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                     Vol.2, No.10  [*] May 7, 1997
                     -----------------------------


1  ARMY OPERATIONS IN JUNGLES OF KARBI ANGLONG		[AT:7-MAY-97]
   -------------------------------------------
   
   The   Army  operation  against  militants  in  the  jungles  near the
   tri-junction of Karbi Anglong, North Cachar Hills and Nagaland  still
   continues  and  till  date  no  one is sure about the exact number of
   casualties in the ongoing operations.
   
   The  Army,  in a surprise raid, busted a well-established camp of the
   militants as well as a satellite camp in the deep  jungles  of  Karbi
   Anglong  and  as  the  militants  have  fanned  out towards different
   directions after  the  raid,  the  operations  are  still  on.    The
   operation  was  launched  on  April 27 and busted a camp of militants
   which had the capacity to house about two to three hundred militants.
   
   Sources said that the Army have  so  far  recovered  five  bodies  of
   militants  from the area of operation and one Army man was injured in
   the incident.
   

2  UNIFIED HQ TO STAY TILL ULTRAS COME FOR TALKS		[S:6-MAY-97]
   ---------------------------------------------
  
   Chief  Minister  Prafulla  Kumar Mahanta reiterated his earlier stand
   that the State Government could not remain a silent  bystander  while
   the spate of killings, abductions and extortion continued and said it
   was   not  possible  to  recommend  the  suspension  of  the  Unified
   Headquarters engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Assam.
   
   While  addressing  newsmen  in Guwahati on May 5, the Chief Minister,
   however, made an assurance that the  State  Government  would  ensure
   that  the Centre order the suspension of the Unified Headquarters the
   day the underground organizations including the banned ULFA, the BLTF
   and the NDFB come forward for talks.
   

3  MASS PROCESSION TO BUILD PUBLIC OPINION AGAINST UC	[AT:5-MAY-97]
   --------------------------------------------------
  
   The  Manab  Adhikar  Sangram  Samiti  (MASS)  has  started  a   cycle
   procession  all over the State to build up public opinion against the
   imposition of the Unified Command  system  in  the  State.    A  MASS
   release  said  that  a  team  has  started  the cycle procession from
   Tinsukia on May 4 while other three groups will start off from Dhubri
   on May 8, from Dhemaji on May 10 and from Goalpara on May 14 to reach
   Guwahati on May 16.
   

4  ARUNACHAL CM LEAVES FOR USA				[UNI:6-MAY-97
   ---------------------------
   
   Arunachal Chief Minister Gegong Apang left New Delhi for the  USA  on
   May  5 on a 19-day official tour to woo prospective investors and for
   tapping the vast natural resources of the State.  Mr Apang would meet
   international lawyers and bankers to  discuss  international  contact
   practices, and hold discussions with the environmentalists there.
   
   Mr Apang is likely to discuss with the Japanese bank  authorities  on
   securing  a  soft  loan  and visit Kalgari -- the world's best mining
   centre.  He would talk to the  Red  Indian  Chief  at  Apache  Indian
   Reserve on environment and know about their perception on the matter.
   He  was  accompanied by the Chief Secretary and the Special Secretary
   to the Chief Minister.
   

5  APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS TO BE FREE AND FARE		[S:6-MAY-97]
   -------------------------------------------
   
   State  Chief  Minister  Prafulla  Kumar Mahanta reiterated that there
   will not be any monetary  transactions  in  the  current  process  of
   employment of  teachers for various schools.  He said guidelines have
   already  been  completed  for  conducting  the  entire  process   for
   selecting  candidates solely upon talent and qualification only.
   
   While addressing a press meet in Guwahati on May 5.  He revealed that
   out of total 643,688 applicants,  75,524  are  for  higher  secondary
   schools,  164,035  for middle English schools and 404,129 for primary
   schools against vacancies of 8,700 posts of  teachers  upto  December
   1996.
   

