Society / Assam

GUWAHATI, June 23 – The atmosphere in Kamakhya wears a festive look as pilgrims continue to throng the hilly locale anticipating the opening of the temple doors, which closed on June 22. Till today about two lakh, twenty thousand pilgrims have visited the temple town, even though the doors would open for pilgrims only on Friday morning. The nibritti, however will take place some hours before the pilgrims are allowed inside the temple. This year visitors have come in from several foreign countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and USA. A sizeable number of...

GUWAHATI, June 17 – The State Government, in its bid to calm frayed tempers, today said that no final decision has yet been taken regarding the granting of 6th Schedule status to the Misings in upper Assam. It has also assured that the interests of the non-Misings in the area would not be compromised in any way. State Welfare of Plains Tribes and Backward Classes (WPT & BC) Minister Bharat Narah said during a press conference at the Janata Bhawan here that fears, being fuelled by the opposition AGP, that the Misings are on the verge of being accorded 6th Schedule status, are totally off the...

NIZ-KACHULA, June 15 – There has been no real development in the field of terracotta in the rural areas. Even its popularity among the rural areas is declining day by day. The potter’s craft of terracotta is practised by two communities – Hira and Kumar since time immemorial for livelihood. There has been no development in the status of these two communities who have to work with little spirit without any up-to-date modern facilities. They have not got modern tools to develop their this old business. This tradition has been handed down from generation to generation without any break among...

Dibrugarh/Guwahati, June 10: Cinema halls across Assam turned into high-security zones with gun-toting police and paramilitary personnel positioned at the entrances and filmgoers being screened with metal detectors to avert a repeat of the grenade blast that rocked a hall in Tinsukia. Suspected Ulfa militants yesterday lobbed a grenade on viewers seated in the stalls of Tinsukia’s Paradise cinema hall at the start of the matinee show. As many as 21 were injured, one of whom died at Dibrugarh Medical College and Hospital today.

The government asked officials in all districts to convene meetings...

GUWAHATI, June 8 – Despite Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s tall claims of peace having returned to the State, kidnappings in Assam seem to be witnessing a rising trend since he took over on May 2001. The latest kidnapping of a senior Minister’s son in the State has come as a big blow to the Chief Minister’s claims. There are also indications that extortion by militants is rampant across the State. Security sources revealed here today that since the Congress came to power in 2001, the incidences of kidnappings have increased steadily over the years. Thus, 82 people were abducted in 2001. In 2002...

TEZPUR, June 2 – The Assam Valley School(AVS) set up at Harchura tea estate near Balipara , a small hamlet in northern Assam and 27 kms away from Tezpur, the district headquater of Sonitpur in 1995 by the Magor Education Trust built at the cost of Rs 122 crore, has not only been importing quality education but contributing greatly in the field of human resources. Spread across a 95 hectare of land and surrounded by tea gardens the school is not only helping the students attain their fullest academic potential but equips them in the equally rich fields of physical, cultural and artistic...

The majestic and picturesque Haflong lake — one among the biggest and beautiful man-made lakes in India was dug out more than 100 years ago by the Britishers under the town planning programme. Deemed as the scenic paradise of North East — Haflong an important tourist destination spot. Nature’s charm amidst the concrete structures bustling town and modernization in this only hills station of Assam was once patronised by the Europeans during the colonial period. The Haflong lake initially was a small lake beneath a hill. It was during the colonial heydays when the need of a lake was felt in...

It was a landmark event for the cultural scenario of the State as well as the north-eastern region when the Jyoti Chitraban Film & Television Institute (JCFTI) was inaugurated on January 17, 1999, as a tribute to Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, the father-figure of Assamese films who produced and directed the first-ever Assamese feature film way back in 1935 which incidentally was also the first-ever movie produced in the region. As the region has been devoid of any such institution prior to the JCFTI, the Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio (Society) authorities felt that it was high time such an...

SIVASAGAR, May 19 – ‘Pro Mising Action’ a bilingual bi-monthly in English and Mising, was released by N N Taye, Support Manager, ONGC, in a function held in Hotel Skychef on May 16. Published by an NGO Institution for Culture and Rural Development (I-Card), Jorhat, distinguished litterateur and linguist Prof. Nahendra Padun is the editor of the magazine. In his speech explained the lexical difference between the terms ‘Miri’ and ‘Mising’.

Speaking on the occasion, Guna Boruah, secretary, Sivasagar District Journalists Association, pointed out the covert designs of some orthodox groups...

GUWAHATI, May 18 – Celebrated thespian Girish Chowdhury passed away at his Ulubari home at 9-20 am today. Chowdhury, among the pioneers of co-acting on stage in the State, was also at the forefront of popularising stage drama in the State for well over four decades. He had been suffering from old-age ailments for some time and was discharged from the Guwahati Medical College Hospital only yesterday. He was 83.

Chowdhury dedicated his whole life towards the uplift of drama and left his indelible imprint by playing the lead role in about a hundred stage plays. He used to act with ?lan in films...