G plus volume 1 issue 19 by G Plus

VOL 01 | ISSUE 19 | FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

`10 ges 24 Pa

IS THE

IDENTITY

With the Voter ID cards being distributed in the city, will it become the new standard of identity for all the ‘legit’ citizens and Indians?

CRISIS OVER?

Satya Nadella Catching Up, Pg 24

Going soft

MODI CAN NEVER DOMINATE ASSAM -Cong

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Lead Story

IS THE IDENTITY CRISIS OVER? With the Voter ID cards being distributed in the city, will it become the new standard of identity for all the ‘legit’ citizens and Indians? MRINMOYEE HAZARIKA

ith the commencement of the distribution of Elector Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) to the voters of the state on the National voters’ day held on the 25th of January this year, the people of the state are expecting to receive their long awaited new proofs of identity. As per the mandates of the Election Commission of India, the voters of the city of Guwahati too have started receiving their respective photo ID cards on the basis of the draft electoral rolls published on the 1st of October last year. More than 40 lakh voters in 29 of the state’s 126 Assembly constituencies are expected to get their voter photo ID cards. According to the DC office of Kamrup (M), altogether 9,44,088 voters of the city will get their photo voter ID cards. Out of those voters, 4,86,280 are male and 4,57,808 are female.

- - -

Any family member can receive the EPIC on behalf of family if his name is available in the electoral rolls Photo identity card will not be issued to doubtful or D voters Photo identity card will be issued after obtaining signature against the name of the elector in the issue register prepared for this purpose

Data available in the ID card- Number and name of LAC - Number and name of polling station - Name of the elector - Name of the relation - Sex - Date of birth - Address

Disheartening moment

Like the lakhs of voters of the city, Phulumoni Brahma too was excited to receive her EPIC. But, she was disheartened as soon as she got the card which had a disproportionate photograph of her face. On top of that, her name as well her father’s had also been misspelled. “It is very hard to decipher my face from the photo printed on the photo voter ID card. Besides, the spellings of both me and my father’s name in English language are wrongly printed. Though, the spellings of the same in Assamese language are correct,” Phulumoni told G Plus.

Authority’ speaks

Phulumoni Brahma is not the only person who got a wrongly spelled and disproportionate photo embedded voter photo ID card. Some other voters of the city too have received such cards and the district administration, which is responsible for distributing those cards are aware of the anomalies found in the new ID cards. “We have seen that some of the photo voters ID cards distributed among the people are not completely correct. But the photos as well as the names imprinted on the card were looking fine at the time of initialisation of the process. Somehow it went wrong. There are some issues with the software as well, which lead to the errors in the voter photo ID card,” sources at DC office, Kamrup (M) told G Plus. The source also mentioned that it would be tough to address the issue right now. “It would not be possible

to address the issue now because, the preliminary work for the upcoming LS election has already got underway and all the officials have started becoming busy for the same. We might be able to address the issue of the photo voter ID card after Bohag bihu” the source stated.

Concern

Currently, the polling officers in different booths situated at different localities of the city are distributing the EPICs among the people. Although it was instructed to them that the cards needed to be delivered door to door, it was seen that they had asked the locals to come and collect their cards on specific dates. Pressure had been put by the Election Commission on the state election department after the Assembly elections in April 2011 regarding the photo electoral rolls (PER) process, so that it could be implemented in the 2014 general elections. The process was introduced in the 2009 general elections, barring Nagaland, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir. The state election department took the first step towards this by shortlisting the Kamrup (metro) district for the launch of the pilot project in September, 2011. Earlier attempts at introducing the photo voter list or photo identity cards did not take off because of apprehen-

“

It is very hard to decipher my face from the photo printed on the photo voter ID card. Besides, the spellings of both me and my father’s name in English language are wrongly printed. Though, the spellings of the same in Assamese language are correct”

sion that it would affect the detection and deportation of illegal foreigners. However, the major concern is ‘will this EPIC be considered as a genuine identity for the people with almost unrecognisable photos and misspelled names?’ and ‘will the state people ever be able to overcome their identity crisis with the new voter photo ID cards being issued to them?’

WHAT IS A VOTER ID CARD? WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO HAVE A VOTER ID CARD?

Voter ID card or Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is an identification card issued by the Election Commission to all eligible voters, to enable voter identification on Election Day. All those who are already enrolled in

the voter list are eligible to receive a voter ID card.Reference: ERO Handbook, pg 69, 15

IS A VOTER ID CARD ESSENTIAL FOR VOTING?

No. This is a very commonly held myth! Only 2 things are mandatory for voting Your name should be there in the list of registered voters i.e. in electoral roll or voter list of your polling booth. You should carry an approved photo identity proof document. If you are issued with a voter ID card, you have to compulsorily carry it on the day of voting as an identity proof. If you do not possess a voter ID card, you can carry any one of the approved photo identity proof documents on Election Day. Reference: ERO Handbook, pg. 69 (point 2)

DOES THE POSSESSION OF VOTER ID CARD ENTITLE ME FOR VOTING?

No.The mere possession of voter ID card DOES NOT entitle you to voting, because it is mandatory for your name to appear in electoral roll or voter list. Once you have found out that your name is there in the electoral rolls, and you possess an approved photo identity proof document (voter ID card or others), you are entitled to vote.Reference: ERO Handbook, pg. 73 (Point 28)

SHOULD I PAY FOR A VOTER ID CARD?

No, if you are getting a voter ID card for the first time.

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G-View

POLICE COMMISSIONERATE WHAT WILL WE GET OUT OF IT?

A lot of noise is being made about the decision but what will it exactly do to the power corridors of the city? Will the citizens gain anything from it? RAHUL CHANDA Yes, of course! Guwahati should have a police commissionerate. It is already too late; we should have had it long ago. Many people are unaware that this had been recommended in the Shanti Prasad commission report in the late 70s and attempts had been made since 1984 to bring the system into place in Guwahati. Moreover, the subsequent police Commissionerate reports of various police commissionerates in the country say that any city having a population of more than 10 lakhs should have a police commissionerate,” said GM Srivastava, former Director General of Police, Assam. He also mentioned that more recently, the Assam Police Act has also made a provision of posting a police commissioner in Guwahati. The present day population, crime and law and order situation requires very close monitoring and for quick and better results, one needs to think of a single window concept authorising the police officers to take decisions in the matters without waiting for other agencies to decide and communicate for action. After years of ‘will it or won’t it,’ the Assam government is all set to appoint a police commissioner for Guwahati. The announcement echoed from Governor JB Patnaik’s speech after unfurling the national flag at the veterinary playground in Khanapara on this Republic Day. Patnaik said that the commissionerate would be set up soon to firmly deal with the rising crime graph in the city. But the question is when? Is the city ready for a commissionerate? Why is it taking so long for Tarun Gogoi to appoint a commissioner? Is there any lobby, which is against the appointment of a commissioner?

Commissionerate examples

There are police commissionerates in 49 cities of India. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced constitution of 6 commissionerates in West Bengal within a span of 24 hours. Similarly, there is history of Charan Singh introducing a commissionerate in Delhi within a day. It is the state government, which decides on the formation of a city police commissionerate. So the four years, which were used as the time for scrutinising the need for Guwahati police commissionerate, looks like a never-ending process. The Governor might have announced that the city will soon get a commissionerate,

practised between different levels of the commissioner and the assistant commissioners of police. The city will be divided into three divisions - east, west and central. Many powers of the present day district Deputy Commissioner will also get transferred to the police, but again, the powers will be entirely decided by the government.

but it seems there are a lot of issues, which still have to be measured and even if it does get commissioned, is the city police ready for such a change? Obviously, the decision is entirely political.

The power game It is obvious that the city police will be entrusted with certain extra additional powers if the commissionerate goes ahead. According to IGP (law and order) SN Singh, the police have already submitted the required format to the Assam government and it is totally upon the government to decide on the powers. He said, “There are certain powers that will be granted to the police -like the CRPC section 144 and 107, which, at present is implemented by the district magistrate.” Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) empowers a magistrate to prohibit an assembly of more than ten people in an area. Section 107 is used for keeping the peace in other cases.

The Opposition

The structural difference

At present, there is a certain kind of hierarchal structure, which will change if the city police gets a commissionerate. The magisterial powers will be

Present structure

Structure after commissionerate

Deputy Inspector General of Police

Commissioner (ADGP or IGP ranked)

Senior Superintendent of Police

Joint Commissioners (2 numbers) (DIG ranked)

Superintendent of Police (2 numbers) Additional Superintendent of Police (7 numbers) Deputy Superintendent of Police (Divisions) (4 numbers) Deputy Superintendent of Police (others) (6 numbers) Officer in Charge of Police Stations

Deputy Commissioners (9 numbers) (SSP or SP ranked) Additional Deputy Commissioners (7 numbers) (Addl SP ranked) Assistant Commissioners (18 numbers) (DSP ranked) Officer in charges of police stations

The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has opposed the state government’s decision of constituting a police commissionerate for Guwahati, demanding stronger infrastructure for the existing city police stations and increase deployment of forces instead. It is true that the city police is understaffed, so are the city police prepared for a commissionerate? Highly placed sources in the police administration informed G Plus that there also exists, a lobby of IAS officers in Guwahati who are against the formation of a commissionerate in the city at present and this is the reason why it is taking so long for the state government to appoint a police commissioner. The Assam government failed to control crimes against women and traffic congestion in the city. The fear of thieves and burglars is causing sleepless nights but the number of police deployed on the streets remains inadequate. There are many traffic points which are mostly unmanned and the time taken to solve a case is also a matter of concern. Whatever the scenario is, the citizens require security - be it with a commissionerate or without it, safety and law and order needs to be maintained. Some people are also apprehensive about the police with a few even looking at them as criminals who can allow anything to happen if they get their shares. But, it is true that Guwahati is growing, and population-wise it fulfils all the criteria to warrant a commissionerate. The cops too are on the job in spite of getting slammed always. It is just that they cannot do anything without the order of the law of the constitution. There are lawyers too, who help criminals come out from behind the bars, and the blame goes to the cops. So it is the entire system where there are too many loopholes. Should the government rework the entire system and then think of upgrading the police to a next level?

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

In The News A recent report by ASACS that the region has the highest prevalence of HIV infected persons and it is vulnerable due to its cosmopolitan nature. Mrinmoyee Hazarika

IDS, the dreaded disease has been spreading its tentacles across the state. Guwahati being the premier city of not only of the state but also the region has already fallen into the clutches of this deadly virus. According to a recent report published by the Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS), as on 30 th September, 2013, a total number of 8580 positive cases of HIV have been detected in the state and among them 646 are pregnant women. Out of these, 3488 cases have been found to be in Kamrup (Metro and rural) district alone. The year 2013 (since September 30th) has witnessed 939 HIV positive cases in Assam. After Kamrup, the district of Cachar comes second in terms of number of HIV positive cases with 1728 cases. “One of the reasons of Assam being a highly vulnerable state for HIV transmission is that the state is surrounded by three high prevalence states - Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. Besides, large number of the young population from the state are also going out to larger cities for employment and get involved in high-risk behaviour. Another reason for this high vulnerability is its position as the gateway to the North eastern states. Because of this, a large number of female migrants from the other NE states, West Bengal and Nepal who have come to Assam for employment and education get involved in behaviour that is favourable for HIV transmission,” the state fact sheet report of ASACS says. The report also reveals that the state of Assam has been recording a steady growth of positive cases of HIV in the last 12 years. Only 55 HIV positive cases were detected in Assam in the year 2002, which has gone up to 1337 in 2012, marking an increase of 2330.90%. “The adult HIV prevalence in the state has increased from 0.04% in 2007 to 0.07% in 2011. According to the NACO technical report, 2012, the annual HIV new infections has increased in the state from 1219 in 2007 to 2408 in 2011, at a rate of 2.5%. The same report also mentions that Assam has an estimated 12,804 people living with HIV (PLHA) in 2011,” the ASACS says. The ASACS report further stated that as per the national estimate, Assam has 12804 numbers of positive people with an adult prevalence of 0.07% and ASACS has detected only 8580 cases till date, which means more than 4200 positive cases are yet to be detected in the state.

