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| Relief at last |
When the rains finally came on Monday, they not only brought cheer to the people of Guwahati, but also brought relief for the inmates of Assam State Zoo.
With the rain god eluding the city’s residents for weeks and the mercury soaring with every passing day, the zoo authorities were planning artificial showers for the animals.
“The heat is not a big problem for the animals as most of the enclosures have trees to provide shade. Rain, however, is important for their mental health. We were planning to seek the fire brigade’s help for an artificial shower for the animals,” Narayan Mahanta, the zoo in-charge, said.
“Thank god! It rained just in time. Otherwise, spraying water on the animals would have been a Herculean task.”
Following the rain, the animals were all perked up, Mahanta said.
“It feels great to see them, especially the flock deer frolicking under the rain in their enclosure.”
The mercury, that shot up to 37.5 degrees Celsius last week, came down to 31 on Monday afternoon as the city received 19.4mm rainfall from noon to 4.30pm because of Cyclone Aila that lashed West Bengal and Bangladesh.
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| Neeraj Garg Baruah (right) with Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit during the presentation ceremony |
The Delhi Council of Science and Technology, under the Delhi government, has conferred the prestigious Young Scientist Award on Neeraj Garg Baruah, a resident of Guwahati and student of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
The honour was bestowed on Baruah in recognition of his contribution to the development of the NANO-GIS Concept which involves the use of Nanotechnology-based nanowire sensors and geospatial technology for real time air pollution monitoring system.
Baruah has been awarded a grant of Rs 3 lakh and the support of eminent scientists in the concerned domain for developing the prototype of the model.
The award was presented to him by Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit and renowned scientist Yashpal Sharma on May 11, National Technology Day. The project will be carried out at TERI and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Delhi.
Baruah completed his schooling from Maria’s Public School and Kendriya Vidyalaya Khanapara, Guwahati, and graduated from Hindu College, Delhi University with honours in physics.
Footnote
The AGP has returned to the streets of Guwahati —this time not to seek votes from the people but to consolidate its votebank.
Having won only one of the six seats that the regional party contested in the parliamentary elections, the Asom Gana Parishad needed to put up a brave front and convey to its constituencies a sense of wellbeing.
The party decided to espouse the cause of the trading community, which, analysts believe, played a key role in ensuing the victory of the AGP-BJP combine’s candidate, Bijoya Chakraborty, in the prestigious Guwahati seat.
Leading figures of the party, including Rajya Sabha MP Birendra Prasad Baishya and MLA Ramendra Narayan Kalita, participated in a sit-in on Monday demanding a rollback of the “crippling” trade licence fee hike and early elections to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation.
“The sit-in conveys that we are done with the Lok Sabha elections and need to look ahead. At least we need to consolidate our position where we have done well,” was how a party leader described the party’s return to business.
