Society / Assam

GUWAHATI, Feb 11 — It is only fifty years old. Considering the problems it is facing and the size of the task it has undertaken, this is no age. Besides, it had to start with nothing but the zeal of a handful but well-determined people as its sole capital. And today, on the eve of its golden jubilee celebration, this organisation, which failed even to hold nine of its annual conferences due to some seemingly unsurmountable difficulties, has surpassed the other organisations of the like nature in matters of attaining maturity in shaping the vision and destiny of the people for which it is...

KALGACHIA (Barpeta), Feb 10 — The three-day special session of the Asam Sahitya Sabha gets underway in a festive mood at the Ataur Rahman Samannoy Kshetra here today. People from the remote corners of the area are making a beeline to the venue of the session from the early morning today giving the impression to the delegates of the session that all roads of Barpeta District lead only to Kalgachia Ataur Rahman Kshetra. At 2 pm about 20,000 people from various parts of the District assembled at the venue of the session. But, significantly, there was no programme going on the dais.

The...

GOLAKGANJ, Feb 9 – The plight of women in char areas in Dhubri district remains pathetic. Education is still a distant dream for most of the womenfolk here. Literacy rate in char areas is ten percent, out of which the women’s share is almost nil. Women of these areas are mainly considered tools for childbirth and maintaining household chores. “It is their duty”, said Mollah Ajgar Ali of Chalakura Char. Besides household chores, the women help their male counterparts in the paddy fields. It may be mentioned that the char women of Chalakura-Birshing, Baraibari, Kuntirchar, Bhasanirchar...

JORHAT, Feb 7 — Unwinding over a cup of steaming tea held delicately between her stunningly fair slender hands, a sari-clad Ms L Crow’s mind might have raced back to the deep recess of her innermost treasured feelings, as she recalled the 31 eventful years of her life in this verdant land of mist-clad hills, lush green forests, rolling valleys, and by her own admission, an extremely hospitable people. Cynosure of all eyes at the first-ever Tea Tourism Festival organised by the State Government at the sprawling Khelmati field of the Gymkhana Club here from February 4, side by side with the...

GUWAHATI, Feb 5 — Several top-notch schools in the State which are now affiliated to the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA), are trying to shift their affiliation to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in view of the growing popularity of the CBSE-affiliated public schools in the State of late. Sources in the CBSE regional office here claim that they are getting increasing number of requests from reputed SEBA-affiliated schools for fresh affiliation under the CBSE. The basic reasons for which more and more guardians and students are preferring education under CBSE are that...

HAFLONG, Feb 3— ‘Nulding Kut’, one of the major festivals of Biate community was celebrated here at Haflong centrally recently organised by the All Biate Students’ Association (ABSA) and Biate Cultural Organisation (BCO). Nulding Kut reflects the rich culture and tradition of Biate community. During the festival the people dressed in their traditional attire perform various dances, sing, folksongs in a festive mood. In the inaugural function P Langthasa, chief executive member, and Nirmal Marasa, chairman of NC Hills Autonomous Council attended as the chief guest and guest of honour...

GUWAHATI, Feb 3 – A huge sum of central fund granted for the Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDPs) has been diverted by the state government. The funds meant for the development of the poor tribal people had been spent for disbursement of the salaries by the previous AGP-led government which affected the schemes of the IRDPs. The state government had set up 19 ITDPs in order to carry forward welfare schemes for the tribal people, but due to shortage of funds, the ITDPs are now facing severe problems.

According to official statistics since 1998-2000, the state government had released...

JORHAT, Feb 3 — Come February 4, and all roads will lead to the ‘Remnant of the Raj’ at the historic Khelmati field here. And why not? For the State Government’s much-touted Tea Tourism Festival, which is to be held concurrently with the 125th Jorhat Races 2002 at the Gymkhana Club, is all set to showcase the myriad ethnic dresses of the North East in all their traditional splendour and riot of colours. Promising to lend a nostalgic ambience to the carnival atmosphere is Bisa Nong Gam, the grandson of the then (1823) Singpho ‘King’ of Margherita, late Bisa Gam. While the latter has been...

GUWAHATI, Jan 29 — Jnanpith awardee and Assamese writer Dr Indira Goswami, popularly known as Mamoni Raisom Goswami, today declined to accept the Padmashree awarded to her this year, reports PTI. Talking to PTI here, Goswami said, “I have rejected it (Padmashree) because after getting the Jnanpith and several other national and international awards, I found this award very incongruous.” “I have thanked them (government) for awarding me but I have told them very modestly that I will not be able to accept it. Thank you, this is not for me.” Goswami had won the Jnanpith award last year for her...

GUWAHATI, Jan 28 — Assam has created a record of sorts by registering an unprecedented 258 per cent growth in the urban population in the period from 1941 to 1991 as against a national average of just 85 per cent. Interestingly enough, only about 11.10 per cent (24,87,795) of the total population actually live in urban centres as a whole, according to the State Action Plan for Children of 1999. Assam, a predominantly agrarian society with a low level of urbanisation has small towns with a total of 80 municipal bodies and 69 of them elected ones. As most of the towns are small the State can...