Jitumoni, a Young Dancing Sensation From Assam

By Peter Alex Todd

Guwahati, Sep 20 : People in Assam are overjoyed to see a 10-year-old Jeetumoni Kalita of Guwahati, winning at a popular dance show held recently in Mumbai.

A resident of Guwahati Jeetumoni Kalita also feels ecstatic, when he notices how people today view him as someone who has brought laurels to his home State.

His talent took him from Guwahati to Mumbai where he won at the Reality Dance show. Many youngster in Guwahati today have started viewing him as a dancing sensation.

Kalita tells that his passion for dance started when he was barely three years of age, a time when he used to watch his cousins dance.

Though Jeetumoni, a six-grader, is passionate about dance but he says that he has been able to strike a healthy balance between dancing and his studies.

"This challenge was very fruitful for me. I went to Mumbai from Assam and it was nice to see everyone there. But when I reached the Grand Finale and won the show, I was very happy," said Jeetumoni Kalita, the Reality Show winner.

Today, Jeetumoni's family supports him and is further supporting him follow his dreams, as winning a competition has given him tremendous confidence.

"Guardians should not even think whether their kids will be successful or not at the international level. Instead, they should encourage their kids to do something for their state and move forward," said Udhavsana Burman, Jeetumoni's uncle.

"I would like to tell all the children that we all have talent. If you want, you can also participate in such competitions and win praise," said Jeetumoni Kalita.

Read full history - Jitumoni, a Young Dancing Sensation From Assam

Assam Blockade Holds up 300 Trucks

AASU wants ‘guilty’ naga cops handed over to assam


Trucks stranded in Golaghat district on Sunday.

Nagaon, Sep 20 : More than 300 trucks bound for Nagaland were halted on National Highway 39 near Rangajan after All Assam Students Union (AASU) imposed an indefinite economic blockade.

According to Golaghat police, the snake-like queue of goods-loaded trucks started in Numaligarh, causing congestion in the approach road to the bordering district.

The blockade, begun by the students’ organisation from 3pm on Saturday, was to demand immediate steps to hand over the accused Nagaland armed police officials to the Assam government after the officials caned school students for blocking the highway on Wednesday, punishment of the officials according to law of the land and an unconditional apology for the misdeed.

More than 500 AASU supporters blocked the national highway all through the day, preventing plying of goods vehicles from Nagaland.

“We will continue this blockade till our demands are fulfilled.

Unfortunately, our local administration fails to listen to our repeated requests for a joint sitting of the administration of Golaghat and Dimapur, where video footage of the Wednesday incident could be demonstrated to identify the culprits,” said AASU’s Golaghat unit general secretary Ranjit Bora.

Golaghat administration today ensured free flow of passenger vehicles on the highway.

“There is a congestion-like situation on NH 39. But it does not deteriorate free flow of passenger vehicles,” said Golaghat superintendent of police Madan Chetia.

Deputy commissioner of police H.N. Bora said discussions with his Dimapur counterpart regarding the issue was on.

“We are trying our best to find a solution to the matter through a joint meet,” Bora told The Telegraph over telephone.

Accusing the Assam government of being a “weak” one, because of which Nagaland police could beat up Assamese students on Assamese land, AASU general secretary Tapan Gogoi told The Telegraph over phone from Titabor, “The students’ body has demanded compensation from the Assam government for those students who were brutally attacked by Nagaland policemen. The blockade would continue unless the culprits responsible for the incident were punished.”.

Top AASU leaders, led by Gogoi, today visited several places in Golaghat and Jorhat districts where activists of the organisation, in batches, were carrying out the road blockade round the clock for the second day against vehicles coming to and from from Nagaland.

At Mariani and Titabor, AASU members on Saturday had prevented vehicles from going to Nagaland. AASU general secretary of Jorhat district unit, Dhruba Jyoti Hazarika, said over six trucks, including tankers, were stopped at Titabor.

He said vehicles coming from and going to Nagaland were stopped. Other vehicles plying on the road were not blocked by the agitating members.

He said the team, comprising education secretary Mani Madhab Mahanta, publicity secretary Pulak Chetia, assistant general secretary Nilufar Rahman, also visited the Golaghat government hospital to know about the condition of those injured by Nagaland police attack on Wednesday. He said the team had then headed to the adjoining Jorhat district.

