Guwahati Dec 25 PTI No COVID-19 deaths were reported in Assam on Saturday while 56 new cases detected during the day took the overall caseload to 620081 a National Health Mission NHM bulletin said The fresh infections were detected from 14251 tests conducted during the day with positivity rate at 039 per cent it said The new cases were lesser by 37 compared to 93 the previous day though the days positivity rate was higher as against that of Friday Among the fresh infections 28 were from Kamrup Metropolitan district No COVID-19 death was reported during the day and the death toll remained at 6155 with death rate at 099 per cent the NHM bulletin said The number of COVID-19 positive patients who have died due to other reasons also remained at 1347 Altogether 158 COVID-19 patients were discharged from different hospitals and Covid Care Centres after recovering from the infection The number of cured patients has reached 611822 with the recovery rate at 9867 per cent The active COVID-19 positive cases in the state currently is at 757 lower from 859 cases the previous day The NHM bulletin said a total of 36925539 doses of vaccines have been administered This includes 21698277 first doses and 15227262 second dosesPTI SSG ANB ANB

Guwahati Dec 25 PTI Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday called upon BJP leaders in the state to give up Personal Security Officers PSO terming it a Congress culture He claimed that there was no threat to life of any BJP leader in the state as they have done no harm to anyone We dont have any threat to our lives Why do we need PSOs Who will kill us This is a Congress culture Sarma said addressing a programme to mark former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees birthday here The CM said he can provide guarantee that there is no threat to any BJP member We have not done any bad thing There are no active militant groups also anymore Of course some might have an old issue against them Sarma added The chief minister said he has the authority to remove the PSOs but he is waiting for the request to come from the partys end I can remove the PSOs But I am waiting for our state BJP president to move the matter himself Sarma added PTI SSG RG RG

Guwahati Dec 25 PTI The Assam government on Saturday issued new COVID-19 directives for New Year celebration lifting night curfew on December 31 It urged all people to maintain COVID appropriate behaviour including wearing of face masks adding that fines will be imposed and legal action initiated against anyone failing to do so The revised directives will remain in force throughout the state from 6 am of December 26 till further orders state Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said He said as per the new SOP night curfew will be in force from 1130 pm to 6 am However it will not be applicable on the night of December 31 Mahanta further said for omicron specific regulation district magistrates superintendents of police and all other authorities concerned shall be responsible for ensuring COVID appropriate behaviour in all public places All work places business and commercial establishments will remain open till 1030 pm For meetings or gatherings in open spaces the district disaster management authority will specify the number depending on the COVID situation in that district while in closed spaces gathering up to 50 per cent of seating capacity would be allowed Iconic religious places can allow 60 fully vaccinated people per hour with the number of devotees or visitors restricted to 40 per hour for other religious placesCinema halls will continue to operate with 50 per cent seating capacity The minister further said district magistrates and superintendents of police will ensure that the people strictly abide by the directives and they will also deploy sufficient number of teams for keeping vigil Any person violating these measures will be liable to be proceeded against as per provisions of Disaster Management Act 2005 and other legal provisions Further any person not wearing face mask or spitting in public places shall be fined Rs 1000 Mahanta urged the people to abide by the regulations specified and follow COVID appropriate behaviour to contain the spread of the virus The COVID-19 tally in the state is at 620025 with 93 new cases reported on Friday while the death toll is at 6155 as per latest National Health Mission data PTI SSG RG RG

Guwahati Dec 25 PTI Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi on Saturday said awareness and education on different cultures are essential to inculcate tolerance towards each other and resolve conflicts through dialogue He said that education should be aimed at providing information on different cultures and ideologies to broaden the mental outlook from the formative years an official release said Speaking at a conclave on Conflict of Civilization in Post-Modern India and its Remedy here Mukhi said ideological moorings which influence language culture tradition and most importantly religion should not be allowed to foment conflict Rather a broad-based education with comprehensive information about other people their cultures and ideology can broaden the mental outlook which will subsequently be helpful in resolving conflicts he added Mukhi said India is a multi-cultural nation and diverse people have made this land their home and assimilated into its society However conflict arises when any one or more groups assert their hegemony over others on economic linguistic cultural or political front He further said It is really heartening that in our country people belonging to different religious linguistic and ethnic groups are living in complete harmony This has been done through dialogue and inculcating the value of tolerance to remove prejudice against other communities regarding their belief systems and cultural practices The governor said in the past though conflicts happened between kings and kingdoms because of their expansionist policies gradually the nature of conflict deviated to cultural affiliations This is a dangerous proposition which might weaken the very edifice of human existence he cautioned The governor said in view of increasing instances of cultural conflicts which might snowball into a major global crisis there is an urgent need to aggressively generate awareness education for resolving conflict To reduce the tensions and polarisation between societies which differ in religious and cultural values it is necessary to teach children and young people about the diverse cultures and communities that the society is blessed with he said For instance many people from Northeast India have been victims of hate crimes and prejudice in other parts of India This has to be negotiated and altered with large scale information education and communication Mukhi said PTI SSG RG RG

Guwahati Dec 25 PTI Over 9000 Utilisation Certificates of various projects and schemes of 52 departments of the Assam government from 2001-02 to 2018-19 have not been submitted a CAG report said More than 68 per cent of the 9379 outstanding UCs are of the last four years since 2015-16 the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said in its report on state finances under the section of Quality of Accounts Financial Reporting Practices The amount against which UCs are still pending comes to Rs 2040248 crore it said At least 1345 UCs amounting to Rs 719784 crore are due for the 2018-19 fiscal while 24 such documents worth Rs 160723 crore in 2016-17 have not been submitted according to the report which was tabled in the assembly on Friday Utilisation Certificates of Rs 349438 crore grants paid up to the financial year 2018-19 are pending from the health department followed by the Welfare of Plain Tribes and Backward Classes with UCs worth Rs 240351 crore UCs help rule out misappropriation of grants and frauds About 50 per cent of capital expenditure is being incurred out of grants-in-aid In the absence of UCs it could not be ascertained whether the recipients had utilised the grants for the purpose for which those were given and the assets had been created the CAG report said It also said the state government has given grants-in-aid of Rs 1803266 crore during the 2018-19 fiscal under Others head which constituted 7039 per cent of the total assistance given in the year During the 2019-20 fiscal the state government incurred an expenditure of Rs 1903652 crore under Minor Head 800 constituting 2376 per cent of the total revenue and capital expenditure Indiscriminate operation of omnibus Minor Head 800 Other Expenditure affected transparency in financial reporting and obscured proper analysis of allocative priorities and quality of expenditure the report stated If such instances occur on a regular basis it is the responsibility of the state government to seek advice from the Accountant General AE on an appropriate classification it said The CAG said it had not received 704 annual accounts of 138 autonomous councils and government bodies for audit as on December 31 2020 It recommended a rigorous monitoring mechanism by the state government to ensure that the departments comply with prescribed rules and procedures for submission of UCs The CAG also suggested strengthening of the internal control mechanism and ensuring that officers reconcile their figures of receipts and expenditure at prescribed intervals PTI SSG BDC BDC