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                    Vol.I, No.93 [*] February 26, 1997
                    ----------------------------------

o  'NORTHEAST IS A VICTIM OF BIO-PIRACY'		[S+AT:25-FEB-97]
   ------------------------------------
  
   Large-scale  bio-piracy have been taking place across the country but
   nowhere was it more pronounced than in  the  Northeast  which  was  a
   veritable  Pandora's  box  of  biological  wealth, according to Suman
   Sahai, convenor of  Gene  Campaign  and  a  professor  in  Heidelberg
   University, Germany.
  
   Addressing  newspersons at a press conference in Guwahati on February
   24, Dr Sahai said  the  wealth  of  Indias  bio-diversity  was  being
   plundered  by foreign companies and their agents causing revenue loss
   worth crores of rupees to the country. Whether it was  the  seeds  of
   special  varieties  of  rice  and  wheat  that were going to American
   seed companies  or the orchids of the  Northeast  out  of  which  the
   European   floriculture  companies  were  earning  millions,  India's
   biological wealth was being systematically purloined to  earn  wealth
   for overseas countries at the cost of India.
   
   Valuable  medicinal  plants  found in the country were being smuggled
   and patented by foreign companies  to  such  an  extent  that  Indian
   companies  could  no  longer make medicines out of many Indian plants
   based on the Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha, she  said.  She  underscored
   the  need  for  immediate  legislation making all bio-resources found
   within the sovereign territory of India, the property of  the  Indian
   people.

o  CONCERN OVER SLOW RATE OF FDI IN NE		[AT:25-FEB-97]
   -----------------------------------
  
   The  Assam  State  Committee  of  the  All   India   Bank   Officers'
   Confederation  has  expressed  serious  concern over the slow rate of
   Foreign Direct Investment  (FDI)  in  Assam  and  other  Northeastern
   States  in  spite  of  vast  potentiality  in  power  generation, oil
   refinery, food processing, tourism etc.
   
   A press statement released in Guwahati by Mr  P.K.Phookan,  President
   of  the committee said that after the new liberalised economic policy
   of 1991, only Maharastra,  Karnataka,  Gujarat,  Tamil  Nadu,  Andhra
   Pradesh  and  Orissa alone accounted for 80 per cent of the total FDI
   flow of Rs.25,489 billion between August 1991 to March 1996.
   
   Mr Phookan called  for  promotion  of  exports  from  NE  states  and
   establishing  trade  with Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries
   and appealed to the Union Finance Ministry to set up a bank branch of
   EXIM bank at Guwahati for NE region.  He also appealed to  the  Assam
   Government  to  take  all  possible  steps  to  lure  direct  foreign
   investment.
   

o  MOVE TO AUGMENT NE POWER OUTPUT			[S:25-FEB-97]
   -------------------------------
  
   A  'task  force'  has been constituted following the directive of the
   Prime  Minister  H.D.Deve  Gowda  for  executing  hydel  projects  to
   generate 5,000   MW  of  power  in  the  northeastern  region.    The
   Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Power Grid Corporation of India
   Limited, Mr R.P.Singh, told a press  conference  in  Patna  that  the
   northeastern  region  had  'tremendous  hydro potential' and that the
   proposed projects were likely to be executed in the coming  eight  to
   ten years.    The  power  to  be  generated  on the completion of the
   projects, along with additional 2,000 MW  of  power  from  Teesta  of
   Sikkim, would be supplied to the eastern region as also other regions
   in the country, Mr Singh said.
   

o  KEROSENE SMUGGLING TO BANGLADESH		[S:26-FEB-97]
   --------------------------------
  
   Huge  amount of kerosene oil coming to the northeast region under the
   public  distribution  (PDS),  finds   its   way   into   neighbouring
   Bangladesh,  said  senior  Border  Security  Force (BSF) officials in
   Shillong.  On February 20, BSF personnel foiled  a  bid  to  tranship
   3,500  kilolitres of kerosene oil to Bangladesh from Phulbari in Garo
   Hills district.  Some smugglers have picked up in this connection.
   

o  RS 25 MILLION SPENT PER MONTH ON RELIEF CAMPS	[AT:25-FEB-97]
   ---------------------------------------------
  
   The State Government has to incur an expenditure of Rs.25 million per
   month to provide relief to 162,000 riot-hit people still sheltered in
   various relief  camps  in  Kokrajhar,  Gossaigaon  and Bongaigaon.  A
   highly-placed source informed that this amount is required to provide
   only the daily quota of ration of rice and salt and occasional supply
   of pulses.
   
