GUWAHATI, August 21: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has undertaken a special drive to preserve and beautify several archaeologically important monuments in Sibsagar district. The district administration has started implementing a scheme for the preservation and renovation of several monuments in collaboration with the Birlas. The state archaeology directorate too has embarked on a survey to identify the important monuments for the purpose of preservation. According to ASI sources here, the special drive was launched this year as per the directive of the Prime Minister. (Ajit Patowary; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 22, 1999)

KOHIMA, August 21: At least 50 houses collapsed and many more were damaged, rendering 200 families homeless when massive landslides triggered by incessant rains struck New Market area of this state capital in the past fortnight. Official sources yesterday, however, said there was no casualty. Kohima deputy commissioner Norman Putsure after visiting the areas yesterday ordered for immediate assessment of the damaged houses and supply of relief materials to the affected people. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 22, 1999)

SHILLONG, August 21: Marsarsuk Tariang of Meghalaya has been selected to represent India at the ongoing International Youth Seminar at Fax Lodge, London. The seminar, which began on August 19, would conclude on August 28. It is being organised by the World Association of Girls Guides. Her theme for the seminar is 'Dream, Dare and Do'. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 22, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 22: It seems the Assam government is adamant to remove the Basic Muga Seed Farm at Khanapara and destroy its invaluable treasure of about 3,000 som and soalu trees to construct the residential complex as part of the state's permanent capital. About 300 people, who assembled in front of the Muga Farm this morning to register their protest against the government move by planting some more trees inside the farm complex, were prevented by the authorities from entering the farm campus. The authorities told the protesters, who included litterateur and journalist Homen Borgohain, social worker Hem Bhai and naturalist Biraj Chowdhury, among others, that the farm gate was locked at the instance of the state administration. (Staff reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 23, 1999)

DHEMAJI, August 22: The flood situation in Dhemaji has turned critical as all the major rivers Jiadhal, Kumatia, Gai, Simen and Demow are flowing much above the danger level, inundating more than one hundred villages. Thousands of hectares of croplands are under water following heavy rains during the last couple of days. The NH-52 and rail link between Dhemaji and North Lakhimpur have remained cut off from July last. The villagers could not cross the Samarajan on foot, as the 800-metre-long bamboo bridges, built by the state public works department (PWD), were washed away. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 23, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 22: The Assam chief minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, has lost all credibility among the state's Muslim community, apart from the numerous tribal communities, and rules merely by virtue of a brute majority in the 126-member Assam Assembly. Two Ministers of his Cabinet, Abdul Jabbar, CHAR Areas development minister of the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), and Abdul Muhib Mazumdar, irrigation minister, joined the Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind leader Asad Madani to lambast Mahanta for allegedly failing to protect the rights of the religious minorities. Madani, voicing Muslim sentiments against Mahanta, condemned "some politicians who are fomenting communal hatred." Madani's indirectly referred to Mahanta's alleged comment that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was using some mosques and madrassas for anti-national activities. The Muslim community has accused the chief minister of stating during a press briefing at the police headquarters on August 8 that the ISI was using places of worship to commit anti-Indian acts. Muslims are still angry over this and it has became obvious that the AGP has lost the entire Muslim votebank. Mahanta never made any communal remark, but even his own Ministers no longer believe him. Jabbar, at loggerheads with Mahanta for over two years, warned that he would launch a mass movement if the government failed to protect rights of the religious minorities. He also cautioned the chief minister not to make any attempts to repeal the controversial Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act. Mazumdar intoned Jabbar's sentiments demanding an immediate end to harassment of innocent Muslims by Government agencies. Mazumdar was the first to raise a hue and cry over Mahanta's "communal statement" and convene a meeting of all Muslim legislators to condemn the chief minister. Publicly blasted by his own ministers, Mahanta accused the Fourth Estate of fomenting communal tension in a bid to pass the buck. Mahanta assured Muslim congregations that he stood for communal harmony and unity among every section of society. But Mr assertion drew derision. Worse, one speaker's accusation that he had "failed to protect the sovereignty of Assam" was responded with thunderous applause. (HT Correspondent; The Hindustan Times; New Delhi; August 23, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 22: On an average 1,000 Bangladeshis cross over to India illegally through its porous boundary every day, a recent home ministry survey has revealed. According to a senior official of the ministry, the survey found that on an average three lakh Bangladeshi infiltrators enter India annually and according to a rough estimate, the total number of illegal Bangladeshis in India is between 1.2 crore to 1.5 crore. The source said after 1971, about 15 to 20 lakh Bangladeshis had entered illegally in Assam. 