3488

“One of the reasons of Assam being a highly vulnerable state for HIV transmission is that the state is surrounded by three high prevalence states Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. Besides, large number of the young population from the state are also going out to larger cities for employment and get involved in high-risk behaviour.” state fact sheet report of ASACS

HIV positive cases detected in kamrup

646

Out of that are expecting mothers

Year wise detection of HIV positives in Assam since 2002 Year

No of cases

2002

2003

134

2004

211

2005

310

2006

509

2007

687

2008

774

2009

958

2010

1027

2011

1275

2012

133

2013 (as on 30 Sep) th

939

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

In The News

Dalai Lama Advocates to Include Secular Ethics In Schools G Plus Feature

The Tibetan Spiritual leader visited the city and spoke to many of his followers, fans and citizens who hold him in high regard.

e is undoubtedly the most popular and highly respected religious leaders in contemporary times. The news of his maiden Guwahati visit created a sense of excitement among all the people from different walks of life. For many, it was a lifetime opportunity to catch a glimpse of the spiritual leader who was in the city for Festival of Tibetan Art and Culture. The 14th Dalai Lama, the noble peace prize-winning messenger of peace was in the city and as he spoke, the audience was held in thrall. For the 78 year old spiritual leader who perceives India to be his home, the message was loud and clear – ‘Rise above Religion and Race’. The ever smiling Dalai Lama was, for peace and harmony among the people of 21st century. Addressing a huge gathering, which also included his followers from Bhutan, Nepal and the neighbouring

states of NE at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati, the Dalai Lama said that only dialogues with a strong will power could bring solution to the current day crisis across the globe. “Let the 21st century be the century of dialogues. Problems that are causing troubles need to be addressed with dialogues. Only then, we can call it the century of peace and for that we need strong will power,” the spiritual leader who fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising said during the first LBS (Lawyers Book Stall) Founders’ Commemorative Lecture on ‘A Human Approach to Peace and the Individual.’ The Dalai Lama also advocated that the secular ethics should be included in the schools while appreciating India for its secularism. “Secular ethics must be included in schools to educate the young minds so that we can see a healthy tomorrow. We have to work more seriously for religious

“

Let the 21st century be the century of dialogues. Problems that are causing troubles need to be addressed with dialogues. Only then, can we call it the century of peace and for that we need strong will power”

harmony by promoting human values and secular ethics through education. The secular concept is very important to India and its constitution is based on secularism for its multi-religious community. We really need the effort to educate people on this aspect as it is very relevant in today’s world,” Dalai Lama who won the noble peace prize in 1989 said. Stating that India was truly an example of secularism where people of world’s major religions lived together, he said, “This is truly a precious thing and is a good example to show the world. India is a pluralistic, multi-religious society, in which homegrown religions like Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism flourish alongside religions that have come from outside like Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. All these faiths live peaceably together in harmony. In my lectures abroad, people call me a messenger of India as I always talk of

‘ahimsa’ (non-violence) and harmony.” The Dalai Lama said that though all religions taught the message of love and compassion, political power and economic interest corrupted people. He said though the world’s major religions had a common message there might be vast differences in theory and philosophy. “The main practice of all major religions is love and to defend it against obstacles we need tolerance and forgiveness. Consequently, all major religions talk about compassion, tolerance, contentment, and self-discipline. The masters of our various traditions have been realistic in their teaching,” the 78 year old spiritual leader said. Earlier, after his arrival in Guwahati, he participated in an Interfaith Conclave on Peace and Religious Harmony. He also inaugurated the 5-Day Festival of Tibetan Art and Culture in the afternoon at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra before moving to Shillong.

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

In The News

Axom Sahitya Sabha & Its Guwahati Session The special session organised in the city did not turn out as expected and the organisers were probably wrong in gauging the waters. pranjal boruah

oor response from people to the 8th special annual session of Axom Sahitya Sabha, the largest literary body in Assam, indicated that Guwahati was perhaps not the right place to organise the session. The three-day session was held at Xahityarothi Lakshminath Bezbaruah Khetra at the playground of the College of Veterinary Science, Khanapara from February 1st to the 3rd. Although the city hosted a session of the Sabha after 58 years, the number of visitors was noticeably low even considering the fact that it is the biennial session, which is more important and bigger in scope than an annual one. Earlier, Guwahati hosted sessions of the Sabha in 1924, 1937 and 1955 when Lakshminath Bezbaruah, Krishna Kanta Handique and Jatindra Nath Duwora were the presidents of the Sabha respectively. But, this time, what happened was rather unexpected. Being the state capital and the place where apparently the crème de la crème reside, Guwahati let the Sabha’s session face acute financial crisis. The organisers initially made a budget of Rs 4 crore which was later slashed to nearly Rs 50 lakhs. The constraint forced the organisers to cancel all programmes at Chachal that they had planned initially. Besides, the cultural procession that they were planning to make as the biggest one in the history of the Sabha came out as an ordinary one. “Considering the presence of so many business establishments, government and non-government organisations and affluent people, we thought that finance would not be an issue at all. But the reality was differ-

ent. Not many city residents bothered about the Session,” said an organiser. Vice-president of the Sabha, Paramananda Rajbongshi, openly announced that barring the state social welfare minister Akon Bora and agriculture minister Nilamani Sen Deka, no MLAs and ministers helped the Sabha in holding the session. However, president of the Sabha, Imran Shah, has a different view on Guwahati. He believes that Guwahati is the nerve centre of the state. “For all sorts of talents Guwahati is like the Mecca,” Shah said in his speech on the concluding day of the session. What did Sabha president Imran Shah say? The president of Axom Sahitya Sabha is held in high regard across the state. On the concluding day of the

“

Considering the presence of so many business establishments, government and non-government organisations and affluent people, we thought that finance would not be an issue at all. But the reality was different. Not many city residents bothered about the Session

Guwahati session of the Sabha a cultural rally was organised from Dispur to the Sabha venue with Shah moving in a vehicle decorated like a peacock. In the open session, Shah stressed on the need of mutual cooperation among all communities for overall development of the state. “If we want Assam to develop we must go together with all the communities living here. Moreover, development of each community is a prerequisite for it,” said Shah. He said that the communities in Assam are culturally very rich and many aspects of their

lives were yet to be explored. Shah also talked about the efforts by a section of people to have a separate slot for Assamese language in the Unicode Consortium. He said that the problem can be resolved with effort from the state government. “It will be good for our language if the state government takes up the issue seriously,” he said. Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee Dr Temsula Ao’s feelings: Temsula Ao from Nagaland inaugurated the open session of the Sabha and also expressed her feelings. “I write in English which is not my mother tongue; but I am fortunate in the sense that English has been recognised as one of the Indian languages by Sahitya Akademi, the National Academy of Letters. Many other writers of the Northeast, like me have thus been empowered to participate in literary discourses with the rest of the country. It has indeed been a boon to those of us who come from oral cultures. The Akademi is to be congratulated for this very accommodative and visionary attitude to the diversity of languages in the country,” she said. Ao went on to add that, “Whenever I write, it comes from the inner assurance that I exist in the oneness with my fellow human beings engaged in the pursuit of writing. Therefore, when I tell a story or compose a poem, I try to blend my imagination

with theirs and for the duration of that creative voyage we participate in a common pursuit of discovering the essential meaning of life. That is why the stories find resonance in other minds and the poems re-write themselves into new ones. My writing thus gets a new lease of life and re-furbishes itself in the process. And when on some occasions a complete stranger says, ‘Hey, I liked that story or poem of yours,’ I feel vindicated because it proves that my writing has found affirmation in another mind, that I am not alone at all.” The biggest failure of the Guwahati session of the Sabha: Inability to bring the representatives of the Sahitya Sabhas of other communities to Xahityarothi Lakshminath Bezbaruah Khetra was the biggest failure of the Guwahati session of the Sabha. The same happened in the biennial session of the Sabha at Barpeta Road last year. This has showed that the Sabha has failed to bridge the gap between indigenous communities of the state. Next biennial session The next biennial session of the Sabha will be held at Kaliabor in Nagaon district from February 1 to 4 in 2015. “We hope that the biennial session will be a grand one. We invite everybody to visit the session,” said an organiser.

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

City

Cancer and Super-speciality wings for GMCH New projects are set to be up and running in the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital this year.

Mrinmoyee Hazarika

he year 2014 is expected to bring smiles to the faces of the people who have been fighting the cancer and the patients of the city as well as the state will soon get a new place for treatment as soon as the construction of the cancer hospital wing of the Gauhati Medical College gets completed. “The construction of a 200 bedded cancer hospital is going on, right in the opposite building of the GMCH. It will be completed and functional within this year,” superintendent of GMCH Romen Talukdar told G Plus. The new inclusion of a cancer hospital in GMCH is a part of the state government’s recent announcement, which mentions about setting up of six cancer hospitals under all the medical colleges across the State. “We will have 200-bedded cancer hospitals in all the medical colleges in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Barpeta, Tezpur and Silchar,” Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said a few days back. According to the annual report 2011-12 of B Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati the number of cancer patients turning up at the hospital has gone up to 33.29% in the last eleven years (from 2001-02 to 201112). During the year 2001-02, altogether 3622 number of cancer patients turned up at BBCI, whereas the numbers stood at 4828 in 2011-12. Besides, the superintendant of GMCH also mentioned about completing a super speciality hospital close to the present building in this year. Stating about the new projects to be coming up in 2014, Romen Talukdar said, “Construction work of a super speciality hospital is going on and will be functional within this year near the present campus of GMCH. Full-fledged departments of cardiology, cardio-thoracic, nephrology, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, endocrinology, among others and a new department in the form of GI surgery will be included in the new project.” The government has announced a sum of Rs 88.75 Cr to be utilised for constructing the infrastructure, and Rs 31.93 Cr will be invested to acquire equipment.

Cases registered at GMCH in 2008 and 2013 Particulars

2008

2013

OPD cases

4,32,354

6,62,004

IPD

55,689

85,569

Death cases

3813

4708

OPD

11167

15910

IPD

3832

4708

OPD

24,413

25,865

IPD

6024

8075

Normal

6408

7017

Caesarean

4751

8678

Accident cases

Medical legal cases

Delivery cases

Moreover, the GMCH has been handling more number of patients every year. The year 2008 has more than five lakh cases (5,48,451) registered at GMCH and the number has crossed eight lakh (8,22,799 cases) in 2013, marking an increase of 50%. Although, the number of death cases registered in GMCH has been increasing in the last five years, the percentage increased is the lowest among other cases registered during the same period (apart from medical legal cases). Altogether 3813 death cases were reported in 2008 at GMCH, whereas the number has gone up to 4708 in 2013, marking an increase of 23.47%. The number of delivery cases in GMCH has also increased in the last 5 years. Altogether 11159 delivery cases were registered in 2008 and 15695 such cases were registered in 2013 in GMCH.

