Flood situation worsens in Assam
Guwahati: Flood situation in Assam worsened on Saturday hitting over 87,500 people in Lakhimpur, Karimganj and Sonitpur districts. According to a report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) 131 villages are under water at present, while 148 hectares of crop land have been damaged. Till Friday a little over 82,000 people were affected across Assam due to the calamity. Around 500 people are taking shelter at relief camps in Karimganj district, officials said. Meanwhile, ASDMA said local people have recovered the body of a woman, who was washed away on by Ranganadi flood waters on May 31.The woman was identified as Pallabi Saikia (32) from Nowboicha.( PTI)
Timber-laden truck seized
in Kokrajhar
Kokrajhar: A truck laden with timber worth about Rs 2.5 lakh was seized by Forest department officials from Shyamgaon area in lower Assam’s Kokrajhar district, official sources said on Saturday. The Sal wood laden truck was seized on J D Road near Shyamgaon on Friday when the vehicle was coming from Debargaon to Kokrajhar town, the sources said. A search operation has been launched to trace the absconding driver of the truck and wood smugglers there, the sources said. (PTI)
Black bear cub handed over to forest officials in Itanagar
Itanagar: A Himalayan black bear cub was rescued in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh and handed over to forest authorities for rehabilitation. Oset Tasing from Boleng in the district rescued the cub from his agriculture field on Thursday, forest officials said on Saturday. Tasing brought the cub to her residence and after feeding it, she handed it over to the Range Forest Officer of Boleng, the sources said. The Himalayan Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus) is an endangered sub-species of the Asiatic Black Bear. It is a medium-sized, sharp-clawed, black-coloured bear with a light brown muzzle and a pale yellow crescent on the chest. (PTI)
212 grams of heroin seized, one arrested in Aizawl
Aizawl: Mizoram Excise and Narcotics department officials seized 212 grams of heroin worth around Rs 10.60 lakh from the Mizoram-Myanmar border in Champhai district, a department spokesman on Saturday said. The department officials arrested a person on Friday night for alleged possession of the contraband, reportedly smuggled from Myanmar. The person was booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The officials also seized 1,560 cans of Myanmar-made beer called Dagon at a place near Myanmar border Tlangsam village on Tuesday last. (PTI)
Cong demands revival of health insurance scheme in Arunachal
Itanagar: The Congress on Friday demanded the Pema Khandu government immediately revive the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Universal Health Insurance Scheme (APCMUHIS). The APCMUHIS used to provide free medical treatment for hospitalisation to people in government and private hospitals with cashless facility. “The state government should carry forward this unique scheme and increase enrolment of people especially those who are poor and needy,” Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Mina Toko said in a statement. Toko said, the APCMUHIS was initiated under the leadership of former chief minister Nabam Tuki which he claimed benefited lakhs in terms of free treatment. The Pema Khandu government discontinued the scheme without announcing any new scheme, Toko said. (PTI)
Four militants arrested in Assam
Guwahati: Four militants, including chairman of a outfit, were arrested by security forces in different areas in Assam, a defence spokesman said on Friday. Acting on an information about the movement of a top leader of the United Peoples Liberation Front (UPLF) in Lahorijan area of Karbi Anglong district, a joint team of the Army and police caught its chairman on Thursday, he said. The UPLF Chairman Garang Gajao was arrested along with a .22 mm pistol and six live rounds of ammunition. In an another incident, three militants of the All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA) were arrested by a joint team of the Army and police in Naobandha area of Udalguri district yesterday, he said. The security forces recovered a 0.22 mm pistol with magazine and three live rounds, a 7.65 mm pistol with magazine and three live rounds, a 9 mm pistol and two live rounds and a country made single shot gun, the spokesman added. (PTI)
Army personnel donate 130 units of blood in Itanagar
Itanagar: Army personnel of the ‘Ball of Fire Division’ donated 130 units of blood at a blood donation camp held at Tenga in West Kameng district. The blood donation awareness campaign was held at Military Hospital Tenga with the support of technical team from Tezpur Medical College on Thursday. The army personnel turned up in huge numbers to voluntarily donate blood. A total of 130 blood units were collected, a Defence release said here today. The camp was inaugurated by Maj Gen R S Shekhawat, General Officer Commanding of ‘Ball of Fire Division’, the release said. (PTI)
