Sonakshi Sarkar

The Assam Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday approved a series of welfare, infrastructure, employment and administrative measures, including Rs 2,100 crore for land acquisition and development of the proposed Aerotropolis Satellite City Project in Guwahati and Rs 450 crore for the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).The Cabinet approved administrative sanction for utilisation of Rs 2,100 crore towards land acquisition and development of the Aerotropolis Satellite City Project. The project is part of the state government's plans to create new urban infrastructure and support planned development around the Guwahati region. The Cabinet also approved the release of…

Eleven people from Assam were injured, three of them critically, after unidentified armed persons allegedly opened fire near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Dhemaji district on Monday morning, police said. The incident took place in the Mingmang Badati area under Gogamukh Revenue Circle amid allegations of land encroachment along the inter-state boundary. According to an injured villager, around 18 local residents were working in the area when a group of armed men wearing uniforms approached them following a confrontation over land. The men allegedly opened fire during the confrontation. “A group of armed men in uniform came towards us and…

The Assam State Museum has launched an assessment and documentation exercise to determine the extent of flood damage to cultural heritage in Nazira, Sivasagar and Charaideo, with a team of experts visiting affected areas to identify heritage objects and sites requiring conservation and protection.The five-day exercise began on August 8 and will continue until August 12. During the visit, museum experts will inspect heritage sites, historically significant materials and cultural objects that may have been damaged by the recent floods.The team will carry out detailed assessments to document the nature and extent of damage caused by prolonged exposure to floodwaters…

Assam has achieved a significant milestone in vulture conservation with the soft release of 10 captive-bred vultures into their natural habitat in Biswanath district, a move described by conservation authorities as a global first in vulture reintroduction efforts. Five slender-billed vultures and five white-rumped vultures were released on August 7 from the Jatayu Soft Release Centre at Tewaripal in Biswanath. The release was carried out as part of a long-running conservation programme jointly undertaken by the Assam Forest Department and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). The birds were bred at the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre at Rani, where the…

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has questioned the effectiveness of Assam's flood warning and disaster response system after the Centre informed Parliament that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) provides near real-time flood monitoring for the Brahmaputra basin and shares flood inundation maps with the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) within five to six hours of satellite data acquisition.The issue came up in a written reply by the Department of Space to an unstarred question raised by Gogoi in the Lok Sabha on August 5. According to the reply, ISRO generates satellite-based flood inundation maps and other value-added products and…

Didom Daimari, a grassroots conservationist from Angarajuli village in Assam's Udalguri district, has been invited to attend the President of India's prestigious Independence Day 'At Home' reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan in recognition of his contribution to wildlife conservation, community-led forest protection and sustainable development. Daimari, who works as a Field Coordinator with conservation organisation Aaranyak, has spent more than a decade working alongside local communities and forest officials to strengthen conservation initiatives in the Bhairabkunda landscape. His efforts have focused on wildlife protection, habitat restoration, environmental awareness, community participation in forest management and reducing human-elephant conflict. The invitation is being…

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that many people living in the flood-affected districts of Sivasagar and Charaideo depend on coal and stone mining activities in neighbouring Nagaland for their livelihoods, and urged local residents to decide whether they want such operations to continue or be shut down.The Chief Minister made the remarks after visiting flood-hit areas of Upper Assam, where demands have been growing from opposition parties and several social organisations to stop alleged illegal coal and stone mining along the Assam-Nagaland border. They have alleged that such mining activities contributed to the recent floods that caused…

As floodwaters continue to recede across several parts of Assam, thousands of families are beginning the difficult process of rebuilding their lives after weeks of devastation. Although the immediate flood situation has improved, the damage left behind in many villages has exposed the enormous challenges that lie ahead for affected residents. One of the worst-hit areas is Bihubor Nepali Khuti village in Sivasagar district, where flood-affected families are struggling to recover from what many describe as one of the most severe floods they have ever experienced. With the water gradually draining away, residents have returned to find their homes filled…