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

In The News

THE WEEK THAT WAS

CM inaugurates first Gas Insulated Substation

orth East region’s first ever Gas Insulated Substation (GIS) was inaugurated by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at Jawahar nagar, Khanapara on 4th February. Assam is the eighth state in the country to have such a facility. The GIS at Khanapara has been set up on a six bigha plot. The 220/30 kilo volt GLS built at a cost of Rs. 49.56 crore will be operated by the Assam Electricity Grid Corporation and will cater to newly developed areas of the city such as Dispur, Beltola, Basistha, Narengi, Khanapara and

City youths slammed Nido killing

Panjabari among others. Gogoi said that more GIS must be set up as they require less space and they are less hazardous. Power has been the priority sector in the state. Speaking on the occasion, power minister Pradyut Bordoloi said, “Today the combined capacity of transmission and distribution has gone up from 560MW to 1,600MW. Guwahati had only eight distribution sub-centres in 2005-06, but now it has 22 of them. Another eight substations would be commissioned soon to meet the power requirement of 310MW in the city alone”.

Child friendly campaign for the city children

ith an agenda to make the Guwahati city more child friendly, a campaign- Child Friendly Guwahati was launched by Don Bosco Society on 3rd February at Don Bosco School auditorium, Panbazar. The campaign will cover the children who are on the streets, engaged in begging, working as child labourers, addicted to illegal substance and other vulnerable category of children from poor and marginalised sections of the society. The campaign aims on providing ba-

sic human rights such as, Right to Education to the children, who cannot make it to the school. The programme was inaugurated by Rajiv Bora, Principal Secretary of the Personnel Department and VM Thomas, Chairman of Child Friendly Campaign. VM Thomas said, “CFG motivates the street children with different programmes like picnics, group activities, academics, educational and other co-curricular activities to prepare them back for formal schools and ensure adequate education until 10th standard.”

Workshop on wetlands of Assam

day-long workshop on wetlands of Assam in the context of hydrological connectivity, climate change, ecosystem services and livelihoods with reference to Deepor Beel was organised by the city based environment research organisation Aranyak on the occasion of the World Wetland Day on 2nd February. The workshop was organised in collaboration with the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) at the Lalmati auditorium of the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE). The aim behind the workshop was to take stock of the conservation and management status of the wetlands of Assam. It also aimed at getting a general impression of the status of wetlands in the Brahmaputra Valley of the state.

Cheer moment for city cine buffs

ssam State Film (Finance and Development) Corporation Limited (ASFFDC) has taken a step to please the city film lovers by arranging a simultaneous satellite screening of Mumbai International Film Festival, through which locals can see films screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) sitting right here. The Films Division of India, in collaboration with ASFFDC, has arranged a 32-hour-long simultaneous satellite screening of 56 films in the city during the thirteenth MIFF from 4 to 9 February at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra. The screenings in Guwahati are free for all.

City building owners Badminton tournament under GMC scanner held in the city

protest programme near Dighalipukhuri by the young people from different parts of the city and other states demanded action against those behind the killing of Nido Tania, on 2nd February. Student and young professionals from different parts of the region staying in Guwahati had taken part in the protest. This was organised by few individuals through social networking sites and there was spontaneous responses from different sections. Protesters prepared posters and shouted slogan against racial discrimination and demanded justice to the victim by taking action against the accused. Nido Tania who hailed from Arunachal Pradesh died hours after allegedly being thrashed by the shopkeepers of south Delhi’s busy Lajpat Nagar market on January 31. He was the son of Arunachal Congress MLA Nido Pavitra.

he Guwahati Municipal Corporation Commissioner, imposed a penal charge of Rs 20,44,047 on the owner of the Itag Plaza, a multi–storeyed commercial cum residential building, situated at GS Road near Rajiv Bhawan for violation of the building bye-law. The Commissioner, S Viswanathan appealed to all the owners occupying building without Occupancy Certificate and building with deviations, to obtain necessary Occupancy Certificates and to regularize the same as per the provisions of Guwahati Municipal Corporation Act, 1971 at the earliest. Occupying a building without Occupancy

Certificate and with deviations shall immediately attract penal actions as per the provisions of the GMC Act. The building was earlier sealed on 4th December last year, by the Enforcement Branch, Guwahati Municipal Corporation following an order by Commissioner for violations in the setback of the building, mezzanine floor and parking area which was detected by the Planning Branch of GMC. Necessary notices were served to the owner of the building as per the provision of the Act but the owner did not respond to the notices served. Therefore, GMC under the provision of the Act sealed the building until further orders.

he State-level badminton championship has successfully been completed at the new complex of the Beltola Puberun Sangha, Joyanagar on 2nd February. The championship, for doubles only, was organised in two categories – under-17 and above 17 years boys. In the U-17 category, Pragyan Jyoti Gogoi (Nagaon) and Aditya Das (Dibrugarh) won the title. In the finals, they defeated Rishav Sarma and Dipjyoti Dutta duo of Guwahati in three sets (21-16, 1621, 21-17). Bastab Neog (Guwahati) and Abhijit Dutta (Sivasagar) together defeated Padma Kumar

and Bijoy Barman (both Guwahati) (21-19, 21-14) for the above 17 crown. In the senior group, Monte was adjudged as the best player. The champions in the senior group got Rs 50,000 and the runners-up team received Rs 25,000. The top two teams in the junior category became richer by Rs 30,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively. In the closing ceremony, City SSP AP Tiwari was the chief guest. Noted singer Zubin Garg, sports organiser Sanjay Goswami, President Ratul Kr Baruah and Secretary Bichitra Boro were also present during prize distribution function.

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Politicking

MODI CAN NEVER DOMINATE ASSAM: CONG

With Narendra Modi set to address his first rally in Assam before the LS Polls, the city seems to be waiting with bated breath... and so is the Congress RAHUL CHANDA

hat Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is set to visit Guwahati on 8th February to persuade the people of this land to back the saffron party is not news anymore. What remains to be seen though, is whether his arrival will live up to its hype. There are also various other questions and issues that revolves around his visit as well. Modi was expected to visit the state in the first half of December this year. He was also expected to address election rallies in Guwahati and Silchar. But the non-availability of a proper venue led to the cancellation of his visit to the state. Meanwhile there the Congress party was also allegedly so unnerved by the prospect of Modi’s visit that they decided to change the TET exam date from 9th to 8th February so as to ensure that a section of the people of Assam would be occupied with that. There are also media reports of rebel groups in the northeast talking tough on Gujarat chief minister’s visit to the region. The security measure of the saffron party’s poster boy is also an issue as Modi is in the hit list of some extremist groups like SIMI, HUJI, IM and Taliban.

Security scenario

Like former chief minister of the state Praffula Kumar Mahanta, even Narendra Modi has a Z+ ASL security cover. After the Patna serial blasts, Modi is one of the most heavily protected VVIPs whose security poses a challenge to various agencies, given his packed campaign schedule for the BJP that will take him across the length and breadth of the country. While the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate is already provided with ‘Z-plus’ category security, the Centre has also decided to provide him Advance Security Liaison (ASL) cover following the October 27 Patna blasts. Even Assam Police is confident that Narendra Modi will be given full security cover during his visit. Assam Police IGP (Law and order) SN Singh said, “The instructions have already been issued to the organisers about the security arrangements. Our personnel will be there and an advance group from the Gujarat Police also will be at the venue. Whatever instructions come from the Ministry of Home Affairs, will be strictly followed and everyone coming from outside the city will also be taken care of for the meeting.” Normally, the convoy accompanying Modi comprises of nine Scorpio vehicles, an ambulance, a

“

Modi has a dictatorial attitude. He is projecting himself as if it’s a one-man show in the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has made all the senior BJP leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and others insignificant.” Tarun Gogoi CM, Assam fire-fighter, an explosive detector and a 32-member team of NSG Black Cat commandos. But his security has been stepped up and he now has three layers of protection - one group to take on any attackers, a second to provide cover and a third to get him out safely. He is already the most protected politician in the country outside the government.

Trading charges

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi recently lashed out at the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, saying Modi sidelined other leaders of his party with his ‘dictatorial attitude’. Gogoi said, “Modi has a dictatorial attitude. He is projecting himself as it’s an one-man show in the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has made all the senior BJP leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and others insignificant.” Gogoi also said there was a nexus between the BJP and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) led by perfume baron Badaruddin Ajmal.” Even state Congress spokesperson Mehdi Alam Bora told G Plus, “In the past, BJP’s many national senior leaders have visited Assam and Guwahati for various meets and election rallies including leaders like Rajnath Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Nitin Gadkari and many more. But no one was able to woo the Assam voters and

rule Assam. This time too, Narendra Modi’s visit will be a failure as Assam has certain anthropological patterns. There are mixed tribes, cultures, religions and ethnicity, which will never be impacted by the saffron party. Narendra Modi will never be able to dominate Assam.” Similarly, Narendra Modi too, once again accused the Congress of practising dynasty politics, blaming it for “depriving” Pranab Mukherjee of the PM’s post at least twice. He said in a rally in Bengal, “In 2004, Pranab-da was the senior-most politician. Since madam Sonia Gandhi did not want to become the PM, the opportunity should have been given to Pranab-da. But Manmohan Singhji was made the prime minister. Pranab-da was not given the opportunity.” The blame game is on for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and politicos have pulled up their socks to train the guns towards the opponents.

Rebel talk

According to sources in the BJP, Narendra Modi is expected to address three rallies on 8th February. The first rally will be at Guwahati, then in Imphal and in the evening at Chennia. While the United Revolutionary Front (URF) has called an 11-hour Manipur bandh on February 8 to boycott Modi’s visit. The Paresh Baruah-led Ulfa (Independent) has thrown a challenge to the saffron leader to evict ‘illegal migrants’ from Assam and rehabilitate them in Gujarat. The BJP poster boy has a lot of challenges to meet on February 8th and Guwahatians too, will get the opportunity to hear the first poll bugle blowing in the city for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Traffic, security threat and rally chaos may be a problem but overall the rally will be worth the wait and will be an event to watch for the entire nation.

