AGP likely to dump BJP ahead of 2011 Assam polls

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ssam politics is expected to witness some major realignment of forces ahead of the 2011 assembly polls with the honeymoon between the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) almost over.

"The time has come to take a strong call on the continuance of the tie-up with the BJP. Successive electoral defeats have shattered the confidence of the party workers and supporters... The thinking of the party should change ahead of the 2011 assembly elections," AGP vice president Apurba Kumar Bhattacharyya told IANS.

Meanwhile, the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF), a minority-based party that has emerged as the third major opposition in Assam, has sent feelers to the AGP.

"There is a big possibility of my party aligning with the AGP as the two parties have similar regional aspirations. I would say the chances are very bright," Badruddin Ajmal, leader of the AUDF, told IANS.

The AUDF managed to win 11 assembly seats in the 2006 state elections. The AGP has 24 legislators in the 126-member house.

The AGP was quick to react to the AUDF's feelers, saying nothing was impossible in politics.

"We have heard the AUDF's comments and will discuss the issue. We are talking to parties at an informal level and anything can happen," AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary told journalists.

The AGP suffered successive electoral reverses beginning with the 2001 assembly polls. The party also lost the 2006 assembly elections, then the local council elections, the April-May parliamentary polls this year, and the humiliating defeat in the two by-elections earlier this week.

The AGP and BJP fought the April-May parliamentary elections together under a seat sharing arrangement. The regional party fared poorly - it won just one of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, down by one compared to the 2004 general elections.

"The opposition parties must take a lesson from the past elections and hence the need to unite to challenge the Congress party," said Dhrupad Borgohain, a former MP belonging to the Communist Party of India.

The AUDF has however made it clear that it would team up with the AGP provided the BJP is out of the combination.

"Minus the BJP and the Congress, we are ready for any kind of alliance," Ajmal said.

Amid the political rumblings, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the Congress party was all set for a hat-trick by winning the 2011 polls.

"The AGP is down and out and there is no way the party can bounce back. The AUDF and the BJP are parties with communal overtones, and the people of Assam are going to reject them," Gogoi told IANS.

"There could be a realignment of forces, but we are not worried."

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Dalai Lama blesses students on Children's Day

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ibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Saturday celebrated Children's Day by blessing students and monks at the TGL Monastery in Bomdila on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, Dalai Lama hoped for the bright future of the children, who study in different educational institutions and monasteries, in Bomdila.

The children thanked the spiritual leader for his blessings.

The Dalai Lama later held a blessing ceremony at the general ground in 'Kalaktang'.

After the programme, the spiritual leader left for Itanagar in a chopper.

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Mob torches 20 huts after youth's killing in Aizawl

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day after a youth was shot dead allegedly by suspected Bru rebels, a mob set ablaze 20 huts at a Bru settlement near the Tripura border in Mizoram on Saturday.

A group of people that had turned up at Bungthuam, the native village of the slain youth Zarzikima, to mourn his death, later headed towards Thinghlum, the new Bru settlement near Tripura border, and torched at least 20 hutments, police said.

Many of the attackers even attempted to cross over to the Tripura side in search of the killers but were dissuaded.

While the Bru National Army, known to be a 13-member outfit, claimed responsibility for the gunning of the youth, there were unconfirmed reports of three employees of state environment and forests department being forcibly taken away in the area by the activists later.

Warning the trouble-makers, Mizoram Home minister R. Lalzirliana said that those who are out to disrupt peace would be firmly dealt with and brought to book.

Condemning the incident, several political parties and the Young Mizo Association (YMA) central committee demanded that those behind the killing should be arrested and punished as per law. The organisations also appealed to people not to harm the innocent. Leaders of YMA and Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) or Mizo Student's Federation visited Bungthuam.

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'Significant' water found on Moon

T
he space agency smashed a rocket and a probe into a large crater at the lunar south pole, hoping to kick up ice.

Scientists who have studied the data now say instruments trained on the impact plume saw copious quantities of water-ice and water vapour.

One researcher described this as the equivalent of "a dozen two-gallon buckets" of water.

"We didn't just find a little bit; we found a significant amount," said Anthony Colaprete, chief scientist for the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission.

No doubt

October's experiment involved driving a 2,200kg Centaur rocket stage into the 100km-wide Cabeus Crater, a permanently shadowed depression at the Moon's far south.

At the time, scientists were hoping for a big plume of debris some 10km high which could be seen by Earth telescopes.
The actual debris cloud was much smaller, about 1.6km high, but sufficiently large to betray the evidence researchers were seeking.

