News

AGARTALA, Dec 12 ? Agartala Bench of Gauhati High Court has served a notice to Tripura government on a litigation that questioned legality of amendment of electric supply conditions enhancing power tariff on the basis of a 1910 act, which is not in force. The state electricity department in a notification on June 11, 2003 invoked Indian Electricity Act, 1910 (IX of 1910) for amendment of Tripura Electricity Supply Condition 1998. The amendment was required to hike the power tariff at domestic as well as business establishments.

Appearing before Justice AH Saikia on behalf of the petitioner...

GUWAHATI, Dec 12 ? In a significant order, the Gauhati High Court has directed and restrained the Meghalaya Government and its officers as well as non-government organisations and associations from collecting any money from truck owners and drivers at various check gates installed on the National Highway 62 until further orders. The order, made while disposing of the case (No WP(c) No 9654/2003) filed by the Goalpara District Truck Owners? Association, further instructed the Meghalaya Government to ensure that the truck owners and drivers were not harassed on PWD roads by any organisation or...

NEW DELHI, Dec 12 ? In a first-ever attempt of its kind to save Majuli Island, Assam Government and Satradhikars have jointly called for expeditious clearance of Rs 30 crore project to protect the Island besides demanding a bridge across Barhmaputra connecting Jorhat and Lakhimpur districts. A joint delegation led by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, few of his ministerial colleagues, four senior Satradhikars today urged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to come to the rescue of the seat of the Vaishnavite culture.

The delegation of the Satradhikars included Pitambar Dev Goswami of Aauniati Satra...

Kokrajhar, Dec. 11: As a student at Gauhati Medical College in the Eighties, Bharat Chandra Basumatary took the Hippocratic oath to save lives. But he ended up as an outcast in 1992 after being arrested on charges of triggering a bomb blast in the busy Paltan Bazar area of Assam?s capital city.

Basumatary has come a long way since then. He laid down arms last week along with his comrades in the disbanded Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) and wants to start life anew. ?Yes, I am ready to resume my career as a doctor,? he says.

As many as 20 people were killed in the blast that made Basumatary...

Dibrugarh, Dec. 11: Elephant menace is sending people in the rural areas of Upper Assam districts of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh scurrying for shelter. Altogether 22 families are taking shelter in Kathallbam L.P. School in Larua Mouza under Moran Assembly constituency to protect themselves from the wild elephants.

According to the villagers, the elephants have destroyed standing crops worth lakhs in 50 villages. The tuskers have come from the nearby Medela reserve forest. They said nearly 100 wild elephants, which have been destroying crops this year, have razed about 40 huts.

?We start preparing...