Guwahati

Guwahati, formerly known as Pragjyotishpur, is the largest city in North East India and is also considered as the gateway to the seven sister states. Situated on the banks of the majestic river Brahmaputra, the city boasts of a number of tourist attractions. The most notable among them is the Kamakhya temple which is situated atop the Nilachal hills. The Kamakhya temple is one of the most revered Hindu pilgrimage sites in India and is known for the Ambubuchi mela held every year in the month of July. Other than the Kamakhya temple, the city also boasts of numerous other temples such as the Bhubaneshwari temple, the Shiva temple, the Navagraha temple, the Vashistha Ashram and the Balaji temple. One can also enjoy a panoramic view of the entire city from atop the Nilachal hills.
                         
Apart from the pilgrimage centers, Guwahati also boasts of a couple of museums, most notable among them being the Assam State Museum and the Regional Science Museum. Another tourist attraction is the Assam State Botanical and Zoological Gardens, which in addition to having a large variety of plants also showcases different species of animals. The Guwahati Planetarium is also a notable tourist destination as is provides education to a large segment of the people. 
                          
Living costs are cheap and a number of mouth watering indigenous delicacies are offered by the various restaurants in the city. Paltan Bazaar has a large variety of hotels suitable for every budget.
                         
Guwahati is well connected to the rest of the country by air, rail and road. The city boasts of an international airport connected to almost all the major cities of the country. The railway station is situated right at the centre of the city and almost every part of the country is well connected with the city.
                          
The weather remains pleasant all through the year but the most suitable period for travelling to this part of the country is from October-April.

Silchar Airport needs sophisticated navigational aids

Special Correspondent
SILCHAR, Oct 30: Silchar airport is one of the six airfields in Asom with rich legacy of World War II vintage airstrips. Keeping pace with the increase in traffic and upgradation of passenger services, Airport Authority of India after completing modified terminal building has with it the plan to extend the runway from 5857 ft to 7500 ft which is almost complete. Besides, the apron has been strengthened and has been extended by another 150 ft.

The airport with its extended runway has come a long way in accommodating Airbus-320. A year ago, it was fit for ATR and Boeing flights or B-737 class of aircraft only. In terms of density and volume of passenger and cargo traffic, the airport, 22 km from here, has been ranked fourth after Guwahati, Agartala and Imphal.

On an average, 90000 passengers embark and disembark annually at this airport and around 600 mt of cargo is handled. It is link with Kolkata, Guwahati and Imphal by daily flights. The ‘open air policy’ of the Aviation Ministry has been able to attract private air liner like Deccan Airways, now being operated by Kingfisher. Both Kingfisher and Air India operate their flights with Airbus and ATR aircrafts. As the number of passengers of late has shown declining trend, from October 28 Kingfisher has taken the lead to reduce its fare on Silchar-kolkata route from Rs 3689 to Rs. 2980 only for economy class. Air India is also likely to follow suit. In fact, the basic fare on this route is Rs 1100 only which is compounded by fuel surcharge of Rs 2350 and fees and taxes counting for Rs 239. The Airliner has taken the calculated risk to lure passengers since its 180 seater A-320 even during puja rush has not sufficient number to be near the required load factor. Quite significantly, both Air India and Kingfisher have opted for Airbus and ATR for cost effectiveness on fuel consumption. While Airbus takes 1 hour on Silchar-Kolkata route, ATR 30 minutes more.

What Silchar airport now needs are night landing facilities about which Sontosh Mohan Dev, Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, said it would take another two months for installation of necessary equipments. Most important, considering its location in the midst of hill ranges and long duration of rains and envelopment of mists and fogs during winter, the airport needs instrument landing system, doppler very high frequency omni range along with distance measuring equipment and precision approach path indicator. It is all the more necessary because the airport is manned by Indian Air Force which has a base close to it. The airfield is of strategic importance for both civilian and military point of view. During war with Pakistan in 1971, IAF made several bombing missions to hit targets across the border. In fact, the Air Force played crucial role in the liberation of Bangladesh .

