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                    Vol.2, No.62 [*] December 12, 1997
                    ----------------------------------

                    We do not count a man's years, 
                  until he has nothing else to count.
                              - Emerson 
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

1  300,000 DOUBTFUL CITIZENS IN FINAL ROLLS		   [S:10-DEC-97]
   ----------------------------------------
  
   The final voters list of Assam with January 1, 1997 as the qualifying
   date was published on December 9 for 124 Assam Assembly segments with
   over  300,000  names  of doubtful citizens, State Election Department
   sources said in Guwahati.  The names of the  doubtful  citizens  have
   been marked  in  the  voters  list  with  a 'D' each.  These persons,
   during the enumeration under the 'intensive revision' of  the  voters
   list,  had  failed  to  provide  any  proof  of  citizenship  to  the
   enumerators except that their names  had  appeared  in  the  previous
   voters list.
   
   The  names  of  all  these doubtful entrants in the list would now be
   referred to the IM(DT) Act tribunals and Foreigners' Act tribunals to
   determine if they are citizens.  Once the tribunals confirm they  are
   foreigners,  their  names  would  be struck off from the voters list,
   sources said.  However, the State Election Department could not state
   categorically if they would be  able  to  cast  their  votes  in  the
   ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

2  ASDC REVIVES DEMAND FOR AUTONOMOUS STATE	          [AT:11-DEC-97]
   ----------------------------------------
   
   The   Autonomous   State  Demand  Committee  (ASDC),  Karbi  Students
   Association (KSA) and the Dimasa Students Union (DSU) have decided to
   revive their demand for the creation of an autonomous State under the
   provisions of the Article 244(A) of the  Indian  Constitution.    The
   organizations   have   also  chalked  out  a  series  of  agitational
   programmes including a cycle and  two  wheeler  procession  in  Karbi
   Anglong  and  N.C.Hills  on December 15 and torchlight processions on
   December 21 besides other programmes.
   
   Justifying the need to resume the agitation on the  autonomous  State
   demand,  Dr  Jayanta  Rongpi, president of the ASDC said that the MoU
   signed on April 1, 1995 in this regard had proved to be a damp  squib
   as  things  had come back to square one due to lackadaisical attitude
   of the State Government.
   

3  BHRIGU SET TO LAUNCH NEW PARTY			   [S:11-DEC-97]
   ------------------------------
  
   Suspended AGP leader and former Home  Minister  Bhrigu  Kumar  Phukan
   took  his  first  step  on December 10 in formation of a new regional
   political party under the banner of State Level Preparatory Committee
   (SLPC) 'to mobilize public opinion'  against  AGP  leader  and  Chief
   Minister  P.K.Mahanta  for his alleged failure 'to save regionalism.'
   The SLPC which was formed on September 20, decided to hold its  first
   political convention  on  January 10.  The SLPC said that the AGP had
   lost its regional entity and, in this context, the SLPC  would  raise
   the  slogan  'to  save  Assam, save regionalism.' However, the future
   course of action of the committee will be guided by public opinion.
   

4  CHARGES AGAINST 9 FRAMED IN SONARI LOC CASE		   [S:12-DEC-97]
   -------------------------------------------
   
   The  court of the Special Judge, Guwahati framed charges against nine
   accused, including the kingpin,  Mr  Rajendra  Prasad  Bora,  in  the
   Sonari treasury fraud case of the LoC scandal of the State Veterinary
   department  involving an amount of Rs.6.69 million and fixed February
   12 for the witness to file their statements.  The CBI had  filed  the
   charge sheet  on  the  case  against  Mr Bora on March 27, 1996.  The
   other accused are Mr  Enamul  Haque,  Mr  T.B.Dutta,  Sayeed  Mukibul
   Islam,  Dulal Chandra Konwar, Mr Tankeswar Saikia, Ms Indira Bora, Mr
   Achut Barpujari and Ms Rajita Barpujari.
   
   Meanwhile, the Gauhati High Court on December 9  extended  time  till
   January  6  to  the CBI to file its final report on the investigation
   into the  Demow  case  of  the  LoC  scam  of  the  State  Veterinary
   Department.
   