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Business

Radio Taxi Race: Who Is The Winner? RAHUL CHANDA

With numerous city taxi services set to be functional soon, it is the commuters who will gain.

he city of Guwahati, with changing trends and fashion, is also witnessing changes in various sections of development. With transportation no more being an issue for the denizens, even the pressure of paying a king’s ransom for auto-rickshaw fares is coming down. The regional transport authority’s (RTA) decision to ply metered green cabs and mini taxis on the roads of Guwahati will definitely add to the relief for those who commute hours every day from their respective homes to their workplaces. Even the introduction of radio taxis on the streets of Guwahati has solved many problems for the commuters. But with radio taxi industry slowly getting crowded by many players like My Taxi, Prime Cabs and even Green Cabs planning to come in, it looks to be booming and the competition looks set for the battle. My taxi entered the Guwahati market in September 2010 and claims to be the pioneer in the city to start the radio taxi service. When they entered the market, they only had Tata Indica vehicles, which were used as cabs and soon after inducted Ford Figos into the service. At present, their fleet includes two Tata Indicas and the rest are Ford Figos, Swift Dezires, Toyota Etios and Indigo CS. The managing director of My Taxi, Arunabh Sarma Pathak said, “My Taxi is the pioneer in Guwahati in radio taxi services. It works with the Global Positioning System (GPS) and we have the highest bookings per day in the city.” On enquiring about the quantity of bookings per day, Pathak said, “We usually get more than 350 bookings everyday and because we have more than 67 taxis

Prime Cabs - 222 2233 Fare Chart PARTICULARS DAY TIME (5AM TO 10AM) First 8 Kilometers Rate after 8 kilometers Package 4 hours Package 8 hours Waiting Charges Airport Parking

Rs. 180 Rs. 19 per kilometer Rs. 1000 (extra 200 per hour) Rs. 1750 (extra 200 per hour) Rs. 1.80 per min Free

PARTICULARS

NIGHT TIME (10PM TO 5AM)

First 8 Kilometers Rate after 8 kilometers Package 4 hours Package 8 hours Waiting Charges Airport Parking

Rs. 220 Rs. 23 per kilometer Rs. 1200 (extra 240 per hour) Rs. 1750 (extra 240 per hour) Rs. 2.20 per min Free

My Taxi- 222 8888 Fare Chart The new Rate Effective form 1.10.2013 onwards

Standard Fare 6am to 8pm

“

Guwahati doesn’t have a radio taxi service but we fulfil all the criteria of being called one. If you check the other services in the country like Mega Cabs, Meru and so on, they all run on a central system, which is the radio frequency system”

Rs. 18/- per kilometer ( pick up point to Destination)- 6.00am to 8.00pm Initial 15 Minutes Free Waiting- No Charge Any Raod, Railway or Airport Parking charge - Customer has to pay Normal Waiting Charge- Rs.100/- per Hour ( 30 min-Rs-50/-, 15 mins- Rs.25/-) Rs.22/- per Km 4 Hrs.

Rs.1000/- ( +200/- if continues after 10 pm) Rs.1200/( hazo, Rangia, Saigaon) +200 every additional hour (inside Guwahati City) 8 Hrs. Rs.1800/- ( +200/- if continues after 10 pm) Every Additional hour Rs.200/Whole Day BOOKING

Rs.1200/- ( +200/- if continues after 10 pm) 4 Hrs. Rs.2000/- ( +200/- if continues after 10 pm) 8 Hrs. (outside Guwahati City) Every Additional hour Rs.200/Whole Day BOOKING

Minimum Distance Booking - 10 Km. OR Rs.180/-(6am-8pm) and Rs.220/- (8pm-6am) CONVENIENCE Charge Rs. 10.00/- With Each Booking For exact rate please call to the call centre

Dhimmant Bansal Prime Cabs COO we can easily provide good service to all our customers.” He further mentioned that My Taxi never takes any bookings if there is no free slot. So, in the competition My Taxi claims to be the pioneer and the best.

Prime focus

Another player in the city radio taxi industry is Prime Cabs, which entered the market in August 2012. The company has a fleet of 70 vehicles made up of 30 Indigos, 20 Swift Desires and 20 Toyota Etios. Claiming to be the only true radio taxi service in the city, Prime Cabs COO Dhimmant Bansal said, “Guwahati doesn’t have a radio taxi service but we fulfil all the criteria of being called one. If you check the other services in the country like Mega Cabs, Meru and so on, they all run on a central system, which is the radio frequency system. We are the only radio taxi service in Guwahati. Even My Taxi is not a radio taxi.” On being asked about the arrival of Green Cabs in the city and the

competition they will provide, Bansal said, “We will not have any competition, as the Nano vehicles cannot provide the kind of service our vehicles can. Nano vehicles will charge Rs 15 per kilometre which is similar to the autos, but it cannot run the way our vehicles can. In a short span of time everyone will know that the Green Cabs will not work in Guwahati. So, we do not have any challenge from them.” He further said that Prime Cabs has all sedan vehicles, trained drivers, no booking charges and printed receipts. It also has call centre where there is always someone to take care of the vehicles.

Other players

There are also some other new and small players in the industry as well such as Cherry Cabs, RT Cabs and Swiss Cabs. With the start of Green or Mini taxis, which will follow the fares as prescribe by the government, the industry seems to be booming, but it will not be a part of radio taxi because of its features. Green Cabs are expected to charge Rs 3 on every 5 min that is Rs 36 per hour will be charged as waiting charge to the customers. Night charge is applicable between 10 to 5 pm and the customers will have to pay 50% more than the normal applicable fare. Also, the customer will have to pay the parking fees if any for the car during hired time. The competition looks to be getting interesting each day and as the services keep getting better, it is the commuters who will come out as winners. Whether there is a radio taxi service or not, the question is will Guwahatians get a smooth drive across the city whenever they want without burdening their pockets?

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Business

Mini Cinema Halls Raising Hopes Of Revival With a number of mini cinema halls coming up in the state, the film industry is looking up in anticipation to a renaissance of the ailing industry. shambhavi

nvestors are showing keen interest in parking money in the cinema business. The growing craze among investors is to invest in mini cinema halls across Assam. Plans are afoot to have as many as 50 mini cinema halls and the sector will see capital infusion of over Rs 40 Cr in near future. Once a flourishing industry of Northeast India, the Cinema business started losing its charm owing to poor returns. Gradually, out of 125 cinema halls, at least 50 cinema houses in Assam had put their shutters down. There was a demand from the local cinema industry to promote mini cinema halls with seating capacity of 50 to 250 and this in turn will promote regional cinema. The Gold Digital Cinema group has come up with an elaborate plan to construct 20 new mini cinema halls in different districts of the State. Director of Gold Digital Cinema, North East, Rajib Kumar Bora said

that the project of constructing nine air-conditioned mini cinema halls have already been started at nine places of the state – Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath Chariali, Tezpur, Mangaldoi, Chhayagaon, Sivsagar, Jakhalabandha and Golaghat. “Now, we have a plan to start similar projects in other parts of the country, which would definitely help in reviving the ailing film industry of the state. The main idea behind starting the project on a massive scale is to bring an overall revival in the field of screening of films through mini cinema halls, which would attract the audience once again towards cinema halls. We would provide modern facilities to the audience at a minimal cost in such halls,” he said. There is another chain, which is coming up with 20 mini cinema halls; state government is promoting at least five mini halls in public private partnership mode. There are other indi-

Maruti Launches Celerio

aruti Suzuki India Limited launched its much-awaited compact car, Celerio with the revolutionary Auto Gear Shift in the city today. With fuel efficiency same as the Manual transmission, the revolutionary Auto Gear Shift, christened EZ Drive, is all set to redefine the car driving experience on Indian roads. Interestingly, Auto Gear Shift on the Celerio is a first for India amongst passenger cars. Poised to stir the A2 segment, the Celerio is a complete package full of pleasant surprises. Among several benefits, Celerio comes with a best in class fuel efficiency of 23.1 kmpl, for both the Auto Gear Shift and the Manual Transmission variants. Celerio is priced attractively between Rs 4.21 lakhs - 5.29 lakhs quelling any arguments that superior technology is expensive. Often, the wide price gap between Manual and Automatic transmission variants prompts the buyers to settle for manual transmission cars. The Celerio comes in six petrol variants - four with Manual transmission and two with Auto Gear Shift.

vidual promoters who are sure that sector is out of recession and the trend of cinema business is back in the state. The entertainment industry of Assam is in upswing with some multiplexes in the pipeline. Interestingly couple of projects for multiplexes are mulled by existing cinema hall owners. Piracy had killed the cinema business at one point of time however, new technology has ensured that pictures are released across the country in a single day and can be screened simultaneously in the all the centres. The state government has exempted mini cinema theatres, multiplexes and amusement parks from levy of entertainment tax for five years.

BIG DEAL

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Events

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

FESTIVAL OF TIBET Date: 2nd - 6th February, Venue: Shankardev Kalakshetra

NORTHEAST DIVA

Date: 31st January, Venue: Greenwood Resort

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Events

ALCHERINGA ATLANTIS Date: 30th Jan - 2nd Feb, Venue: IIT Guwahati

Interactive session with the Cast and Crew of Assamese movie RAAG VENUE: Hidesign Boutique DATE: 6th Feb

7days

Next DATE 8th Feb

VENUE

EVENT

Terra Mayaa

Midival Punditz (DJ Set)

9th Feb

Ozone

Chocoland

13th Feb

Terra Mayaa

Spring Buzz

14th Feb

Greenwood Resort

Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day with DJ Sam & DJ Snea

14 - 16 Feb

Behind Sonaram Field

Assam Beach Festival

Want your event to be featured on this page? Just mail us at info@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Web Watch

Gmail bug causes users to accidentally delete messages

oogle confirms that the issue has now been fixed but it is unclear as to how many users were actually affected by the bug. Google urged users to check their spam and trash folders to see if any messages were accidently miscategorized. The issue comes only a few days after Google services including Gmail went down for approximately 10 percent of the users. “You may have been impacted by a recent issue in Gmail that inadvertently caused some actions (e.g. delete, report spam) taken while viewing a message to be applied to a different message. The issue occurred between January 15 and January 22

and is now fixed. We encourage you to check your Trash and Spam folders before February 14, 2014 for any items you did not intend to delete or mark as spam and move them back to your inbox. We apologize for any inconvenience.” Gmail told its users. Recently a Chrome bug was found by developer Tal Alter that allows hackers to listen in to offline conversations. The Chrome bug lets malicious sites to turn on the user’s microphone and listen and record conversations even if the tabs are closed. The bug was nominated for Chromium’s Reward Panel. Till now the bug has not been fixed for Chrome desktop users.

Nokia X budget Android phone launching in March

Apple’s new challenge: Building a better battery

he next breakthrough smartphone, or maybe the one after that, might not have a traditional battery as its sole source of power. Instead, it could pull energy from the air or power itself through television, cellular or Wi-Fi signals. Engineers at Apple even tried for many years to build a smarter battery by adding solar charging to iPhones and iPods, a former Apple executive said. And they have continued to experiment with solar charging, two people who work at the company said. Although computer chips have doubled in speed every few years, and

digital displays have become significantly brighter and sharper, battery technology is largely stuck in the 20th century. Device makers have relied on incremental improvements to battery power, now usually supplied by a decades-old lithium-ion concoction, in combination with more energyefficient chips and screens. The problem, in part, is that it is hard to ensure the safety of many new power technologies. A faulty battery could potentially turn into a miniature bomb. So the products require exhaustive testing by regulators before hitting store shelves.

Celebrities endorsing products also liable for misleading advertisements

India’s Internet slowest in Asia Pacific region

ccording to the Q3 2013 report from Akamai, India featured lowest in ‘average internet speed’ among all the countries in Asia Pacific region. The average internet speed in India was reported to be only 1.4 Mbps, which is even less than half of global average internet speed. A 29% increase was seen over the year in global Internet speed, which accounted to 3.6 Mbps in Q3 of last year. Last year, Akamai had reported an increase of more than 20% in the first

quarter and expected India to rise from 1.3 Mbps to 1.8 Mbps speed. India stood at 114th place in Q1 of 2013 and dropped to 123rd place in the third quarter. Both times, India came in last place among Asia Pacific countries that also featured South Korea, which has the fastest average Internet speed in the world at 22.1 Mbps. Hong Kong was reported to have the fastest average peak connection speed on 65.4 Mbps. Even in this category, India came last with only 9.0 Mbps speed among the Asia Pacific countries.