Heavy rain falls in the very early part of October have created problem of visibility for pilots in landing their aircraft. On October 5, Indian IC-7706 flight from Imphal bound for Kolkata enroute Silchar could land at the airport after 3 attempts. In order to make it all weather air field, sophisticated navigational aids have to be installed. source: the sentinel assam

‘Trans-Asia rail link a key to Barak Valley development’

SILCHAR Aug 28: The south north-eastern region comprising Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi and North Cachar Hills districts of Asom as well as Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura remain cut off from the main lane of the country for about four months a year due to disruption of surface communication. It is more than a decade that railway communication between the southern region and Guwahati has been disconnected for the Lumding-Badarpur gauge conversion work.The part project work of gauge conversion between Lumding and Silchar cannot be completed due to terrorist activities. The current situation gives an impression that it will take another decade for completion of the gauge conversion work even if militants stop their activities. The only existing road link between the south north-eastern region and main land via Meghalaya also remains disrupted for three months a year due to landslides and other factors. The terrain of this road is accident prone. Frequent forays by robbers, dacoits and extremists also pose a serious threat to this surface link. The Barak Valley has its own strategic importance with its international boundary with Bangladesh and inter-state boundary with Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura. Giving details of an identical memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, South NE Regional Cooperation (SNERC) organizer Sunil Roy said 20 countries, including India, signed an agreement on June 30, 2007 in New York wherein it was agreed that the 11,460-km Trans-Asian Rail Communication would connect India with China, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey and Bulgaria. Railway Board Chairman J P Batra signed the agreement as the representative of India. This Trans-Asia Rail is also to run through Bangladesh via Myanmar via Karimganj, Badarpur, Silchar and Jirighat of Barak Valley. Prior to the partition of India and Pakistan, Barak Valley and part of the north-eastern region were connected with Kolkata via East Bengal, now Bangladesh, by road, rail and water in the shortest possible ways. Even during 1971-72, these surface links were restored temporarily. Restoration of surface communication from Silchar-Kolkata and Agartala-Kolkata is the only option for speedy development of the south north-eastern region. Against this backdrop, the SNERC has impressed upon the Prime Minister, the External Affairs Minister and the Railway Minister to take immediate action to restore regular rail, road and water links from Barak Valley-Kolkata and Agartala-Kolkata via Bangladesh. Part of Trans-Asia railway communication project from Kolkata-Myanmar via Bangladesh, Barak Valley and Manipur needs to be completed expeditiously in the overall interest and development of the north-eastern region, the memorandum said. source: sentinel assam

Bullet-proof engines for Silchar passenger trains

July 29: Four passenger trains pulled by bullet-proof engines will chug down the Silchar-Lumding stretch “any day this week”, two-and-a-half months after a militant attack forced the Northeast Frontier Railway to suspend services on the route.

The NFR today said they are also planning to run an express train between Silchar and Guwahati via Lumding, but all services will be available only during the day for security reasons.
The trains will be provided with the armed guards, to be handpicked from the Assam police battalions, Railway Protection Security Force and the CRPF, among others.

“The idea of introducing bullet-proof engines is to instil some confidence in our engine drivers and boost their morale,” NF Railway general manager Ashutosh Swami had said recently.
The NFR plans to replace the lookout glasses and shutter windows in the locomotives with bullet-proof glass sheets. “The remaining body of the train engine will be covered with bulletproof steel sheets.”

Rail services on the 185-km-long stretch between Silchar and Lumding were withdrawn after DHD (J) rebels gunned down a locomotive driver and injured three on May 15 — the day 10 truckers were gunned down by members of the outfit elsewhere in the district.

Twenty-seven railway stations were also closed down following the attack, as agitated railway workers vandalised Lumding railway division, demanding withdrawal of staff from the killing zone.

While goods trains began plodding gingerly down the route within a few days, passenger trains have remained suspended so far.

The NFR had provided bullet-proof jackets borrowed from the army to train drivers and operating staff on the route and now it has decided to employ bullet-proof engines as well.

Though the railway authorities declined to spell out exactly when the passenger train services would resume, sources said August 3 was the likely date.The news of resumption of rail services comes at a time when student organisations in Cachar and North Cachar Hills have decided to launch an agitation to demand that work on the gauge conversion project between Silchar and Lumding be expedited.

The All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association and the All Dimasa Students’ Union agreed to begin the joint movement in Barak Valley and North Cachar Hills districts on Wednesday.

The All India Democratic Students Organisation has also decided to organise a demonstration in Barak Valley districts on Wednesday.

The All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association and All Dimasa Students’ Union will hold a joint demonstration in the three Barak Valley districts and North Cachar Hills on Friday. On August 8, they will enforce a 12-hour bandh in all four districts. source: telegraph india

Silchar ISBT begins functioning

Silchar ISBT begins functioning

From Our Correspondent SILCHAR, June 18 – The Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) here has started functioning from June 15. Several long-distance buses and passengers arrived at the ISBT, from where about 27 buses plied for Guwahati, including private and government vehicles.The terminus was inaugurated by the Chief Minister at Ramnagar, which is 5 kms away from the city. Constructed at a cost of Rs 1.05 crore to reduce traffic jams in the town area, the terminus remained unoperational for a long time. Source: assam tribune

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