‘Master plan for other 56 basins, sub-basins of the Brahmaputra and Barak valleys has also been taken up by the Brahmaputra Board’

GUWAHATI: Minister of State in the Ministry of Water Resources and Minority Affairs Vincent H Pala said that the Brahmaputra Board, a statutory body under the Ministry of Water Resources, had prepared a master plan for the Brahmaputra and all its tributaries after carrying out necessary survey and investigation, for planned development of the river with due regard to the development of irrigation, power and navigation.

Rampant felling of trees without any resistance from the forest department have unsettled the habitats of birds and animals

SILCHAR: Serious concern has been expressed at the unabated deforestation in the valley of Barak, threatening the flora and fauna. The recently concluded international seminar organized by the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, and the related research papers have pointedly focused on the loss of greenery or green cover in the forests of the three districts of Cachar

At least 49 children have died in the past two months at a government hospital in south Assam's Barak Valley. The children, in the age group of 0 to 12 years, died at the Karimganj Civil Hospital, according to a senior hospital official.

“Over 40 children have died in the hospital since January. They were admitted here on account of various ailments, including diarrhoea and dysentery,” Karimganj Civil Hospital In-charge Superintendent Swapan Kumar Sen told PTI .

The Assam Gas Company Limited is all set to introduce compressed natural gas as a fuel alternative for vehicles, first in Jorhat and then all over the state
Jorhat, Feb. 26: Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) will finally be available on a commercial scale in Assam. The Assam Gas Company Limited (AGCL), which is celebrating its golden jubilee this year, is soon starting commercial production and distribution of CNG as vehicular fuel in Dibrugarh, along with installation of a CNG station.

Silchar, Feb. 23: The habitat of birds and other animals like leopards, tigers, goral and deer in the Barak valley districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi is fast shrinking because of erosion, encroachment and felling of trees. Devashish Kar, professor of life science department in Assam University, said random felling had resulted in shrinking forest areas, helping encroachers settle on the land.

GUWAHATI, Feb 21 – Tea industry has called upon the Assam Government to reduce the land revenue rates and cess on green leaf. The industry has also requested the Government to waive the interests and penalties on the outstanding dues. In a memorandum to the State Government, the Tea Association of India (TAI) said that the land revenue rates in Assam were the highest among all the tea producing states of the country and it should be brought down to a reasonable level. At present, the land revenue rate in the Brahmaputra valley is Rs 22 per bigha and it is Rs 16 in the Barak valley.

A cycle rally was taken out by activists at Kakching Khunnou in Thoubal district of Manipur against the proposed Tipaimukh dam. They submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to revoke the Memorandum of Understanding reached among the State government, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited, (NHPC) Ltd. and SJVNL(Sutluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd.), for the construction of the Rs. 3000-crore dam at the trijunction of Manipur, Assam and Mizoram.

When the state government is boasting of improving the condition of poor by pumping in massive fund in rural and health sector, at least 10 garden workers are reported to have died of starvation and lack of medical treatment since October 2011 in Assam’s Barrak Valley. The workers who died of starvation were working in Bhuvan Valley Tea Estate, which is closed since October 2011.

SILCHAR: Cluster of villages across Barak Valley have been threatened by erosions of various rivers crisscrossing the zone. A good number of villages have been completely or partially wiped out by the swirling and surging waters of Barak, in particular, during heavy floods. Reports about the fate of such villages have appeared in the media time to time and continue to hit the headlines. The state government and its water resources department seem to have adopted an attitude of ‘lordly indifference’, for which no plausible reasons are forthcoming.

Gauhati High Court today directed the Brahmaputra Board to submit a status report on steps taken for the protection of Majuli island from floods and erosion.
The board will have to furnish the report before the court on or before November 22.

The interim order was passed by a division bench of Justice A.K. Goel and Justice Amitava Roy during the course of hearing a public interest litigation (number 84/2010) filed by Manoj Bora, president of the Assam Yuva Parishad and a resident of Majuli.