GUWAHATI, Sept 1: The concept of "hard earned money" is no longer relevant for a section of youths in the State. During the recent years, a section of youths, majority of whom are surrendered militants from different militant outfits, have developed a new trend of becoming rich overnight at the point of the gun.

This new trend of becoming rich by force, has assumed menacing proportions at a time when thousands of youths in the State, who are no less qualified than this section of youths, are languishing without any employment.

Unemployment, as well as the easy ways of earning money adopted by a section of youths are agitating the mind and conscience of those youths who do not want to compromise on the use of guns for their livelihood. Renowned psychiatrists and social scientists say that the trend of earning money at gun point is having a negative impact on the Assamese youths which is proving to be detrimental for the society as a whole.

Former principal of the Gauhati Medical College (GMC) and noted psychitrist Dr Deepali Dutta told The Sentinel that many youths in the State are suffering from acute psychological problems as they have failed to employ themselves anywhere even after acquiring the requisite qualifications. She said, when job opportunities are so scarce, the idea of earning easy money may instigate the qualified unemployed to take up arms. "An empty brain is a devil's workshop. Our society has become materialistic. Those who are qualified youths want to lead a comfortable life," Dr Dutta said adding that many qualified unemployed youths are feeling insulted before the section of youths who are leading a luxurious life without doing anything except using their guns.

She suggested that society should avoid those youths who go for adopting easy ways of earning money so that the value-system and tradition on which our society stand do not erode.

Dr Dutta favoured a comprehensive psychological study to assess the impact of the trend of easy money on the future generation.

Another noted city-based consultant psychitrist Dr Jayanta Das said, the easy money earning method adopted by a section of youths affects the youths who want to earn their livelihood through honest means of self-employment. He said, the easy money earners do not go for the white-colour jobs but do "business." "Several youths seeking self-employment come to my chamber as they suffer from depression and tension. They are suffering as they have failed to move up in business because other youths, by using force are snatching away the business contracts of the former," Dr Das explained.

Dr Das said that the youths who want to do business without using guns have been left isolated in the society. "Isolation can make these youths insane," he added.

He said, if the trend continues, the future generation will be in a dilemma and chances will be that they would be led astray.

SILCHAR, Sept 1: Money can buy guns and with guns in hand, extortions and abductions for ransom can become a trade. Youths in Barak Valley drivenby this philosophy are joining the rank and file of PULF (People's United Liberation Front) and MULTA (Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam), knowing fully well the hazards involved. The misguided youths receive arms training in Bangladesh notwithstanding the regular denial of that Government.

Siraj Uddin (28) who was recently arrested by police from the deep forests of Chiragi in Karimganj bordering Mizoram, confessed "many youths of the area have been short-listed by insurgent groups for guerrilla training in Bangladesh".

Siraj, according to his statement, was trained in arms and bush-war tactics in a camp in Chittagong Hill Tract under the command of two Naga and a Khasia leaders. He disclosed that five other youths including one Samim Ahmad of Cachar had completed their training and come back.

Though Siraj claims to have been an activist of the NSCN (IM), police doubts it to be his ploy to camouflage the real identity of the outfit. He admitted he along with two of his accomplices had abducted the 25-year-son of the SDO of a private electric company on March 22 from Ram Krishna Nagar.

The boy was subsequently released on a ransom of Rs 25,000. Siraj also stated his group used to operate with an AK 47 assault rifle provided by a hard-core tribal extremist linked with a CHT-based extremist outfit. He claimed due to police being on his trail, the tribal militant slipped into CHT with the rifle.

The police is now investigating if this group has been behind the spates of highway robberies and lifting of four wheelers and often the gruesome killing of drivers.

In a simultaneous operation as part of Operation Khoj, Army arrested 7 PULF activists from one of their hideouts in Jirighat, facing Manipur. These arrests by the Army came in the wake of the revealing statements of 2 PULF cadres -- Ziauddin and Fariz Uddin before the police. The interrogation of all the 9 rebels continues. PULF and MULTA are known to work in tandem with NSCN (IM).

There is now definite information that the rebels and recruits are skipping the Karimganj - Cachar border and taking to the circuitous but porous south Assam - Tripura corridor to land in and out of CHT with its dense and deep forests. After crossing through Sakhan border point, the extremists rest at Simnapur camp, 5 km inside Bangladesh, atop high hills with a surveillance cell to monitor the movement of Indian security forces.

A close encounter of this correspondent with a rebel has brought forth interesting information. Another route often taken by guerrillas is through Mizoram's Fuldongsoi - Dampa sanctuary. Sylhet bases are accessed through Meghalaya.

Both NLFT (National Liberation Force of Tripura) and Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) have their headquarters and camps in CHT. While NSCN (IM) has a rest camp only, NDFB (National Democratic Front of Boroland) has its bases there. The camps of these outfits, according to the rebel, are located at Bandarban, Kakrasuri, Kadamtola, Dighinala, Bogaihat, Longkar, Selchai, Lungtiang, Ruma Bazar and Thangnon criss-crossed by Gungarom, Nabak and Maslong rivers against Tankhanthai hills and Sajek ranges.

NDFB is the strongest among the CHT-based outfits and it gives lie to the impression that the Bodo group operates from Bhutan only.

Inputs from across the border indicate that CHT-based outfits are encouraging splinter groups in order to keep alive insurgency in the North-east. The port city of Chittagong is the rendezvous for extremist leaders including that of ULFA, ISI and fundamentalist forces. There exists enough evidence to suggest that rebels of the North-east receive rations and other logistic support from different sources in CHT.

DIBRUGARH, Sept 1: The deputy inspector of schools here, Kumud Chandra Gogoi has evolved an innovative way to recruit school teachers, of course, in lieu of graft. His modus operandi is like this: He would put certain teachers on transfer, especially to schools where there is a leave vacancy. It was only upon some inquiries that the cat came out of the bag. All these "transferred" teachers were, in fact, fresh recuits, as no teacher of the name of the transferee existed in the school the teacher was supposed to be, prior to the "transfer".

Take the case of Nirada Lahon, who was transferred from the Wilton Tea Estate LP School to the Sisia Tiniali LP School. Inquiries at the former revealed that no teacher by the name of Nirada Lahon ever existed at the school. Similarly, there are no records to prove that teachers by the name of Juri Saikia or Birendra Nath Gogoi ever served the Madhuting LP School and Deobeel LP School, respectively.

AGARTALA, Sept 2: The Borok National Council of Tripura militants gunned down eight non-tribal hostages on Wednesday in their hideout in Taraboncherra in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.