Facebook facing growing pains

n its short history, Facebook has become a part of daily life for more than a billion people around the globe. As Facebook celebrates its 10th anniversary, the world’s biggest social network is finding its path as a maturing company, adapting to an aging user base. Co-founder Mark Zuckerberg described the mission as “making the world more open and connected,” and some say he has accomplished just that. “More than 20% of all time spent on the internet is spent on Facebook,” says Lou Kerner, founder of the Social Internet Fund. Yet in some ways, Facebook could be the victim of its own success. Its initial core base of teens and university students has expanded, and Facebook is now widely used by people in all age groups. Facebook says it has a global total of 1.23 billion monthly active users, including 945 million who use the social network on a mobile device. But some analysts note that Facebook has to shift strategy for an aging user base. “People joke that for the teen, Facebook isn’t cool when your mom is on it,” Kerner said. “I think it’s not even your mom any more, now it’s also

your grandmother.” The research firm Social Bakers says its data shows teens are a big and still-growing part of Facebook. “The 18-24 year-old age group is still the largest,” said the group’s Ben Harper. “Our data shows the growth of audience and interactions on Facebook, and while teens are undoubtedly using multiple platforms (as we all are), they are also sticking with Facebook.” In the United States, Facebook is used by 71% of all adults who are on the internet, or 57% of the adult population, according to the Pew Research Center. Pew found that while Facebook is used by 89% of online adults in the 18-29 age group, it is also used by 60% in the 50-64 age category and 45% of those over 65. According to the research firm eMarketer, Facebook has become the second-largest recipient of digital advertising spending behind Google, and is particularly strong in mobile ads. “Facebook appears the best way to play the social internet,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note to clients, preferring Facebook to the up-andcoming network Twitter.

he much-awaited but yetto-be-announced Nokia X, aka the Nokia Normandy budget Android smartphone, is once again in the news, this time, with a report of the device being set to launch in March in India, under the Asha line-up. The report, by GoAndroid, quotes an unnamed senior executive officer from Nokia India, who reportedly also confirmed that the much-rumoured dualSIM Windows Phone device, aka Moneypenny, would be launched in the country at the same time. The numerous rumours (some from established tipsters) surrounding the speculated first Android phone from Nokia are slightly difficult to believe, what with Microsoft’s takeover of Nokia’s mobile devices and services division - why would the Redmond giant allow Nokia to offer a device on a competing platform? We’ll have to wait to see if such a device actually arrives. The alleged Nokia X aka Nokia Normandy was previously reported to be introduced at the upcoming MWC 2014 event held in Barcelona, starting from 24 February. The March launch timeline is therefore in line with this report. Last week, the rumoured Nokia X has been leaked in live images, revealing design of the alleged device. A French publication, No Where Else, has posted three images of the alleged Nokia X, showing the front panel, the rear panel, and the side panel. The alleged Nokia X was also recently listed at a Vietnamese online retailer that revealed most of the specifications, including a 4-inch TFT display with a resolution of 480x854 (FWVGA) pixels; a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor; 5-megapixel rear camera; microSD card support and Android 4.4 KitKat.

f the skin whitening cream isn’t as phenomenal as advertised or the hair oil not producing a lush mop as promised, you may soon be able to claim compensation not only from the advertisers, but from the celebrities endorsing the product. The Central Consumer Protection Council (CCPC), under the chairmanship of minister K V Thomas, on Monday decided to set up a sub-committee to suggest strategies to deal with such advertisers. Among the concerns raised was peddling of products by celebrities. “About 50% of the daylong conference was spent addressing ... the huge impact of misleading advertisements, particularly food items, hair oil and health products,” said a CCPC member who attended the meeting in Kochi. “Even the celebrities must pay compensation in case there is a complaint,” said Joseph Victor, a CCPC member. What seems to have moved the consumer affairs ministry is a direction from the MP high court to set up an ad monitoring panel as recommended by the Vibha Bhargava Commission. “An ad monitoring committee with proper budgetary support from the Centre may be set up to monitor the advertisements on regular basis... the committee will have the powers to (take) corrective actions and (impose) compensation,” the CCPC said. Sources said that the decision was taken unanimously by CCPC, which has members from central and state governments, besides representatives from consumer organizations and academicians. The sub-committee may be formed in less than a week and could submit its recommendations by Februaryend, sources said.

Some members told that the issue of southern superstar Mamootty endorsing products was discussed. “We have similar problems across the country. We have Shahrukh Khan or some other Hindi film star endorsing consumer items and they get huge payment for doing so. A misleading ads featuring such famous faces shown on TV even for a day serves the purpose of advertisers. We discussed how suo motu action can be taken against ads which have been withdrawn. Even the celebrities must pay compensation in case there is a complaint,” said Joseph Victor, a CCPC member. Another member, Ashim Sanyal, said he had raised the issue of monitoring ads, which are in huge numbers and across different modes and media. “We need to plan the mechanism for monitoring. The sub-committee will come out with directions and provisions to deal with the menace,” he added. Lok Sabha MP Charles Dias, who also attended the meeting, told TOI that concerns were raised on manufacturers’ ad spend, which is passed on to buyers. “Most of us felt that there should some sort of monitoring on how much is being spent on advertisements,” he said.

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Career

Studying Abroad I

faq

n an increasingly globalised world, a degree from a top international university is perhaps the biggest tool a student possesses to have a successful career. Most of India’s top leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Manmohan Singh, Kapil Sibal and industry captains like Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani to name a few, have an international degree in their CVs. Students study in coun-

tries like USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore etc from India in pursuit of knowledge and better opportunities for themselves. Last year over 2,00,000 Indians went abroad for higher education. Students have a lot of questions about selecting universities, countries, visa process, and various other facets of overseas education which are quite different from each other. Although

b Are these foreign degrees recognized in India?

c Will I be able to Work Overseas?

a Is Studying Abroad Very Expensive?

his is the most common refrain that one hears when talking about studying abroad. Studying Abroad is an investment where the returns are lifelong. It is true that it is not always cheap, but if one does a cost benefit analysis, the advantage of studying abroad is huge. It also opens up employment possibilities abroad where the salaries start at much higher levels.

Graduation Students In India most people are employable only after they do a masters degree and rarely does a student get a job once he or she has finished her graduation, whereas in the USA, UK, Australia or New Zealand a student can look forward to work, the moment he or she has finished their graduation. In India nowadays even engineers on passing out want to do either a MSC or MBA on finishing their BE. Therefore, when a student chooses to study in India they must calculate this cost of extra two years for the master’s degree as also the extra time. It also does not mean that students in those countries do not study masters, but unlike India only a small percentage do. Post Graduation For those students looking at studying post graduate degrees the advantage of studying abroad is huge. The cost of studying a good master’s degree is almost as expensive and at times more expensive than studying in India. For example a MBA in a good Indian college costs between 8-12 lakhs , while an MBA degree from a good

UK University would cost anything between 7-18 lakhs(depending on the university) with the added advantage of being able to complete the degree in one year. Part Time Work Students who study abroad also have the option of working part time during studies, these would differ from country to country. For example students can work 20 Hrs per week in UK, Australia, USA and also full time during their college holidays if they choose to. This gives the students an opportunity to earn a little money to save their living costs. Do remember that this is not always a guaranteed scenario as the student first has to be comfortable with his studies before taking time out for any part time work. Scholarships There are few scholarships available for meritorious students and they help a student to ease the cost of studying abroad. What students must keep in mind is that, merit is a pre-requisite for scholarships in foreign countries and though few in between, it is possible for good students to get them. Bank Loans All nationalised banks and private banks give educational loans to Indian students who seek to study overseas. The student would need to get an admission first before they can approach a bank, the banks give loans upto Rs 20,00,000 (20 lacs) for the purpose of studying abroad.

Degrees from the Universities in USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, European Union, Thailand Singapore and Dubai are globally recognized. Association of Indian Universities, the apex body in India, has clarified that the recognized degrees in most countries are fully recognised in India. Generally degrees taught in any country and recognized by the government of that country is recognized in India and vice versa. This means that a student is eligible to apply for all jobs including government jobs. For certain professional qualifications such as Medicine, Law, and Dentistry etc. professional registration may be required and this could be in the form of passing examinations conducted by regulatory boards like MCI, once the student comes back to India to enable them to work in India. At the same time one needs to be careful about the countries where the student is going to study, It might not make sense to study in a country where the level of education and economy is at a much lower stage than India’s.

Kaushik Barua

there are lots of information available perhaps sorting this information and finding it is not always easy. This column envisages demystifying and presenting correct information about the process of studying abroad, so that a student can make an informed decision. When one thinks of studying abroad the most common queries students have are:

If a student desires to work overseas on completion of their studies they must be careful while choosing the country for their study. This is because a student can work in that country only if the government rules allow him to work, once the degree is completed. This homework is very important because, if the student is not aware of the policies prevailing at that point of time, the student can make wrong choice. Most importantly these policies keep on changing very often and its important to understand their implications to the student before they choose their destinations. For example the UK allowed all International students to work for 2 years on completion of their course. But on April 2011, this policy has been discontinued.

IMPORTANT WEBSITES www.aiuweb.org www.globalreach.in

d Are these Universities of Top Quality? According to the latest QS world rankings, over 70% of the top 200 universities are based in USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately not a single Indian Institution ranks in the top 200, with the highest Indian ranking being that of IIT(Delhi) which is ranked at 218. This is not neces-

sarily the only proof of quality but does serve as a guide and competitiveness on a global scale amongst universities. An Indian student can aspire to study in one of these top universities much easily than probably an IIT due to the huge difference in demand for a seat and availability in top indian institutes.

Kaushik Barua is the Head of Global Reach. He is also involved in the field of education since 2002 and has been instrumental in making information and career opportunities available for NE students through his company Lynchpin.

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Life

Strategies for your retirement ROHIT SARAWGI Independent Financial Advisor

Senior citizens with a regular income can be more aggressive in terms of equity investments

enior citizens are always worried about how to deploy the retirement kitty? The answer depends on whether one have a regular income in the form of annuity or pension? If the answer is yes, then the risk taking ability improves substantially.

IMAGINE THIS

Someone, who is earning a pension of Rs. 100,000 per month is ensured of a regular income, but he is more likely to have a much lower corpus. On the other hand, someone with a retirement corpus of Rs. 4 crores has to decide how to deploy his funds so that he has regular income plus enough for emergencies and other commitments. When one reaches a certain age, there is no reason to be greedy to take massive risks to grow one’s money. By retirement, most of us would have saved enough money to lead a better retirement life in some way or the other. However, it is important to invest in various assets classes

instead of keeping the money in traditional bank savings account (the best saving bank rate is 6 per cent), as inflation will eat into the capital otherwise. The two important aspects of investing for senior citizens is to protect one’s capital investment and have adequate liquidity so that the same can be encashed easily. There are several investment avenues an elderly person can utilize to benefit from moderate returns with low capital risk.

