Assam cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday inaugurated the newly constructed foot over-bridges in Kamakhya, Dispur, Khanapara, areas of Guwahati on Sunday. The Kamakhya Gate foot-over bridge was inaugurated at 9 am. Following which, the footbridges at Ganeshguri near Kar Bhawan was inaugurated by 9.30 am and the one at Khanapara was inaugurated by 10 am. The minister said that a decision was taken on February 1 last year to construct nine foot bridges across the city. By March 31 this year, all the foot-bridges will be operational. As per reports, the budgets for the construction of all the bridges vary of which Khanapara has the highest bid.
Assam cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday asserted that AIUDF Badruddin Ajmal is the enemy of the state. Sarma also accepted he is an extremist when it comes to protecting the Indian and Assamese identity in this land. Furthermore, he said he will continue to discuss about politics of identity as long as Lok Sabha MP Ajmal exist in the political landscape of the state. The minister while asked on sharing the same politics of polarisation which Ajmal does said while he is trying to protect Assam, Ajmal is trying to do something alien to the culture of Assam. "I am trying to protect Indian nationalism. There have to be two extremes. So, if there is a north pole, there will be a south pole. If Badruddin Ajmal disappears, then we will also disappear. Then we will talk about development and something else. But as long as Badruddin Ajmal is there, we will talk about development and politics of identity. And if that made me an extremist, I am happy about that," was quoted stating in a PTI report.
Ahead of the Assam Assembly election, Rahul Gandhi addressed a political rally on Sunday at Boarding Field in Sivasagar. The Wayanad MP said if Congress forms the government in the state legislative assembly elections, the government will work towards eradicating poverty and providing employment to the youth. Gandhi also alleged that Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has done nothing for the state besides following instructions from the centre in the national capital. The Sivasagar and Nazira assemblies have been under the Congress reign for many years. Gandhi has visited to boost the party candidates for the upcoming polls.
Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) vice president of Silapathar Regional Committee, Kamal Das was killed in a road accident in Arunachal Pradesh's Likabali on Sunday. As per sources, the accident took place on the national highway connecting Silapathar to Arunachal Pradesh's Likabali. A head-on collision happened between a motorcycle and a tractor. Das died on the spot. AJYCP condoled Das's death.
Union External Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Ambassador of Japan to India Satoshi Suzuki will arrive in Assam's capital city Guwahati on Sunday evening. As per reports, Dr. Jaishankar and the Japanese delegation are visiting Guwahati to review Japanese funded projects in the state. Notably, the 13th Japanese industrial town of India is being set up in Nagarbera. The Japan External Trade Organisation is heading the project. In a recent media report, speculations have also been made on possibilities of signing a memorandum of understanding between both the countries to develop and enhance skills of youth for better recruitment.
After inaugurating 3 foot over bridges in Guwahati, Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that by March 31 this year, four more foot-bridges will be operational. These foot overbridges will help to avoid traffic jams, the minister said during a press conference held at Khanapara on Sunday. Marking Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's visit to Assam, Sarma sneered at him and said that he is wasting his time by visiting Assam. "It would have been better to go to Kamakhya, Bardowa, Majuli than to have attended this meeting," the minister said. 'Not more than 15,000 people will join in the Sivasagar rally," Sarma added. Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi's communication skills said "It would be nice to get advice from an Arabic speaker".
The Ministry of Road Transport And Highways have made it mandatory for vehicles to have FASTag accounts from February 15, without which their toll charge will be doubled at toll plazas. "It has been decided that all the lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways shall be declared as 'FASTag lane of the fee plaza' w.e.f midnight of 15th/16th February 2021," the ministry said in a statement. FASTags were made mandatory by the government for motor vehicles from January 1 this year, but the deadline was extended till February 14. "Therefore, as per NH Fee Rules 2008, any vehicle not fitted with FASTag or vehicle without valid, functional "FASTag" entering into the 'FASTag lane' of the fee plaza shall pay a fee equivalent to two times of the fee applicable to that category," it further stated.
