NUMALIGARH: With a view to providing a proper home to butterflies in the unique Butterfly Valley in Golaghat district, especially the endangered varieties, the North East Institute of Science and Technology is trying to locate and nurture plants there on which they breed.

The valley is situated inside the Numaligarh Refinery township, spread over an area of 30 acres amidst a backdrop of verdant green and surrounded by hillocks. It is adjacent to the misty Deopahar hills and the Kaliani river, and is not far away from the world-famous Kaziranga National Park either.

GUWAHATI: Continuing its support for rural infrastructure development in Assam, NABARD has sanctioned two projects to the Assam Government under RIDF-XVII for a total sum of Rs 138.34 crores. Under the two projects, a total of Rs 16.73 crore have been sanctioned for 5 rural road projects in Golaghat district while Rs 121.61 have been sanctioned for 102 rural bridge projects in 26 districts of the State.

DERGAON, March 11 – Traces of arsenic have been detected in drinking water in Golaghat district, and about 3 lakh people are taking such contaminated water through government supply or from their own source. According to (PHE) sources, arsenic is found in the range 0.06 to 0.99 mg per litre whereas the permissible limit is 0.05 mg per litre. As a result the people of the district are suffering from diseases on a large scale.

Fighting the elephant menace with a small electric bulb may appear strange to many, but it has become a reality in over 2,000 villages in Assam affected by the man-animal conflict where it is common to see elephant herds destroying crops, damaging houses and attacking people. According to villagers, electrification has changed the entire scenario. Not only has the man-animal conflict reduced, the wild life has started avoiding venturing out to villages at night due to electric illumination of their houses, they claimed.

The eight NGOs that were entrusted with the task of running eight night shelters in the city have expressed their disappointment over the lack of awareness regarding the facilities offered by them, in an interaction with reporters today. Most of these homes can shelter 50 people or more, but they receive only five to 10 homeless individuals on an average per day. These NGOs consider lack of awareness among the public to be the primary reason behind it.

The Golaghat district administration, inspector of schools and district elementary education officer have jointly declared all schools under its jurisdiction tobacco free.

According to the declaration, usage and sale of all tobacco products in any form within a radius of 100 yards (91.44 metres) from the outer boundary of educational institutions are prohibited.

Anyone found violating the declaration will have to pay a fine of up to Rs 200 under section 6 (b) of Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003.

The Assam government on Sunday launched the country’s first-ever project of a vaccination drive against Japanese encephalitis, with a target of covering eight lakh people in the worst-affected Sivasagar district.

The pilot project which would take ten days in the first phase to administer vaccination to eight lakh people - all above 15 years - would be followed by a two-year study by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) on the impact and efficacy of the vaccine, state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday.

GOLAGHAT, Sept 21 – The Kaziranga National Park authority under the leadership of ranger Md Ikramul Mazid recently carried out raids against rhino-poachers and undertook strict observation and necessary steps against the poachers at Kaziranga National Park.

More than five months after the ban on use of plastic pouches containing tobacco products by a Supreme Court verdict came into effect, which stated that manufacturers of gutkha, tobacco and pan masala are restrained from using plastic material in the sachets, the manufacturers of chewing tobacco and pan masala are now violating the rule as found by a recent survey conducted by Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) and its partner organisations in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Guwahati: Flood situation has remained grim in total six revenue circles of Assam’s Sonitpur and Golaghat districts where a number of villages and tracts of crop lands were still under water for the second day on Thursday.