Titabor sub-divisional officer (civil), Jadab Saikia, told The Telegraph that the administration was keeping a “close watch” on the situation.

Saikia said police patrolling near the places where protesters were staging a blockade had been intensified.

He said the situation was peaceful with vehicular traffic, apart from vehicles from Nagaland.

Read full history - Assam Blockade Holds up 300 Trucks

AGP to Continue Movement Against Mega Dams

Guwahati, Sep 20 : The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today decided to continue the movement against the construction of mega dams, while, the party will finalize its election strategy in the meeting of its general house tomorrow.

AGP sources said that the executive committee of the party, which met today, strongly reacted to the reported statement of the NHPC Chairman cum managing director regarding the construction of the Lower Subansiri dam project and alleged that the State Government failed to play its desired role on the issue.

The AGP strongly opposed the assault on AASU members by Nagaland police personnel in Golaghat district recently and observed that the Assam Government totally failed to take up the issue strongly with the Government of the neighbouring state.

Sources said that the success of the “mass contact programme” of the AGP was discussed in detail and the party decided to continue such programmes covering all parts of the state in the days to come. All the senior leaders of the regional party will take part in such programmes to bring the regional force closer to all sections of the people. As the AGP is completing 25 years of its formation on October 14, the party is making preparations to celebrate the occasion in a befitting manner.

The issue of electoral alliances of the AGP was also discussed in today’s meeting and party sources said that majority of the executive members were opposed to continuing the alliance with the BJP as they are of the view that the votes of the BJP supporters were not transferred to AGP candidates in the last Lok Sabha polls. The steering committee of the AGP had earlier decided to discontinue the alliance with the BJP, but the final decision in this regard will only be taken by the general house, which is the all powerful body of the regional party. “The decision to forge an alliance with the BJP was approved by the general house and only the same body can take the final decision on whether to continue the alliance or not,” party sources said.

The general house of the AGP will meet tomorrow at the Haryana Bhawan in the city tomorrow and the party is likely to take the final decision on electoral alliances in the meeting. More than 600 delegates from all over the state are expected to attend the meeting where the party’s strategies for the Assembly elections in 2011 will be finalized. AGP sources said.

Read full history - AGP to Continue Movement Against Mega Dams

Wildlife Parks in Assam Inundated

Guwahati, Sep 19 :  Monsoon regenerates wildlife parks but when the sanctuaries are flooded, it puts the animals at greater risk of being poached and shrinks their food supply. 

The forest guards keep a tight vigil at the Pobitora Sanctuary in Assam. With the tributaries of the Brahmaputra flowing above danger level, the wildlife park is inundated.

The animals, mostly rhinos, have moved to highlands but they are running out of food.

There is no flood relief available for wild animals but in times like these they are more vulnerable than people.

Rhinos, for example, are valued for the price they carry on their horns and that's why the park authorities must work overtime not only to supply food but also protection.
"It is not possible for other national parks but in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary we provide some extra foliage, trees etc as food," said a ranger.  

Pobitora has the highest concentration of the one horned rhino and has a record of zero poaching in the last five years. But the threat is always there.
Former poachers have also been roped in to keep vigil. But with the rising water, the wildlife parks across the state may need more support.

Read full history - Wildlife Parks in Assam Inundated

Wildlife Parks in Assam Inundated

Guwahati, Sep 19 :  Monsoon regenerates wildlife parks but when the sanctuaries are flooded, it puts the animals at greater risk of being poached and shrinks their food supply. 

The forest guards keep a tight vigil at the Pobitora Sanctuary in Assam. With the tributaries of the Brahmaputra flowing above danger level, the wildlife park is inundated.

The animals, mostly rhinos, have moved to highlands but they are running out of food.

There is no flood relief available for wild animals but in times like these they are more vulnerable than people.

Rhinos, for example, are valued for the price they carry on their horns and that's why the park authorities must work overtime not only to supply food but also protection.
"It is not possible for other national parks but in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary we provide some extra foliage, trees etc as food," said a ranger.  

Pobitora has the highest concentration of the one horned rhino and has a record of zero poaching in the last five years. But the threat is always there.
Former poachers have also been roped in to keep vigil. But with the rising water, the wildlife parks across the state may need more support.