The news of the cold-blooded massacre of the Bengali fishermen and labourers reached Gandacherra sub-division yesterday. All the victims, abducted in June this year, were buried in the thick jungles near the camp of the newly-formed outfit. Four fishermen -- Priyalal Debnath, Kshitish Debnath, Parimal Sarkar and Lalit Debnath -- were abducted by the Borok activists from Dumbur lake in Gandacherra sub-division in the first week of June.

The same week, the rebels kidnapped four Bengali labourers -- Shital Saha, Narayan Das, Narendra Sarkar and Nikhil Chakraborty -- from Ratan Nagar village in the same sub-division.

The rebels demanded "huge ransom money" from the relatives. When the families failed to pay up, the rebels lined up all the eight captives in an open space near their hideout and opened fire on Wednesday morning, the sources added.

When there are three or four news items on the supply of arms to uneducated, unprincipled young men of different ethnic groups of a particular society or about their training in arms, or about youths sniping at a city apartment, on the front page of a single day's issue of any newspaper, it is time to conclude that the society is very sick indeed. Here are healthy youths of more than average intelligence and enterprise who have decided to stay away from colleges, because they realize that today most university degrees are often not even worth the paper they are printed on. Some of these youths will probably become entrepreneurs one day without any training for what they intend to do, but the lesson they seem to have learnt from a diseased society is that whatever one chooses to do, the best qualification is to first take up arms, terrorize people with those arms, and then give up violence and crime. This is considered to be better than never having taken up arms at all, because a diseased and frightened society has begun to accord better rights and privileges to those who have said farewell to arms after a spell of violence rather than to those who have an absolutely clean record as far as armed violence is concerned.

But these are more the combination of symptoms (often called a "syndrome") rather than the disease itself. The real disease is a rather special variety of terrorism -- the "future face of terrorism" -- that the rest of the world is reluctant even to talk about because its contours are so horrifying. The name given to it is "criminal terrorism". For the rest of the world, it is a frightening vision of the next millennium; but for India, it is something that has already arrived. But what is the difference? The difference is that in the case of criminal terrorism, the motive for the acts of terrorism is inconsequential, though it is easily apparent. What is important is the method used to terrorize a lot of innocent, defenceless and law-abiding people out of their wits. Remember the gas bombs used in the Tokyo subway some years ago? Here indeed is terrorism put to the service of unalloyed and unabashed crime, so that good, law-abiding citizens are rendered incapable of protesting even when they see their own society and their collective future hijacked by criminals. Their agenda is clearer for this band of terrorists than for most other militant groups with some ideology that seek to use terrorism mainly as a means of attracting attention. The criminal terrorists want free and unrestricted access to criminal methods to do just what they please, with no hindrance from either the public or the police. So frighten people out of their wits into meek submission and subvert the administrative machinery until a fair proportion of the officials are on the side of the terrorists doing precisely what they want to assist in the smooth running of criminal activities. And for all this, having a label of some kind is very useful. The administration that has been perverted must have a label by which to refer to the criminal terrorists -- one that gives them some kind of a 'revolutionary' aura -- rather than being forced to refer to them as plain criminals. It is like needing a handle on the frying pan that one has put on the fire, at least at the time of taking it off.

AGARTALA, Sept 3: The outlawed militant organisation National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) reportedly suffered yet another vertical split recently. The NLFT had first suffered a split in 1993 when the Tripuri leadership organised a coup against its founder president Dhananjay Reang and his followers. Dhananjay and his men had escaped the bloody coup on ethnic line and then formed another outfit, Tripura Resurrection Army (TRA), which later came overground. This time again ethnic discontent is reported to have played the key role. Although NLFT president Biswamohan Debbarma alias D Baithang is still the chief, his ardent follower and one of the 1993 coup mastermind Jogendra Debbarma alias Joshua was ousted from the organisation by a strong Koloi leadership of Mantu Koloi. Jogendra, so far considered to be one of the most powerful militant leaders with his capacity as 'political adviser', has left the NLFT had formed a new organisation called Borok National Council of Tripura (BNCT) with some of his followers.

Mantu Koloi, the 'prime minister' of proposed 'independent Tripura' in fact represents the strong armed wing of the organisation and virtually runs the whole the show in NFLT. Of late, the 'political leaders' of the NLFT led by Jogendra Bebarma tried to take over the regions which resulted in the split. Jogendra Debbarma would have been killed but NLFT president Biswamohan Debbarma took a personal initiative to save him. Jogendra happens to be his on-in-law. Although the split is widely seen as an outcome of inherent fight between the armed wing and political wing of the NLFT, the moot issue remains ethnic discontent, and this time it is Tripuri versus Halam community (Koloi is a Halam clan).

GUWAHATI, Sept 4: Reduced number of teaching days, lack of inspection, absence of local administrative on supervisory bodies, together with the inefficiency of most of the teachers appointed on ad-hoc basis, have been leading to the poor results of State's High and Higher Secondary Schools in the examinations, said former Director of Secondary Education Prof M C Talukdar here today. Prof Talukdar also said, in a note on the secondary education in the State, that the State Government while provincialising the recognised High Schools in 1977, had done away with the administrative and supervisory powers of the local managing committees.

The tradition of local managing committees was introduced by the British rulers for the schools in 1857 after setting up the universities of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. Institutions like the Governing Bodies and Managing Committees were set up then to look after the administration of the academic institutions under these universities. The system still continues in other parts of the country, Prof Talukdar said. Schools in the State, including the Higher Secondary ones, hold classes for 70 to 75 days a year, on an average, ignoring the State Education Department's Rules and Order, Volume-I (Revised edition), 1955. But the Deputy Inspectors and Inspectors countersign the pay bills of the teachers without paying any heed to the number of days they attend their classes.

Though the teachers of the Government schools are Government employees, they are allowed to draw their salaries for the 12 months of the year irrespective of their attendance in the schools. Perhaps no Government rule can allow such a practice for the Government employees, Prof Talukdar said. It is not possible for the teachers to cover the syllabus of one academic year prepared either by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA), or, by the Assam Higher Secondary Council, during such a short period, Prof Talukdar said. Moreover, he said, since the date of provincialisation of the schools, no appointment of teachers has been made in conformity with the rules by selection, as a result of which perhaps most of the teachers appointed on ad-hoc basis are incapable of teaching methodically, said Prof Talukdar.

