GPlus Volume 2 Issue 42 by G Plus

In Conversation with

SWAPNANEEL DEKA DCP- Crime

PG 15

VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 42 JUL 25 - JUL 31 , 2015

PRICE `10

HATIGAON YOUTH REMAINs UNTRACED

Case takes twists and turns with every passing day

With the missing case of Pranjal Das turning mysterious every passing day, cops are yet to confirm whether it was a kidnapping, murder or an accident.

Lifestyle Diseases

and International

Self-Care Day

PG 19

Debani Singh

New chic on the block

Page 24

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

Lead Story

Hatigaon youth remains untraced

Case takes twist and turns with every coming day

With Pranjal’s whereabouts yet to be discovered, the case is taking a new turn with every passing day. Although the motive behind Pranjal remaining mysteriously missing is yet to be discovered, it has put his companions, who went to a location near Umtru Dam in Byrnihat, Meghalaya under the scanner besides raising several questions. KALYAN DEB

ranjal Das, who is in his midtwenties and the son of Minaram Das, has been missing since July 19th after he left home for college. Although it was later found that he did go to the Hiteshwar Saikia Jr. College located at Sixmile where he was enrolled as a degree student under KK Handique State Open University and collected his second semester admit card, he never made it back home again. Pranjal, on the fateful day, reportedly made plans with friends David Rabha, Partha Bhattacharya and Bidyabanta Basumatary to visit Umtru and as stated by the trio, was with them until 4pm when he parted way to a certain distance in order to urinate and has been missing ever since. According to the three, they looked for Pranjal’s whereabouts till 8pm that evening and when he could not be found informed the Byrnihat police the next day as they were too nervous to inform Pranjal’s family members. From the location, a blue coloured Bajaj Discover 155ST bearing registertion AS 01BF0612 belonging to Pran-

Pranjal left home for college at around 10am on July 19th. When he did not return home till 4 pm his mother tried to contact him and got connected on the second try. The phone rang twice and then was found switched off. Suman Das, Pranjal’s younger brother later in the evening went to Pranjal’s college to find out about his whereabouts and got to know that student did visit the college but there were no classes held.

The location where the victim was last seen

An FIR was lodged on the morning of 20th July at Hatigaon PS as Pranjal did not return the entire night. On 20th July itself it was found from Hiteshwar Saikia College that Pranjal was present in the college till 12 noon on July 19th and also collected his admit card for second semester. It was Nabanita Bordoloi who contacted David Rabha, who in turn said that he along with Pranjal and

Bidyabanta Basumatary and Partha Bhattacharya went to Umtru and were together till 4pm of July 19th. According to David It was until 4pm when Pranjal stepped aside in order to urinate and had gone missing ever since. The three looked for him till 8pm and when he could not be located, they came back and continued the search the next day. It was on 1:30 am of 21st July when the three along with their parents informed Pranjal’s family about the incident.

The police was only informed by the three on 20th of July whereas the incident took place on 19th. Byrnihat police informed that since they did not have any contact number and as the three were sent for medical test to Nongpoh which consumed time hence the family could not be informed earlier. In the medical report it was found there was no consumption of alcohol or injuries were found on the three. However, in the report shown to G Plus there was no blood test report mentioned and the consumption of alcohol was only checked through their breath.

“The entire process consumed time as the three had to be sent to Nongpoh and the process takes time and since we did not have any contact number and only they knew the house of the victim so they were allowed to go and inform the family members of the victim or else one phone call is good enough as I am not shielding anyone and detained them here and questioned them separately”

IC Byrnihat, D Nongrum.

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

Lead Story Twist In the tale Most locals denied having witnessed any kind of mishap taking place as the location gets several visitors and have also shared several incidents of people falling into the water body with the bodies being recovered after several days. People also stated that at times the bodies get stuck on the sand bars. Some of the locals mentioned having seen six people arriving on two bikes and a scooter and while leaving there were five while one of the bike was left behind on Sunday itself. “There were two bikes and a scooter that arrived at the location and while leaving five people left the location, three leaving on a bike and two leaving on the scooter. On their way back, the bike fell as there was a minor restoration work going on in the area. The contractor asked them to wait for some time for the restoration to be over but the vehicles seemed to be in a hurry and were not even willing to turn off the engine. One of the bikes was left behind,” some of the locals said. Although, they could not identify the faces, they were very sure that about their statement.

The bridge that connects to the crime scene

jal himself along with his bag which consisted of a shirt that Pranjal was wearing while he left from home, the admit card that he collected from college and a book was recovered.

The relatives’ narrate Meanwhile, Pranjal’s parents and relatives have left no stones unturned to find him after the elder son of the family did not return home for the entire night and neither could be contacted the next day. Pranjal’s younger brother Suman Das discovered from the college authorities that Pranjal was there until 12pm. On July 20th Pranjal’s family lodged an FIR with the Hatigaon PS. Later that day, a picture was found from Pranjal’s archives where one of Pranjal’s friends could identify a female friend named Nabanita Bordoloi who was also Pranjal’s classmate at Hiteshwar Saikia Jr. College and contacted David Rabha who narrated the aforementioned happenings. The fact that Pranjal’s parents were not informed about the turn of events until 1:30am of July 21st and since David could only be reached through

Nabanita rather than the knowledge of events coming from them in the first place has put the three under scanner. “The information was then forwarded to Hatigaon PS and they accordingly found the address of Partha Bhattcharya who is a resident of Arunodoy Path, Hatigaon and found that he was already in Byrnihat PS. On that very morning we, accompanied by Hatigaon police, went to Byrnihat PS and found that the parents of the three were already there while the they arrived a while later along with the Case In charge”, said Pranjal’s uncle. “On being asked the same questions to all three of them, they had the same answer that they were nervous and conveyed the same. Along with their normal body language while replying to the queries and the delay in informing the matter indicated signs that they took their time to prepare their replies”, he added further. It was also informed that Byrnihat police has not been supportive enough about the incident and already certified the three as innocent for appearing in front of the police and reached the conclusion that it was an accident prior to carrying out any kind of investigation.

Panjal’s relatives also expressed suspicion over Nabanita Bordoloi as she shared with one of Pranjal’s relatives that he was affectionate towards her whereas she is in a relationship with an unknown person. The same was expressed by some of Pranjal’s friends that he has been supporting her financially.

Byrnihat police’s say According to Byrnihat police they were informed about the incident on July 20th and they immediately sent the trio for medical test after filing the FIR in order to test for any kind of injuries sustained in case of an accident. “The entire process consumed time as the three had to be sent to Nongpoh and the process takes time and since we did not have any contact number and only they knew the house of the victim so they were allowed to go and inform the family members of the victim. One phone call is good enough as I am not shielding anyone. I detained them here and questioned them separately”, said IC Byrnihat, D Nongrum. The police also mentioned that

there have been several incidents of people going missing after falling into the water and are only recovered after a certain period of time as the water current is very strong. Meanwhile, although the three had confessed about consumption of alcohol on the day of the mishap, the medical report says otherwise. “There was no signs of consumption of alcohol as they consumed alcohol on 19th and reported the next day so after 24hrs we got nothing. Besides, signs of injuries were also nil”, the IC added. However, the medical report shown to G Plus did not mention any

kind of blood test being carried out and the consumption of alcohol was only checked through their breath. Meanwhile a case has been registered at the Hatigaon police station under case number 224/15 and the three viz. David Rabha, Partha Pratim Bhattacharya and Bidyabanta Basumatary have been arrested on July 23rd and have been booked under IPC section 335 and 365. Although, Hatigaon police have denied issuing any kind of statement but have mentioned that investigation is currently under progress. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in Photos: Adib Zamali

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

In The News

What lies beneath the multi-crore city water supply project? With allegations revolving around the project, G Plus tries to dig into the involvement of various stakeholders and find the status of the city water supply project. Rahul Chanda

he famous JICA funded South Guwahati Water Supply project, according to GMDA officials, is 40 per cent complete but has somehow managed to engulf itself in a huge controversy after the US Department of Justice disclosed that a US company, Louis Berger has given bribes to certain ‘officials’ in Assam to take consultancy work for the project. Bowing to pressure from various political parties and activists, state Chief Minister has ordered a probe into the alleged scam which will be investigated by Additional Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Das. How is Louis Berger involved in the project and what are the possibilities of a scam in the plot? G Plus reviews all city water projects and the present status and role of Louis Berger in the project.

Louis Berger officials admit to US Department of Justice that they had given bribes to get work in Guwahati

After scrutiny, the project gets divided and four projects gets funded separately by different funding agencies

Himanta’s name get dragged by media and activists

Project Managing Consultancies get work to design the project South Central and North Guwahati projects get awarded to Nihon Suido, Louis Berger and Shah Technical Consultants as a joint consortium partners in 2009-10 According to sources in GMDA, the consultancy work was actually awarded to Nihon Suido, but Louis Berger was involved as it was their joint venture

The projects There are four water supply projects running simultaneously in Guwahati, namely South West Guwahati Water Supply project funded by Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM), South Central Guwahati Water Supply Project funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), North Guwahati Water Supply Project funded by JICA and South East Guwahati Water Supply Project funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB). In the year 2008 GMDA, which is under GDD, made a DPR prepared by Tahal Consulting Engineering ltd and submitted it to the central government (Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation). The initial DPR was for a single project for the entire Guwahati city but after scrutiny, it was found that at one go, the entire project is not viable for various reasons and accordingly was divided into four projects with different budgets and different project managing concultencies (PMCs) were hired for fulfilling different criterias. The PMC is basically a consultant which designs the entire project, makes the detailed project report and supervises the construction companies which carries out the work. The PMC also advices, from time to time, certain changes if required. In 2009-10, the PMCs for these four projects were decided which fulfilled the criteria set by the state and the central govern-

GMDA makes DPR for the entire Guwahati water supply project in 2008 and submits it to Centre

ment and also the funding agencies as they are the ones who provide loan to the states for development projects. The share of the fund was 90:10 between centre and the state. Louis Berger is a PMC but interestingly it did not get the consultency assignment single handedly. According to GMDA sources, the South Central and North Guwahati water supply projects have the same consultency from a joint venture of three consultants, namely, Nihon Suido, Louis Berger and Shah Technical Consultants. A senior official of the project said on the condition of anonymity, “The actual work was awarded to Nihon Suido, but as there was a joint venture between these three consultancy companies, Louis Berger is involved as a consultant.” But if Louis Berger official have testified before the investigating agencies in US that it paid bribes to officials in Assam to get work, how was Nihon Suido awarded the work? The other PMCs for other projects are Tahal Consulting Engineering ltd for South West project and JITF for South Central.

The issue According to media reports, Louis Berger International agreed last week

Irked Sarma threatens to sue media and says work was provided according to JICA criteria CM orders probe by a bureaucrat of his own government For similar allegations Goa orders CBI probe Activist turned GMDA Chairman Dhiren Baruah says GMDA was not involved in awarding works to Louis Berger, it was done by GDD

The construction work started in 2012 and has completed 40 per cent and 25 per cent respectively

Before awarding work JICA criteria is checked but finally the decision is made by state government

The approximate budget of these two projects is Rs 1636.28 crore

The scrutiny is done by experts from all development authorities of the city

Himanta Biswa Sarma was the GDD minister at that time

But how will be the scam be proved if there was any?

Project

Work started

Budget (approx)

PMC

Construction company

Funded by

Present status

South West Guwahati Water Supply

2010

355 crore

Tahal Consulting Engineering ltd

Gammon India

JnNURM

92% completed

South Central Water Supply

2012

Gammon India, JITF and IVRCL

JICA

40% completed

North Guwahati Water Supply

1636.28 crore 2012

Nihon Suido, Louis Beger and Shah Technical Consultants

Gammon India, JITF and IVRCL

JICA

25% completed

South East Water Supply

2014

Jindal

ADB

10% completed

1100 crore

to a $17.3 million settlement with the US Department of Justice for bribing officials in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Kuwait. In India, the company admitted to bribing officials in Goa and Assam. With the US Department of Justice probing the alleged scam, various reports says that US can furnish the names of people who took bribe if India asks for it. Goa has already ordered a CBI probe whereas Assam CM has ordered a probe by a bureaucrat of his own government. His one time loyalist Jalukbari MLA Himanta Biswa Sarma was the GDD minister in 200910 when the PMCs where awarded the work but Sarma too, interestingly, according to reports, is seeking a probe,

Biswa

claiming to be innocent. The activist turned GMDA Chairman Dhiren Baruah said that GMDA was not at all involved while the work was awarded to Louis Berger as it was done by GDD. According to Sarma’s statement to the media, the work was provided according to JICA criteria which is somewhat correct but the responsibility of scrutinising the DPR and selecting the PMCs and construction companies are jointly done by experts from both GDD, GMDA and other authorities of the city. JICA does has a criteria but finally it is the state government which selects and awards the work. If the project is completed successfully, it is expected to be the only

water supply project in India which will provide 24/7 high pressure drinking water to the public, but, with the centre seeking utility certificates and the state as usual delaying the furnishing of the same, the work is being delayed. Now with hints of such allegations or so called scam, will funding bodies like JICA provide funds to Assam for future development projects? Should not the CM and the people who were responsible for the project like Himanta Biswa Sarma jointly seek a CBI probe if they are as innocent as they claim? rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

Drunken driving Juthika Baruah

In The News

a major concern in the city Drunken Driving Case

runken driving is still a major problem in the city with 1520 cases of drunken driving detected daily, with majority of accidents, especially at night, occurring due to driving under influence of alcohol. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Pranabjyoti Goswami while speaking to G Plus said, “Cases of drunken driving are found mostly at night after 8 pm, especially among the youths and this is a major reason for accidents. Breath analyzers are being used to detect cases of drunken driving with a limit of 30 mg/dl and a non FIR case is registered in the court against anyone found to have comsumed above this permissible limit.” As per the Motor Vehicles Act, a person can be served six months jail term or a fine of ` 2000 or both if the person is found positive for alcohol above the permissible limit. Goswami said that until and unless a person commits a crime after consuming alcohol, it is not an offence and therefore, they are not fined while driving but they are sent to the court and a case is registered against them. According to health experts and social scientists, people consume alcohol due to an increasingly stressed life and with no other option like playing, walking in open spaces, reading or other recreational facilities, people take to alcohol to relieve themselves of stress.