5  TATA TEA SEEKS THREE MONTHS' TIME		         [PTI:11-DEC-97]
   ---------------------------------
   
   Counsels  for the Tata Tea sought three months' time for filing their
   written statement in response to the Rs.10 million damage suit  filed
   by  the  former  Assam  Home Secretary, Mr B.V.P.Rao, against the tea
   giant.  Mr Rao, now Power Commissioner, in his suit in the  court  on
   November  6  stated  that the tea company had 'twisted and suppressed
   the facts projecting him in a very poor light' by alleging that there
   was no response from him as Home  Secretary  in  December,  1995  for
   providing security after the Tata Tea received a letter from the ULFA
   demanding 100 walkie talkie sets.

6  ARMS AND AMMO RECOVERED IN GUWAHATI		           [S:12-DEC-97]
   -----------------------------------
   
   In  a major breakthrough, North Lakhimpur police, in cooperation with
   Guwahati police, dealt a telling blow to an extremist  outfit,  Hindu
   Security  Task  Force,  when  they  raided  commander-in-chief of the
   outfit at Kamakhya Gate in Guwahati at midnight on December  10,  and
   recovered  17  pistols  and  revolvers  and 988 rounds of ammunition,
   besides 68 receipt books and some colour photographs.
   
   The commander-in-chief,  identified  as  one  Arun  Tamuly,  however,
   escaped the  police  dragnet.    All  the  arms  and ammunitions were
   manufactured in Bihar, but they look as  if  they  were  of  US-make,
   police said.    The  recoveries  were made possible on the basis of a
   confessional statement of one Deba Baniya, chairman  of  the  outfit,
   who was arrested by Lakhimpur police on December 7 from Nakarigaon.
   

7  US INVITED TO INVEST IN ASSAM			 [PTI:11-DEC-97]
   -----------------------------
   
   Industry  Minister Gunin Hazarika urged the US investors to invest in
   Assam in oil and coal sectors as the region was richly  endowed  with
   oil  and  natural  gas, as well as coal reserves, and had a congenial
   atmosphere for investment.  He was attending a panel discussion of US
   investment summit in Calcutta on December 11.
   
   The  US  investment  summit  concluded without generating substantial
   enthusiasm among the visiting 100-strong American delegation, as only
   five MoUs were signed out of a total of 137 proposals. All  the  five
   MoUs were projects meant for West Bengal.
   
8  ASTROLOGER PREDICTS BJP GOVT AT CENTRE		  [AT:12-DEC-97]
   --------------------------------------
   
   Noted astrologer and editor of the Prak-Jyotish Panjika, Mr Jogen Das
   does not see any change in the present political scenario in Assam as
   per planetary   indications.      The   astrologer's   prediction  is
   significant in view of  the  uncertainty  surrounding  the  political
   future of Chief Minister P.K.Mahanta in connection with the LoC scam.
   In  a  signed statement, Mr Das further predicted that in the ensuing
   Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) together with other
   alliance partners is likely to form the next government at Delhi.
   

9  INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMA TO DR BHANU SAIKIA	           [AT:9-DEC-97]
   ----------------------------------------
   
   Dr  (Mrs) Bhanu Saikia, STD Officer, State AIDS Cell, Assam, has been
   awarded the International Diploma by the Faculty of Medicine,  Prince
   of  Songkla  University, Thai Medical Society for the Study of STD in
   collaboration with the U.K.  Medical Society for Study  of  STD,  HIV
   and  AIDS.  She  was  sponsored  by  the WHO and was nominated by the
   Ministry of Health and  Family  Welfare.  She  was  one  of  the  two
   candidates   selected   from   India  for  the  course  in  which  16
   participants from eight countries participated.
   

10 THE LONGEST SENTENCE IN ASSAMESE		           [AT:9-DEC-97]
   --------------------------------
   
   A very long sentence consisting of 5,067 words composed by Mr  Promod
   Lal  Barman,  vice  principal of Chamata H.S.School under the caption
   'Samay Pale Amar Phale  Abar  Ahi  Jaba'  was  formally  released  on
   November 23.    Different aspects were reflected in the sentence such
   as social justice, a genuine picture of the  problems  of  the  State
   etc.

______________________________[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
________________________________________________________________________