40 lakh left out of draft list of NRC in Assam
Guwahati, July 30 : The first complete draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), comprising names of 2,89,83,677 people of Assam, was published on Monday.
Releasing the document online at the state NRC headquarters here, Registrar General of India, Sailesh said that a total of 3,29,91,384 people had applied for inclusion of their names in the document, but 40,07,707 had been left out due to some discrepancies in their documents.
"This is a draft NRC and not the final NRC. All genuine Indian citizens whose names did not figure in the NRC will get ample opportunities to enter their names in the final NRC," Sailesh said, terming the day "historic". "It's a historic day for Assam and India as a whole. Today we have achieved a milestone of publishing the first complete draft NRC.
"The scale, size and complexity of the whole exercise are unparalleled. The process has been transparent, clear and meticulously executed with involvement of over 52,000 government officials over a period of three years," he said.
Assam State Coordinator for NRC, Pratik Hajela said that all those whose name did not figure in the document need not worry as there is a laid down procedures for claims and objections, which will start from August 30.
"Whoever, wishes to file a claim for inclusion of their names in the NRC can approach the NRC Seva Kendras and file claim from August 30.
"We will start distribution of claims and objection and correction forms from August 7. The process of filing of the claims, objection and corrections will continue til September 28," Hajela said.
There would also be assistance for those who need assistance in filing the claims and objections, he added.
Hajela said that the 40,07,707 people whose name did not figure in the NRC will be intimated through separate letters about the discrepancies and there will be opportunities for them to correct the same.
"Details of these 40,07,707 (people) will not be disclosed as we have to respect their privacy.
"Out of them, there are 2.48 lakh people whose cases are pending before different Foreigners' Tribunals," he said adding that the status quo of these people -- whose name did not figure in the NRC -- will remain as "applicant" and not as "Indian" or "non-Indian".
Satyen Garg, Joint Secretary, Northeast, in the Union Home Ministry, reiterated that the none of the persons, whose name did not figure in the NRC, will be taken to the detention camps or Foreigners' Tribunals.
Sufficient opportunity will be given to those persons to include their names in the final NRC, he assured.
The Assam government has intensified security arrangements across the state following apprehensions that there might be trouble after publication of the NRC.
The Central government had already sent over 200 companies of security forces to assist the state police in handling the situation.
The Assam government had started the process of updating the NRC on December 2013. On December 31, 2017, the Assam government had released the first draft of the NRC which included the names of 1.90 crore people.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
