Former Asam Sahitya Sabha Acting Secretary General Samiran Bordoloi passed away on Sunday morning. The literary giant was ill for a long time and breathed his last at 7.12 am in his residence. Mr. Bordoloi had played a key role during the Assam Movement and led several of the protests. Moreover, he was actively involved in social work-related activities in Jorhat. Bordoloi was also the former president of the Assam Swimming Association. He was also the president of the Paralympic Association of Assam. Asam Sahitya Sabha's president Kuladhar Saikia and present secretary-general Jadav Chandra Sarma condoled his sudden demise. The Asam Sahitya Sabha announced a three-day mourning period in Samiran Bordoloi's honour. The flag will be lowered in all the offices of the meeting for three days.
Banned outfit NLFB general secretary Dipak Choudhury was arrested in Guwahati by Crime Branch of Assam Police. The 32-year-old cadre was taking refuge in at Salbari Hills in Noonmati. The Crime Branch team has also recovered several illegal documents and goods. Acting on a tip-off that the NLFB cadre had entered Kamrup Metropolitan district, the Crime Branch team of personnel had launched an operation to nab the cadres. National Liberation Front of Boroland (NLFB), a new insurgent group floated by M Batha, a leader of the now-disbanded National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday visited Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and said 200 ICU beds will be operational for Covid-19 patients by the second week of June. Earlier last week, the Chief Minister had also announced the setting up of 300 ICU beds for Covid patients at Sarusajai Stadium. However, Dr. Sarma in a presser today said that more doctors and medical professionals will be required to cater 500 ICU beds. In this connection, Dr. Sarma informed that a meeting was held with the Principal of GMCH and other faculties and have instructed them to take decisions accordingly. The Chief Minster being hopeful, also assured, that by June 7, the Covid situation in the state especially in Guwahati should get better.
Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Sunday said it has upgraded its mobile network in North East by adding 10 Mhz spectrum in the 2300 Mhz band. This addition to the advance network provider will enable improved network availability and data speed as more and more people access high speed data services from their smart devices, the company said in a statement. "Airtel has deployed an additional 10 Mhz spectrum in the 2300 Mhz band along with advance network software tools across its network in the region to significantly bolster high speed data capacity," it added. "Airtel had acquired the 10 Mhz spectrum for North East during the recent auctions conducted by the Government of India and with this fresh spectrum, the company has the largest spectrum bank of 70 Mhz in the region", the statement claimed. "With its diverse spectrum holdings across 2300/2100/1800/900 bands, the company is well positioned to serve the growing demand for high speed data services and its network is fully ready for 5G," Airtel claimed.
In the latest development, the Home (A) Department of the Assam government on Sunday carried out a major reshuffle in the Assam Police force. The reshuffle was carried out on orders from the governor of Assam.
A minor earthquake of 4.1 magnitude struck central Assam on Sunday afternoon. The earthquake of 16 km depth was recorded at 2.23 pm 40 km west of Tezpur in Sonitpur district, National Center of Seismology stated. "Earthquake of Magnitude:4.1, Occurred on 30-05-2021, 14:23:06 IST, Lat: 26.69 & Long: 92.39, Depth: 16 Km ,Location: 40km W of Tezpur, Assam," NCS tweeted. Frequent earthquakes are being registered across several parts of Northeast in the last few weeks. Tremors of magnitude 3.5 occurred on May 29 at 1.29 am with a depth of 10km, located 11km west of Shillong.
Refuting rumors of HS and HSLC exams being cancelled, Assam education minister Dr Ranoj Pegu stated that the exams will be held with reduced subjects. However, it was not clear which subjects will be taken in consideration. The minister said he consulted with various entities including students' organisations, teachers' organisation as well as parents before deciding on the matter. He also said that students will be informed 15 days prior to the commencement of the exams. Talking to reporters, Pegu said, "After a few days, we will announce about the exams in select subjects. The exams will definitely be held." Further, he said there will be no change in the format of the question papers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) of South East Asia Region has conferred the Regional Director's Special Recognition Award to Guwahati's Dr. Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) for its effort towards tobacco control on World No Tobacco Day 2021. BBCI is among five other health institutes in the South East Asia region to have been awarded the recognition. The five other institutes include – National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences in Bangalore, National Committee on Tobacco Control of Indonesia, Paolophaholyothin Hospital in Thailand, National Heart Institute in New Delhi, and National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute at Dhaka, Bangladesh as well. It may be noted that the total population of South East Asia is around 200 crore and represents 11 countries. A separate WHO Regional Office for this region is located in the national capital, New Delhi. BBCI has been in the forefront of tobacco control in North East India for the last 18 years, said Dr Amal Chandra Kataki, Director of the institute. More than 1500 awareness camps have been conducted by BBCI on harms due to tobacco consumption among the general public across the North East India region.
