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           _ m m m  (Guaranteed 100% Pure Local News from Assam) 
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                       Vol.2, No.7 * March 19, 1999
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1  VILLAGERS WANT REHABILITATION PACKAGE TO MOVE OUT     [S:17-MAR-99]
   -------------------------------------------------
   TINSUKIA: The Mising people of Laika forest village living  in  the
   Dibru-Saikhowa  Wildlife  Sanctuary  would  oppose  any move by the
   authority to dislodge them in  the  wake  of  the  sanctuary  being
   declared  as  National Park, unless they are properly rehabilitated
   and suitably compensated prior to eviction.
   
   In a press meet at Tinsukia, the All Mising Students  Union,  Laika
   Mahila Samiti, a women's organization and leading social activists,
   while  welcoming  the  government's decision to grant national park
   status to the sanctuary, expressed that they would move out of  the
   park  boundary,  provided  the government fully executed their five
   points charter of demands.
   
   The  demands  are: an alternative agro-productive land measuring 14
   square miles to rehabilitate about 750 displaced families; suitable
   compensation for immovable properties; schools, ranghars, namghars,
   community halls should be constructed;  drinking  water  and  power
   supply  should be extended to the area and employment opportunities
   for the Mising people in the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.
   
2  ILLEGAL SALE OF LAND AT BAGHORBARI                    [S:13-MAR-99]
   ----------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  The Organization of Senior Citizens (OSC)  of  Panjabari
   area  in  Guwahati,  in  a meeting held recently, has expressed its
   strong  resentment  over  the  inaction  of  the  Kamrup   district
   authorities  on  the illegal sale of more than two bigha (28,800 sq
   ft) of government  land  at  Namghar  Path  of  Baghorbari  revenue
   village.   
   
   The OSC alleged  that  some  unscrupulous  persons  and  the  local
   village headman   were  responsible  for  the  illegal  deal.    Mr
   D.N.Chakravarty, the editor of Ajir Batori, an Assamese daily,  who
   is  also  a  member of OSC said that he had personally apprised the
   Chief Minister of the matter and also talked to the  Kamrup  Deputy
   Commissioner  over  phone,  but  no  action  was  taken to stop the
   illegal sale.

3  WOMEN EMPLOYEE HELD FOR FRAUD                         [S:18-MAR-99]
   -----------------------------
   JORHAT:  Jorhat police arrested Rita Dutta and  registered  a  case
   against  her  for  having  been working in a local Assam Government
   Public Health Engineering office  with  fraudulent  office  orders,
   which  showed  that  the woman was initially appointed at Hauraghat
   and subsequently transferred to the Jorhat office.
   
   Following the detection, an order was issued by the Chief  Engineer
   on February 26 terminating her job but that too proved to be a fake
   order.  Based  on  her  confessions,  police  sources said that her
   brother-in-law was the  kingpin  of  the  whole  episode,  and  had
   extracted  Rs.40,000  from  her  for  the  job.
   
4  WOMEN BLOCK GUWAHATI CITY ROAD URGING REPAIR         [AT:17-MAR-99]
   --------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   Members  of  a  women's  organization, Jayanagar Mahila
   Samiti have prevented plying of trucks and other heavy vehicles  on
   the  road  linking  Six  Mile  on G.S.Road with Beltola, in protest
   against the apathy shown by the authorities towards their  repeated
   requests to repair the road, which is in a pitiable condition.
   
   The women who have been squatting on the road  since  Monday,  said
   that loaded trucks and other vehicles plying through it had damaged
   it badly.  They had to take this drastic action as a last resort.

5  FOREIGN TRAINED POLICE OFFICIALS TAKE CHARGE          [S:19-MAR-99]
   --------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI: After their successful  training  in  Singapore  and  the
   United  Kingdom, the Assam police have started their work to give a
   veritable face lift to three police stations -- Panbazar Sadar, the
   Guwahati women police station and the  Jorhat  police  station,  as
   model police stations.
   
   The Inspector General of Police (Admin.), Mr R.N.Mathur  said  that
   this  new  development has already borne fruit, adding that to work
   in a more congenial atmosphere, it is essential that they have good
   relations with the public.  He said in Singapore, 30  per  cent  of
   the cases are actually solved by the public, and for which they are
   suitably rewarded.
   