Academic session in the schools in other parts of the country, excluding Assam and West Bengal begins in the latter part of April or in the beginning of May. But, in Assam the session starts from January 1. By changing the academic session in Assam since 1959, number of teaching days were reduced to about 150 days in a year. Then, after the elimination of the managing committees in 1977, the number of teaching days came down to 70 to 75 days a year. The situation is more compounded by the lack of adequate number of inspectors and Assistant Inspectors. There is only one Inspector of Schools appointed for a district. This Inspector with the help of one or two Assistant Inspector/Inspectors, has to look after the affairs of 300 to 400 or more schools.

However, in the case of the District-level Elementary Education, there is the provision for a Deputy Inspector for a sub-division and for one Sub-Inspector for a circle. It is unfortunate that the elementary schools are hardly inspected, Prof Talukdar said.

Uniform syllabus: Social activist Prof Deven Dutta today demanded a uniform syllabus for both the English and vernacular medium schools of the State in matters of MIL courses.

In a letter handed over to the SEBA chairman here today, Prof Dutta alleged that the SEBA has always been following a discriminatory and harmful policy towards the vernacular medium schools in matters of preparing the syllabi for the MIL courses.

Elaborating, he said, though the vernacular medium students are made to face tough courses, in matters of MIL, the syllabi prepared for the English medium students are of much below the standard. Consequently, by and large, the English medium students, though poor in the vernacular subjects, secure unbelievably higher marks in Assamese-4, Bengali-4, Hindi-4 etc than the vernacular medium students in their respective MIL papers.

Pointing out to the fact that this puts the vernacular medium students at serious disadvantage, Prof Dutta said that one extremely amusing aspect of the whole matter is that even after securing letter marks in their respective vernacular language papers, English medium students can not muster the courage to opt for their respective MIL subjects while seeking admission in colleges. They rather opt for Alternative English.

TEZPUR, Sept 4: The Santhals have also started, like the Bodos and Karbis, to plan for a separate State, Adivasiland within the proposed Bodoland area in the State. A senior intelligence officer told The Assam Tribune that the Santhals were forced to take this step to save the Adivasis from the Bodo strategy of ethnic cleansing and for this, the Santhals have formed four militant outfits of their own, Birsa Commando Force (BCF), Adivasi National Commando Force (ANCF), Adivasi Cobra Militant Force (ACMF) and Adivasi Security Force (ASF) with its headquarters at Gossaigaon in Kokrajhar district.

AIZAWL, Sept 4: Mizoram is gearing up to face the Mautam -- the bamboo flowering phenomenon which comes every 48 years and the next one is due in 2007 -- when rodent population multiples resulting in famine. State level Mautam Committee has made efforts to create awareness about the impending famine and encourage people to kill rats as much as possible. It has already collected about one lakh rat tails from the people during the past one year by paying one rupee for each tail, the committee chairman C. Rokhuma told PTI here. The committee has purchased the tails to ensure bringing down rodent population. Rodents multiply manifold even before the bamboo flowering began destroying paddy and other foodgrains coming their way. Meanwhile, the state government has engaged Beijing-based bamboo consultant -- International Network of Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) -- to prepare a project to utilise Mizoram's bamboo to the maximum before 2007.

GUWAHATI, Sept 5: Group clashes among the ULFA cadres in their Bhutan camp following the curtailment of operational power of the outfit's self-styled deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah has claimed the lives of at least ten ULFA militants this week.

Talking to The Sentinel, the Additional DGP, Mr G M Srivastava said that the ULFA's self-styled commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah has curtailed operational powers vested upon Raju Baruah as the latter became "autocratic" and had launched several offensives without the consent of the former. He said that one Benning Rabha, chief of one of the ULFA GHQs in Bhutan had been given the charge of taking decision in case of the outfit's operation. Resentment and confusion prevails among the ULFA cadres in Bhutan following the recent development, Mr Srivastava said.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Police, Mr P V Sumant today said that the banned ULFA was now trying to establish its bases at the interior places of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. He said that several ULFA cadres had already sneaked into Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh in view of the mounting pressure on them from the Bhutan and Indian authorities to vacate camps from the Bhutan's soil.

Talking to The Sentinel here, Mr Sumant said that the Assam Police had already alerted the Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh police about the exodus of the ULFA militants to their States and asked them to initiate actions against the militants. He said that if the ULFA militants were let off, they would start controlling the outfit's activities in Assam from Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. The Assam Police along with the Arunachal Pradesh police recently launched operations against the ULFA militants in certain places of Arunachal Pradesh after receiving specific information, he added.

Mr Sumant said that some ULFA militants, who had sneaked into the State from the Bhutan, were taking shelter at the Manas National Park. The police and the Army had already cordoned off the areas in and around the national park, he said, adding that although the police was trying to flush out the militants from the park, they might again enter Bhutan.

AGARTALA, Sept 5; September 5. The policy to find a solution to the insurgency problem through surrender with arms appears to have become a farce in Tripura. During the last two decades altogether 6,314 militants belonging to 29 groups laid down their arms but it has failed to raise even the slightest hope if an end to the militancy problem in the State.

The Monday's surrender of 70 militants belonging to Tripura Tribal Commando Force is yet another point to prove the futaility of the policy or rather misuse of a policy which could be a viable one.

Brigadier B K Panwar of Assam Rifles claims this as a major achievement. But of all, the State police is contradicting the claim who said only 17 of the surrendered ultras were listed with them as militants. The difference between the two became clear when none of the police officers attended the surrender ceremony at Assam Rifles headquarters here despite presence of two senior ministers.

The arms they have laid down also do not seem to belong to such a big insurgent outfit. They laid down only eight 303 rifles, most of which were not in working condition, and some country-made meapous.

"Many dacoit group are having weapons more then that", a senior police officer said.

Though the police officers are now resenting such surrenders, they have earned notoriety by getting many such fake groups surrendered earlier. These include funny names like Tripura Tribal Democratic Force, All Tripura Bharat Suraksha Force, Tripura Upajati Samaj Seva Dal etc.

The policy of finding a solution through surrender was started with a positive note when 330 militants of the All Tripura People's Liberation Organization surrendered in 1980 and another 451 ultras belonging to the Tripura National Volunters surrendered in 1988.

GUWAHATI, Sept 5: It seems to be an undeniable fact that Congress(I) leaders and the police mounted tremendous pressure on the minorities to cast their votes in the 1983 elections, boycotted by the majority of the people in the State, against the will of the bewildered minority voters.

At least in the case of Nellie, the Congress(I) leaders have perhaps no plausible excuse in matters of participation of the minority voters in the 1983 elections. And the results of the farce enacted in the name of election by bullying the minority voters to take part in the same are known to all. It felt a very deep scar mark on the society of the State through the post-election riots.

