No poll pact with Cong: Ajmal

Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Jan 7– Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) today made it clear that it had no plan to forge any electoral alliance with the ruling Congress, let alone its merging with the ruling party. The party has also decided to field its candidates in the nine Lok Sabha constituencies of Dhubri, Barpeta, Guwahati, Mangaldoi, Kaliabor, Nagaon, Tezpur, Silchar and Karimganj in the ensuing elections to the Lower House of the country’s Parliament.

Addressing a press conference here, AUDF president and leader of its Legislature Party Badruddin Ajmal alleged that the Congress was making a false propaganda campaign suggesting the likelihood of an electoral tie up with his party only to confuse the common people and thus to derive political benefits.

On the other hand, some Congress Ministers belonging to the minority community are panicked at the prospect of such a tie up and they are now making feverish pleas that the AUDF should merge with the Congress. In fact, they are indicating their willingness to join the AUDF. They are most welcome and doors of the AUDF are always open for them, Ajmal said.

He clarified that none of the AUDF leader had met Congress leader Ahmad Patel on the issue, nor the Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Amar Singh has made any such overture to facilitate an electoral tie-up between the AUDF and the Congress.

He informed the media persons that the AUDF had been holding discussions with the State units of the CPI, CPI-M and the NCP for the purpose of fighting the Lok Sabha polls unitedly. The next round of discussion with these parties is scheduled at 9pm of January 11.

Though the AUDF is for fielding its own candidates in the above nine Lok Sabha constituencies and going for adjustment for the rest five constituencies of the State’s 14 Lok Sabha constituencies, there may be some changes in this stance of the party. The party is not rigid in its stand, Ajmal said.

For, the party is ready to go for seat adjustment with the like-minded parties wherever they have the winning prospects, he said.

He also informed that he was willing to contest from Dhubri and Silchar Lok Sabha constituencies. But the party is yet to take any decision on it. For the Tezpur constituency, the party is fielding Lakshmi Orang, the girl who was disrobed during the November 2007 Beltola clash between the local residents and the agitating Adivasi youths on the issue of vandalism.

Though the party is close to the Samajwadi Party (SP), it is yet to become a member of the third front. Besides, the SP so far does not have its state committee in Assam, Ajmal said.
source: assam tribune

Work on road to Bhuban temple starts

GUWAHATI, Nov 19 – Santosh Mohan Dev, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises laid the foundation stone for construction of a 3.5 km road and footsteps for going to Bhuban temple at a function at Khasiapunji near Matinagar in Cachar district on Moday. This was stated in a DIPR press release.

Speaking on the occasion, Dev said that an amount of Rs 52.23 lakh has been sanctioned by the Union Tourism Department for the purpose and Rs 25 lakh has been released now. He expressed hope that on completion of this project, the religious minded people going to Bhuban Shiv temple will be benefitted. He assured to sanctisPs’ Local Areas Development Fund.

The foundation laying ceremoney was presided over by Gautam Ganguly, Deputy Commissioner of Cachar while Ajit Singh, Parliamentary Secretary, Finance, Parimal Suklabaidya, MLA and Karnendu Bhattacharjee, ex-MP addressed the function.

The Union Minister later laid the foundation stone of a Rs 3 lakh road at Matinagar under the Non-Lapsable Pool Fund. The road will connect Matinagar with the foothills of Bhuban hills and the portion from Khasiapunji to the foothills will be connected by road under the Prime Minister’s Gramin Sadak Yojana. source: assam tribune

Silchar needs a third water treatment plant

Aug. 4: There seems be no end to water woes for the residents of Silchar, the headquarters town of Cachar district. Even after two water treatment plants, there is a need for a third one to meet the ever increasing demand for safe drinking water.

First, there was a nagging paucity of potable water at its main water treatment plant in Silchar because of the slush and mud in the Barak.

The plant, commissioned in 1974 and designed to supply five million gallons of water a day to the town’s 18,000 households and commercial establishments, has outlived its utility.

Thanks to local Congress MP and Union industries minister Sontosh Mohan Dev, a Rs 5-crore central fund was pumped in to hike its output by another five million litres.

