Amid row, Tripura varsity denies publishing poll survey

AGARTALA, FEB 28 (IANS): After a huge controversy rocked Tripura, the Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) University, a state government varsity, on Tuesday denied that it has published any poll survey.

MBB University Registrar Sumanta Chakrabarti said that the varsity has not published any poll survey about the outcome of the February 16 Assembly elections in Tripura.

“The poll survey report titled “Tripura Electorate 2023 ElectionSurvey Report” by Policy Research and Centre for Contemporary India Study (PRACCIS) is an independent poll survey and MBB University has not authorised any person, group or organisation to use its name or logo or photo for the purpose of survey,”

No child marriage in last one month in Assam: Himanta

a statement said.

It said that the MBB University strongly condemned the use of its name and logo by the PRACCIS in its poll survey report.

In its survey report, PRACCIS, a Delhi-based research institution specialising in field work-based study of contemporary India, has predicted that the BJP will win 34-39 seats in the 60-member Tripura Assembly elec- tions. Tripura Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gitte Kirankumar Dinkarrao told a CPI-M-Congress joint delegation that the Election Commission would serve a show-cause notice to the MBB University. CPI-M state Secretary Jitendra Chowdhury, after meeting the CEO, said that a government varsity cannot do a survey violating the model code of conduct of the elections. Chowdhury along with Congress leader Sudip Roy Barman has demanded strict action against the Vice-Chancellor of the University. Claiming that the Left-Congress, which contested the election on a seat-sharing adjustment, would return to power and said that the prediction of the survey was far from the truth.

Stuck in traffic, Mizoram minister, MLAs hitchhike to assembly on scooters

AIZAWL, FEB 28

GUWAHATI, FEB 28

(PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will witness 11,140 dancers and drummers performing on Bihu in Guwahati to make it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest recital of the folk dance form.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Modi will be present at the state government event on April 14, mainly initiated to popularise Bihu at the international level.

“We will also invite all the governors and chief ministers of India. Our ministers will travel to the states from March 20 to 30 to invite them,” he added.

Besides, all the ambassadors and high commissioners of the G20 countries and South-East Asian nations in India will be extended invitations to witness the spectacular programme, Sarma said.

“In total, 11,140 dancers and drummers will take part. The ratio of boys and girls will be 30:70. There will be participants from each district of Assam,” he said.

The chief minister said that the government has already sent a sample video of the Bihu dance with lim- ited dancers to the Guinness World Records, which has given its initial clearance.

“If we can do it as per plan, it will be the largest Bihu dance recital at a single venue. The duration of the dance will be 15 minutes. It will be a short and sharp programme,” he said.

All the participants will be given an allowance of Rs 10,500, from which they will also buy two pairs of costumes, Sarma said.

He said that from next year, the state government will hold a seven-day Bihu celebration in Sivasagar and Guwahati in line with Nagaland’s Hornbill Fes -

“During the function, the prime minister will roll out the beautification project of Rang Ghar. We will also try to inaugurate the AIIMS at Guwahati as well as lay the foundation stone for the Palasbari-Sualkuchi bridge over Brahmaputra,” Sarma said. The ‘Rang Ghar’, an amphitheatre, was built by King Pramatta Singha. This two-storied oval-shaped pavilion in Sivasagar is one of the largest of its kind in Asia. Besides, the state government has decided to offer grants of Rs 1.5 lakh to each Bihu celebration committee and a detailed SOP will be published within the next few days, Sarma said.

“After registering Bihu in the Guinness Book of World Records, our next attempt is to include Bagurumba dance of Bodo community in the record book next year. We are already talking to the Bodoland Territorial Council,” he added.

The chief minister also said that police will launch an “intense operation” to stop sale of machine-made ‘Gamocha’ (Assamese scarf), which has recently received the coveted Geographical Indication (GI).

GUWAHATI, FEB 28 (PTI): Justifying the crackdown on child marriages in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said not a single such incident has taken place in the state in the last one month.

The Assam government on February 3 started an intense drive against child marriages across the state, registering over 4,000 cases. Till Tuesday, 3,145 people have been apprehended. “In the last one month, not a single child marriage has taken place in Assam.