Several leading persons in Nellie area told this correspondent on Thursday last that it was due to the pressure of the Congress(I) leaders and the police that the minorities had to vote in the 1983 elections.

No doubt, the Congress(I) has been all along denying that it forced the minorities to vote in the 1983 elections. Recently, senior Congress(I) leader and Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Silvius Condpan said that the Muslims and the Bengali Hindus of the State took part in the 1983 elections 'of their own volition'.

Sri Condpan's statement came in reaction to the allegation levelled against the Congress(I) by UPPA president and State's Irrigation Minister Abdul Muhib Mazumdar.

Sri Mazumdar, in an interview to The Assam Tribune (AT August 19, 2000) alleged that the Congress(I) goaded the minorities to vote in the 1983 elections.

Reacting to Sri Condpan's assertion, the then State secretary of the Congress(I) and presently working president of the UMF Bhim Sen Sinha said on August 24 last that the Congress took recourse to all sorts of manipulations to lure the minorities to cast their votes in the 1983 elections.

Sri Sinha cited the example of the Congress(I) issuing assurances through its then Central Minister ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury that ten CRPF personnel would be deployed against one minority voter who would cast his or her vote.

And, when the 1983 riots shattered the homes of the minorities living in Nellie, Barbori and other areas, leaving thousands dead and rendering several thousands injured, orphaned and about a lakh homeless, Congress(I) leaders like Late Md Idris broke down before the then Prime Minister and Congress(I) supremo Late Smt Indira Gandhi, saying, "Madam, we have failed to keep our promise to the minorities" in presence of State Congress leaders like Smt Anwara Taimur, said Sri Sinha.

1983 riots, particularly in Nellie and Barbori areas, added a dark chapter to the otherwise resonant social history of the State. A total of 1,800 persons were killed in Nellie proper, Alichinga, Muladhari, Barbori, Barjola, Basundhari, Bhogdoba Habi, Bhogdoba Beel, Silbheta, Matiparbat and No 8 Block of Nellie-Barbori area in the day-long attacks of the marauding rioteers on February 17, 1983.

About 2,500 major persons and at least 10,000 minors were injured that day in the minority dominated areas of Nellie and Barbori. Hundreds of orphaned and injured children had to be sheltered in organisations like the SOS village. The Hojai SOS village in Nagaon district was set up with this aim in view, among others.

Nellie-Barbori has an area of 18 km by 15 km. The area is located between Dharamtul on the east and Amlighat on the west, Karbi Anglong on the south and Marigaon town, Laharighat, Moirabari, Bhuragaon and Dhing etc on the north. It is a cluster of about 35 villages having now a population of around 12,000. About 20 per cent of the population in this area belongs to the Maymensingia Muslim community. These people inhabit about 15 villages of the area.

Significantly, the Miyans, as the Maymensingia people are known popularly in the State, came to the Nellie-Barbori area from Dhing, Rupahi, Tarabari areas of Nagaon District in the 1970s when most of the arable land in the Nellie-Barbori area was lying waste.

We met Sri Alimuddin Sheikh (55), a peasant, Sri Mujibur Rahman (40), an employee of Silchang Cooperative Society, Sri Sulaiman Ahmed Qaasimi (30), the Imam of the Nellie Shahe Jame Masjid, Sri Ataur Rahman Choudhury (51), a phumber, Sri Abdul Khaleque (55), a rich peasant, all of Nellie proper and Sri Abdul Motalib (38), a petty businessman of Bhogduba Habi, on Thursday last (August 31, 2000).

All of them told us that it was the then Congress(I) nominee Prasad Doloi, his party colleagues and emissaries and the then Officer-in-charge and Second Officer of the Jagiraod PS, who pressurised the people of Nellie to cast their votes in the 1983 elections. Even on the night preceding the day of the election OC and Second Officer of Jagiraod PS came to Nellie to allay the fear of the Miyans with the assurance of "full security". Late Rafique Ahmed (known as Rafique Master) and Late Hafizuddin Ahmed had long arguments with the police officers.

Till 11 am on the day of the election, no body from amongst the Miyans turned up at the polling centres of the area as they were bewildered as to what to do. The majority (80 per cent) of the people was appealing them to boycott the elections, while the Congress(I) leaders and police were pressurising them to cast their votes.

Around 11 am that day, CRPF contingents led by the local police, arrived at Nellie and they forced the Miyans, irrespective of being voters or non-voters, to go to the polling centres and 'cast' their votes. About 109 votes were 'polled' that day at the Nellie Government ME School Polling Station, recounted some of those we talked to on Thursday.

The electoral rolls were made irrelevant by the CRPF and State police that day in all the polling stations of the area, alleged these people.

And thus, the seeds of the Nellie riots were sown. The outcome is known to the entire world. Nellie is still standing on the way of repairing the schism in the Assamese society like a nightmare.

IMPHAL, Sept 6: Including Monday's weapons snatching case from the Manipur Police team by a group of armed militants near Sinam Kuki village on NH 39 sector on Moreh line, a total of 69 service weapons have been snatched away by militants from different places since January this year. It may be recalled that four guns with 340 bullets were taken away after overpowering three security guards of former Deputy Commissioner of Churachandpur district Y Jugindro on January 11 this year. Eight guns with bullets were snatched from escorts of Tourism and Family Welfare Minister M Babu at Wangoo in Thoubal district on January 29. Kuki militants took away 15 guns with bullets from the escort party of Dr Angou at Andro on February 12. While ten guns and 313 bullets were also taken away by insurgents after overpowering the escorts of the candidate of Saikul Assembly constituency Yamthang Haokip from Mantripukhuri on February 21. Fifteen guns with bullets were snatched by suspected Kuki militants from the escort party of the candidate of Khundrakpam constituency L Lala in an ambush on February 22 last this year.

Four or five insurgents also overpowered the former OC of Mayang, Imphal police station S Raghumani and his escort during a shopping trip in Mayang Imphal and snatched two guns, and one wireless set from them on March 3. Again on March 25, KNF(MC) members overpowered the escort party of former OC of 9 MR T Simte and took away seven guns including an LMG and 1230 bullets from arms storage barrack. Besides 17 guns, 1009 bullets and two wireless sets were snatched from Sugunu police station by suspected Kuki militants believed to be KNF(MC) group on March 31 evening. Two other guns with bullets were also taken away by suspected PLA after an ambush on a patrol party of 112 CRPF at Lamdan in Churachandpur district on July 18 last. The PLA cadres also killed four CRPF personnel on the spot during the attack.