But with the town’s population touching 2.5 lakh, there was a need for a second water treatment plant. Its foundation stone was laid on April 22, 1999, by then chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.

Set up to cater to the needs of the middle class population inhabiting eight municipal wards, the plant at Ranghirkhari on the southern flank of the town cost the central exchequer Rs 13.6 crore and became functional on February 25, 2006. It ensured an output of only five lakh litres of potable water a day to 1,000 households and is now under the management of the Assam Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

The board has made it clear that it is not in a position to supply more water for domestic consumption. According to Kumud Das, the assistant executive engineer of the board, piped water supply to the other inhabitants in the southern extremity of the town is simply not possible because of its production limitations.

The plant hauls water from the Barak river through pipes at Kanakpur, 5km from Silchar.
The public health engineering department of the Assam government runs the first water treatment plant in downtown Silchar near the Barak riverfront and the Silchar Municipal Corporation collects Rs 70 a month as service charge from each household.

Its officials are of the view that the water crisis could be effectively tackled only if another water treatment plant — the third of its kind in Silchar town — with a capacity of supplying 7.5 million gallons of water a day is set up in the Tarapur locality on the western part of the town near the Barak.

The water scarcity in Silchar town, particularly during the long summer months, has now taken a new dimension with the board deciding to effect an upward revision in the tariff of drinking water being supplied to its consumers.

The board has slapped a fee at the rate of Rs 17 per kilolitre of water as against the earlier rate of Rs 7.

The inhabitants of south Silchar are now up in arms against this hike and have submitted a memorandum to chief minister Tarun Gogoi pleading for “a reasonable rate”. source: telegraph india

Cong to blame for Barak’s backwardness : Rumi Nath

Guwahati, July 30 – The member of Borkhola Legislative Assembly constituency, Dr Rumi Nath on Wednesday alleged that the apathy of the Congress government was solely responsible for the poor state of affairs in the Barak Valley.

Addressing media persons in the capital city, Dr Nath said that despite Barak Valley having a representative in the central ministry, the pace of development was very poor in the Barak Valley.

Dr Nath alleged that lack of co-ordination between the Congress government in the State and the central minister from the Barak Valley has pushed all development activities to the back-burner.

“All the election promises of the Congress have come to nothing. The assurances on BG line and Barak dam project have not been implemented till now,” said Dr Nath.

Further Dr Nath said that negligence of the Congress has led to closure of important industries in the Barak Valley which has compounded the unemployment situation.
Source : assam tribune



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Lumding-Badarpur rail service soon

BJP with a new man for silchar seat

The BJP had already announced former Union Cabinet Minister Sri. Kabindra Purkayastha as their face for Silchar MP constituency. But there is a fresh twist to the tale. Dhrubendu shekhar Bhattacharjee, a lwayer and youth leader, is the new face for the seat , despite Mr. Kabindra Purakayastha being an experienced man. Bhattacharjee has been chosen for the post based on party policy .

A faction of district BJP has shown resentment at this decision of the party. The party officials at New Delhi have taken a consensus in this issue. BJP was the first party to announce its candidate for the seat almost a fortnight ago but has suddenly made this change which comes as an unexpected move from their camp.

Santosh Mohan Dev gifted with Golden Crown

It might seem some 18th century royal coronation but that is how things unfurled on 12th evening when the union cabinet minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises was on his Karimganj tour.

Three Congress leaders of the district Rajat Chakraborty, Aminur Rashid Choudhury and Krishnendu Paul gifted the minister with a gold crown when he was visiting the Karimganj District Congress Office.

The three leaders said that on behalf of Karimganj District Congress Committee , they wanted to thank Sri Dev for his efforts in bringing many developmental project grants for their place. This they call it was their token of gratitude

Rift deepens in Cachar Congress

Minister of the state cabinet and in charge of the Cachar District Sri Dinesh Prasad Goala is distancing himself from the functions of the district congress these days.
In the recent Barak valley tour of the Health Minister he was not seen on a single occassion. He excused himself on health ground but if sources are to be bvelieved than there is an internal rift in the Cachar Congress that has led to this scenario.

Sources say that regarding decisions taken at the Centre and State Cabinet regading Cachar district and the way Sri Goala is being sidelined by some leaders has not gone down well with him and he has distanced himself from the party organisation at this level for some time now.

