Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma
GUWAHATI: Alarming daily upsurge in Covid cases has become a matter of concern in many states, but Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said there is no possibility of going back to lockdown days in the poll-bound state now.
Though less than 0.1% positive cases are being reported for quite some time in the state, the health department is carrying out 15,000-16,000 tests per day. The department said this vigil has been remarkable in bringing down the number of cases. As the gateway to the northeast, the Assam government has been on its toes for months to arrest the spread. Covid screening at airports and major railway stations have contributed immensely to filtering out positive cases. In addition to this is adherence to home and institutional isolation rules, which has brought down daily positive cases below 25 for the last one week.
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GUWAHATI: The administration won’t interfere in schools’ plans to stop offline classes and exams here amidst fresh virus threat in some parts of the country, the Kamrup (Metropolitan) district administration clarified on Tuesday.
Several city schools are reportedly planning to conduct their upcoming exams online, after a top Guwahati school was put under containment and another decided to put offline exams on hold due to Covid. In the first instance, a teacher was found to be Covid-positive a few days ago, while in the other case, a student’s parents got infected recently.
“The situation is under control in Guwahati. Guardians may get infected by the virus. But we cannot disrupt offline teaching again,” Kamrup (Metropolitan) deputy commissioner Biswajit Pegu told TOI.
A former militant hands over his arms to chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati on Tuesday
GUWAHATI: A total of 1,040 cadre of five militant groups active in Karbi Anglong district of Assam surrendered before chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati on Tuesday.
The groups are People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK), Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT), Kuki Liberation Front (KLF) and United People’s Liberation Army (UPLA).
A total of 338 arms surrendered before the chief minister.
PDCK chief IK Songbijit, a most wanted militant, also surrendered before the CM. He was the former commander-in-chief of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). However, after the Ranjan Daimary- led faction decided to join suspension of operation agreement, Songbijit, being a Karbi, was sidelined by the new leadership of the then anti-talk faction B Saoraigwra. Songbilit later raised a new Karbi outfit under th
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GUWAHATI: Six people, including the editor-in-chief and news editor of a Guwahati-based portal, were arrested on Wednesday for alleged “salacious” intent while releasing a picture of Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hugging his minor daughter, reports Rokibuz Zaman.
Digital news channel Pratibimba Live, which has since gone blank with the message “This website has been suspended due to non-payment”, apologised for not mentioning that the girl in the picture was Sarma’s daughter and blamed “others” for sharing it with the intent to defame him.
Police swung into action after Sarma’s wife filed an FIR on Tuesday. They said four people from the organisation were arrested and have been remanded in police custody for five days. Besides editor-in-chief Taufiquddin Ahmad, news editor Asif Iqbal Hussain and staff members Nazmul Hussain and Nazrul Hussain, police picked up two others identified as Puli Muchchary of Bodoland Digital and Nang Noyonmoni