IMPHAL, Sept 6: An underground outfit operating in Tripura had reportedly issued quit notices to the Manipuris residing in the State, which has put the entire Manipuri population there in an alarming situation, a source here said yesterday. The Manipuri Students Federation, (MSF) in the meantime has expressed its concerned over the plight of the Manipuris in Tripura who have been living there for more than 200 years, sources added. The students body also submitted a memorandum to the State Chief Minister Wahengbam Nipamacha to draw his attention to the plight of the Manipuris residing there. MSF said that in the conflict between the indigenous people of Tripura and Bengalis, four Manipuris had been done to death. Now one underground group in Tripura has served quit notice to the Manipuris. As a result, several Manipuri families had fled to safer places. The memorandum of the MSF further states that the Manipur government should take up all necessary steps for the protection of the Manipuris living in Tripura. It also urged the Nipamacha Ministry to sent representatives to Tripura for an investigation into the matter without delay.

SHILLONG, Sept 7: Christians of the Northeast have been branded "anti-national" because they have not been able to dispel certain wrong notions about the region and its people, according to leaders of the All-India Catholic Union.

"The problem here is a geo-political one and not a religious issue, as is made out to be," V. Samuel, president of the Delhi unit of the AICU, told a news conference here yesterday.

He and other AICU leaders said they were struck by the vast difference between reality and the information they received about the region.

"There are more gun-toting security personnel moving about in Delhi than I have seen throughout my stay in the region," said Samuel. "The people of the Northeast are peace-loving and hospitable. It is the fringe elements who are not, and this section seems to be getting the maximum mileage in the media," he added.

The AICU leader said people in the rest of the country were ignorant about this. "Fed on reports emanating from the region, people living outside the Northeast believe that the majority of their counterparts here carry AK-47 rifles," Samuel said.

The AICU's three-day 46th annual general meeting here was its first-ever in the region. The organisers said they held the meeting here in a bid to "bring the people of the mainland" closer to the region. "Years of isolation has alienated us from the so-called mainstream, " said Chottabhai, a former president of the AICU.

"What has added to this feeling of isolation is the fact that the Northeast is geographically linked to the rest of the country by just about 30 km of land (the "chicken's neck" on the map), while accounting for 98 per cent of its borders with three foreign countries," he added.

Chottabhai said the region's Christian community had to "make its voice heard in the national context" loud and clear.

"The people of the region have so far not been articulate enough or the authorities have not taken steps for redressal of their problems. Either way, we are here to lend our voice to yours," he said.

Newly-elected AICU president Maria E. Menezes and vice-president John Dayal also addressed the news conference. Menezes is the first woman to head the organisation. Dayal said lack of development was the root cause of most of the problems plaguing the Northeast.

On the controversy involving foreign funding and the alleged lack of transparency in the functioning of the Church, the AICU vice-president said, "We are for total transparency, be it in utilisation of funds or taking decisions."

GUWAHATI, Sept 7: There were altogether 10,034 illegal appointments of school teachers in the State between March 1991 and April 1996. There were altogether 14,544 irregular appointments too of teachers in State's schools, said the report of the enquiry committee, headed by Sri S Manoharan, IAS, which probed into the cases of illegal and irregular appointments of school teachers in the State during the period.

The Committee, report of which was tabled in the State Assembly today, said that during the period, there were a total number of 4,908 primary school teachers appointed illegally in the State, while illegal appointment of middle school teachers touched the figure of 3,399, high school teachers so appointed numbered 1,612 and higher secondary school teachers appointed so numbered 115.

In the State's primary schools altogether 7,668 teachers were appointed irregularly during the period, while the number of irregularly appointed teachers in the middle schools of the State stood at 5,000, in high school schools 1,658 and in the higher secondary schools 218 teachers were so appointed, the report of the Committee said.

The Committee observed that the "cancerous growth of illegalities and irregularities committed in the matter of appointments of various categories of school teachers in the primary, middle, high schools and higher secondary schools of the State was certainly due to complete break-down of moral standards, values, ethics, perhaps absolutely due to ineffective supervision on the part of the senior officers of the Education Department in the Government during the relevant period."

It also said that the creation of several thousands of posts by the Government in the Education Department in a very ambiguous manner was the root cause of the evils created by the officers in the Directorate of Elementary and Secondary Education and in various field officers of Inspectors of Schools, Deputy Inspectors of Schools and District Elementary Education officers of the State.

"It appears to me that there was a very big nexus or unholy alliance between the senior officers of the Department and unscrupulous non-officials in the guise of Chairman and Members of Subdivisional Advisory Board for Elementary Education and observance of proper procedures and norms were thrown to winds. In broad daylight fraud was committed with deliberate mischief to cheat the members of the public in the guise of providing employment opportunities to the thousands of unemployed youth in the State," said Sri Manoharan in his report.

He also recommended, among others, effective check on political interventions in matters of recruitment of teachers, saying, recruitment of teachers should be strictly based on merit, educational qualification and eligibility criteria.

Besides, he also recommended that "irresponsible and unscrupulous persons who function as the Directors of Elementary and Secondary Education, or Additional Directors of Elementary and Secondary Education, Inspectors of Schools, Deputy Inspectors of Schools and the District Elementary Education Officers during the relevant period from 1.3.91 to 30.4.96 should be taken to task to the hilt. Criminal proceedings much be launched against such persons who were found to have indulged in such evil practices willfully, deliberately and without any fear for authority..."

DIBRUGARH, Sept 8: The murder of a Class-IX student of the Shishu Niketan school here on Teachers' Day by a classmate is the culmination of a series of anomalies perpetrated at the institution by the school's chairman of the management committee, Nila Kanta Saikia. On Teachers' Day this year, a group of four inebriated students of the Shishu Niketan school had a brawl with one of their classmates, Rajkumar Phukan, over a music cassette. At one point, one of the drunk students, Dipanjal Lahkar (a castaway from Don Bosco, Doom Dooma), struck Rajkumar with a piece of wood. The head injury turned fatal. Later at the police station, the unrepentant Dipanjal said he and his friends consumed a 'full bottle of McDowells' (a whisky brand) on the top floor of the school. So much for discipline in a private school, and the morals of a Class-IX student. It is learnt that this year's batch of Class IX students at the school has quite a few rowdy elements, mostly recently admitted arbitrarily by the chairman of the school after these were thrown out by other schools.

Shishu Niketan as a school has not been faring bad at the HSLC examinations. Till this, the school has churned out seven HSLC batches with a cent per cent success rate. This year too, two candidates secured star marks. But problems are beginning to crop up. This year, the second English paper and moral science have been withdrawn from the curriculum in the lower classes. These minor aberrations apart, the husband-wife team of the school's managing committee immaculately camouflaged the school's seamier side.