The near-infrared spectrometer on the LCROSS probe that followed the rocket into the crater detected water-ice and water vapour. The ultraviolet-visible spectrometer provided additional confirmation by identifying the hydroxyl (OH) molecule, which arises when water is broken apart in sunlight.

"We were able to match the spectra from LCROSS data only when we inserted the spectra for water," Dr Colaprete said.

"No other reasonable combination of other compounds that we tried matched the observations. The possibility of contamination from the Centaur also was ruled out."

Useful resource

The total quantity of H2O spied by the instruments was more than 100kg. It came out of a 20m-30m wide hole dug up by the impacting Centaur rocket.

The LCROSS scientists stressed that the results presented on Friday were preliminary findings only, and further analysis could raise the final assessment of the amount of water in Cabeus.

Peter Schultz, from Brown University and a co-investigator on the LCROSS mission, said: "What's really exciting is we've only hit one spot. It's kind of like when you're drilling for oil. Once you find it in one place, there's a greater chance you'll find more nearby."

The regular surface of the Moon as seen from Earth is drier than any desert on our planet. But researchers have long speculated that some permanently shadowed places might harbour considerable stores of water, perhaps delivered by impacting comets billions of years ago.

If future investigations find the quantities to be particularly large, this water could become a useful resource for any astronauts who might base themselves at the lunar poles.

"It can be used for drinking water," said Mike Wargo, Nasa's chief lunar scientist for exploration systems.

"You can break it down and have breathable air for crews. But also, if you have significant quantities of this stuff, you have the constituents of one of the most potent rocket fuels - oxygen and hydrogen."
In September, data from three spacecraft, including India's Chandrayaan probe, showed that very fine films of H2O coat the particles that make up lunar soil.

Scientists behind that finding speculated that this water might migrate to the even cooler poles, much as water vapour on Earth will condense on a cold surface.

This cold sink effect could be supplementing any water delivered by comets, they said.

If cometary material did reside in places like Cabeus Crater it would be fascinating to examine it, commented Greg Delory, from the University of California, Berkeley.

"The surfaces in these permanently shadowed areas, such as the one LCROSS impacted, are very cold," he told reporters.

"That means that they tend to trap and keep things that encounter them - compounds, atoms and so forth. And so they act as record keepers over periods as long as several billion years. They have a story to tell about the history of the Moon and the Solar System."

LCROSS was launched by Nasa on 18 June as part of a double mission which included the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

The latter, which continues to circle the Moon, measured a temperature of minus 230 Celsius at the base of Cabeus Crater.

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Manipur Police favours AFSPA

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MPHAL, NOV 13: Manipur Cabinet of is scheduled to discuss on the issue of re-imposition of Armed Forces (Special) Power Act (AFSPA) in the Imphal Municipality area within this week, even as the State police favoured re-imposition of AFSPA, official source said Wednesday.
Compilation of Cabinet memorandum with the regard to the extension of the disturbed area status in the Imphal Municipality beyond November 30 this year is in progress with reference to the comments furnished by the security establishments in the state. A highly placed official source disclosed that so far the State police department and the Border Security Force (BSF) have submitted their comments in response to the government’s invitation on the extension of the disturbed area status in the Imphal Municipality area, which was enforced in November 2004 for a year and extended from time to time.



However, other security establishments like Assam Rifles, Army and CRPF are yet to furnish their comments.
Manipur government had invited comments and views of the security establishments on further extension of the disturbed area status in the Imphal Municipality area, as the extension deadline would expire on November 3. The agencies were asked to submit the same on or before November 15.
The State police in its comment favoured re-imposition of the disturbed area status, taking into account militancy-related incidents, the source disclosed. However, the source refused to disclose in detail the observation put down by the police and BSF.

A meeting chaired by chief minister O Ibobi Singh on November 7 last also discussed on the comments of the police and BSF in which state chief secretary Rakesh, principal secretary home DS Poonia and DGP Y Joykumar took part.
The meeting mainly discussed on the extension of disturbed area status beyond November 30 and asked the State Home department to finalize the preparation of the Cabinet memorandum as early as possible after it received of the comments and views of the other security establishments and to table the same in the next Cabinet meeting, which is scheduled to be held within this month.

The Cabinet meeting is likely to take place after return of the chief minister who is currently in New Delhi.
Sources said among other issues, the November 7 meeting also discussed on the installation of CCTV camera and ex-ray baggage inspection system (EBIS) at Manipur Bhavan, New Delhi. The security gadgets had already been installed in the chief minister’s bungalow in the aftermath of attack by PREPAK in the first week October.
The meeting also discussed on the work allocation of senior police officers and filling up of vacant posts of range officers of the department, the source said.