Read full history - Wildlife Parks in Assam Inundated

AASU Threatens Economic Blockade Against Nagaland

Guwahati, Sep 18 : Two days after the Nagaland police fired the All Assam Students Union (AASU), they now threaten to impose economic blockade on NH-39 from Sep 19.

They said that unless the police are arrested, they will further extend indefinite blockade on the border highway.

AASU said that its members would cover their faces in black mask, hoist black flags and hold demonstrations at the district headquarter in protest against the incident.

Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday, Sep 17 directed the Labour & Employment K K Mittal to probe into the incident and submit the report within seven days.

Sources said he also spoke to Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio to ensure that the errant policemen were arrested at the earliest.

Read full history - AASU Threatens Economic Blockade Against Nagaland

AASU Threatens Economic Blockade Against Nagaland

Guwahati, Sep 18 : Two days after the Nagaland police fired the All Assam Students Union (AASU), they now threaten to impose economic blockade on NH-39 from Sep 19.

They said that unless the police are arrested, they will further extend indefinite blockade on the border highway.

AASU said that its members would cover their faces in black mask, hoist black flags and hold demonstrations at the district headquarter in protest against the incident.

Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday, Sep 17 directed the Labour & Employment K K Mittal to probe into the incident and submit the report within seven days.

Sources said he also spoke to Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio to ensure that the errant policemen were arrested at the earliest.

Read full history - AASU Threatens Economic Blockade Against Nagaland

Aged 120, Living on Boiled Food, Rice Beer - And Loving it!

Rongmowe (Assam): At 120, she is one of India's oldest women and Kareng Teronpi is still going strong, thanks to a daily diet of bland boiled rice, vegetables, and, of course, a regular bottle of moonshine to keep her spirits high!

She looks frail and emaciated, is weak in the knees and almost bedridden for the past year. But Kareng is very agile - with near perfect eyesight and a voice still chirpy.

"I don't know when I was born... maybe many years ago," Kareng said with a coy smile.

Incidentally, her eldest daughter is around 90 years old and stays nearby.

A resident of village Rongmongwe Sorpokathar in Karbi Anglong district, about 280 km east of Assam's main city of Guwahati, Kareng, a tribal Karbi woman, is believed to have completed her 120th birthday.

"Based on details from our uncles and aunts and grandparents we have calculated her age, although we don't have any birth records as such," Docsingh Kathar, one of the many grandsons of Kareng, told IANS.

Kareng loves eating good food - rice, boiled vegetables, soup being her staple menu, besides a passion for rice beer.

"She requires at least two glasses of Hor (fermented rice beer). She relishes the drink. She is a vegetarian and never eats spicy food," Kathar said.

The mother of four children, Kareng has seen four generations and the entire family consists of more than 60 people. Two of her children - a son and a daughter - are alive, while two others expired.

"She can recognise us from a distance as he still has very good eyesight," a grandson said with a cheeky smile.

Kareng's husband died some six decades ago.

Interestingly, the village is home to about a dozen odd people who are in their 90s. Some even claim to have crossed the century mark.

"I am nearing 100 and the key to my longevity is that I never ate tobacco or tobacco products, always ate boiled food with no spices, besides maintaining a disciplined life all along," said Jon Kathar.

Read full history - Aged 120, Living on Boiled Food, Rice Beer - And Loving it!

Aged 120, Living on Boiled Food, Rice Beer - And Loving it!

Rongmowe (Assam): At 120, she is one of India's oldest women and Kareng Teronpi is still going strong, thanks to a daily diet of bland boiled rice, vegetables, and, of course, a regular bottle of moonshine to keep her spirits high!

She looks frail and emaciated, is weak in the knees and almost bedridden for the past year. But Kareng is very agile - with near perfect eyesight and a voice still chirpy.

"I don't know when I was born... maybe many years ago," Kareng said with a coy smile.

Incidentally, her eldest daughter is around 90 years old and stays nearby.

A resident of village Rongmongwe Sorpokathar in Karbi Anglong district, about 280 km east of Assam's main city of Guwahati, Kareng, a tribal Karbi woman, is believed to have completed her 120th birthday.

"Based on details from our uncles and aunts and grandparents we have calculated her age, although we don't have any birth records as such," Docsingh Kathar, one of the many grandsons of Kareng, told IANS.