The school was earlier managed by a society, which has since been transformed by a managing committee, comprising Saikia, who is both chairman and principal. His wife, Kalyani Saikia, is the secretary. Since 1988, the school had Manorama Agarwalla as headmistress. From 1998 onwards, she got company in the form of Rumu Goswami, who was appointed as headmistress of the lower classes (up to Class III). So far so good. But it is the alleged humiliation of the teachers by Saikia that has not gone down well with the faculty members. One, they are underpaid, and then they are rudely dealt with. Leave applications are treated with contempt and there have been instances where teachers were forced to 'apply' to re-join duties as a fresh recruit. Thus, the leave duration is treated as a period of break in service, following which the status of a permanent employee is denied. Saikia, who is a former State government employee with the Embankment & Drainage department, had a chequered career there. He was placed under suspension on two occasions. He says he was victimised on both the occasions, and 'none of the charges against me could be substantiated'.

GUWAHATI,Sept 8 (PTI): Home to endangered species of tortoises and turtles, Barak Valley in South Assam is proving to be a virtual death trap for the shelled reptiles, which are being hunted grossly for their meat, warn environmentalists.

Alarmed that they might be hunted to extinction, they have initiated a study on the endangered species in the region and also an awareness programme to educate locals about the significance of the reptiles in the eco-system of the valley.

The problem is acute in the Dhalai-Panivara areas where trappers throng to kill the tortoises and turtles, which are found in large numbers on the banks of river Rukni, says Dr Abhik Gupta, who is currently conducting a study on the turtles.

"Because of their delicious flesh and delectable eggs, turtles and tortoises are being trapped and killed and their eggs collected in an unsustainable manner," says Dr Gupta, head of the Ecology department of Assam University.

Generally aquatic animals, turtles and tortoises are adapted to live in water although some tortoises have become almost totally terrestrial, he said.

Several species of these reptiles inhabit the fresh water streams, rivers and lakes of the north-eastern region, including those of the Barak Valley districts of South Assam, says the academic.

The turtles live in water, but they lay their eggs along the sandy river banks and that is the time when they fall easy prey to the trappers, explains Dr Gupta.

There are various methods of catching the slow moving creatures, including the often used techniques by nets, hook and line and spears by the which the reptiles are mercilessly hacked.

Large-scale degradation and pollution of the rivers and wetlands are the other factors leading to the rapid decline in their numbers, say the ecologist. "More alarming is the fact the people are not aware of the role of turtles in maintaining the ecological balance."

In view of the gravity of the situation, Dr Gupta is now heading a study being conducted jointly by the environmental society of South Assam, Silchar and the Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai.

Among the turtles recorded, preliminary identification has confirmed the presence of the Ganges soft shell turtle (tri-onyx gangeticus), which is included in schedule one of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The study further revealed the presence of breeding sites of this species in the Dhalai-Panivara area on the banks of river Rukni which was a south bank tributary of river Barak.

The most sad aspect was that the turtle-trappers in this area capture and kill even the juvenile turtles with small carapace - less than six inches -- and which do not weigh 200 gm of flesh, notes Dr Gupta.

Juveniles fetch a high price in the markets of Phatak Bazaar in Silchar, the premier city of South Assam.

"It is felt that such indiscriminate killing of juvenile turtles is sure to lead to a further decline in the numbers of this already endangered species," Gupta pointed out.

It is for this reason that the environmental society of South Assam has proposed to organize an awareness campaign in the turtle trapping areas to curb the wanton killing of these animals.

Moreover, the people must realize that the turtles and tortoises were the important components of fresh water eco-systems and are a marvel of nature due to their unique morphological features, says Gupta.

According to the director of the Assam State Zoo, R Bhattacharya, there are about 17 species of turtles in the State, of which some are common and therefore not protected.

Bhattacharya, however, notes that the problem is that even forest officials, not to speak of common men, cannot easily distinguish between the common and endangered species and indulge in wanton killing.

"Last year we seized about 43 turtles from the local bazaars of Guwahati and released them in the Zoo pond."

The bazaar committee was then cautioned not to sell the endangered species and deal in common tortoises which were plentily available, he said.

Echoing Dr Gupta, the Zoo Director says that awareness should be created among the people to mark the difference between a common and a endangered turtle in order to protect the species from going extinct.

Referring to the killing of endangered turtles in Barak Valley, Bhattacharya notes that it should be brought to the notice of the forest department so that steps can be taken to prevent the hunting and sale of turtles from the wild.

KARIMGANJ, Sept 8: Proposed construction of barbed wire fencing and border road along the left bank of river Kushiare in the district of Karimganj is posing great threats to the villagers of 24 villages.

It was learnt that required land is likely to be acquired for the purpose in these 24 villages which will lead to uprooting of large-scale homestead besides loss of agricultural lands. Further 12 LP schools, five ME schools, two senior Madrassa, a number of graveyard, mosques and temples are likely to be falling beyond the fencing. It may be mentioned that due to construction of barbed wire fencing in earlier phases, 14 villages had already fallen beyond the fencing, resulting in untold sufferings for the villagers as their movement has been made restricted. They are not allowed to enter the Indian side from 6 p.m. in the evening to next day 6 a.m. In fact, they are left to the mercy of Bangladeshi people during any accidental fire or natural calamity.

But the villagers, likely to be fallen beyond the barbed wire fencing now, would have to be left to the mercy of Almighty as the villages they belong to have no land border. The villages separated form Bangladesh by river Kushiare which are likely to be affected now, are: North Lafashail, Lafashail, Narikoli, West Serulbag, Serulbag, Dakhin Bond, Hailopar, Asiura, Bhitorgool, Gangpar, Jagannathi, Sandalpur, Mujundari, Tillaiys, Mohanganj, East Sadarashi, Sekharbandh, Chedrikowa, Ramnagar, Khurakuna, Perechak, Chandrarukona, Deopur and Narainpur.

Considering the serious aspects of the proposed construction of barbed wire fencing and border road the villagers of aforesaid 24 villages formed an organization named 'Border Areas Citizen Rights Protection Committee' with Mr H A Wahid as president and Mr Dinendrabhusan Das as general secretary. The committee in a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister recently, urged him to look into their problems. The committee said that they were not against construction of barbed wire fencing and border road, but requested the Government to consider to utilize the land adjacent to the E&D bund, which were required longback.

GUWAHATI, Sept 9: "We will abstain from casting our votes. We will not bow down to any political pressure from any quarters." Thus reacted the immigrant Muslim leaders of Nellie area recently when asked what will they do in a pre-election situation like 1983 -- when the majority boycotted the polls while some political quarters pressurised them to vote in the elections.

