Guwahati (PTI): The family of celebrated singer Zubeen Garg on Friday announced that they would set up a trust in his name to work for the society in accordance with his vision.

The singer's wife Garima Garg and sister Palmee Borthakur made the announcement at a press conference in Guwahati.

"We have decided to set up a trust in the name of Zubeen Garg after consultation with our family members, relatives, well-wishers, and people from different walks of life who were associated with him," Garima said.

Members of the 'Zubeen Fan Club' will also be working closely with the trust, she added.

Garima said the family property in the Kharghuli area of the city will be donated to the trust, which will operate from there.

"The trust will work on issues close to Zubeen's heart, including nature conservation and promoting young talent. It will also take steps for scientific preservation of intellectual property rights of his creations, and have a dedicated research wing that will deal with his life and works," she said.

The trust will work closely with the 'Kalaguru Artists Foundation', founded by Garg, in the social and cultural fields, and with ‘Abhinaya: Jonkie Borthakur Performing Arts Academy’, named after the singer's deceased sister, in undertaking initiatives for the new generation, the family said.

They said that through this trust, they were aiming to safeguard his dreams, work, creative legacy, ideals and beliefs for future generations.

The 52-year-old singer-composer-actor had died on September 19 while swimming in the sea in Singapore, where he had gone to attend the Northeast Festival.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the case, has charged festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, the singer’s secretary Siddhartha Sharma and his two band members Shekharjyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta with murder, and his cousin Sandipan Garg with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The singer's two personal security officers (PSOs), Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya, have been charged with criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust by misappropriating funds or property entrusted to them.

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.



New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.

The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.

The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.

Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.

The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.

There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.

The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.

The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.

India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.

Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.