Section 144 along Indo-Bangla border in Cachar district
SILCHAR, June 28: Assam’s Cachar district administration
today clamped prohibitory orders along the Indo-Bangla
border to prevent influx of militants from Bangladesh.
District Magistrate Gautam Ganguly imposed prohibitory
orders under Sec 144 CrPC along the Indo-Bangla on the bank
of Surama river as there was a likelihood of militants
crossing over from Bangladesh. – PTI
Grinding station is being setting up in Silchar
|
| The Bokajan unit of the Cement Corporation of India. Picture by Eastern Projections |
Growth plan fuels job hope OUR CORRESPONDENT Telegraph India Karbi Anglong June 28: Delhi has cemented a mega expansion plan for the Bokajan unit of the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) with a Rs 95.51-crore grant. The money will be used to double production from 600 to 1,200 metric tonnes a day. The expansion blueprint also includes setting up grinding stations at Bandordewa in Arunachal Pradesh and Boikunthapur in Silchar. “Once they become operational, the production capacity of the two grinding units will be raised from 100 to 200 metric tonnes a day,” a source said.
BSNL powers mobile service
OUR CORRESPONDENT Telegraph India
Cachar
|
| Uninterrupted call |
June : Silchar telecom district has embarked on a scheme to
ensure hassle-free mobile connectivity in the Barak Valley
and the neighbouring North Cachar Hills district through a
110 KVA power line.
Power Grid Corporation has leased the line to Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Ltd.
The general manager of Silchar telecom district, Sri Ram,
said yesterday that the facility became operational on
Monday.
Neutral cables of the Power Grid between Silchar and
Guwahati have been fitted with optical fibre cables. Since
the neutral phase of the power line does not transmit
electricity, BSNL is using it to transmit messages. This
system will soon be extended to broadband Internet in this
telecom district, comprising Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi
and North Cachar Hills.
Ram said such steps were taken with a view to eliminate
periodic disruptions of the underground optical fibre cable
network between Silchar and Shillong caused by the goons.
Sometimes highway repair and expansion work by workers of
the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) lead to such disruptions.
He said to begin with, the facility of 4,000 media lines,
used to transmit messages, would be extended to the mobile
subscribers in this telecom district for facilitating a
trouble-free mobile connectivity.
He said periodic disruptions in mobile and broadband
internet services are bound to affect the BSNL as the
telecom giant incurs a loss of Rs 1 crore a year.
Ram said a mobile switching system would be operative in
Silchar town from August 15 for bringing all BSNL mobile
phone subscribers under it. Now the districts are under the
switching network monitored from Guwahati.
This telecom district boasts of 67,000 mobile subscribers
since this facility was introduced for the first time two
years back.
A string of 83 base towers have already linked mobile
subscribers in this telecom district.
Flood alert in Barak
OUR CORRESPONDENT TELEGRAPH INDIA
|
| A flooded road in Silchar. Picture by Eastern Projections |
Silchar, June : The Barak
and its tributaries are flowing above the danger level,
prompting the district administration to sound a flood alert
last night.
The Cachar district deputy commissioner, Gautam Ganguli,
held an emergency meeting and sent an SOS to Dispur to rush
enough buffer stocks of food before the district got
inundated.
Torrential rain for the past three days has caused the Barak
to swell. The river has been rising by nearly 4 cm every
hour since this morning. S. Sarma, the executive engineer of
the state water resources division in Cachar district, said
the Barak had breached an embankment and was steadily
overflowing into cropland at Masimpur near Silchar and also
threatening to flood an army cantonment nearby. An official
source said the water resources department had mounted
round-the-clock vigil on the 737-km river embankment in the
south Assam districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi.
Between Saturday night and Sunday evening, the level of the
Barak had risen by 2.33 metres, flooding some low-lying
areas on the outskirts of Silchar.
Driven out of their homes by the rising water, people have
taken shelter in schools.
No casualties have been reported so far.
Kushiara and Katakhal in Karimganj and Hailakandi are also
flowing above the danger level.
