Development / Assam

GUWAHATI, June 22 – Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has directed all departments involved in the implementation of the Assam Agricultural Competitive Project (AACP) to expedite the process to meet the July 15 deadline set by the World Bank (WB). Gogoi issued the directive while undertaking an appraisal mission of the WB-aided project here today.

The meeting discussed threadbare the various areas under AACP, including agriculture, roads, fishery, livestock and dairy. Matters pertaining to decentralisation and market driven extension delivery system through district-level regulated bodies called...

AZARA, June 21 – In a tragic incident, three wild elephants were run over by a train near Rani last night on the Kamakhya-Jogighopa route. Talking to The Assam Tribune, Jahur Ali, Range Officer of the Rani Forest Range said that a herd of about twenty wild elephants had come down from Chakradow hill last night. The elephants were searching for food by the side of the railway track near Chakradow-Mikirpara under Rani Forest Range.

According to sources in the forest department, at around 11.30 pm the DN BG BBMN Coal goods train with 41 wagons collided with some members of the herd. The impact...

GUWAHATI, June 20 – The annual floods witnessed in Assam have been one of the primary factors behind its economic backwardness. It has resulted in losses worth hundreds of crores of rupees not to speak of the loss of human lives. In 2002 alone, the loss suffered by the State due to floods has been calculated at almost Rs 187 crore. On top of that 65 lives were lost due to the deluge. Figures supplied by the State Water Resources Department (WRD) say that during the Ninth Five Year Plan period, from 1997 to 2001, the State suffered losses worth Rs 789 crore. Almost 200 people lost their lives...

GUWAHATI, June 18 – Indian industries are facing stiff challenges following free flow of third country products across the international border. The problem in the North East is more apparent as most of the markets are being flooded by these cheap products, posing a serious threat to the Indian industries.

The third country products are generally brought from Myanmar and then sold to different markets as per demand of the people. Porous Indo-Myanmar border and lack of enforcing agencies are helping the traders to run their business without any hindrance.

In Guwahati, three markets...

GUWAHATI, June 18 – In a major boost to the State’s agrarian economy, the World Bank (WB) has decided to sanction a loan worth Rs 901 crore to Assam for undertaking various projects under the Assam Agricultural Competitive Project (ACCP) 2004-09. The ACCP Task Manager Robert Epworth conveyed the good news to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi when he led a team to meet the latter at the Janata Bhawan here today.

The total loan component, together with the state’s contribution, would come to around Rs 966.82 crore. Of this, 47 percent would be spent on rural roads, 26 percent on agriculture and farm...

Dibrugarh, June 16: It is not the nine-to-five office job that he had hoped to land after completing his post-graduation. Neither is it loaded with the perks that he once dreamt of. But Nipon Saikia is happy that life as a tourist guide at the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park offers “job satisfaction”, if not financial benefits.

Nipon and several more youths became tourist guides under a novel employment-cum-conservation scheme launched by the Dibru-Saikhowa authorities. They underwent a crash course in conservation recently.

The idea of forming a group of tourist guides came from S.S. Rao, an...

GUWAHATI, June 16 – While the BSNL is not exactly known as a quality service provider, drawing flak from the public for its slack services, the recent spurt in the number of bills served to customers showing huge amounts of arrears dating back to years has shocked the people. The aggrieved customers feel that the BSNL authorities are taking them for a ride for no fault of theirs. Or how else would one explain the serving of a bill showing huge arrears whereas the customer had actually paid the bill. Rajiv Sharma, who was served with such a bill, however, managed to refrain from paying the...

Guwahati, June 15: The Tarun Gogoi government and the World Bank are close to signing an agreement to put in place a “market-driven rural economy” with assistance of around Rs 917 crore from the latter. Headed by Australian Robert Epworth, an eight-member World Bank delegation is in the state on an “appraisal mission”. The delegation is reviewing presentations by the several departments that would form part of the five-year programme Assam Agriculture Competitiveness Project (AACP), which is tipped to take-off in November. The team will meet chief minister Tarun Gogoi on June 18.

Highly-placed...

KOKRAJHAR, June 15 – The State Government has released Rs ten crore for rehabilitation of 10,000 families of relief camp inmates who are languishing at different relief camps in Dhubri, Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar due to the Bodo-Adivasi ethnic violence in 1996-1998, informed Binkanta Soren, vice-chairman of Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam here recently.

Soren further informed that the State Government also sanctioned 15 days ration to the camp inmates which will be distributed within this month along with rehabilitation grants. After proper rehabilitation of these 10,000 families, the Central...

GUWAHATI, June 14 – Though consumption of electricity has increased by as much as 6 percent in Assam over the one year period from 2001-02 to 2002-03, the State’s power generation has continued to decline leaving the people starved for power. The demand-supply shortfall during 2002-03 was 23.78 percent, according to data supplied by the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB).

Assam, despite its tremendous potential to generate power ranging from hydel to natural gas, including oil and coal resources, has not been able to make any progress in this sector. “There exists a big gap between...