Kareng loves eating good food - rice, boiled vegetables, soup being her staple menu, besides a passion for rice beer.

"She requires at least two glasses of Hor (fermented rice beer). She relishes the drink. She is a vegetarian and never eats spicy food," Kathar said.

The mother of four children, Kareng has seen four generations and the entire family consists of more than 60 people. Two of her children - a son and a daughter - are alive, while two others expired.

"She can recognise us from a distance as he still has very good eyesight," a grandson said with a cheeky smile.

Kareng's husband died some six decades ago.

Interestingly, the village is home to about a dozen odd people who are in their 90s. Some even claim to have crossed the century mark.

"I am nearing 100 and the key to my longevity is that I never ate tobacco or tobacco products, always ate boiled food with no spices, besides maintaining a disciplined life all along," said Jon Kathar.

Read full history - Aged 120, Living on Boiled Food, Rice Beer - And Loving it!

Burgeoning Voters List in Assam Evokes Controversy

By Syed Zarir Hussain

Guwahati, Sep 17 : Assam has witnessed an increase of about 600,000 voters in the final electoral rolls 2010 published by the state election commission, triggering doubts that names of illegal Bangladeshis could have entered the rolls.

There has been an increase of 3.29 percent in the number of voters compared to the draft rolls for the 2009 parliamentary elections - the number of voters has swelled to 17,953,112, an increase of about 571,445.

According to commission sources, names of an estimated 315,943 voters were deleted in the final electoral rolls - some of them doubtful citizens and others who might have died or on some technical grounds.

But the publication of the electoral rolls has already triggered a debate with the politics of citizenship taking centre stage ahead of next year’s assembly elections.

“We have to carefully go through the voters list, but prima facie it appears the increase in the number of electors seems very high,” Chandra Mohan Patowary, president of Assam’s main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), told IANS.

The issue of citizenship in Assam has always remained a controversial and sensitive issue with allegations that hordes of illegal migrants enter the state from Bangladesh by crossing over through stretches of the unfenced border.

“The increase in the number of voters by 3.29 percent is quite significant and we really need to analyse the whole issue in depth,” Assam unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Party Ranjit Dutta said.

But the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF), a minority-based political party, is unfazed by the increase in the number of voters.

“There is nothing abnormal in the figures and we believe it is very much within the national average,” AUDF working president Hafiz Rashid Choudhury said.

There have always been doubts expressed and allegations that the voters list in Assam was never free from names of Bangladeshi nationals.

“The voters list is yet to be made public so far and hence it would be too early to comment. But then we want a voters list that is free from names of any Bangladeshi national,” an All Assam Students Union (AASU) leader said.

The AASU had led a six-year-long agitation against illegal Bangladeshi migrants between 1979 and 1985. The uprising ended with the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985 that fixed March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for detection and expulsion of the illegal aliens.

(Syed Zarir Hussain can be contacted at zarir.h@ians.in

Read full history - Burgeoning Voters List in Assam Evokes Controversy

Burgeoning Voters List in Assam Evokes Controversy

By Syed Zarir Hussain

Guwahati, Sep 17 : Assam has witnessed an increase of about 600,000 voters in the final electoral rolls 2010 published by the state election commission, triggering doubts that names of illegal Bangladeshis could have entered the rolls.

There has been an increase of 3.29 percent in the number of voters compared to the draft rolls for the 2009 parliamentary elections - the number of voters has swelled to 17,953,112, an increase of about 571,445.

According to commission sources, names of an estimated 315,943 voters were deleted in the final electoral rolls - some of them doubtful citizens and others who might have died or on some technical grounds.

But the publication of the electoral rolls has already triggered a debate with the politics of citizenship taking centre stage ahead of next year’s assembly elections.

“We have to carefully go through the voters list, but prima facie it appears the increase in the number of electors seems very high,” Chandra Mohan Patowary, president of Assam’s main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), told IANS.

The issue of citizenship in Assam has always remained a controversial and sensitive issue with allegations that hordes of illegal migrants enter the state from Bangladesh by crossing over through stretches of the unfenced border.

“The increase in the number of voters by 3.29 percent is quite significant and we really need to analyse the whole issue in depth,” Assam unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Party Ranjit Dutta said.

But the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF), a minority-based political party, is unfazed by the increase in the number of voters.