Landslides, caused by incessant rains have forced suspension
of traffic on National Highway 44 and rail services on the
Silchar-Lumding metre gauge track.
Central funds for Indoor stadium in Silchar
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Telegraph India
Hailakandi, June: The ministry of development of
northeastern region (DoNER) has sanctioned Rs 4.45 crore for
Silchar India Club’s indoor stadium which is under
construction.
In a letter to the Assam government, deputy secretary of the
ministry, D.P. Singh said DoNER had agreed to bear 90 per
cent cost of building the stadium. The total cost of the
stadium has been pegged at Rs 4.94 crore. A senior official
of the club said that they would appeal to the state
government to incur the additional expenditure.
Nearly 40 per cent construction work on the stadium has
already been finished.
The official said Union minister Sontosh Mohan Dev had tried
hard to secure funds for the stadium.
The members of the club said the stadium would be one of the
finest indoor arenas in the state once completed.
Move to industrialise fishery sector
From Our Correspondent HAILAKANDI, June – The Government of Assam has taken some innovative steps to industrialise the fishery sector in the State. Recently two meetings were organised in Guwahati to review the newly-taken decisions about the development of fisheries in various districts. The State Fisheries department has decided to appoint Matshya Mitra in all the districts of the State soon to provide door step information on fisheries to the fish farmers regarding the scientific fish cultivation. At least three Matshya Mitra will be engaged in each district. They will not receive any salary from the government but they will be paid a token money for every visit. The Fishery Department sources informed that immediately after getting the call from the fish farmer they will visit and make necessary arrangement for soil and water analysis. They will be trained in the every aspects of the scientific fish cultivation after their engagement.
Decade-old movement gets back on track
OUR CORRESPONDENT Telegraph India Hailakandi June: A decade-old movement that had lost steam is chugging back to life. The Badarpur Rail Division and Broadgauge Implementation Demand Committee threatened to launch a mass movement throughout the district today, demanding the establishment of a rail division in Badarpur — the railway headquarters in Barak valley — and early completion of the ongoing gauge conversion work on the Silchar-Lumding route. The movement will be spearheaded by former minister and PCC general secretary Abu Saleh Najimuddin. To give tooth to the movement, Najimuddin recently held meetings with legislators Gautam Roy and his son Rahul and sought their support. Two months ago, the father-son duo had launched an agitation demanding repair of the rail-cum-road bridge at Katakhal. The demand for the rail division at Badarpur is a decade old. Badarpur is the main railway centre in the valley. It also acts as the main railway centre for Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram. Lack of leadership and political consensus, however, ensured that the movement died an early death. Now that legislators cutting across party lines have decided to rally behind the new movement, people of the district are hopeful that this time their demand will be heeded. As part of its agitation programme, the Badarpur Rail Division and Broad-gauge Implementation Demand Committee plans to organise a rail roko and gherao the divisional railway manager’s office.
Truant teachers face student anger
OUR CORRESPONDENT
CACHAR June : Students playing truant is common the
world over, but what about teachers giving their classes a
miss?
That’s precisely what is plaguing schools in Cachar
district, prompting students to start an agitation against
their errant mentors or, as they prefer to call them,
tormentors.
Two groups of pupils from middle English schools took out
protest marches recently against their respective
headmasters and the teachers for allegedly staying away from
school for long periods. The staff has also been charged
with various kinds of financial malpractice.
A couple of months ago, students of a primary school in
Mohonpur near Silchar town marched to the office of the
deputy commissioner to file a complaint against their
headmaster and other teachers.
Monsoon hits Silchar roads
From Partha Sarkar, Assam Tribune
SILCHAR, June – After the dilapidated condition of the
roads Rs 12 crore was sanctioned to repair, renovate and
widen the Silchar urban road in south Assam. The amount was
sanctioned by the North Eastern Council (NEC), Central Road
Fund (CRF), Assam State Road Board (ASRB) and under Annual
Plan 03-04 and Annual Plan 04-05. This was the first time,
after Independence, that such work was carried out
simultaneously in all the roads of the Silchar town. But
ironically, these road do not last long after the arrival of
first monsoon.
