Ex-Silchar MP's son dies after suicide attempt

SILCHAR: A doctor based in Silchar, who had attempted suicide by shooting at himself with a pistol on November 30, died at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) on Sunday.
The 32-year-old dentist, Kunal Bhattacharjee, is the son of former Congress MP from Silchar Kamalendu Bhattacharjee.
A senior police officer said Kunal had pumped a bullet into his head around 12.30 pm on Friday at the toilet of his private clinic at Church Road. He was taken to SMCH in critical condition.

He was on ventilation at the intensive care unit of the hospital for the last three days. He succumbed to his injuries at 10.45 am on Sunday.
The pistol used by him is yet to be recovered. Police have started investigation.

Source:  http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-02/guwahati/35547979_1_suicide-attempt-silchar-medical-college-intensive-care-unit

KVIC fair at Silchar from Feb 23

KARIMGANJ, Dec 24 – For the first time, Silchar is going to host the North East level exhibition and fair under the auspices of Khadi and Village Industries Commission of the Govt of India. The fair will commence from February 23 at Town Club field and will continue till March 23. In order to patronise handicraft and micro, small and medium scale industries product of North-east KVIC has organised the fair. Chairman of the KVIC North-East zone and member National Committee Sharifujjaman Laskar said besides ‘North-East 150 stalls from national-level will participate in the exhibition. A strong reception committee has been constituted with Sharifujjaman Laskar as chairman with three ministers, twelve MLAs, two MPs, Vice Chancellor, Assam University, Director NIT, Principal, Silchar Medical College, educationists, DC, Cachar, SP, Cachar, Chairman, Silchar Development Authority, secretary, Silchar DSA as members. Besides forming three sub-committees.
A meeting was organised for the purpose. At the meeting, S Laskar disclosed they have invited Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister and other dignitories to inaugurate the exhibition. He informed that cultural function, competition on photography exhibition of varieties of food and sale, folk song and dance will also held every day.
Health camp: Under the auspices of the Viswa Hindu Parishad, Cachar unit a health camp was held at Ichacherra Karbipunji, the remotest corner of the West Kathighora recently.
Altogether 150 patients attended the camp where Dr Kalipada Purkayastha examined the health of the patients.
A primary medicine centre was also inaugurated. VHP is supplying medicines to this centre.
It may be mentioned that Ichacherra Karbipunji is situated under the foothill of Borail hill and whole area is dominated by tribal community. They have to visit Digharkhal, five km away for marketing. The Punji has no LP or ME school and PHC.
Considering the extreme problems of the tribals, VHP has decided to open a medicine centre here. Pradip Baishnab organising secretary, VHP Cachar said VHP is always extending helping hand towards the poor tribal people. Tribal people in different time are deprived from getting their legitimate rights. The VHP has also undertaken village renovation work.
The VHP wants to make Ichacherra Karbipunji as a model village.

Source : http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=dec2512/state05

Barak students move PM for expediting railway projects

SILCHAR: Representatives of All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students Association (ACKHSA) on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manhohan Singh and submitted a memorandum to him to ask the railway authorities to take measures to expedite the completion of key railway projects of southern Assam. These include the Silchar-Lumding broad gauge project, the Silchar-Mahisasan-Sylhet-Akhaura-Kolkata tracks and Silchar-Agartala-Akhaura-Kolkata tracks. The student body also demanded early completion of the Silchar-Saurashtra East-West Corridor project.
ACKHSA said the broad gauge project was initiated way back in 1983 and it was then proposed that the broad gauge tracks be laid between Sukritipur and Lanka, avoiding much of Dima Hasao hill district. The total outlay for the project was Rs 600 crore. The engineering-cum-traffic survey was done, but, surprisingly, the project was shelved.

After that a proposal came from the Railway Board to connect Silchar with Jogighopa through the broad gauge tracks, most of which would go through Meghalaya. The people of Meghalaya, however, objected to the proposal as they were not didn't want their state on the railway map for fear of easy infiltration by outsiders, ACKHSA added.
It's almost three decades since the project was initiated, but connectivity in southern Assam, Mizoram and Tripura hasn't improved. The progress of the present 214-km Lumding-Silchar broad gauge project through Dima Hasao has been delayed because of government apathy. Although the foundation of the project was laid by the-then Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and it was declared a National Project in 2004 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the project has witnessed little progress over the years, the student body said. It said the project may again fail the fresh deadline of December, 2013 given the tardy progress.
ACKHSA said in response to the repeated demands of the people of this region, New Delhi sent a proposal to the Bangladesh government for revival of the defunct railway transit facilities between India and the neighbouring country through Mahisasan point on the international border in Assam's Karimganj district.

Source :  http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-27/guwahati/36021655_1_broad-gauge-project-lumding-silchar-railway-projects

Barak Valley joins protest against Delhi gangrape

SILCHAR: Students of Assam University, Silchar, and several other colleges evening brought out a candlelight procession here on Monday morning seeking speedy justice for the 23-year-old paramedic who was gang-raped in a moving private bus in Delhi.
The students in Barak Valley areas have been taking to the streets in line with the nationwide protest for last few days. Silchar, Karimganj, Hailakandi towns witnessed several protest rallies and some more are on the pipeline.

Posters seeking capital punishment for the six culprits involved in the crime have been pasted on many roadside walls and buildings.
The candlelight procession, which was organized by the university and collage students of Silchar, started from the statute of martyr Kshudiram Bose at 5 pm during the day and moved through the main streets of the town. The students, who were carrying banners and posters, decried the government for its highhandedness in dealing with the ongoing protests in different places of Delhi.
"There's presence of a large number of students from the northeast in Delhi and they are often subjected to molestation and other harassments by goons. NE students enjoy little security and justice in such cases. We demand a halt to such incidents and a suitable atmosphere for security of students in Delhi coming from across the country," said Rupali, a student of GC College, who joined the protest. "We will help spread the agitation against the brutal rape of a paramedic in Delhi throughout the country. We will not stop until the authorities pronounce capital punishment of the six rapists," said Ashok, a student of AU.