“There is nothing abnormal in the figures and we believe it is very much within the national average,” AUDF working president Hafiz Rashid Choudhury said.

There have always been doubts expressed and allegations that the voters list in Assam was never free from names of Bangladeshi nationals.

“The voters list is yet to be made public so far and hence it would be too early to comment. But then we want a voters list that is free from names of any Bangladeshi national,” an All Assam Students Union (AASU) leader said.

The AASU had led a six-year-long agitation against illegal Bangladeshi migrants between 1979 and 1985. The uprising ended with the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985 that fixed March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for detection and expulsion of the illegal aliens.

(Syed Zarir Hussain can be contacted at zarir.h@ians.in

Read full history - Burgeoning Voters List in Assam Evokes Controversy

Gogoi Orders Inquiry Into Firing by Nagaland Police

Guwahati, Sep 16 : Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has ordered an inquiry into the firing and assault by Nagaland police in upper Assam's Golaghat district on Wednesday in which over 20 people were injured, some of them seriously.

He has also asked the district administration to immediately file a report on the incident, official sources said.

Meanwhile, All Assam Students Union (AASU) today staged a sit-in in front of the district deputy commissioner's office protesting against the incident and demanding action against the erring Nagaland police personnel.

About 1500 protesters belonging to AASU, various local organisations and women units had yesterday staged a road blockade on NH 39 to protest against lack of security in the Assam-Nagaland border areas.

As the protesters were agitating a convoy of five cars belonging to Nagaland police arrived at the spot and opened fire and assaulted them when they were stopped.

In the firing and assault 22 persons were injured and admitted to Golaghat civil hospital while two of them were referred to the Assam Medical College Hospital, Dibrugarh, the sources said.

Read full history - Gogoi Orders Inquiry Into Firing by Nagaland Police

Gogoi Orders Inquiry Into Firing by Nagaland Police

Guwahati, Sep 16 : Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has ordered an inquiry into the firing and assault by Nagaland police in upper Assam's Golaghat district on Wednesday in which over 20 people were injured, some of them seriously.

He has also asked the district administration to immediately file a report on the incident, official sources said.

Meanwhile, All Assam Students Union (AASU) today staged a sit-in in front of the district deputy commissioner's office protesting against the incident and demanding action against the erring Nagaland police personnel.

About 1500 protesters belonging to AASU, various local organisations and women units had yesterday staged a road blockade on NH 39 to protest against lack of security in the Assam-Nagaland border areas.

As the protesters were agitating a convoy of five cars belonging to Nagaland police arrived at the spot and opened fire and assaulted them when they were stopped.

In the firing and assault 22 persons were injured and admitted to Golaghat civil hospital while two of them were referred to the Assam Medical College Hospital, Dibrugarh, the sources said.

Read full history - Gogoi Orders Inquiry Into Firing by Nagaland Police

Assam Sound Engineer Excited at Winning Nat Award With Resul

He has been an assistant to Resul Pookutty for eight years and when Amrit Pritam won the National Award along with the Oscar-winning sound artiste for their work in the superhit Malayalam film Keralavarma Pazhassiraja today, his joy knew no bounds.

"He has been my teacher all these years and I learnt the ABC of sound editing and designing from Resul," Pritam said.

He had worked with Resul in the Aamir Khan-starrer Ghajini.

According to the Mumbai-based Pritam who hails from Assam, he worked for nearly five months with Resul for Keralavarma Pazhassiraja.

"For months, I used to stay in the studio from Monday to Friday and went home only on Saturdays and Sundays," he told PTI.

However, there was a small glitch as Pritam's name was not announced in the press conference of the awards today. Meawnhile, Resul has already contacted the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on this.

"I spoke to the ministry and a formal rectification and announcement can be expected in a day or two," Resul said.

Read full history - Assam Sound Engineer Excited at Winning Nat Award With Resul

Assam Sound Engineer Excited at Winning Nat Award With Resul

He has been an assistant to Resul Pookutty for eight years and when Amrit Pritam won the National Award along with the Oscar-winning sound artiste for their work in the superhit Malayalam film Keralavarma Pazhassiraja today, his joy knew no bounds.

"He has been my teacher all these years and I learnt the ABC of sound editing and designing from Resul," Pritam said.

He had worked with Resul in the Aamir Khan-starrer Ghajini.