The work was allocated to contractors. The allocation was
being made from the Guwahati head office. The work had
started from Feb, 2005. But in some cases, work started in
March also. The minimum period for completion work was six
to 18 months. But by Dec all the work was completed. The
dilapidated condition of the road had forced the authorities
to arrange allocations of funds from different sources. The
effort was made by Union Minister for Heavy Industries SM
Dev.
A sources said the department took proper step to keep watch
on work progress and work quality unlike the earlier work
undertaken. As per the agreement the empaneled contractors
have to maintain the road for one year. But no such
initiative is being noticed now.
According to local people, the quality of the work which has
done is poor. The main roads of the town like Shillongpatty,
Premtala and Central Road are in condition. Meanwhile, the
work of Master Drainage Project is also going on in some
selected areas. It becomes more difficult for pedestrians to
overcome such problem. The monsoon has just started. If the
condition of the roads are in this state, it is to go.
Bio-diesel project raises hope in
Barak valley
From Partha Sarkar Assam Tribune
SILCHAR, June 19 – The bio-diesel project in Barak Valley
has been launched by D1 William Magor Bio Fuel Private
Limited. D1 Oil Plc is the UK-based global producer of
bio-diesel from renewal energy crops. The company is pioneer
in bio-diesel production all over the world. Williamson
Magor is the largest tea plantation group in the world
producing over 70 million kgs which represent 18 per cent of
total tea produced in Assam. The joint venture hopes to be a
good producer of bio-diesel in Barak Valley.
In Barak valley, one of the biggest nurseries in India has
been created. At present the project cover 6000 hectares but
by August it will have 100,000 hectares. Basically the
company has not purchased any land but has rather supplied
seeds to the farmers. They have an agricultural team. The
project is working on a contract farming model.
The company has been assisting the farmers to receive bank
loan under the umbrella of D1 Williamson Magor. The project
is duly approved by NABARD and the company has entered into
an MoU with all leading banks for the purpose. Since the
project is a massive one, it requires huge manpower. So, it
will help unemployed youth to get jobs. At present they have
90 staff. In Barak valley the work is going in a very
organised manner.
Production of bio-diesel requires the plant Jatropha Curcus.
It has been identified as the primary non-edible oil seed,
most suitable to Indian agro-climatic conditions, with a
productive life cycle of 40-50 years. The plant starts
yielding seeds varying between 30 per cent to 40 per cent
depending upon the species and agro climatic conditions. It
is found in the tropics and subtropics from very dry climate
to regions having good rainfall. It also improves soil
fertility due to shedding of leaves in the winter months.
Bio-diesel is a clean burning alternative fuel produced from
vegetable oil seeds. It can be used directly in any diesel
run engine without any or very little modification and can
be blended at any level.
The demand for diesel in India was about 49 million metric
tonnes in 2005-06 and likely to rise to 67 million metric
tonnes in 2012. The land required for 5 per cent blend
recommended by Government of India is about 2 million
hectares and that for 20 per cent blend as practiced in
advanced countries will be about 8 million hectares.
The bio-diesel project has been undertaken on plantation on
about 8000 hectares spread over Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur,
Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. The company has signed an MoU
with the Mizoram government for development of Jatropha
plantations. 7500 kgs of seeds per hectare yield is expected
on maturity of seeds per hectare. This will improve further
with the leading edge plantation techniques.
The cost of plantation and maintenance in initial 2 years is
about Rs 30,000 per hectare. The sale proceed of seeds on
maturity is Rs 5 per hectare pa on superior plantation
material. Net annual income to the farmers is Rs 32,500 per
hectare on planting material provided by the company.
PK Chakraborty, area incharge said that they are expecting
that bio-diesel will come to the market by 2009. He further
said that it will provide more employment to the youth of
Barak valley as in future it will require refinery and
distributing unit.
