GUWAHATI, Dec 22: When the need of the hour is to boost up the morale of the administration with induction of people having integrity and efficiency, a section of the State Government and a section of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) members are bent upon doing quite the opposite.

Several of the APSC members are now reportedly remorse-stricken in the face of manoeuvres made by some political bigwigs at Dispur in league with some bureaucrats and power-brokers who call the shots in the corridors of power, to modify the APSC list of candidates who came out successful in the 1998-'99 ACS and Allied Services Examinations, with a view to include the names of some more candidates of their choice.

Reports also have it that this caucus at Dispur, in league with some APSC members who are angling for the post of the State PSC Chairman, has also been feverishly contacting some advocates of the Gauhati High Court to prevent the APSC from formally approving the list it has already prepared for the 1998-'99 ACS, etc, examinations results. However, the advocates contacted so far have advised the emissaries of the caucus not to move the court at this juncture as the there is no valid ground to plead such a case in the court.

The first meeting of APSC members to put the seal of approval to the 1998-'99 ACS etc Examinations' results was held on December 13. But, on the plea of absence of one member of the Commission who is refiring in February next, the meeting was made to desist from formally approving the list. This was no doubt a manoeuvre of a section of the Commission members.

The second meeting, held on December 21, was also made to be adjourned by this section of the PSC members who could allegedly win over the Chairman in-charge too this time to stall the process of approving the list. The trick used to dissuade some of the members by this section was that some big wigs in the administration are not in favour of clearing the present list without including some more names.

IMPHAL, Dec 22: At the second home for the rare sangai, the brow-antlered deer, located at Iroishembba in Imphal West district, some persons had been allotted piecemeal on the sly by the Settlement department of the State without the knowledge of the Forest department. The hilly land along the range of Langol hillock is a reserve forest area, according to the chief conservator of forest (wildlife) office, sources said.

GUWAHATI, Dec 22: Although the Assam Trunk Road (AT Road) area, extending from the Paltan Bazar overbridge point to Bharalumukh police point in the city, has always been one of the most important commercial hubs in the State, the authorities concerned have as yet, not taken up any steps for the overall development of the area. The area, which has seen tremendous growth of automobile shops and business establishments during the last couple of decades, however, lacks basic civic amenities due to the apathetic attitude of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the Kamrup district administration.

The less said the better about the condition of the roads. As the roads are in a deplorable condition, plying of vehicles on these roads is a harrowing experience for any driver. As the frequency of vehicular movement is very high on these roads in view of the existence of several business establishments, the residents and traders of the AT Road area face noise and pollution hazards everyday due to the unmanageable traffic snarls in this area. Moreover, there is no parking lot within the entire AT Road area, for which, both commercial and private vehicles are always seen parked at the area, breaking all traffic norms.

Several traders of this area, whom this reporter met were totally disappointed with the GMC authorities for the latter's utter failure to develop the AT Road area. Drains are clogged with garbage and the GMC labourers are hardly seen cleaning the drains, a trader alleged, adding that garbage is seen being dumped at every nook and corner of the area.

There are no street lights along some stretches of the AT Road and footpaths of the area have literally turned into death traps for pedestrians, a trader said.

Some traders alleged that due to the police's inaction, the area near Rupashree and Choudhury cinema halls have become a safe heaven for anti-social elements. As soon as the sun sets, anti-social activities in these area also increase.

The president of the Guwahati Motor Traders Association, Mr Sanjib Deka, while highlighting the grievances of the traders and residents of the AT Road area, told this reporter that a section of the SULFA often creates law-and-order problems in this area. He, however, held the business community responsible for the SULFA menace as the latter do not complain about the high-handedness of the SULFA to the authorities concerned.

When contacted, the GMC Commissioner, Dr A K Bhutani told The Sentinel that the Corporation has not been able to initiate development work at the AT Road area due to the fund crunch. He, however, assured that a project on cleaning the city drains would be launched by the end of this year. Mr Bhutani also claimed to the demand that garbage of the AT Road area be lifted during the night hours.

A senior City Police official said that railway gate No.8 within the AT Road area has become a den of anti-social elements. The city police has launched a drive against these anti-social elements several times, he said, adding that with the united efforts of all concerned, the anti-social elements can be driven out from the area. He, however, said that the traffic hazards at the AT Road area have increased due to the ongoing construction work of the flyover near railway gate No.5 at Athgaon area.

GUWAHATI, Dec 22: The bullet-ridden body of CK Bordoloi, Executive Engineer of PWD(R) Mahur Subdivision, which was unearthed in a decomposed state at Longkher village, 4 km from Maibang on December 16, has created a great deal of sensation here.

