Guwahati: Magical exploits of Harry Potter, armed poachers in the Kaziranga National Park being thwarted by Ma Durga, wondrous mysteries of Ajanta and Elora caves and a fasting Anna Hazare — puja revellers in Guwahati have never had it so good.

And as the proverbial icing on the cake of merriment, revellers are lavished with diverse mouth-watering food, the piece de resistance being special Chinese dishes prepared by stat hotels for the occasion.

“An electrifying festive atmosphere prevails in this hip and happening hub of the Northeast during the puja days and we are all enjoying it,” says a beaming jeans-clad youngster accompanied by his friends at one of the well-known pujas – the Beltola community puja.

A giant replica of the Kaziranga park has been erected on the dias of the Beltala puja where clay images of poachers, armed with automatic weapons, target the endangered one-horned rhinos among tall elephant grasses.

The poachers retreat after being confronted with demon-slaying Ma Durga mounted on elephant, her ‘bahan’.

Manabendra Sarma, one of the organisers, said their effort this time was to highlight the growing problem of poaching in the KNP and create awareness about preserving the rare animal.

The Nayantara puja committee on the other hand has recreated Harry Potter adventures through idols made by artisans who saw some of the child magician’s movies several times to bring forth the feel of adventures.

“Utmost care has been taken by the artists who have seen the Harry Potter movies several times,” Utbhav Das, a puja committee member, said. Similarly, pandal-hoppers got to see the exotic structure of Ajanta and Elora caves at the Binapani puja mandap.

At the Nayantara puja pandal a replica of Ram Leela Maidan has been created where a statue of Anna Hazare is seen sitting on his fast, drawing a huge crowd. A star attraction is the Bhutnath puja pandal in the heart of the city where Goddess Durga is seated inside a umbrella-shaped structure built by a mixture of 1000 kg masoor dal, 250 kg mustard seed and 25 kg of ‘Bhuth Jalakiya’, the world’s hottest chilli.

At the Kamarpatti puja pandal, Goddess Durga is dwarfed by a 30-foot Mahisasura idol, his bestial intimidating look look made more pronounced by blinking red lights. “Our effort is not to belittle the benign presence of Ma durga, but to bring to attention the presence of evil in the form of corruption and violence throughout the country,” Madhab Das said. More than a thousand food stalls have been opened all over the city to enable the revellers to sample choicest food.

“Our main effort will be to enable revellers to experience the feeling of being in China. We serve food which are favourites in various provinces of China including Beijing and Hunan and this has become a hit,” Pijush Kanti Das, the manager of the Guwahati unit of Mainland China, said. (PTI)

Kohima: Former Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee President (NPCC) K V Pusa has said there is no greater boost to any political struggle than the undivided support by the people.

Speaking at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Viswema Baptist School today, the veteran congress leader urged people to surpass all political, tribal, factional and ideological differences and come forward and stand by those who are working relentlessly to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity in Nagaland.

”The undergoing peace process and the quest for a final solution to the Naga problem need greater participation of our people from all walks of life,” the congress leader said.

Mr Pusa said the future of Naga children cannot be fully de-linked from the unresolved political problem which Nagas are facing with since the beginning of the Naga political problem some 60 years ago.

He said till Naga political issue is resolved Naga youths would be directly or indirectly be affected. He said future of Naga children should not be affected by the political problem and therefore all must extend support for early solution to the problem. (UNI)

New Delhi: The Asian Development Bank has announced a USD 200 million loan to improve water supply and other urban services in Assam.

“ADB is extending USD 200 million to improve the water supply and other urban services in Guwahati and Dibrugarh, two major cities in the Indian state of Assam,” the multilateral agency said in a statement.

The ADB board of directors has approved the multi-tranche financing facility for the Assam Urban Infrastructure Investment Programme.

The first tranche of the loan will amount to USD 81 million and the second tranche will be for the remaining USD 119 million.

Funds from the initiative will be used to provide clean piped water to about 3.5 lakh residents in Guwahati, as well as for major upgrades of sewerage and solid waste systems in the two cities.

In addition, a 10-km-long bus rapid transit corridor will be developed in Guwahati, which is intended to serve more than 40,000 people a day.

“Given the importance of Assam as the gateway to economic development in North-East India, ADB and the government have embarked on a long-term strategic development partnership to improve urban infrastructure and increase state capacity,” ADB Director General (South Asia Department) Sultan Hafeez Rahman said.

Only about one in three of Guwahati’s 10 lakh residents have access to piped water.

In Dibrugarh, inadequate solid waste management and the indiscriminate dumping of waste have choked drainage systems, causing severe flooding in the rainy season.

“ADB has helped the government of Assam draw up a 10-year roadmap for developing urban services and the programme will support the state’s overall investment plans,” the statement said. (PTI)

Kohima: India’s ace soccer star and youth icon from Sikkim Baichung Bhutia has said that youth from the Northeast have important voice and called upon young people of the region to connect and bridge the gap between North-East India and mainland India.

Speaking as the Chairman at the North East Young Leaders’ Connect Conference at Kisama yesterday, Baichung said that it was important to be a part of the nation as a whole, and asserted that young achievers can do the job of bridging that gap to be a part of India.

