martyrs of Assam Agitation and those grievously injured during the agitation. The chief minister also directed the Assam Accord Implementation Department to make an online database of those who were hit by bullets or were seriously injured during their participation in Assam Agitation. The state had witnessed a six-year agitation against illegal migrants from neighbouri

FIR lodged against nine people in Assam's JB College ragging case

A case has been lodged against nine people, including eight present students, by a premier college in Assam's Jorhat district on allegations of ragging raised by a junior hostel inmate, a police officer said on Friday. The police have started an investigation though no arrests have been made thus far, he said. The principal of Jagannath Barooah (JB) College had filed a complaint at Jorhat Police Station on Thursday against the nine accused based on a written submission from the aggrieved student. Earlier, the police officer had said that a case was lodged against 12 people by the college authorities. The case comes close on the heels of two instances of alleged ragging in Dibrugarh. Giving details of the J B College incident, the police officer said, We received the complaint on Thursday evening. After going through it, we lodged an FIR today. The FIR has named eight present and one former students of the institute as among the accused for indulging in ragging. The college autho

Assam CM gives 35,800 scooters to meritorious students of higher secondary

Sarma said it was a historic milestone in the lives of those who made it to the list of eligibles for Dr. Banikanta Kakati Merit Award

Assam police instructed not to fire upon civilians: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that police should not fire upon civilians whether they are citizens of Meghalaya or Assam

Assam to give stipend to all female PG students of Rs 10,000 each

"This would be helpful in covering their commutation and other related expenses," Sarma said

Assam lifts travel restrictions to Meghalaya, 6 days after border violence

Assam on Sunday lifted travel restrictions to Meghalaya, six days after being imposed in the aftermath of violence in a disputed area along the inter-state border, police said. Vehicles from Assam are now allowed to enter Meghalaya, a senior police officer said. "Wherever necessary, vehicles are being escorted. In other vulnerable areas, police patrolling has been provided," he said. An advisory was issued by the Assam Police, asking people to avoid travelling to the neighbouring state following the incident on Tuesday. Violence had broken out at Mukroh village near the disputed border between the two states in West Karbi Anglong district in the early hours of Tuesday, after a truck allegedly laden with illegally felled timber was intercepted by forest guards from Assam Six people - five tribal villagers from Meghalaya and a forest guard from Assam - were killed due to the clashes.