This is a big achievement. Everyone has welcomed our steps against this social menace,” Sarma said at a press conference here. He said that of the total number of persons arrested, around 900 have received bail from the courts.

“I thought that they would be released from the jails within seven-eight days. But most of them got bail after 14-15 days. The judiciary also appreciated our move,” Sarma claimed.

The Gauhati High Court on February 14 said there was no need for custodial interrogation of the accused in such cases.

(PTI): Stuck in their cars in Aizawl’s traffic, two Mizoram MLAs and a minister on Tuesday hitchhiked to the assembly on twowheelers.

The photos of Land Revenue and Settlement Minister Lalruatkima, opposition ZPM leader Lalduhoma and ruling MNF legislator F Lalnunmawia riding pillion on scooters through the city’s maddening traffic went viral on social media. They were heading to the assembly to attend the budget session when they were stuck midway due to a traffic snarl, caused by the renovation of the road between Temple Square and Vaivakawn. Work is underway in the

Mizoram ministers hitchhiking area for the three-day B20 meeting, being organised by the CII as part of India’s G20 presidency.

The minister and the ZPM leader were rescued from the traffic by two journalists who were also on the way to the assembly.

“The three legislators were stuck due to road renovation works. They were standing on the roadside. As I approached them, minister Lalruatkima asked me to give a ride to Lalduhoma. And he got onto the two-wheeler of another journalist,” said Zohmingmawia, a senior reporter of a local newspaper. Lalnunmawia was given a lift by another person, he said.

Mizoram to host G20 meeting from March 1-3: CM

AIZAWL, FEB 28 (PTI):

Mizoram will host a G20 meeting here from March 1-3, where business delegates and diplomats from across the world are expected to participate, Chief Minister Zoramthanga said on Tuesday.

Around 85 local startups will also take part in the event at the Mizoram University (MZU) on the western outskirts of Aizawl, he said. “The G20 meeting will bring together several policymakers, business leaders, along with representatives of multilateral organisations,” Zoramthanga told a press conference here.

The chief minister said 48 business delegates and 17 diplomats from 17 countries, including the US, Germany, China, France and Japan would participate in the meeting. The event will focus on opportunities for business partnerships in areas like urban planning, infrastructure, startups, skill development, handloom and handicraft, he said. Zoramthanga said the G20 meeting would provide a platform to project Mizoram as an important investment destination, besides giving the delegates a sneak peek into the culture, heritage and tourism potential of the state.

Snippets

Rajesh Malhotra PIB’s new Principal DG NEW DELHI, FEB 28

(PTI): Se - nior Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Rajesh Malhotra was on Tuesday appointed as the Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau, a government order said. Malhotra, a 1989 batch officer, succeeds Satyendra Prakash, who superannuated on Tuesday. He will be the principal spokesperson of the government of India.

1 dies in suspected phone battery blast

UJJAIN, FEB 28 (PTI):

A 68-year-old man was found dead with his face and other upper body parts severely damaged in a suspected case of explosion of a mobile phone battery in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday in Badnagar town, about 50 km from the district headquarters, and forensic experts were conducting a probe into it, they said.

Dog mauls baby in Rajasthan hospital

NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (PTI): A month old baby sleeping next to his mother at a Rajasthan government hospital was taken away by a stray dog and mauled to death, the latest instance of a tragedy that plays out with horrific frequency in villages and towns across India. Police in Sirohi said the baby’s body was found outside the ward, his father spoke of the mother waking up to see dogs mauling her child and CCTV footage showed canines entering the premises in the dead of the night Monday. The debate over stray dogs was back on centrestage, nine days after a child in Hyderabad was dragged by a pack of stray dogs in a deserted street.

Family members of criminal attack cops

CHHATARPUR (MP), FEB 28 (PTI): Three policemen were injured when family members of a criminal hurled stones at a police team that had gone to arrest him in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district, an officer said on Tuesday. The incident occurred under the limits of Civil Lines police station on Monday night when a police team reached the house of history-sheeter

Deepu aka Dilip Jatav, against whom an arrest warrant was issued, said ASP Vikram Singh.