Jorhat, May 22: A team of experts from Dibrugarh University and Assam Medical College will visit Sadiya sub-division of Tinsukia district on Thursday, to find out the truth about reports of two deaths caused allegedly by spider bite in the past couple of days. The district administration has, however, denied that the two persons, including a high school student near Chapakhowa, died of spider bite. Deputy commissioner S.S. Meenakshi Sundaram told The Telegraph today over phone that panic has gripped Sadiya over rumours of a poisonous spider species being found.

NEW DELHI, May 18 – Notwithstanding the controversy over the construction of mega dams in the North-east, the Centre has ruled out the possibility of reviewing the proposals for the construction of the big dams in the region. Union Minister of State for Power KCVenugopal, however, added that the concern of the local people on the safety of the dams including the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project and 1750-MW Lower Demwe Hydroelectric Project have been given due consideration.

DIBRUGARH: The Dibrugarh district unit of AJYCP held a sit-in-demonstration here today, in support of their demand to halt construction of mega dams in the State.

In their statement, the organization also expressed anger over the removal of check gate and camp by the police and CRPF on May 11.Voicing their protest against the atrocities on agitators and sending of innocent people to jail, they reiterated their determination to carry on their opposition to mega river dams.

Guwahati: Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Saturday assured the tea planters in Assam that he will take up the issue of declaring tea as India’s national drink with the union ministry of commerce and industry.

Ahluwalia gave the assurance while attending the 75th anniversary celebration of the Assam Tea Planters’ Association (ATPA), the first tea producers’ association formed by Indian tea planters during the pre-independence period.

Jahirpur (Kamrup), April 9: Five thousand faces, which have watched the Brahmaputra eat away their home and hearth for the past 50 years, today stood on the river bank applauding chief minister Tarun Gogoi as he launched a flood and anti-erosion project which will probably be the largest in the country. The Assam Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Programme, to cost Rs 750 crore, will be funded by the Asian Development Bank.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today laid the foundation stone of the Assam Integrated Flood and River Erosion Risk Management Project at Jahirpur village in Gumi. The Rs 172.35 crore project at Gumi is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

After laying the foundation stone for the project, Gogoi said that the Gumi project would be another milestone in the controlling of erosion and flood problems in the State.

A rare black soft shell turtle (Nilssonia nigricans) was rescued by the Senior Manager of Baghjan Tea Estate along with his team of executives, from a dried up pond in the tea estate when some persons were taking it away to eat.

The Senior Manager, Anand Wats, in association with his executives SA Chowdhury, S Tirkey and JS Sindhu later released the animal in a secluded spot of the Danguri river in front of Dibru Saikia National Park.

Tea Production in North India covering Assam and West Bengal for 2012 is set to register a sharp drop due to a prolonged dry spell and rising temperature across Assam and West Bengal. The crop loss is set to lead to cash flow problems for the tea companies.

Data compiled by the Indian Tea Association confirm rainfall deficit for West Bengal at around 31-42 per cent during January-March 2012 as compared to the same period in 2011.

The rail budget announced on Wednesday had nothing to offer for the Tricity. Even as the residents were expecting some new trains to be introduced, there was not much that the budget had in store except increasing the frequency at which two trains ply from one day to two. The frequency of the Dibrugarh-Chandigarh Express was increased to two days a week. The train was plying for one day. Similar is the case with Chandigarh-Bandra Express. In fact, the announcement for starting this train was made in the previous budget but had not been implemented.

GUWAHATI, March 11: The NF Railway Mazdoor Union has appealed to the Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi for take steps for the development of the north-eastern region. The union has submitted a memorandum to the Railway Minister for inclusion of various proposals in the Railway budget for the year 2012-13.