Page 9 - Assam

Assam reports 70 new dengue cases, tally 796; Karbi Anglong worst-hit

Seventy new dengue cases were detected in Assam, taking the tally to 796, according to data issued on Saturday. Karbi Anglong continued to be the worst- hit as the district reported 55 new cases, said the National Health Mission, Assam. Eight new cases were reported in Kamrup Metropolitan, while Bongaigaon and Jorhat accounted for two each. Cachar, Dima Hasao and Tinsukia reported one case each. The state has been witnessing a surge in dengue cases since November 1.

Third round of Mizoram-Assam border talks to be held in Guwahati on Nov 17

Mizoram and Assam will on November 17 hold the third round of talks to resolve the long-standing interstate border dispute, a senior home department official said on Friday. The talks were originally scheduled to be held on November 4, but were postponed owing to the visit of President Droupadi Murmu to Mizoram. Mizoram additional home secretary Lalhriatpuia told PTI that the border talks would be held in Guwahati on November 17, as proposed by the Assam government. A five-member Mizoram delegation, led by ministers Lalchamliana and Lalruatkim, will be visiting the neighbouring state for the talks, he said. Another home department official said that the Mizoram delegation will leave for Guwahati on November 16, and preparatory meetings will be held among officials on that day. The actual border talks would take place on the next day, he said. Mizoram and Assam share a 164.6-km-long border. Skirmishes and clashes between border residents of the two states were reported on severa

India to launch the world's longest river cruise from Varanasi to Dibrugarh

The cruise will start its journey on January 10 and reach Dibrugarh in Assam on March 1, after staying in Bangladesh for 15 days

Nitin Gadkari calls on Assam Governor, discusses infrastructure projects

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday met Assam Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi at Raj Bhavan in Guwahati and discussed the infrastructure projects being undertaken

Second round of Assam-Meghalaya border talks likely by November-end: Sangma

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said the second round of discussions with Assam for resolving the border dispute is likely to start by the end of this month. Assam and Meghalaya identified 12 disputed areas at the inter-state border. In the first round, the two Northeastern states resolved differences in six areas and signed an agreement in March. "Within November we should be able to have the official talks (for the six remaining areas)," Sangma told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The background work has already started for the remaining six areas, and different committees formed on the issue are coordinating, he said. "We should be able to have the first round of meeting with all the regional committees, and hopefully we will be able to initiate the talks of the second phase this month," he said. Noting that he recently spoke to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the issue, Sangma said the two states will be able to hold the talks once the Nort

Assam govt to raise minimum support price for rice: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Government has built a 5,000 metric-tonne-capacity cold-storage facility at Chaygaon and a fruit-processing centre at the food-processing park at Satabari under Kamrup district

Assam to abolish 8,000 vacant school teacher posts; opposition fumes

The Assam government on Tuesday said it will abolish 8,000 vacant posts of permanent school teachers as a larger number of contractual faculty members are already working through the Sarba Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). Opposition parties and student organisations slammed the government claiming that the step is against the interests of vernacular medium schools. Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said that the state government in 2020 had offered a regular pay scale and other benefits such as service tenure up to 60 years of age to 11,206 contractual teachers working under the SSA in Lower Primary and Upper Primary schools. "In order to maintain rationality against this near-regularisation, the Govt. decided to keep 8000 sanctioned posts of regular teachers vacant to avoid duplicity and financial neutrality," he said in a Facebook post. The education minister said that as these vacant posts have been kept frozen and shall be vacant for a long period till the retirement of the contractual teache

Schools, colleges in Assam's Diphu to remain closed due to dengue outbreak

KAAC on Sunday announced that all schools and colleges falling within the Diphu Municipal Board and the Greater Diphu Town area in Karbi Anglong district of Assam will remain closed

Schools, colleges in Assam's Diphu shut for a week due to dengue outbreak

All schools and colleges in Diphu in Assam's Karbi Anglong district were asked to remain shut next week due to dengue outbreak in the city, an order said on Sunday. In the last five days, 270 cases of dengue were detected in the Karbi Anglong district, it said. Preventive measures have been initiated against the "impending epidemic", the order said, announcing the closure of all educational institutions in Diphu Municipal Board and Greater Diphu Town areas from Monday to Saturday. A National Health Mission (NHM) statement said that of the 285 dengue cases detected in the state between November 1 and 5, 271 were from the Karbi Anglong district. Kamrup Metropolitan reported eight cases, Nalbari two and one each were detected in Charaideo, Kamrup (Rural), Nagaon and Hojai districts. NHM-Assam Mission Director MS Lakshmi Priya visited the affected areas in Karbi Anglong on Sunday to take stock of the situation and provide the necessary support to the district team to control the ...