Case registered in 2015 till June

2859

Daily case

15-20

Permissible limit of consuming alcohol

2859 cases of drunken driving registered till June, 2015 and

30 mg/dl

accidents at night mostly occur due to drunken driving “People are living a mechanical life and due to the lack of proper and healthy environment, they take such step to erase the stress of life. The city do not have sufficient parks or open spaces where people could go out and walk, social activities are decreasing, people are forgetting the habit of going to libraries and there are many other reasons for which they take alcohol to get relief from stress,” said a health expert. Vulnerable and accident prone areas of the city like Zoo Road, Lakhara,

Narengi, Geetanagar, Khanapara, Maligaon, Bharalumukh have also been checked regularly to detect cases of drunken driving. “Adequate manpower is also necessary to reduce the problems as people avoid the roads and streets where checking takes place, so such type of incidents continue occurs,” said Goswami. According to a new amendment in the law, drunken driving is considered to be no more an offence but will the amendment be justifiable for the people who drink and drive? G Plus took

opinions from the citizens and one of them, Ankur Das said, “According to me the amendment will not affect any people because anybody committing a crime while driving will be penalised whether drunk or not. But it should also be kept in mind that if anyone drives after consuming alcohol, they should not harm the common people on the street.” Rekha Medhi, another commuter said, “The amendment will definitely harm the people as now-a-days it is seen that the youths do not follow any

law and they tend to do whatever they want and if any such amendment takes place, they will get a chance to commit the same crime again and again instead of rectifying their mistake.” An official source said that the laws are not enforced strictly in the city for which people do not follow the traffic guidelines unlike the other cities. The source said that the offenders should be punished according to law, only then such crimes will be reduced. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

In The News

Kalapahar petrol pump accused of cheating customers With public outcry to seal the Das Service Station, police registers case against petrol pump attendants

Rahul chanda

Customer asks for petrol worth ` 300 from an attendant at Das Service Station Initially the customer did not check the rate meter, but as he starts to check, another attendant switches off the machine when the reading reaches ` 200 Customer asks why, attendant says it was done by mistake Customer charges the attendant, but alleges the attendants manhandled him for raising questions Police reaches the spot, arrests two attendants on bailable sections and later releases them on bail Public demands sealing the pump Pump officials say the incident was a mistake by the attendant, hence sacked Customer not happy with the prosecution, vows to move court against the pump

n 20 July, an incident at Kalapahar Das Service Station forced the police to deploy additional armed forces in the area, as the public gathered and demanded the sealing of the petrol pump, accusing the owner of cheating his customers. A customer alleged that the petrol pump attendants manhandled him when he raised questions on the quantity of petrol given to him. Local police registered a case against two petrol pump attendants under bailable sections of the IPC, arrested them and later released them on bail. But the incident has raised questions on quality and quantity of

fuel bought and sold at petrol pumps. G Plus checks this incident indepth.

The allegations

Constable Hemkanta Kumar Sarma works at Kamrup SP office and lives near the Lal Ganesh area. He rides a bike and the Kalapahar Das Service Station is the most convenient petrol pump for him where he can fill petrol. According to him, on July 20 morning around 11.30 am, he went to the Kalapahar Das Service Station and asked an attendant to fill petrol worth ` 300 in his bike. He was sitting on the bike and the attendant started filling the petrol. He said, “Initially I did not check the digital price meter screen, but as soon as I tried to check, I saw it was displaying ` 200 and another attendant quickly switched the petrol machine off after he saw me watching the screen. On asking why he switched off the machine at ` 200 when I had asked for ` 300 worth of petrol, the attendant said it was by mistake. I shouted at them, questioning how such mistakes could be made, when they started manhandling me.” He further said that many a times he faced such incidents at the petrol pump and during night hours, the attendants are almost always drunk. He then called the police and with the help of the public, he demanded that the petrol pump should be sealed. Police deployed extra force to control the law and order situation and arrested both the attendants but on bailable sections and released them later on bail. The police said they can register a case regarding the fight only as the issue of the quality and quan-

Initially I did not check the digital price meter screen, but as soon as I tried to check, I saw it was displaying ` 200 and an another attendant quickly switched the petrol machine off after he saw me watching the screen. On asking why he switched off the machine at ` 200 when I had asked for ` 300 worth of petrol, the attendant said it was by mistake. I shouted at them questioning how such mistakes could be made, when they started manhandling me.

tity of petrol dispensed at the station cannot be investigated by them.

The defence

Das Service Station manager Deepak Kashyap said that a customer asked for ` 300 worth of petrol but by mistake one of their attendants switched the machine off after petrol worth ` 200 was filled as he thought that the customer asked for that amount. The customer then created a scene, called the cops and media. He said, “In our CCTV footage it can be easily seen that the customer manhandled the attendant first and later in retaliation the attendant also slapped the customer.” He further said that the attendant has been sacked but the customer should have complained to the station’s management first if there was any issue at the pump. When G Plus checked the CCTV footage, it was seen that the customer, Hemkanta Kumar Sharma slapped the attendant first, but the customer’s

version that the attendant who was not asked to fill petrol in his bike came and switched off the machine when he started to check the rate meter was also visible in the footage. So, it was a valid question put by the customer that if one attendant is already pouring petrol and knows how much the customer asked, why did the other attendant switched off the machine just when the customer started checking the price rate meter. Sharma said that he is not likely to abandon the issue so easily and he is irked at the local police as they just registered a bailable case against the attendants and not against the petrol pump.

The issue

Another city based customer who fills petrol in a different pump said, “Once I went to the Sundarpur based NRL petrol pump and asked one of the attendant to pour ` 500 worth of petrol in my vehicle (Hyundai I 20). Before he started filling the petrol,

another attendant came near me and started asking about the brand of my sun glasses. I told him the brand and immediately when I looked at the meter screen, I found that the attendant who I had asked to fill the fuel was starting to pump petrol into my car without bringing the metre to zero. It was somewhere around ` 100 plus. I shouted and asked why the rate was not at zero, when he apologised and adjusted the meter to zero and then started pouring petrol. I felt the other attendant was asking about my glasses just to keep me distracted.” Incidents like this prove that some petrol pumps do try to siphon off petrol by cheating the customers. A government employee who was working in a petrol pump as an attendant earlier said on the condition of anonymity that in city like Guwahati, frauds like this happens but they cannot mix kerosene or other chemicals here because the quantity in which the petrol is bought is less. He further said that in highway petrol stations, where the sale is huge, some people mix naphtha, which is a by-product of the petroleum distillation process. It is as dense as petrol and leaves no residue. Attendants mix some of it with the petrol, which they then sell to unsuspecting customers. One of the oldest pumps in the city, Bora Service was also sealed few years back on similar cheating charges. Customers have to be extra careful while filling petrol and the authorities should also, from time to time, check the quality of the fuel sold in stations. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

In The News

Louis Berger scam

Bridging dissidence in Congress in a poll bound state? Syeda Ambia Zahan

he infamous Louis Berger scandal is the best bet for BJP as of now. The scam has been surfaced at a time when the BJP is desperate to counter the Congress’ campaign for the resignation of its Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan and Shivraj Singh Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh. At present, the BJP has latched on to the Louis Berger scam in Goa and Guwahati. For the Bhartiya Janata Party, the timing of the Louis Berger scandal with its sensational revelation that a bribe was paid to an yet unknown minister, presumably Congress, is the almost perfect booster shot for a party plagued by allegations of corruption at the national level. But for ruling Congress in Assam, there is a high chance that the Louis Berger scandal would serve as bridging the gap between the rebel camps in the party and thus also serve a face off for BJP in the poll bound state. Himanta Biswa Sarma, whose name has been repeatedly pronounced with the scam, has been leading the rebellion in Assam Congress for the last couple of years along with more than 50 MLAs in the 78 member assembly of the ruling party. When the US firm confessed that bribe was paid to an “unknown minister”, all eyes turned to Himanta Biswa Sarma as he was the Guwahati Development Department (GDD) Minister between 2006 and April

2011. The company was awarded the consultancy in 2009-2010 in Guwahati under Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority. The Congress party in Assam has been in power since 2001 and had not lost a single election until it had a major face off in the Lok Sabha election in 2014, the year dissidence in the party took a new height with Himanta Biswa Sarma quitting from his post as a minister. Dissidence had hit such a pass that many ministers who were supporting Himanta Biswa Sarma in his oust-Gogoi campaign had to resign from ministerial posts along with Sarma in 2014. The dissidence among the party has given a good opportunity to the BJP to make its presence felt in the state with consecutive good results

in Lok Sabha, Municipal and BTC elections. Growing dissidence in the Congress hampered the polls as influential and popular leader Himanta Biswa Sarma restrained himself from actively campaigning for the party. Himanta was Man Friday for Tarun Gogoi until he fell out with the Chief Minister in July 2012 and tendered his resignation in July 2014. Himanta Biswa Sarma commands immense popularity among the youths of the state. So, now the assembly polls next year has become an acid test for Chief Minister Gogoi without Himanta’s involvement in the pre poll activities. Sarma, since his resignation from the Congress as a minister had been trying hard to enter the Bhartiya Janata Party to link his future to BJP’s

rising political graph in the state. His alleged involvement in the thousand crore Sharadha chit fund scam may well be another reason as once he enters the party that rules the nation, he might get protection. But, the state BJP is not willingly to take Himanta in its brigade. It is learnt that a good number of MLAs and BJP MPs from the state has carried out a signature campaign against Himanta Biswa Sarma’s joining the party and submitted the memorandum to Amit Shah, the party’s President on 21st July in Delhi in a meeting in presence of Union Minister of State Sarbananda Sonowal. So by now, it has almost been finalized that BJP’s door for the once powerful Congress minister has been closed forever.

Right after the decision, Himanta Biswa Sarma was seen blasting the saffron party on many occasions, including in a meeting of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee in Rajiv Bhawan of Guwahati terming the BJP as non-performer. Been there done that, the Louis Berger scam is a chance for Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Himanta Biswa Sarma to bridge the differences between the two camps. As of now, all doors are closed for Himanta Biswa Sarma to join BJP and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has a pressure to save the former cabinet minister keeping in view that the scam took place during Gogoi’s regime. Tarun Gogoi, being a smart politician may take Himanta back to his fold in lieu of seeking his involvement for campaigning for the party for the assembly election 2015. Once found to be guilty of the scam, Himanta Biswa Sarma’s political career would have a full stop right away. At present the former minister cannot afford to do that. Being in a powerful party is the only way to save himself (for sometime). Also the Assam Congress is not in a position to lose Himanta Biswa Sarma, after its repeated face off in the past three elections without him. So, Louis Berger scam could well go with the congress to end the year long dissidence to give a united fight in the assembly polls.

District administration resumes eviction of encroached areas of Bharalu River

he Kamrup Metro District Administration has resumed their eviction operations along the encroached areas of Bharalu River. In an eviction operation on Friday at around 1:30pm numerous illegally constructed houses were run down using JCBs in the presence of police and security personnel. M An-

gamathu, Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (M) has been targeting the area along the banks of Bharalu river. The area has been under the DC’s scanner because it is expanding each day and action had to be taken. Bharalu River is a major source of flooding in Guwahati. Small slum pockets often distort the flow

of what once was a river but now is unworthy of being called a drainage system either. The sluice gates are often left closed to avoid the flow of waste into the Brahmaputra but this ends up flooding the city and creating havoc even with minimal rainfall. The area from Sluice Gate (Bharalumukh) to Chabipul around Sharabhatti was un-

der heavy security where eviction drive was conducted in phases. The eviction drive carried out by Kamrup Metro District Administration had previously met with public resistance and people started pelting stones on civic staff and the police resorting to mild use of force to disperse protesters. In their defence, the residents of

such areas have said how they need to be provided proper shelters before uprooting the existing shelters. The district administration has been carrying out eviction drives around the encroached areas on the banks of the Bharalu River at Fatasil Ambari, the main natural channel which drains out excess rain water into the Brahmaputra.

