Assam CA briefing 9 June

1.

Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday interacted with the newly appointed principals and teachers deployed in 19 new Tea Garden Adarsha Vidyalayas of the state.

: cheques of Rs 1 lakh to each school as a contingency fund given

: decision to start 19 Adarsha High Schools in 19 tea garden areas of the state this year. :government has given the appointment of 130 teachers for these Adarsha High Schools

These Adarsha Vidyalayas will be officially inaugurated between June 20 to June 22 and it is a piece of good news that, around 2600 students have enrolled in these schools an average of around 150 students per school in Class 6 & Class 9

The Lok Nirman Vibhag will start work on 100 more schools soon.

for the first time, public education is travelling right into the heart of Assam’s tea gardens, where the government is building 100 more schools

2.

The Assam police officials and forest personnel are afraid to come to Shillong to attend the hearing related to Mukroh incident.

Hence, the counsel for Assam pleaded for their examination and cross-examination in Guwahati.

After hearing the counsels of Meghalaya and Assam governments besides the counsel of Mukroh villagers, the chairperson of Mukroh Commission, Justice (retd) T Vaiphei has fixed June 15 and 16 for the examination and the cross-examination.

• Assam and Meghalaya have a longstanding dispute in 12 stretches of their 884-km shared border.
• The Assam-Meghalaya border dispute are the areas of Upper Tarabari, Gazang reserve forest, Hahim, Langpih, Borduar, Boklapara, Nongwah, Matamur, Khanapara-Pilangkata, Deshdemoreah Block I and Block II, Khanduli and Retacherra.

3.

Two coal miners have been killed in an illegal rat-hole mine at Ledo in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district. The bodies of two miners were recovered on Wednesday from a rate hole mine at the Molo Pahar area under the Ledo police station in the Tinsukia district.

Police suspects that they died due to inhalation of some poisonous gas like methane at the illegal mine in Ledo.

Impact of Rat Hole Mining 

• The water sources of many rivers, especially in Jaintia Hills district, have turned acidic.
• The water also has high concentration of sulphates, iron and toxic heavy metals, low dissolved oxygen (DO) and high BOD, showing its degraded quality.
• The roadside dumping of coal is a major source of air, water and soil pollution.
• Off road movement of trucks and other vehicles in the area for coal transportation also adds to the ecological and environmental damage of the area.
• The practice has been declared as unsafe for workers by the NGT.
• The mines branch into networks of horizontal channels, which are at constant risk of caving in or flooding.

4.

Assam Rifles has responded to the urgent medical emergency in Manipur by mobilising all its medical resources. The month-long violence has severely crippled the state’s medical infrastructure and strained government resources, leaving the population without adequate medical facilities. 

On June 1, the Assam Rifles (AR) initiated efforts to provide necessary medical assistance to the people of Manipur. Since then, a total of 7,236 individuals, including 1,801 males, 3,604 females, and 1,835 children, have received medical care for both major and minor injuries. The AR units, consisting of doctors, specialists, and nursing assistants, are well-equipped with stocked medicines and other necessary equipment. The nation’s paramilitary force has made every effort to ensure the timely delivery of essential aid to the masses, leaving no stone unturned. 

They are transporting medicines by road and helicopter, even reaching remote parts of the state. All these have been made possible because of the security provided to them by the soldiers of the Assam Rifles.

Assam Rifles has exemplified its commitment as “Friends of the North East” by promptly responding to the urgent medical emergency in Manipur and mobilising all available resources. Their efforts have provided vital medical care to thousands of individuals, addressing the severe strain on the state’s medical infrastructure. Assam Rifles calls for everyone to avail themselves of the assistance provided by this dedicated force.

5.

11-year-old Anvi Nagori, a talented Kathak dancer from Guwahati, achieved a remarkable feat by setting a new record for the maximum number of spins in a minute. On June 5, Anvi accomplished 100 spins, earning her a place in the prestigious Assam Book of Records.

• Dance Style:
  • Usually a solo performance, the dancer often pauses to recite verses followed by their execution through movement.
  • The focus is more on footwork; the movements are skillfully controlled and performed straight legged by dancers wearing ankle-bells.
  • Kathak is the only form of classical dance wedded to Hindustani or the North Indian music.
  • Some prominent dancers include Birju Maharaj, Sitara Devi.