According to the Mumbai-based Pritam who hails from Assam, he worked for nearly five months with Resul for Keralavarma Pazhassiraja.

"For months, I used to stay in the studio from Monday to Friday and went home only on Saturdays and Sundays," he told PTI.

However, there was a small glitch as Pritam's name was not announced in the press conference of the awards today. Meawnhile, Resul has already contacted the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on this.

"I spoke to the ministry and a formal rectification and announcement can be expected in a day or two," Resul said.

Read full history - Assam Sound Engineer Excited at Winning Nat Award With Resul

Brahmaputra Overflows, Assam Flood Situation Critical

Guwahati, Sep 14 : The flood situation in Assam turned critical Tuesday with the main river Brahmaputra crossing the danger level at several places, taking the total number of displaced people to 500,000 in 10 districts, officials said.

A government spokesperson said floods have spread to 10 districts with the worst hit being Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Morigaon, Golaghat and Barpeta. Two people drowned earlier this week in separate incidents while trying to escape the fury of floods in eastern Assam.

‘More than 500 villages have been badly affected by the floods so far in 10 districts,’ the official said. An estimated 100,000 people are now displaced in Lakhimpur district alone, about 400 km east of Assam’s main city Guwahati.

‘Most of the flood-hit people are now taking shelter in raised platforms, on railway tracks, and also in government schools and offices so far untouched by the floods,’ a district official said.

A Central Water Commission bulletin said the Brahmaputra and its tributaries were flowing above the danger mark in at least eight places.

Gushing floodwaters had breached at least four vital mud embankments in the state.

South Asia’s largest river island of Majuli in Jorhat district has also been hit by the floods with a breach in a mud embankment reported Monday night, leaving thousands of people stranded on raised platforms.

Over 50 villages in Dhemaji district have also come under water.

Measures are being taken to plug the breaches in the mud embankments.

‘We have sounded maximum alert and have already kept disaster management teams on standby. We are also taking stock of essentials and other commodities in the district,’ Assam relief and rehabilitation minister Bhumidhar Barman said.

The 2,906-km-long Brahmaputra is one of Asia’s largest rivers and traverses its first stretch of 1,625 km in China’s Tibet region, the next 918 km in India and the remaining 363 km through neighbouring Bangladesh before flowing into the Bay of Bengal.

Read full history - Brahmaputra Overflows, Assam Flood Situation Critical

Brahmaputra Overflows, Assam Flood Situation Critical

Guwahati, Sep 14 : The flood situation in Assam turned critical Tuesday with the main river Brahmaputra crossing the danger level at several places, taking the total number of displaced people to 500,000 in 10 districts, officials said.

A government spokesperson said floods have spread to 10 districts with the worst hit being Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Morigaon, Golaghat and Barpeta. Two people drowned earlier this week in separate incidents while trying to escape the fury of floods in eastern Assam.

‘More than 500 villages have been badly affected by the floods so far in 10 districts,’ the official said. An estimated 100,000 people are now displaced in Lakhimpur district alone, about 400 km east of Assam’s main city Guwahati.

‘Most of the flood-hit people are now taking shelter in raised platforms, on railway tracks, and also in government schools and offices so far untouched by the floods,’ a district official said.

A Central Water Commission bulletin said the Brahmaputra and its tributaries were flowing above the danger mark in at least eight places.

Gushing floodwaters had breached at least four vital mud embankments in the state.

South Asia’s largest river island of Majuli in Jorhat district has also been hit by the floods with a breach in a mud embankment reported Monday night, leaving thousands of people stranded on raised platforms.

Over 50 villages in Dhemaji district have also come under water.

Measures are being taken to plug the breaches in the mud embankments.

‘We have sounded maximum alert and have already kept disaster management teams on standby. We are also taking stock of essentials and other commodities in the district,’ Assam relief and rehabilitation minister Bhumidhar Barman said.

The 2,906-km-long Brahmaputra is one of Asia’s largest rivers and traverses its first stretch of 1,625 km in China’s Tibet region, the next 918 km in India and the remaining 363 km through neighbouring Bangladesh before flowing into the Bay of Bengal.

Read full history - Brahmaputra Overflows, Assam Flood Situation Critical

NHRC to Inquire Into Barpeta Police Firing

New Delhi, Sep 13 : Taking a serious view of the police firing in Barpeta town of Assam which left four persons dead and about 50 people injured, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has decided to inquire into the incident.