In Barak valley to sustain a long-term project is tough due
to the communication and geographical problem. If the
project continues it will be an asset for the people of the
area.
Barak Valley students facing
trouble
From Our Correspondent Assam Tribune
BADARPUR, June 19 – Students of various places of Barak
Valley, studying in various courses of Post-Graduate
Correspondence School (PGCS) of Gauhati University, are
facing trouble as they are not getting any study materials
on time for the last few years.
This was alleged by some students of PGCS, Gauhati
University and their guardians, while talking to this
correspondent here recently.
They also alleged that rules and regulations of PGCS,
Gauhati University, as mentioned in the prospectus are not
being maintained at all. It is to be noted here that in the
prospectus – it has been mentioned that “the study materials
are supplied to the students immediately after the admission
either in person or by post.
Normally, the materials are supplied in two instalments: at
the time of admission, and after payment third instalment of
the course fee.” But the students are being deprived of the
study materials in due time, even though they have already
deposited the fees during admission, and in second, third
and fourth and final instalments, as per PGCS – rules and
regulations. As an instance, Bengali department of MA Course
(final year) have no yet received any study materials of
Bengali, even-though they have deposited all the payments.
They are now facing much trouble in preparing for the
ensuing MA final examination. The co-ordinators of different
PGCS – Contact and study centres of Barak valley have also
failed to give correct information to the students.
So, under these circumstances, the students and their
guardians have earnestly requested the honorary director of
PGCS, the vice chancellor and Controller of Examinations of
Gauhati University to take immediate necessary arrangements
for sending all study materials (MA Final year) of the
subject Bengali and other subjects, immediately.
They also earnestly requested the officials of Gauhati
University, to issue stern orders, to all heads of the
departments of various subjects, including Bengali, for
sending all the study materials to the PGCS office
immediately.
Six
killed, 7 injured in North Assam train accident
25 Jun, 2007 l 1549 hrs ISTlPTI
GUWAHATI: At least six persons were killed and seven others
injured when a bridge collapsed while a goods train was
passing over it in Assam's North Cachar Hills Rpt North
Cachar Hills district on Monday.
The incident occurred when the seven wagon goods train from
Lumding to Silchar was passing through the Boiler bridge
located between Dihaku Rpt Dihaku and Mupa railway stations.
One of the dead was the driver of the train. The victims
were mostly the locals who were travelling atop the train,
they added.
Many areas in Barak Valley inundated
Silchar, (UNI): Many areas in Cachar and Karimganj districts
of Barak Valley in Asom have been innundated due to
incessant rain in the past week.
Official sources today said Barak and its tributaries were
rising all along their course. While Barak and another major
river Kushiara were still flowing below the danger mark,
their tributaries including Longai, Singla, Baleswar, Kakra
and some other rivers were flowing above the danger level.
Central Water Commission (CWC) sources here said that the
Barak river would cross its danger mark tonight.
Flood water has inundated many villages in Patharkandi and
Nilambazar circles of Karimgnaj district as flood control
dykes of Longai and Singla rivers have been breached in many
places. People have taken shelter in high places.
Official sources said 275 hectares of agricultural land has
been affected and about 5,000 people have been rendered
homeless due to floods by Longai river in Karimganj.
Karimganj district administration has so far distributed 293
quintals of rice, 55 quintals dal and 16 quintals of salt to
the flood affected people as relief measure.
In Cachar district, Katigora circle is worst-effected as
hundreds of villages have gone under floodwater of Baleswar
and Kakra rivers. The rising water has devastated Ahu crop
in many areas.
Coupled with the flood situation, surface communication in
the Barak Valley along with the rest of the country has been
disrupted since yesterday due to landslide in Malidahar on
NH-44, which connects the region with Guwahati.
BRTF sources said traffic on this route has partially been
restored despite boulders and debris continuing to slide
down the hills due to incessant rain. BRTF men were busy
clearing the road and allowing vehicles to ply in phases.
http://www.nagalandpost.com/Statedesc.asp?sectionid=41251
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Of acollapsed bridge and weak road link
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