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It was a big relief for the Kaziranga National Park authorities when they located an elephant calf with its herd a few days back.
The little one was rescued from near the Roumari anti-poaching camp under the Bagori range of the park nearly a month back. It was stuck in a pit.
Veterinarians at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation rushed to the spot to tend to the calf which could not walk properly.
It was found that the calf, six to seven months old, had developed a deformity in its hind legs.
The calf was set free with the herd after being treated for nearly two hours.
“We had doubts whether it could ever survive in the wilds,” Phulmoni Gogoi, a vet at the centre, said.
However, to the utter relief of the Kaziranga park authorities, it was spotted a few days back, grazing merrily with the herd.
“Although we have spotted the herd several times during the last months, the calf was missing. We thought either it had died or was devoured by carnivores. But we are happy now. It has finally survived. It was also walking properly,” an official at Kaziranga said.
Historical dilemma
The secret of the chronology of pottery will remain buried for now at least. The state archaeology department has failed to carry out fresh excavation at the Ambari archaeological site as Dispur has not agreed to shift some of the important buildings like Rabindra Bhawan and the Assam State Museum from there.
A state government official said it would not be possible to shift the buildings from Ambari because of the scarcity of suitable alternative sites in the city.
Artefacts found so far reveal that the site had been inhabited for several centuries. The pottery found at Ambari has similarities with the ones found at Hastinapur in the Ganga Valley.
“Rabindra Bhawan and the Assam State Museum are important buildings and venues to host several important functions. There is a need to excavate the Ambari site to unravel many new aspects of pottery culture and Guwahati’s historical links with the rest of India,” the official said.
“Though Ambari is considered the cultural epitome of Assam, we have to think of the present first. Where will you shift the Assam State Museum and Rabindra Bhawan buildings? Shifting will cause a great deal of inconvenience. The government is only being practical. Past is past. The present and the future of a fast growing city like Guwahati is more important,” he said.
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| Students celebrate after their HSLC results in Guwahati. File picture |
Footnote
As many as 2,723 students from Assam left for higher studies after passing out Class X and 3,260 after Class XII examinations in 2008, according to figures available with the education department.
Of them, 30 students enrolled in technical courses after Class X while 19 did so after Class XII.
The figures reflect the confidence the students and their parents have in the higher education institutions outside the states.
One could very well imagine the drain of resources over the years as a senior official himself admitted that there was no data for previous years.
“Most of the students leave the state to pursue job-oriented courses,” a source in the office of education minister Gautam Bora said.
Things, however, might change for the better, he added. Steps are on to set up a university of science and technology and three engineering colleges in deference to the wishes of chief minister Tarun Gogoi to turn the state into an education hub.
But till then the brain and funds drain will continue.
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