GLIMPSE OF ASSAM

Churachandpur, Sep 1 ,2008 : A total of 16,050.13 hectares of cultivated land was damaged and 1,03,558 persons (58,179 adults and 45,379 minors) from 14,307 families in 264 villages affected by bamboo flowering in four sub-divisions of Churachandpur district, said a statement of the Co-ordinating Mautam Famine-Aid quoting an district administration report. The Co-ordinating Mautaam Famine-Aid (Mautaam Puuktaw) is organizing a concert on the theme “Concert for Hungry” on September 5 under the joint initiative of the Mizo Zaimi Inzamkhawn and Zogam Artists Association with representative artists from ZOMUS. The concert is aimed at driving funds for helping the bamboo flowering affected people of the four sub-divisions of Tipaimukh, Thanlon, Henglep and Singngat of Churchandpur district. The district administration estimated that in 2007 a total of 16,050.13 hectares of cultivated land was damaged and 1,03,558 persons (58,179 adults and 45,379 minors) from 14,307 families in 264 villages

Guwahati, Aug 5 : If you are new to Assam and have no idea of its language and vocabulary, just log on to www.xobdo.net , type the English word, and the corresponding Assamese word will pop up within a fraction of a second, along with its phonetics in English to help you pronounce the word. Welcome to the world of ”Xobdo”, the world’s first and only English-Assamese Online Dictionary, promoted by a group of young enthusiasts, spreading across five continents with an open source platform. ” Xobdo ( www.xobdo.net ) is your dictionary. You can add words, challenge them and thus decide its destiny. Just initiate a discussion or post your viewpoint on any of the active discussions about the correctness of the spellings and their meanings. ”At the end of the discussion, your viewpoint will be taken into consideration to update the dictionary entries,” said Bulajit Buragohain, an Energy researcher of IIT, Guwahati, doubling up as the publicity secretary of the Xobdo. The basic vision is to

awl, Apr 8,2008 : As many as 2,497 people in Mizoram have been found to be HIV positive after conducting tests on 50,042 blood samples since October 1990 to February this year. Official records registered 150 AIDS-related deaths during the 18-year period while presently there are 235 cases in which AIDS patients are in their advanced stages. However, unofficial sources as well as the patients claimed that the actual number of people suffering from AIDS could be much higher, even double or triple the number in the official records. “The actual number of HIV positives is certainly much higher than the official record, which is evident from the number of new members enrolling in our organization,” the Mizoram People Living with AIDS (MPLAS) leader, who is himself an HIV-positive, said. He was speaking at a meeting of the Mizoram Legislators’ Forum on HIV/AIDS, organized by the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society here today. Speaking as the chief guest at the function, state Health Ministe

Influx serious threat to Assam: BSF Spl Correspondent NEW DELHI, Aug 25 – Conceding that illegal influx from Bangladesh has assumed serious dimension in Assam, AK Mitra, Director General of Border Security Force (BSF), claimed that infiltration from across the border has come down in recent years. Even as the issue of illegal influx continues to rock Assam and other North-eastern States, the BSF unveiled a plan to identify the vulnerable areas along the international border before starting joint patrolling of the sensitive sectors to curb illegal infiltration. The BSF chief’s candid admission about demographic changes in certain districts of Assam may not make much difference on the ground because he maintained that it was not physically possible to guard every quarter of the 4000-km-long international border with the same ‘intensity’. The basis of the BSF DG’s contention over decrease in illegal influx was that the number of infiltrators caught sneaking into India was around 805 las

Army personnel carrying the coffin of Assam Regiment Lance Naik Lakhiram Basumatary (inset) at the LGB International Airport in Guwahati on Thursday. Basumatary died in an encounter with militants in Kashmir on August 25. – UB

Christian missionaries taking out a protest rally against atrocities on Christians in Orissa, at Agartala on Friday. 29.08.08

NEWMAI NEWS KOHIMA, Aug 31 – The Nagaland Government on Friday expressed serious concern over the ugly situation in Orissa where Christians have been attacked and said that unless such incidences are stopped or prevented, the consequences will not be healthy for the country. Nagaland Home Minister Imkong L Imchen, interacting with mediapersons here yesterday, said that India is a secular State, where freedom of religion is guaranteed as the fundamental law to all its citizens. He lamented that this constitutional provision has been violated by various States against the Christian community. The recent persecution and massacre of Christian community in Orissa is deeply felt with anguish and consternation by people of Nagaland and its government, he said, adding this is not the first time in Orissa that the Christian community is persecuted. As a secular country, he said religious tolerance and protection should be the prime concern of every State Government. The Minister also conveyed

Correspondent GUWAHATI, Aug 26 – Acting on a tip-off, officials of the All Women Police Station, Panbazar, on Monday night, arrested one suspected woman cadre of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and picked up two of her employees from city’s Rajgarh area. During the search operation, police also recovered 10 live cartridges of AK 47, four detonators, two gelatine sticks, a pack of explosives and a letter signed by Hira Saraniya, commander of outfit’s 709 battalion. While the arrested woman has been identified as Purnima Biswas, the other two persons who have been picked up by the police are Sanjoy Biswas and Suman Chakraborty. Purnima, who hails from Malda district in West Bengal , runs a tailoring shop near Rajgarh’s Bihutoli area. Both Sanjoy and Suman, who are the employees of Purnima, too hail from West Bengal . According to police, Purnima is a hardcore cadre of ULFA and has been operating for the outfit for quite some time. However, Purnima has been