Source : http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-25/guwahati/35999621_1_ne-students-protest-rallies-barak-valley

BSF-BGB meet decides to start Indo-Bangla border survey in Nov

SILCHAR: A sector-level meeting of senior officials of Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) was held on Saturday at Sutarkandi trade centre in Karimganj district. The meeting decided that the survey of border areas of the two countries will start on November this year.
While the team of BSF officials was led by its sector commander (Silchar) deputy inspector general UC Hazarika, the Bangladesh officials were led by BGB sector commander (Sylhet) Col Muhammad Khair-uz-Zaman.

Source :http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-21/guwahati/34627370_1_bgb-bsf-indo-bangla

Frequent power cuts create public woe

SILCHAR, May 29: The scorching heat, frequent power cuts and high humidity have made lives of the people of Barak Valley miserable in the last few days.
The frequent power cuts in this hot and sultry summer have become quite irritating for the people of Silchar in general. The power supply has totally gone out of control with no predictable pattern to the power cuts.
Bidyut Debnath, a resident of Kanakpur, said that there is a power cut after every one hour and sometimes it takes two to three hours to back.
Madhumita Acharjee, a student, who is preparing for LLM entrance said, “My entrance examination is very near. But it is very hard to concentrate on studies because of this excessive heat and undue power cut.”
The power cut is not limited to only day’s hours. People of here are also suffering from power cuts at night.
Chunilal Das, a resident of Co-operative lane, said that he was unable to sleep during the night. Due to the sweltering heat, the fan had become a must. Without it, the sweltering heat of the summer makes sleep impossible.
Angshuman Dey, a resident of Ambicapatty, said that between 6 am and 6 pm, there are at least six hours of power cuts. During night , there are more six-hour of power cuts, taking the total power cut duration to 12 hours every day.
Moreover, in the night, there is a power cut after every one hour for which people can’t sleep properly. It is being forecasted that the heat would increase sharply in the coming days, but chances of heavy rain is also there.
However, the ASEB earlier assured that power supply would get normal, but hue and cry over power supply among public remains constant.

Source: http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=119132&dtP=2012-05-30&ppr=1#119132

Youth Congress gherao on DTO

SILCHAR, May 24: The members of Silchar Youth Congress gheraoed the office of the district transport office demanding the action against the illegal carrying of over-loaded goods by the super buses in their day to day journey particularly in Silchar- Guwahati route, which might jeopardize the life of general people, on Wednesday.
The members of youth congress in an operation, early on Thursday  morning, to the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Ramnagar found eight passenger buses with overloaded goods, where they stopped all the buses and informed the transport authority. The youth congress leaders thereafter gheraoed the office of the district transport officer and sought his intervention in this regard.
Abhijit Paul, president, said that they have submitted a memorandum regarding this issue nine days ago but still no action has been initiated. He further said if it continues they would think of mass movement.
S Alam, district transport officer, called a meeting with the enforcement officers and asked them to take proper action. He also ordered the managers of the Capital and the Jagannath travels not to carry over loaded goods. He further assured the members of Youth congress that adequate steps would be initiated to deal with the issue very soon.
The leaders who were present in the operation included Papon Deb, , vice president, Rahul Amin Laskar, general secretary, Bandita Divedi Roy, Anita Das Chowdhury, Anupam Paul, Rinku Borlaskar, Shyamal Saha.

Source: http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=118562&dtP=2012-05-25&ppr=1#118562

Consumers’ body slams UPA Government, Opposition fumes

SILCHAR, May 24: The Grahak Suraksha Samiti (GSS) of Cachar has slammed the UPA Government for hiking the petrol prices by nearly a Rs 8 per litre. “It is quite intriguing that the decision was taken by the Government just after the Parliament session on budget was over”, said Biplob Kumar Goswami, general secretary of the consumers’ body. It was according to him a surreptitious method of avoiding Parliament to push up the price and pass on the burden on common people, already reeling under the heat of spiralling prices of sorts of commodities, both essential and non essential. It is the steepest hike ever since the Government of Dr Manmohan Singh came to power in 2002. Between March 2011 and May 24, petrol price has been increased by 6 times from Rs 62.50 to Rs 77.81 per litre. This is one of the records on price front of the Government that cries for ‘aam aadmi’, he pointed out.
Goswami attributed the abnormal increase in petrol price to the gross fiscal mismanagement and erroneous economic policy which together have combined together to devalue the rupee against dollar and a shaken investment climate. He said afraid of facing the opposition in the Parliament, the Government took the decision unilaterally and arbitrarily. Even its allies in the coalition were not consulted and taken into confidence. The ground cited was the depreciation of rupee in the international market which has been disputed by all the well known economists of the country. In fact, as he pointed out increasing trade deficit and lack of reformist approach has messed up the situation, he stated.
The timing of hike was also unjustified with no elections round the corner excepting the Presidential election. The Government wanted to play . The hue and cry raised by the allies of UPA, according to him, was drama. Mamata Banerjee did raise her pitch, but it was all sound and fury. Goswami said, “It reflects on the failure of the Government to meet the crisis, enmeshed as it is in scams and scandals.”
It can neither control run away prices nor hold a check on massive leakages of development funds. The austerity measures being talked of by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee lose all sense and sensibility, as Goswami pointed out, by following the proverbial policy of running with the hare and hunting with the hound. By taking recourse to pushing up price, it is now trying to balance the deficits. It is an exercise to offset the subsidies on diesel and LPG, he maintained.
Goswami further brought out the paradox. When the prices of international crude have dropped in March last, the UPA Government has taken the unusual step. In the past, the Government passed the onus on international price to justify every hike. Oil companies have always put the pressure on the Government to increase prices.
He was of the opinion along with austerity measures as planned by the Finance Ministry, the Government should recover crores of rupees lost in colossus scams of 2 G Spectrum and CWG, besides bringing Back enormous amount black money stashed in foreign banks. The Samiti would launch a district level public agitation to pressure the Government for roll back. Other option Is that the Central excise duty of Rs 14.78 a litre and the states’ sales tax ranging from Rs 10.30 to Rs 18.74 a litre should be reduced or slashed.
The opposition political parties, BJP, AGP, CPM, CPI, AIUDF, SUCI, have come down heavily on the Government for its anti people policy. Kiriti Bhushan Purkayastha, Cachar district president of BJP, in a statement here said, the hike was unwarranted and a cruel joke with people. Dulal Mitra of CPM termed the hike as pandering to the interests of business houses and industrialists. While left parties are sharpening their arsenal for attacking the Government, other parties are planning to hit the streets. CPI(M), its leaders and supporters today staged protest demonstration against the hiking of petrol price and demanded the UPA government should scrap the hike.