The dastardly killing of Bordoloi has sent shock waves throughout the State, particularly amongst the Engineering fraternity of the State, who has protested against the killing with silent processions, submission of memorandums, etc.

Meanwhile, even after a lapse of seven days, the unfortunate family of Bordoloi has found their world turn topsy-turvy and finds it hard to accept that the head of the family had been a victim of a terrible conspiracy. They have been shocked ever since his decomposed body was unearthed from the jungle on December 16. Life has come to a complete standstill ever since they answered the phone call on the ill-fated day which informed them that he has been picked up at gunpoint.

Mr Bordoloi, who was the Executive Engineer of PWD (Roads) complying his duty was on his way from Haflong to Maibang, in his car accompanied by his driver, SO Mr Anand Borgohain, superintending Engineer R K Dey and two other persons from the same department. The car was stopped and surrounded by a group of 15 to 20 persons in army fatigue. Three of them approached the car, called for Mr Chandra Kamal Bordoloi and asked him to follow them.

After 43 days when a human body was dug out from the jungle it could give no identification by itself accept the gold ring engraved with the letter 'S' on it, a locket of Godess Kali, his driving licence which he use to have with him. Based on these evidences, his brother Mr Benudhar Bordoloi could confirm his identification. Meanwhile, the deceased's eldest daughter Prashanti Bordoloi informed that after the abduction took place, she along with her mother and uncle Mr Benudhar Bordoloi was camping at Haflong expecting for some sort of contact with the abductors. After a week, they were able to establish a link with a group, who claimed themselves to be DHD and talked upon a settlement to free Mr Chandra Kamal Bordoloi. The authenticity of their claim was doubted and the family requested a hand-written note from him before giving away the ransom money. But the group cut-off all links thereafter. After this, they were approached by around 10 groups of people at different times, but none was able to give a clue.

GUWAHATI, Dec 23: Ongoing killings and violence in various parts of the State have a negative impact on the flow of tourists into the State. Though there is no visible decline in the inflow of foreign tourists, the inflow of tourists from other States of India has declined to a great extent as a consequence of the massacres and other forms of violence in various parts of the State.

According to a high-level source, the inflow of tourists, both national and foreign, generally begins from November, but due to the increasing activities by militants from October this year the inflow of tourists have been affected badly.

The source said that after the Kaziranga National Park (KNP), the Manas was the most attractive tourist spot, but due to the violence by Bodo militants in the park situated along the Assam-Bhutan border, it had been almost closed for tourists during last few years. Though it was not officially announced the Manas National Park was almost closed for tourists for security reasons.

Talking on Kaziranga, Manas and Orang national parks, the Principal Secretary of Forest Department, Mr Alok Jain said that there were security problems in the national parks, sanctuaries and reserved forest areas in the north bank of the Brahmaputra along the Assam-Bhutan border. He, however, said that, other than the Kaziranga, the inflow of tourists would be more into the Nameri and Dibru Saikhowa national parks if the infrastructure for tourism could be improved. "A demand for the deployment of a unit of CRPF and Assam Police personnel at Manas permanently has already been communicated to the Centre," Mr Jain said, adding that the Government should treat the matter of security in national parks and reserved forest areas as general law-and-order problem in the State. "It is unwise to leave the responsibility of security in national parks and reserved forest areas on the poorly-armed forest officials alone," Mr Jain said, adding that security in national parks and reserved forest areas should be given due importance not only for the safety of tourists but also for the precious forest wealth. Besides the deployment of paramilitary forces in national parks and forest areas, the forest guards should be armed with sophisticated weapons, Mr Jain said, adding that a number of such proposals had already been sent to the Centre.

BARPETA, Dec 23: The Government often has to lose huge amounts of money due to the inaction, negligence and political meddling in constructions works. One such instance has come into light at Barpeta on December 21. The court of Senior District Judge, Barpeta has issued notice announcing that there will be a public auction of all the furniture of Barpeta PWD (Building) east division including chairs, tables, almirahs, GI pipes etc. on January I at 10 am.

GUWAHATI, Dec 23: In what can be termed as yet another act of callousness on the part of the Gauhati University (GU) authorities, a notice regarding M.Phil examinations of 2000, issued by Mr PK Deka, Controller of Examinations, GU, on December 8, 2000, reached The Sentinel only on the evening of December 22.

According to the notice, the M Phil examinations, 2000, of the GU in Geography, Assamese, Sanskrit and Bengali would be held from January 3, January 5, January 5, 2001 and December 26, 2000, respectively.