   In October last year, a 20-member  team  of  Assam  police  in  two
   groups,  had  gone  to  Singapore  and  the  United  Kingdom for an
   extensive  training  programme  sponsored  by  the  United  Nations
   Development Programme.    The trained police officers are imparting
   training to other police staff.  Mr Mathur  said  that  the  police
   department  will organize a meeting on April 3 for interaction with
   the newspaper editors, college principals and social workers.

6  TEA GARDEN AUTHORITIES ASKED TO PAY ARREAR            [S:19-MAR-99]
   ------------------------------------------
   JORHAT:   The   Assam   Government  has  directed  the  tea  garden
   authorities to pay the arrears of tea garden labourers with  effect
   from  the  year  1995.  A government notification issued on March 9
   stated that wages of labourers  should  be  paid  at  the  rate  of
   Rs.31.10  per  day  since  1995.
   
   This  means  that  a  garden with 100 labourers will have to pay an
   arrear of  Rs.500,000.    The  garden  authorities  have  expressed
   concern  that  the  Government  has issued the notification without
   discussing the matter with them.
   
7  FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO M.HUSSAIN FOR TREATMENT      [AA:18-MAR-99]
   -----------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   Jadu  Samrat  or  the Emperor of Magic, Mofizul Hussain
   popularly known as M.Hussain was  handed  over  Rs.100,000  by  the
   Assam  Chief  Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta as assistance for his
   treatment on March 17 at Dispur.  Hussain was ailing since 1995 and
   has  been  undergoing  treatment  at  the  Assam  Medical  College,
   Dibrugarh.  (See report in Assam Almanac dated 21-Nov-98 - Mozz)
   
8  CINEMA HALL WORKERS DEMAND REVISED PAY                [S:14-MAR-99]
   --------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   The  all  Assam Cinema Workers' Association (AACWA) has
   expressed its concern over nonpayment of  their  wages  as  revised
   with  effect  from  October  10, 1998, in most of the cinema halls.
   About 3,500 workers of 130 cinema halls have been deprived of their
   minimum wages.
   
   They  also opposed a government move to introduce a system of fixed
   lump sum as entertainment tax by the authorities.   Addressing  the
   press  at  Guwahati  Press  Club,  Raghubir Singh, president of the
   organization, suggested formation of a  welfare  fund  for  workers
   earmarking a part of the surcharge made against every ticket.
   
9  VISHIST SEVA MEDAL FOR ASSAMESE ARMY SURGEON        [PIB:16-MAR-99]
   --------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI: Brigadier Gonesh Chandra Hazarika, a  distinguished  Army
   surgeon  and  fellow  of  the Association of Surgeons of India, was
   conferred a rare honour when he was awarded the Bar to Vishist Seva
   Medal (VSM) by the President of India, on the occasion of  Republic
   Day, 1999.
   
   Brigadier  Hazarika,  who is one of the most distinguished Assamese
   officers serving in  Army,  was  honoured  in  recognition  of  the
   services  rendered  by  him  as Commandant of the 92 Base Hospital,
   which provides medical care to the large body of soldiers  guarding
   the Indo-Pak border in Kashmir.
   
   The  youngest  son  of  late  Baliram  Hazarika  and late Hireswari
   Hazarika, Brigadier Hazarika spent his early  days  in  the  family
   farm at  Malai-Kumargaon  of  Golaghat.   He did his schooling from
   Kuralguri Higher  Secondary  School,  and  college  education  from
   J.B.College, Jorhat.    He  graduated  from  Assam Medical College,
   Dibrugarh in 1964.  He got commissioned into Army Medical Corps the
   same year.
   
   Mr  Hazarika  and  his  wife  Ms  Lily  Hazarika,  daughter of late
   Durgacharan Bora of Chandmari, Golaghat are also  very  popular  as
   cultural  ambassadors  of the Northeast and their lively Bihu dance
   display  is  the  central  attraction  of  all  Army  functions  in
   Srinagar.

______________________________[Mozz-RG]_________________________________
Compiled from newspaper and agency reports for private circulation only.
      [S=Sentinel, AT=Assam Tribune, Agencies = UNI, PTI, PIB]
           Comments and Feedback to: mozz@cyberspace.org
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