Some of the Financial Products that senior citizens can invest in are Senior Citizens Savings Scheme This is a scheme offered by the Central Government and can be subscribed through various public sector banks and post offices. Anyone who is over 60 years of age is eligible to invest, with the minimum investment being Rs. 1000 and

the maximum investment being Rs. 15 lakhs. This scheme offers Annual Interest Rate of 9 per cent, and the capital is locked in for a period of 5 years. Since there is a lock in period, there is also an early withdrawal penalty of 1.50 per cent for withdrawals within two years and 1 per cent for drawing out money between two and five years. Fixed Income Products Senior citizens can opt to invest in Bank or Corporate fixed deposits, as most of them offer preferential interest rate to the elderly. One has flexibility to choose from various lock in periods, with interest rate varying from 7 per cent to 11 per cent in most cases. It is always advisable to check early withdrawals facility as bank’s fixed deposits have an edge over a corporate fixed deposit in this regard. Liquid and Monthly Income Funds Debt mutual funds, especially Monthly Income Plans and Liquid Funds are ideal assets for

senior citizens to invest in. Though returns on Mutual Funds are not guaranteed, yet they offer Capital Protection for moderate returns. They are liquid, and also have the benefit of providing regular income streams. Since senior citizens enjoy a higher tax cover, there may not be any tax implications on these investments (depending on one’s investment levels, etc.) Post Office Deposits The post office offers a variety of investment options for senior citizens, and the two most income scheme are the Monthly Income Scheme and the Time Deposits. Under the Monthly Income Scheme, one can invest between Rs. 1000 and Rs. 3 lakhs (or Rs. 6 lakhs if investing jointly) for a period of six years, and earn an interest of 8 per cent p.a.. On the other hand, the time deposits accept much lower minimum deposits of Rs. 200, and offer interest of approximately seven per cent p.a. One can invest for between one and five years in the time deposits.

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

RAHUL CHANDA

ELLA Missing essence DIABL

Life

of slow love

ince our no-rules-relationshiprevolution in the urban world, plenty of couples enter a low-criteria relationship where they often text each other and occasionally meet for a meal and a rendezvous. The fast world has impacted the modern couples to that extend that the desires are not usually controlled for a long time. The relationship is so fast that the break ups follow the relationship in a rapid fire speed. Guwahati like any other metro too, has a very fast lifestyle at the present. People hardly get time for anything and the concept of slow love is gradually vanishing among the youth. Is it something positive or making the scenario more complex.

I answer all your questions on life, love and sex

When we initially started dating we were both studying in the UK and we loved getting cozy outdoors but now we are back in Guwahati and he keeps suggesting “quickies” in the auto, in the lift or in the loo when we go out for dinner. That isn’t my idea of fun and I’m also scared that we’ll get caught and end up with a caution. I’m no prude and I hate saying no all the time, so what should I do? -Suparna

Commitment vs hook ups

The commitment level is high in the initial stage of any relationship, but is the pace is fast, people end up getting bored of the partner after they kind of explore everything very fast. But, if the relationship is in a slow speed, it almost takes the entire life to understand everything about the partner and elements like cooperation, commitment, and adjustment and so on makes the relationship stronger though it is slow in nature. A city based business-

man who is married to his wife for 20 years and has two sons from her, feels that the meaning of relationship has changed in the present times. He said, “Even I had a love marriage but before my marriage I used to hardly meet my

wife and our relationship was very special. We did not think about physical relationship first, but it was the bonding which we opted for. It took us around two years to become frank with each other. We started sharing everything later and then tried to make our dreams come true together. We are very happy and one thing we understood from this relationship is that commitment is very important.” On the contrary if we meet the present day youth, love, sex and betrayal is very common. Changing partner is like a fashion. According to a psychiatrist, the modern youth are exposed to too much of sex which makes them feel that it is the most important part of life without knowing the exact essence of sex. In India, children are not exposed to sex education, which leads to poor knowledge about the concept of sex and relationship. Many teens are spoiling their life by committing heinous crimes like rape. And if not rape, the youth somehow get into a relationship and try to have sex as soon as possible. After that the commitment level decreases drastically. So, the small hook ups which is considered as relationship by the modern day youth does not lasts for long because of the speedy approach towards everything. But, if there is an option of knowing your partner slowly, the interest level does not decreases and the excitement of knowing a person persists till you are alive. The concept of slow love might sound traditional, but it does sometimes work.

Missing discovery

The old world charm has gone out of our lives. We have come to a stage when we need to put a brake and go back to the old ways. Dating doesn’t have to be as long-winded as it was decades ago but we need to slow things down in our heads. The idea of discovery is missing. These days, living relationship before getting married is kind of becoming a trend in the urban cities. People want to try out everything what married couple do, without getting married. And this concept is basically opted for by the young couples, so that, they are not bounded by any relationship responsibility. But mostly, it is seen that the living in relationship ends up without reaching the marriage stage and people usually get hurt badly. Some even spoil their entire life if by mistake any one of the partner had a true attraction towards the other partner. It is also true that the old concept of slow love is kind of a cliché now, but the speedy approach towards such relationship has changed the meaning of love, and people hardly understand the difference between love and lust. Whatever may be the scenario, no one can ever deny the fact that old is gold, and according to the old formula of love, love if it is slow, it’s long lasting. It gives an opportunity to explore, discover, know, understand and then love. Speedy love might also workout sometimes, but in most of the cases, speed thrills, but it kills.

Sweetheart, making an effort to please your partner is all part of having a good and healthy sex life – but there are limits and it sounds as though you’ve reached yours. If you don’t relish the prospect of getting cozy in a lift or a restaurant toilet then you have absolutely all the rights to say so. But I think there’s more going on here than incompatible sex drives. Maybe you’ve given this man the impression that you’re edgy and enjoy risks when in reality you don’t, hence there’s no point in being dishonest with him or yourself either. I suspect he isn’t the man for you – definitely not if he doesn’t take no for an answer.

My teenage daughters make no secret of the fact that my appearance embarrasses them. I’m 51 years of age and a healthy size, but they’re always telling me I’m ‘fat’. On a holiday recently, they were mortified when I put on western attire and refused to be seen with me until I wore a saree. Other young women encourage their mothers to live life to the full. Why do mine want me to be old before my time? - Niharika Behind all the bravado, teenagers have so little self-confidence that they can feel embarrassed by almost anything & everything in the world, so don’t take it to heart. Having said that, your daughters are way out of line. You have every right to wear exactly what you like, and you don’t have to ask the permission of a couple of adolescents. I suggest you remind them of that fact FIRMLY.

If you have any queries for ELLA DIABLO, mail it to diablo@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Reviews

The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 Smoke & Mirrors

Raag

Director: Rajni Basumatary Cast: Zerifa Wahid, Adil Hussain

Director: Vinil Mathew Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Sidharth Malhotra

asee Toh Phasee is a refreshing, much-needed entry in the contemporary romcom genre, which has lately seen a series of uninspiring films. It’s largely to do with the presence of an unseen pairing with great chemistry - Chopra and Sidharth Malhotra - and Mathew and writer Harshvardhan Kulkarni’s perky take on love. The film also has a fun supporting cast with Manoj Shah and Sharat Saxena standing out as the fathers. Malhotra gets to prove that there is more to him than just mere looks even though he can’t help but flaunt his chest dressed in unbuttoned t-shirts. But he also demonstrates the conflicted state of Nikhil who is grappling with a difficult choice in matters of heart. Teenage girls are likely to warm up to his loveable loser act. But Parineeti steals the show, making outrageous faces and giving longing looks. She cries with such conviction that you really want to give her a hug.

NOW SHOWING

ssamese feature film, Raag, is a portrayal of the relationship between a Delhi based Assamese painter Iqbal, and a classical singer, Radhika. The film by debutant director Rajni Basumatary and produced by Assam State Film (Finance and Development) Corporation Ltd was released across the state. In Raag, the role of Iqbal is played by actor Adil Hussain, who is well known for his role in the Oscar winning movie, Life of Pi, and Radhika’s role is played by popular actor Zerifa Wahid. For an audience looking for a movie with a soulsearching experience, Raag is a good watch for this week. In spite of being a debutant, Basumatary has extracted good performances from Adil and Zerifa. While the performance of Kenny Basumatary was staggered, leaving speculation that the character he played would have done more to take the story forward. The 100-minute film touches many things. Above others, it highlights that infidelity is something that cannot be compromised always and that, a materialistic attitude is not the right thing to make and maintain a family. That is why despite being the wife of an officer of a multinational company Radhika seeks shelter in painter Iqbal and starts her life anew by bringing Iqbal out of the cocoon of agony and retirement. Director Basumatary is hopeful that her film will shade new light on human relationships. She said that she made the film on a story that she had been carrying in her mind for five years. Basumatary felt privileged to have Adil in Raag. “I had been thinking about Adil for the role since the day I started writing the scripts of the movie.”

he first episode of The Wolf Among Us was released well over three months ago now, and up until a few days ago there was no clue as to when Episode 2 was going to arrive. Telltale are promising that the wait won’t be so long for the next episode, but at the same time they haven’t offered even a vague date for when it might be out. It’s a shame, because we really enjoyed the first instalment of The Wolf Among Us and we like this one too. The problem is that Episode 2 is exceptionally short even by usual standards and after all this wait it’s easy to be disappointed by an hour and a half of plot set-up. It’s also hard not to be upset

Beyoncé

by Telltale’s lamentable technical skills and infamous lack of customer support. Our season pass for the Xbox 360 version didn’t work when we tried to download it, so we had to buy this episode again as a separate download. And then the first thing we got, when finally starting the game, was a broken ‘previously on The Wolf Among Us’ summary that was predominately made up of blank loading screens and jerky, out of synch cut scenes. The teaser for Episode 3 was just the same but thankfully the main game was fine, although it still glitches and stutters through some scenes – as if it’s running on a PC that’s only half the minimum spec.

MUSIC REVIEW

pranjal boruah

Fun Cinemas

Apsara Cinema

Anuradha Cineplex

Hasee to Phasee

Daily at 10.00 AM, 12.45, 4.15, 8.45 PM

Daily at 11 AM, 2,5 & 8 PM

Daily at 10.30 AM, 1.30, 8.30 PM

Raag

Daily at 6.55 PM

You should read

GAME REVIEW

Daily at 4.30 & 6.30 PM

Publisher: Prakash Books India Pvt. Ltd. Author: Vishwas Mudagal

acy, unpredictable, romantic, and inspiring, this is a novel that is bound to get you addicted and stay with you forever. When gamer and entrepreneur Rishi Rai sets out to revolutionize the gaming industry, something somewhere goes terribly wrong and, like dominoes, the blocks of his life fall down one after the other. An unexpected meeting with Alex, an unpredictable, crazy American hippie, changes his life forever, as he decides to quit everything and join him on an unplanned, uncharted journey across India. From getting irrepressibly high in the mysterious Malana

Valley in the Himalayas to starting a shack on the bewitching Om Beach on the West Coast, they do it all. But their adrenaline-charged adventure takes a turn when Rishi meets Kyra, a beautiful and enigmatic gamer. As passions surge and sparks fly, Rishi gets drawn to Kyra . . . unaware of who she is and where she comes from. What follows next is something nobody could have ever dreamed of . . . Who is Kyra and why are the paparazzi after her? Can Rishi connect the dots in his life to protect the love of his life? While the world becomes a spectator, can he mastermind the fall of a ruthless giant to become a global icon or will he become the biggest loser?

t’s tempting to read Beyoncé’s hard edges as an attempt to ride the success of Rihanna or Miley Cyrus’ risqué agendas—but to do so would be to look past the album’s true provocations. Beyoncé pushes boundaries not because it sells sex at every turn, but because it treats a power-balanced marriage as a place where sexuality thrives. At a time when when young people are gripped by an ideological fear of monogamy’s advertised doldrums, Beyoncé boldly proposes the idea that a woman’s prime—personal, professional, and especially sexual—can occur within a stable romantic partnership. Monogamy has never sounded more seduc-

tive or less retrograde as when dictated on Beyoncé’s terms. The innuendo can be bawdy and overblown— “Can you lick my Skittles/ That’s the sweetest in the middle” on “Blow”—but sincerely so. And who would allow Jay Z’s instantly infamous breasts/breakfast line anywhere near the stargazing boom of “Drunk in Love” but someone truly infatuated with him? What’s more is that the erotic themes don’t feel out-of-step with the album’s more decorous moments, like the stadium-filling “XO” or “Blue”, its requisite treatise on motherhood. In Beyoncé’s world, there are illicit doors to be unlocked in the halls of tradition and vice versa.