1971 was the cut -off year as per the Assam Accord although influx was greater before the Bangladesh War. "Bangladeshis in Assam are in a position to influence the outcome of an election forcing all political parties to maintain a Bangladeshi appeasement policy in the state," he said. Bangladeshis have swamped three districts of Cachar and three Lower Assam districts where they are on the verge of becoming a majority. The source admitted that although the ongoing barbed wire fencing has checked infiltration to some extent, it was still going on unabated as a large stretch of Meghalaya and Tripura remained unprotected by the fencing. The source said the survey was carried out considering the ground reports from all parts and in-depth analysis of the Bangladeshi census report and their demographic profile. "Now even West Bengal has woken up after years of denying infiltration. They have rejected claims of 31.86 lakhs of suspected Bangladeshis in the rolls revision. Infiltration is the cause of grave concern not only to the eastern states but also for the country because Bangladeshis are migrating to all parts of the country," he said. The Border Security Force (BSF)'s role in protecting the boundary has come under suspicion as the home ministry has ordered an inquiry into the recent confession of four Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agents that they bribed the BSF to enter India. (UNI; The Indian Express; New Delhi; August 23, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 22: In what can be termed as a kind of effort to repair his relations with the Muslims of the state, the Assam chief minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, yesterday blamed a section of the local press for allegedly distorting his statements regarding the arrest of some local Muslims in connection with Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) activities. Mahanta, who turned up at a special convention of the state unit of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-Hind here yesterday, said that while he had only stated that members of some madrasa schools and mosques had been arrested following confessions made by the four ISI operatives in the state, "a section of the local press distorted it". "Moreover, it was the ISI operatives who had said that they were inciting the local Muslims to work for creation of an Islamic state in Assam. I had only quoted what they had said during interrogation," Mahanta said. He also asserted that the ISI operatives had confessed they were going to create a law and order problem, as well as chaos and mistrust among different communities in the state, which he hoped, no Muslim would support." It does not mean that all the mosques or madrasa schools are hideouts of ISI operatives, simply because they had visited one or two of them," Mahanta said. Mahanta's attending the Jamiat State Committee special session had significance in view of the elections; as some political parties, including the United Minorities Front (UMF) and the Congress were trying to create an impression that the AGP-led Government was out to harass the minorities. In fact, the bogey of harassment on minorities is a regular one during elections in Assam, in view of the fact that minorities have a sizeable population and determine the election results in several constituencies. The arrest of some local Muslims after the nabbing of four ISI operatives has only provided a handle to those looking for an opportunity to raise the bogey again. The Jamiat leaders in turn pledged that they would help the government in nabbing culprits. (Express News Service; The Indian Express; New Delhi; August 23, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 23: At the time when more and more people are coming forward to assist the administration in preventing the subversive activities of militants, the high-handed behaviour by a few security personnel threatens to widen the gap between the people and the security personnel. Recently in Nalbari when a few persons, who helped the police detect a bomb planted by the militants, received slaps and kicks as a "reward" from the Armymen who came to defuse the bomb. According to information available here, suspected United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants recently planted a powerful bomb in the Moogkuchi area of Nalbari to target Army personnel who move by that particular road to bring water to a nearby camp. A fisherman Hari Thakuria saw a wire and informed the gaonbura Biren Haloi. Haloi rushed to the Nalbari sadar police station. A police team came to the spot immediately to recover the bomb and later Army personnel exploded it in a remote place. But instead of rewarding the villagers, few personnel of the 25 Punjab Regiment roughed up the local villagers. Even the gaonbura was not spared and he received a slap and a kick from an Army officer on the spot in front of people including police officers. