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State Govt website in comatose state

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 11 � It is only feasible in the land of lahe lahe. The official website of Government of Assam appears to be in a comatose state, offering no new information or update. Parts of the information that is available are sketchy, others feature information which date back several years.

The last press release maintained on the website, http://www.assamgovt.nic.in/ shows Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi attending to his official duties on September 13, 2010 after returning from a heart operation in Mumbai. The first of the press releases featured in the website has the dateline of January 29, 2010. The state of affairs might make one believe that nothing significant has taken place in Assam before or after that period.

In the photo gallery section are found 25 thumb nails, most of which are of political leaders, including those of a Governor whose name figures among those linked to the multi-crore rupees scam in NC Hills. Not a single photo in the gallery is accompanied by a caption.

Some of those who have contacted this correspondent point out that the website powered by National Informatics Centre, Assam and designed by Web.Com (India) Pvt. Ltd. in association with AMTRON, looks nice, but it is when one hunts for information that the frustration sets in.

Surprises spring forth from the most unexpected of quarters, as even basic information is conspicuously absent. In the section on districts, Kamrup Metropolitan�s population shows a blank on the designated webpage. It is the same in the case of Kamrup district. More bizarre is the fact that there is no mention of Morigaon and Chirang in the district information category.

The website�s attempt to showcase the achievements of the Government is a real irony, as the achievements seemed to have ended by 2007-08. Almost all the data available in the section do not have anything to mention about recent developments. Some of the �achievements� would also invite incredulity, such as this statement: �According top priority to Information Technology and roping in world class IT corporates to the State.�

Anyone acquainted with the website would have already known the status of IT in Assam.

If one goes by the information on the website, Assam has not had a flood since August 20, 2007. It was on that day the last flood bulletin was issued on the �official� government website.

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