Nagaland minister calls Himanta a ‘super CM’
Assam and Nagaland have been embroiled in a boundary dispute for decades with no immediate solution in sight. But Nagaland minister Temjen Imna Along is confident that Assam’s “super” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will find a way. “We have super CM Himanta Biswa Sarma who cooperates with Nagaland and is trying to solve the problem,” Along, who is also the Nagaland BJP chief, said. The Centre has taken Sarma’s help in solving many issues in the Northeast, such as the Bru and insurgency problems. He is also working to resolve Assam’s border disputes with Meghalaya, Arunachal and Mizoram.
After girls, meritorious boys get scooty
Boys, who excelled in this year’s class 12 exams conducted by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council, may have another reason to smile. The state government has covered them under a scheme wherein meritorious students get a scooter each. Earlier, only girls who score first division were eligible. Now, boys who get at least 75% marks, have been included. The government will distribute the scooters to 29,748 girls and 6,052 boys. It also offers Rs 16,000 cash to each meritorious student under the Anandaram Barooah Award for the High School Leaving Certificate. The government will spend Rs 258.9 crore.
Foul play suspected in IIT student’s death
The Assam government wants its West Bengal counterpart to conduct a probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of Faizan Ahmed, a third-year mechanical engineering student at IIT-Kharagpur. Ahmed hailed from Tinsukia in Assam. After observing the body, his parents suspected foul play and demanded a CBI probe. They also filed a case with the West Bengal police seeking an investigation. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma sent a letter to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee two days ago, seeking her intervention for a “thorough probe to unearth the truth leading to the death of the bright student.”
Prasanta Mazumdar
Our correspondent in Guwahati
prasantamazumdar@newindianexpress.com