Assam on Sunday logged 3,245 new cases of COVID-19, taking the active caseload in the state to 52,448. Today's positivity rate is 4.53 per cent. The new cases were reported out of 71,598 tests conducted in the last 24 hours. The state also registered 5,690 discharges and 55 deaths today. Of the new cases, Kamrup metro recorded 422 cases, 377 in Tinsukia, 350 in Dibrugarh and 238 in Cachar. The total deaths count district-wise are: Kamrup Metro (7), Cachar (6), Nagaon (6), Tinsukia (5), Kamrup Rural (4), Barpeta (3), Bongaigaon (3), Dibrugarh (3), Jorhat (3), Dhubri (2), Hailakandi (2), Kokrajhar (2), Lakhimpur (2), Biswanath (1), Charaideo (1), Dima Hasao (1), Goalpara (1), Golaghat (1), Karimganj (1), Sonitpur (1).
The Union Home Ministry (MHA) stated that non-Muslims belonging to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan living in 13 districts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab to apply for Indian citizenship. The fresh order is in no way connected to the Citizenship Amendment Act passed in 2019 as the rules under it are yet to be framed by the government, the MHA stated on Friday night. The immediate implementation of the order is in accordance to the Citizenship Act 1955 and Rules framed under the law in 2009. This benefit is extended to minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who fulfil all conditions applicable to any foreign citizen seeking citizenship by naturalisation after a minimum of 11 years of residency in India. Under the CAA, the period for this category was cut to five years.
Tripura government on Saturday decided to provide free education to all those children who lost their parents due to COVID-19. Also, the state government will provide Rs 3,500 every month till the age of 18 to those who do not live in orphanages. "Tripura government will provide free education to the children who lose their parents due to COVID-19. Such children who do not live in orphanages will be provided Rs 3,500 every month till the age of 18," Chief Minister Biplab Deb said. Several states, including Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, have come up with schemes to help the children who became orphaned due to COVID-19. Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday also announced that the state government will provide a relief package to children who lost their parents to COVID-19.
India has logged less than 2 lakh Covid-19 cases the third day in a row, with 1,65,553 fresh cases recorded in the last 24 hours. While, 3,460 patients succumbed to the coronavirus, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said. This is for the fourth time since April 12 that India has recorded less than two lakh cases of Covid. On May 25, India had recorded 1.96 lakh cases of Covid, 1,86,364 cases on May 28 and 1,73,790 cases on May 29. The fatalities have also remained below 4,000 for four consecutive days. India's overall tally of Covid-19 cases now stands at 2,78,94,800 with 21,14,508 active cases and 3,25,972 deaths so far. According to the Health Ministry, a total of 2,76,309 people have been discharged in the last 24 hours, taking the total discharge to 2,54,54,320 from Covid till date.
On completion of seven years of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led government on Sunday, Ministers on Central and State level took to Twitter to congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion. Congratulating the Prime Minister for completing seven years of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Central government, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the country will overcome every challenge under the leadership of PM Modi. "For the last 7 years, the people of the country have expressed their unwavering faith in Modi Ji's service and dedication, for which I bow to the countrymen. I am confident that under Modi's visionary leadership, we will overcome every challenge and continue the journey of development uninterrupted," Shah tweeted in Hindi and hashtagged the tweet with '7YearsOfSeva'.
The death toll in the Aligarh hooch tragedy climbed to 25 on Sunday while police seized 243 pouches of illicit liquor from a block along the district"s border with Haryana, officials here said. BJP Lok Sabha MP from Aligarh Satish Gautam, however, said according to information gathered by him, the death toll has crossed 35. Speaking to reporters, Gautam said his figures are based on inputs collected by him from different villages "where many victims have been cremated without conducting a post-mortem examination".Asked why there was a difference between official figures and the information collected by him, the MP said, "I will be meeting the officials today (Sunday) and we will discuss this issue. There is no question of hiding anything. A person who has been a victim of this tragedy will ultimately find his name on the official death list."
Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom has settled for a silver medal in the finals of Asian Boxing Championship held in Dubai on Sunday. Mary Kom lost the bout against Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan in a split 2-3 verdict. It was her seventh medal in the tournament. The first was in 2003 when she won a gold medal. The star Indian puglist's opponent was 11 years younger to her who made an impressive start in the opening round. The intensity of the fight spiked during the second round with both the boxers showing aggressive intent. In the final round, Mary Kom fought back hard but was not enough to get the judges' nod. While Mary Kom won $5000, her opponent Kyzaibay bagged $10,000.
