The overall flood situation in Lakhimpur district improved today with floodwaters of the Ronganadi, Singara, Dikrong and Kakoi receding to a great extent. However, the fresh announcement of the NEEPCO authorities to release water from the Ronganadi Hydel Power dam has sent alarm bells ringing in the district. Both Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts are cut off from the rest of the State for the fourth day today, as the about nine-metre deep breach in NH-52 at Ganesh Udyan is yet to be repaired.

The water shortage in Guwahati can no longer be overlooked. The reason for this, according to AK Das, Junior Engineer, PHE, is the old pipelines and the scheme itself. The distribution lines are almost 30 years old. "The amount of water supplied is same but the population has increased manifold and the water is never enough.' Only when the distribution network is improved people of the city can expect to lead a water worry-free life.

The long and intense heat spells attributed to climate change, has of late posed discomfort to animals in the State Zoo. Though most of the animals out of the 750 at the zoo are indigenous, still the climate change that has been triggering erratic monsoons and water scarcity has prompted the zoo authorities to adopt a special summer care regime for the animals since the last couple of years. Apart from regulation of their diet, some of the species have been requiring artificial watering to keep their nerves cool in the scorching season.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today stressed the need for establishment of flood forecasting stations in coordination with organisations like the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Meteorology department to mitigate the losses due to flash floods.

in a new application for disease-fighting vitamin c, scientists have used it to assemble fibre bundles of gold, silver and platinum nanoparticles. Such bundles are used in new-age medicine to

the 33rd National Games, which ended on February 18 in Guwahati, Assam, has once again brought into focus the plight of Deepar beel, a degraded wetland. It was the venue for the rowing competitions

to revive the failing water system in Guwahati, the Assam government will spend Rs 1,000 crore on the water and sewerage systems in the state capital and plans to revamp the city's riverfront too.

With work on the project to start in the next six months, the state government will soon invite quotations for a Rs 800-crore drainage-cum-sewerage scheme, for which it has already received a grant from the Central government, said the Guwahati development department minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.