Guwahati  diary

Dispur under Sec 144 

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) have remained in place in East Police district of Guwahati for the past few days. One of the areas falling under the orders’ jurisdiction is the high-security Dispur. The police clamped the orders as a preventive measure following the apprehension of disturbance of normal functioning of offices, movement of people and flow of traffic. Guwahati has seen a series of protests in the past few days against the Centre’s move to get the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 passed in the Parliament. Dispur is a preferred destination of the protesters given that the state secretariat and the official residences of Ministers and MLAs are located here. Several states have been agitating against the passage of the Bill. 

‘Late-comer’ govt staff members to face music

Employees of Assam secretariat, who are in the habit of coming to office late, will now face the music. The state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government has directed officers and staff of the secretariat to report for duty before 10 am. Those coming in late will not be allowed to enter as the main gates will be closed after 10 am. The employees have been also asked to come to office in formal attire and display identity cards during office hours.  Commissioner and Secretary of Secretariat Administration (Establishment) Department, Dr M Angamuthu, asked all concerned to adhere to the Manual of Office Procedure Secretariat, 1981. All branch officers and office superintendents have been asked to report on adherence every fortnight.

One more suicide at IIT

One more student of the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) allegedly committed suicide earlier this week. This is the sixth such incident at the institute in the past five years. Friends of Pannpa Paban Siddhartha, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, found him hanging from the ceiling fan of his hostel room last week. He was a final year student of the electronics and communications B.Tech programme. In September last year, another student, Nagashree S C of Karnataka, had committed suicide in her hostel room. Stress is often believed to be the reason behind students of higher institutes taking the extreme step.

Race to buy the biggest fish 

Fish-loving Assamese scampered for the biggest fish on the day of “Uruka” on January 14 at the famous Uzan Bazar Ghat on the south bank of Brahmaputra in Guwahati. Buying the biggest fish on the day of Uruka is an unannounced competition among the Assamese. The three-day Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu, which is a harvest festival, begins on January 14 on the day of Uruka. The Assamese soak in the spirit of Magh Bihu by creating a bonfire, called “Meji”, in the wee hours of January 15. They get together around the Meji, light it and seek the blessings of elders. The rituals are followed by a community feasting organized in the field.

Prasanta Mazumdar

Our correspondent in Guwahati

prasantamazumdar@newindianexpress.com