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 24, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 24: If waterlogging and other pollution problems are allowed to continue at the present rate in the city, time is not far when Guwahatians will have to flee their own city as a grave pollution-related situation will make Guwahati a dreadful place to live in. This was the observation made by experts engaged by the Pollution Control Board, Assam to prepare a white paper on the pollution in the city. The white paper is yet to be made public. The white paper, along with an action plan, has been sent to the Union ministry of environment and forests, sources said. The white paper which has been prepared by the board in collaboration with the Society for Research, Development and Communication, Guwahati, observed that 69 per cent of the vehicles plying on the city roads should be disallowed to ply on the roads for their emission levels are much more than the permissible limits. While saying that the ambient air quality in certain specific points of the city is also not satisfactory, it observed that the river Bharali is degraded, while the noise level in busy commercial areas of the city is intolerable. The tolerable noise levels in and around the silence zone of schools, courts and hospital areas during the day and night are also upsetting. The day time tolerable limit of noise in such zones is around 50 decibels, while it is 45 decibels during night hours. The white paper maintained that the surface water in the city areas is totally polluted, even as deep ground water continues to be up to the standard in many places of the city. Commenting on the municipal solid waste, which is commonly known as solid waste or garbage, the paper said the waste in the city is most unscientifically managed. It also expressed concern over the growing air pollution and land pollution in the city, the sources said, adding, however, that remedial measures suggested so far by various agencies, including nongovernmental organisations for protecting and upgrading the city environment have been incorporated in the white paper. (Ajit Patowary; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 25, 1999)

TEZPUR, August 23: A herd of wild tuskers are creating havoc in different parts of greater Tezpur in Sonitpur district and have damaged a good number of dwelling houses and other properties. According to an eyewitness, in Bambasseria, Muslimgaon, Madarguri and Konaiborachuk on August 17 night the wild tuskers damaged at least 10 houses and one business establishment. The herd also damaged three granaries and seven houses at Rupkuriha village near Ghorimari reserve forest at Milanpur area near Tezpur found during the last three days. Meanwhile, a fear psychosis prevails among the people here on the menace by the wild tuskers which has become a regular phenomenon in Tezpur and Sonitpur districts and the villagers are having sleepless nights. Earlier, more than 25 people were killed in the district by the wild tuskers during the last few years, who came from Chariduar Reserve forest in the district in search of food. When this correspondent tried to contact the DFO, Sanjiv Borah over telephone, he refused to speak to the press. However, forest sources said of late, there has been a sharp increase in the elephant population at the Chariduar reserve forest. Denundation of forest cover by timber smugglers and paddy cultivation have been cited as the main reasons behind the trespassing of the elephants into human habitats. Sources said the forest area has been rapidly decreasing due to depletion of forest resources which has directly hit the wild habitats. Besides, elephants in the Arunachal Pradesh portion of this habitat get disturbed during this season which results the movement of elephants southwards increasing their density in the Assam portion of the habitat and resultant scarcity of food and shelter which forced them to move out of the reserved forest. Even the Indian Air Force (IAF) of Tezpur base, one of the important bases for its strategic location, has failed to get rid of the tusker problem, which has damaged property worth more than Rs 27 lakh, said an IAF officer, adding that the forest area inside the base being peaceful, the animals take shelter here during the day and move out in search of food at night. Although the population of the elephants in the reserve forest has been increasing as confirmed by the forest officials, no census has been carried out by the government to ascertain the exact population of the elephants in the reserve forest. It is estimated that more than 200 people have been trampled to death by wild elephants in the state during the last six years, the official said, adding that the state has a total population of about 6500 Asiatic elephants, by far the largest concentration in the Indian subcontinent. According to the March 1993 census, there has been an increase in the number of elephants. Of the total, 5,524 elephants, 2,634 were been classified as adults, 2,066 as sub-adults and juvenile and 824 as calves. Compared to the 1982 census, wildlife department said there had been an average annual increase of about 250 elephants. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 25, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 24: The Kaziranga Wildlife Society views with concern and vehemently opposes the Assam government plan to destroy the Khanapara Basic Muga Seed Farm for the purpose of constructing residential buildings of ministers under the new capital construction scheme. In a release, it said about two lakh population from different sections like weavers, students, research-scholars and businessmen are now directly or indirectly benefited by the muga seed cocoons produced at this farm. Moreover, the existence of 3,100 matured som and soalo plants over 80 bighas of land at Khanapara has been working like an oasis in the fading environmental sphere of the Guwahati city. Assam is the only producer of this variety of precious textile in the world which attracts thousands of visitors from inside and outside the country. It also stands as a cultural symbol of the Assamese people, the society said. It urged all sections of the people of Assam to raise their voices against such detrimental attempts of the government of Assam and at the same time, urged the government to give up this disastrous plan in the greater public interest. (Staff reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 25, 1999)