source: http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=118560&dtP=2012-05-25&ppr=1#118560

LPG crisis: GSS gheraos IOC

SILCHAR, May 24: Grahak Suraksha Samiti of Cachar gheraoed the office of Lalit Kumar Dule, manager of Indian Oil Corporation, on Wedneday, by demanding immediate measures in LPG crisis.
Biplab Kumar Goswami, general secretary, said that the situation has become so critical that it takes more than 45 days in the processing of booking and gas cylinder delivery.
He pointed out that the delivery man has the responsibility to provide the bonafide consumers with LPG cylinders within the time schedule of booking by them. But, it has been found in most of the cases that the delivery man take recourse to malpractices by diverting the cylinders of consumers to black market for unlawful gains. Even most of the persons who are entrusted with home delivery do not have any proper registration. Surprisingly after lodging complaints by the citizens of this valley, no action is initiated for corrective measures.
The members of the Consumers’ body said that the black marketers are cashing in on the sudden rise in LPG prices. The cylinders, priced at Rs 398, are now being sold at anything between Rs 900 and Rs 1,000 each, an all-time high. They alleged that the several gas agencies are looting the general public and pointed out that to take a new connection gas agencies are charging Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 instead of Rs 1,820, which is the prescribed fee.
They further alleged that the Sahid Nandachand Gas Agency does not have any delivery man at Srikona, which has created a huge problem for the people. Moreover, they demanded the immediate steps should be taken in solving the problems of Rupali Gas Agency of Udharbond.
However, Lalit Dule, who joined here just three days back, assured the members of the Suraksha Samiti that he would take immediate measure to meet the required demand of LPG cylinders.
The members of the consumers’ body were present included Amrit Kumar Acharjee, Dilip Kumar Das, Mussobbir Ali, Dilip Das.

source: http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=118563&dtP=2012-05-25&ppr=1#118563

Donation to Cachar Cancer Hospital

SILCHAR, May 24: On the eve language martyrs’ day, which falls on May 19, a few benevolent person of the city extended their helping hand to Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Institute .
Manju Bhattacharjee of Link Road along with Dr Nirmali Barman, professor of Assam University, Gauri Bhattacharjee, Konkona Nath of CR Avenue, and Shreya Shipani handed over a cash of Rs 25,000, Rs 15,000, Rs 3000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 3000 respectively to Dr Rabi Kannan, director of Cachar Cancer Hospital. Dr Kannan expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Hospital to all for the financial assistance and he assured that the grant will be meaningfully utilized in the interest of the people. Others were present in the function included Kalyan Chakraborty, Superintendent, Dr Ikbal Bahar, Dr Pronoti Dhar.

Source: http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=118566&dtP=2012-05-25&ppr=1#118566

Media should play a responsible role: Arunodoy Saha

SILCHAR, May 23: “Media should play a responsible role in covering news” said Arunodoy Saha, Vice Chancellor of Tripura University, at Rajib Bhavan in a programme organized by a local NGO Aashiyan, here on Monday.
He said that most of the media houses are now running after sensationalism, but this brings down the credibility, which is the most important asset for a house.
He urged the media not to sensationalize news and maintain credibility in view of the vital role played by newspapers and TV channels in shaping people’s opinion in a democracy. He added to say the media have a big role to play in the parliamentary democracy. By citing different examples of the impact of media on the general public, Professor Saha said that now a days people are more dependent on the media than before. He further said that earlier a political party used to depend on their cadres in order to reach the mass, but now the situation has changed and a political party can disseminate their views to a huge audience through newspapers and TV channels.
Professor Saha said that the media should give wider publicity to people who endeavour for changing the society for good. He pointed out that the attack on an individual by any newspaper or news channel just for their interest is not acceptable in a democratic country.
The Vice Chancellor further urged the journalists to follow the code of ethics in the news covering. He said that paid news is not good for healthy growth of the society and is putting question mark on the credibility of the media. Dissemination of wrong facts some times leads to disaster and need of the hour is to dissuade from such practices in the larger interest of the public good, he added.
Professor Saha also said that a thin line should be drawn by the journalists. He requested the journalists to maintain the objectivity and integrity in their profession.

source: http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=118452&dtP=2012-05-24&ppr=1#118452

Scarcity of LPG creates public ire

SILCHAR, May 23: Everyday hundreds of people stand in long queues but after a day long wait, most of them return home disappointed. Scarcity of LPG cylinder has become a major problem for the common people of Barak valley.
The members of Youth Against Social Evils (YASE) submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar, in which they have requested him to take appropriate measure to solve the present crisis of LPG cylinders in the district and to publish a public statement in this regard, on Wednesday.
Sanjib Roy, president, said that for last one and half month there has been a great scarcity of LPG cylinders in the entire district of Cachar and it is increasing gradually. Now-a-days the crisis has created a havoc among the common mass and the black-marketers are using the circumstances to the extreme, he added.
He also said that the crisis of LPG cylinder in the district has helped the black-marketers to sell the LPG at exorbitant rate. He further said that the consumers had no options other than to purchase the same from them at the inflated rates for their livelihood.
He pointed out till date no measures have been taken by the district administration or by the deputy Director of supply (DDS) to deal with the situation. Though a control room service has been set up for the matter by the district administration but it is not enough to control the black-marketers, he added.
The members of the organization requested the district administration to release a public statement regarding the reason behind the shortage of LPG cylinder in the district, how many days it will take to meet up the crisis and the measures taken up by the district administration. They also seeks the intervention of district administration to catch hold the unscrupulous elements.
The members were present included Sabir Ahmed Raj Barbhuiya, secretary, Ramnath Nunia, Sahab Uddin, Bandita Trivedi, Dinesh Kahar, Digbijoy Bhattacharjee, Rajan Ahmed, Ankur Banik.

