ASSAM

The buzz of devotees is set to return to temples in Assam as the new government SOP released on Tuesday has allowed those who are fully vaccinated to enter places of worship.

The famous Kamakhya temple will see footfall after three months of closure. Other religious places are also expected to come alive with the presence of devotees.

The also withdrew the inter-district travel ban, except to and from state capital Guwahati.

The Kamakhya temple management welcomed the temple reopening decision as thousands of people across the state were rendered jobless for months due to Covid restrictions.

TheAssamgovernment signed an agreement with the Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya (MGAHV) for setting up a campus in this northeastern state.

The Maharashtra-based central varsity will be functioning from a temporary campus in Guwahati for the time being, an official release said.
The MGAHV campus will engage in popularising and research of Hindi and other Indian languages. Vice-chancellor Rajnish Kumar Shukla, present on the occasion, said a mass Communication course in Assamese language will soon be launched in the Guwahati campus.

TheIndian Union Muslim League(IUML) has condemned theAssamgovernment’s proposed Population policy and labeled it not only “discriminatory” but also “anti-secular and unconstitutional”.

It also slammed Assam chief minister Himanta BiswaSarmafor advocating a two-child norm for availing benefits under specific schemes and omitting certain communities from it.

Assam currently has a two-child norm, along with requirements of minimum educational qualifications and functional sanitary toilets, for contesting in gaon panchayat polls as per an amendment in 2018 to the Assam Panchayat Act, 1994.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said Assam was pro-actively working towards eliminating crime against children. Addressing a press conference, NCPCR member Divya Gupta said crimes by juveniles in Assam were also very less compared to some other states. The Assam government is very proactive in preventing crimes against children. It is taking serious actions against criminals of child abuse, she said.

Assamhas received 1 lakh more Covishield doses, taking the total vaccine availability in the state to 3.25 lakh doses, ahead of the inoculation drive for the 18-44 age group set to begin at 26 Covidvaccination centresin greater Guwahati.

Health officials said in every district headquarters a minimum of 10, in the civil sub-divisions five, and in small towns, one or twoCovid Vaccination Centresare targeted to be opened to vaccinate the 18-44 age group in the state. But, considering the shortage of Vaccines, the districts have not been able to open the vaccination centres as planned.

TheAssam forest departmenthas denied allegations of “manipulation” of rhino census data at the Kaziranga and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) – a UNESCO world heritage site, flagged by an RTI activist who accused the park authorities of jacking up the total rhino count from 2,042 to 2,634.

Choudhury wrote to the forest and Environment ministry on January 27, alleging that the 2022 census figures for rhino were doctored. According to Choudhury, the rhino count was 200 more than the 2018 estimate of 2,413.

The 14th rhino census was carried out at the KNPTR in March last year, which counted 2,634 one-horned rhinos in the park. The final computation of data was carried out on March 28 and 2,613 was the total number of rhinos arrived at during computation.

Assam, among six states surveyed, has the highest share of consumers who are satisfied with smart electricity or prepaid meters and feel that these have enabled greater control over electricity expenses.
This came to Light at the national dialogue on smart-metered India for a digitalised and people-centric power sector organised in New Delhi by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The event was attended by Union power minister RK Singh, who released CEEWs study Enabling a consumer-centric smart metering transition in India, which ranked Assam as the best performing state in delivering customer satisfaction, hassle-free installation ofsmart metersand accessing detailed break-up of bills.
The CEEW study is based on a survey of 2,700 urban households covering 1,200 prepaid and 1,500 post-paid consumers across six states Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthanand Uttar Pradesh, 18 districts and 10 public discoms. These six states account for 80% of all smart meters installed in India.
The smart meter project started with a need automating the reading of meters and sending electricity bills to 2.90 crore houses on time.

The survey, however, found that mere 13% of post-paid electricity consumers in India and only six per cent in Assam want to shift to the prepaid mode even as the Centre has envisioned making the entire billing system prepaid in the country by 2025-26.

In Assam, about 68% of the consumers feel that smart meters enable better control on electricity expenses, while 66% of consumers report that electricity supply quality has improved since making the transition to smart meters.

The thematic area of the Bodoland International Knowledge Festival is the achievement of social development priorities and key Goals (SDG) 2030 in contemporary BTR and the world.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged leading industrialists and financiers in Mumbai to invest in diverse sectors in the state and assured them of total cooperation from the government in this regard. He held separate meetings with leaders at a roundtable organised by FICCI as well as with Tata Group and SRCC Children’s Hospital, among others, winding up his three-day visit to the financial capital of the country.

The chief minister urged Tata Group to come forward for Investment in Assam, especially in Health, Education, green and RENEWABLE ENERGY, tourism and hospitality sector. He assured that the State Government will provide all necessary support, including certain policy changes and capital subsidy, to make the state a preferred investment destination of the country.

Uncertainty looms large whether the tableau ofAssam with the scene where young freedom fighterKanaklata Baruais seen hoisting the Tricolor will be selected for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

With India celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, to commemorate 75 years of the countrys Independence, Assam had high hopes that Kanaklatas valour will steal the limelight in the national capital. However, even after chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarmas letter to the DEFENCE minister, to help the teenage martyrs bravery shine in the national capital, the is finding it difficult to get an apt answer from the Centre.

Kanaklata Barua, born in Barangabari in 1924, joined a group of – fighters in 1942 at the call of the leaders of the Quit India Movement. One of the youngest martyrs of the Quit India Movement, Kanaklata, then 17, fell to the bullets of Police as she marched towards Gohpur police station in northern Assam to hoist the Tricolour.