Development / Assam

SILCHAR, March 17— Shifting cultivation, which is popularly known as jhum cultivation, is one of the best agricultural practices of the world, admitted Arup Rai, a specialist in this field and an assistant soil conservation officer of North Cachar Hills district, while talking to this correspondent, and said that it is a very cheap mode of cultivation because there is no need of using any artificial fertilizer and irrigation system and a farmer can produce 30 -35 items of kitchen vegetables through it.

He is in favour of continuing the jhum cultivation in the hills and requested the jhumias...

GUWAHATI, March 17 — The first step towards setting up of the 2,000 MW Subansiri hydro-power project by the NHPC has been cleared with the State Government giving clearance for use of 856.3 hectares of reserve forest land for the project. Talking to The Assam Tribune here today, Minister of State for Forest Pradyut Bordoloi said that the State Government decided to give clearance for use of reserve forest land as Subansiri project would be the largest hydro-power project in the country. However, he asserted that the Government would never compromise on the interest of environment, forest and...

GUWAHATI, March 17 — The Gauhati High Court in a significant judgement today quashed the 1997 Byelaws framed by Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) thereby declared illegal the checkgates and parking places run by GMC lessees along the national highways No. 37 and 31 around the city.

In response to a writ petition filed by one Md Zakir Hussain, Justice IA Ansari has held that GMC has acted beyond its competence in enacting the 1997 Byelaws and applying the same to the vehicles and animals entering into municipal area in the city while passing by the National Highways around it.

The Court in...

NEW DELHI, March 17 — In keeping with the promise made in the Railway Budget, the Railway Minister today allocated Rs 60 crore for Bogibeel Bridge out of Rs 150 crore sanctioned for the four rail bridges out of National Rail Vikas Yojana (NRVJ). The proposal to fund the four mega rail bridge projects was made by Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, in the Railway Budget. The Government had decided to source funds for NRVY from a mix of budgetary and non-budgetary sources.

The allocation of Rs 150 crore for the 2003-2004 financial year was made today by the Railway Ministry under NRVY. Out of the...

SADIYA, March 12 — For the Brahmaputra Board engineers, used to prepare master plans to save the region from the vagaries of floods and erosion in the region, actually executing a flood and erosion control scheme is a new challenge. The Centre has asked the Board to take up the proposed Rs 400 crore composite scheme to check erosion by the Brahmaputra upstream of Dibrugarh in August last year. The reason being that central grants to Assam are not properly utilized.

After officials of Brahmaputra Board placated the literally bruised Assam Flood Control department, work began in earnest to...

Guwahati, March 11: Assam is set to go the Kerala way by hardselling its countryside to the outside world. Clearly influenced by the southern state’s village and ecology-based tourism models, the Assam tourism department has decided to set up “model villages” to showcase its ethnic and cultural wealth.

To begin with, the department has identified a predominantly Karbi village, Phumen Ingti, for its project.

The village is located just three km from the Kaziranga National Park, home to the largest population of the one-horned rhino.

Next on the department’s list are Sualkuchi and Bhalukpung...

Tezpur, March 10: The chief wildlife warden of Assam has issued an order to shoot two wild tuskers by an elephant hunter. Official sources said wild tuskers have killed at least 12 people in Biswanath, Bihali, Johamari, Tinkhoria and Teliagaon under two wildlife forest divisions of Sonitpur district. The tuskers still at large have trampled to death 10 people in Sonitpur east wildlife forest division while two other persons have been killed in the Sonitpur west forest division since November.

Sources said expert elephant hunter Dinesh Choudhury has been assigned the task of eliminating the...

GUWAHATI, March 9— In the State, bandhs, called by various organisations to press for their demands, have been causing on an average losses worth around Rs 900 crore in a year. An individual family in the State is also made to lose Rs 2,000, on an average, every year by such bandhs while a day of bandh means a loss Rs 41.14 crore for the State as a whole, said Federation of Industries and commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER) president Abhijit Barooah, while releasing his organisation’s report on the impact of bandhs on the economy of Assam for the period between April 2001 and March 2002...

GUWAHATI, March 8— The famous muga silk industry in Assam is fast losing its credibility, both inside and outside the State, as large scale adulteration threatens to turn the industry into a farce. The situation is such that the industry may collapse any day, trade watchers say. For quite a few years now, the muga silk industry in the State has been witness to adulteration. Cheap tassar yarn is mixed with muga to make products that are passed off as ‘pure’ muga. Polyester yarn is mixed with muga on the borders of cloth, experts say.

The driving force behind rampant adulteration is the...

Guwahati, March 6: The Assam government has prepared a “bamboo mission” with the twin objective of augmenting additional revenue and recovering the state’s dwindling forest cover.

The government has identified various hybrid species of fast-growing bamboo to be planted in degraded areas in the state, minister of state for forest Pradyut Bordoloi told newspersons here today. The mission envisages bringing 6,000 hectares of land under bamboo plantation during 2003-06.

For the purpose, the government has taken up the matter with Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC) and the National Bank for...