Maiden voyage of foodgrains via Bangladesh
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal received the maiden consignment of foodgrains from Patna to Pandu via Bangladesh in Guwahati on Sunday. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was among the dignitaries who welcomed the self-propelled vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri. It carried 200 MT of foodgrains for Food Corporation of India. Inland Waterways Authority of India is planning to run a fixed schedule sailing to herald a new age of inland water transport for Assam and the Northeast. The chief minister said, “Cargo movement via Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route marks the beginning of a new age of economic prosperity for the whole of the northeast.”
GIAL creates awareness on wildlife conservation
With the onset of the World Wildlife Day, 2022, the Guwahati International Airport Limited (GIAL) organised an event by involving passengers and all other stakeholders as a part of creating awareness towards wildlife conservation as per the UN Theme of ‘recovering key species for ecosystem restoration’. The day at the airport was dedicated to the keystone species of Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park and Deepor Beel sanctuary which is located on city outskirts. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Member-Secretary of Assam Pollution Control Board were among those who were present. The Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi international Airport was handed over to GIAL last year.
IIT prof in top 75 Indian women in STEAM
Prof Rakhi Chaturvedi (in pic) of IIT, Guwahati has been recognised by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor and the British High Commission, New Delhi as one among the top 75 Indian women in STEAM (fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Applied Arts and Mathematics). The professor will be featured in this year’s ‘She Is - 75 Women in STEAM’. The announcement was made on March 3 by Principal Scientific Advisor Prof K Vijay Raghavan and British High Commissioner Alex Ellis. The aim of the feature series is to amplify women role models, make visible the leadership of women.
BJP retains Majuli constituency
The BJP in Assam has achieved one more successful outcome with the party retaining the Majuli seat in the recent by-election. In the triangular contest, BJP’s Bhuban Gam defeated his next closest rival Chittaranjan Basumatary of the Assam Jatiya Parishad candidate (AJP). Congress had not contested and backed the AJP candidate. The Socialist Unity Centre of India also contested. Bhuban Gam said it was not his victory but that of Majuli’s electorate. The by-poll in the island constituency was necessitated by local MLA and former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s appointment as a Union minister.
Prasanta mazumdar
Our correspondent in Guwahati prasantamazumdar@newindianexpress.com