Source:http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=118451&dtP=2012-05-24&ppr=1#118451

ACKHSA paid homage to martyrs’

SILCHAR, May 22: All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association (ACKHSA) remembered with deep emotion and profound respect to the 11 martyrs’ who laid down their lives for the sake of their mother tongue Bengali, on May 19,1961, which came under assault from the State through bureaucratic interference and the conspiratorial design of linguistic jingoism and chauvinism, here on Saturday.
At the outset, all the members of the organization paid floral tributes before the statue of Kamala Bhattacharjee, one of the martyrs, situated at Shillongpatty, where from they brought out a huge rally consisting of students of different schools, colleges and university, which ends at Gandhi Bhag. Thereafter, the members of the organization offered their homage at the martyr column at Gandhi Bhag.
Earlier, the members of the organization took an oath to mobilize a democratic movement in demand of the early completion of Silchar-Lumding broadgauge and east-west corridor project. Rupam Nandi Purkaystha, advisor of the organization, said that the spirit of the martyrs’, who sacrificed their lives for their mother tongue, played an important role in the movement for the establishment of Assam University in Silchar. He urged the young generation to come forward and to work for the betterment of the society.
The members of the organization were also present included Asit Debroy, president, Abidhur Rehman, working president, Ankita Bhattacharjee, secretary, Debasish Malakar, Alok Dhar, Monoj Das, Sandip Dey, Namita Sinha.

Source: http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=118308&dtP=2012-05-23&ppr=1#118308

Kuntal gets Unisher Padak

Silchar, May 22 : Kuntal Chakraborty, the Guwahati correspondent of Silchar-based Bengali daily Samayik Prasanga received Unisher Padak.
The award comprising a citation, a shawl and cash prize of Rs 15,000 was handed over to Chakraborty by Arunadoy Saha, the Vice Chancellor of Tripura University in a function held at Rajib Bhawan on Monday evening.

Source: http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=118310&dtP=2012-05-23&ppr=1#118310

Kolkata media ignores Martyrs’ Day of Barak Valley

SILCHAR, May 20: The Martyrs’ Day on May 19 which was celebrated with all serenity and solemnity in Barak Valley districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi in sacred memory of 11 brave hearts including a young girl Kamala Bhattacharjee for sacrificing their lives for the cause of their mother language Bengali 51 years ago in 1961 has been completely glossed over by the Kolkata media, both print and electronic. West Bengal and Tripura are the two Bengali dominated States in the country which have closer affinity with Barak Valley, linguistically and culturally.
Quite ironically, when some litterateur, journalist, writer or persons of eminence in art and culture visit the valley as distinguished invitee at a seminar, discussion or function on related subjects or themes, they are often found to be ignorant of the historic movement and the day. In recent past, Somnath Chatterjee, former Lok Sabha Speaker who was here to deliver Kamini Kumar Chanda memorial lecture, a revolutionary figure of the region, recalled his father, renowned lawyer of the time, N C Chatterjee, who headed an unofficial inquiry committee to probe the causes behind the police firing that claimed 11 precious lives. Once back at home at Bolpur, it becomes a forgotten chapter.
The leading Bengali dailies Ananda Bazar Patrika, Bartaman, Aajkal or Pratidin or the satellite channels Sananda TV, 24 Hours, Akash, ETV Bangla, Zee Bangla and DD Bangla have not even made a passing reference to the event. Even an event that has become a turning point in the linguistic and cultural history of Barak Valley does not deserve any mention in the Kolkata media. Nor is there any information that any function to commemorate the day has been held in Kolkata, regarded as the cultural and linguistic centre of Bengalis. English dailies of the city like The Telegraph, The Times of India and The Asian Age have been equally conspicuous in ignoring the event. It is for nothing that the Union Home Ministry has refused to rename Silchar Railway Station as Bhasa Sahid Station, terming the sacrifices of the 11 martyrs as local patriotism.
In glaring contrast, February 21 celebrated in Bangladesh as International Language Day to commemorate the victory of the people to get recognition of their mother language Bengali in 1952. The massive movement jolted the repressive Pakistani Government which had designed to impose Urdu as the official language and the medium of instruction for the people of then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The revolt and rebellion caused five lives. But, the people’s movement got UNO recognition and February 21 was declared International Language Day. The day and its celebration gets the widest coverage in Kolkata media.
It is indeed a paradox. Is it the geographical distance and isolation of Barak Valley being located in the extreme corner of Northeast that denies it the media glare of Kolkata? This has definitely changed the mindset of the people of the valley to patronize the State newspapers increasingly and discard that of the big metros.

source: http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=118059&dtP=2012-05-21&ppr=1#118059

Barak valley pays ode to language martyrs

SILCHAR: The 52nd anniversary of language martyrdom was observed throughout Barak Valley on Saturday with full enthusiasm. People from various walks of life paid tribute to the martyrs. On this day in 1961 ten young men and a woman fell to the bullets of the state police fighting for the cause of their mother tongue, Bengali, at Silchar railway station on May 19.

The 11 brave young men and women along with thousand other agitators had been protesting during the historic language movement against imposition of Assamese language on the Bengali-speaking populace of Barak Valley. The controversial circular was however later withdrawn.

In Silchar, at 6.30 am on Saturday hundreds of people including students, cultural activists, people from the field of education and social activities, political leaders, senior officials of Cachar district administration paid floral tribute to the martyrs at the Silchar railway station, the place of police firing on May 19, 1961. Bunches of Krishnachura, a red-coloured-flower of spring, made the venue look all the more beautiful.

