The Northeast Frontier Railway has begun installing automatic weather stations at vulnerable locations to strengthen safety and disaster preparedness during the monsoon. The initiative is designed to ensure accurate and real-time weather forecasting and to enable timely preventive measures during floods, landslides and other adverse weather. Altogether nine weather stations are being set up, including on the Lumding–Badarpur section in Assam, the Katakhal–Sairang link to Mizoram and the Jiribam–Khongsang section in Manipur, with three already installed.

The stations will supply continuous meteorological data to operational control rooms and maintenance teams, supporting decisions on train movement, track inspections and precautionary measures. NFR has integrated the new sensors with its monitoring systems so that rainfall, wind speed and river level readings inform real-time advisories and resource mobilisation. The project is intended to reduce service disruptions and enhance passenger and asset safety across flood prone corridors.

Separately, Assam achieved a milestone in its agro-forest economy with the first legally approved export of agarwood chips to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. A consignment of 100 kilogram (kg) for Saudi Arabia and 12 kg for the UAE was dispatched from the cargo terminal of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, with the shipment valued at Rs 23.5 mn. MJI Group founder and chairman Dr Jehirul Islam flagged off the consignment and characterised the event as a historic breakthrough that followed years of research, policy advocacy and farmer engagement.

In political developments, Sujata Gurung Chowdhury, mother of AJP candidate Kunki Chowdhury, has threatened to pursue a defamation suit against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over a campaign jibe that she said misrepresented her personal beliefs and background. She asserted that she was a Hindu by birth and culture rather than by politics and objected to being labelled non-Sanatani and anti-India for electoral advantage. Together, the safety enhancements and export milestone indicate ongoing efforts across the northeast to strengthen infrastructure resilience and economic opportunities ahead of the monsoon.