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                         Vol.4, No.52 [*] August 13, 1999
                         --------------------------------

             The credibility gap is so wide that our suspicions
                     are confirmed by any official denial.
                            - Laurance J Peter
   -------------------------------------------------------------------

1  ISI HAND IN ARREST OF ANUP CHETIA IN DHAKA            [S:12-AUG-99]
   ------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  Based  on  the  confessions  of  the  recently  arrested
   Pakistani  Inter-Services  Intelligence  (ISI)  agents at Guwahati,
   sources revealed that the ISI asked  ULFA  general  secretary  Anup
   Chetia, who is now in custody of Bangladesh authorities, to blow up
   the  Guwahati  Refinery  but  Chetia  reportedly refused because it
   would have inflicted a heavy loss to Assam.   Thereafter,  the  ISI
   got him arrested in Dhaka.
   
   Sources  said that Anup Chetia also stopped visiting Pakistan after
   a couple of trips while Paresh Baruah and other  top  ULFA  leaders
   regularly visit  Pakistan.    It was also revealed that Anup Chetia
   has  established  contacts  with  the  Indian  officials   and   is
   exchanging ideas   about   starting   negotiations.     Police  are
   investigating revelations  of  the  arrested  ISI  agents  in  this
   regard.

2  FOUR NDFB ULTRAS APPREHENDED IN KARIMGANJ             [S:12-AUG-99]
   -----------------------------------------
   SILCHAR:  The Assam Police nabbed four National Democratic Front of
   Bodoland  (NDFB)  ultras  at Karimganj from a Guwahati-bound bus on
   August 10.  The ultras  had  boarded  the  bus  at  Agartala  after
   sneaking into  Tripura  from Bangladesh.  They have been identified
   as Mohan Narzari of Gohpur, Gobinda Ramchiary of Barama, Bara Singh
   Daimary of Tangla and Anil Ram Daimary of Udalguri.
   
3  AGP MINISTERS, MLAs COMPLAIN TO CM AGAINST COLLEAGUES [S:13-AUG-99]
   -----------------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI: Ten AGP MLAs, including three ministers --  Utpal  Dutta,
   Prabin  Hazarika  and  Joseph Toppo, and the Assam Assembly Speaker
   Ganesh  Kutum,  have  sought   the   Chief   Minister's   immediate
   intervention  in  the  large-scale  irregularities committed by the
   State  Revenue,  Public  Works,  and  the  Health  departments   in
   disbursement  of  funds for flood damage repair works sanctioned by
   the central government.
   
4  GOVERNOR VIOLATING POLL CODE OF CONDUCT              [UNI:9-AUG-99]
   ---------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has  charged
   State Governor Lt Gen (retd) S.K.Sinha with violating model code of
   conduct.   In  a  memorandum  to  the  Chief  Election Commissioner
   M.S.Gill, the Congress said the Governor  in  a  recent  rally  had
   announced  that  100,000  tubewells  would be distributed among the
   cultivators from October.

5  SONOWAL JOINS AGP, TO CONTEST FROM LAKHIMPUR          [S:13-AUG-99]
   --------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   Putting  an  end  to all speculations, former All Assam
   Students' Union (AASU) president Sarbananda Sonowal, who  was  also
   the  advisor  of  the  AASU at the time of his resignation from the
   students' body last week, announced his decision to join  the  Asom
   Gana  Parishad  (AGP)  and  contest  the  Lok  Sabha elections from
   Lakhimpur.  He will formally join the party on August 13.  `I  have
   been  fighting  relentlessly for the all-round development of Assam
   and I will continue to do so despite joining the AGP', he said.

6  DIBRUGARH UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES PROJECT ON ORCHIDS      [S:13-AUG-99]
   ------------------------------------------------
   DIBRUGARH:   The  department  of life science, Dibrugarh University
   has launched a project to conserve and maintain  local  and  exotic
   varieties    of    orchid   through   conventional   breeding   and
   micropropagation. The construction of  an  orchidarium  and  tissue
   culture  laboratory  have  already  been completed. Maintenance and
   multification of as many  as  35  varieties  collected  from  Tippi
   Orchid  Research  Centre  and  locally, have been started, and some
   have shown beautiful blooming stages.
   
   Out of an approved total project cost of Rs.750,000,  the  District
   Rural Development  Agency  (DRDA)  has  released  Rs.400,000.   The
   project  envisages  to  create  awareness  about  orchid  flora  in
   Northeast as  well  as  open up avenues of gainful employment.  The
   plan was initially mooted by the vice-chancellor Dr Devdas  Kakati,
   and  the then deputy commissioner M.Srinivas Rao saw to it that the
   project got started.  Professor Prodeep Borua,  head  of  the  life
   science department, has been entrusted to oversee the project.
   
7  VILLAGERS BLOCK NRL ROAD, THREE WOMEN INJURED         [S:11-AUG-99]
   ---------------------------------------------
   NUMALIGARH:   When  repeated  requests  to  the Numaligarh Refinery
   Limited (NRL) authorities to construct an alternative  road  failed
   to  evoke  any  response, the villagers of Numaligarh Block village
   resorted to a blockade of the road leading to the newly constructed
   NRL township.  The NRL authorities had to use force to  remove  the
   blockade with the help of police on August 7.
   
   A clash between the local people and the police  ensued,  when  the
   police charged  the  crowd with batons.  Three women, Kamala Barman
   (70), Minoti Barman (30) and Suganda Barman (65) was injured in the
   police lathicharge.  The problem was temporarily solved through the
   mediation of the Bokakhat civil authorities.
   
   It  may  be  mentioned  that  the village was set up on the bank of
   Kalioni river in 1964 by the Government of India as  rehabilitation
   of 75 families coming as refugees from East Pakistan.

______________________________[Mozz-BG]_________________________________
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