6.

The drying up of natural water bodies due to increasing temperature has made it hard for wildlife, especially elephants to sustain.

The dearth of natural water bodies has left herds of wild elephants grappling in search of water in Assam’s Udalguri district.

A herd of wild elephants, that descended down from the Indo-Bhutan border mountain in search of water have sheltered in Rajagarh and Nalapara villages under the Nonai Forest Division Assam’s Udalguri district.

Though there have been no reports of human-elephant conflict or damage to houses or crops by the herd of elephants, the incident of death of two jumbos believed to be separated from the herd and falling into wells has raised concerns of wildlife conservationists and conscious circles.

In the first incident, a jumbo separated from a herd which is taking shelter in Budlapara T.E. died after falling into a well in No. 2 Bholatar village near Dimakuchi in Udalguri district on the night of June 6. The jumbo is aged about 4-5 years.

In another incident, a jumbo believed to be of the same herd aged about 4-5 months fell into a well in Budlapara T.E purportedly in search of water on the night of June 7.

Elephant herds use water sources and the water level has drastically decreased and the natural sources of water have dried due to scorching heat.  Though the adult elephants manage to quench their thirst but the jumbos are prone to be attracted to the artificial waterholes like wells and ditches in search of water

As artificial waterholes maintain water availability during the dry season it is time the Assam Forest Department must adopt measures to build artificial water bodies with solar-powered pumps which can provide relief to elephants in the scorching heat.

an NGO had proposed for setting up of such an artificial water dam with a solar motor in Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary but the project didn’t see the day of light as the wildlife sanctuary falls under the Manas Tiger Project which is a protected zone where such activity requires a nod from higher-ups of the forest department.

According to official data, a total of three elephants have died in the Nonai Forest Division of Udalguri district.

7.

The fourth and final G-20 Education Working Group Meeting to be held in Maharashtra’s Pune focuses on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) under NIPUN Bharat Mission.

In this regard, the states have been directed by the Ministry of Education to conduct various events/activities under ‘Janbhagidari’ at state, district and school levels in collaboration with KVs and JNVs to generate awareness about the Mission.

Focusing the active participation of people in Janbhagidari events all over India, the Department of School Education, Assam has been organizing a series of activities and programmes at different levels including schools, districts and state, promoting and endorsing the theme of “Ensuring Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, especially in the context of blended learning”.

Various activities and programs like workshops, TLM mela, art and craft competition, rally, rangoli, poem recitation, street play, riddles solving, and storytelling especially involving grandparents and retired persons have been conducted to generate awareness about G-20, NEP and FLN among stakeholders students, teachers, parents/guardians and community members.

These events have been attended by reputed social workers, and educationalists as chief guests to encourage people from different levels of society for their contribution and efforts to achieve the goals of G-20, NEP and FLN to elevate the standard of education at the global level, ensuring universal acquisition of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to create “one earth, one family”.

As a part of Janbhagidari events, the initiative is also being taken by the districts for conducting district-level programmes viz. workshop, seminar, presentations on FLN innovative best practices undertaken by schools, skit/cultural programs by children, TLM Mela, exhibition etc.

Discussions are also being conducted involving mothers’ groups and educationists regarding parents’ role in achieving the goal of NIPUN AXOM. Accordingly, a state-level conference is scheduled to be held on June 13th at the Assam Administrative Staff College, Khanapara, Guwahati.

The objective of involving the stakeholders in various activities under the Janbhagidari events is to create an enabling environment in the education system for attainment of all-round development of children with special focus on achieving the goals of foundational Literacy and Numeracy, Children spend maximum time with their parents and other people of the society and the involvement of community members in the local context and culture, using local languages is an integral part of the Janbhagidari activities for healthy and positive influence on learning environment.

8.

NEDA convenor and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma would be visiting the violence-torn state of Manipur on June 10. 

During his day-long visit to Manipur, he will meet with his Manipur counterpart and Manipur MLAs. The state has been rocked by arson, rioting, and inter-communal skirmishes since May 3

CM Sarma’s visit is taking place in the backdrop of encounters with security forces, incidents of sporadic violence being reported from different parts of the state and MLAs’ houses continuing to be attacked. 

This would be CM Sarma’s first visit to Manipur since the outbreak of unrest last month, and he would be the sole CM from the northeastern states to visit troubled Manipur. 