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Phone a doctor emergency service 104 to be launched in Assam

D
octors on telephone and attending to emergency calls and providing possible life saving tips or guiding a patient to the right hospital or a specialist - this is what will exactly happen in Assam beginning January.

The Assam health department would launch an emergency helpline 104 - just dial 104 and a doctor would attend your call to help a patient in distress.

"The idea is to provide instant help to a patient or their families. In many cases, a patient dies before one could realise what to do and where to go. Now one have to just dial 104 and a doctor would give the best possible advice," Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told IANS.

The 104 helpline is expected to be launched in January with about 100 doctors exclusively assigned to handle this emergency service round-the-clock.

"A doctor attending the emergency 104 call could at times guide the patient to the right hospital or suggest the name of a specialist doctor the patient need to see depending on the nature of the illness," Sarma said.

Already, the Assam health department has come up with several ingenious healthcare schemes for the people.

The 108 emergency ambulance services in Assam is doing wonders since it was launched a year ago with patients across the state availing the facility of getting shifted from homes to the nearest hospital in the quickest possible time.

Earlier in September, the Assam government recruited 800 doctors, a move that has already revolutionised the rural healthcare sector.

"Our focus is on total healthcare across the state," the minister said.

Already the Assam health department has come up with several ingenious healthcare schemes for the people.

Patients admitted to government hospitals in Assam recieve a day cash allowance of up to Rs.100 besides free meals and medicines.

As part of the scheme named 'Maram' (Assamese for love), a patient in medical college hospitals receives Rs.100 daily in cash while those in district hospitals get Rs.75.

Earlier this year, the Assam government announced a series of health packages including a Rs.1.8 billion scheme to do away with the traditional gender bias by offering financial assistance to the girl child and radical measures to improve the health of would-be mothers.

Under a scheme named 'Majoni' (Assamese for little girls), a new-born girl child was given a fixed deposit instrument worth Rs.5,000 while a would-be mother would get Rs.1,000 in cash - Rs.500 each during the first two check-ups.

Assam has also launched an ambitious family planning scheme. Couples choosing not to have babies for two years after marriage get Rs.5,000 and those who opt not to have children for three years get Rs.7,500.

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Preserve Buddhist culture, Dalai tells Bomdi-la people

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omdi-la: The long-cherished dream of people of Bomdi-la, a tranquil and desolate township in Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng district, was
fulfilled on Friday when they got a glimpse of the Dalai Lama who arrived here the previous day.

The town wore a colourful look with flags containing Tibetan motifs and inscriptions of Buddhism fluttering. Shops downed shutters and over 10,000 devotees thronged the Buddha Stadium to listen to the Tibetan leader to get lessons on truthfulness, peace and tolerance the essence of Buddhism.

As soon as the Dalai Lama started his speech, everbody was all ears and an aura of spirituality was unmistakable. The Tibetan leader exhorted the people of this remote place to preserve Buddhist tradition and culture and live in harmony to usher in development.

The Dalai Lama also attended a cultural programme organized by local youths in his honour and visited the Gryl Monastery where he was given a traditional reception. On Saturday, which also happens to be the Children's Day, the spiritual leader is scheduled to meet kids and monks from different institutions before leaving for Itanagar where he would offer prayers at Sidhartha and Thupten Gatsalling gompas. He will also interact with intellectuals and people at the Banquet Hall.

On Thursday, the Dalai Lama was accorded a warm reception at Bomdi-la helipad by MLAs RT Khunjuju, Kumsi Sidisow, deputy commissioner, SP, monks of Thubchog Gastsel-Ling and Gaden Rabgyal-Ling monasteries and devotees. People were all along the road which the Tibetan leader was scheduled to take on his way to Thubchog Gastsel-Ling monastery.

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Militants attack IRB camp, four injured

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ILCHAR: Suspected Hmar militants attacked an India Reserve Battalion (IRB) camp at Chekarcham in Cachar district on Friday injuring four
personnel. They also looted arms and ammunition and kidnapped five villagers on their way back.

Police said suspected Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) militants swooped down on the camp in the wee hours when the policemen were in deep sleep and started firing indiscriminately leaving four injured.

Before the securitymen could retaliate, the rebels stormed inside the camp and overpowered them. Then they looted arms and ammunition which includes 20 SLRs and two LMGs.

IRB camp's platoon commander Ramkrishna Paul, however, said the policemen fired few rounds before being overpowered by the militants. They abducted five people from the nearby villages on their way back, he added.

Pal said the camp is usually manned by 22 personnel. But during the attack, only 11 were present, he added.

