Tripura govt to give laptops to school teachers
AGARTALA: Tripura government has decided to distribute laptops to 800 school teachers to assess the level of students development in different disciplines. State Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath told reporters that the government has sanctioned Rs 28 crore for -Notun Disha (new direction) – a new one-month project to provide training to teachers. Eight hundred teachers would be selected for the training, and selected NGOs, societies or educational institutions would provide them training. In February, the state government held a Baseline Survey to assess the educational status of students between 3rd and 8th standard in government schools. “Different national surveys have shown that a section of students cannot do simple addition, subtraction, division etc, neither can they read out from their textbooks. I am sure nobody is happy with this state of affairs of education. Our government is committed to develop an academic system in the state by changing this situation,” a public notification issued by the Department of School Education said on February 23. (PTI)
6 officials suspended in Assam for negligence, malpractice
GUWAHATI: Assam government has suspended six officials of the Fisheries Department with immediate effect for alleged negligence and malpractices in their duties. The action was taken against the officials in accordance with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s zero tolerance towards corruption, an official communique said Saturday. The Fisheries Department has taken the decision to suspend the officials under rule 6 (1) of the Assam Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rule 1964 on the charge of negligence of government duty and for their involvement in malpractices in distribution of inputs among beneficiaries of different government schemes, it said. The officials include five Fishery Demonstrators and one Assistant Fishery Officer from Sonitpur, Kamrup, Goalpara and Nagaon districts. (PTI)
Tripura varsity starts vegetable cultivation programme
AGARTALA: In an innovative initiative Tripura University has cultivated vegetables for its campus inmates and within four months about 600 kilogram potato was harvested in a day. The idea to utilise unused land in the campus was mooted by Vice Chancellor Prof V L Dharurkar on October 2 last when a programme was organised on Mahatma Gandhi’s educational policy ‘Nai Talim’ in presence of Governor and Chief Rector of the varsity Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki. The agricultural produce has been given to the varsity hostels free of cost and a portion of the remaining stock was sold among the teachers, officers and all employees of the campus at half the market rate. “It is not the price but the feelings that are attached to the vegetables- which is important. It’s like we are collecting produce from our own kitchen garden”, said Prof Dharurkar. (UNI)
Assam govt offers job to Pulwama martyr’s daughter
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Sunday offered a job to Didwmsri Basumatary, the daughter of Maneswar Basumatary who was killed in the Pulwama terror attack last month, by relaxing rules of the government. Sonowal visited the residence of Basumatary at Tamulpur in Baksa district on the occasion of his ‘sraddha’ ritual. According to an official release, the chief minister handed over an appointment letter to Didwmsri for the post of Assistant Tourist Information Officer under the Directorate of Tourism, Assam. “Her appointment has been approved as a very special case and in relaxation of existing rules, provisions and guidelines,” the release said. Over 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 in a terror attack in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI)
Man held with smuggled gold at Guwahati railway station
GUWAHATI: A man identified as Amzad Ali, 35, has been arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel from Guwahati railway station for possessing smuggled gold. The GRP personnel recovered six gold bars, weighing 499 gm, from the man on Saturday night, the Superintendent of Railway Police (SRP) of Guwahati, Hemanta Kumar Das, informed on Sunday. The man had come here from West Bengal, the SRP said. “The value of the gold bars would be around Rs 16.5 lakh,” Das said. It is suspected that the gold was smuggled into the country, he added. The customs department has been informed and as per procedures, the man along with the seized gold, would be handed over to them, Das added. (PTI)
