Posts Tagged ‘Guwahati’
Written by admin on 06 February 2012
Guwahati, Feb 6 (IANS) Farmers across India have been making claims for crop losses under the central government’s National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS), but those in the northeastern states, mainly in Assam, are not even aware any such scheme exists, said an expert.
K.M. Buzarbaruah, vice chancellor of the Jorhat-based Assam Agricultural University, told IANS no claims at all have been made by the farmers of Assam and other northeastern states last year for their crop losses.
“The government of India settled crop insurance claims worth Rs.22,135 crore last year. However, out of all the settled claims, the share of Assam and other northeastern states remained nil,” said Buzarbaruah. There was not even a single claim made by the farmers in this part of the country, he added.
Giving statistics, Buzarbaruah said that while the farmers of Andhra Pradesh topped the list by claiming Rs.4,099 crore, the farming community of Gujarat stood second in the list by claiming Rs.3,917 crore for their crop losses.
The farmers of Rajasthan claimed Rs.2,621 crore under the scheme, and those in Maharashtra claimed Rs.1,873 crore, followed by Bihar and Karnataka by claiming respectively Rs.1,794 crore and Rs.1,635 crore.
In terms of number of farmers benefiting from the settlement of claims, Buzarbaruah said that Maharashtra leads the tally with over 86.6 lakh beneficiary farmers followed by Andhra Pradesh with 59.9 lakh farmers.
A total of 52 lakh farmers benefited in Rajasthan while over 40 lakh farmers benefited in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.
“The farmers of the northeast, mainly Assam, have lost crops worth several crores of rupees last year due to drought and floods in various areas. Crops have also been damaged due to attacks of pests. Even then, there is no claim by the farmers and it indicates that there is no awareness among the farming community here about the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme,” he said.
“I am sure many officers of the agriculture department also are not aware about the schemes of the government,” he said, adding this has led to the situation where the farmers have suffered huge losses.
Tags: Assam, Guwahati
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Written by admin on 04 February 2012
Guwahati, Feb 4 (IANS) At least eight Youth Congress activists were killed and several injured in central Assam’s Nagaon district Saturday when their vehicle overturned after the driver lost control, police said.
While five people died on the spot, three died in the hospital later.
The activists were returning to Nagaon from Bahrampur after casting their votes in the Youth Congress elections, police said.
Tags: Guwahati
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Written by admin on 04 February 2012
Guwahati, Feb 4 (IANS) Re-polling at 34 polling booths in five hill districts of Manipur was conducted Saturday without any violent incident, an official said.
“Eight polling booths of Chandel district witnessed the highest 82 percent polling while nine polling booths of Ukhrul recorded 72.08 percent of voter-turnout. The five polling booths in Churachandpur district registered 58.99 percent polling,” Manipur chief electoral officer P.C. Lawmkunga told IANS.
“Polling was peaceful and we have not received any reports of violence so far,” he said.
Reports from the other two districts — Senapati (eight polling booths) and Tamenglong (four polling booths) — were awaited as polling at some booths was still continuing, the official said.
Re-polling at 34 polling booths in the five hill districts was ordered by the Election Commission of India (ECI) after violence was witnessed in these districts during the Jan 28 poll.
According to Lawmkunga, the polling stations where re-poll was conducted were categorized as hyper-sensitive and additional security arrangements were made.
“The ECI had instructed to arrange for additional security for the 34 polling booths going for re-polling and accordingly a total of 93 companies of para-military forces had been deployed there,” said Lawmkunga.
Tags: Assam, Guwahati
Posted in National, Politics | No Comments »
Written by admin on 03 February 2012
Guwahati/New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) At least three people were killed and 50 injured when a Guwahati-bound train hit a road construction vehicle at an unmanned crossing near here Friday morning, a railway official said. Five coaches went off the tracks while four other coaches overturned under the impact.
The Chilarai Passenger Express was coming from New Bongaigaon station in lower Assam when it hit a JCB vehicle at Gosaikhat area near Mirza, 15 km from here, at around 9.45 a.m., said railway public relations officer S. Hajong.
‘At an unmanned crossing near Gosaikhat, it hit a JCB which was trying to cross over,’ Hajong said.
While three people were killed in the collision, 50 others were injured, including 16 seriously, local police said.
The critically injured have been shifted to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), while others have been admitted to the railway hospital in Maligaon and in some private hospitals.