CM Sarma’s visit comes against the backdrop of skirmishes with security personnel, occasional violence reported from several parts of the state, and continued attacks on MLAs’ homes.

About NEDA

The North-East Democratic Alliance (abbr. NEDA) is a political coalition that was formed on May 24, 2016, by Bharatiya Janata Party. The motive of the new political front was to protect the interest of the people of the region as well as uniting non-Congress parties in Northeast India. Himanta Biswa Sarma was appointed as the convenor of the front.

The alliance was established after Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance which includes parties like Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front formed its first government in Assam. The founding political parties of North-East Democratic Alliance led by Bharatiya Janata Party on May 26, 2019, included Naga People’s Front, Sikkim Democratic Front, People’s Party of Arunachal, Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front. The Chief Ministers of the northeastern states of Sikkim, Pawan Kumar Chamling; Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal; Arunachal Pradesh, Kalikho Pul and Nagaland, T. R. Zeliang were the founding members of the alliance. BJP President Amit Shah chaired the meeting which was also attended by BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav and BJP North East Zonal Organizing Secretary Ajay Jamwal. The alliance suffered a big setback in Arunachal Pradesh when their 30 MLAs defected back to Indian National Congress.

On 16 September 2016, 43 MLAs from the ruling party, under the CM Pema Khandu, left Indian National Congress to join People’s Party of Arunachal in alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party. Though Pema Khandu is still the Chief Minister, it is soon expected that either a coalition government will be formed with BJP as the speaker of assembly has also changed sides with the CM, or that the Indian Government will dissolve the state assembly for fresh general elections.

In October 2016, People’s Party of Arunachal formally joined hands with Bharatiya Janata Party making Arunachal Pradesh 15th state to have BJP led NDA in Power, and with this new coalition, Tamiyo Taga sworn in as Cabinet minister of Arunachal Pradesh.

On December 21, 2016, Khandu was suspended from the party by the party president and Takam Pario was named as the next likely Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh replacing Khandu after People’s Party of Arunachal suspended Khandu along with 6 other MLAs.

In December 2016, Khandu proved the majority on the floor with 33 of the People’s Party of Arunachal’s 43 legislators joining the Bharatiya Janata Party as the BJP party increased its strength to 45 and it has the support of two independents. He became second Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh of Bharatiya Janata Party in Arunachal Pradesh after 44 days lead Gegong Apang government in 2003.

In March 2017,Nongthombam Biren Singh is the leader of Bharatiya Janata Party was sworn in the Chief Ministers of Manipur on March 15, 2017. Here is the list of the ministers of his ministry. The Bharatiya Janata Party allied with National People’s Party, Naga People’s Front, Lok Janshakti Party and others it was the first time that BJP formed government in Manipur through INC emerged as the single largest party.

In 2018, the BJP and the ruling Nagaland People’s Front dissolved their electoral alliance prior to the election. The BJP instead chose to form an alliance with the newly formed Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, led by former CM Neiphiu Rio. Lok Sabha MP and former Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party was declared elected uncontested in the Northern Angami II constituency after no other candidate was nominated against him.

In March 2018, The National People’s Party came second behind Indian National Congress by winning 19 seats in the 2018 Meghalaya legislative assembly election. Conrad Sangma staked claim to form government with a letter of support from the 34 MLA, that included 19 from NPP, 6 from United Democratic Party, 4 from People’s Democratic Front, two each from Hill State People’s Democratic Party and Bharatiya Janata Party, and an independent.

In March 2018, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party came second behind Naga People’s Front by winning 18 seats in the 2018 Nagaland legislative assembly election. Neiphiu Rio staked claim to form government with a letter of support from the 32 MLA, that included 17 from NDPP, 12 from Bharatiya Janata Party, 1 from Janata Dal (United) and an independent.

In March 2018, Bharatiya Janata Party won the 2018 Tripura legislative assembly election 35 seats. Its ally Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura won 8 of 9 seats which they contested. The alliance defeated Communist Party of India (Marxist) who was ruling since 1993.

In 2018 state assembly elections, Mizo National Front has emerged as largest political party and won 26 seats and Pu Zoramthanga became the new Chief Minister of Mizoram. This was the first time that Congress does not have any government in any of the states in Northeast India.