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Your weekly dose of HOROSCOPE ARIES

On Monday and Tuesday your mind seems divided. Mostly you have differing thoughts about your time and the pace at which you’re moving. Should you slow your goal trajectory a bit? Should you accelerate it? Are you walking too quickly when you could be enjoying the stroll? On Wednesday and Thursday, you’re not really bothered by such questions, mostly because you’re so intensely happy. Nothing seems to bother you at all. But on Friday and Saturday, a few minor financial frustrations underscore a certain level of crankiness. On Sunday, have dinner with a friend.

TAURUS A special dining experience at the beginning of the week with a friend or a loved one (or a potential loved one!) is an excellent idea. Making it yourself makes it extra charming. From Wednesday through the end of the workweek, you may have some issues with authority. Remember to show proper respect — even if you’re not feeling it — or be prepared to deal with the consequences. Good times are coming your way if the stars have their say from Friday afternoon through the weekend; you may especially enjoy nature now, and romance is in the air. A twilight walk in the park, anyone?

GEMINI You’ll put up a fight for what you want at the beginning of the week. Make your case logically, and don’t sully it with extra little quibbles. From Wednesday through the end of the workweek, it’s more about brainstorming with others than it is about ideas that are in conflict. Collaborating’s fun now, and the concepts you come up with can become very sweet in reality. The weekend’s perfect for concrete accomplishments, and crossing things off your to-do list is extra satisfying. Admittedly sometimes you’re all talk, but not right now.

TIMEPASS

LIBRA

CANCER What’s your gut feeling? Your instincts can make short work of any uncertainty at the beginning of the week, if you just tune into that inner voice. The stars favor whatever moves you decide to make. From Wednesday through the end of the workweek, though, you may be inclined to act on impulse when it’s a better idea to think the implications through. What you do now could have long-lasting effects. You’re industrious this weekend, but you’re also adept at communicating and connecting, so make sure you get out and about!

LEO Objectivity isn’t your strong suit as the week begins, but your emotional responses tell their own tales — ones that are just as valuable as logic. Exploring your feelings takes you important places now. Then from Wednesday through the end of the workweek, the stars are sending inspiration, excitement and pure radiance your way. The spotlight’s on you — be ready to shine, at work and at play (and particularly when it comes to affairs of the heart!). When the weekend comes, you may be ready for some downtime, perhaps because you’ve got something to mull over.

VIRGO You’re a people-person as the week begins. Working in groups is fun (and for once it’s actually more productive than just doing it yourself!), and socializing’s favored now too, even if it’s just mellow hanging-out time. From Wednesday through the end of the workweek, you may feel like you’re at a disadvantage of some sort, but you’ve got what it takes — or if not, you can figure it out quickly. Expect everything to get much easier starting around Friday afternoon and lasting through the weekend. These are some of the best days you’ve seen in a long time — how will you use this great energy?

Adapting to changing circumstances is key as the week begins. Have your contingency plan at the ready, and actively seek out others’ input, both professionally and in your personal life. From Wednesday through the end of the workweek, others are likely looking to you for your expertise or just your wise perspective. Help them see the bigger picture rather than just issuing your opinion. When it comes to the weekend, you’ll want to mix it up — meeting new people and getting stuff done, balanced with some time well spent doing nothing at all.

SCORPIO You’ve got both the brains and the brawn at the beginning of the week — the big ideas and the drive to see them through. Be sure to allow for circumstances beyond your control, though. Expect some tension between you and a certain someone between Wednesday and the end of the workweek. Make a real effort to see it from their point of view; start by asking them more about why they feel the way they do. From Friday afternoon through the weekend, fostering friendships and making future plans are favored — combine the two for extra fun.

SAGITTARIUS You and a certain someone may not see things the same way at the beginning of the week, but sorting out why doesn’t have to involve a big conflict. Gain understanding, and consider agreeing to disagree. From Wednesday through the end of the workweek, an infusion of confidence and high spirits is your gift from the stars. Your job? Use it to explore your world — professionally, personally, even romantically. By the weekend, though, your challenge is to look at what’s already close to you, and look at it closely.

CAPRICORN Are you feeling social or are you zeroed in on one person at the beginning of the week? Follow your mood and keep your options open. From Wednesday through the end of the workweek, you may want to be in charge, but there’s a limit to how much you can control. Changing how others are is highly unlikely; understanding them, much easier. Ask questions of the open-ended variety. You’re a master planner from Friday afternoon through the weekend, with a stunning command of the details and facts at your disposal. Accomplishments of all sorts are a cinch.

AQUARIUS Feeling out of sorts at the beginning of the week? Don’t overlook the physical part of the equation; a little extra exercise can get your mind and body much more in balance. Suddenly a problem doesn’t seem so monumental. And you’ve got the creativity to find multiple solutions to all sorts of issues from Wednesday through the end of the workweek. Set fixed ideas aside and find flexible, workable options all around. This weekend, you’re extra grounded and extra perceptive. A realization about someone you know may change your point of view.

PISCES You’re a real inspiration at the beginning of the week — and you may be inspiring someone in a romantic fashion. Sharing your own feelings when it comes to matters of the heart is favored now — will you spill ‘em? Then from Wednesday through the end of the workweek, watch out for getting entangled in issues that aren’t actually any of your business. Be neutral, especially in the work environment — it’s safest now. This weekend, offering a helping hand makes you look like a million bucks, particularly if others are only offering criticism.

JUST FOR LAUGHs Wedding speech from modern girl to her in laws: My dear new family, I thank you for welcoming me in my new house... Firstly I must tell you that my presence here should not change your life routines... Those who used to do the laundry must keep on doing

SUDOKU

it... Those cooking must keep cooking... Those cleaning must keep cleaning... I’ll not disturb anybody’s routine... So far as I’m concerned, I’m here only to: Eat BUN, Have FUN and Entertain yiur SON!!!

Solutions (Last Issue)

Fun

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Travel

G Plus Feature

he grandeur of the Sri Lankan landscape will never cease to marvel any traveller visiting this small island nation, surrounded by the waters of the Indian Ocean. Home to 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 15 national parks, 350 waterfalls and a staggering 25,000 water bodies, Sri Lanka has plenty to offer in its beautiful compact self. From north to south and west to east, the diverse land of this beautiful island has many treasure troves to discover. There are amazing places to visit in Sri Lanka, you never knew existed. This week G Plus talks about some wonderful destinations in Sri Lanka.

Experimenting a Lankan trip

Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura is one of the olden capitals of Sri Lanka, well-known for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan people. From the 4th century BC, it was the capital of Sri Lanka until the start of the 11th century AD. During this period it remained one of the most important places of political power and city life in South Asia. The olden city, considered blessed to the Buddhist world, is today surrounded by monasteries covering an area of over sixteen square miles. Anuradhapura is also significant in Hindu legend as the fabled capital of the Asura King Ravana in the Ramayana.

Arugambay

Arugam Bay is located on the Indian Ocean in the waterless zone of Sri Lankaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s southeast beach. The Arugam Bay is situated 320 km due east of Colombo. It is a well-liked surfing and tourist goal. Due to its attractiveness among low budget tourists, the area has managed a slow revival. The main road through town has still not been repaved. Work is in growth to improve road access to the area. But in Arugam Bay itself, little has altered. As late as May, 2009 no help has been received from any official foundation or international organizations. An omission is ungraceful support for fishing folk as well as many school reconstruction programs, resulting in a continuance to provide only separatist schools for each community. But it is still beautiful and a place worth exploring.

Bentota

A Sri Lankan coastal city wellknown for golden beaches, Bentota is located on the southern coastal angle of the Galle district of the southern province. The town is a well-liked tourist place. It is particularly wellknown among the foreign tourists. The name comes from a mythological story which dates back to kings time saying a demon called Bem ruled this river ( total = river bank). Bentota hosts a handful of world proclaim hotels. It is the hosting land for the wellknown Sri Lankan jewellery Aida. Bentota also delivers an olden art of curing called Ayurveda.

Sigiriya

One of the must-see world famous Sri Lanka tourist attractions, the rock fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a specimen of stunning engineering and construction. Standing 200 metres above the forested plain, the flattened summit is an ideal place for amazing picturesque views. Skilfully constructed moats, ramparts and

water gardens are spread out at the bottom, creating elegance and testimony of a once flourished royal palace. Remnants of giant stone lion paws remind the visitors why it is called the Lion Rock. Sigiriya frescoes are some of the most treasured and valuable art work seen in the country. The Rock displays some of the earliest known graffiti, done by the ancient tourists. Sigiriya is a result of a power battle between two brothers, one seeking vengeance and the other protection against retribution. It is one of the best places to visit in Sri Lanka.

NuwaraEliya

The hill country is another favourite destination on the island and a top of the list places to visit in Sri Lanka. Considered by many as the tea capital of the country the lush green tea estates endlessly scatter around the region. The highest plateau on the island, Horton Plains in NuwaraEliya is a National Park of mystic beauty. Where the southern Horton Plains abruptly ends is known as the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

End and is a sight worth thousand words. Horton Plains is perfect for trekkers who are looking for soft and hard trails. The exquisite waterfalls of NuwaraEliya from Laksapana Falls to Backers Falls create a wonderful atmosphere for any nature lover. The NuwaraEliya golf course spreading over 90 acres is an 18 whole golf course giving golfers a delightful golfing experience. The Hakkgala Gardens

presenting plants and flowers from all over the world is another horticultural masterpiece. There are many more places which are not mentioned in the above list, but as you visit these places, you will keep getting information about some other places and obviously Colombo will be in the route while coming or going. So, pack your bags and enjoy the trip.

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

G-Talk

Is the beauty of Saraswati Puja being commercialised by media? Malaya Goswami

Subhamoy Bhattacharjee

Associate Professor, Dept of Education, Jagiroad College.

Freelance photojournalist

POINT

as Saraswati Puja turned into an occasion for us to throw away tradition and embrace modernity with brazenness? The special ‘beauty pageant’ shows aired by a few television channels in Assam on the Saraswati Puja day has raised this question. Saraswati Puja has its own place and pride among not only the student community but also among people at large. A large section, from a child to an elderly person, have their own way of worshipping the goddess of wisdom. It may be within the small area of a school in central Assam where they do not have enough budget to buy a clay idol but did worship with heart, offering ‘Prasad’ to all trespassers and in contrast, we have popular educational institutions located near or within the major cities, in the limelight of media. The aim is the same but the ‘name’ is different. In case of popular television shows, it is ‘TRP’ with deliberate pre and post sessions in the name of gala coverage of the festival. “The target based campaign of an event where you have options of ‘bonus viewership ‘is a profit making affair. And it generates TRP. The simple mathematics can be understood by all,” feels a media professional. But is it the only way to project a festival - following the girls, portraying them, comparing their looks, attires and presence covering the nook and corners of Assam and that too organising a competition for which not only the daughter of a family but also all other relatives wait till the result is out. “Electronic media in Assam is professionally still struggling to overcome its infancy and TRP is a tool to fight for survival, no doubt about it,” expressed a cost accountant. On the other hand, a present day college girl is of the opinion “If we are accepting it as a show, then what is wrong if someone is there to record and telecast. It is just fun.”

