Guwahati Diary: Himanta Biswa Sarma government seeks to silence critics

Minister Pijush Hazarika also shared the photos of some successful candidates. The state government is viewing the appointments as an achievement.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (Photo | EPS)
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (Photo | EPS)

Govt silences critics with ‘clean’ recruitment
The Himanta Biswa Sarma government sought to silence critics after appointing 5,200 candidates in the police department. Many of them are from poor families and they thanked the government for the clean appointment process. “Did people ever celebrate Bihu after the declaration of results of an exam for recruitment into government service? People are happy as we managed to conduct the exam cleanly and in a transparent manner,” Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said. Minister Pijush Hazarika also shared the photos of some successful candidates. The state government is viewing the appointments as an achievement.

No definite answer to high power bills
Though there has been no hike in power tariff, consumers got high bills for August. What confused them more were the statements made by the leaders and Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL). The APDCL said the high bills were caused by an increase in domestic consumption during summer. But CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said it was due to faulty readings in some newly-installed smart meters. He said the APDCL has been instructed to urgently fix the problem. One of Sarma’s ministerial colleagues said it is obvious that power tariffs will rise when government employees get a pay hike of Rs 200-300 every month.

Flight fare cheaper than bus ticket
Flight fare on the Guwahati-Tezu-Imphal-Tezu-Guwahati route is set to get cheaper than bus fare, thanks to FlyBig. The airline will add this sector under the central government’s ambitious UDAN scheme on September 26 all days except Mondays. Manipur capital Imphal will be directly connected to Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh. The airline said the fares will start from Rs 799. The Imphal-Guwahati bus fare is at least Rs 1,000. “We are supporting the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of giving a major economic boost to hinterland regions of the nation. In the coming days, we will connect Imphal with major cities in east and north east with direct connections,” FlyBig CMD Sanjay Mandavia said.

Prasanta mazumdar
Our correspondent in Guwahati
prasantamazumdar@newindianexpress.com

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