So far so good. The notice also states that the last dates for submission of fees and forms are December 18, 2000 (without fine) and December 21, 2000 (with fine). Needless to state, these dates are already over!

GUWAHATI, Dec 24: Over 700 principals and vice principals of provincialized schools of Assam, who had retired several years ago, have not got their pensions because the Government has refused to release the pensions on the plea that they had not been appointed on the basis of selection committee recommendations in the first place.

Since the Government is given to rituals, it also decided that to assuage the feelings of these hapless teachers, a ritual of an interview by the selection committee be held. Accordingly, the Government, in consultation with all the departments concerned, primarily the Finance Department, set up a selection board to interview the retired teachers last year. Obviously the ritual was a grand success since almost all the claimants of pensions attended it. But since selection also means screening, which again means that only the deserving among the "candidates" would be entitled to the benefits, Government discovered, only after the ritual was over, that the whole exercise was not only illegal but also immoral! Obviously, it has held up the results of the interview! Sources in the Education Department said, one can understand post-dated interview for serving employees and teachers, but certainly not of retired persons. The result of this has been obvious: the 700 retired principals and vice principals have been made to live lives of penury and dejection today. They have made several visits to the corridors of power at Dispur but the officials and ministers concerned do the vanishing trick everytime they are told that they have come to visit them. But the retired principals and vice principals have not given up. They are still showing up at Dispur even though they are still unable to know what fate awaits them.

This reporter had a chance encounter with a group of these retired teachers at Dispur as they were doing the rounds of the corridors of Janata Bhawan. All of them had come from some upper Assam districts and had put up at a nearby lodge since the past one week, hoping that they would get an appointment with the Education Minister. They told this reporter in utter disgust that all of them had been humiliated by the Government by making them to appear of for an interview after they had put in so many years of service, only to qualify for the pensions. They said when they had been appointed decades ago, there was no system of appointments through selection committees. Selection committees came into being only a decade or so ago. Now they are being victimized, they lamented.

One of them said, some of their colleagues have already left for their heavenly abodes without getting a single paisa as retirement benefit. He said, the Government of Assam must have had decided on provincializing the schools after a great deal of thought -- "or so we thought," he said, adding that now it is clear to us the planners had not taken into consideration the fact that there would be over 700 principals and vice principals of these schools who would retire out of service by the year 2000.

When contacted, a senior Education department official, requesting anonymity, explained that the post of principal/vice principal is held by the seniormost teacher. This is the convention. Obviously, when they retire, they cannot claim pension benefits as retired principals or vice principals, he said. It is only the principals and vice principals, appointed in such posts on the basis of selection board recommendations who are entitled to such benefits, he explained. He said, however, that the Government, in consideration of the fact that they had put in so many years of service, decided to conduct a selection of these retired teachers. The Finance Department was required to take up the matter with the AG. But the matter has not moved an inch even though it is almost two years now that the interview was conducted, he said, adding that the Government has issued instructions to all principals of the schools not to hand over charge to anybody without advice from the Education department when they go on retirement.

DHING, Dec 24: Many important institutions of Assam have been ruined due to the wrong policies pursued by the government and the apathy and negligence of high officials and employees. An example of such an institution is the Social Forestry Centre at Gayangaon of Dhing Revenue Circle under Nagaon district. The Centre has been ruined completely within a period of 14 years.

According to a local source, the State Government had alloted 75 bighas of land to establish the Social Forestry Centre in the year 1986. The land was formally handed over to the Forest Department by the Revenue Department in the same year. Many saplings of valuable Sisu trees were planted in the Centre and a nursery to produce saplings of other valuable trees was also started by the Department of Social Forestry. The aim of this Centre was to prevent encroachment in reserve land, to control pollution, to maintain soil conservation and to improve the economic condition of the local people.

But such a noble and ambitious scheme was spoiled by a group of some selfish people. The valuable Sisu trees were destroyed. The forest area was transformed into a densely populated encroached area. Now, there are only about 60 Sisu trees in the entire area of 75 bighas of land. At the time of opening of the Centre, the boundary of the land was covered by barbed wire fencing, a watch post was built and a pump set was installed to water the newly-planted saplings regularly. Three fourth-grade employees were engaged to look after the saplings. But after a few years, the department concerned recalled the three employees and thus, there was nobody to protect and guard the planted saplings.

As a result of this, encroachers entered the land of the Forestry Centre. It may be mentioned here that the area of the Social Forestry Centre was free from encroachment upto 1995-96. The encroachers did not dare to encroach the other reserve areas too.

