Politics / Assam

NEW DELHI, May 13 ? An ultimatum by the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) today prompted the Union Home Ministry to agree a tripartite talk later this month on resolving the Karbi and NC Hills problem. The Centre?s attention to the problems in Karbi and NC Hills was drawn by a delegation of ASDC and Karbi Students Association and Karbi Nimso Chingthur Asong (KNCA), which called on Union Home Minister, L K Advani here today. The delegation included ASDC president, Holiram Terang, president KSA, Roland Killing, president of KNCA, Seema Ronghangpi, besides Dharam Singh Teron, MLA.

The...

NORTH GUWAHATI, May 13 ? A retired police officer, Sri Debendra Nath Deka, promoted to the rank of DSP before his voluntary retirement and a resident of Srinagar area of Christian Basti in Guwahati was allegedly beaten to death by the OC and his aides of Gauripur police outpost here at about 9.30 am today, according to hundreds of eyewitnesses who gathered near the outpost.

According to the eye-witnesses, whom this correspondent met, the 58-year-old retired police officer entered the police outpost to seek release of his 25-year-old son, Sri Manoj Kumar Deka, a PG examinee who was picked up...

GUWAHATI, May 12 ? The Hindu Yuba Chattra Parishad, Asom, has termed the ongoing eviction drive at Batahghuli as a conspiracy aimed at safeguarding a particular section of encroachers while harnessing the indigenous people of the State. In a press release, the parishad alleged that while the authorities concerned had been turning a blind eye to the rampant encroachment by suspected foreigners at Kaziranga, Kurihamari, Kochmara, etc., it showed an unusual enthusiasm in committing atrocities on the local indigenous people under the pretext of eviction at Batahghuli. It is a move to protect the...

GUWAHATI, May 12 ? The state government should immediately start evicting the encroachers from the Kaziranga National Park, demanded the secretary of the Asom Gana Parishad legislature party, Sri Silip Kumar Saikia. The AGP leader today pointed out that even persons of doubtful nationality have encroached into the territory of the National Park and according to reports, sometimes poachers took shelter among the encroachers. He pointed out that by the strength of the supreme court order, the government can easily launch an eviction drive in the National Park. He also demanded that the state...

SILCHAR, May 12 ? The Dimasa outfit Dima Halam Danga (DHD) has intensified its activities for the creation of a separate Dimaraji State with the inclusion of the parts of Cachar, North Cachar Hills, Karbi Anglong and Nagaon districts. This has created fear psychosis among the people living in the areas. A vernacular daily of Silchar has reported quoting intelligence sources that the DHD has chalked out a blue-print for this. It is learnt that the Bodo outfit NDFB has extended its support towards the DHD for creating a strong movement like the Bodoland one. NDFB has reportedly opened some...

GUWAHATI, May 11 ? The Forest Department with cooperation from the district administration and police, today resumed the eviction drive in the Batahghuli forest area in the outskirts of the area from early this morning and official sources asserted that the drive would continue in the next few days. After receiving stiff resistance from the people on May 9, the forest officials along with magistrates and police launched the drive at 6 am today and in the whole day, about 140 houses including a number of concrete structures, were demolished. Three elephants were also pressed into service to...

GUWAHATI, May 10 ? Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has assured the Vice-Chancellor and the Executive Council of Gauhati University that although a 10 per cent reduction in the statutory grant to the University had to be made, the payment of the salaries to the university teachers would not be affected in any way as the State Government would be taking all possible measures to ensure normal payment of salaries to them, said an official press release here today. The Chief Minister was holding a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor and the Executive Council members of Gauhati University yesterday at...

GUWAHATI, April 10 ? Even as politicians and land grabbers are joining hands to clear Guwahati city of its green cover, the State Forest Department is having an extremely challenging task at its hands to protect over 27,508 hectares of reserve forest areas in and around the State?s capital city. Given the violent resistance put up by land grabbers at Batahkhuli area under Khanapara Reserve Forest when a team of Forest Department officials and Forest Protection Force staff went out on an eviction drive yesterday, the State Forest Department is in a soup while trying to comply with Government of...

GUWAHATI, May 8 ? Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today announced that salaries and expenditures of State Ministers and top bureaucrates would be reduced in view of the precarious financial crisis gripping the State. Talking to newsmen at Janata Bhawan here this afternoon, the Chief Minister informed that there would be 25 per cent pay-cut, 20 per cent cut on travel allowance and 20 per cent cut on telephone expenditure for all the Ministers as part of the austerity measures being contemplated by the State Government. He further informed that the Government would put ceiling on travel and telephone...

NEW DELHI, May 7 ? Taking umbrage at the inordinate delay in solving the infiltration problem suffered by Assam, speakers today suggested that the Centre should be put on notice on the issue and All Assam Students Union (AASU) should seriously consider reviving the anti-foreigners agitation. A two-day national seminar on ?Infiltration of Illegal Foreigners in Assam and IMDT Act and Flood, Erosion and Economy of Assam? organized by AASU today saw former Primer Minister, HD Deve Gowda, Minister of State for Home Affairs, ID Swami, eminent journalist Kuldip Nayar besides several MPs belonging to...