GUWAHATI, June 29 – Unofficial sources claim that there are indications of presence of arsenic in the ground water of Mankachar areas bordering Bangladesh in Dhubri district. Samples of the ground water from some suspected areas were sent for testing to Jadavpur University early this year. But, sources in the State PHED have denied having any knowledge of the development. As, they claimed, the Kolkata-based University had not sent any formal report so far on its findings.

The university has also not made any formal communication on its findings on the Dhemaji and Karimganj water samples, said...

GUWAHATI, June 29 – In a bid to give a boost to trade, the Commerce Ministry has released Rs 12.25 crore for NE. The funds have been granted for development of border trade points and the existing infrastructure. Assam has been allotted Rs 5 crore, Rs 2.25 crore has gone to Arunachal Pradesh, Rs 2 crore to Meghalaya, while Nagaland and Manipur have been granted Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore respectively.

The joint director of Foreign Trade, MK Mero, told this correspondent that the Commerce Ministry has been laying stress on infrastructure development in the North-east in order to increase the...

GUWAHATI, June 29 – Security measures in the Upper Assam districts have been intensified following a series of attacks by the ULFA in the districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Sivasagar. The outfit has been active in the area for the past one year or so and their activities came to the limelight only after the recent blasts. Highly placed police sources told The Assam Tribune that the outfit had been building up its bases in the upper Assam districts for more than a year now and its support base has also widened to a large extent. Sources pointed out that the operations in Bhutan did not affect...

GUWAHATI, June 29 – The new Council of Ministers that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will have in place by July 7 may well be a surprise package, with distinct possibilities of Gogoi inducting a few fresh faces using the opportunity. Sources in the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), disclosed today that the Chief Minister would propose to bring in a few MLAs as Ministers, while dropping a lot many of the current team. Gogoi, the sources said, has drawn up a list of a handful of MLAs who could be sworn.

The sources, which preferred not to be named, said that the names of the MLAs were drawn...

GUWAHATI, June 29 – The current wave of flood has affected 1,014 villages in thirteen districts of the State. It has also damaged standing crop of 22,502 hectares of paddy field and affected a population to the size of 8,63,445. So far, it has claimed five lives, said an official flood bulletin here this evening. The districts affected by the flood this time are Kamrup, Nalbari, Barpeta, Morigaon, Darrang, Sonitpur, Goalpara, Dhubri, North Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Bongaigaon, Hailakandi and Karimganj, said the bulletin.

There is a general improvement in the situation in the Brahmaputra valley with...