When our correspondent visited the area, he only saw some small huts instead of the lines of green valuable trees planted carefully by the department, some 14 years ago. The Centre is situated at a distance of only five km from Dhing police station. Some conscious people of the locality said that when the Centre became guardianless, the encroachers cut down the planted trees and built their small huts in it. Some unknown faces appeared in the reserve area during the nineties and grabbed the land of the Centre. The illegal encroachers have extended their encroachment upto the reserve, which was free from encroachment till 1995. The source also informed that the authorities concerned started an eviction operation just after a few months of the encroachment. But, for some mysterious reason, the operation was cancelled. Thereafter the encroachers started the encroachment more vigorously than before. As a result of such unauthorized occupation of the reserve land, the very existence of the Social Forestry Centre has been endangered.

GUWAHATI, Dec 24: They are the ones who actually comfort and take care of the needs of the patients, something that the high-profile doctors often fail to do, but the hundreds of nurses in the state, whether in government or private hospitals, are themselves getting a raw deal.

Understaffing, lack of facilities, poor compensation, etc are just some of the long list of problems that the nurses in Assam face. So far, none have come forward to redress their grievances and the nurses continue to toil silently. But this may not be for long as they are now becoming vocal in airing their point of view.

According to members of the state unit of the Trained Nurses Association of India (TNAI), there is a big gap in the number of nurses in the state vis a vis their requirement. Citing the example of the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), a 1350 bedded facility, the members say that the hospital has 215 staff nurses, 35 sisters, two assistant matrons, two matrons, seven ANMs and a couple of HSs.

This, they say, is inadequate to cope with the demands on the nursing staff. The TNAI members say that the Indian Nursing Council (INC) norms fixing the ratio of nurses for teaching institutes like medical colleges is not fulfilled in the case of the GMCH.

The INC normas sets the ratio of one nurse for every three beds (considering the shifts and the 30 per cent leave reservation). There should be one sister for every 25 beds (it may increase to seven for every 1000 beds in big hospitals), one nursing superintendent for every 200 beds, etc. Such norms are not being met in the medical colleges in the state, they say.

Apart from the teaching institutes, there is general shortage of nurses in almost all health sectors, the TNAI members say. The INC calls for an ANM for every 2,500 people, increasing the ratio to one for every 1,500 persons in the hill areas. There should be a health visitor for every 7,500 persons, a public health nurse in every PHC covering 3,000 persons and a district public health nurse in every district. The INC also recommends one nurse for every five beds in non teaching medical institutions. For the teaching institutions, the council calls for one nursing teacher for every ten students. Few of these conditions are being met in Assam.

The TNAI members say that several posts are lying vacant in the state run hospitals in the state which are not being filled. All over the state, many staff nurses are holding additional charges without any financial benefit. Nurses have been languishing in same posts for years without any promotional avenue.

Nurses are also facing the problem of insufficient equipment to carry about their tasks. Hundreds of them are doing upto 12 hours of night duty without any special or monetary facilities. Several of the nurses have extra qualifications in different subjects but they are not being provided with the scope to put them to good use. This is sheer wastage of human resource, the TNAI says.

There are problems for the nursing students as well. Student nurses have a definite syllabus that they follow during their clinical hours. But during duty, no syllabus is followed and they have to work as hard as the trained nurses. Despite that, the government has failed to sanction their stipend, which is anyway a meagre Rs 200 per month.

Yet another major problem facing the nurses in the state, the TNAI members say, is the acute need for proper housing facilities. Lack of residential quarters near the hospitals is one of the major reasons behind irregular attendance in some cases, they say. Even in cases where residential quarters are provided, as in the case of the GMCH, the quarters are too far away without any transport facilities. Since most of the nurses in the state are females, the lack of quarters is felt more acutely.

AGARTALA, Dec 25: The confusion over the fate of ULFA commandar-in-chief Paresh Baruah and his deputy Raju Barua has taken a new turn with a local daily Dainik Sambad coming out with exclusive report supporting the Assam Rifles version.

But the report said, the shootout took place as Shanti Bahini, a Jumma (Chakma) militant organisation which had surrendered before the Awami League government, waylaid the ULFA commanders on December 16. The report was sent form Sabroom, in South Tripura just opposite the Chittagong Hill Tracts where Khagracherri is located, quoting own sources across the border.