Weather report for the week SAT 25 July

SUN 26 July

MON 27 July

TUE 28 July

WED 29 July

THU 30 July

FRI 31 July

A few tstorms.

More sun than clouds.

Light rain.

Scattered showers.

Widely scattered tstorms.

A few tstorms.

Mostly cloudy.

24 / 33 °C

24 / 34 °C

24 / 29 °C

24 / 32 °C

25 / 33 °C

25 / 34 °C

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

In The News

Tribals are the most vulnerable to Child trafficking - KAILASH Satyarthi, Nobel Laureate and child rights activist

Assam will be the first state to have the Rehabilitation and Welfare Fund for trafficked children and the government can contribute equal amount for the fund g plus News Immediately after freeing the trafficked children, rehabilitation measures like medical help, reintegration with families and societies should be offered to the students and to provide legal measures as well. To appoint dedicated senior official in Assam House, Delhi who will serve as a helping hand to the trafficked victims The state government should make a concrete action plan to enforce trafficking and there should be a high level steering committee headed by the Chief Minister himself.

he tribals are the most vulnerable population who are mostly trafficked and taken to Mumbai, Delhi, Karnataka and other parts of the country, said Nobel Laureate and child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi during his three day visit to the city. Satyarthi, during his visit to the city has announced the setting up a Rehabilitation and Welfare Fund for the trafficked children of the state and the government can contribute an equal amount of money for the fund. He said, “I also had a discussion with the Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, regarding the issue of rising cases of child trafficking in the state. The girls are being sold for domestic labour, sexual violence and once they end up there, they do not get freedom to mix up with the society and family. Every other day I came across parents who come to seek help to free the trafficked children who were being taken away after being offered jobs outside the state. We are trying to liberate those children but still we are facing problems for which we seek support from the government as well.” In a discussion held with the

Chief Minister, Satyarthi offered three suggestions to Gogoi for the welfare of the children.

The Noble Peace Prize winner said that the Chief Minister accepted the suggestions and will join hands

with the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation to curb the problem of child trafficking. “The people of Assam are most vulnerable as it has many poor people and some of the reasons that trafficking mostly happens from the state are because of illiteracy, natural calamities like flood, poverty etc. As the state has become a big hub of trafficking with hundreds of children missing, it is very important to have an action plan with definitive role, responsibility and accountability of government departments on trafficking,” said Satyarthi. Satyarthi’s efforts have till now led to rescue of 71 children who hailed from Assam and had been trafficked to various parts of the country. These 44 female and 27 male children originally hailed from districts like Sonitpur, Lakhimpur and Nagaon. While some of these children were being made to work as domestic helps, others were rescued from forced confinements of commercial enterprises like restaurants and circuses. He further added that the people should be aware of the legal rights as there are laws to deal with trafficking and lots of work needs to be done in capacity building and sensitization with law enforcement.

Joyous celebration of Rath Yatra S

G PLUS FEATURE

hree Shree Jagannath Rath Yatra was organised at the Ulubari HS School at 12 noon on Saturday last and the procession was inaugurated by chief minister Tarun Gogoi, accompanied by son Gaurav Gogoi and MLA Cpt. Robin Bordoloi. Hundreds of devotees pulled the Rath with a rope. The idols of Prabhu Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra were taken out in a beautifully decorated Rath and the procession culminated at the proposed Jagannath temple-cumcultural complex at Jayanagar, Beltola after passing through Bhangagarh, GS Road, Ganeshguri, Dr RP Road, Last Gate, Beltola-Basistha Road and Beltola Tiniali while the followers of ICSKON were seen singing and dancing while ceremonially pulling the Rath. It was the first time ever in Guwahati that the festival was celebrated for a period of nine days

like in Puri, Orissa during which, apart from bhajan-kirtan, arati and Harinam sankirtan and the yajna at the campus of the proposed Jagannath temple at Jayanagar from July 19th to July 25th while the Srimad Bhagavat Katha was delivered by Lai Govinda Das, a senior devotee of ISKCON, Boriveli, Mumbai. This year, devotees and congregation members from over 30 different countries such as Russia, Venezuela, Israel, Bazil and several other participated and actively took part in the yatra. Talking to G Plus, some of the foreign devotees shared their opinion about ISKON and stated that it was the search of peace and equality among the human beings and nature that attracted them towards ISKON. The Rath Yatra is organised every year in the month of Ashar, Sukla Pakshya Dwitiya Tithi. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

City

New bridge over River Brahmaputra

91.05 per cent completed

Juthika Baruah

The faulty design of the bridge made by IIT Delhi and SPAN would have been risky for which the entire design has been changed and handed over to a new company

he new bridge over the River Brahmaputra which is being constructed parallel to the Saraighat Bridge is the only one in the country which has special features and the bridge is being exceptionally constructed. G Plus has come to know that the original plan of the bridge by IIT, Delhi and SPAN had technical defects in the designs for which it was handed over to Mott Mc Donald Company Pvt. Ltd. for redesigning. “The total length of the bridge is 1493.584 metre and comprises of a single girder, instead of the 13 girders which was the original plan for the bridge. The Cantilever Construction method has been used which will form the continuous girder. The speciality of the bridge is that it is 40 metre downstream from the existing Saraighat Bridge and there is only a gap of 24 metre between the two bridges which could have been risky, but with the new technique and special protection, we have man-

Points IIT Delhi and SPAN had wrongly implemented the design of the new bridge which would have been risky The bridge has been constructed in a cantilever construction method which only comprises of a single girder Due to sinking of well because of soft clay, it might have been dangerous and therefore, the design has been redesigned by taking special measures.

Status of the Bridge Progress 91.05% completed Total length 1493.584 metre Total Cost 309.56 crores

Total expense till date 288.87 crore Year of Starting 22.10.2006 Expected date of Completion 31st January, 2016

aged to solve the problem,” a source informed. A common way to construct concrete cantilever spans is to counterbalance each cantilever arm with another cantilever arm projecting in the opposite direction, forming a balanced cantilever; when they are attached to a solid foundation, the counter balancing arms are called anchor arms. Thus, in a bridge built on two foundation piers, there are four

cantilever arms, two of which span the obstacle and two anchor arms which extend away from the obstacle. Because of the need for more strength at the balanced cantilever’s supports, the bridge superstructure often takes the form of towers above the foundation piers. The source further informed that there is a pipeline between the two wells which goes on till Barauni, Bihar. It is, however, a risky proposition

because, if the pipes crack, then the entire Guwahati and North Guwahati will be flooded with oil and therefore, the authorised company took special protection to establish the well. “The DPR suggested that there sould be reinforced earth in the main carriageway from grid separator to the approach which can be risky with the high seismic force. Therefore, shocked transmission units have been fixed to lock the seismic force. The design also suggested that the well should go up to -11 levels which may not be safe and we have decided to take it up to -16 level. A signal free crossing has also been set up where there are three loops and ramps. The vehicles passing from each side can pass without hampering the traffic in one time through the loop,” the source added. The project has been initiated keeping in mind the growing importance of Guwahati and North Guwahati to build a better communication for the convenience of the people. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

City

Fancy Bazaar wholesale market complex turns into a crime prone area Juthika Baruah

Consuming alcohol, drugs and other anti-social activities in the wholesale vegetable market complex have become a regular issue

The fish traders are running at a loss as they have been allotted the mezzanine floor of the market and no one goes to buy fish upstairs The market complex is unsafe and unsecure for the traders as there is no proper security system The cold storage on the ground floor has been handed over to a mafia lord and he has been asked to use the storage in whatever way he likes.

he wholesale market of Fancy Bazaar under the Guwahati Municipal Corporation has become high risk zone with several anti-social activities taking place among several closed stores in the market but the authority is least bothered to take the matter seriously, thereby adding to the risk factor of the place. The shops which have been allotted to individual vendors remain closed most of the times as a result of which miscreants take advantage of the empty spaces, thereby creating a law and order situation in the market complex. “The shops have been allotted to various traders but most of them use it as godowns for which they remain closed most of the time. They only open the shops according to their necessity and as it remains closed for long periods of time, the place remain isolated. Different people come to the market and no one has the time to keep an eye on each and every person and therefore, certain people with melicious intent sometime try to take advantage of unsuspecting customers and visitors, creating insecurity among all,” said Arup Choudhury, Secretary of the Fancy Bazaar Municipal Market Dealers’ Association while speaking to G Plus. Choudhury said that the GMC has shifted the fish market to the upper levels of the complex which has become a problem for the sellers as

people do not go upstairs to buy fish for which the sellers remain at a loss. “The fish market is the oldest market, which started way back in 1897 and there are 44 fish traders who are all indigenous Assamese but they can’t gain any profit as the market has been allotted in the mezzanine floor. The Corporation had allotted spaces for the wholesale vegetable market and pharmacies on the ground floor but now it has been seen that instead of shops, the alloted spaces has been turned into godowns by the traders for which untoward incidents take place in the market,” said Choudhury. He also informed that although

in the agreement it was mentioned that the traders will have to bear the expenses of the installation of shutters and interior electrification work, but now it has been seen that all the expenses are being spent from their pockets including cleaning and other things as the Corporation do not provide any maintenance expense. “The toilets in the market complex are in a very deplorable condition and the cleaning of the toilets has to be done from the Association. It is due to the negligence of the Corporation that the traders are facing so many problems. The first and second floor is even unsafe for girls

and women because one can take advantage of them as the place remains isolated,” Choudhury added. He further said that the market complex is very unsafe and unsecure as there is no proper security and although Choudhury has even written to the Corporation to provide security system after the 2008 serial bomb blast as anyone can target the market as Fancy Bazar being a commercial place, remains a priority target but the Corporation ignored the issue and asked the Association to arrange for the security system on their own. “We have only three security guards for the whole complex ap-

pointed by the Association which is not sufficient. Neither we can appoint more as we can’t pay them. If someone comes and plants a bomb in the market complex, no one will be aware of it as the floors are far-flung and no one can keep an eye on who comes and goes within the complex,” said Choudhury. He further informed that the cold storage facility on the ground floor has been handed over to the mafia Zahanuddin Ahmed by the Corporation through tender and the cold storage is being used according to his whim while Ahmed collects money from the vendors as his wishes through his gundaraaj. Choudhury also said that the business has gone down as people are not willing to come to the market as there is no availability of parking space nearby and with rickshaws also not allowed to come into the market, people can’t carry the items to a long distance. A commuter, Reena Das said, “I visited the Birth and Death Registration Office above the market complex and when I went through the floors I felt scared as the shops were closed and the floors are very dark. If somebody catch hold of a girl and misbehaves, no one will be able to know as there would be no one around the place.” juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

City

Jorabat witnesses yet another accident

Gauhati High Court accelerates disposing pending cases

Kalyan Deb

he Gauhati High Court recently appointed 67 advocates as ‘Commissioners’ to dispose pending civil cases of the state. These commissioners will record the witnesses in the cases to fasten the trial procedures. The GHC Registrar General Hitesh Kumar Sarma said that as recording the witnesses in civil cases takes a long time, these mechanism will speed up the entire process leading to their disposals. “For speedy disposal of civil cases in the districts of Kamrup (metro), a project of recording evidence by court appointed commissioner has been initiated keeping in view of the mandate of Civil Procedure Code,” he said. Already, state government has decided to allot Rs one crore

ollowing the recent miraculous escape after a bus fell into a hole after a portion of the road caved in at the Eighth Mile Bridge near Ganesh Mandir, a speeding truck filled with empty liquor bottles travelling towards Khanapara bearing registration PB13AL2895 ran into the road divider, took a massive turn and spilled most of the bottles over the road. According to witness Rajesh Chetry, the incident took place between 11:00 to 11:30 pm on Wednesday, July 22nd while the driver and conductor absconded without any harm the very moment after the accident took place. Apparently the bottles were being transported to be recycled but since the mishap, have

been blocking most part of the highway and creating inconvenience for the plying vehicles. Passersby complained stating that such piles should be removed as quickly as possible and as being close to the turn it makes the road more prone to accidents, especially, during the night hours when vehicles travel at much faster speed. Although police arrived at the spot of the accident at 6am on Thursday July 23rd and took the truck into custody after unloading the remaining sacks, followed by sweeping aside the liquor bottles with the help of a JCB and erecting a barricade around the area, however, the sacks full of empty bottles remains unattended at

the site of the accident. As informed by Chetry, the mishap was also a near miss for a biker travelling on the other side of the road who escaped with minor cuts and bruises due to the pieces of glass that shattered during the accident but he did not report the incident. “Several accidents have taken place in this particular area in the past including a mishap when six accidents took place on a single day in the same area”, Chetry added. Meanwhile, the cause of the accident of the Punjab registered truck is yet to be found as no claiment has turned up so far. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

for the payment of the remuneration of the commissioners for this year. “In seven civil courts in Kamrup (metro), at least 4000 civil cases are pending,” the registrar general informed. In the state, some 36, 000 civil cases are pending so far. The HC has too begun daily Lok Adalats in the Motor Accident Claims Tribunals (MACT) of Kamrup District as a pilot project from July 20. Soon the Lok Adalats system will be copied across the state. Averagely a MACT case takes 2 to 6 years to dispose. Since its starting last week, the Lok Adalats has taken up at least 61 accident claim cases and a total compensation of Rs 3,65,10, 000 was awarded to the claimants.

