Category: GUWAHATI

Movement of passengers and transport of goods, including essentials, has been affected in southern Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur for the past two weeks, due to the restricted movement of trains in the region, officials said on Tuesday.

With the completion of polling in four Lok Sabha seats in Assam on Tuesday, elections in all the 25 parliamentary constituencies in the eight northeastern have been completed now.

Surface links to Assam's Barak Valley and Dima Hasao district and neighbouring states of Tripura, Mizoram, and Manipur remained snapped on Thursday as incessant rains triggered landslides and washed off roads as well as railway tracks in multiple locations of Assam, authorities said.

In view of the restricted and regulated movement of trains, including goods trains between Tripura and the rest of the country, the state government has imposed restrictions on the sale of petrol and diesel from Wednesday.

Nine persons were arrested by the police in connection with the rape of minor girls in the South West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, officials said on Sunday.

Assam has recorded 70.65 per cent voter turnout till 5 p.m. on Friday, officials said. Five Lok Sabha seats in Assam -- Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kaziranga, Lakhimpur, and Sonitpur -- went to the polls in the first phase.

An estimated 45.12 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 p.m. on Friday in the five Lok Sabha seats in Assam in the first of the seven-phased Lok Sabha elections, officials said.

A relative of an executive member of Assam’s North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) in Dima Hasao district was allegedly kidnapped by a proscribed group.

BJP President J. P. Nadda has asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took decisive steps to bring peace in the Bodoland area of Assam by signing the Bodo peace accord.

The campaigning for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in 15 out of the total 25 Parliamentary constituencies in the eight northeastern states ended on Wednesday, an official said.

The Prime Minister also mentioned that to meet the energy needs of this region, the North East Gas Grid is being build at a cost of Rs 90,000 crore and Barauni Guwahati Pipeline has been dedicated to the country under Urja Ganga Gas Pipeline project.

Addressing a huge public gathering in Assam's Nalbari district, PM Modi said, “Whether it is free ration distribution or the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, benefits have been passed to the people without any discrimination.”

With the Lok Sabha elections inching closer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to campaign for NDA candidates in Assam and Tripura on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister said that watching the Gandhi family members will not bring any benefits to the people rather time can be made more useful by seeing rhinos in Kaziranga.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed on Tuesday that the BJP has plans to change the Constitution if they are voted to power again this time.

A senior Army officer said that three vehicles of Assam Rifles, moving from Changlang towards Margherita, were ambushed by unknown personnel near Namdhang at around 8.30 a.m.

According to a BJP leader, the Prime Minister’s flight will land at Borjhar airport in Guwahati in the evening and his cavalcade will travel to the city by road. PM Modi will also hold a roadshow in the city.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday attacked Congress over its manifesto, saying that the party has prepared the manifesto in such a manner as if they are contesting the election in Pakistan and not in India.

A 55-year-old woman surrendered before the police in Assam’s Dibrugarh district after she allegedly killed her 35-year-old son after reportedly facing abuses from the latter repeatedly, officials said on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Assam on April 17 for poll campaigning in the state, said state minister Jayanta Mallabaruah on Friday.

In a major drug haul, 21 kg narcotics valued at around Rs 210 crore in the international market have been seized from Assam's Cachar district near the interstate border with Mizoram, police said on Friday.

A student from IIT Guwahati was detained on Saturday night near Hajo in Assam's Kamrup district, according to police, after he allegedly swore allegiance to ISIS and was on his way to join the terrorist outfit.

With the issuance of the notification for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections scheduled on April 19 for 15 seats in eight northeastern states, the process of filling of nominations began on Wednesday.

As in previous elections, regional parties in the eight northeastern states will play a vital role in the 25 Lok Sabha seats there even as a majority of them are part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Election officials in different northeastern states said that they are ready to conduct the parliamentary polls as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission.