‘Third tallest’ flag in the country gets shredded
A 120 x 80 feet Tricolour, attached to a 319.5 foot tall pole atop Gandhi Mandap on the Sarania Hill in the city, was shredded by “high wind pressure” just 35 days after it was unfurled by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2.
It is said to be the third tallest flag in the country. The `2.91-crore project was the brainchild of the state’s industries and commerce department. It had entrusted the Guwahati Smart City Limited (GSCL) with proper implementation. Following the incident, the government ordered a probe by the principal secretary of Guwahati Development Department.
No let-up in gold smuggling
Gold-smuggling attempts continue to remain rampant at the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati. Central Industrial Security Force officials seized gold bars weighing around six kgs from a passenger of an Air India flight at the airport on Sunday.
The accused, Lalthithal Liana from Mizoram, was reportedly planning to smuggle the gold from Guwahati to Kolkata. He had travelled to Guwahati from Mizoram’s capital, Aizawl, by bus. Over the past few months, CISF personnel have arrested a number of people and seized gold from their possession. Some accused were found to be carrying gold in their rectum. Security agencies say gold is smuggled from Myanmar and taken to various parts of the country.
Leopards unleash a reign of terror
Two leopards have terrorised the surrounding areas of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-Guwahati). Panic-struck students are not venturing out of the campus. Recently, one of the leopards was spotted lurking behind the official residence of the institute’s director.
The leopards have come from a nearby forest in search of porcupine and livestock, said officials. A professor of the institute said although the leopards’ movement created panic, there was no direct threat to them. The forest department has deputed its personnel to the area to try and tranquilise the animals.
‘Printed books will survive’
Acclaimed litterateur Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi of Arunachal Pradesh said printed books have their own charm and they would survive despite the growing popularity of e-books. He was speaking at the 20th North East Book Fair which began at the Assam Engineering Institute in Guwahati on November 9. He admitted people were being encouraged by the social media to write and publish their work but said that cannot replace books.
Altogether 275 stalls have been put up by publishers from Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Kanpur and Bangladesh. The 12-day long fair is being organised by the All Assam Publishers and Booksellers Association. Samujjal Bhattacharjee, who is an advisor to AASU, stressed on the setting up of and upgrading the existing libraries in schools.