Triple murder case wanted gets bail

he Gauhati High Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Nayanjyoti Bhattacharjee, who was wanted in city’s gruesome triple murder case. Nayanjyoti, a businessman, has been avoiding police quizzing since June 20 when his friend Pranab Kumar Mahanta allegedly killed his wife and two daughters before disappearing mysteriously. The High Court ordered Nayanjyoti to cooperate in the investigation and to appear before the Investigation Officer in the case within a week. Senior advocate Niloy Dutta and Bijon Mahajan

represented Nayanjyoti in the HC. Nayanjyoti’s name cropped up the murder case after police recovered a note from Mahanta’s house in which the latter held Nayanjyoti responsible for cheating him financially which resulted in taking this extreme step. Though Mahanta was believed to have committed suicide by jumping in Brahmaputra River after killing his family, police have failed to recover his body so far, deepening the mystery in the case. The city police grilled his family members who claimed him to be innocent.

Govt considerate to pleas Nodal officers in Assam Bhawans of visually challenged to counter child employees - Chief Ministter Tarun Gogoi trafficking

hief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said visually challenged persons deserve special attention and love from the society and his government is committed towards extending special care to the visually impaired. Talking to a delegation of All Assam Blind Employees’ Association at his office chamber in the State Secretariat on Thursday, Gogoi said his Government would exempt the visually impaired Government employees from paying

professional taxes. Moreover, he assured the delegation of reserving housing quota for visually challenged employees. The delegation, led by its president Dilip Kumar Das and secretary Noor Mohammad submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister. Gogoi directed the Director, Social Welfare Department, Kumud Chandra Kalita to take all necessary actions to address their grievances. Besides, Gogoi also assured the delegation that the Government

would complete all the formalities to upgrade Guwahati, Nagaon and Jorhat Blind Schools to Higher Secondary level. He also directed the concerned officials to execute the modalities for in-service promotion of the visually challenged employees as per their qualifications. Gogoi, while responding to the pleas of the Association, expressed empathy and compassion to the visually challenged employees who are also contributing to the growth and development of the State.

In a bid to counter the rising human trafficking cases of the state, Assam government has decided to designate a nodal officer for identification, rescue and rehabilitation of children under bonded labour in every district of the state and in Assam Bhawans outside the state. The initiative came after Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced creation of a dedicated corpus fund in league with Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation for prevention, rescue and rehabilitation of children

of Assam and announced Rs 1 crore for the purpose. “The dedicated fund would be used exclusively on a three-point agenda vis-a-vis prevention, rescue and rehabilitation to bring about potentially transformative societal change,” Gogoi said. Gogoi also advocated for blending of governmental intervention and social entrepreneurship for triggering collective social activism for children friendly society where ‘every child will be free to remain as a child’.

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

City

Dodge ball game in taking up responsibilities kalyan deb

As the city bus service grow worse with increasing number of accidents and unruly behaviour of bus drivers plying on the city streets, any kind of positive change is yet to be seen. Each private bus has to pay a sum of Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 every day to the bus owners excluding the charges of maintenance and fuel which is the root cause of the competition among the buses. According to GTA, all the bus employees are paid salary of Rs 600 to the driver, Rs 500 to the conductor and Rs 300 for the handyman daily. The scarcity of drivers is the major problem that keeps the bus owners from taking any kind of strict actions against the drivers.

hat city buses are the biggest violators of traffic is a statement not many would disagree with as regular city bus passengers continue to face innumerable problems while taking a bus journey in Guwahati. Although there is no dearth in the availability of buses plying on the roads of Guwahati but the same has also become the reason for increasingly unruly behaviour and lack of civic sense from bus drivers and conductors. As a result of this, quality of service suffers and security of thousands of passengers dependent upon city buses to commute from one place to another is threatened.

The root of the problem:

It is not unknown that the bus drivers on any given route in the city compete with each other to gather

as many passengers as they can and during the process break several traffic rules while putting the lives of the passengers in danger. Buses try to overtake each other on busy streets which are a regular sight on any of the prominent routes, be it the G S Road

or the R G Baruah Road or A T Road. Among other inconveniences that create traffic issues is that buses make stoppages at any point on the road wherever a passenger waves his arm. While talking to G Plus, none of the drivers confessed about any kind

There are a total of 856 private buses plying on the streets of Guwahati under different associations including some that are plying under ASTC.

Name of the Association

Number of buses

Guwahati Transport Association (GTA)

250

Guwahati Metro Transport Association (GMTA)

335

Greater Guwahati Express City Bus Association (GGECBA)

Greater Guwahati United Motor Transport Association (GGUMTA)

Greater Guwahati Transport Association (GGTA)

Greater Guwahati Mini Bus Owners Association(GGMBOA)

of competition among the buses on their own route and instead passed the blame to the buses of another route while asserting that they follow the instructions given to them by their respective associations. It was also found that each private bus has to pay a sum of Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 every day to the bus owners excluding the charges of maintenance and fuel, whereas, only few bus owners negotiate about any kind of fines charged for the violations of traffic rules. Moreover, it was also found that a bus earns upto Rs 4,000 to 5,000 on a daily basis, which after paying the owners’ share and the other expenses is divided among the driver, conductor and the handyman.

The associations’ say:

Dismissing the drivers’ say that a sum of Rs 1,500 is paid to the bus owners on a daily basis, Secretary, GTA, Pradip Rai said, “A sum of Rs 600 to the driver, Rs 500 to the conductor and Rs 300 for the handyman are paid to the bus employees on a daily basis and after the expenses of the fuel and other charges, the remaining amount is paid to the driver.” He also admitted to the unruly behaviour of bus drivers and said that the association has been carrying out several steps to control the situation, including providing them with certain guidelines and circulars to follow the traffic rules and also co-operating with the administration. He mentioned that the lack of education and proper training to the bus drivers are the major problems which need to be

addressed. Rai also mentioned that there is a misconception among the people that not issuing tickets hampers government’s revenue whereas the tax for plying the buses has to be paid in advance every quarterly which again depends on the number of seats in each bus. It needs mention here that the rates have recently been increased on 17th June and owners now have to pay up to Rs 15, 0180 for 36 seater buses on a yearly basis. So, in order to bear all the expenses including tax and the EMI of the bus, the drivers has to make a certain amount of profit whereas things do not work in favour of the bus owners and ultimately the bus has to be sold after few years of bearing losses. According to other associations, the drivers dominated the scenario as the scarcity of good drivers is a major problem. “If a driver is suspended for one day due to unruly behaviour or violating traffic norms, then from next day onwards the driver will join another bus and the bus owner will have to bear the loss. It is due to the scarcity of drivers that causes most of the problems. Moreover, ASTC after launching the new city buses have taken away over 1000 drivers hereby increasing the deficiency of drivers. The authorities should also take steps to train the drivers and make them follow the traffic norms before providing license which is the only way to control the unruly behaviour by the buses”, said Bipul Kalita, general secretary, GMTA. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

City

Hyundai launches global

SUV- ‘CRETA’ G Plus News

yundai Motor India Ltd on Thursday launched the allnew stylish, premium and powerful Global SUV - ‘Creta’ at an event in Guwahati. With the launch of Creta, Hyundai has now strengthened its position in the Indian SUV market, offering wide range of products for its customers. Creta offers a combination of power and style with its robust body structure, superior engine perfor-

mance and confident ride and handling. CRETA is set to make a strong statement in the growing SUV segment. Based on Hyundai Motor’s

G Plus News

RS Mercantile Services have completed 15 years of successfully providing service in Guwahati as an Authorized Sony Centre. A press meet was organized on 20th July, 2015 at the Sony Centre (G.S Road), Guwahati. Established back in the year 2000, this was the first brand shop of Sony and is spearheaded by Mr. Nirmal Jain, Mr. Rajiv Jain and Mr. Sanjiv Jain. The event was attended by Mr. Kenichiro Hibi, Managing Director, Sony India Pvt. Ltd. A customer meet was also organized on 21st July at Hotel Vishwaratna (Guwahati). Talking to GPlus, Kenichiro Hibi Managing Director, Sony India Pvt. Ltd shared his vision about Sony India’s role in Northeastern markets. According to Mr. Hibi, Indian markets are very demanding, and Sony makes products specific for the Indian markets. The contribution of NorthEast region to Sony shares is not as high as other metro cities in India, but they are on a constant rise. Infact, there is almost 35% rise each year. ‘The strategy is to deliver the best tailor made products in India because Indian customers do not demand en-

evolved ‘Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 Design philosophy’, Creta demonstrates all the essential attributes of dynamism, comfort, safety and style.

Speaking at the launch of Creta, Gaurav Goswami, Regional Sales Manager, HMIL said, “We are delighted to launch the perfectly engineered and powerful SUV for the new generation customers. Creta is a revolutionary product – a true expression of the ‘New Age Hyundai’. We are confident Creta will strengthen Hyundai’s position in India and will lead a new trend in the SUV segment fulfilling customers’ aspiration of owning a ‘Perfect SUV’. We thank our customers for their overwhelming response to Creta and strong belief in Hyundai brand. We assure them of our commitment towards meeting their high aspirations on world-class quality products.”

Sony India MD Kenichiro Hibi visits city try level products. They demand the best in picture and sound quality’. He also informed that the Sony Centre located in G.S Road is an A Grade exclusive centre among all the outlets spread all over the country. Discussing about the other competitors in the market, Hibi said, ‘We have minimum competition and our products are not cheap. Sony TVs are expensive and we are developing technologies for amazing picture and sound quality which is most preferred by the people in the Indian markets’. He also spoke about the revolutionary Android TVs which have already flooded the Indian Markets and its gaining massive response. Sony’s flagship mobile device, the Sony Xperia contributes about 35% to the Sony India’s markets. Their flagship TV range, the Sony Bravia is an equal contributor. But their vision includes pushing the Xperia segment further in to the market. An executive of the Sony India said that, “Sony India is planning to open up new authorised centres in Imphal and Silchar. This would take the tally up to 6 Exclusive Centres in the NorthEastern region”.

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

City

City Dance Academy focusing on both Western and Classical Dance Juthika Baruah

Competition is rising among the youths which has resulted in deteriorating quality of dance in the city

The Guru-Shishya relation is deteriorating in the city for which the quality of dance is decreasing Body fitness is important for learning dance and students should be trained in a professional manner Competition is more in the state of Assam and people focused more in participating in the reality shows for which they can’t concentrate in the future.

ance being an important aspect of art has gained popularity mostly among the youths now-a-days, most being influenced by the increased vogue of modern dance in the city. Dance is practiced by all but the main factor is the quality of dance that one is learning. Speaking to G Plus, dance artist, Menaka P P Bora said, “Body fitness is an important feature when one learns dance and the most important thing is that the parents are not supportive. To learn a classical dance it requires 6-7 years but after a certain stage, parents push them to join in competitions which affect their child’s dance career in

the future. We have to dedicate our entire life to learn classical dance but it has been seen now-a-days that the guru-shishya relation is deteriorating for which the quality of dance is suffering.” She said that the level of competition is rising in the city as well as in the state for which people do not focus on the dance form. There are talents in Assam but they are not getting proper guidance. “I am researching the dance form and trying to present classical dance in a modern form having contemporary dance style. The people only present folk dance but it should be presented in a new style keeping intact the original

Dance Academy in Guwahati Dance Academy

Place

Course

Kalabhumi

Chandmari

Folk dance, Classical

Dolphin Dance Academy

Opposite Commerce College

Modern dance (contemporary, hiphop, salsa)

Nekib Dance Factor

Maligaon

Western and Indian Classical

Trinant Dance Academy

AT Road near Hotel Vishwaratna

Western dance

Spin Dance Academy

AT Road, Athgaon

Modern dance

Briz Dance Academy

Bhangagarh

Modern dance

Saroj Khan Dance Academy

Zoo Road Tiniali

Modern dance

form,” said Bora. Bora said that they train the students in such a way that they could train other students and take it as their profession. “Many of our students are taking it as a source of livelihood by opening up a dance academy in their respective places. Even students are taking it up as their profession who are living outside the country as well. Whatever the dance form they learn, be it modern or classical, they should learn well rather than mix up all the dance form,” said Bora. Nekib Rahman, Founder of Nekib Dance Factor said, “We train the students in both Western and Classical dance. We help in building dance skills and also creativeness which is an important aspect of danc-

ing. Our classes are not limited to normal dance classes. If one intends to take part in a dance competition and want to be prepared, the students can depend on us. In special classes we focus on the main aspects of dancing and make the student more capable of stepping forward in dance competitions like D.I.D.” Deepak Dey of Dolphin Dance Academy, while speaking to G Plus said, “Both classical and modern dance are important. It is not that the students should learn only modern or classical. Being an art form, they should be experts from all sides and to compete in the national or international level, they should learn all forms of dance.” juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

In Conversation

No city in the world is crime free” Swapnaneel Deka, DCP-Crime

The man responsible for controlling the crime scenario of the city, DCP-Crime Swapnaneel Deka exclusively talks to G Plus and shares the working procedure of his department and also answers people’s questions on certain city crime related issues. rahul chanda

DCP responds to public queries Sashank Chakraborty Some areas of Guwahati are still a place of fear for women after 8 or 9pm onwards due to the illegal and anti-social activities of some youths....will the women of Guwahati feel to be safe in the coming days under your shade?

