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                          Vol.3, No.49 [*]  July 17, 1998
                          -------------------------------

             Nothing levels a playing field like a better idea.
                           - Stanley I. Mason, Jr.
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

1  POSTAL STRIKE CALLED OFF			         [PTI:16-JUL-98]
   ------------------------
   The  postal  employees  called  off  their  eight-day-old  strike  on
   Thursday after Communications Minister  Sushma  Swaraj  assured  them
   that the Government would take a decision on all their demands within
   a time-frame.  The decision was taken after two hours of talks Postal
   Union leaders held with the Minister.
   
   The  leaders had held day-long discussions with Postal Board Chairman
   R.U.S.Prasad on Wednesday after which they  had  indicated  that  the
   calling off  of  the  strike  was  imminent.  `We have called off the
   strike on the basis of  mutual  trust  and  assurance  given  by  the
   Minister,'  general  secretary  of  the National Federation of Postal
   Employees, R.L.Bhattacharya told PTI.
   
2  TWO MILLION PEOPLE, 2,933 VILLAGES HIT BY FLOODS       [AT:17-JUL-98]
   ------------------------------------------------
   More than two million people of 2,933 villages have been affected  by
   floods  in  Assam  as  the overall situation continued to be grim. In
   all, 71 people, including 51 in landslides, lost their lives so  far.
   About 3,000 dwelling houses were damaged in the State.
   
   The  water  level  of  almost  all rivers, including the Brahmaputra,
   although receding all over the State, surface communication  remained
   disrupted  in  the  flood-affected  areas  of the 19 districts. Large
   areas of human habitations and crop land were still under water.
   
   Assam Flood Control Minister Promode Gogoi  left  for  New  Delhi  on
   Thursday  to seek urgent assistance from the Centre. Properties worth
   Rs.6 billion have been damaged by the floods and the State Government
   had sought immediate sanctioning of Rs.2 billion from the Centre.

3  GOVT DECIDES TO FILL UP VACANT POSTS		          [AT:16-JUL-98]
   ------------------------------------
   The Assam Cabinet on Wednesday decided to issue directives to various
   government  departments to take steps to fill up vacant posts in view
   of the growing unemployment problem. The Cabinet further  took  stock
   of  the flood situation and gastro deaths in the State and decided to
   direct concerned district administration and health officials to take
   appropriate action as demanded by the situation.
   
   The Cabinet  also  decided  to  raise  the  monthly  amount  paid  to
   postgraduate  and  graduate  doctors  engaged  in  the  State Medical
   Hospitals.   As  per  the  decision  they  will  now  be  treated  as
   government   employees   instead   of   students  and  will  be  paid
   consolidated  salaries  for  three  years  instead  of   stipend   or
   scholarship, sources said.
   
3  MODEL POLICE STATION IN JORHAT MOOTED		   [S:17-JUL-98]
   -------------------------------------
   The Jorhat Sadar police station has started functioning  as  a  model
   police  station,  in  accordance  with the United Nations' scheme for
   development of the law enforcing agencies as  pro-people  which  work
   with dedication  to  the  society.  Six police personnel from Titabar
   and Jorhat were trained in  the  Rajasthan  Police  Academy  to  take
   charge of the re-oriented police station.
   
   The police station will have a reception centre to aid and advise the
   people coming  to the police station with their problems.  There will
   be complaint boxes at several places around the town.   The  idea  of
   the  police  station  is  to  make  police  function as a democratic,
   progressive and fraternal agency with the society  and  thereby  give
   the police a new public image and bring a total behavioural change in
   conduct of their services, the trained police personnel revealed.
   
4  NURSES STRIKE IN AMC DIBRUGARH			  [AT:17-JUL-98]
   ------------------------------
   Altogether  115  nurses  were  arrested and released by the police on
   Thursday as they took out a  demonstration  to  submit  a  memorandum
   before  the  Deputy  Commissioner  highlighting  their  long-standing
   demands  which  include  State-Central  pay  parity,  filling  up  of
   vacancies and regular payment of salaries.
   
   The Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh has about 700 nurses who have to
   cater to  the  1,300-bed  hospital.    A  senior doctor said that the
   institution needs at least a thousand nurses for smooth  functioning.
   The  All  Assam  Nurses' Association said nurses in the district have
   not received their monthly salaries for the last seven months.
   
5  NEW SET OF AASU LEADERS TO TAKE CHARGE		   [S:16-JUL-98]
   --------------------------------------
   The All Assam Students Union (AASU) on Wednesday  declared  that  the
   union  will change its present leadership who had been holding office
   since 1992. A new set of leaders will take charge  from  the  present
   president   Sarbananda   Sonowal   and   general  secretary  Samujjal
   Bhattachryya on December 24 at Barpeta, when AASU's  general  session
   will be held after a gap of 4 years.
   
   Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Mr Sonowal  revealed  that
   the  incumbent president and general secretary would not contest this
   time, and the opportunity would be given to newcomers.    He  further
   said  the  AASU  had  already started the process of its next move of
   integrating all communities  and  tribes  through  the  `Axom  Unnati
   Xabha'  which  began  its  first  general  session  at  Golaghat from
   Thursday.  Meanwhile, the AASU declared Lakhimani Deb Nath,  an  AASU
   leader who was killed recently at Raha as `martyr'.
   