At 8 am, they paid tribute at the Martyrs Column at Silchar crematorium and at 2.35 pm, the actual time of firing, hundreds of people gathered at the martyrs' memorial at Gandhi Bag to pay homage.

Reports said similar programmes were organized in Karimganj and Hailakandi districts of the valley, in some parts of West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Three towns of Silchar, Karimganj and Hailakandi hosted series of cultural programmes throughout the day where renowned artistes from Bengal and Bangladesh, apart from locals performed. A number of Dhaka and Kolkata-based eminent personalities from the fields of literature, education and journalism joined this year's celebrations of martyrs' day in Silchar.

On Friday, the eve of the martyrs' day, cultural activists took out processions in Silchar, Karimganj and Hailakandi. Artistes, including those from Assam University, Silchar, decorated the Park Road area of the town in front of Martyrs Column with alpana.

The programme was centrally organized by Sammilita Sanskritik Manch, a platform of different cultural organizations, Bhasha Sahid Station Smaran Samiti and Barak Upatyaka Banga Sahitya O Sanskriti Sanmilan. The organizers' demanded rechristening of the Silchar railway station as Bhasa Shahid (Language Martyrs') station and making the Meharotra Commission's report probing the incident of firing.

 

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Barak-valley-pays-ode-to-language-martyrs/articleshow/13310083.cms

YASE meets Gaurav Gogoi

SILCHAR, May 19: The members of Youth Against Social Evils (YASE), an NGO, met Gaurav Gogoi during his visit to Barak Valley and drew his attention regarding the transfer of land for the establishment of proposed Super Speciality Hospital of Kanchi Sankracharyya Trust at Urrunaband Tea Estate, at Circuit House here on Friday.
The members of the organization sought his immediate intervention in this regard as the Trust is now thinking to abandon this project and shift it to Tripura.
Kanchi Shankaracharya Organization (KSO) in the year 2008 expressed their willingness to set up a state of art Super Speciality Hospital in the district of Cachar. The KSO visited the district for site selection and finally made up their choice in the unutilized land of Urrunaband Tea Estate under Udharband constituency which is seven km from Kumbhirgram airport. The owner of the tea estate Dipankar Chatterjee accepted the proposal and agreed to hand over 30 acres of land for the proposed hospital. As the land included special cultivation area, the Trust needs no objection certificate from the government to start the construction work for the Hospital. But, unfortunately this matter is pending before the government for the last three years.
The young Congress leader assured his full co-operation to the members and said that he would place this matter before the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
The members of the organization present included Sanjib Roy, president, Sabbir Ahmed, Raj Barbhuiya, Sahabuddin Ahmed, Ankur Banik, Dinesh Kahar and Raju Chowdhury.

source:http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=117942&dtP=2012-05-20&ppr=1#117942

Silchar celebrates Martyrs’ Day in befitting manner

SILCHAR, May 19: Braving the heavy pouring, the enthusiastic people of Silchar assembled at the Railway Station in early morning to pay floral tribute to the 19 feet long statue, set up by Bhasha Swahid Station Smarak Samiti, which was inaugurated today itself. The day being the auspicious May 19, the 52nd anniversary of the martyrdom of eleven satyagrahis who sacrificed their lives on May 9, 1960 at the Silchar railway station demanding repeal of Language Act, 1960 that made Assamese a compulsory language in this Bengali dominated valley. Gaurav Gogoi, son of the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, was a pleasant surprise at the railway station programme. Gaurab before catching his morning flight, arrived at the station and paid floral tribute to the statue. The scenes then shifted to Silchar Smashan, the cremation ground where the last rites of the language martyrs were performed. The gathering, which included political bigwigs to common rickshaw pullers, daring the inclement weather, assembled at the cremation ground and paid floral tributes. Everybody was singing ‘aa mori Banglabhasha, moder gorab moder aasha’. Scene then shifted to Silchar Gandhibag at 2.30 pm and the assembly now moved there. There were song, recital, street drama. In the evening, various cultural organizations held functions, symposium, etc. Barak Valley Voluntary Blood Donors Forum arranged a blood donation camp at Devdoot Cinema Hall and Silchar railway station. Eminent minority leader Hafiz Rashid Choudhury and Silchar Bar Library president Ajay Deb Laskar participated in a discussion at the railway station in the evening. Popular singers from Calcutta Arundhati Hom Choudhury and Shibaji Chattapadhya performed at the station. Reports of celebrating language martyrs day from other parts of the valley were also pouring in.

source:http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=117940&dtP=2012-05-20&ppr=1#117940

Manipuri Diaspora meets Gaurav Gogoi

SILCHAR, May 18: Manipuri Diaspora of Assam, an apex Manipuri organization, met the Gaurav Gogoi during his visit and drew his attention towards the problems faced by the Manipuri community as a whole here at circuit house on Wednesday. Manipuri leaders pointed out that there is a need for greater participation in political affairs and representation in the Legislative Assembly from the Manipuri community. The leaders said that in the forthcoming Member of Legislative Council formation Manipuris are expecting atleast three members. The leaders discussed the issues like lack of education officer for Manipuri medium schools and advisors from Manipuri speaking peoples in SEBA.
However, the young congress leader assured for conveying all the vital issues raised by Manipuri leaders to proper form. He thought the vital issue of Manipuris at this hour is representation in the Assembly.
The members of Manipuri Diaspora were present in the meeting included M Santi Kumar Singha, general secretary, M Surjya Kumar Sharma, advisor, L Manglemba Singha, vice President, M Ningamba Singha, joint secretary, K Lalbabu Singha. Earlier they felicitated Gourav Gogoi with traditional Manipuri Khudei and other gifts and momentoes.

source:http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=117820&dtP=2012-05-19&ppr=1#117820