We have learnt the lessons from the 1983 tragedy. We will talk to the majority section of the society and try to prevent recurrence of the 1983 tragedy. That is our prime concern today. Minorities cannot live in peace by locking their horns with the majority communities.

These words represent the common feeling of the immigrant Muslims, popularly known as Miyans in the State, all over the Nellie area.

Those who spoke to us that day included Alimuddin Sheikh (55), a peasant, Mujibur Rahman (40), an employee of Sitchang Cooperative Society, Sulaiman Ahmed Qaasimi (30), Imam of the Nellie Sahe Jame Masjid, Ataur Rahman Choudhury (51), a plumber, Abdul Khaleque (55), a rich peasant and Abdul Motalib (38), a petty businessman.

Nellie-Barbori, a 240 square kilometre area (approx) between Amlighat and Dharamtul on the National Highway in Marigaon District (previously in undivided Nagaon District), has about 15 villages of immigrant Muslims.

These immigrant Muslims, most of whom migrated to Nellie-Barbori area from various parts of Nagaon District in the 1970s, though had their relations strained with the original inhabitants of the area initially due to some land-related matters, their relation with the original inhabitants never reached such a point prior to the 1983 elections, which could provoke the original residents to declare a 'war' on the Miyans.

It was the 1983 elections, which filled the hearts of the original residents with criminal hatred against the Miyans, because of the latter taking part in the elections ignoring the appeal of the formers to boycott the same.

The people we spoke to on August 31, told us that though they were forced by the Congress (I) and the police to take part in the 1983 elections and assured 'full security' in the event of any attack on them, they were not provided with any security, let alone 'full security'. And thus they were exposed to the barbaric attacks of the rioteers on February 18, 1983.

The security provided by the police to these people was explained by the surviving victims of Nellie riots thus -- the then Second Officer of Jagiroad Police Station came to Nellie at about 10 pm of February 17 and assured the people there 'full security' in the event of any attack on them, but, the riots started at around 8 am the next day and the police and CRPF personnel arrived at the spots only after 2 pm.

Moreover, the local police officers were allegedly trying to lead the CRPF personnel astray, unless the CRPF personnel defied the local police's command and moved on their own to the spots.

Congress (I) formed the Government in the State after the 1983 elections. But the rioteers of Nellie were not punished by that Government, nor there was any real step to rehabilitate the victims of the riots. The Central Government had released an amount of Rs 104 crore for the rehabilitation of the riot victims.

However, the acrimony among the Miyans and the original residents of Nellie-Barbor area started vanishing within about one month of the riots (this again explains the role of the 1983 elections in provoking the February, 1983 riots).

Today, tribals, caste Hindus and others come to the residences of the Miyans, whenever invited, during the festivals. The Miyans too reciprocate by visiting the people of the majority communities during Bihu etc.

JORHAT, Sept 9: The sorry plight of teachers in the State, on whose shoulders lie the onerous responsibility of moulding the destiny of the future generations, has become a matter of grave concern. The post-retirement lives of these primary schoolteachers, who are heavily dependent on their pension to make both ends meet, have become very pathetic as a large section of such schoolteachers has been passing their days in abject poverty for not getting their pension.

It may seem unbelievable, but it is a sad truth that there are teachers in the district who had retired way back in 1976, and are yet to receive pension! What is more shocking is that 33 such retired teachers have already passed away without getting their pension. Kusum Kumari Barthakur, a teacher of Panikhat LP School who had retired in the year 1976, died in 1981 without getting pension even once. The list of such teachers is a very long one -- Ananda Baruah of Seunigaon LP School (retd in 1977, died in 1994), Sonmai Goswami of Sarsia Girls' School ( retd in 1977, died in 1996), Devendranath Sharma of Jaimati LP School (retd in 1976, died in 1983) and Aikan Pathak of Nagalgaon School (retd in 1976, died in 1996).

Another 15 teachers, who had retired during the period from 1980 to 1989, also died without having the "fortune" to receive their pension. They are Dhaneswar Bora of Kalakhowa School, Putali Handique of Nahatiya School, Labanyaprabha Khatoniyar of Bhagamukh School, Muhi Chandra Gogoi of Choikota School, Kumali Bora of Hindubari School, Niru Goswami of Chatrachali School, Someswari Hazarika of Sarbaibandha School, Talapai Deuri of Baghmara School, Bipin Saikia of Pakamura Borsaikia School, Dilip Barthakur of Goalgaon School, Thaneswari Bora of North Duliagaon LP School, Reenu Devi of Duarapukhuri School, Dhaneswari Bora of Kalakhowa LP School and Bohagi Kachari of Bandarchalia School.

Another 12 teachers, who had retired after 1989, had to leave this world without getting their pension last year.

TURA, Sept 10: A baby elephant died near Tura when it accidentally consumed insecticides from a house in a private tea garden on August 28 near Rongram area. The elephant along with its mother and a sister and a full grown tusker stumbled on the pesticides when it entered the tea garden and damaged the house which was used as a storing room on August 27. On the next afternoon it staggered and died nearby.

A large number of people turned up to witness a very touching scene thereafter. The mother of the dead elephant along with the other family members circled the body throughout the day nudging it with their trunks and making large sounds. Many a times they tried to lift the baby with their trunks. One of the elephants would charge at anyone who tried to come close to the scene. The sight brought many of the public to tears. The whole night the elephants kept watch over the deceased and before the break of dawn they moved on leaving behind their child.

MANAS NATIONAL PARK, Sept 11: The wildlife in the 2,837-sq-km Manas National Park is again seriously threatened by terrorism and extremist violence as bands of ULFA and NDFB desperados, who are making desperate attempts to set up bases in the national park, have recreated the situation prevailing during 1989-98 period due to the Bodoland movement. It may be mentioned here that the park was closed to visitors during this long period as the Bodo extremists made the park their safe haven and set up firing ranges for target practice. The park was reopened for public in 1998 after the militants had been flushed out of the area in Army operations.

A similar situation prevails in the park today, particularly after the police-extremist encounter lasting from August 29 to September 2, involving ULFA's self-styled deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah and several hard-core NDFB militants.

The park authorities have wound up all the camps of the forest guards in the park, who have fled for the safety to outside the park boundary. The extremists find ready shelter in the camps of the forest guards, who are ill-equipped to meet their threats and are left with no option other than to vacate them for the armed desperados. More often than not, the camp inmates have had to provide meals to the militants as had become the practice elsewhere in the State till recently. The park authorities having withdrawn the staff, are today left with no means to know what exactly is the situation there. Only a few forest guards, who have set up their houses in the vicinity of the park, are keeping an eye on the situation in whichever way they can, and report to the authorities.