IMPHAL, August 25: Different voluntary organisations in Manipur have flayed the Nipamacha-led ministry in connection with the assault on a senior reporter of a local daily by personnel of the Manipur Rifles on the night of August 14. The All Naga Students Association, Manipur, the All Manipur Women's Social Reformation Samaj and the Manipur Electronic Media Journalists Union have expressed concern at the increasing instances of assault on mediapersons. The journalist community in the state has decided to continue the agitation till the demands are fulfilled. The talks between the chief minister, Wahengbam Nipamacha Singh, and the striking Journalists' Front, Manipur, the apex body of journalists in Manipur, held on August 23 also failed. The latter is demanding stringent action against Manipur Rifles personnel and officer involved in the assault of Waikhom Sachindra, a senior report of Nongallakpa, a local daily. During the meeting, the chief minister said three Manipur Rifles jawans were suspended, but this could not satisfy the journalists. A statement issued by them said police officers involved in the incident should be punished latest by 4 August 31. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 26, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 25: Two city-based journalists were allegedly picked up from their mess by the police and detained at the Panbazar police station on the night of August 21 without any valid charges. The two journalists, Ranjib Kumar Sharma and Paran Prakash Gogoi, on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the state human rights commission alleging police excesses and violation of their fundamental rights. The two scribes alleged that personnel from the Latasil police station picked them up from the mess at Satya Bora Lane near Gauri Sadan in Dighalipukuri Par at midnight on Saturday and whisked them away in a car. They had first asked them about the whereabouts of one Russel Hussain of Gauhati University of which the two denied any knowledge, the scribes stated. The policemen allegedly, charged the two journalists of providing shelter to Hussain who was recently involved in a group clash in the University campus. (Staff reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 26, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 25: The All Assam Students Union (AASU) today expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of border fencing and border road works along the Indo-Bangla border and came down heavily on the state public works department (PWD) and the Border Security Force (BSF) for their failure to perform their duties effectively. AASU leaders here said the porous borders between India and Bangladesh had allowed easy access into Assam of illegal immigrants as well as agents of the Inter-Services intelligence (ISI) who are fomenting trouble in the state. "The fencing work is not satisfactory," said AASU president, Prabin Boro. Boro said the recent visit of the tripartite delegation represented by the home ministry joint secretary, GK Pillai, representatives of the state government and the AASU to the international border in the Karimganj sector had revealed several loopholes which were allowing ISI agents and infiltrators to sneak in. The state government is also not doing enough to implement the provisions of the Assam Accord, especially with regard to border fencing and road development work, he stated. The AASU general secretary, Amiya Bhuyan, said recent incidents had proved the extent of ISI infiltration through the border into Assam. Besides this, thousands of infiltrators are making their way into the state unchecked and unhampered, he said. Bhuyan said that the 3,152-man-strong prevention of infiltration force, sanctioned by the Centre to form a second line of defence against infiltration, had not yet been constituted by the state government. He said that a thousand men were to be inducted into the force by August this year, but that was not done. The AASU advisor, Samujjal Bhattacharyya, felt that a second line of defence was urgently required. He said patriotic Assamese youths should be recruited for the force. (Staff reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 26, 1999)

AIZAWL, August 27: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has approved the Mizo language as a subject in the state for standards IX and X, the state schools and education minister, F Malsawma, has said. According to Malsawma, the decision to include Mizo language as a subject for classes IX and X was taken on Tuesday in New Delhi after his meeting with the representative of CBSE who agreed that the students of classes IX and X could secure more marks in Mizo than in any other language subject, including Hindi. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 28, 1999)