Girl from Cachar bags international award

SILCHAR, May 18: Roma Sinha, senior operational manager at VFS Global, a multi-national company, won the European Process Excellence award 2012 for Best Process Improvement project on Business Management during the PEX Week Europe Summit recently held in London. She is the first Bishnupriya Manipuri woman to receive an international award. The Process Excellence awards have been established to honour, recognize and celebrate the projects that demonstrate true and best practices. The awards recognize the outstanding achievement in the field of process excellence, improving company, business impact and innovation. Roma Sinha is the younger daughter of Rebati Mohan Sinha and Ranju Sinha of Bekirpar village near Kabikunj of Cachar district. Sadhan Purkaystha, a social activist and secretary general of Citizens’ Right Preservation Committee congratulated Roma on her success and wishes her for the better future

source:http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=117821&dtP=2012-05-19&ppr=1#117821

ACKHSA celebrates 29th anniversary

SILCHAR,May 17: All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students’ Association (ACKHSA) held a general meeting on the eve of 29 th anniversary of the organization at the premises of Narsing Higher Secondary School here on Tuesday.
Asit Debroy, president of the ACKHSA addressed the gathering of students and members of the organization and said that the ACKHSA has been relentlessly working for the betterment of the society since its inception. He further said that the association has a long history of upholding the demands and the cause of students’ welfare and they would keep continue their service for the larger good.
Ahidur Rahman, local president of the association said that the students are the backbone of the society and they should come forward actively to join the student politics.
Rupam Nandi Purkaystha, adviser and the former president of ACKHSA in his address remembered his early days and cited incidents related to different movements that were carried out by the ACKHSA. He further said that even after 16 years of sanctioning of the Silchar – Lumding broadgauge project, mere one-half of the work has been completed and it remains a distant dream. The former student leader urged the association to take up the burning issues of the valley and should mobilize a democratic movement in demand of the early completion of Silchar-Lumding broad gauge and East-West corridor projects, improvement of roads in the valley and establishment of industries.
It was also the occasion to pay tribute to its leaders who contributed much towards the strengthening of the organization and those who were remember with reverence for their achievement included Dilip Roy, Binod Goswami, Ajoy Bhuiya, Sentu Deb, Papiya Nath, Hushna Begum Laskar and Joly Begum Laskar.

source:http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=117702&dtP=2012-05-19&ppr=1#117702

Silchar girl hangs herself in Delhi

Silchar, May 17: Another young lady from the Northeast committed suicide in Delhi. This time its Sonia Ghosh from Silchar alias Dona, who hanged herself to death following alleged betrayal by her fiancé, also from Silchar. Both Sonia and her lover Samrat Paul were Mass Communication degree holders from Assam University Silchar. Sumita Ghosh, mother of Dona, alleged in a written statement that Samrat played with the life of her daughter. Their marriage was scheduled to be held in February next. But suddenly Samrat allegedly refused to continue the relation arguing that their Thikuji did not match. It was alleged that Samrat’s father a businessman, wanted his son to marry a girl from a rich family. Sumita alleged that her daughter could not bear the blow and finished her life. Dona’s body was found hanging from the ceiling at her Delhi Lajpatnagar residence . Meanwhile, family member of Samrat refuted the allegation that he ditched Sonia admitting that their Thikuji did not match.

source:http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=117704&dtP=2012-05-19&ppr=1#117704 

SSM firm to carry on movement

SILCHAR, May 17: The Sammlita Sanskritik Mancha (SSM), an umbrella platform of 52 cultural and social organizations of Barak Valley of Assam brought out a procession here on Thursday in the memory of 11 martyrs who had laid down their lives for the sake of their mother tongue Bengali.
The procession began from the Ranghirkhari point, which later ended at the premises of Silchar Railway Station.
It was in 1961 a historic mass movement was launched across the valley joined in by different linguistic and cultural groups demanding their fundamental, democratic and constitutional right of mother language, which came under attack from the State through bureaucratic interference and the conspiratorial design of linguistic jingoism and chauvinism. On May 19, 1961, the eleven unarmed youths had died in a sudden police firing at Silchar Railway Station while agitating along with thousands of people, demanding their fundamental right.
However, Sammlita Sanskritik Mancha has since long been demanding of the appropriate authorities to rename Silchar Railway Station as Bhasha Sahid Station. In support of the demand, recently the Mancha has submitted a memorandum with signatures of 1.40 lakhs people of the valley to the Union Railway Minister.
As many as 23 bodies under the banner of Sammilit Sanskritik Mancha, Barak Upatyaka Banga Sahitya O Sanskriti Sammelan, Barak Artists Guild, Matri Bhasa Suraksha Samiti, Dhani Sahitya Chakra, Silchar Press Club, AIDSO, ACKHSA, Cachar Hindi Bhashi Chatra Sangstha, Cachar Hindi Bhashi Sahitya Parishad, Rupam, different political parties, DSA, students of schools and colleges among others joined the procession.


source:http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=117701&dtP=2012-05-19&ppr=1#117701

Concern over slow pace of Silchar-Lumding broadgauge project

The Silchar-Lumding Broad Gauge Rupayan Sangram Committee (SLBGRC) has charged the union government with being lackdaisical in its approach to complete the much-anticipated railway project which is expected to serve as a major lifeline to the Barak Valley.

"The central government and the Ministry of Development of Noeth East Region (DoNER) have betrayed the people of Barak Valley as they claimed that the broad gauge would be completed by 2013," SLBGRC Executive Member Ajoy Roy said.

A nine member team of the SLBGRC visited the project site at Dima Hasao Autonomous District earlier this week.
Roy alleged that an influential lobby was trying to scuttle the project.

According to a report prepared by the SLBGRC after the field trip, the girders had still not been installed in the proposed railway overbridge at Badarpur.

The report also has claimed that no work was currently being undertaken at the Banderkhal area, where a bridge is scheduled to be built.

It also pointed out that controversy with regard to the clearance by the forest department in the Harengazao and Banderkhal regions had yet not been resolved.

"Construction of the 55 metre tunnel number 10 was scheduled to be completed by March, but only 36.08 metre have been completed," Roy said.