Can you tell us about something about yourself, your background and your past experience in the field before joining as DCP crime? I was born and brought up in Bharalumukh area of Guwahati. I did my education from Guwahati itself and joined police services in 1997. I have worked in various capacities in Guwahati city before joining as DCP (Crime). My schooling was from Kendriya Vidyalaya Khanapara and my graduation from B Borooah College before I completed my masters from Guwahati University. What is the importance of crime branch in city police and what kind of cases do you handle? Policing is mainly related to prevention and detection of crime and every district has its own crime branch. Other than Guwahati, in other districts there are crime branches which are looked after by one Additional SP, Headquarter, but in Guwahati, registration of cases is much higher than the other districts. A Gauhati High Court order paved the way for separating investigation from law and order and on that basis, in 2012 the crime branch was formed with one Additional SP (Crime) to look after the crime related matters. That is how the crime branch has evolved and under the Police Commissionerate, they have put it under DCP (Crime), whereas earlier it was SP (Crime). We handle all kind of cases. Basically, we have three districts in the Commmisionerate and we interfere in incidents of serious nature and any case which the Commissioner decides is important. For example, vehicle theft is a matter which is related with all the districts, even if they (police stations) do the preliminary work, our investigation is done in depth. We don’t just apprehend the culprits and charge sheet the case, we also try to find out the receipients of the vehicles, basically conducting a proper indepth investiga-

tion. We handle all sensational cases and also the cases given to us by other agencies. You were in posted in Guwahati earlier as well. What major difference do you see after the formation of the Commissionerate? The major difference is the more proactive policing than before. Earlier we used to have one additional SP (Crime) for the entire city, now we have three DCPs in the districts, three additional DCPs and 18 ACPs, so the level of supervision has increased. It has helped a lot. What are the major problems you face in your department? We have shortage of men power, especially in the face of the floating population in Guwahati. The population of Guwahati as per last census is 12 or 13 lakhs, but unofficially 4 to 5 lakh floating population comes to Guwahati. Keeping track of all those persons is very difficult and a challenging job for

the crime branch. It’s been six months as DCP Crime, so what are the major crimes that you witnessed in the city? Vehicle theft and drug abuse is a big problem and these two are the major crimes taking place in the city. Any new kind of crimes which is trending in the city? Banking fraud is something new which is happening quite often. Someone will call you as a bank official and say that your card is going to expire, take your card details and withdraw money from your account. So, cyber crimes are new but trending gradually. We have one ACP (Cyber) who looks after the cyber crimes in Guwahati city. We are technically sound now. The DCP also said that they are planning many new things which will be discussed at appropriate time. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

“What Mr Sashank Chakraborty has written is not specific. He wrote some areas of Guwahati. I would request him to give details of those areas so that we can increase patrolling of those areas. I request the public that whenever they share any information, the information should be specific . I would like to ask Sashank, which areas? If he would have mention the areas, it would have been helpful for us.” Ritesh Jaiswal Till date what are the Initiatives that their Department has taken for making Guwahati CrimeFree..?? “No city in the world is crime free city. We are trying our level best to decrease the crime rate and we have succeeded. If you compare the figures of first six months of last year with this year’s, the results are very positive now.” Siddharth Chaudhury Why eve teasing has been increasing in Guwahati? Is it because of the influx of immigrants from other states ? what has the local police done to make Guwahati a safe place ?

“No. I will rather say that because of the floating population, too many hostels have come up in Guwahati and they do not have any monitoring system. It’s not the influx of immigrants.” Gaurav Pratim Dey Hello sir, I would like to ask you that what are the steps crime branch is taking as burglary in shops are in rise in certain parts of city at late night? Will police routine patrolling at nights will increase and is sufficient? or Crime Branch is planning for some alternative to crack down such incidents in mere future. “Yes, burglary is one area of concern and we are trying our level best to combat this crime. Recently we have arrested many burglars from Geetanagar area, Paltan Bazar area and Chandmari PS area. We are trying our level best and I promise to keep the figures down for the next six months.” Neelkamal Kumar Guwahati ka kya hoga? “Achaa hi hoga.” Angshuman GP Don’t you think the Patrol policing of the city needs an upgrade? Any new steps regarding the issue? “I totally agree with this and recently we got about twenty plus vehicles for city patrolling. Hopefully this will address his question.”

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

Ward Watch

WARD NO

People look forward to a better

Ambikagiri Nagar

20-21 welcome various initiatives KALYAN DEB

Although provided with basic requirements like proper streets and garbage maintenance, a lot still needs to be done for better results and development at grassroots level

Concentrated area Ambikagiri Nagar Ward number 20 Councilor Anima Deka Phone number 9864218585 Ward number 21 Councilor Sashanka Jyoti Deka Phone number 9864217101 Population of Ward number 20 & 21

residential and developing locality that connects R G Baruah Road to Geeta Mandir, Ambikagiri Nagar has, since the settlement of residents in the mid 60s, has come a long way. Despite being a residential area, it gives an impression of a commercial hub with rapid growth. Ambikagiri Nagar, spread from Assam State Zoo and Botanical Garden to Mother Teresa Road, covers a large area and thus, also houses several business outlets that provide all kind of goods according to the requirements of the people at their doorsteps. Although, administratively most essential requirements such as of proper streets, drainage and garbage maintenance have been provided to the people but residents are critical about the sustenance of the same. Problem 1 Garbage Collection

Although the process of garbage collection has been made essential post the GMC elections and to make the initiative to function even more effective, in each ward, NGOs have been given the responsibility to conduct the service within their respective wards. While the move have been appreciated and welcomed by people, the residents are also critical for the same as not being served on a regular basis as the garbage carts only visit after every two to three days rather than visiting daily.

Councilor’s Say Problem 2 De-siltation

The process is among the various initiatives to clear the water outlets to avoid water lodging but the garbage that remain lodged by the drainage system itself, slides back to the drains with the slightest of rainfall as the collected garbage is not being taken away on a regular basis. “The labourers, after cleaning the drains, keep the garbage by the drains itself and on very rare occasions, take the garbage away while most of the time the garbage gets washed back in to the drains or spread all over the road with minimal amount of rainfall”, said Gopal Ch. Sarma, a resident of Ambikagiri Nagar. Problem 3 Theft and Chain snatching

People have also shown concern over the cases of theft and chain snatching on several occasions that took place in the area. Over the past times there were several incidents of which some are reported to police while the minor incidents are left ignored but among the growing concern are the incidents of chain snatching. Mentioning about a similar incident in Akashi path in the area, Mahesh Ch. Baishya said, “There have been several such incidents where cases of theft takes place in the later hours

Talking to Gplus councilor Sashanka Jyoti Deka shared that the de-siltation of the drains are being divided among some of the contractors where as some are being carried out by the authorities themselves. “The garbage collected during the de-siltation process requires few days for the water to dry off and in such case people will have to co-operate and bare with the problem for few days and due to lack of some of the equipments we are not being able to carry out the process in full bloom. Whereas, the ‘Bob-cat’ that used to clean the drains are not present in adequate numbers. There are four numbers of ‘Bob-cats’ currently running that are used by division five and division three. About the maintenance of street-lights I am aware of the problems and not satisfied either.” The councilor informed that since the past two months several street-lights have not been functioning and the vehicle required for the maintenance of the street-lights are also not present in adequate numbers and the ward where the population is over 58,000 it requires such vehicle every month. Meanwhile, the ward has also provided the highest number of applicants of Project Jyoti of which the councilor along with unnayan committees has himself paid for the project. “In over hundred locations the light posts have been installed but the lights are still awaited and people will get more aware about the project once the lights are installed”, the councilor said adding, “The garbage collection process had been adjourned since Ambubachi Mela but is soon expected to continued with the usual pace soon.”

Mahesh Ch. Baishya, a resident of Ambikagiri Nagar, while sharing an incident said, “While people usually carry packages while walking back home, there was an incident that took place a few days ago when I noticed a person walking out of his home with a carry-bag. He dropped the bag full of garbage in a corner of the road and walked away. I waited for him for a few minutes and while he was coming back, stopped him to mention about his uncivil deed. He apologised and left saying he won’t do it again. Another similar incident came to my notice when I caught another young man doing the same. I stopped him instantly and he replied the same way as the person earlier. Although, I am not trying to make any assumptions, but ever since then, I find few bags of garbage lying at my gate every morning. It is like being punished for doing the good thing. In our city people still lack in civic sense and litter the roads which needs to be changed.”

but few months ago, a chain snatching incident took place in broad day light. In order to prevent such incidents the police should carry out regular patrol.” Problem 4 Street Lights

It adds more to the concern knowing that the entire area lacks street

lights, which after a point of time post dusk as the entire area sinks into darkness, several incidents over time has seeded a sense of insecurity among the people. Rajesh Sarma, a local resident asserted, “Due to the lack of street lights, there is insecurity among the people and we urge the administration to carry out regular patrolling service

and install adequate number of street lights.” Though the GMC has come up with its innovative Project Jyoti where one have his own street light for mere charge of Rs100, most people still have very brief knowledge about the project or are unaware of it altogether. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

Is building permission harassing the public?

reviously both GMC and GMDA had the authority to provide building permissions after proper survey of the proposed building site etc, but after the new Building Byelaws Act was passed in 2014, the planning permit is provided by the GMDA while the building permit or the no objection certificate (NOC) is provided by the GMC. According to new building byelaws, every person who intends to erect or re-erect or make material alteration in any place in a building or part thereof or intend to subdivide or transfer any plot of land, within the jurisdiction of Guwahati Metropolitan area shall make an application to the Chief Executive Officer, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority. Planning Permit under Part-I of the application shall be granted by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority on the recommendation of the Town Planner of the GMDA. Building Permit under Part-II of the application shall be granted by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation on the recommendation of the Associate Planner, Guwahati Municipal Corporation in respect of the areas under the Guwahati Municipal Corporation and the building permit in respect of the areas under other urban local bodies or the Panchayats shall be granted by the concerned urban local bodies or the Panchayat on recommendation of the technical person of the concerned urban local bodies or the Panchayats, as the case may be. So, is the process of acquiring building permits harassment these days?

In Focus

Meet

Nandini Protim Fashion stylist

Sristi Pawan Baruah Builder

“It is surely a harassment as it takes around a year to get building permission, and by that time the cost of the construction materials increases. It is only on papers that the permission procedure according to new building byelaws requires only 45 days, but actually it is a very lengthy process and people have to run from pillar to post for the NOC.

Rittick Hazarika Practicing Architect “According to me, it is not a rumour that Himanta Biswa Sarma will join BJP but for the Congress to come into power, being a national party, he should remain in the party. The Congress needs such a person to keep alive the dignity of the party. The party comes first, then the person and therefore, he should fight for the party.

Md. Sajjad Zaheer Hussain Builder

“It is really a harassment because even if we provide all the required documents, we keep on getting different dates. We have to go from pillar to post for the permission and it is a very lengthy process.

Tapan Chandra Bhuyan Central government employee

“It was not harassment for me when I got the permission. I often hear that people face problems as one of my colleagues also told me that the process is very lengthy. Actually the process is slow as they keep giving dates, but when I applied, one of my sisters was working there and she helped me a lot, so I am not sure but I didn’t face any harassment.