Shanti Bahini under the leadership of Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma alias Santu Larma had been carrying out armed struggle in CHT for Jumma (Chakma and other tribal comnunities) autonomy and against the Muslim settlers in the hills. The Shanti Bahini laid down arms before the Sheikh Hasina government following a peace settlement on December 2, 1997. The Chakma militants came overground in January the following year. Santu Larma was made the chairman of Regional Council in the CHT. But during the early part of last year serious resentment at the functioning of Larma cropped up and a dissident group led by Praseet Kshisha engineered a split in the party forming United People Democratic Front opting for armed struggle against the Bangladesh government.

The Dainik Sambad reports that recently ULFA established its camps in CHT and was extending support to the UPDF. It is also alleged that the opposition party of Bangladesh BNP is supporting the UPDF, BNP leader and former Banglasdesh premier Begum Khaleda Zia was reported to have once said that North-east India's militants are freedom fighters. And it is during her tenure that the NE militants took shelter in Bangladesh soil.

As Paresh Baruah's links with the UPDF was known, the official Shanti Bahini group whose political wing is ruling the regional council, demanded Rs 70 lakh from him for the camps. Shanti Bahini is dominated by heavily armed guerrillas and Baruah had to pay Rs 5 lakh to them. As he failed to pay the rest Rs 65 lakh, a hot altercation ensured with Shanti Bahini leaders at the latter's Maichhcherri camp on December 13 or 14. And then the ambush was laid on Paresh Baruah and his deputy commandar-in-chief Raju Barua while they were travelling along Khagracherri-Maichhcherri road in a land Rover. Paresh Baruah was injured and Raju Barua was indeed killed in the attack.

On the telephonic interview of Baruah denying the shoot-out the daily said, the ULFA commandar was taken to a hospital by a Bangladeshi agency and he was provided with a cell phone to give the interview. Though the name of the agency was not divulged indication was given that it was DGFI, army intelligence of the Bangladesh which is known to be pro-militants.

GUWAHATI, Dec 25: The Pakistani ISI has infiltrated the ranks and file of the banned ULFA with 'fundamentalist' elements with a view to converting the militant outfit to a 'protection force' for large number of infiltrators who are posing threat to the identity of indigenous people in the State.

In an internal report on the recent massacres of innocent non-Assamese speaking people in the State by the ULFA, prepared by a security agency engaged in fighting insurgency in the State, it is mentioned that the perpetrators the people and government remain off the key issue of the threat from unabated infiltration from Bangladesh.

The report states that the ISI has over the years specialised in creating mistrust and hatred among communities by instigating and organising mass killings of innocent people. As far as Assam is concerned, the ISI by masquarding as godfathers of the religious minority community, wants to create mistrust and hatred on religious lines which is reflected in series of massacres of innocent people it masterminded in the State recently.

The leaders of the 'marginalised' ULFA have joined the game of the ISI just to demonstrate that they are still a force to reckon with and also to help certain political forces to come to power so that they can continue to survive as 'parasites'.

The security agency report observes that the attention of the people of Assam must remain focussed on the main threat to their identity, the unabated infiltration from Bangladesh. The State government should not show any lexity in detecting and deporting illegal migrants from the State in order to defeat the design of the ISI in collusion with the ULFA and NDFB.

While appreciating 'commen-dable performance' by the Unified command structure in fighting insurgency in the State, the report pointed out that security forces are not capable of providing security to each individual in the State. So, it is imperative that the people take the initiative to form self defence groups to guard themselves against the terrorists on the prowl.

The report further underlined the need to improve the ratio of security forces deployed in the State to the territorial extent to be covered so that no areas in the State is left inadequately protected leaving scope for terrorists to find shelter.

It is mentioned that in comparison to Jammu and Kashmir which has a total area of 42,117 square kilometre (besides 59,146 square kilometre covered by Ladakh), State of Assam has an area of 79,523 square kilometre. However, deployment of security forces in Assam is only one fourth of the deployment in Jammu and Kashmir.

ITANAGAR, Dec 25: Mithun or Bos Frontalis, the living wealth of the tribals of Arunachal Pradesh, may face extinction if the present rate of its sacrifice continues, Dr T Heli, incharge of the only Mithun breeding farm at Sagalee said. Once upon a time the number of this docile animal owned by a tribal chieftain used to determine his status, besides being exchanged as bride price. But with a fast changing social set up, the Mithun population has shown a declining trend due to indiscriminate slaughter during customary rights, festivals, functions and elections, Dr Heli told PTI. This shy animal, found only in north-eastern states of the country, is a zoo species in the rest of the country, Dr Heli said.