SLBGRC has demanded for a high-level vigilance committee to probe the delay of construction. 

source:http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/concern-over-slow-pacesilchar-lumding-broadgauge-project/10944/

Rongali Bihu celebrated at Silchar

 SILCHAR, May 17 – Rongali Bihu was celebrated here on May 11 and 12 by Asam Sahitya Sabha at the Deshabhakta Tarun Ram Phookun School premises.
The flag of the festival was hoisted by SK Das, ADC of Cachar which was followed by inauguration of the cultural programme by Diganta Bora, SP, Cachar. Many competitions were held. In the evening the next day the committee’s magazine was released. After this cultural activities took centre stage many participants from the entire State participated in the celebration.
SK Das said that it is a great occasion for us that Bihu is being organised after overcoming many obstacles. Bihu is the pride of the Assamese people and that spirit is found in Silchar town also. He added that Bihu is a secular festival and all should come forward to celebrate it together.
Anupam Pathak, secretary of Rongali Bihu festival committe said that Bihu means togetherness of all religions. It is a bridge between the people of Barak and Brahmaputra valley. There were many problems in organising this festival, but we have overcome all of them. The district administration is really helpful in this manner. On the two days, there were several competitions like Bihugeet, Bongeet, Bahi Badan, Gagana Badan etc. Udhab Kalita, founder secretary of Samanya Sanskritik Gosthi, Silchar informed that Barnali Nath won the crown of Bihu queen in Silchar.

source:http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=may1812/state05

World Bank to give Rs 13,000 cr for power generation in NE

World Bank would give Rs 13,000 crore for infrastructrual development of power generation facilities in the North East which would be executed by Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL).

PGCIL Chairman-cum-Managing Director R N Nayak said here today the company was keen to improve the power scenario in the region had executed several long term and short term projects in it.

Nayek was on a visit to the newly built 400/132 KV power substation at Srikona, near Silchar town which was completed by PGCIL in 14 months and it would start functioning by May 31.

''The station will receive 726 MW power from Palatana in Tripura and this will be distributed to Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram which will greatly improve the power scenario of the region,'' he added.

Congratulating the people of the region for being helpful in executing the various projects of PGCIL but in other parts of the country they had to face several problems, particularly those related to land acquisition, Nayak said.

The PGCIL was building an 800 KV substation in Arunachal Pradesh and another substation at Byrnihat in Meghalaya which was nearing completion, he added.

Bhasha Saheed

On 19th May, 1961, in Silchar, a small town of South Assam in North East India
witnessed another fight for the Bengali language and 11 people died in police firing
to protest against the forcible imposition of Assamese on the Bangla speaking people there as a state policy. The provincial government of Assam had restricted the use of Bengali in the education of the Bengalis of Assam, despite that Bengali was their mother tongue. For this reason, on 19th May 1961 the Bengali students and youth plunged into satygraha revolution in Shilchar in order to protect their mother tongue. Again, that day the brutal Assamese police killed 11 spirited students and youth by open gunfire. The martyrs of 19th May gave their everything for the language and later the Government had to back down. Due to constant pressure from the Bengali students and youth, the Assamese provincial government was likewise compelled to recognize Bengali as the second official language of the state. Kamala Bhattacharjee, who died for right of bengali language on that day is being regarded as the first woman martyr of the world for language ! Besides Kamala Bhattacharjee, there were more 10 martyrs are Shachindra Paul, Saitendra Deb, Hitesh Biswas, Tarani Deb Nath,Birendra Sutradhar,Sunil Sarkar,Kanailal Niyagi,Kumud Ranjan Das, Sukumar Purkaysta, Chandricharan Sutrahar.

 Source: http://tripura4u.com/v2/?p=609

Kamala Bhattacharya

Kamala Bhattacharya (Bengali: কমলা ভট্টাচার্য) was an Indian student who was martyred in the Bengali Language Movement in Silchar in 1961.

Early life

Kamala was born to Ramraman Bhattacharya and Suprabasini Devi, the fifth of seven children in the year 1945 in the erstwhile Sylhet district in Assam. In their family they were three sons and four daughters. She was the third of the four daughters, having a younger sister and a younger brother. Their family had to struggle through many hardships, after she lost her father early in her childhood. During the Partition of India, the district of Sylhet was acceded to Pakistan on the basis of Sylhet referendum. In the 1950 East Pakistan genocide, hundreds of Hindus were killed in Sylhet and they migrated to India in large numbers. Kamala's mother too migrated to Silchar in the Cachar district in the year 1950.
Kamala's family used to stay in a rented accommodation in Silchar Public School Road. Her eldest sister Benu took up a nursing job and went to Simaluguri for training. Kamala's elder sister Pratibha was a school teacher. Her family was economically dependent on her earning for their livelihood. In her childhood, Kamala attended the Chhotelal Seth Institute in Silchar. She did not have the financial stability to buy the school text books. She had once asked her eldest sister Benu to buy her a dictionary for her, which her sister could not afford. She used to borrow books from her classmates and copy the text and read them. In 1961, Kamala appeared for the matriculation exams. She was determined to complete her graduation and had planned to learn typewriting before the matriculation results were declared^.

Martyrdom

The very next day after the matriculation exams, a picketing was being organized in Silchar railway station demanding Bengali as the medium of education. On the morning of 19th May, after taking bath Kamala wore the saree of her elder sister Pratibha and prepared to go to picketing. Her elder sister warned her of possible dangers. In the meanwhile, a group of 20-22 girls came to their house to take her. They alleviated her mother's concerns and took Kamala along with them. Kamala's mother gave her a piece of cloth to defend herself from tear gas. Kamala's younger sister Mangala, younger brother Bakul and her nephew Bappa too accompanied the group. Later during the day, Kamala's mother herself went to the railway station to enquire about their whereabouts. Bakul and Bappa had once been arrested by the police and then released. Kamala washed her mother's feet of the dust, gave her a sharbat and then sent her back home.
The rail blockade programme had passed off peacefully in the morning. In the afternoon, the Assam Rifles had began to arrive at the railway station. At around 2-35 P.M. the paramilitary police started beating the protesters with rifle butts and batons without any provocation from them. Kamala's younger sister hit by the police, fell to the ground and began crying to Kamala for help. The police had opened fire on the protesters by then. As Kamala rushed to the rescue of her younger sister, a bullet pierced through her eye and hit her head. Kamala was taken to hospital along with other wounded and bullet hit protesters. She died in the hospital. Unconscious Mangala too was admitted to hospital, where she regained her consciousness after one month. She became mentally unstable for the rest of her life.

