In a bid to mitigate human-elephant conflict and facilitate co-existence, biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak has installed a 30.1-km solar fence covering three project villages in Jorhat district in collaboration with the British Asian Trust and the Elephant Family with support from the Darwin Initiative. The project has benefitted over 1,047 households affected by human-elephant conflict. There was a time when herds of wild elephants would wreak havoc in these villages while foraging for crops, causing immense hardship to the agrarian community. However, the installation of these solar-powered fences helped significantly ease the problem.
15K bighas of satra land encroached upon: CM
The ‘satras’ — monastic institutions within Assam’s neo-Vaishnavite tradition — have lost over 15,000 bighas of their land to encroachment. Taking a serious view of it, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma noted that an area twice the size of Dispur had been encroached upon. “The sheer scale of encroachment of the satras is a direct assault on Assam’s culture and identity. Not anymore. We are dealing firmly with this,” he posted on X. The Satra Aayog, constituted by the government for reviewing and assessing the problems of satra land in Assam, has submitted its final report to Sarma with its recommendations.
IED case: ULFA chief, 2 others chargesheeted
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has chargesheeted ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah and two other members of the banned insurgent group — Abhijit Gogoi and Jahnu Boruah — for a conspiracy to carry out multiple IED blasts in Assam on Independence Day last year. During the probe, the NIA found that as many as 11 IEDs were planted in different parts of the state, including Guwahati. However, none of them exploded. The investigation agency says the plot was meant to cause deaths and unrest. Boruah, who has reportedly admitted to planting four of the IEDs, was arrested from Dibrugarh in December.
Prasanta Mazumdar
Our correspondent in Guwahati
prasantamazumdar@newindianexpress.com