Arunachal Pradesh, presently having the highest Mithun population in the world has 1,24,194 such animals, Nagaland has only 33,345 Manipur 16,660 and Mizoram 2594, Dr Heli said quoting the Indian 16th quinquennial report. The Mithun breeding farm established in 1995 on 350 acres of land at Sagalee, 96 km from here, conducts research on multipurpose use of this docile animal, like milching and ploughing. Mithun meat is available in the markets of the state capital at the rate of Rs 90 per kg, he said adding its present population is almost static in comparison to its 1987 figure of 98,530. It has registered a marginal growth of only two per cent since then, he said.

AGARTALA, Dec 26: Rapid decrease of the forest cover in this hilly North Eastern state has taken an alarming proportion. Though according to official claim the Tripura forest cover is at present more than 40 per cent, in reality it is only about 17 per cent due to unabated timber smuggling and felling of trees despite standing Supreme Court verdict. That the Tripura cover is about 17 per cent is stated by none other than the forest minister of the state Narayan Rupini himself. In fact, his data is in sharp contrast to the state government's claim. The state has been demanding to de-reserve forest area bringing it down to at least 33 per cent so that tribal jhumias can be rehabilitated in the hilly areas. Jhumia rehabilitation in reserved forest is prohibited. However, it is not only the decrease of forest land, there are other problems that dog the forest department of the state. One of the main problems is total absence of forest management and protection in view of militancy problem. Forest land is haunted by the tribal guerrillas armed with sophisticated weapons forcing the forest guards to stand away at a respectable distance. The militants however do not disturb the timber smugglers as they are being paid hefty sums per timber consignment.

To solve the problem the forest department has of late embarked on a comprehensive policy with central assistance.

In this direction, the department is taking all efforts to strengthen manpower in all the forest wings, particularly at lower and middle levels as well as to create an elite Forest Protection Force armed with sophisticated weaponry like SLRs. The need for the force was felt in the wake of unabated timber smuggling and absence of any forest management in deep interiors in view of extremist problem.

Forest Minister Narayan Rupini said that the central government also extending financial help to the state in this programme.

He said for the last 30 years recruitment in the forest department did not take place and as a result a vacuum has been created in the lower and middle level. In fact, as 250 posts had been lying vacant for years without any recruitment, finance department abolished the posts. Now attempts are being made to recreate the posts. Rupini said, government has taken steps to employ 200 foresters, 500 forest guards and 60 rangers soon. A battalion of 1000 Forest Protection Force will also be formed and at first phase they will be armed with 100 SLRs. The centre has agreed to give the fund for arms procurement.

GUWAHATI, Dec 26: One of the prime reasons for the slide in the functioning of the corruption-ridden Education Department of the State, apart from political interference, has been that a large number of teachers in schools and colleges are underqualified and untrained for the job. On the other hand, the Education Department has not taken any interest in training up the teachers on the plea of lack of funds. The various teachers' training institutes in the State are also lying in limbo, as a result of which the entire process of revamping the education system has come to a grinding halt.

Sources in the Education Department told The Sentinel that over 80 per cent of the teachers of high schools on the roll are untrained for the job. Similarly, over 70 per cent of higher secondary teachers and 40 per cent of the primary teachers are untrained. The result has been obvious: the percentage of students passing out of the Assamese-medium schools has been going down over the years. In 20 per cent of the highschools, the percentage of students passing out the HSLC Exams is nil. Obviously, this downslide is the reason why parents and guardians have taken to sending their children to private schools, sources added.

Sources said, to train up the teachers on the methods of teaching, the department requires about Rs 15 crore, which can be managed if a phase-wise training schedule is drawn up. The department has started crash courses for pre-service training since last year, but this has not been helping much, sources said. Only half of these persons are finally appointed. It is therefore essential that the serving teachers be trained up first, sources said. There are about 31,000 primary and 6,800 higher secondary schools in Assam.

Sources said, the State Government had urged the 11th Finance Commission to provide Rs 12 crore for training of the teachers. But the request was not kept. The State Government had finally set the process of cleaning up the Augean stables of the Education Department in accordance with the Karnataka model since the middle of last year. Under this scheme, all political interference was to be stopped, the selection of teachers made transparent, etc. But somehow the process has come to a grinding halt today. Things are back to where they were, sources said.

A major reason for the failure of the Education Department to think in an innovative way to revamp the system is that almost the entire fund earmarked in the annual budget, goes for payment of salaries to the teachers and the staff of schools and colleges. There is little left for the department to undertake any other activity, sources said, adding that the total budget for education was 4.47 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 1986-87, while it was 5.66 per cent in 1995-96.