In the encounter between the police and the militants from August 29 to September 2, the Bhuyanpara and Digjari camps of the forest guards were totally destroyed by the militants. Sources in the park said, today, barring the stretch from Bansbari to Mathanguri, the entire park has become unsafe for wildlife. Citing examples about how extremism and terrorist violence have affected the wildlife population in the national park, sources said, while the rhino population was 70 during 1992-95, today one can find hardly two to five rhinos in the entire park. In 1973, the park had been declared a tiger reserve under the "Project Tiger". During 1988-99, the tiger population was 89. Today it has come down to 65. Except for a few species the population of all other animals has come down drastically during the period. Sources explained that the one and the only reason behind the fall in wildlife population in the park is extremism, which invariably involves a lot of untoward activities like arms training, operations by security forces and the likes, which are certainly not conducive to wildlife. The breeding among the animals has shown a sharp decline since the past decade only because of this, sources pointed out.

Sources said, even though security forces had been deployed off and on since 1998 when the park was reopened to visitors, they failed to completely write off the threat from the militants. After the killing of three forest guards and snatching of 18 rifles from them in Katirama beat in 1998, the authorities decided to withdraw the arms and ammunition from the beats and camps. Today, the authorities are relying solely on the cooperation of well-meaning people around the park, who have formed an NGO, "Manas Bandhu", to monitor the condition of the animals. But without the necessary accoutrements and wherewithal, the NGO's efforts, laudable though, have not been enough, sources added.

GUWAHATI, Sept 13 (PTI): A mother of six has been "banned" from entering her hamlet to see her children, by villagers who assaulted her, broke both her arms after branding her a "witch."

The 45-year-old Bodo woman, Subhadra Basumatary of Silapathar village under Dudhnoi police station of Assam's Goalpara district was dubbed a witch by a woman kabiraj (medicine woman) Sorge Daimary when three of her "patients" failed to respond to treatment.

Subhadra's exclusion came to a head when a group of 14 villagers led by the kabiraj dragged her out of her house, severely assaulted her, broke her arms and wounded her in the head, ribs and legs on the night of August 25.

Subhadra was presented before news persons here today by the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) general secretary Brinda Karat, where she narrated her ordeal.

She said her tribulations began when she demanded her share of her father's property. Her stepson refused to recognize her right and joined hands with the kabiraj who instigated the villagers against Subhadra.

Subhadra with Brinda Karat. Asomiya Pratidin photo.

The Dudhnoi police have registered a case and arrested three persons, while the others, including the kabiraj fled.

Karat said the villagers had threatened Subhadra that she would be handed over to terrorists if the case lodged by the AIDWA was not withdrawn.

Karat, who had brought Subhadra here yesterday for medical treatment, said the villagers were also preventing her sons from attending school after their mother's "banishment."

SIVASAGAR, Sept 13: More than 260 employees working as work-charged seasonal khalasis under the Brahmaputra division of Central Water Commission, a division of Water Resource Ministry, Government of India have been subjected to gross and blatant injustice in violation of all norms of human rights and natural justice. The number of such employees will be more than several times of this figure of 260 all over the country. The present figure of 260 employees only includes only those serving under upper Brahmaputra division with head office at Dibrugarh.

These work-charged seasonal khalasis many of whom have been working for the last more than 20 years since 1979 and even before. Every year these seasonal workers are appointed from May 15 to October 15. Every time they are appointed in the lowest slab of the pay-scale applicable for similar category of employees serving in regular service. The current DA as applicable for regular category Central Government employees are also given to these employees. Every year they are discharged from service with effect from October 16 and again fresh appointment is made with effect from May 15 every year and as such they are not eligible for annual increment. This has been going on for the last more than 20 year.

From time to time however the Government orders for giving certain status to be granted to these categories of employees. One such order UBD/DIB/WD-17/97/6443-6544 dated Dibrugarh 11-8-97 conferred "temporary status" for these categories of employees who have been working for more than 120 days continuous service in 1997 or in any time during the preceding year.

Similarly the order from the Government No. A-15017/12(19)/Estt-II/99-2585-87 dated 30.11.99 directed to prepare the seniority list of such seasonal work-charged khalasis. The last para of this letter reads "according to Para 10(1) of MOWR letter No. 8/3/95-Estt I (Vol II) dated 20-6-97 for appointment to workcharged establishment on regular basis, the effective date of seniority will be reckoned from the date of the year from which the seasonal khalasis are being continuously engaged for at least 120 days every year. As such initial date of entry into service projected under col 7 of the senioritylist needs to be verified with utmost care and confirmation in this regard must be intimated to this office for rectification of the seniority, if any.

GUWAHATI, Sept 14: Chinese tassar yarn is fast replacing traditional Assamese muga in Sualkuchi -- Asia's largest silk village, posing a serious threat to the existence of unique golden thread of Assam. Unscrupulous yarn suppliers of places like Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Calcutta and Bhagalpur are pumping in tassar yarn (silk yarn) imported from China which is inferior in quality to muga silk, to traders in Sualkuchi, a section of whom are, in turn, producing artificial muga fabric by applying golden colour to make it look alike. The Central Silk Board has described it as a "very dangerous" trend and sounded a note of caution that muga industry in Assam will be closed down if this trend continues. The Board has estimated that annual sale of muga fabric produced in Assam has come down from Rs 50 crore to Rs 20 crore with the lesser priced tassar eating the lion's share of Rs 30 crore. Additional Director, Central Silk Board in Assam SN Misra informed that sale of muga cocoons, produced mostly in upper Assam, has alarmingly fallen due to increasing demand of tassar. The price of muga cocoons have also fallen from Rs 500 to Rs 3500 for every 1000 numbers of cocoons. He cautioned that if the use of tassar is not banned than the day will be not far away when muga will be completely wiped out from Assam.

Some unscrupulous cloth traders are cheating the consumers on the other hand as it is not possible for a layman to distinguish between an original muga fabric from that of an artificial one made from tassar. The tassar yarn is available at Rs 1620-1800 a kg against Rs 3000-4000 a kg for muga yarn. The traders in Sualkuchi who have started producing tassar fabric say that very few people can afford to buy the real muga fabric as it is very costly. Mrinal Kalita, a local businessman, said that the demand of tassar is increasing due to the price difference. While the lowest price of a muga fabric is Rs 900, the same is available at Rs 620-650 which, he said, is quite affordable for majority of the buyers.