He stated that the long lasting relationship between the North-East states can be strengthened more if the people come together.

The conference will also open a new era of business investment and economic development by mutual cooperation among the youth leaders of the region.

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, whose message was read out on the occasion, said the need of the hour is for young leaders to connect to affect political, social, and economic development of the country from the young leaders’ perspective. Rio said the North East States are not just neighbours, but have so many things in common like culture, tradition, practices, approach and way of life and also faces common challenges of insurgency, anti-social elements, economy and political issues of common interest.

He also stated that many youths of the region have been misled by the chaos and confusion of lawlessness in the region created by anti-social elements, whose main agenda is to destabilise the state governments’ polity to meet their selfish ends. He, however, expressed happiness over the genuine concern and painstaking effort of many young people in the region, who are working tirelessly to bring change. (UNI)

Imphal: Arrested commander-in-chief of Kangleipak Communist Party (MTF) Chirom Tiken alias Prem alias Sunil Meitei escaped from the custody of the Porompat Police of Imphal East on Monday night.

The escape of the KCP leader was confirmed when Manipur Police Department made a public announcement of a cash reward of Rs one lakh to any person who can provide information or otherwise leading to the arrest of the escape of the militant leader.

The commander-in-chief of the KCP faction was arrested by a combined team of Delhi Police and 16 Maratha Light Infantry from Ijipura, Bangalore on June 29 and brought back to Imphal a team of Bishnupur district police on July 21.

He was also the main accused in the killing of a pharmacist at Yumnam Huidram, Imphal West district earlier this year. He was brought back by a special team of Bishnupur police led by SDPO Hopson from New Delhi after obtaining transit remand from a local court there.

Popularly known as Sunil Meitei is an accused in many criminal activities related to extortion and murder in various parts of Bishnupur, Imphal West and Imphal East districts. Porompat police took him custody from Bishnupur police for an investigation to the cases involving him, registered with the police station last week.

The self-styled commander of a banned outfit was arrested by Delhi police along with one of his associate for their alleged involvement in connection with the recovery of 200 kg of ephedrine worth Rs two crore in April this year.

After his arrest Delhi police had claimed smashed of a racket of smugglers of amphetamine stimulants such as the ecstasy drug, ephedrine, etc.

How the commander escaped from the lock-up could not be ascertained immediately as newsmen were barred from examining the lock-up cell where he was kept and officials were not responded when contacted. Interestingly, all of the three other inmates lodged together with him were found in the cell.

Top officials of the district police could not be available for comment as they did not pick up phones when contacted.

However, a highly reliable source said that following the incident, 15 policemen including the office-in-charge of the police station, inspector Geetchandra, a sub-inspector and an assistant sub-inspector have been placed under suspension for their service for dereliction of duty.

All police stations and outposts across the state and security check posts have been put on alert by providing crash messages, the source said. (NNN)

IEDs found

Dhubri: A powerful improvised explosive device (IED) was found on a railway track at Moterjhar in Assam’s Dhubri district by a joint force of the Army and state police, defence sources saidon Tuesday.

The 10 kg IED along with electrical wires was found last night and is suspected to have been planted by National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) to create panic among the people during the ongoing Durga Puja festivities, the sources said.

NDFB’s involvement is being suspected as it is dominant in the area and had its raising day on Monday.

Two other IEDs were seized from a ferry boat in the district this morning. The sources said BSF personnel during a routine check found the two explosives, weighing 1.5 kg each, hidden in an engine-fitted-boat travelling from Majerchar to Dhubri town. (PTI)

Rhino carcass found in Kaziranga

Jorhat: The carcass of a female rhino was found in the Kaziranga National Park in upper Assam’s Golaghat district, forest department sources said on Tuesday.

Forest guards deployed in the habitat of the Great Indian Rhino found the carcass in Phulguri under Burapahar forest area of the park on Sunday, the sources said.

Informing that the horn of the rhino was intact, sources said, the rhino died of old age. (PTI)

BSF recover fake currency notes

Silchar: A joint team of the BSF and the state police recovered conterfeit notes worth Rs 4,000 from Assam’s Karimganj district on Monday.

Official sources here on Tuesday said on specific information provided by BSF intelligence wing, a special search operation was conducted by troops of 136 battalion BSF along with Assam police in the house of one alleged racketeer Shabir Ahmed (45), which led to the recovery of the fake notes. (UNI)

Six injured in road mishap

Guwahati: Six passengers, including women and children, were injured when bus in which they were travelling fell on its side on the busy Zoo Road here on Tuesday.

The bus had swerved to avoid hitting another vehicle and hit the road divider near the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) office before falling on its side, police said.

The injured were rushed to Gauhati Medical College Hospital, the police said adding the driver and handy-man of the private bus were detained. (PTI)

Interactive clinic on football with Baichung in Kohima

Kohima: Young soccer enthusiasts, both boys and girls, from the Indira Gandhi Stadium Football Academy got a rare opportunity to meet Bhaichung Bhutia, former Indian Football captain at local ground here.

Official sources on Tuesday said the Interactive Learning Clinic was organised by Synergy Group Enterprises (SGE) to provide tips to the up-coming players on how to become a good player and displayed some football tactics and skills. (UNI)