6  KOCH-RAJBONSHIS SERVED NOTICE TO LEAVE INDIA	           [S:16-JUL-98]
   --------------------------------------------
   A  36-hour  Bongaigaon  district  bandh  has  been  called by the All
   Bongaigaon District Koch-Rajbonsi Students Unit from 6 am of July  17
   to  6  pm  of  July  18,  to  protest  against alleged indiscriminate
   deportation of several Koch-Rajbonsi citizens of Assam to  Bangladesh
   besides  serving notice on others to leave India within seven days by
   the district administration.

7  CANCER INSTITUTE TO BE UPGRADED			   [S:17-JUL-98]
   -------------------------------
   The Assam Government has made all efforts to  upgrade  Dr.Bhubaneswar
   Barooah  Cancer  Institute to the level of an all India institute, an
   official release quoted State Chief Minister as saying  while  laying
   the  foundation  stone of the OPD building of the cancer institute at
   Gopinath Nagar in Guwahati on Thursday.  The Chief Minister said that
   an ambitious scheme amounting to Rs.340 million had  been  formulated
   to upgrade the institute.  An agreement had already been signed among
   the  State Government, Northeastern Council, Atomic Energy Commission
   and the Centre to equally provide funds for the upgradation.
   
8  BHUPEN HAZARIKA'S `DAWN' IN STAR PLUS CHANNEL	 [PTI:15-JUL-98]
   ---------------------------------------------
   Forthcoming  television  serial  `Dawn'  in  English jointly written,
   produced and directed by Bhupen Hazarika along with Kalpana Lajmi, is
   scheduled to be telecast on Star Plus channel of the Star TV  Network
   every  Wednesday  from  July  22.  Dr.Hazarika said the serial set in
   Assam had English dialogues as English  was  more  widely  spoken  in
   northeastern States than any local language.
   
   `The serial has been inspired by my dream to bring the Northeast into
   national  mainstream  and  the story unfolds how a small peaceful tea
   town Tezpur on the banks of the  Brahmaputra  immersed  in  spiritual
   life  preached  by  Vaisnavite  saint  Shankardev  for 500 years, was
   engulfed by patriotic flames of the Freedom Movement,' he explained.
   
   `Assam's role in  the  Indian  national  movement  and  struggle  for
   freedom should not be forgotten and I want to prove to the rest of my
   countrymen  that  the State is not secessionist,' Hazarika said while
   briefing reporters at Mumbai on Tuesday night about his serial Dawn.
   
9  SHANKARDEV KALASHETRA TO BE INAUGURATED ON OCT 1	   [S:16-JUL-98]
   ------------------------------------------------
   The Shankardev Award instituted by  the  State  Government,  will  be
   given  away  at  the  newly-built  Shankardev  Kalashetra  (Arts  and
   Cultural centre) at Panjabari in  Guwahati  from  this  year.    This
   decision was taken at a meeting of the Kalashetra Committee headed by
   the Chief Minister in Guwahati on Tuesday.  The meeting also approved
   the  decision  of  the  general  body  of the Kalashetra committee to
   inaugurate the Kalashetra on October 1 on the occasion of  the  550th
   birth anniversary of Shankardev.
   
10 PORPOISE KILLED AND SOLD FOR RS.1,200		  [AT:16-JUL-98]
   -------------------------------------
   A rare species of large porpoise was recently killed by the villagers
   of Hablakha near Borbhag.  The porpoise was 9.2 feet long and weighed
   1,500 kilogramme.    The  flood  waters  of  Pagladia river swept the
   porpoise into a paddy field through a breach in the embankment.   The
   porpoise  then got struck at a culvert where the villagers spotted it
   and killed it with sharp weapons.  They sold it for Rs.1,200.  During
   floods many such porpoises  and  animals  like  the  deer,  who  take
   shelter   in  embankments  and  roads,  fall  victim  to  killing  by
   villagers.  Porpoise is a mammal  which  lives  in  water  and  looks
   similar to a dolphin but has a shorter rounder nose.
  
11 PRANAB DAS TO REPRESENT INDIA IN KARATE		   [S:17-JUL-98]
   ---------------------------------------
   Pranab Kumar  Das  has  been  selected  to  represent  India  in  the
   International  Shoto Karate competition to be held in Paris from July
   31 to August 2.  Pranab Das, a resident of  Purana  Chowk  Bazaar  in
   Sibsagar,  is  an  electrical  engineer  in  the  Oil and Natural Gas
   Company Limited (ONGC) by profession.
   
12 ONE MILLION FOR INDOOR STADIUM AT NAGAON		   [S:16-JUL-98]
   ----------------------------------------
   The  Union  Government  has  released  Rs.1.1  million  as  grant for
   construction and development of the indoor  stadium  at  Nagaon,  the
   Director of Sports and Youth Welfare informed newsmen in Guwahati. He
   also  informed  that the Government has sanctioned Rs.100,000 for the
   Puranigudam Higher Secondary School to cater to its sports needs.
   
______________________________[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.assam.org/assam/news/index.html
________________________________________________________________________