In May 2019, Bharatiya Janata Party won the 2018 Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly election 41 seats whereas its ally’s National People’s Party won 5 and Janata Dal (United) got 7 seats. National People’s Party was accorded the status of National Party from Election Commission of India as it got 5 seats in the assembly with a vote share of 14.56% getting also the status of a Recognized State Party in Arunachal Pradesh. Janata Dal (United) party got the status of a Recognized State Party by the Election Commission of India as it secured 7 seats in the assembly winning a vote share of 9.88% in the state.

In Sikkim, The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha came close to allying with Bhartiya Janata Party before the 2019 Indian Election but decided to fight alone. They contested on all 32 constituencies of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly and won 17 constituencies, thus ending Pawan Kumar Chamling‘s 25-year rule in Sikkim. Indra Hang Subba won the Sikkim Lok Sabha constituency by defeating his nearest rival of Sikkim Democratic Front Dek Bahadur Katwal 12,443 margin.

After the assembly election, 1 MLA from Sikkim Krantikari Morcha and 2 MLAs from Sikkim Democratic Front each vacated their second seat after being elected from two constituencies. Before the by-elections to these three vacant seats were held, 10 MLAs of Sikkim Democratic Front defected to Bhartiya Janata Party and 2 MLAs of Sikkim Democratic Front defected to Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, leaving Sikkim Democratic Front with only 1 MLA. SKM had 18 MLAs and BJP had 10 MLAs. In the by-elections held on 21 October 2019, BJP won two seats and SKM one seat. The final seat numbers are: SKM 19 seats, BJP 12 seats and SDF 1 seat.

On 17 June 2020 9 MLAs supporting N. Biren Singh led the government in Manipur revolted against him and withdrew support from his government blaming him for lack of action during COVID-19 pandemic. During the vote of confidence, he was one of the eight MLAs who had skipped the assembly proceedings defying the party whip for the trust vote. All member resigned from Indian National Congress and later joined Bharatiya Janata Party in presence of Ram Madhav, Baijayant Panda and Chief Minister of Manipur N. Biren Singh.

In November 2020, Bharatiya Janata Party announced that it has agreed to support efforts by the UPPL to form an executive body in Bodoland Territorial Council. The leader of the UPPL, Pramod Boro became the new Chief Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Council on 15 December 2020.

Soon after the election results were declared and the BJP led NDA emerged victorious it faced the dilemma of who should we made the Chief Minister. While most of the top leaders in the BJP state unit favored incumbent Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, speculations suggest that Himanta Biswa Sarma had more number of elected MLAs of the BJP on his side. Due to prolonged discontent between the two leaders a BJP legislature party meeting couldn’t have been called. On 10 May 2021, Sarma was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Assam, succeeding his colleague Sarbananda Sonowal

9.

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has taken an innovative approach towards the resolution of all problems faced by the citizens of the city. The key idea is to provide the public with direct telephone access to the mayor of the corporation. As per the initiative, the mayor will be accessible over a particular phone number from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the week. Mayor Mrigen Sarania mentioned that people can now directly give their complaints to him, and the necessary steps will be taken to resolve them. He also called upon all the citizens to call 8811007000 and utilise this facility to resolve their problems.

10.

The English translation of Hriday Ek Bigyapon by renowned writer Anuradha Sarma Pujari was launched at the Gauhati Press Club on Wednesday. Hriday Ek Bigyapon by Anuradha Sarma Pujari was released 25 years ago. The English translation of the book, “My Poems are not for Your Ad Campaign,” is done by Aruni Kashyap, who himself is a renowned international writer and a professor at Georgia University. He has already translated various Assamese novels and has gained popularity through his work at the international level. Hriday Ek Bigyapon was published by an Assamese weekly newspaper in 1996, and it was published as a book by the Students’ Store publishing house in Guwahati in 1998. After its publication, it was one of the bestsellers. Renowned author and journalist Homen Borgohain was the one who inspired Anuradha Sarma Pujari to write this novel. The English translation of the book was published by Penguin Publications

The theme of the book revolves around the advertising sector. Anuradha Sarma Pujari was involved in the advertisement sector back in the 1990s, when she was in Kolkata. She wrote the book based on the experiences she had with the sector and her interactions with people that she gained while she was in Kolkata.