Abir Patra City Mayor

“Public have to pay fees in two offices, one in the GMDA and also in GMC which is a problem. I feel things should be done by one office and we are working on it.

ashion Stylist Nandini Protim’s dream finally came true after 15 years with the launch of her new fashion hub, Page 3. Being a fashion stylist, she has introduced a new concept for the party going folks. “I have been involved with modelling since ninth standard and it has been 15 years since I have been associated with the fashion industry. I love this industry and having been in this profession for 15 years, I thought of giving a new image to fashion,” said Protim. “Page 3 happens to be my dream and the main reason that I have opened this fashion hub is that the people should know about the entire styling process and how to dress up while going to a party. This is basically a fashion hub from where people can dress up well with all the appropriate make-up,” said Nandini. Nandini had also been a brand ambassador for Surya Gold Cement and had also acted in some short films. As she has been related with the industry for long, she thought of the idea to open up the fashion hub. “There are many boutiques but my store is not only a boutique, it is also a styling studio in which we prepare the customers accordingly, matching attires and styles with their personality and the party that they want to attend. One should know what dress would match a personality and how one could carry themselves with a particular dress,” she added. “I have not done any designing course and I think that a course

do not help expose one’s creativity. Fashion is something which is creative and therefore, I have never thought of doing a course. As I am related with this profession for the last 15 years, I know the taste of different people and accordingly I suggest the dress and make-up,” said Nandini. She also said that she has received immense support from her family and her brother himself is associated with the fashion world, but being a woman, sometimes she has to face problems. “Being a woman I face some problems but one’s will power is the greatest strength to overcome any adverse situation and to be successful in one’s profession. One should also love the profession they are involved in. Women may have to struggle more to reach their destination but one should fight for their right to achieve success,” said Nandini. She said that Guwahatians are conscious about fashion and people know the way they should dress up and people often come up with a particular design they find on the internet and other means but they should know what would be acceptable for one to carry themselves in a particular dress. She said that her next plan is to open a men’s wear section as the city is flooded with women’s wear and designer or fashion stylists generally open boutique mainly for women but it has been seen that men’s fashion wear is rather sparse for which her next thoughts are on opening a similar boutique exclusively for men in the city.

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

Life

UNIVERSE OF MATTER

Gurupurnima Celebrates Devotion and Love What is the significance of Gurupurnima?

Did I think first? Did I create thoughts? Or Did I create Matter? Does it matter? Be it dark or light! Yes it does! Cause I want to know Who thought about Singularity? Yes, yes.....if it really happened Then someone really had To be thinking hard! Imagine thinking of creating The Universe and the Universes, The planets and the moons? An ethereal imagination, from A mass of energy? But does it matter... If matter came first or was I even thinking of Creating matter? I never thought of creating the Sun or The Moon! No never! Or the Earth for that matter! The stars? Or is it the light coming From other Suns From the beginning of the Big Bang? I was thinking even before I was born In my mother’s womb.... Of a World I knew that existed! Of a World that was more Humane! But I remember I definitely didn’t think of Creating bloodshed In Pothorughat, Nellie, Kokrajhar or in Ganeshguri.... Or Khagrabari? I didn’t dream of killing my brothers I would have Known And laughed with! Where I grappled with an incomplete Dream With my Krishna! “I created! And you?”

His blueness definitely Made me articulate a Jazz number! My people weren’t pleased, And they ensnared me in a web of Hate! Christened and embalmed in Religion! Did I matter when I died Consumed in flames To turn to molecular matter again? To return to Infinity! I ride on time ‘cause it is you who created Time! I thought, I created, I procreated, Yet I succumbed to the follies Of men! Ah, he is so cruel, so inhuman... so Insensitive! To my wounded, stained, open palms.. My lips barely speaking As I lay on the Streets! Hopeless, homeless? Only to treacherously create The Democrat! Me? Yes! Does it matter? Yes it does! Cause I will now create A world My people know not of! The deafening silence of hatred To be replaced by the songs of the Lord! But then, will it matter if I create a temple or a mosque to worship my Creator to be trampled in bloodshed? Who will know that I created the river and the hills which are no more only to be replaced by the eerie silence of a graveyard?

tinat ATIFA MASOOD

Gurupurnima is called the day of the Master. Actually, it is the day of the devotee. As a student you probably went to primary, middle and senior school. You collected information; you learned about the mind, about computers, mathematics, how two plus one is three. A student collects information. Information, however, is not knowledge; it is not wisdom. Then there is the disciple who follows the example of the Master. But a disciple is with the Master to imbibe wisdom to help improve his life, for the sake of attaining enlightenment. He has a purpose, a cause, so he is not just collecting information. He goes a little deeper. He is trying to bring about transformation in his life. He wants to make sense of his life. That is a disciple. A disciple is still centred on himself, so he grows gradually and one day might get enlightened. Then, there is the devotee. A devotee is not there for wisdom only. He is simply rejoicing in love. He has fallen deeply in love with the Master, with Infinity, with God. He doesn’t care as to whether he gets enlightened or not. He doesn’t care as to whether he acquires a lot of wisdom or not because every moment he is immersed in divine love: That is enough for him. A devotee is difficult to find. Students, there are in abundance, disciples are a few, but devotees are rare. Everything is God, who is present in everything, so it is great to become a devotee. Do you see this? Everything, whether you want it or not, is already God, but when love and devotion has flowered in you totally, you become a devotee. Attraction is everywhere, love is somewhere, but devotion is rare. Devotion is beautiful. A student comes to the Master with tears in his eyes. There is so much pain and when he leaves, he is carrying the same tears, but the quality of the tears is different, they are of gratitude, of love. Entire creation is longing for only one thing, the transformation from salty tears to sweet tears. The Buddha’s disciple Sariputra, got enlightened. The Buddha told him, “Now go ahead, go into the world and preach, teach and

do the same work I do. Carry on my work”. Now Sariputra left, but he was crying and people asked him, “Why are you crying when you are enlightened?” He said, “Who cares about enlightenment, it could have waited, I would have waited. I didn’t even bother about it or ask for it because the joy of being at the feet of the Buddha was so great. Being a devotee was so great, now I am missing it. I would have preferred that to enlightenment”. When Krishna was leaving his body, he spoke to his friend Uddhava with tears in his eyes. “These Gopis are so beautiful and I cannot bear the amount of devotion they have for me. Go and tell my devotees that only

they can free me of their gratitude and of their love”. He rejoices, “Go tell them that where my devotees sing, I am right there”. Love is something that even the Divine rejoices in. Infinity longs for you as much as you long for it. It is waiting to receive you. God is as anxious as you are to be close. So when a devotee flowers on this planet, God is happy. That is why Gurupurnima is the day of the devotee.

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji www.artofliving.org/yoga, Follow Sri Sri @ SriSriSpeaks on twitter

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

Lifestyle Diseases and International Self-Care Day

What is International Self-Care Day? International Self Care Day is celebrated every year on July 24. The day is celebrated to emphasise the importance of self-care as a part of healthy living on a regular basis. This is especially important in view of the increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases worldwide. Most of the lifestyle diseases are easily preventable if adequate attention is paid to personal health care, including diet, fitness and other lifestyle measures. Common infections and contagious diseases often spread because of poor hygiene, malnutrition and a lack of basic health care practices. The rapid spread of the Ebola virus in Africa last year in a glaring example of this fact. This occurred because of the absence of basic health literacy. The spread of Ebola could have been easily contained through adequate self-care measures. The importance of health literacy in this context cannot be stressed enough. Poor levels of health literacy means that people turns to religion and superstition in these situations. The situation in India is also quite precarious and not different from Africa. With a growing urban population, there has been a dramatic rise in lifestyle diseases like heart disease and diabetes in India.

What is ‘Self-Care’? The WHO 1998 definition of ‘Self-Care’ is: ‘Self-Care is what people do for themselves to establish and maintain health, and to prevent and deal with illness. It is a broad concept encompassing hygiene (general and personal), nutrition (type and quality of food eaten), lifestyle (sporting activities, leisure etc), environmental factors (living conditions, social habits, etc.) socio-economic factors (income level, cultural beliefs, etc.) and self-medication.’

Health

The Seven Pillars of Self-Care A framework for self-care can conveniently be visualised and organised around seven ‘pillars’ or ‘domains’. Here are some of the points to improve the public health through self-care:

Health Literacy

It includes: the capacity of individuals to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. The dissemination of sound medical information is crucial in improving public health levels. There is a vast amount of knowledge available in the internet and public libraries and people need to be encouraged to educate themselves on health topics.

Self-Awareness of physical and mental condition It is about knowing one’s body mass index (BMI), cholesterol level, blood pressure etc; and engaging oneself in health screening. In the health care context, self-awareness implies being aware of one’s physical and mental health and taking steps to monitor and maintain own health. Preventive care is essential as timely identification of the warning signs of healthcare diseases can help avert problems.

It includes: quitting tobacco, limiting alcohol intake, getting vaccinated, practicing safe sex, using sunscreens , etc. Certain behaviours increase the risk of diseases and accidents and such behaviours need to be avoided. For example, people need to be encouraged to seek vaccination; they should be encouraged to follow safety protocol such as wearing seat belts and following driving laws, using pedestrian footpaths and so on.

Healthy eating

It includes practicing of moderate intensity physical activity such as walking, cycling, or participating in sports at a desirable frequency. A sedentary lifestyle is one of the major causes of lifestyle diseases and to counter this problem, one need to stay physically active. If someone does not have time to exercise regularly, the person has to try to engage oneself in other physical activities like walking to the grocery store instead of driving or climbing the stairs instead of using escalators. This is known as lifestyle modification everyone should try to implement these types of modifications in one’s daily life.

Risk avoidance or mitigation

Physical Activity

Good hygiene

It includes washing hands regularly, brushing teeth, washing food etc. Improving hygiene and sanitation can greatly reduce the diseases like typhoid, dysentery etc. Poor hygiene can also be a contributing factor to the high incidence of conditions like malaria as open sewers and stagnant water provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

The benefits of self-care are life-long and do not just relate to a single day. So, everyone should take up self-care for a healthy and long life.

It means having a nutritious, balanced diet with appropriate levels of calorie intake. The dietary inclination towards processed or refined foods and junk foods has been another major contributing factor towards lifestyle diseases. The risk of such diseases can be significantly reduced by making healthy food choices.

Rational and responsible use of products, services, diagnostics and medicines It includes being aware of dangers, using responsibly when necessary. Medications can be central to self-care but they need to be used responsibly. To this end, people need to be better informed about the appropriate usage of diagnostic tools, preventive medicine and over the counter medications, and also about the risks associated with irresponsible usage.

Dr. Bikash Rai Das, Consultant Heart Surgeon, GNRC Hospital

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

Reviews u Yo LD TEN SHOU LIS

GAVME IEW RE

Battlefield hardline

A Movi Revi e ew Cast: Richa Chadda, Vicky Kaushal, Sanjay Mishra, Shweta Tripathi, Vineet Kumar

Director: Neeraj Ghaywan

asaan tells two stories at the same time- that of a young girl whose adventurous fling ends in disaster for her and her father. Wrangling to meet blackmail payments, and facing social shaming, she shoulders on to build an independent career. Her father runs a small shop of last rites goods at a Banaras cremation ghat. Acceptance of fate comes naturally to him even as he is simmering with hurt. The second story is of a young, promising engineering student who wants to leave behind his origins as a son of a professional cremator. He falls in love with a luminous, lovely upper caste girl, but then life takes a tragic turn. His acceptance of fate doesn’t come easy. Picking himself up, he rebuilds his future. Paths of these two young people cross in Allahbad, and hope is reborn. This isn’t a dramatic, thrilling plot. However, ‘Masaan’ is narrated beautifully and realistically. It captures small town realities in a rare, unseen setting of the cremation grounds. Through all it’s complexities, the somnumbulent Ganges runs through, bringing in serenity & a reality check. Masaan is a solid, heartfelt, human story. In it’s treatment, its closer to European cinema. Having said that, the script doesn’t pack surprises. A crucial plot point in the male protagonist’s life is almost predictable.

It’s easy to understand why this film might appeal so much to European festival audiences. It’s an untold celluloid story. But in it’s pace, and tendency to underplay emotions, ‘Masaan’ slows down when it shouldn’t. In ‘Masaan’, the best performance is that of Sanjay Mishra. Secondly, Vineet Kumar, as a professional cremator, is brilliant. Pankaj Tripathi is surprisingly charming. Vicky Kaushal & Shweta Tripathi show promise, display natural chemistry & deliver the most convincing onscreen kissing scene in a long time! Richa Chaddha however, despite getting a strong part, doesn’t always deliver. She comes across as cold in some scenes, although at most times she fits her character perfectly. The film’s un garnished, raw cinematography is a strong plus, and it’s easy blend with Indian Ocean’s soundtrack is simply stunning. Bruno Coulais also delivers background music completely in sync with the film. It’s rooted sounds grow on you. Director Neeraj Ghaywan is definitely a find, a fresh new voice; one that is brave and uncomplicated in story telling. He has introduced authenticity in a rare story & delivered a sensitive film with finesse. Masaan is a must watch for the discerning film audience. It’s also a break from big-ticket commercial films. It’s not an entertaining film, but a satisfying watch.

ttila the Hun was a badass of the highest order. What else can you say about a man who conquered an empire that stretched from Kazakhstan to Germany? Pressure from the Hunnic invasions forced the Franks into France, the Angles into England, and led to the first sacking of Rome in more than 800 years. So if you’re going to create a game centered on a mighty warrior of late antiquity... there’s really only one option, isn’t there? In the tradition of its forefathers, Total War: Attila mixes a turn-based strategic campaign with thrilling realtime tactical battles. It’s been a winning formula for nearly 15 years, but in this latest installment, Creative Assembly adds a few wrinkles that create one of the better Total War campaigns in recent memory. The most intriguing change rehashes an idea from an expansion to the original Rome: Total War - barbarian cultures can abandon their settlements to form nomadic hordes. In horde mode, armies be-

come mobile towns, gaining the ability to recruit troops on hostile ground at the cost of economic security. Converting your settlements into hordes is a great option if you’re fighting a losing war and need to find greener pastures, but without careful management hordes are likely to splinter into rebellions. There are many wonderful little touches- a general giving a pre-battle speech, unit actions being signalled by horn blasts - but its the music that really strikes home. Each culture-group has it’s own soundtrack, and each is tailored to that culture’s traditions germanic factions hear drumming and chanting while steppe cultures are treated to the morin khuur (a type of fiddle) and throat singing. It’s all fantastic, mixing just the right amounts of mystery and aggression to become one of the few game soundtracks I plan to listen to in my spare time. Of course, the voice acting is terrible, but that’s practically a Total War tradition, so I won’t hold it against Attila.