BJP Threatens to block Goods Train

The Silchar-Lumding Railway has been a contentious issue for quite some time now and the political parties are busy utilising the issue to cash in votes. The BJP threatens to stop the movement of Goods train in this route if passenger train fails to ply.

They have performed a demonstration at various places including Silchar, Lumding, Karimganj and Badarpur on 30th June to protest for the erratic movement of passenger rail in this track, their logic though remains absurd that they will block goods train movement if passenger train fails to ply.

Their Cachar District President Sri. Udayshankar Goswami has said that is passenger train movement does not get underway as per schedule, they will not allow goods train to run in this route.

Among others present in the demonstration were former Union Cabinet Minister Sri. Kabindra Purkayastha, Vice President of District BJP Kirit Bhushan Purkayasthaand others like Kaushik Rai.

The politics of Broad-Gauge

The proposed Broad-Gauge track between Silchar and Lumding that has faced severe road blocks in the last few years, has turned out as one of the fresh hot spot for political lashing and rivalry between the parties.Everyone here is busy politicising the issue and playing the blame game. But amidst all these contentions, ACKSHA(All Cahar Karimganj Hailakandi Students Association) has intensified their agitation for the cause. This railway track can be a lifeline for millions in the valley and also solve communication problems for people of Barak Valley.In a tie up between ACKSHA and ADSU(All Dimasa Students Union)they have called for a Protest and Display on 27th June and a Strike on 8th August to intensify their campaign.This is the first time the two organisations have come together agitating for the cause. They have also submitted a memorandum to Mr. Basudeb Acharia, MP and Chairman of Standing Committee on Railways during his recent visit to Silchar last week.

Santosh Mohan accepts broad-gauge delays

Central Minister Santosh Mohan Deb accepts the delay in the Lamding-Silchar broad-gauge railway-line project. “Time delays can occur for any project. Terrorist activities are causing major problems in the project. The central government is taking steps against terrorist activities to stop further delays.” he said.

The Minister added, “So far there have been around hundred causalities and injuries due to terrorist intervention. The workers are afraid and have lost spirit. A battalion of 1000 ex-army officials is being formed for their security. Already 300 personals have been recruited. As soon as the security problems are solved, the work-pace will improve.”

However there was exchange of some sharp words between Santosh Mohan and BJP leader Kabindra Purakayastha on Friday. Kabindra told the reporters “Broadgauge is still out of sight, but Santosh Mohan Deb announced that he will ride the broad-gauge for vote campaigns in 2009”. Santosh Mohan denied all the claims saying he never made such a remark.

Kabindra Purakayastha disappointed with broadgauge progress
The broadgauge conversion between Silchar and Lumding is taking ages. Even after tons of money spent on the project, things are going extremely slow. There was exchange of some sharp words between Santosh Mohan and BJP leader Kabindra Purakayastha on Friday. Kabindra told the reporters “Broadgauge is still out of sight, but Santosh Mohan Deb announced that he will ride the broad-gauge for vote campaigns in 2009”. Santosh Mohan denied all the claims saying he never made such a remark.

Dipankar Roy arrested in FCI Food Grain Racket

Dipankar Roy brother of local BJP leader has been nabbed in the FCI Food Grain Theft Case. His firm the Debanjanli Axim trading had rented the godown of S.S. Rice Mills in the Tarapur area from where stolen bags of rice from FCI Godown had been recovered.

In this case two other influential personalities and aides of Congress Leaders have also been under the scanner. Shibu Kanungo, a close aide of Minister Dinseh Prasad Goala, and Sujan Dutta a close aide of Minister Gautam Roy are also under scrutiny. Mr. Kanungo and Mr. Dutta are also associated with the Silchar Co-operative.

Mr. Shibu Kanungo has given a statement clarifying all charges brought against him but have not been able to furnish any concrete evidence to prove the falsity of the charges against him. Mr. Dutta on the other hand has been flipping his statements every now and then.
SP of Cachar Mrs. Violet Baruah has said that the police is taking all possible measures to get into the depth of the matter and that they are under no pressure from any higher authorities to let these people off.

