Environment / Assam

GUWAHATI, January 29: Centre has prepared a scheme of Rs 55 crore to control flood havoc in the Brahmaputra and Barak Valleys. Disclosing this at a Flood Control Ministers meet of the Northeast, organised by the State Flood Control Department here today, the Union Minister for Water Resources, Arjun Charan Sethi informed that the funds will be provided as 90 per cent Central grant and 10 per cent State share. Sethi further said that Centre has released so far Rs 390.90 crore loan to the State to combat the flood problem. "Keeping in view the intensity of flood, the Brahmaputra Board has drawn...

KAMALABARI, January 18: The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), Bhopal, has already made documentation of the cultural heritage of the world's largest fresh water island Majuli's people and these documents will reach the other parts of the world through the internet network, said IGRMS director Sujit Som while conducting a workshop on satra material culture at the Garamur Bangshigopal Natya Mandir this evening. While emphasising that the IGRMS has a special approach towards the heritage of NE people, he said that many human being with his or her sense of possession, has been...

GUWAHATI, January 17: Gone are the days when zoos were merely centres of fun and entertainment where the animals were the entertainers. Today, zoos are regarded as important scientific centres. The emphasis is more on the scientific upkeep of animals besides, in some cases, sheltering members of endangered species and facilitating captive breeding. Keeping with the trend worldwide, the Assam State Zoo here has also undertaken several measures to provide a better environment to the inmates trying to bring them as close to their natural environs as possible. In their efforts to ensure minimum...

GUWAHATI, January 16: After a long wait, the construction work of the much publicised Pagladiya project will begin from February next. The Rs 500 crore multipurpose project of Nalbari district suffered a setback at the initial stage as several organisations raised strong protest apprehending that over 27 villages would be affected due to erection of a bundh for it. Addressing a press conference here today, the Union Minister for Water Resources, Bijaya Chakraborty informed that Centre has released Rs 40 crore for rehabilitation of the villagers. In this context, Chakraborty said that all the...

GUWAHATI, August 14: The Forest Department is trying to evict the encroachers of the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) who are involved in poaching and illegal fishing, said Union Minister of State for Forest and Environment Babulal Marandi while replying to an unstarred question by Arun Kumar Sarma, MP from Assam, in the Rajya Sabha on August 11, says a release here. Marandi admitted that out of the 50,000 inhabitants in and around Kaziranga National Park (KNP), 500 were encroachers. Even though the authorities had initiated steps for the eviction of the encroachers, they obtained stay orders...

DIBRUGARH, August 4: The Pune-based Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) has stated in an interim report that to arrest floods and erosion in the Upper Assam districts, the river Debang will have to be brought to its old course and the Ananta Nalla blocked at its offtake point near Hatighuli in Tinsukia district. Over the past several years, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries have been playing havoc with life and property in several Upper Assam districts. Among the worst affected by floods is the Dhemaji district and the worst erosion hit has been the Rohmaria area of Dibrugarh...

TEZPUR, August 3: Kaziranga was notified as a National Park in 1974 and is today a world re-known wild-life sanctuary housing endangered species like the one-horned rhino, swampdeer, wild buffalo, elephant, tiger, hoolock gibbon, gangetic dolphin, sambar, florican and the great Indian hornbill. Situated 85 km east of Tezpur, the Park stretches over 430 sq km of riverine terrain along the south bank of the mighty Brahmaputra. Due to its location, the park is annually ravaged by the fury of floods causing extensive loss to wildlife and property. In 1998, 80 per cent of the Park was submerged...

NEW DELHI, August 2: The Agriculture Ministry has sanctioned Rs 37 crore to the Assam government for undertaking flood control work provoking some of the Congress members to protest the 'meagre' allocation of funds. Union Agriculture Minister, Nitish Kumar, however, did not feel that the amount was inadequate. He argued that the flood control problem in Assam has to be seen in larger perspective. So far over 4560 km embankments have been constructed and 945 km drainage channels have been created in Assam to tackle the flood problems in the state, he claimed. Kumar was reacting to Paban Singh...

GUWAHATI, July 26: Fifty-one rhinos have been killed by poachers in Orang national park in less than a decade. After the rhino population was wiped out at Laokhowa wildlife sanctuary and Manas national park, rhinos at Orang are now facing extinction. According to available figures, the rhino population has plummeted from 97 in 1991 to 46 in 1999. This year, five rhinos have been killed till July. Unabated poaching has also reduced the rhino sites in Assam from five to three. Earlier, rhinos were found in five protected sites - Kaziranga, Pobitora, Manas, Laokhowa and Orang. With the rhino...

GUWAHATI, July 19: Tribal Students Federation (TSF) of Assam has vowed to foil bid to set up a coal-based thermo electric project by the Northeastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) at Longtong Udoipur under Tirap tribal belt in Margherita. The primary reason for which the TSF is opposed to setting up of project that is the state government is preparing to allot 1000 bighas of land for the project evicting total 305 families from the area. Already the Government has evicted 200 families in Udoipur village without paying compensation. The leaders of the TSF on Tuesday informed the Press...