6  NURSES TRYING TO AVOID SERVING IN RURAL AREAS		[AT:5-MAY-97]
   ---------------------------------------------
   
   A large number of nurses in the  State  are  trying  to  avoid  their
   transfer   posting   at  various  Public  Health  Centres  (PHC)  and
   Subsidiary Health Centres (SHC) putting the Health  Department  in  a
   fix despite  repeated directives from the authority.  The nurses have
   been trying to avoid serving in rural or semi-urban areas on  various
   excuses.   Some of them are using contacts in the ruling AGP party to
   put pressure on the authority either to give  their  transfer  orders
   stayed or seek posting in a place of their preference.
   

7  SINGLE-WINDOW CLEARANCE SYSTEM AT KAMRUP DC OFFICE	[S:7-MAY-97]
   --------------------------------------------------
   
   Chief  Minister  Prafulla  Kumar  Mahanta is to formally inaugurate a
   single-window clearance system in the office  of  the  Kamrup  deputy
   Commissioner  on  May 7 with a view to making the administration more
   accessible and user-friendly.
   
   Official sources told newsmen that common people approaching the DC's
   office  for  the  issue  of  documents and certificates such as caste
   certificates, permanent residence certificates, ration  cards,  birth
   and death  certificates etc.  would now be able to obtain at least 13
   types of such certificates and documents from a single window.
   

8  6,720 CHINESE MADE PADLOCKS SEIZED			[AT:5-MAY-97]
   ----------------------------------
  
   The sleuths of the anti-smuggling unit of Guwahati  Customs  recently
   seized  6,720  Chinese made padlocks worth Rs.168,000 from the parcel
   booking counter of the Guwahati railway station.  The seized articles
   were smuggled into  the  country  from  Myanmar  via  Moreh,  Customs
   sources said.
   

9  MRINAL KANTI DAS BAGS AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY	[AT:7-MAY-97]
   ---------------------------------------------------
   
   Young  Assamese filmmakers Bidyut Chakravarty and Dr Santana Bordoloi
   emerged out of the shadow of their experienced and  famed  elders  Dr
   Bhabendra  Nath  Saikia  and  Jahnu Barua as their directorial debuts
   shored in between them four awards in the 44th National  Film  Awards
   announced in New Delhi on May 6.
   
   Bidyut Chakravarty's Rag Birag which was the opening feature  of  the
   Indian  panorama  at the last International Film Festival of India at
   Thiruvananthapuram, bagged the Indira Gandhi  award  for  best  first
   film  of a director for its sensitivity in portraying a complex human
   psyche of individual characters, while Adajya by Dr Santana  Bordoloi
   got the  best  regional  film  award  in  Assamese.  Besides, despite
   having a limited  infrastructure,  these  films  came  out  with  two
   technical awards, in cinematography and in editing.
   
   Cinematographer  Mrinal  Kanti Das emerged triumphant with his superb
   camera work in both Rag Birag  and  Adajya,  while  A.Sreekar  Prasad
   bagged  the  best  editing  award  for his slick scissor works in Rag
   Birag.
   

10 BOMMAI ON RECOGNITION OF SATRIYA CULTURE		[AT:7-MAY-97]
   ----------------------------------------
   
   Union  Minister  for Human Resources Development S.R.Bommai stated in
   the Lok Sabha on May 5 while replying to a question raised by Dr Arun
   Kumar Sarma, MP, that recognition of Satriya  culture  as  a  classic
   form  of  dance  and music is a matter for the creative and scholarly
   community to decide.  The Government neither has the practice nor any
   artistic authority in this matter.
   

11 CENTRAL GRANTS FOR NE SPORTS				[S:6-MAY-97]
   ----------------------------
   
   An  amount  of  Rs.15.22 million has been given to four north-eastern
   States -- Assam  (Rs.800,000),  Manipur  (Rs.4.35  million),  Mizoram
   (Rs.8.62  million) and Tripura (Rs.1.45 million) -- by the Sports and
   Youth Affairs Department, Government of India  during  the  financial
   year 1996-97 to build adequate sports infrastructure in the region.


______________________________[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://www.cs.uccs.edu/~kalita/assam/news/news-from-assam-index.html
________________________________________________________________________