Memorial

In 2011, Gopa Dutta Aich unveiled bronze bust of Kamala Bhattacharya in the premises of the Chhotelal Seth Institute under the aegis of Shahid Kamala Bhattacharya Murti Sthapan Committee.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Bhattacharya 

Kabindra Purkayastha

Kabindra Purkayastha (born 15 December 1931) is a former union minister of state of India. He served as minister of state for communication in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from 1998 to 1999. He is a senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party in Assam.

He was born in 1931 in Kamarkhal in Sylhet district now in Bangladesh and studied M.A. at Gauhati University.

He was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1991 from Silchar constituency in Assam. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 from same constituency. In 2009, he was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha, defeating heavyweight candidates Santosh Mohan Dev of Indian National Congress and Badruddin Ajmal of AUDF from Silchar.

Silchar Lok Sabha constituency

Silchar Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam state in north-eastern India.

Assembly segments

Silchar Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments:

Silchar
Sonai
Dholai (SC)
Udharbond
Lakhipur
Barkhola
Katigora

Members of Parliament

1977: Rashida Choudhury, Indian National Congress
1980: Sontosh Mohan Dev, Indian National Congress
1984: Sontosh Mohan Dev, Indian National Congress
1989: Sontosh Mohan Dev, Indian National Congress
1991: Kabindra Purkayastha, Bharatiya Janata Party
1996: Sontosh Mohan Dev, Indian National Congress
1998: Kabindra Purkayastha, Bharatiya Janata Party
1999: Sontosh Mohan Dev, Indian National Congress
2004: Sontosh Mohan Dev, Indian National Congress
2009: Kabindra Purkayastha, Bharatiya Janata Party

List of Chairmans of Silchar Municipal Board

Sl No	Name of Chairman/ EO	From	To
1	Sri A.K.Chanda	25/05/1915	21/04/1922
2	Sri A.C. Dutta	22/04/1922	08/05/1925
3	Sri B.C. Dey	09/05/1925	23/04/1928
4	Sri D.K. Gupta	24/04/1928	29/12/1930
5	Sri U.S. Dutta	30/12/1930	11/05/1931
6	Sri R.K.das	12/05/1931	11/06/1945
7	Sri S. M. Dev	12/06/1945	02/05/1958
8	Sri A. Dutta	03/05/158	03/08/1958
9	Sri S. M. Dev	04/08/1958	31/12/1958
10	Sri A. Dutta	01/01/1959	11/04/1959
11	Sri S. M. Dev	04/08/1959	25/04/1961
12	Sri M.Purkayastha	26/04/1961	17/08/1966
13	Sri P.C. Choudhury	18/08/1966	28/10/1969
14	Sri N. Choudhury	29/10/1969	05/08/1970
15	Sri P.C. Choudhury	08/08/1970	21/06/1971
16	Sri D.L. Sen Gupta	22/06/1971	21/10/1972
17	Sri P.C.Choudhary	28/10/1972	21/09/1975
18	Sri M.Chakraborty	22/09/1975	10/02/1976
19	Sri N.C.Barkakati	10/02/1976	22/07/1977
20	Sri B.K.Homchoudhary	22/07/1977	29/11/1979
21	Sri S.M.Dev	29/11/1979	28/12/1985
22	Sri S.Dutta	28/12/1985	30/12/1985
23	Sri B.K.Dutta	30/12/1985	22/01/1986
24	Sri S.K.Deb	22/01/1986	06/05/1986
25	Sri A.Hussain	06/05/1986	19/09/1987
26	Sri Sandipan Endow	19/09/1987	24/09/1990
27	Sri Santanu Das	24/09/1990	04/12/1990
28	Sri R.N.Sarma	05/12/1090	01/10/1991
29	Sri S.K.Deb	01/10/1991	15/11/1993
30	Sri N.K.Bhattacharjee	15/11/1993	04/04/1994
31	Sri J. Choudhary	04/04/1994	13/08/1996
32	Sri B. Dutta	13/08/1996	29/01/1998
33	Mrs. M. Choudhary	29/01/1998	29/04/1998
34	Sri R.K.Brahmachari	29/04/1998	11/06/2001
35	Sri Nanoj Paul	22/06/2001	04/07/2001
36	Smti Bithika Dev	04/07/2001	29/04/2003
37	Sri P.K.Das	29/04/2003	02/05/2003
38	Mrs. B.Dutta	02 /05/2003	07/02/2009
39	Mrs. Bithika Dev	07/02/2004	07/02/2009
40	Mrs.Bithika Dev	07/02/2009	24/02/2009
41	Sri M.K.Das	24/02/2009	13/03/2009
42	Sri Supriya Deb	13/03/2009	14/09/2009
43	Miss Sushmita Dev	14/09/2009	28/07/2010
44	Sri Binoy Krishna Das	29/07/2010	31/12/2010
45	Miss Sushmita Dev	01/01/2011

Celebrities Who Visited Silchar

>Kishore Kumar

>Sonu Nigam

>Kumar Sanu

>Alka Yagnik

>Manna Dey

>Shreya Ghoshal

>Mukesh Khanna

>Sachin Tendulkar

>Kapil Dev

>Sunil Gavaskar

>Javagal Srinath

>Hema Malini

>Saurav Ganguly

>Rahul Gandhi

>Indira Gandhi

>Atal Bihari Vajpayee

>Pt Ajoy Chakraborty

>Rupankar Bagchi

>Smriti Irani

>Ismail Darbar

>Ustad Rashid Khan

>