A Myanmarese national was apprehended in Mizoram with heroin worth Rs 19.25 lakh in his possession. Excise and narcotics department's anti-narcotic squad and Assam Rifles jointly recovered 667 grams of heroin from a forest along the Indo-Myanmar border late Saturday. According to reports, the arrested Myanmarese national, who was identified as one Hrankap, 47, is a resident of Bung village in Myanmar. He is believed to have smuggled the contraband from Myanmar. The accused was booked under relevant sections of The Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will be laying the foundation stone of Assam Skill University in Darrang's Mangaldoi tomorrow (Feb 15) at 2 pm in the afternoon. The chief minister will be accompanied by Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister of Skill, Employment & Entrepreneurship Department, Mangaldoi MP Dilip Saikia, Mangaldoi MLA Guru Jyoti Das, Sipajhar MLA Binanda Kumar Saikia, Dr. K.K Dwivedi, IAS, Principal Secretary, Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department, Dilip Kumar Borah, IAS, Deputy Commissioner of Darrang district, Anand Prakash Tiwari, IPS, Chief Executive Officer, Assam Skill University Project and other dignitaries. According to an official statement, the project will be completed with an estimated cost of 140 million dollars is slated to be done by 2026. The campus will spread over 250 bighas of land and have advanced features like water recycling and conservation, use of solar energy at the campus, Vaastu designs and green campus for the university to make it nature centric and eco-friendly.
The family members of the two Quipoo oil company employees, who were kidnapped by ULFA-(I) on December 21, visited the residence of ULFA-I Commander-in-Chief Paresh Baruah in Dibrugarh on Sunday. The family members of the two abducted oil company employees pleaded to Paresh Baruah's brother and relatives to make arrangements for their safe return home. Drilling superintendent PK Gogoi (51), a resident of Sivasagar district, and radio operator Ram Kumar (35) from Bihar were kidnapped in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh on December 21.
Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the BJP will not come into alliance the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) in the upcoming Assembly elections. He reiterated that the BJP has already forged an alliance with the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) and is currently in talks with another party Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) for seat sharing. "We have been telling it many times that our alliance with BPF was for five years only and both sides were committed to it. They are still in our government and it is healthy politics," he said. After the recently concluded Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections, BJP dumped its ally BPF and formed the government with UPPL and GSP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and other ministers on Sunday paid tribute to the soldiers who were killed in a suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in 2019 and said the country will never forget the martyrs' supreme sacrifice. PM Modi wrote in a tweet, "Tributes to the brave martyrs who lost their lives in the gruesome Pulwama attack last year. They were exceptional individuals who devoted their lives to serving and protecting our nation. India will never forget their martyrdom." "India will never forget their service to the nation and their supreme sacrifice," Rajnath Singh tweeted on the Pulwama terror attack which took place exactly two years ago.
Delhi police special cell on Saturday arrested Disha Ravi, a climate activist and one of the founders of Fridays For Future (FFF) movement from Bengaluru for interrogation on allegedly disseminating the toolkit on social media handles related to farmers protests in the national capital. The 21 year old is a culinary experience manager with a company in Bengaluru. As per reports she was picked from her home for questioning in Soladevanahalli. Delhi Police's cyber crime special cell of the Delhi Police registered a FIR on February 4 on sedition, criminal conspiracy and promoting hatred among groups against the creators of the toolkit on farmers protests. This toolkit was shared by Thunberg on Twitter but was deleted later on.
After two years of dastardly attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, a seven kilogram Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was recovered and detonated on Sunday near the Jammu Bus Stand, officials said. As per sources, a man, who belongs to the Pulwama district, has been arrested in connection with the recovery, they added. He has been identified as Suhail- who is a member of the Al-Badr outfit. The recovery of the IED in Jammu also comes after the arrest of two top terrorists from Kunjwani and Bari Brahmana areas of the Union territory respectively, the Hindustan Times reported.
An ex-TMC leader who recently joined BJP, Firoze Kamal Gazi alias Babu Master, was injured after unknown men attacked his car in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, As per reports, Gazi was on his way to Kolkata when crude bombs were hurled at his car late Saturday. Him and his driver received splinter injuries in the attack and have been admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata. Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikary, who also recently quit the TMC party, alleged that criminal elements of the latter attacked Babu Master.