Assam, Meghalaya to work jointly to transform Umiam lake: CM Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that Assam and Meghalaya will work with the Indian Army to transform the Umiam lake into a world-class venue for aquatic sports

Assam to have 24 medical colleges in next five years, says CM Sarma

He said the state government is working with a vision to set up one medical college in each district in Assam

Bandhan Bank opens currency chest in Guwahati, terms it 'important market'

Bandhan Bank opened its currency chest in Guwahati which will cater to the northeastern region including Assam, an "important market" for the private lender. This is the second currency chest of the bank after Patna. A statement by the bank said that the currency chest will help cash management for MSME and traders in the North East. Assam has been an important market for Bandhan Bank for many years now. The opening of this currency chest is a testament to our commitment to the development of Assam and the North Eastern states of India," said C S Ghosh, MD & CEO of Bandhan Bank. In Assam, Bandhan Bank currently has a customer base of around 26 lakh and a network of more than 472 banking outlets. The bank will open more than 550 new branches across India in the current financial year, out of which 20 will be in Assam. "We have received the trust and love of more than 26 lakh customers in the state. Our significant distribution in Assam and the rest of the North East made Guwahati

Himanta says Assam govt considering withdrawing AFSPA from two more areas

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said his government is considering withdrawing AFSPA from two more locations in the state. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) was extended for six months from October 1 with the continuation of the 'Disturbed Area' tag for Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts along with Lakhipur sub-division of Cachar in the Barak valley. The government had withdrawn the controversial law from West Karbi Anglong district as the situation "considerably improved" there. The Armed Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant besides giving immunity from arrest and prosecution to the security forces if they shoot someone dead. "Peace has returned to Assam and Northeast. Today, AFSPA is withdrawn from 65 per cent areas of the state. In the future, we are considering to withdraw it from ...

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma flags off new operations of Alliance Air

Alliance Air operations will lead to greater air connectivity in North East, particularly between the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur.

Assam's govt schools to get new infrastructure: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that all government schools in the state will soon get new infrastructure. More than 4,000 schools will be covered under the initiative, he said. Sarma, along with Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, the state government's education advisor Nani Gopal Mahanta and senior officials, visited several old government schools in Guwahati and inspected the existing facilities. "We are trying to convert educational institutes of our State into centres for human resources development," Sarma tweeted later. "All Govt schools will get new infrastructure. As a part of this, 10 schools in Guwahati will get new buildings in 1st phase, before 4,000 more schools are covered," he added. Among the schools, he visited was Kamrup Academy, where he had studied. "Visited Kamrup Academy, Guwahati, and reviewed its infrastructure. Established in 1930, I had the privilege of seeking education from this historical institute in my childhood. "The school bu

Assam cabinet approves new rules to promote wood-based industries

The Assam cabinet on Saturday gave its nod to a set of new rules related to the wood-based industries in the state and took a slew of measures for implementing the second phase of a flagship scheme. The cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, promulgated the Assam Wood Based Industries (Promotion and Development) Rules, 2022 to encourage various units related to the sector. As per the cabinet decisions shared by Sarma on Twitter, the wood-based industries will be categorised as primary, secondary and composite industries for regulatory purposes. For rolling out the second phase of 'Mission Basundhara', the state government approved various measures to ease the process of allotment of land to eligible people across the state, a Cabinet note said. Mission Basundhara scheme provides land-related services like mutation, updating of records and delivery of these services to the people at their homes. The government also approved an amendment of Land Policy, 2019

Cyclone Sitrang: Over 1,000 people of 83 villages affected in Assam

The situation in Assam continues to remain grim on Tuesday as nearly 1100 people of 83 villages have been affected by the deluge caused by the cyclonic storm 'Sitrang'.

Cyclone Sitrang causes damage in parts of Assam, heavy rainfall batters

Assam has been battered by heavy rain since Monday due to Cyclone Sitrang spoiling the Diwali festivities across the state

Centre, state govt trying to find solution to erosion problem: Sonowal

Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday said the Centre, along with Assam government, is trying to find a pragmatic and sustainable solution to the state's flood and erosion problems. Sonowal, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said this during his visit to several erosion affected areas of his home district Dibrugarh in Assam. He made enquiries with the common people about the losses incurred due to of the erosion, especially by Brahmaputra and Dibru rivers. The minister visited Pukhurijaan, Balijaan, Bindhakota, Bornamghorstholi, Gereki Nepali and other affected areas, an official statement said. "To find a pragmatic and sustainable solution to Assam's flood and erosion woes, the Union and state governments are working together under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said. The minister said the government is giving special emphasis on creating a scientific solution to prevent erosion in the state. He said erosion resistant embankm

Cyclone Sitrang: Heavy rains damage houses, uproot trees in Assam

Several houses were damaged due to Cyclone Sitrang which caused heavy rainfall and a storm in the Nagaon district of Assam.Numerous trees and electric poles were also uprooted in various parts of the region due to the cyclonic storm on Monday night.As per reports, several houses in the Kaliabor, Bamuni, Sakmuthia tea estate, and Boraligaon areas of the central Assam district have been damaged due to the storm.No casualties due to the storm have been reported so far in the area."Several houses were damaged and many trees uprooted in the storm in our Kaliabor area. As a government village headman, I have visited the entire village and I will submit the damage report to our Circle Officer," said the village headmanMeanwhile, the tides have hit the coast of Bakkhali beach in South 24 Parganas in West Bengal amid the cyclone 'Sitrang' alert.The Civil defence is alerting the tourists and locals not to venture near the sea.Notably, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday ...