Silchar Daily丨 News 丨14 JANUARY
1.Bengali poet Srijato’s presence at Assam event draws protests
Bengali poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay’s presence at a literary event in Assam’s Silchar drew strong protests from a group of local people over one of his controversial poems, police
said on Sunday.“The people had gathered at the literary meet on Saturday and demanded
an explanation for certain lines of Srijato's poem. The poet's safety was taken
care of." a police officer in Silchar said.
Sharing the experience of the event, Bandyopadhyay on Sunday said: "Many
outsiders had gathered on the stage and they created a ruckus with the organisers. They resorted to sloganeering outside the hotel and ransacked the property and we could not step out"
He said that it was not possible to identify’ the group of people as they had carried no Hags or banners.According to him, the only thing they wanted to know why the poet was
invited and demanded an explanation for his 2-year old controversial poem. In 2017. a police complaint was lodged against Bandyopadhyay for posting a 12-line poem titled
"Abhishaap” (curse) in Facebook. Complainant Amab Sarkar - said to be member of a Hindu rightwing group - had filed a case at the Cyber Crime Police Station of northern
West Bengal's Siliguri Police Commissionerate.
" I had faced protests earlier but never expected it to flare up again. The issue is being deliberately brought up and the present days seem to be very dark for the people who express themselves freely," the Bengali poet said.
2. Coordination Committee raises concern over illegal sand mining
SILCHAR: The West Silchar Agricultural Land Protection Development and Coordination
Committee (WSAUPDCC) has raised serious concerns over illegal sand mining along the
Bhajantipur river banks.The committee, in a memorandum addressed to the Cachar
district administration and police department, urged their immediate intervention into the matter. They also suspect that unwarranted and illegal mining along the river bank has also triggered rising water levels in various parts of the district in the previous years.
In the memorandum submitted to the district administration. the committee has sped
fled that a group of people saw been mining sand illegally along the Boaljuri river bank on the Nalugaon region of Bhajantipurvillage. They further alleged that the same group has been halting river water thereby posing a great danger to tire near-by villages. The same issue was also raised by PHE department's executive engineer Asit Deb. He has directed one of his subordinates to register an FIR with the police deportment in (his regard. Earlier this Friday, the committee had approached Cachar SP to take immediate action in the matter and also communicated to him how the locals have been warned with dire consequences if they dared to speak against the nexus. They also urged that stringent steps be taken against those involved in the illegal mining. The committee president Rajib Sinha further said that they have been relentlessly protesting against the illegal sand mining over the past several years and also feared that enraged civilians might one
day destroy the river.
3. Assam BJP Suspends Dutta Roy for Going against the party line
SILCHAR: Assam BJP president Ranjit Kumar Das has taken a strong note
on the inflammatory comments of party leader and founder president of All
Cachar-Karimganj-Hailakandi Students’ Association (ACKHSA) Pradip Dutta Roy and has suspended him from the primary membership of BJP. Few days back. Dutta Roy issued a tart message to the Assamese students for holding protest demonstration against citizenship bill on the campus of Assam University. His warnings have not gone down well with the state leadership and in a bid to rein in leaders like him. Das has taken this step,
party sources said.
The suspension letter has been written in Assamese and it has been duly signed
by the general secretary of Assam BJP Dilip Saikia. "Pradip Dutta Roy has violated the party’s rules and regulations and has exhibited indiscipline behaviour which is against the norms of the party. Keeping this in view, the party's Assam Pradesh president Ranjit
Kumar Das has immediately decided to suspend him from the party." the letter reads.
Meanwhile, it also needs to be stated here Dutta Roy is a new entrant to BJP. He joined the party in 2016. Cachar BJP president Kaushik Rai has also received a copy of this letter. Local BJP leaders are tightlipped on this suspension letter.
4. Movement against C’ship Bill intensifies in Manipur
IMPHAL: Movement against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill. 2016
intensified in Manipur. A protest rally was jointly organised at Kwakeithel Akham Leikai in Manipur’s Imphal West district by several Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) like All Manipur United Clubs Organisation (AMUCOX Irawat Foundation, CO HR. Poirei Leimarol
Network and AMOVA and others in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill. AMUCO president Ph Devan said that the bill will uproot the existence of indigenous people of the Northeastern region of India. He further appealed the CSOs and political parties to
come together to fight against the Bill.
Six student organisations
- All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU). Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM), Manipur Students' Federation (MSF), Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA), Students’ Union of Kangleipak (SUK) and Socialist Students' Union of Manipur observed
“Black Day” today at various places.
Another protest rally against the bill was also held at Wangoo area in Manipur’s
Bishnupur district.