Electronic media in Assam is professionally still struggling to overcome its infancy and TRP is a tool to fight for survival, no doubt about it,” It may be fun or excitement for the current generation, but is it the only way to project our culture and tradition, that too in news channels ?

“Saraswati Puja is generally observed by the youths seeking blessings from the Goddess of Knowledge since time immemorial. However, with the passage of time, this tradition has also been gripped by commercialisation. There›s no harm in youths decking up in their finery. In addition, the media about which the debate goes on whether it›s a reflection of society or it moulds society, should refrain from focussing only on the decked-up youths, especially girls, to portray the festivities. This occasion can be used by the media to highlight the condition of knowledge and music prevalent in the region as this goddess is associated with learning. “Different programmes related to learning can also be encouraged & supported by the media,” expressed a working lady engaged in PR profession. It may be fun or excitement for the current generation, but is it the only way to project our culture and tradition, that too in news channels? The question is yet to be answered.

COUNTERPOINT

irstly, I would like to say that Saraswati Puja is a very special day for us and more than us, it is for the young boys and the girls. In our days too, other than the Puja rituals, there used to be a lot of other activities, which used to revolve around the Puja. The rituals are always there and it is a part of our lives, but outside that too, there are other activities, which keeps the Puja fanfare alive.

I personally, do not like commercialisation of the human values. But if the media is commercialising a festival to compliment people in a positive way so that young boys and girls feel good about the show, get appreciated for their looks and give a positive message overall, I don’t think there is a problem. But I do not at all support vulgarising anything.

It is also human nature to feel good about how you look. Everyone likes to get appreciated about his or her looks. The young boys and girls love to get appreciated about their looks. In our days, there was no media, but today, media is one of the most important parts of our lives. We get informed about almost everything through the media. So, if we talk about media commercialising the Saraswati Puja with programmes like various beauty pageants and all, I personally, do not like commercialisation of the human values. But if the media is commercialising a festival to compliment people in a positive way so that young boys and girls feel good about the show, get appreciated for their looks and give a positive message overall, I don’t think there is a problem. But I do not at all support vulgarising anything. If the media is positive about showing the various cultures, traditions, cultural ornaments, traditional dresses then I don’t think there should be a problem. If we just take the example of even films, a plot requires dances, songs, violence, and many other elements, which completes a film. This is again done for a total commercial motive. But, in the end if the film has a good message, people like it. I am a mother and a teacher, and personally I am totally against vulgarisation, but if there is something positive which is commercialised and in the meanwhile has some positive message in it, portrayed by the media, than I don’t think there should be any kind of criticism towards such programmes. Finally, I would like to say that vulgarisation of a festival or human values should not be there, but, if the media is commercialising a festival to reflect culture, tradition, joy and in the meanwhile, boosts young people’s confidence for personality development and gives confidence to the youth than there should not be a problem.

AN APPEAL Seven year old Mrinal Topno is suffering from ‘Anterior Encephalocele’ (Commonly known as Hypertelorism). He has a tennis ball sized tumor in the middle of this forehead because of which has already lost the vision in his left eye. The estimated expenditure of surgery is Rs. 1.5 Lakh. The Snehalaya family appeals to one and all to come forward with financial assistance and join our hands in this effort to give the best medical care to Mrinal and give him his childhood back and put a smile on his face. The donor will get tax rebate under section (80 G) Income Tax Act 1961

For any query, contact us at 0361-2738064 (O) or leave a message in our inbox at snehalaya.ghy@gmail.com

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Citypedia

Astrologers & Palmists G Plus will keep on publishing such relevant and useful information in this page in the coming issues.

Compiled by Rangman Das

Guwahati Ratna Bhandar

Rajasthan Jewellers

Nepali Mandir Rehabari Guwahati – 781008 Phone No – 0361-2514243

Col. J Ali Road Lakhtokia Guwahati – 0361-2545649

Halder, SK

Ulubari Chariali Guwahati – 781007 Phone No – 99542-48345

B K Kakoti Road Ulubari Guwahati - 781007 Phone No – 98641-54520

Jyotish Kendra

Simon House Nepali Mandir Guwahati – 781008 Phone No – 98640-57094

Jyotishee Young Pappa Dewan Market Lakhtokia Guwahati – 781001 Phone No – 0361-2608497

Kashyap Rantu

Narengi Guwahati – 781026 Phone No – 98640-96714

Maa Kamakhya Jyotishalaya Near Agradoot Bhawan Ganeshguri Guwahati – 781006 Phone No – 98641-32359

Manjushree

Ratna Bhawan

Ratna Kutir

Sarab bhati Chariali Guwahati – 781008 Phone No – 94351-34226, 97071-62861

Manipuribasti G S Road Guwahati – 781007 Phone No – 99571-11171

Lachit Nagar Guwahati – 781007 Phone No – 98640-27798

Ratna Mahal

Nepali Mandir, Paltanbazaar Guwahati – 781008 Phone No – 99542-07127

Ratna Mandir

R P Road, Ganeshguri Guwahati – 781006 Phone No – 0361-2223537

Ratneswari

Nr. Volkswagen Maligaon, Guwahati – 781011 Phone No – 98640-87828

S Pavan Kumar

Nag Pulak

Saikia Pranab

RGB Road Sundarpur Guwahati – 781005 Phone No – 0361-2200382, 94353-09353

Problem & Solve Centre Santipur Masjid Road Guwahati – 781009 Phone No – 98640-58715

Sharma RP

Ratna Kuber

Harabala Path Byelane No – 1, Ulubari Guwahati – 781007 Phone No – 0361-245552

Nath Pannalal

Byelane No – 9 Rajgarh Road Guwahati – 781003 Phone No – 94351-46262, 98640-46652

Shree Nagar Zoo Road Guwahati – 781005 Phone No – 0361-2204741, 2200638

G S Road Ulubari Guwahati – 781007 Phone No – 0361-2733656, 98642-95755

Syed Market Bhangagarh Guwahati – 781005 Phone No – 99540-40911, 99540-97761

School of Indian Astrology

Beltola, Guwahati – 781028 Phone No – 0361-2305330

Samadhan

Opp. Hanuman Mandir Lachitnagar Guwahati – 781007 Phone No – 98541-33953

Sarma Pulin Ch

Nabagraha Road Silpukhuri Guwahati – 781003 Phone No – 94351-02359, 98641-53493

Saxena Pradeep

Behind SBI, Noonmati Guwahati – 781020 Phone No – 99543-23464, 98540-76079

Shastri Pt Kl

Shree Krishna Jyotish Kendra Nayanpur, Ganeshguri Guwahati – 781006 Phone No – 94350-10780

Shree Sharma Gopal Basistha Guwahati – 781029 Phone No – 98640-59517

Sree Supriya

S S Road Lakhtokia Guwahati – 781001 Phone No – 0361-2633724

Sri Bharadwaj

J C Das Road Kamarpatty Guwahati – 781001 Phone No – 0361-2519224

Trikal Mahabhairab Tantra Kendra Kuworitol, Nagaon Assam Phone No – 99540-21556, 99570-66469

View of Victory

L G Tower Narengi Guwahati – 781026 Phone No – 97065-76991, 97065-77916

Sri Sri Chakravarty B K A K Azad Road Rehabari Guwahati – 781008 Phone No – 0361-2514243, 98641-27158

G PLUS FEB 08 - FEB 14, 2014

Catching Up

Headlining acts! Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella becomes a rage in cyber world Hyderabad born Satya Nadella swept the cyber world with nearly half-a-billion search results thrown up even as he became toast of the social networking sites abuzz with news of him being named as Microsoft CEO. ‘Satya Nadella’ name in Google search box produced over 440 million results in half a second. Right now, it appears he is only third after the US President Barack Obama, who attracted about 650 million results and Bill Gates (about 480 million), in the virtual world. He was appointed CEO on 4th February 2014, succeeding Steve Ballmer. Previously, he was executive vicepresident of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group, responsible for building and running the company’s computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services.

Taylor Swift talks love Taylor Swift isn’t afraid to get real.A fact which the 24-year-old country crooner has proven true time and time again in her telling song lyrics that spill the stories of her deepest secrets, from her biggest heartbreaks (Harry Styles) to her hopes for the future.And the seven-time Grammy winner opens up even more in the March 2014 issue ofGlamour magazine, looking stunning on the cover in a lacy coral dress as she gives the camera a sly smirk, while dishing on her much-buzzed about dating life and being a role model in the pop music world.

Ireland Baldwin WHO’S sHE?

This babe is an American fashion model. She is the daughter of actor Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin. She is noted for her height of 6 ft 2 inc and known for her frequent use of socialnetworking site Twitter.

SO WHAT?

At the age of 11 in 2007, she gained recognition in the news after her father Alec Baldwin left her an angry voicemail message which became public. His subquent public apology and a deeper look into their relationship ensued.

se-

NOW WHAT?

Baldwin, 18, posted a photo to Instagram in which she’s lifting weights at the gym. It would seem like the blonde took cue from Kim Kardashian’s headlinemaking butt selfie, and opted for a shot from behind. She also revealed a tattoo on her inner left arm which resembled a bra.

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UN condemns Vatican over child sex abuse The Vatican must remove all child sexual abusers from their posts and turn them over to the police, the United Nations children’s rights watchdog said recently.The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged the Holy See to “immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual abusers from assignment and refer the matter to the relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution purposes”.In a hard-hitting report, the committee said that the Roman Catholic Church was still failing to do enough to live up to its stated commitment to stamp out child abuse by priests and lay employees, including in schools.

North Korea issues warning over South reunions North Korea has threatened to cancel family reunions with the South, a day after agreeing to hold them.Its top military body said in a statement that it would reconsider the deal if joint US-South Korea military exercises went ahead.”Dialogue and exercises of war” could not go hand in hand; South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted the North Korean statement as saying.The two Koreas last held reunions for divided families in 2010.The next reunions - for family members separated when the Korean peninsula was partitioned at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War - are scheduled for 20 February.

pick of the week Giving a contemporary interpretation to the 154-year-old ‘obscenity’ provision in Indian Penal Code, the Supreme Court has ruled that a woman’s nude picture in a publication could not per se be termed obscene under IPC or Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.

What did I just hear? A couple in their 30s stripped in front of Rashtrapati Bhavan after they were denied entry to the President’s house. The couple went to the main gate of Rashtrapati Bhavan and demanded to meet President Pranab Mukherjee. When the security personnel at the entry asked for the reason, they failed to say why. “The couple then took off their clothes,” a police officer said.

Kamur of the week

FACEBOOK MOVIE: With Facebook celebrating 10 years of existence, it let all its users create their own one minute long movie which reviews the individual’s existence on it ever since he or she had joined facebook. All this sounds nice but not when your entire timeline is filled up with those movies of friends, friends or friends, colleagues, relatives, relatives’ friends and so on and so forth. It has now become a pain and we still have not seen the last of it!

Printed & Published by Sunit Jain on behalf of Insight Brandcom Pvt. Ltd. and Printed at Arkashish Publications (P) Ltd., Katahbari, Garchuk, Guwahati and Published at H/No. 34, K. C. Choudhury Road, Chatribari, Guwahati - 781008, Editor: Koushik Hazarika. Phone: 0361 2737737, Email: info@g-plus.in, RNI No: ASSENG/2013/52641