Guwahati student makes it to Times Scholars list

Ajitesh Gogoi loves gadgets and keeps abreast with anything latest in the world of technology. He loves his computer which is the window for him to explore the world of technology around him.

A student of Class XII at DPS Guwahati, Ajitesh has a dream that one day he will become a top-notch IT professional in the country. Ajitesh, a resident of Beltola Survey area of Guwahati, was born on December 14, 1994. His father, Dibya Dhar Gogoi, is a forest department officer and is currently posted at Kaziranga National Park. His mother, Mouchumi Saikia Gogoi, passed away last year. Ajitesh has a younger sister, Namrata, who studies in Class VII in the same school.

When he was selected for Times Scholars, Ajitesh's joy knew no bounds as he started dreaming that he is moving in the right direction in fulfilling his aspirations.

'Times Scholars' is an initiative by The Times of India to recognize and reward the brightest young minds, 45,000 of whom applied for the scholarship this year. The final round for the top 100 - 105, to be precise - is slated for November 3 in Delhi.

Poacher who killed two Kaziranga rhinos caught

A rhino poacher, who killed two rhinos at Kaziranga National Park, was arrested by police early on Tuesday. A .303 rifle, a .32 pistol, a silencer and six rounds of live ammunition were found on him.

Police said based on some intelligence inputs, security forces including the army, CRPF and police launched a joint operation in the hills of Karbi Anglong on Monday night. But the poacher managed to flee to Bokakhat, where they caught him later.

Superintendent of police (Karbi Anglong) B B Chetry said, "An overnight joint operation of police, CRPF and army was launched in the Karbi hills last night. But, the poacher, along with his weapons, managed to flee from his hideout in the hills and arrived in Bokakhat at around 4.30 am. Our staff chased him away from the hills and caught him at Palashguri area in Bokakhat where he trying to hide."

Project to improve water supply - Assam among four states selected for $1bn World Bank scheme

Assam will get a slice of the proposed $1 billion World Bank loan to improve piped water and sanitation in rural areas.

Official sources said the Union ministry of drinking water and sanitation has identified Assam as the only state from the Northeast, which will benefit from the six-year assistance.

The project information document published by the bank on Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project for Low-income States says the ministry has requested for $1 billion loan for Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh for improving piped water and sanitation. The project is likely to be approved by May next year.

Assam has been selected on the basis of having very low indicators for piped water and sanitation coverage. Only 6.8 per cent of households in the state have access to piped water and with regard to toilets, though 60 per cent houses have access to them, about half are not fit for use.

Tribute to blast victims : Candles, tears for wounds still raw

Colours formed a myriad images on canvases under Ganeshguri flyover this morning as painters paid tribute to victims of the October 30 blasts in their way.

One artist was inspired to paint a dove and another painted a flyover joining two human bodies. These paintings today stood at the same spot, where four years ago, blood stained the ground and ominous clouds of acrid, black smoke filled the air.

Veteran artist Gauri Barman painted a bloodstained bird. “The bird, the symbol of peace, lies dead instead of spreading its wings in the air. At the same time, I am also trying to say that we have failed to do anything for the families of the victims.”

A few metres away, stood the newly unveiled martyrs’ memorial. Sculptor Biren Singha’s installation is a reminder that like the fallen leaves of the tree, many lives were snuffed out before their time. The diya at the centre is waiting for a time of peace when it will be lit, Singha said.

Trafficked girls relive trauma

They may have been rescued and their lives changed, but the trauma of their horrific experiences is yet to fade away.

The three teenaged girls — one from Kamrup (metro) and the other two from Myanmar who had come to Calcutta to get their mother treated for some ailment — were trafficked to different locations in the country before their were rescued by anti-human trafficking organisations.

These girls today came forward to share their ordeal during a workshop on trafficking organised by Global Organisation for Life Development (GOLD) in the city today. The workshop focused on how to rehabilitate victims of human trafficking and the laws governing the trade in India.

Scheme for mustard farmers, Borka

Borka village in Kamrup is being targeted for improved mustard cultivation under a joint programme of Lions Club and the Assam Agricultural University.

The programme aims to improve the capacities of 700 farmers of Borka village in Kamrup district in certified seed production technology of high-yielding toria (mustard) varieties TS-36 and TS-38 developed by the Assam Agricultural University.

The village is being targeted under a village adoption programme of Lions Care and Horticultural Research Station Kahikuchi is acting as the technical support partner.

Convenor of village development programme of Lions Care, a philanthropic organisation under Lions Club, Rajkumar More said a number of steps were on the anvil, including contract farming of potato and production of lentil among others, through a farmer group approach.

Violence at Dhubri again

A house at Bahdurtary (Ananda Bazar) here was torched last night though shops, which had remained closed for the past four days, opened during the period of curfew relaxation today.

The house of one Radha Debi at Bahadurtary in ward 11 here was torched late last night with Radha and her daughter’s family of three sleeping inside.

“We woke up when the house caught fire and cried for help. But it was completely reduced to ashes before anybody could do anything,” Radha’s daughter, Kabita Das, said.

She said she and several other persons smelt petrol as the arsonists had probably sprinkled the fuel before setting the house on fire.

People of the locality alleged that since troubled started last week, they had closed the bamboo bridge connecting the locality with other areas. This might have angered the other community and spurred them into torching the house.

Dhubri town sub-inspector Dewan Harmuj Ali said barring the arson, no fresh incident was reported from any part of Dhubri town.

The town is now limping back to normality though tension prevails in some parts of the town.

Shops finally opened and government offices and banks functioned normally during the curfew relaxation period today.

The curfew was re-imposed from 5pm.

Tales of sex workers explored - Assam’s Rabijita Gogoi’s play in Prithvi Theatre festival

Assam’s Rabijita Gogoi is all set to tell the world about the life of sex workers.

Rabijita’s play Ok Tata Bye Bye, which will be staged at Prithvi Theatre Festival on Monday, is about a couple’s venture to document the life of sex workers and their experiences during the process.

Ok Tata Bye Bye is a play written during Writer’s Bloc 2011, where 12 new plays were penned under the guidance of theatre scriptwriters from the UK in a workshop and produced by Rage theatre, Mumbai.

Written by Purba Naresh and directed by Rabijita, the bilingual (Hindi and English) play will cast Alham Khan Karachiwala, Prerna Chawla, Nishi Joshi, Gagan Riar, Sunita Rajwar, Jim Sarbh, Gopal Dutt and Sarika Singh.