HAJO, Dec 26: The Halogaon Primary Health Centre in the Hajo Assembly Constituency is one of the old hospitals in the rural areas of Kamrup district. The condition of the Health Centre is gradually deteriorating instead of improving these days of in an age highly developed medical science. People of several densely populated villages like Silguri, Bamundi, Halogaon, Lah, Dampur, Khetrihardia, Koyatol, etc have to depend on this PHC for treatment. But there has not been the slightest improvement of the hospital since the day of its establishment in 1957. Several Chief Ministers like Bishnu Ram Medhi and Mahendra Mohan Chowdhury were once the MLA from this constituency. The present dilapidated condition of the hospital building has exposed the worth less condition of the Health department. The building has no doors and windows which broke one by one, some ten years ago. It looks more like a cowshed from a distance. The department has no fund even to erect bamboo fencing surrounding it.

The patients who go to the Health Centre for treatment complain that there is even no arrangement for drinking water. The sick people have to sit on the hard ground while going for treatment as out door patients. There is no provision for a bench in the Centre. The bed sheets, pillows and mattresses of the two woebegone rooms for special treatment have been totally worn out and no patient can stay there. There are no hangers and mosquito curtains in the hospitals.

When the AGP Government first came into power in 1995, it promised to upgrade the hospital into a 30-bed hospital. But this proved to be hollow in the long run. Four doctors were appointed in the Health Centre in place of one, but they have no sitting accommodation as yet. Out of the four doctors, one always remains standing outside due to the dearth of sitting accommodation. During the tenure of AGP Government a residential quarter for the doctor was constructed. But the quarter remains useless since it is not fit for living.

Two Alopathic, one Ayurvedic and one Homeopathic doctor offer their medical service in this hospital. There have been allegations against the two Aloepathic doctors of the PHC. The allegation said that it is most essential for one of the two Alopathic doctors to stay in the hospital during the night. In the rotation duty system none of the Alopathic doctors remain during the night. The Ayurvedic doctor has to meet the demand of night duty. For the patients, the Assamese addage of Nai momait ke kona momaiye bhal stands true.

GUWAHATI, Dec 26: For the last four months, members of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), who have been living in different camps in Bhutan, have been effectively cut off from the outside world, as their commanders have denied them access to all sources of information such as television, radio and newspapers.

Security sources said that the banned outfit has snapped all means of communication in order to stop the flow of news and information to their Bhutan camps. "The Ulfa members are not being allowed to read newspapers, watch television and listen to radio since September last," said a senior security official here on Monday.

According to the intelligence report, the Ulfa has around 2000 cadres in seven different camps located deep inside the dense jungles of the Himalayan kingdom.

Sources said that the militant outfit's top brass had taken this decision following large scale surrender of the militant outfit's cadres in the recent past. The Ulfa fears that if it gives its activists indiscriminate access to news and information, their morale will dip and they will try to contact their former comrades who have already surrendered, with a view to laying down arms, the sources maintained.

"More than 95 per cent of the Ulfa men now living in Bhutan don't even know about the recent media reports which said that the outfit's commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah was injured and his deputy, Raju Baruah, was killed in a group clash in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, as well as the subsequent denial issued by the C-in-C and the other follow-up reports," said the official.

GUWAHATI, Dec 26: A crippling lack of a comprehensive and up-to-date database on the wildlife of the northeast is seriously hampering efforts of conservationists battling to protect region's fauna, both endangered and otherwise, which incidentally constitute more than three-quarters of India's wildlife species.

This was stated in a report entitled "Wildlife conservation in Northeast," which was released here recently in the two-day 16th National Convention of Environmental Engineers.

According to the report, there are 40,000 scientists, including medical doctors, psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, economists, ethnologists and even political science students, engaged in primotological research (studies on rare species under threat), in the region.

The report warned that insufficient information is rendering the work of these scientists ineffective. A host of the region's wildlife species is included in the data deficient category identified by the International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

Assam's world famous one-horned rhino is also in this list, because information on its habitat selection and population carrying capacity in its original distribution ranges, like the Kaziranga National Park, is inadequate, the report said. "The data which is available for a number of threatened species is insufficient for formulating any strategy for viable conservation," the report added.

Stating that application of wrong methodologies in scientific studies of wildlife present a misleading picture, the report added: "Such a move hampers the prioritisation of conservation objectives." It also said that flawed perception among administrators has also adversely contributed to channelising the wildlife conservation efforts in a wrong direction.

Speaking to The Northeast Daily, Prof PC Bhattacharjee of the Department of zoology in Gauhati University said that of the 1288 avian species found in India, 900 are to be found in the northeast. He also said that 45 avian species of the 76 listed in the IUCN's Red data book are in the region. "A few species like white-winged wood duck (cairina scutalata), greater adjutant stork (leoptoptilos dubius), Bengal florican (eupodotis bengalensis), and the Assam bamboo partridge (bambusicola fytchii), which are endemic to the region, are critically endangered," he said.