Minister Gautam Roy stages a resignation Drama

The Karimganj District Congress office witnessed a drama on Tuesday when influential and powerful state cabinet Minister Sri. Gautam Roy created a scene by staging a resignation Drama. District Congress president Sri. Sotu Roy also continued the plot further by requesting Minister Roy not to take any decision in a moment of fury.

A sudden shock wave ripped through the Congress Bhawan in Karimganj on Tuesday afternoon when Minister Roy said tat he is going to resign from the Legislative Assembly as well as Congress Party.

Minister Roy said that the speech given by Sri. Sotu Roy at the meeting organized by senior congress leader Mr. Verappa Moily , was one that had humiliated Gautam Roy and he wanted to resign from the party in protest.
But somehow the plans could be put to rest after much insistence. Minister Roy is also the State Government’s district in charge of Karimganj District.

No compromise on Silchar seat: Rajnath Singh (BJP president)

AGP-BJP alliance depends on key seats

NEW DELHI, June 14: AGP and BJP have taken a step forward towards an understanding in the coming Lok Sabha election. AGP Legislature Party (AGPLP) leader Chandra Mohan Patowary and Gunin Hazarika had an informal meeting with BJP’s national president Rajnath Singh at the latter’s residence in New Delhi today. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj was also present at the meeting.After an hour-long meeting that began at 10.30 am, the two AGP leaders told newsmen waiting outside that the meeting was cordial. Patowary said: “We came to New Delhi following an invitation from the national president of the BJP. The alliance between the two parties has not been finalized as yet. We need to meet more to sort out the issues.”The BJP president, on the other hand, said: “We have initiated preliminary talks for poll tie-up. We need to sit more. We want a pre-poll understanding with the AGP so as to oust the Congress.”According BJP sources, the two AGP leaders set some preconditions. “However, Rajnath Singh has made them clear in no uncertain term that the BJP won’t compromise on Silchar, Karimganj, Guwahati, Nagaon and Tezpur Lok Sabha seats. The other seats in the State are, however, open for negotiation,” the sources said. Source: sentinel assam

No compromise with DHD(J): Santosh Mohan Dev

Source: Sentinel Assam

NEW DELHI, May 30: Union Minister for Heavy Industries Santosh Mohan Dev today ruled out any compromise with Black Widow militants who have virtually created terror in the North Cachar Hills of Asom. “A handful of DHD(J) militants have unleashed violence in the hill district and there should not be any compromise while dealing with them with a firm hand,” he said while addressing a press meet here today.

The Union Minister said that more security forces are being deployed in the NC Hills to ensure smooth execution of the Railway Broad Gauge project and the Express Highway project. The minister is going to meet the Defence Minister and the Railway Minister next week to discuss the present situation in the district. Meanwhile, the North Eastern Council (NEC) has sanctioned Rs 2.4 crore for repairing the Silchar-Kalain road, the Union Minister informed the press. An additional amount of Rs 2.5 crore is expected to be sanctioned for this purpose soon, he added.

On the other hand, BJP’s State President Ramen Deka blamed the State Government for the prevailing situation in NC Hills. He said the ensuing two-day national executive meeting of the BJP will take up the matter of internal security in Asom and the State Government’s role in the execution of the Lumding-Silchar BG project.

Why, Mr Santosh Mohan Dev?

By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, May 19: In a book release function held in Silchar on May 16, Union Minister Santosh Mohan Dev, who represents Silchar in the Lok Sabha, gave a clarion call to the people of Barak Valley to launch an agitation so as to force the completion of the Broad Gauge and East-West Corridor projects, which have been affected due to militancy in NC Hills district. But agitation against whom? Obviously against the government of the day. And who is leading the government — both at Dispur and New Delhi? It is the Congress. And who is Mr Santosh Mohan Dev? A Congress MP from Silchar who is a minister in the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, and who is thus a part of the government. Which means Mr Dev is calling upon the people of Barak Valley to agitate against none but himself and his party!

The Silchar MP is either trying to conceal his own incompetence or making a shrewd move to provoke his own people and divert their attention so that his accountability as their representative is not questioned. Here is an MP trying to make a fool of his own constituency. Will the people be taken for a ride? Source: Sentinel Assam 20.05.08