Assam cabinet nod to Rs 5000 crore for solar power

TheAssam cabinet cleared an of Rs 5,000 crore for generation of 1,000 MW of solar power in collaboration with Neyveli Lignite Corporation, a ‘Navratna’ company under the coal ministry.

CM Himanta BiswaSarma, in his post-cabinet briefing, said this was to make the state self-sufficient in the Energy sector. “A joint venture company with Neyveli Lignite Corporation will be floated to generate the 1000 MW solar power on government land. This will be the first such initiative among PSUs in the energy sector.”

The cabinet also approved use of unutilized land of tea estates, not more than 5% of its total area, for other activities such as growing trees, tea tourism and setting up solar Plants.

Whistling village pins hope on Unesco tag

Each person in the village ofKongthong, 65 km fromShillonginMeghalaya, has two names one in words, the other as a whistled tune. For centuries, the village has nurtured the whistling code, Jingrwai Iawbei. Now, down to the last 700, thecommunityis pinning its hopes on a long-promisedUnescoheritage tag and a school to help preserve thisoral tradition.

Meghalaya has long been trying to get the whistling nomenclature system on the Unescos list of .

Assam govt for ban on polygamy by state law

The BJP-ledAssamgovernment has decided to set up an expert committe to examine whether polygamy can be banned in the state by a legislation to provide a major push for empowering Women as it steps into its third year.

Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on theeveof completion of second year in office, on Tuesday said the prevalence of the practice of polygamy, both formal and informal, was found to be high during the crackdown on child marriages since January last.

Polygamy is generally prohibited in all religious communities in India, except the Muslim community. Practising polygamy is an offence punishable under Section 494 and 495 of the IPC, except for the Muslim community, where Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 governs the law pertaining to marriage which allows it.

Assamese short film Xogun finds space at New York festival

Assamese short film Xogun (Vulture), adapted from the much-acclaimed short story bearing the same name by noted writer-journalist Manoj Kumar Goswami and scripted and directed by national award winner Utpal Borpujari, has been selected for the 21stNew YorkIndian Film Festival (NYIFF).

Produced by IFT India, the film is among 58 feature films, documentaries and short films in 15 languages from across India to be selected for NYIFF, one of the most prestigious Indian film festivals globally, which will be held during June 4-15 virtually because of the pandemic.
Xogun had earlier won the Best Film award in the short film competition of the 13th Guwahati International Film Festival organised by the Gauhati Cine Club and was screened at the 14th Signs Festival in Thiruvanathapuram, considered among the most prestigious short film and documentary festivals in India.

The floods inAssamlast year were the worst in the past decade as over 88 lakh population was affected and 181 people lost their lives. All the 35 existing districts (before the state government remerged four districts with their original districts in December last year) reeled under the ravaging floods.

In view of the impact of the floods in the state last year that left a tale huge loss in crops, property, animal and as well as human lives, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority has geared up its preparation with other departments to deal with the deluge as the pre-monsoon period has already begun in the state.
According to the ASDMA data, a total of 838 people died in the floods in the state during 2013-2022, of whom 181 died last year, which is the highest human death toll in floods in a year. A total of 160 human deaths were reported in 2017 while 122 in the Covid pandemic-hit 2020 and 102 in 2019.

No child marriage in last one month in Assam: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Justifying the crackdown on child marriages in Assam, chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma said not a single such incident has taken place in the state in the last one month.

The Assam government on February 3 started an intensedrive against child marriagesacross the state, registering over 4,000 cases. Till Tuesday, 3,145 people have been apprehended.

Observing that making a large number of arrests in thecrackdown on child marriagecreated “havoc in the private lives of people”, the Gauhati on February 14 said there was no need for custodial interrogation of the accused in such cases.

Guwahati may have crossed 3rd Covid wave peak: Experts

Assam capital Guwahati, the gateway to the northeast, might have crossed the peak of the third wave on January 18 and 19 when the overall daily positivity rate had surged beyond 20% inKamrup(Metro) that alone logged nearly 2,000 cases or one-fourth of the states total cases.

Health experts said the rate of infection has shown a continuous declining trend in the last five days here, indicating that the peak may be over. Even after uniform testing during mid-January, the highest 1,996 and 1,929 cases were detected in Kamrup (Metro) on January 18 and 19 respectively. The last 15 days have been most alarming so far as the third wave in the city is concerned. The positivity rate touched 10.12% on January 10, more than double of the states positivity rate of 4.49% on the same day, which set alarm bells in thestate health department. At an uneven trend, the positivity rate continued to hit worrying figures for the next one week and shot up to 20.62% on January 18, followed by 20.17% on January 19.

Change in demographic pattern in border areas behind decision to enlarge BSF jurisdiction: DG

BSF director general(DG) Pankaj Kumar Singh said that the “demographic balance” has been upset in border states like Assam and West Bengal over a period of time and that was probably the reason that the Centre recently extended the force’s jurisdiction.

Rejecting allegations that the October notification of the Union Home ministry (that expanded its jurisdiction to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a larger 50 km stretch from the international border in Assam, West Bengal and Punjab as compared to the earlier 15 km) interfered with local policing, he said that theBSFwas not trying to “act as a parallel Police” and the powers to investigate and file charge sheets continue to remain with the state.

The Border Security Force (BSF) guards over 6,300 km of the Indian fronts with Pakistan on the west and Bangladesh on the east of the country.
The DG said that the force has dome a survey in some border villages that found that there is a “definite” demographic change.

The BSF has a strength of about 2.65 lakh personnel at present and it was raised on December 1, 1965. It has 192 operational battalions at present and is the country’s largest border guarding force with ITBP, SSB andAssam Riflesbeing the other three.

KLO letter to Assam government for peace talks

The Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO), which was active in western part ofAssamandNorth Bengaland once an ally of Ulfa in Bhutan and Myanmar, has expressed interest in peace talks with the government.

CM Himanta Biswa Sarmain tweet said, ” In continuation with Govt of India’s efforts to bring lasting peace in the region, I welcome the desire of KLO Leadership to join mainstream at an early date to resolve all issues through political dialogues. Govt of Assam would fully reciprocate this goodwill measure.”

The KLO was born in 1995 for an armed struggle for a separate Kamtapur carved out of adjoining parts of Assam and West Bengal. Singha, who is believed to be in Myanmar, was booked by West Bengal Police last April under UAPA for allegedly terming chief ministerMamata Banerjeean “outsider.”

Rs 900 crore rail-cum-road bridge on Brahmaputra approved: Nitin Gadkari

Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Twitter that a new rail-cum-road bridge across the Brahmaputra, near the existing Saraighat bridge in Guwahati, has been approved at a cost of over Rs 900 crore under PM Gati Shakti national master plan for multi-modal connectivity.

This new bridge will be constructed on the upstream of the historic Saraighat bridge, the first bridge built over the Brahmaputra.