The report said, "Of the 16 species of non-human primates found in India, 11 are available in the region. The hyobates hoolock, the only ape of India, is restricted to the southern bank of the river Brahmaputra." It also said that "out of the 119 species of bats in India, 60 are found in the region, and out of 180 species of snakes in the country, 90 have their habitat in the northeast."

Two flyways for migratory birds -- the East Asian-Australian flyway and the central Asian flyway -- cross over the region, which is one of the causes of the high diversity of the avifauna in the region during winter," the report stated.

GUWAHATI, Dec 27: Insurgency-related violence continued to dominate Assam throughout the year with a reoriented ULFA killing more than hundred Hindi-speaking people even as the State Government induced many ultras to surrender, reports PTI.

The first day of the millennium began with the ULFA blowing up an ONGC pipeline at Disangpani area in Sivasagar district damaging 20 ft of the Lakwa-Moran pipeline and causing damage worth Rs 6 lakh. This was followed by many more attempts of sabotage by the ULFA, like blowing up an oil pipeline at Numaligarh in Golaghat district over river Dhansiri causing a dent to the Duliajan-Barauni crude oil pipeline and the outfit's attempt to blow up a gas pipeline between Halmari and Bahdari in Dibrugarh district. But what shocked the State was a change in the ULFA's tactics, probably under the influence of Pakistan's ISI, as it began targetting the Hindi-speaking community, killing more than hundred people within a span of one-and-a-half months.

In what appears to be a retaliatory attack, several family members of ULFA cadres were either killed or attacked and this included an attack on the house of the outfit's Commander-in-Chief Paresh Barua at Jeraigaon in Tinsukia district and the killing of ULFA foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury's elder brother Deepak Choudhury at Halosa village in Nalbari district. The State government, however, continued in its effort to bring more militants to the mainstream by making them surrender. Altogether 1,740 militants have surrendered so far this year which includes several top leaders like "captain" Ramen Nath, Lohit Deuri, Dilip Boro and Subrata Sarania. The ULFA suffered a major setback in May when its top leader and publicity coordinator Swadhinata Phukan alias Kabi Ranjan Saikia was killed in an encounter with police at Jorhat. The banned outfit, prior to training its guns on the Hindi-speaking community, continued to attack its traditional targets -- the politicians-killing State Forest and PWD Minister Nagen Sarma at Nalbari in February and making an abortive attempt on the life of State Veterinary and Power Minister Hiranya Konwar the very next day. The other militant outfits in the State, particularly the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in Bodo-dominated areas of the State and the United Peoples' Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) in the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar continued with their violent activities.

Another Bodo militant outfit, the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), however, suspended its operations following a ceasefire with the Centre and the latter lifted the ban on the outfit.

GUWAHATI, Dec 27: At a time when the regional-language films in the North-east, especially the Assamese films, have started to hit the market, all censor-related activities are in limbo because the Regional Office of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) set up in Guwahati by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting way back in 1995, lies in limbo. Existence of the regional office of the CBFC can be felt only in its faded signboard and a hapless stenographer passing the day away at the office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sources told The Sentinel today that functioning of the regional office of the CBFC was somehow managed till the Deputy Director of Songs and Drama Division of the Government of India, Mr N. Naba Chandra was alive. Mr Chandra was entrusted to look after censor works at the regional office of the CBFC. After repeated requests, the regional officer of the Calcutta office of the CBFC, Mr Jatin Sarkar had been entrusted with the additional charge of the Guwahati regional office of the CBFC after the death of Mr Chandra, sources said, adding that Mr Sarkar is currently executing his duties relating to censor of different regional languages films by staying in a rented room in the circuit house, guest houses or hotels in the city, as there is still no arrangement for a separate office room and furniture for the regional office of the CBFC here. The building, where the signboard, the Guwahati regional office has been put up, is actually the office of the Songs and Drama Division.

Film producers, directors and conscious citizens of the region are obviously angry over the plight of the censor office in Guwahati. They told this reporter that the present condition of the censor office, Guwahati is an example of the Centre's continued negligence towards the North-east.

While not even a Grade-IV employee has been appointed for the regional office of the CBFC, the present overburdened regional officer of the Calcutta and Guwahati censor offices, can hardly manage time to perform his duties. Film and documentary makers of the North-east, either have to go to Calcutta or other parts of the country to get their films and doucmentaries passed by the Censor Board.