Development / Assam

GOLAGHAT, Feb 8 ? The NRL is facing crisis for crude oil in Numaligarh Refinery Limited in the near future and the production will also be stopped, informed newsmen in a press meet held at NRL conference hall by Apurba Sharma, GM (Production). Sharma said that though the NRL has a strength of refining three million tonnes of crude oil last year, the NRL had refined only 2.3 million tonnes of crude oil instead of the capacity and only 1.8 million tonne of crude oil this year. Due to the scarcity of crude oil, the DCU unit has been stopped for more than one month. It becomes more expensive to...

GUWAHATI, Feb 8 ? The Planning Commission is likely to provide funds for the feasibility study for construction of a second bridge over the river Brahmaputra near Guwahati. This was disclosed by the Prime Minister?s office in a fax message to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. In the message, Jarnail Singh, joint secretary to the Prime Minister, informed Gogoi that the issue was discussed in the meeting of the empowered committee on non-lapsable Central pool of resources held in the third week of January, Smt Reva Nayyar, Advisor, North east, of the Planning Commission, suggested that the Commission...

Guwahati, Feb. 7: The Assam government has finally agreed to the creation of forest development agencies (FDA) in every forest division of the state. This is expected to increase people?s participation in the conservation and protection of the state?s forest resources and to improve their livelihood. State forest minister Pradyut Bordoloi said here today that the creation of FDAs would also help the forest department to get funds directly from organisations without having to go through the normal channels. The department often gets funds after a long delay as the money has to come through the...

KARIMGANJ, Feb 4? Tension prevails in the campus of NEEPCO at Umrangsu of NC Hills district following the threat given by the DHD outfit. DHD extremists now demanding 20% from the salary of the employees of NEEPCO as annual tax towards formation of Dimaland. DHD has been collecting taxes from the salary of the employees. It may be recalled that in the year 1999 three executive engineers of NEEPCO Hiren Kalita, Hari Thapa and Abu Akhtar Jahan were kidnapped by the DHD extremists for not responding to the demands of DHD and after one month they were released on payment of Rs 40 lakh.

After...

GUWAHATI, Feb 4 ? Delay in allotment of land, insufficient supply of boulders to construct the guide bund along the approach road on both north and south banks of Brahmaputra coupled with local resistance movements are causing delay in implementation of rail-cum-road bridge project at Bogibeel in Upper Assam. Talking to this newspaper, Sri VK Madhukar, Chief Engineer (Construction), of the NF Railway which is implementing the project, said that the Railway is desperately looking forward to take stone quarries on lease to maintain constant supply of boulders for construction of the approach...

GUWAHATI, Feb 3 ? Ford Foundation of USA has sanctioned a grant of $450,000 to the Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Research to carry out an extensive study on the socio-cultural and trade relations, between the North East India and South and South East Asian countries in the context of economic liberation.

The study which began on January 1 2003, is expected to be completed within three years. Informing this, director of the institute Abu Nasar Saied Ahmed today told newsmen that a Centre for North East India, South and South East Asia Studies (CENISE would be created with the...

GUWAHATI, Feb 2 ? The Centre has released funds for several prestigious projects in Assam from its non-lapsable pool of resources. The money has been released recently following sustained pressure from the State Government and the personal initiative of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Minister of State for Planning and Development, Himanta Biswa Sarma announced today.

Sarma, who was addressing mediapersons here today, said that over Rs 100 crore has already been made available by the Centre while the State Government is trying to procure some more funds. He rubbished allegations that the State...

GUWAHATI, Feb 1 ? Inspired by the success of the shallow tubewell irrigation scheme implemented in the State under the Samridha Krishak Yojana (SKY), the Planning Commission has recommended it as ?ideal for adoption in other States.? In what should sound as good music for the State Agriculture department, often in the news for the wrong reasons, the Planning Commission has termed the project a success in terms of its physical achievements ? added irrigation, increased farm output, and higher income for farmers besides efficiency of financial utilisation ? and said such a scheme has potential...

Silchar, Jan. 31: The Barak river in south Assam has been accorded high priority by the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation, considering its growing importance in terms of commercial traffic.

The corporation will take up dredging in congested stretches of the Barak river between Lakhipur and Karimganj.

A 140-km stretch of the river between Lakhipur and Karimganj has already been declared as National Waterway 4 as part of a plan to set up an all-season link with the National Waterway 1 between Allahabad and Calcutta. The corporation will also lay a ?channel marker? on the river to ensure...

GUWAHATI, Jan 31 ? The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is focusing on accident prevention, safety measures and infrastructure development despite the constant threat from the ultras in the region. Addressing mediapersons at NF Railway headquarters here today, the General Manager of the Railways Vipan Nanda informed that efforts would be geared up to reduce possibility of accidents. He informed that trial of Anti-Collision Device (ACD) was completed in NF Railway and was currently under field trial in Northern Railway. Once the field trials are over, the ACDs are likely to be introduced in the...