The injured have been identified as havildar Prafulla Chandra Dey and constables Bijoy Kumar Roy, Iqbal Ahmed Tapadar and Kamrul Hussain Barbhuiyan. They were admitted to Silchar Medical Collage Hospital (SMCH) and the condition of Barbhuiyan is critical.

Soon after the incident, a contingent of police and CRPF led by SP (Cachar) Prasanta Kumar Bhuiyan rushed to Chekercham and started a hunt to nab the militants. Officials said a number of people from nearby Hmar Punjee and Khasi Punjee villages have been detained for interrogation.

DGP Shankar Baruah, who reached Silchar in the afternoon, reviewed the situation with senior police officials and asked them to take immediate action against the militants.

The IRB camp was raised at Chekarcham following the massacre of 29 Dimasa villagers by Hmar militants in March 2003.

In 1996, 250 HPC militants led by their chief T Sankhum surrendered in Silchar. But this didd't solve the problem of Hmar militancy in southern Assam and Mizoram areas as a new group HPC (Democratic) surfaced. HPC (D) is involved in kidnapping, extortion and killing and has links with militant outfits like NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K), sources said.

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NASA's water-on-moon test turns out positive

S
uddenly, the moon looks exciting again. It has lots of water, scientists said on Friday - a thrilling discovery that sent a ripple of hope for a future astronaut outpost in a place that has always seemed barren and inhospitable.

Experts have long suspected there was water on the moon. Confirmation came from data churned up by two NASA spacecraft that intentionally slammed into a lunar crater last month.

"Indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit. We found a significant amount," said Anthony Colaprete, lead scientist for the mission, holding up a white water bucket for emphasis.

The lunar crash kicked up at least 25 gallons and that's only what scientists could see from the plumes of the impact, Colaprete said.

Some space policy experts say that makes the moon attractive for exploration again. Having an abundance of water would make it easier to set up a base camp for astronauts, supplying drinking water and a key ingredient for rocket fuel.

"Having definitive evidence that there is substantial water is a significant step forward in making the moon an interesting place to go," said George Washington University space policy scholar John Logsdon.

Even so, members of the blue-ribbon panel reviewing NASA's future plans said it doesn't change their conclusion that the program needs more money to get beyond near-Earth orbit. The panel wants NASA to look at other potential destinations like asteroids and Mars.

"This new and terrific result reassures us about lunar resources, but ... the challenges currently facing the human spaceflight program remain," Chris Chyba, a Princeton astrophysicist who is on the panel, said in an e-mail.

President George W. Bush had proposed a more than $100 billion plan to return astronauts to the moon, then go on to Mars; a test flight of an early version of a new rocket was a success last month. President Barack Obama appointed the special panel to look at the entire moon exploration program. The decision is now up to the White House, and NASA's lunar plans are somewhat on hold until then.

As for unmanned exploration, previous missions had detected the presence of hydrogen in lunar craters near the moon's poles, possible evidence of ice. In September, scientists reported finding tiny amounts of water in the lunar soil all over the moon's surface.

But it was NASA's Oct. 9 mission involving the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, LCROSS, that provided the stunning confirmation announced Friday -- water, in the forms of ice and vapor.

"Rather than a dead and unchanging world, it could in fact be a very dynamic and interesting one," said Greg Delory of the University of California
, Berkeley, who was not involved in the mission, led by NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.

The LCROSS spacecraft only hit one spot on the moon and it's unclear how much water there is across the entire moon.

The October mission involved two strikes into a permanently shadowed crater near the south pole. First, an empty rocket hull slammed into the Cabeus crater. Then, a trailing spacecraft recorded the drama live before it also crashed into the same spot four minutes later.

Though scientists were overjoyed with the plethora of data beamed back to Earth, the mission was a public relations dud. Space enthusiasts who stayed up all night to watch the spectacle did not see the promised giant plume of debris.

NASA scientists had predicted the twin impacts would spew six miles of dust into the sunlight. Instead, images revealed only a mile-high plume, and it was not visible to many amateur astronomers peering through telescopes.

Scientists spent a month analyzing data from the spacecraft's spectrometers, instruments that can detect strong signals of water molecules in the plume.

"We've had hints that there is water. This was almost like tasting it," said Peter Schultz, professor of geological sciences at Brown University and a co-investigator on the LCROSS mission.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who in 1969 made his historic Apollo 11 moonwalk with Neil Armstrong, was pleased to hear the latest discovery, but still believes the U.S. should focus on colonizing Mars.

"People will overreact to this news and say, 'Let's have a water rush to the moon,'" Aldrin said. "It doesn't justify that."

Mission scientists said it would take more time to tease out what else was kicked up in the moon dust.

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