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                    Vol.I, No.92 [*] February 24, 1997
                     ---------------------------------

o  LYNGDOH APPOINTED AS ELECTION COMMISSION	[AT:22-FEB-97]
   ----------------------------------------
  
   The Union Government appointed J.M.Lyngdoh, Secretary in the  Cabinet
   Secretariat,  as  the  new  Election  Commission  of India on Feb 21,
   setting at rest  all  speculations  over  appointment  of  the  third
   Commissioner in the three-man Commission.
   
   The man from Meghalaya  was  selected  from  an  impressive  list  of
   contenders  that  included  the Union Home Secretary, K.Padmanabhiah,
   who was the hot favourite for the appointment.  The  appointment  was
   seen as one more measure of the United Front Government to dispel the
   misgiving prevailing    the   Northeastern   States.      An   Indian
   Administrative Service  (IAS)  officer  of  1961  (Bihar  Cadre),  Mr
   Lyngdoh  is  the  first  man  from  the region to be appointed as the
   Election Commissioner.
   

o  CBI TAKES UP PARAG DAS CASE				[S:24-FEB-97]
   ---------------------------
  
   The  Central  Bureau  of Investigation (CBI) has finally taken up the
   case  pertaining  to  the  murder  of  journalist  and  human  rights
   activists Parag  Kumar  Das.    According  to  high-level  sources in
   Guwahati, the CBI began its investigation into the case on Feb 22  by
   having a chat with Parag Das' minor son, Rohan, who is believed to be
   the sole  eyewitness to the killing.  The sources, however, clarified
   that while the  CBI  had  already  launched  its  probe,  the  formal
   notification  in  this  regard  would  be issued only within the next
   couple of days.
   

o  PM LIKELY TO INAUGURATE BG TRAIN SERVICE		[S:22-FEB-97]
   ----------------------------------------
  
   The Prime Minister, H.D.Deve Gowda is expected to flag off the  first
   train  to  run  on  broad  gauge  rails  from  Tinsukia  on April 14,
   according to the General Manager of NF Railway,  Mr  S.P.Mehta.    Mr
   Mehta  said  that  the  Mariani-Tinsukia-Dibrugarh  broad gauge route
   would be completed by March 31, and that two trains - Kamrup  Express
   and Brahmaputra  Mail  -  would originate from Dibrugarh.  He further
   disclosed  that  the  Railways  were  studying  the  feasibility   of
   introducing inter-city services between Guwahati and major cities and
   towns  of  the  State,  as  also extension of the Rajdhani Express to
   Dibrugarh and Tinsukia.
   
   On  February  21, steam engines became a part of history in this part
   of the world too, with the last steam locomotive chugging in Tinsukia
   from Dibrugarh.  The last run  of  the  steam  engine  'Joymoti'  was
   flagged  off  from  Dibrugarh  at 10:30 pm (IST) by the local MLA, Dr
   Kalyan Gogoi.
   

o  NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCHES IN GUWAHATI			[S:23-FEB-97]
   --------------------------------
  
   The Guwahati City police is all set  to  introduce  a  'neighbourhood
   watch'  scheme  in Guwahati city to promote community policing and to
   put a curb on the escalation of robberies in  the  rapidly  expanding
   city.   This  was  disclosed  by  the  city SP, Mr Kuladhar Saikia to
   newsmen on February 22 in Guwahati.  Mr Saikia said this  plan  which
   aimed  at sensitizing the public to their security needs was modelled
   on the lines of the British police's 'Neighbourhood Watch Scheme'.
   

o  SHAHIDUL ISLAM SURRENDERS, FREED ON BAIL		[S:23-FEB-97]
   ----------------------------------------
  
   Mostafa Shahidul Islam, the Congress  MLA  from  Dhing  constituency,
   surrendered  before  the  Additional  Chief  Judicial  Magistrate  on
   February 21 after a non-bailable warrant was issued in his  name  for
   encroachment of land, trespass and other criminal intimidation, among
   other things. He was shortly released on bail after the surrender.
   

o  MEGHALAYA TO SEEK REVIEW OF BAN ON FOREST ACTIVITIES	[S:22-FEB-97]
   ----------------------------------------------------
  
   The Meghalaya Government is to file a review  on  the  Supreme  Court
   verdict  putting  a halt to lumbering operations in the Northeast for
   ecological reasons, on the grounds that this was  severely  affecting
   the economy of not just the State, but the entire northeast region as
   a whole.   This was disclosed by the Meghalaya Chief Minister Salseng
   C.Marak in Guwahati on February 22.
   

o  RURAL INDUSTRY TO BE BOOSTED				[S:22-FEB-97]
   ----------------------------
  
   A novel plan with World Bank's financial assistance will be  launched
   in  the  State from April to develop the rural based small and medium
   industries with different phases in an eight-year  time  span.    The
   State  Chief  Minister  Mr  Prafulla Kumar Mahanta informed this at a
   public meeting at Kampur in Nagaon on February 21.
   

o  HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY NEGLECTED				[S:23-FEB-97]
   ----------------------------
  
   'A healthy nationalistic feeling can't grow ignoring proper education
   in  the  subjects of Geography and History in the secondary education
   curriculum of the State', said Dr Hiren Gohain and Mr Deben Dutta  at
   a Press  conference  in  Guwahati  on  February 22.  Dr Gohain and Mr
   Dutta who were joint convenors of the  Public  Inquiry  Committee  on
   Assam's Secondary Education informed that its report was submitted to
   State Education  Minister  Jatin  Mali on February 19.  The committee
   was formed  to  look  into  the  alleged  controversy  of  the  State
   Government's  cold  shouldering  of  proper  education  in  these two
   subjects.
   

o  STEPS TO BEAUTIFY MONUMENTS				[S:22-FEB-97]
   ---------------------------
  
   The Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) has launched a major
   scheme  to  beautify  the  ancient  monuments in and around Sibsagar,
   constructed during the reign of Ahom kings, to make  these  monuments
   attractive tourist spots.  The scheme was formally inaugurated on Feb
   20  by Assam Flood Control Minister Mr Promode Gogoi at an impressive
   function in the precincts of historic Ranghar, the sports pavilion of
   the Ahom kings.
   

o  CHILDREN'S JAMBOREE BEGINS			[S:23-FEB-97]
   --------------------------
  
   A Children's jamboree was inaugurated on Feb 22 amidst  much  fanfare
   in Guwahati.      The  jamboree,  organized  under  the  auspices  of
   Purbanchal Shishu Sanmilan with more than 5,000 kids  from  the  nine
   eastern  States  started  with  a very colourful procession taken out
   from four centres of the city to merge together  at  the  Engineering
   Institute grounds at Chandmari.
   

o  SCHOOL CHILDREN BAGS AWARDS			[UNI:22-FEB-97]
   ---------------------------
  
   Master Varunjyoti, student of class eight and Master Arunjyoti Deori,
   student  of  class  XI of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Maligaon, Guwahati, had
   been awarded gold medals in the second all India Painting Competition
   among school children, 1996-97, in group C and group  B  respectively
   held at  Hyderabad  in  January 1997.  About 15,000 entries and 5,402
   students  of  438  schools  and  colleges  throughout   the   country
   participated in the competition.
   

______________________________[Mozz-BG]_________________________________

Compiled from newspaper and agency reports for private circulation only.
      [S=Sentinel, AT=Assam Tribune, Agencies = UNI, PTI, PIB]
              http://www.cyberspace.org/~mozz/aol.html  
  http://piglet.uccs.edu/~kalita/assam/news/news-from-assam-index.html
________________________________________________________________________