   Recently, a joint drive was launched  in  all  the  relief  camps  by
   UNICEF, State Relief and Social Welfare Departments and NGOs to treat
   malnourished children  in the camps.  About 20,000 such children were
   identified and treated.  About  Rs.1.8  million  were  spent  in  the
   drive, the sources said.

o  LAND FOR ASSAM UNIVERSITY IN SILCHAR		[S:25-FEB-97]
   ------------------------------------
  
   The  district administration, Cachar has handed over altogether 1,808
   bighas of  land  to  the  Assam  (Central)  University  authority  in
   Silchar.  This was stated in a press release of DIPR, Silchar.
   

o  ASSAM HAS 700,000 HANDLOOMS			[PIB:22-FEB-97]
   ---------------------------
  
   In Assam, handloom weaving is a way of life.  It is inexorably linked
   with the  culture  and tradition of the Assamese people.  There was a
   time when every Assamese household had a loom of its own.   In  fact,
   every home hummed with the music of the loom.
   
   Today,   the   State   has   nearly  700,000  looms  which  work  out
   approximately at sixteen percent of the total number of looms in  the
   entire  country.  Out  of  this,  30,000 looms operate exclusively on
   silk. Although  throw  shuttle  and  pitlooms  still  constitute  the
   majority in  plain areas, these are being substituted by  fly shuttle
   and semi-automatics. In the two hill districts, people generally  use
   loin loom.
   
   In terms of impact and coverage, handloom weaving stands next only to
   agriculture in  State's rural scenario.  There is hardly a village in
   Assam where one will not hear the rhythmic music of the sley and  the
   shuttle.
   
   Nearly one million people practise  handloom  weaving  while  another
   substantially  high  number  is  engaged  in  supporting  trades  and
   industries industries.    Quite  a  large  chunk   of   the   garment
   requirement  of  the people, particularly in rural areas, are met out
   of handloom products.
   
   Assam Handloom is rich in design and variety.  Assamese  weavers  can
   weave fairytales  with  sley  and shuttle.  Lovely golden apparels of
   Muga, creamy eri and glossy  mulberry  pieces  are  considered  prize
   collections by customers all over the country.  'Laichangphi', or the
   poorman's  quilt  with  its  myriad  of shades is enjoying increasing
   popularity with people from all sections of the society.  each ethnic
   group of the State has its own characteristic costumes with beautiful
   designs and highly impressive colour schemes  to  mark  the  distinct
   identity of different ethnic groups.
   
   The unique aspect of Assam Handloom is that it is  practised  by  all
   sections of  the people irrespective of caste and creed.  Most of the
   looms  primarily  operate  to  meet  the  requirement   of   domestic
   consumption.   Obviously,  the  level of production is not very high.
   However, every year more and more people are gradually taking to  the
   industry  on  commercial  lines,  and the handloom sector in Assam is
   going to provide more and more employment in years to come,  both  as
   part time as well as full time occupation, besides being a pastime of
   leisure hours.
   

o  GOVERNMENT AID TO XATRAS IN COOCHBEHAR		[S:25-FEB-97]
   --------------------------------------
  
   The Assam Government will provide Rs.200,000 each to Baikunthapur and
   Madhupur xatras  in  Coochbehar  in  West  Bengal  for  developmental
   activities,  Chief  Minister  Prafulla Kumar Mahanta announced at two
   separate  functions  in  these  xatras  on  February  24.  Mahapurush
   Damodardeb established the Madhupur xatra about 500 years ago.
   

o  NIRENDRANATH CHAKRAVARTY TO INAUGURATE AXX SESSION    [AT:25-FEB-97]
   --------------------------------------------------
  
   Renowned  poet,  Mr  Nirendranath  Chakravarty  will  inaugurate  the
   Bilasipara session of the Axom Xahitya Xabha on March 8, says a Xabha
   release.
   

______________________________[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
________________________________________________________________________