Album: Grieg & Moszkowski: Piano Concertos Artist: Joseph Moog

erman pianist Joseph Moog, apparently unrelated to Robert, has been unusually adventurous with regard to repertoire, and he comes up with a winner on this Onyx release. The big news here is his revival of the Piano Concerto in E major, Op. 59, of Moritz Moszkowski, a work that would have been quite a popular repertory item in the years following its composition in 1898, but that is very sparsely represented on recordings these days. It’s a wonderful work that’s lots of fun for any classical listener, broadening out from Brahmsian formality to a really rollicking finale to which Moog gives full rhythmic value. The degree to which this work would enliven something like a summer outdoor symphonic concert would be hard to overstate, and on top of that there is a sharp, energetic performance of the well-worn Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16. Throw in flexible, alert support from the cumbersomely named Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern under Nicholas Milton, and fine studio sound from Saarland Radio, and this is a strongly recommended disc of late Romantic piano music.

Book: That’s the Way We Met Author: Sudeep Nagarkar

T You SHOU Read LD

hat’s The Way We Met ...Kya Life Hogi Set? is the heart-warming story of two young lovers Aditya and Riya, who could never imagine a day without each other. They were deeply in love in the prequel of this novel, but then decided to break up. Now, in this novel, they rediscover their passionate love for each other and start spending more time together. However, every love story has its own share of ups and downs and this young couple will soon find out theirs. The plot develops with Aditya’s friend Mohit falling in love with Riya’s friend,

Sonam. Both these couples are now quite happy and start together a beautiful journey to Manali and Delhi. However, the death of Riya’s father brings about a sharp twist in the plot. This romantic tragedy is one that practically every Indian couple can relate to. Riya must now choose between the love of her life and her own family’s happiness. How will she ever be able to choose just one of the two? What will be the result of this sharp turnaround? This novel is full of answers to these very questions.

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G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

What’s your iOS

martphones are almost...almost the best thing that ever happened to mankind. Their cameras, speakers, displays and other hardware offerings are major attractions while purchasing a device. But what makes the device fun to use is its UI; Its interface, its responsiveness, its ability to engage and interact with the user. There comes in the role of the OS (Operating System). Let’s look at the different OS’, their pros and cons, their user friendliness and popularity.

Samsung BADA and Samsung TIZEN

Tech Watch

Microsoft issues emergency security patch for all version of Windows

Windows

Not as elegant as its desktop counterpart; but Windows does have its set loyalists. It’s most talked about feature being ‘Live Tiles’ that personalizes the phone just the way you use it. Your recent photographs, your regular contacts, mails, messages, WhatsApp messages, all in one convenient screen. The recent Windows 8.1 adds a personalized voice assistant ‘Cortana’ which is similar to Siri and Google Now. The best feature about the Windows OS is that it is minimal and yet looks elegant. It integrates a swipe and type feature like ‘Swype’ and ‘SwiftKey’. Windows OS could play its trump card – The MS Office Suite, but then again, it is now an open app on the Google Play store. The Play store however needs an overhaul. It still lacks good games like the ones available for Apple and Android store.

Stock Android Apple has been always a true exponent of sophistication. You will never come across an iOS update and say, ‘I think they could’ve designed it better’. Apple has only itself to compete with. Each time, it outperforms itself. Integrating new features every time, iOS takes some getting used to, but once you’re hooked, you’re hooked for life. iOS features the personal assistant Siri who is great if you’re living abroad, but there are still services she does not provide in India. And man she is sassy! The problems people usually face with iOS is its user friendliness with other devices. Apple devices feature the best hardware, but lacks features like Bluetooth transfers and file managers. The developers say that such features are a source of piracy and malwares which could ruin user experience. But however, my jailbroken (hacked) iPhones pose no such problem. And Jailbreaking is legal, no matter how illegal the term sounds. To top that off, I used the iOS 9 (Beta version) and that is a whole new world of sleek.

“Be together, not same” Smartphones, smartwatches, TVs, cameras, tablets and even automobiles; Google’s native OS is the go to OS for every device. Android OS(s) are available across various devices; offering a similar UI which makes it easy for you to switch devices. It somehow got dragged into a battle with iOS which is unfair because Androids are open source and open to user customization whereas iOS is not customizable, at all! Android prides itself with the Homescreen functions- “Everything you love, on one single page”. The UI is extremely friendly, which makes sure that even kids fiddle with the phones (pro or con, you decide) Till date there have been various versions of the Android, all named in alphabetical order and all named after some sort of sweet: Android Astro, Android Bender, Android Cupcake, Android Donut, Android Eclair, Android Froyo, Android Gingerbread, Android Honeycomb, Android IceCreamSandwich, Android Jellybean, Android Ktikat, Android Lollipop and the newest update Android Muffin.

Black Berry To tell everyone that you mean business; this is the OS you’re looking for. Blackberry OS was developed by RIM (Research In Motion) back in 1999. Specifically designed for Blackberry phones, this is a whole new world. There are only BB loyalists. BlackBerry OS is all business with its track pad and touch interface. It is a closed source OS which means no other company has the right to design or develop it. The latest release of this operating system is BlackBerry OS 10.3. The best feature you ask? Much like iOS, it is immune to viruses. The mail and messaging interface is what everyone falls in love with. The UI otherwise takes ‘some getting used to’. Yes, you can install Android application on your BB provided you’re ready to root your device. Otherwise the only way BB can hope to gain fans is by allowing you cross platform integration.

Samsung’s independent OS is the BADA and no, BADA is not a great OS. It’s laggy, jagged, unappealing and just too loud, for the eyes and ears. Designed specifically for Samsung Wave phones, BADA actually means ‘Ocean’ in Korean, so we can understand why the devices powered by it would be called Wave. The BADA OS featured an unappreciated messaging app called ChatOn. A great feature that BADA offered was its Adobe Flash support. BADA however offered features like multitasking, WiFi direct, Push Notifications and Flash support, but that is very 2012. Rightly so, Samsung announced its new venture TIZEN. The TIZEN was first featured in the Galaxy Gear and India witnessed the Samsung Z1, which was their first TIZEN powered device. TIZEN is a minimalist, but a big leap from its predecessor. A battery saver mode, a special app store called JoyBox and it is now powering most of the Android Wear and Samsung TVs.

MIUI

I might as well appoint myself a Xiaomi ambassador. Personal opinion- MIUI is an Android OS redesigned to look like an iOS. The best feature about MIUI is that it has all the android fun, without the Google apps crowding the screen. It’s clean, finished and smooth. The OS handles multitasking brilliantly and integrates the Google Personal Assistant seamlessly. The menu, options and UI are very customisable and user friendly. MIUI feature regular updates and has been launched with Lolipop 5.1. What this list narrows down is small features that don’t pop out, but things that actually matter in the long run. Things like email to communicate for work and personal reasons, Messaging / texting people, customization, small software features that add zing to your Camera applications for not just clicking, but sharing and editing too, lock screens and notification centres. Point is, OS is more than coding, it is the company’s personal touch to your experience. Sidharth Bedi Varma (sidharth.bedivarma@g-plus.in)

icrosoft on Monday issued an emergency fix for all supported versions of its Windows operating system, fixing a critical remote code execution vulnerability that could be exploited by hackers to infect computers with malware. Thereby taking complete control of the affected system. The critical flaw (CVE-20152426), which affects all the supported versions of Windows operating system, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1 and Windows RT, representing two out of every three of the 1.5 billion PCs running Windows around the world, resides in the way Windows Adobe Type Manager Library handles specially crafted Microsoft’s OpenType fonts.

“An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. There are multiple ways an attacker could exploit this vulnerability, such as by convincing a user to open a specially crafted document, or by convincing a user to visit an untrusted webpage that contains embedded OpenType fonts. The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library handles OpenType fonts.” If it is not possible for you to quickly roll out the patch across your organization, you can read the Microsoft Security advisory. There will be no update for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 as they no longer supported by Microsoft. So if you use either of the two then its time for you to upgrade it. Indrajeet Bhuyan is a 17 year old tech blogger and security researcher. He is passionate about computers and believes in sharing knowledge and information . He uses his spare time helping people and companies secure themselves. fb.me/indrajeet.bhuyan

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

Entertainment

‘AWAKENINGS’

Diganta Hazarika

hargav Saikia, A Mumbai based Assamese filmmaker whose horror short film ‘Awakenings’ will be screened at the ‘Little Rock Picture Show’ in Arkansas, USA. The event will be held next month. The movie will also be screened at the ‘Tetova International Film Festival’ in Macedonia which is due this September. The movie has also been selected for the Cannes Short Film Festival, which is held in Cannes and will be held this September. The movie will also be screened at the ‘HollyShorts Film Festival’, Hollywood, USA this August, Bollywood Festival, Norway to be held on September and many other film festivals of USA, UK and Switzerland. ‘Awakenings’ explores the interplay between dreams and reality when a young woman, who is in charge of two children, is haunted by some mysterious entity. It is a 13 minute short film in the Psychological Horror genre. The movie has already won the best Foreign Film Award in California International Shorts Festival 2015. Bhargav Saikia has directed and produced the movie under the banner of Lorien Motion Pictures. The lead roles in the film have been portrayed by Palomi Ghosh, Saurabh Goyal, Mrudula Sathe, Jairaj Dalwani and Prisha Dabas. The screenplay has been written by Bhargav Saikia himself and dialogues have been penned by Ram Ramesh Sharma. The music has been composed by Advait Nemlekar. The director of photography

ringing some hope to the Assamese film industry, Madhu Productions recently announced a new Assamese venture titled ‘Daur: A Run for Peace’. Writer Sahidul Islam has written number of poems, short stories, articles, novels over the years and his work has been well received by critics’ and mass public alike. His work ‘Sangharshor Shesot’ is one which is most widely read and critically acclaimed work. Soon to be adapted into a movie, the story depicts the present day turmoil. The film will be directed by Assamese filmmaker Rajib Bora. His movies ‘Tumar Khabar’ and ‘Hiya Diba Kaak’ were moderately popular. The film is produced by the novelist

from Nagaon to Everest and more

is Facebook feed is flooded with Instagram posts, tons of Hashtags, pictures of his life in Mumbai, Hrithik Roshan, selfies at the gym, on the sets of ‘Mohenjodaro’ and much more. All this basically points out what an excellent gear Diganta Hazarika’s life is in. Within 2 years of moving to Mumbai, he has made an impression on the industry and his fans! Here are a few excerpts from the conversation with the upcoming Adonis of the Bollywood industry- Diganta Hazarika.

Your starting steps in this profession?

is A. Vasanth. The movie’s associate cinematographer is Vijai Anand, special effects have been given by Hitesh Soni and colorist is S. Raghunath Varma. Costumes have been designed by Mallika Chauhan. The film has been edited by Arjun Mogre, assistant directors are Antareep Boraz, Devraj Barooah, Associate director and casting has been done by Brinda Mitra, and the sound designer is Dhi-

man Karmakar. Noted that in 2014, this director produced the critically acclaimed feature film ‘Kaafiron Ki Namaaz’ which was screened at several film festivals, including ‘Jeonju International Film Festival’ in South Korea, Kolkata International Film Festival and 3rd Ladakh International Film Festival, where it won the Best Feature Film award. Kalyan Kumar Kalita

New Assamese movie

Daur: A Run for Peace himself, under the banner of Madhu Productions. The cast will be finalized through auditions. An audition has been organized on 25 July at Hotel Grand Starline in the presence of renowned celebrities of the Assamese film industry. Along with newcomers selected from fresh auditions, a number of popular artists will also be a part of this movie. The music is been provided by Mozzamil Haque Chowdhury. The publicity designer for the movie is journalist Kamal Kumar. Kalyan Kumar Kalita

Gaurab Borah to star in ‘Lailaa’

lot of fresh faces from the Assamese industry have introduced themselves to the Hindi movie industry making for themselves, a gateway to the Bollywood and TV serials. Gaurab Borah is one of the rising stars from the region. He has previously been a party of Assamese channels’ mega serials and made a name for himself in the industry. He will now be working with the Hindi film industry. Gaurab will be working in a Hindi short film titled ‘Lailaa’. The

When I was in the 10th standard, I watched Hrithik Roshan’s “Kaho Na Pyar Hai”, and his physique has been etched on my mind ever since. I got extra large posters, put em’ up, and started working out just to look like him. And I feel that I’ve definitely come a long way since then. But I never planned to be an actor or a model. When I pursuing my graduation, my friends asked me to get into modelling but I somehow never felt confident about it. And then in 2004, I shifted to Guwahati, did a crash course in modelling, grooming and started ramp walking and appeared in print ads. I was offered music videos and films soon and in 2006 I faced the camera for the first time. You cannot imagine how nervous I was! It was my unplanned entry into a whole new world.

