Politics / Assam

NEW DELHI, March 13 — Unabated infiltration form across the border has hit the economy of Assam, with the Central Government holding the alarming growth of population at the rate of four percent as one the factors responsible of the economic slow down. In a written reply to a question tabled in Rajya Sabha by Vijay J Darda, Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation, S B Mookher-jee said that with the partition of the country the State lost on trade and commerce with the neighbouring areas as riverine transportation through Bangladesh stopped.

Further, over the period State...

UDALGURI, March 11 – The National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) should come for negotiations and should make public what it wants. If they want the welfare of the entire Bodo people, they should not delay in negotiations.” This was said by Hagrama Basumatary, chairman of Bodoland Liberation Tiger (BLT) at Udalguri courtfield Monday evening. He also questioned the validity of sovereign Boroland from Kokrajhar to Udalguri area only. Basumatary added that the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) would ensure peace and communal harmony and that development in the entire BTC area would be their...

GUWAHATI, March 11 — The Minister in charge of Assam Accord implementation, Sri Pankaj Bora, today informed the State Assembly that the Government has so far spent an amount of Rs 12,89,28,385 on the tribunals set up under the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act but only 1501 foreigners have been deported from the State under the provisions of the Act. Replying to a question by Sri Zoii Nath Sarma (AGP), the Minister said that as on January 1 this year, the IMDT tribunals disposed of 20,297 cases.

In reply to another question by Sri Sarma, the Minister said that so far 149.298...

NEW DELHI, March 10 — The Central government is not moved by the spurt of attacks unleashed by outlawed ULFA with Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani ruling out any possibility of talks in the near future with the outfit. The Deputy Prime Minister’s statement was in keeping with the unstated policy of the Central government to isolate the militant outfit before engaging them in talks. Advani was talking to newsmen at the Raising Day of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) here today.

The Central government is on the opinion that its two-pronged strategy of thrust on economic development...

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 banned Ulfa, which last night struck serially at several installations across the state, virtually hit for a six Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s robust offer to travel to Bhutan to hold talks with the outfit.

Talking to The Telegraph late this evening, Ulfa’s commander-in-chief Paresh Barua not only owned up to the attacks on oil installations in Digboi, Duliajan and Bongaigaon but also said such attacks would continue till the outfit’s conditions for talks were met.

Reacting to Gogoi’s recent offer — made in the Assembly on March 6 — to travel to Bhutan or...

GUWAHATI, March 6— The Chief Minister, Sri Tarun Gogoi today announced that he would be keen to visit any country to initiate dialogue with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) if he is acceptable to both the Central Government and the militant outfit. Replying to the discussion on the cut motions on the supplementary demand for grant for the Police department, Sri Gogoi said in the State Assembly that the Mizoram Chief Minister went to foreign countries to meet the NSCN leaders as he is acceptable to both the Centre and the militant. “If I am acceptable to both the concerned parties, I...

DIBRUGARH, March 5— Under the Samaritan scheme of the Assam Police called Project Prahari, at least one remote village in the district is set to see a happier future. The project is a brainchild of the Assam DGP, Hare Krishna Deka. Ordinarily used to round up ruffians and maintain law and order, cops of the Khowang police station in the Dibrugarh district are taking up an altogether different role as society peers and thereby helping villagers to help themselves.

Project Prahari was launched at the nondescript Bokahulla village on March 17 last year. During the past twelve months, the hundred...

NEW DELHI, March 5 — The creation of the proposed Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is likely to be delayed, with the Ministry of Home Affairs today declining to fix a time-frame to introduce the amendments to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, ID Sami said that there was no firm time-frame fixed in the memorandum of settlement (MoS) to introduce the Bills in the Parliament. Some of the provisions of the MoS require amendments to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and the Constitution...

NEW DELHI, March 4 — While ruling out the possibility of creation of an autonomous State for the hill districts of Assam, Minister of Home Affairs (MHA) has clarified that though ceasefire pact is in operation with Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) and United Peoples Democratic Solidarity (UPDS), formal peace talks are yet to start. In a written reply to a question tabled by Dr Jayanta Rongpi in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home, ID Swami has clarified that at present, there is no proposal for creation of autonomous State within Assam under Article 244 (A) of the Constitution.

The...