Railway ministry sources in New Delhi said prima facie cause of the accident is negligence of the JCB driver Bipul Kalita. The other fatalities were site engineer Dhirani Kalita, engaged in the road construction project and who was travelling in the JCB, and train passenger Hiren Sarkar.
The sources said commissioner, railway safety in the railway zone, will conduct the mandatory probe into the accident.
The sources said compensation to the dead and the injured would be paid as per rules.
GMCH superintendent Dr. Ramen Talukdar said eight critically injured passengers were brought to the hospital, and the condition of three was serious.
A.K. Manocha, the divisional regional manager of the NF Railway (Rangia Division), blamed the accident on the JCB for trying to cross the unmanned level crossing when the train was approaching.
‘The train was at a normal speed of 60 km per hour. There was clear visibility and the JCB should not have tried to cross over when the train was nearing,’ Manocha said.
The NFR sources said the movement of trains has been stopped as of now through the track as it needs repair and normal movement will be resumed within 10 hours.
Assam Agriculture Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka visited the accident site. He said the government had taken up with the railway authorities the issue of unmanned level crossings across the state and the railways have assured to arrange for manning all crossings in a phased manner.
A unit of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) along with central relief team reached the spot to help locals who started rescue operations immediately after the incident.
Tags: Guwahati, New Delhi
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Written by admin on 03 February 2012
Guwahati, Feb 3 (IANS) At least three people were killed and 50 injured when a Guwahati-bound train hit a road construction vehicle at an unmanned crossing near here Friday morning, a railway official said. Five coaches went off the tracks while four other coaches overturned under the impact.
The Chilarai passenger Express was coming from New Bongaigaon station in lower Assam when it hit a JCB vehicle at Gosaikhat area near Mirza, 15 km from here, at around 9.45 a.m., said railway public relations officer S. Hajong.
“At an unmanned crossing near Gosaikhat, it hit a JCB which was trying to cross over,” Hajong said.
While three people were killed, 50 others were injured, including 16 seriously, local police said.
The critically injured have been shifted to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), while others have been admitted to the railway hospital in Maligaon and in some private hospitals.
GMCH superintendent Dr. Ramen Talukdar said eight critically injured passengers were brought to the hospital, and the condition of three was serious.
The dead were identified as Bipul Kalita, Dharani Kalita and Hiren Sarkar.
Bipul Kalita was the driver of the JCB, while Dharani Kalita, a site engineer, was engaged in the road construction project and was travelling in the JCB.
Hiren Sarkar was a passenger on the train.
A.K. Manocha, Divisional Regional Manager of the NF Railway (Rangia Division), blamed the accident on the JCB for trying to cross the unmanned level crossing when the train was approaching.
“The train was at a normal speed of 60 km per hour. There was clear visibility and the JCB should not have tried to cross over when the train was nearing,” Manocha said.
The NFR sources said the movement of trains has been stopped as of now through the track as it needs repair and normal movement will be resumed within 10 hours.
Assam Agriculture Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka visited the accident site. He said the government had taken up with the railway authorities the issue of unmanned level crossings across the state and the railways have assured to arrange for manning all crossings in a phased manner.
A unit of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has reached the spot to help locals who started rescue operations immediately after the incident.
Tags: Guwahati
Posted in National | No Comments »
Written by admin on 03 February 2012
Guwahati, Feb 3 (IANS) Two people were killed and 16 seriously injured when a Guwahati-bound train hit a road construction vehicle at an unmanned crossing near here Friday morning, a railway official said. Five coaches derailed under the impact and several people are feared to be trapped inside them.
The passenger train was coming from New Bongaigaon station in lower Assam when it hit a JCB vehicle at Gosaikhat area near Mirza, 15 km from here, at around 9.45 a.m., said railway public relations officer S. Hajong.
“At an unmanned crossing near Gosaikhat, it hit a JCB which was trying to cross over,” Hajong said, adding at least five coaches behind the engine derailed in the accident.
All the injured have been shifted to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). The condition of 16 is stated to be serious.
The two deceased were identified as Bipul Kalita and Dharani Kalita, sources in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said. Bipul Kalita was the driver of the JCB, sources said.
A unit of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has reached the spot to help local villagers who started rescue operations immediately after the incident.
The number of casualties might increase as the condition of some of the injured is stated to be critical.
Tags: Guwahati
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