ASSAM

Black rice cultivation brings hope to Assams tribal farmers

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Blackricevarieties brought from Manipur and Odisha toAssamhave infused new hope among tribal farmers in Goalpara district of Assam.

Veteran farmerUpendra Rabhafrom Goalpara, known for popularizing the black rice variety in lower Assam has been roped in by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to promote the premium varieties of black rice that have the potential to give international market linkage to the farmers of Assam. Ravaged by elephants every year, the black rice varieties have been planted under the -supported Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART), implemented by the state agricultural department. This aims to give relief to the farmers with high returns even from lesser yield.

Branded under the name,Upendra RiceI, the variety has already been supplied to the markets of Odisha, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Rabha

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received one kg black rice seed sample from a Rajasthan agricultural fair through theKrishi Vigyan Kendra, Goalpara, several years back but only one seed germinated. He did not lose hope. From one seed, the variety later became the popular Upendra Rice I and it has spread to several districts of Assam, Rabha said. This year, he claimed Upendra Rice II and III, evolved from Upendra Rice I, have been distributed to local farmers.

The seeds were sown on a total area of 17.6 bighas of land comprising Manipuri black rice on 10 bigha, Kalavati on 3.6 bigha and Kalamalifula on 4.0 bigha. The crop is expected to be harvested in the next one week.

Following the Gauhati High Courts recent order, the stateforest departmenton Tuesday cleared an area of around 30 hectares (0.3 sqkm) of encroachment at Dhanubhanga and Athiabari reserve forests in lower AssamsGoalparadistrict.

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The drive to free the forest land of encroachment started today in compliance with the recent order of the Gauhati .

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It will continue until the entire forest area is recovered.

TheAssamgovernments eviction in Darrang district as part of its drive against encroachments on Monday, which left 800 families homeless, has drawn sharp criticism from the OppositionCongressand AIUDF.

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The All Assam Minorities Students Union (Aamsu), an influential students body representing both religious and linguistic minorities, also formed a

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human chain demanding immediate rehabilitation.

Assam chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarmasaid the eviction is aimed at starting community farming as part of its drive against encroachments.

Assam signs MoU with MFIs for relief to women borrowers

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TheAssam government signed an MoU with 37 MFIs to provide financial relief to several lakh poor Women borrowers in the state to help them maintain good credit discipline in Covid times by expending over Rs 7,000 crore to the lenders.

The MoU will remain in force till

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March 31, 2023. In the last election, BJPs biggest promise was to these
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women borrowers that after coming to power, the government will waive off their dues to the MFIs.

Till June this year, there were 14 lakh women microfinance borrowers in the state of which about 11 lakh have either made regular repayments or whose payments are overdue, but are not marked asnon-performing assets(NPA). To these categories of borrowers, the government will pay a one-time incentive up to Rs 25,000 to incentivize such credit discipline.

The finance department of the Government of Assam signed an MOU with microfinance institutions for implementation of Assam Micro Finance Incentive and Relief Scheme (AMFIRS), 2021 to provide succour to poor women borrowers who are not able to return the loan amount of microfinance institutions.

The first phase of online sale of liquor inAssam, which came into force with immediate effect, has been limited to theGuwahati Municipal Corporation(GMC) area, the stateexcise departmentsaid on Friday. It will be extended to other parts of the state gradually.

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A notification issued by the excise department stated that the step has been taken due to the Covid-induced restrictions imposed by the government as well as theSupreme Courtand the Madras permitting non-direct sale to avoid overcrowding.

The online sale of all Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL)/beer/country spirit in retail OFF shops in the Guwahati Municipal Corporation areas has

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been introduced, a government statement said. There are 306 IMFL OFF shops in Guwahati.

Assam improved in MMR

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The number of maternal death cases in 2022-23 (May-February) was 448 against 680 in the corresponding period of 2021-22, showing a decline of 232 deaths. The number of child death cases in 2022-23 (May-February) has been reported as 5,805, while the corresponding figure was 6,721 in 2021-22 (May-February), a decline of 916 deaths or 13.6%.

Assam has seen a steep (34% ) decline in maternal deaths compared to last year, while child deaths in the state have gone down by 13%, theAssam National Health Mission(NHM) said.

According to the Registrar General of India’s ‘Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality’ for the period 2018 to 2020 released last year, Assam recorded 195 deaths per lakh live births, though it was an improvement from the previous figure of 215 in the period

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2016 to 2018. Nationally,
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there has been a significant decline in theMMRfrom 130 in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20. In 2005, Assam’s MMR was 480 per one lakh live births.

Assam governor forms committee to empower autonomous colleges

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AssamGovernor Jagdish Mukhi constituted a three-member committee on Empowerment of autonomous colleges in Assam.

The three-member committee will be headed by the ‘s Education adviser Prof Mihir Kanti Chaudhuri as its Chairman, principal secretary higher education B. Kalyan Chakravarthy and principal, Jagannath Barooh College, Jorhat, Dr. Bimal Barah as its members, an official release said.

Moreover, the committee will also assess the Resources (monetary, manpower, material, academic, etc.) required

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for the purpose.

Further, the committee will also decide on the modus operandi to enable these autonomous colleges to award degrees on their own, besides creating adequate space for them to make progress in research and training as per NEP 2020.

Assams BJP government plans bill to protect cows

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While addressing the newly-elected 15thAssam legislative assembly, governor JagdishMukhi said the was planning to introduce abillon cow protection in the next assembly session to ban cattle transport outside the state.

Mukhi also underlined the BJP-led governments commitment to recover the lands of the Vaishnavite satras and places of

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worship from illegal encroachments.

A task force will be constituted to recover the lands of the satras and places of worship from illegal encroachments.

Assam govt not involved in delimitation exercise, cant say when it will be over: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

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Assamchief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma said the is not involved in the process of redrawing of assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies, either directly or indirectly. Therefore, it cannot say as to when the exercise will be completed.
The full team of the Election Commission, which is entrusted with

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the task of delimitation in the state, will be here on a two-day visit from March 26 to monitor the exercise.

The EC had set the ball rolling for the long overdue delimitation in the state with the issuance of a notification on December 27. It came into effect on January 1.

‘Child brides face more health risks, domestic violence’

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Child marriageis a major problem inAssamand many other parts of the country. Despite laws and policies to curb the menace, it continues unabated in the region.

The root causes of child marriage in Assam are POVERTY, social and cultural norms, and a lack of Education. In many rural areas of the state, families consider child marriage as a way to secure the future of their daughter. They

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believe that getting her married at an early age will ensure her financial security and protect her from social stigma. In some communities, child marriage is also seen as a means of establishing a social alliance between families.

The consequences of child marriage are severe and far-reaching.Child bridesare forced to leave school and miss out on the opportunity to receive an education. They also face increased Health risks, including complications during pregnancy and childbirth, and a higher risk ofdomestic violence. Furthermore, child brides are often unable to exercise their basic rights and have limited autonomy,

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which can have a detrimental impact on their mental and physical well-being.