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GUWAHATI, The first-ever consignment of honey from Assam’s Baksa district to the United States was flagged off from Guwahati on Saturday, an official statement said. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) facilitated the export from the aspirational district under the Centre’s One District One Product (ODOP) initiative. The consignment was undertaken by APEDA-registered exporter Salt Range Foods Pvt Ltd. Commissioner and secretary of the agriculture department and agriculture production commissioner Aruna Rajoria flagged off the consignment. “The landmark consignment, comprising around 20 metric tonnes of honey, was flagged off from Guwahati. The honey has been processed and packed at the facility of Salt Range Foods Private Limited in Guwahati,” the statement said. Sourced from an eco-friendly and pesticide-free environment, the honey from Baksa district is known for its high quality and near-organic characteristics, reflecting the region’s rich biodiversity and sustainable agricultural practices, it said. Honey from Baksa has also been identified under the ODOP initiative, recognising its potential for livelihood generation, value addition and export growth. Assam has immense potential for honey production owing to its rich biodiversity, abundant forest resources and long-standing tradition of beekeeping, the statement said. The state produced approximately 1,650 metric tonnes of honey during 2023-24, according to the National Horticulture Board’s latest data. Major honey-producing districts in the state include Baksa, Kokrajhar, Chirang, Udalguri and Tamulpur in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). The APEDA, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, facilitated the export by supporting infrastructure development, including the provision of testing and laboratory equipment at the processing facility to ensure adherence to international quality standards and food safety requirements. The initiative is expected to significantly benefit local beekeepers and farmers, with farmers receiving around 43 per cent higher price realisation compared to prevailing local farm gate prices, thereby enhancing income opportunities and strengthening rural livelihoods in the region, the statement said. (Source: PTI)  

JORHAT, Two minor sisters were allegedly raped by their grandfather in Assam’s Jorhat district, with one girl dying by suicide the next day, police said on Saturday. The incident occurred under Teok police station area on Thursday evening. Police said the two girls, aged 10 and 12 years, had gone to pick mangoes in the backyard of their house when their grandfather accosted them and raped them. “The elder sister died by suicide on Friday, following which the incident came to light. It was then that the 10-year-old victim narrated the previous day’s incident,” they said. The 65-year-old accused, the victim’s grandfather from the paternal side, has been arrested based on the girl’s statement, the police added. (Source: PTI)    

  Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday expressed hope that the new BJP government in West Bengal would rebuild ‘Shonar Bangla’ under the leadership of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Speaking to PTI Videos on the sidelines of Adhikari’s swearing-in ceremony at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, Sarma said ‘Anga, Banga, Kalinga and Pragjyotishpur’ are now governed by a party deeply rooted in preserving ‘Sanatani’ values.   He was referring to the ancient kingdoms that once ruled the region. Having come to power in Odisha (Kalinga) in 2024, the BJP unseated the 15-year-old TMC government in West Bengal (Banga) and returned to power for a third consecutive term in Assam, whose largest city is Guwahati (Pragjyotishpur). The BJP also installed its first government in Bihar (Anga) last month, with Samrat Choudhary leading it as the chief minister. Sarma said, “Hope the new government in West Bengal will reclaim ‘Shonar Bangla’.” Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who was also present at the ceremony, said the new BJP government would help accelerate the state’s development. “India is on a trajectory of development. Under PM Narendra Modi, every state will progress,” she told reporters. (Source: PTI)    

NONGPOH, Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on Saturday stressed the need for convergence of legal aid and welfare schemes to ensure last-mile delivery of justice. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating an awareness camp in Meghalaya’s Ri Bhoi district, Justice Surya Kant, who is also the Patron-in-Chief of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), said healthcare access, educational support, livelihood opportunities and rehabilitation assistance were being brought together through such camps to ensure that benefits reached the grassroots. The mega camp-cum-awareness programme on NALSA schemes and government welfare schemes was organised at Marngar in Ri Bhoi district under the theme “Bridging the Gap” by the High Court of Meghalaya and the Meghalaya State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) in partnership with the state government. “It is very essential that under one roof all these welfare schemes implemented by government departments, organisations and legal institutions are made available to all,” he said, urging all stakeholders to work in tandem to strengthen access to justice. The CJI also acknowledged the role of para-legal volunteers in delivering legal services at the grassroots level and called for strengthening their recruitment. Speaking on the occasion, Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan highlighted the importance of aligning traditional justice systems with the constitutional framework while appreciating Meghalaya’s unique customary practices. He also referred to Ri Bhoi’s famed pineapple cultivation, remarking in a lighter vein that the people of Meghalaya were “as sweet as the pineapples grown there”. Meghalaya Law Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said the MSLSA had devised a comprehensive state action plan tailored to local conditions to effectively address issues faced by the people while remaining in consonance with national laws and policies. Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya Justice Revati Mohite Dere said the mega camp was aimed at ensuring legal help reached the people at their doorstep. “In our democracy, justice has no distance,” she said, adding that 14 such mega camps had been organised across nine districts in the past five years, benefitting thousands of people. During the programme, dignitaries distributed assistive devices to persons with disabilities, financial assistance and work orders to self-help groups and village organisations, and certificates to legal aid lawyers and para-legal volunteers for their performance during 2025. Later, High Court judges Justice H S Thangkhiew and Justice W Diengdoh flagged off multi-utility vehicles under the NALSA Grant-in-Aid Scheme. (Source: PTI)