Acting on a complaint filed by rights activist and lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy, the Commission has asked the director general (investigation) to collect the “relevant reports” relating to the firing within eight weeks.

In the incident on July 7, at least four students were killed and 50 injured in Barpeta town when the police opened fire on protesters who tried to stop updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) being carried out in July. Trouble erupted when a group of All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) activists allegedly pelted stones and set ablaze a building in the premises of the deputy commissioner’s office in a bid to stop updating of NRC work in progress there.

Tripathy, in his petition, had accused the state authorities of a “high-handed attitude” towards the members of the minority communities especially students in the state and urged the Commission to intervene to protect their rights. He pleaded that the commission should conduct an investigation into the circumstances in which the police resorted to opening fire at the agitating students.

The NRC is being updated to identify and enlist Indian citizens in the state. In March, the Assam Assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to update the NRC of 1951 by taking the 1971 electoral rolls as the basis.

Read full history - NHRC to Inquire Into Barpeta Police Firing

NHRC to Inquire Into Barpeta Police Firing

New Delhi, Sep 13 : Taking a serious view of the police firing in Barpeta town of Assam which left four persons dead and about 50 people injured, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has decided to inquire into the incident.

Acting on a complaint filed by rights activist and lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy, the Commission has asked the director general (investigation) to collect the “relevant reports” relating to the firing within eight weeks.

In the incident on July 7, at least four students were killed and 50 injured in Barpeta town when the police opened fire on protesters who tried to stop updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) being carried out in July. Trouble erupted when a group of All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) activists allegedly pelted stones and set ablaze a building in the premises of the deputy commissioner’s office in a bid to stop updating of NRC work in progress there.

Tripathy, in his petition, had accused the state authorities of a “high-handed attitude” towards the members of the minority communities especially students in the state and urged the Commission to intervene to protect their rights. He pleaded that the commission should conduct an investigation into the circumstances in which the police resorted to opening fire at the agitating students.

The NRC is being updated to identify and enlist Indian citizens in the state. In March, the Assam Assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to update the NRC of 1951 by taking the 1971 electoral rolls as the basis.

Read full history - NHRC to Inquire Into Barpeta Police Firing

Bodos Unite to End Violence

By Preetam B. Choudhury

Bodo leaders at the meeting on Friday.

Barama (Baksa), Sep 11 : In a move towards restoring peace in the Bodo belt, several organisations which had earlier been at loggerheads today decided to work together in the greater interest of society.

Braving the incessant rain since early this morning, leaders and representatives from over 26 Bodo organisations attended the unification meeting at Barama College in Baksa to find a solution to end the violence and work for a common cause.

Members of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha (BSS), the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), the Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF), the United Democratic Peoples’ Front (UDPF), the National Democratic Front Boroland (Progressive), the Ex-BLT Welfare Association, the Boro Women Justice Forum (BWJF), the All Bodo Women Welfare Federation, among others, took part in the conclave.

The Bodoland Peoples’ Progressive Front (BPPF), however, stayed away from the conclave.

Thousands of people gathered at the college ground with the hope that something positive would come out of it.

The meet adopted three resolutions — to form a committee for holding more such meetings, to appeal to the anti-talks NDFB to come forward for peace talks in the greater interest of the Bodo community and to approach the Centre to hold talks with the NDFB.

Terming the move as historic, Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mohilary, who is also the president of BPF said, “It is really good to see that we have realised the need to unite and work together. We have many agenda that need collective effort. Let’s usher in a new beginning by forgetting our past differences and work together.”

Echoing Mohilary, NDFB (Progressive) secretary general B. Swmkwr said, “Lack of co-ordination and constructive effort among the Bodo groups have caused immense loss. To forge unity and mutual understanding, we need to forget the past. Our motto henceforth should be to forget and forgive. Let us work together for unity and development and make our dream of separate homeland a success.”

Boro Women Justice Forum president Anjali Daimary termed the unity move as the need of the hour.

Absu presiden romode Boro said unity is a common desire of the Bodo community.

Bodo Sahitya Sabha president Kameswar Brahma also called upon the leaders to end their differences.

“The common people are not idiots. It is the leaders who need to change their views and unite to work in the greater interest of the community,” he said.

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