How is life in Mumbai treating you? “In these 2 years, I’ve learnt that Mumbai is for hardworking people. Every day you have to outperform yourself”. My first project was supposed to be “Mary Kom” but some shooting schedule changes made me take up Ashutosh Gowariker’s “Everest”. My character became integral to the series and I managed to involve my audience. During the shoot of Everest, I was shortlisted for the audition of an important character for Ashutoh Gowariker’s next venture starring Hrithik Roshan. And now I have landed the role and will be starring alongside my idol soon. “I truly am, hoping a lot from this city”

Your physique is an important part of your look. What goes into its maintenance? Your words of wisdom for the youth today? Fitness is an important part of my look and career. I have to keep changing my physique according to my characters for different projects. I have to be mentally ready for a change so I make sure I have the proper knowledge of my workouts, follow proper diets and religiously spend my time at the gym. Leaving aside the fact that you need a lot of money and proper rest, I think dedication is very important to have a good physique. I’ve always been against the things which harm human body and mind. Negative influences have a bad way of trapping you. You need willpower and support of your loved ones to come out victorious on the other side.

What are your plans ahead? Actually, I don’t really plan things, but I am focused on MohenjoDaro for now. I’m waiting to see where the road takes me.

interviewed by Sidharth Bedi Varma (sidharth.bedivarma@g-plus.in) movie will be shot in various parts of Assam including Jyoti Chitraban. The short film has been directed by eminent Hindi film director, Rakesh Sawant and produced under the banner of Dream House Productions. Rakesh Sawant has already directed Rajesh Khanna starrer film Wafaa, Jaanleva Black Blood, Hot money, Maut Ka Khel among many others. The movie is based on a true story and will be made to compete in national and international film festivals. This love story will follow the actor falling in love with the slave of a Pathan. As the events fol-

low, the Pathan finds out about the affair and tries to break it. The couple runs off to Dubai to escape the Pathan, and the story goes follows from there. The story however has a tragic ending involving certain death for some characters. The lead role of the lover has been played by Gaurab Borah, and the female lead has been played by Nupur Mehta of Jo Bole So Nihaal fame. Renowned actor Mushtaq Khan plays the role of the Pathan. The movie also has another character played by Bollywood veteran Shakti Kapoor.

Kalyan Kumar Kalita

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Horoscope Aries A developing tension could reach its peak midweek, resulting in either a breakthrough or a meltdown. As an edgy blend of energies encourages a clash of views, you’ll need to stand your ground in order to make the best of the situation. There’s also a New Moon on Wednesday, which might encourage a fresh start reached through making one or two key decisions. Later, lifestyle matters develop in importance.

Make use of positive influences to advertise your goods and services. Don’t let this be hit or miss - you’ll have better success with a well-planned strategy. Watch finances around Wednesday, when you may have to scramble to pay a bill or deal with an unexpected expense. If you know what’s coming, you can keep things from taking a downward turn.

Social opportunities and home-based entertainment can bring plenty of satisfaction and a chance to mingle with new people. Communication and interaction can play an important part in the events of this week, particularly if something needs to be discussed. In order to make the best use of this week’s influences, it helps to tackle any misunderstandings early, before they have a chance to fester.

Make time to relax and connect with your feelings and heartfelt desires. If you’ve been busy meeting deadlines, dealing with the pressures of everyday life, and keeping all the plates in the air, it’s time to kick back and recharge. Allow time to reflect on any problems, creative projects, or inspired ideas, as time spent doing so can bring the answers you need.

It’s time to secure your boundaries and stand up for your principles. A potent alignment that peaks midweek needs handling with care. While it’s an opportunity to make a few changes, you might have to deal with other people’s objections, which could be a hassle. Your courage and determination seem to increase with the potent New Moon in Cancer.

Virgo The path of true love may not be smooth this week, especially when it comes to a budding romance. If tension has been building or you’ve noticed jealousy from a friend or competitor, you’ll need to tread carefully. An early heart-to-heart talk can accomplish much, but if you overreact spontaneously, especially midweek, you could lose out in the long term.

Scorpio

Libra It helps to curb indulgence in order to save for something a little bit special. Your work/life balance may need attention over the days ahead, particularly if family members object to your plans. Your current focus is on forging ahead with your career or personal ambitions, but you might need to water down your schedule to tend to family responsibilities.

You’ll shine in the spotlight this week, particularly if you showcase your products and skills. This isn’t the time to hide your light away. You could encounter a lot of red tape in the pursuit of one plan, which may cause obstacles and frustration. You’ll need to be determined if you’re going to resolve it, particularly if it lingers until midweek.

Capricorn

Sagittarius

Aquarius It seems you’ll be busy juggling all kinds of chores, deadlines, and other tasks this week. Try to give yourself a chance to recharge, especially if you’ve been under pressure for some time. The presence of Saturn in your career sector may mean you have even more on your plate, so it’s vital to pace yourself.

Sudoku

If you face an edgy situation this week, try to compromise. A matter that has been building up could boil over, and you might need to adopt a conciliatory note to resolve it. Although the influences involved could encourage outbursts and arguments, you’d be better off engaging those involved in a heart-to-heart chat. Putting yourself in their shoes can help you understand where they’re coming from and how to respond.

Pisces

There’s a passionate and rather intense quality to romantic relationships, which might enhance intimacy. If you and another are just getting to know each other, things could get pretty hot and spicy over the week ahead. Be sure this is what you want before you get too involved. Venus dances into Virgo on Saturday, adding extra warmth to all of your business or romance interactions.

BLOOD BANK

Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665 Ganga Blood Bank 2454742, 2455029 Lion’s Club of Ghy Central 2546611 Marwari Yuva Manch 2546470, 2547251 Saharia’s Path Lab (24 hours) 2458594

HOSPITALS Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) B Baruah Cancer Institute (2472364/66) Brahmaputra Hospital Ltd (2451634/678) Chatribari Christian Hospital 0361-2600051, 9207044374 Downtown Hospital 2331003, 9864079366, 9435012669 Guwahati Medical College (2529457, 2529561) Guwahati Medical College Emergency (2263444) International Hospital 0361-7135005

Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (2541477, 2543998) Marwari Hospital & Research Centre 0361-2602738/39 Marwari Maternity Hospital 0361-2541202/01 Nemcare Hospital 0361-2528587, 2455906, 2457344 Pratiksha Hospital 0361-2337260, 2337183/84 Basistha Military Hospital (2304617/0351)

Railway Central Hospital Casuality (2671025) Redcross Hospital (2665114) Sri Sankardeva Netralaya 0361-2233444, 2228879, 2228921 TB Hospital (2540193) Wintrobe Hospital 0361-2519860, 98647-77986 IHR-Institute of Human Reproduction 0361-2482619,09864103333 GNRC Hospital 0361 2227702 GNRC Life First Ambulance 9401194011

24-HOUR PHARMACIES Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) D Modern Medicos, Maligaon (9864366763) Candid 24x7, Panbazar (2604422) DEAD BODY CARRYING VAN GLP Social Circle 2737373, 9435047046 Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251 GGUMTA 98640-16740 ELECTRICITY SUPPLY Call Centre – 9678005171

OTHERS Fire Emergency 101 State Zoo 2201363 GMC Carcass Pickup 9435190720, 9864047222 LPG Emergency/Leakage 2385209, 2541118

RADIO TAXI SERVICES Prime Cabs 0361- 2222233 Green Cabs 0361-7151515 My Taxi 0361-2228888 Cherry Cabs 8876222288

Cinema Hall Anuradha Cineplex – 0361-2656968, 99545-44738 Fun Cinema (HUB)- 98648-00100, 98648-00200 Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazaar) – 98540-66166 Gold Cinema (Salasar) – 0361-2735367, 98540-77177 Gold Cinema (Narengi) – 88110-01898

police station A Sudoku puzzle consists of 81 cells which are divided into nine columns, rows and regions. The task is now to place the numbers from 1 to 9 into the empty cells in such a way that in every row, column and 3×3 region each number appears only once.

last week solution

Pay attention to financial matters, particularly if you’ve let things drift recently. This week’s intense blend of energies suggests that things could be urgent unless you take action sooner rather than later. The New Moon offers a chance for a fresh start, particularly if you’re willing to discuss your issues with someone who can offer some helpful advice.

Ambulance 102 Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665 Downtown Hospital 9864101111, 9435012669 GLP Social Circle 2737373 GGUMTA (Mirza) 03623-227109 Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251 Free Ambulance to GNRC Hospitals Toll Free: 1800-345-0011

Cancer

Leo

Citypedia

AMBULANCE

Taurus

Gemini

SP, Kamrup District: Ph- 2540278 DGP Control Room: Ph- 2540242 SB Control Room: Ph-2261511 Police Control Room: Ph-2540138, 2540113 Azara PS: Ph2840287 Basista PS: Ph-2302158 Bharalumukh PS: Ph- 2540137, 2731199 Borjhar PS: Ph-2840351 Chandmari PS: Ph- 2660204 Chandrapur PS: Ph-2788237, 2785237 Dispur PS: Ph-2261510 Fancybazar PS: Ph- 2540285

Fatasil Ambari PS: Ph-2471412 Geetanagar PS: Ph-2417323 Hatigaon: Ph-2562383 Jalukbari PS: Ph-2570587 Jalukbari Out Post: Ph-2570522 Jorabat: Ph-2896853 Khanapara: Ph- 2281501 Khetri PS: Ph-2787699, 2787220 Latasil PS: Ph-2540136 Noonmati PS: Ph- 2550281 North Guwahati PS: Ph-2690255 Paltanbazar PS: Ph-2540126 Panbazar PS: Ph-2540106 Pragjyotishpur Ps: Ph-2785237 Women PS Panbazar: Ph-2524627

G PLUS JUL 25 - JUL 31, 2015

Catching Up

E-cigarettes worse than traditional ones when it comes to addiction

Debani Singh

hile you may think that switching to e-cigarettes from traditional ones would help cure your addiction, a new study claims that e-cigs may be more addictive. Scientists have reported that much of the nicotine in e-cigarettes is the addictive form of the compound. Although e-cigs don’t burn tobacco, they heat and vaporise a liquid that

contains nicotine, flavorings and other substances. Out of concern for the potential effects that inhaling this mixture could have on the health of young people, many states have banned their sale to minors. Some experts have said that nicotine content could lead users to become addicted to e-cigs, or that it could even serve as a gateway to conventional cigarettes and other drugs.

About me Hi! I’m Debani Singh. I completed B.Sc in IT from NIIT and then did a diploma course in Aviation and Hospitality from Frankfinn to professionally pursue modelling. I won ‘Miss Congeniality’ in ‘Dabur Fresh Face of Northeast’. I was also featured in the T2 Calendar for the Month of January 2015. I love dancing and cooking and posing for the camera has always been a passion.

Ka m u r of the week

Mojo I am an enthusiastic and optimistic person and I always do what I believe in.

PRE-INDEPENDENCE DAY

route in the woods The failures and hardships I’ve faced has always inspired me to chase after my dreams and for now, I’m working hard with the hope to achieve success in this field.

t is that time of the year again when security is being slowly beefed up all across the city and the citizens are having to go through the ‘kamur’ of encountering security check-points all over. While we understand that this might be necessary, the entire process is still a head-ache!

Guwahati

GYAN

Did you know?

Sanatan Dharma Sabha

he Sanatan Dharma Sabha, founded in February 1973, is the first to organise Durga Puja between the area of Chandmari and Ganeshguri. The sabha, under the title of Chiriakhana Path Sarbajanik Durga Puja Committee has been observing the puja for the past 42 years. Besides religious activities such as celebrating several pujas such as Durga Puja, Lakhi Puja and Kali Puja, the Dharma Sabha also serves the people’s interest of providing a

community hall in a particular area. The Dharma Sabha also promotes culture and art by running schools such as Sanatan Sangit Vidyalaya and Sanatan Chitrakala Kendra. The building of the Dharma Sabha, more commonly known as Durga Mandir situated in Jonali, is also used to carry out marriage ceremonies, anna prasanna and other functions. The Durga temple in the building was constructed on February 16th, 1992.

PIC OF THE Dirty diving Photo: Adib Zamali

WEEK

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