Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is concerned over an alarming rise in the number of HIV/AIDS patients who were infected with the disease due to injecting drugs. He recently reviewed HIV/AIDS prevalence in the state and the state government’s efforts to combat the issue. Sharing the figures, Sarma said a stark point was how 65% of the HIV positive people detected last year contracted the disease due to injecting drugs. “Our stern efforts towards a #DrugsFreeAssam thus assumes greater significance as it is leading to severe irreversible health complications for the people,” he wrote on X. Polls gone, ST status demand resurfacesThe Lok Sabha elections are done and dusted away with and the demand of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities has resurfaced. Angry that the BJP has not fulfilled the demand despite a promise, the All Moran Students’ Union has decided to stage a series of protests in upper Assam’s Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar and Charaideo. It said the BJP secured the votes of the Morans by giving a false promise that it would grant ST status to the community. “We will stage protests from first week of July and also boycott Independence Day,” a leader of students’ group said. Assam basks in Riyan’s gloryAssam is basking in the glory of cricketer Riyan Parag who has been selected in the India side that will tour Zimbabwe. The 22-year-old is the first cricketer from the Northeast to join the national men’s team. His father, Parag Das, is a former first-class cricketer who represented Assam, Railways and East Zone cricket teams. Riyan’s mother Mithoo Barooah is a former national record holding swimmer who represented India at the Asian Championships and SAF Games. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma described Riyan’s selection as a watershed moment for sports. “Our very own Assam boy becomes the first cricketer from Northeast to join the ‘Men in Blue’ club,” he said. Prasanta MazumdarOur correspondent in Guwahatiprasantamazumdar@newindianexpress.com
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