VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 49 by G Plus

Bypass Surgery of HearT That Zap Stress Fast

PG 18

The Source Of true happiness

Juthika Bhuyan

New CHic on the block

PG 16

Page 24

VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 49 SEP 12- SEP 18 , 2015

PRICE `10

Demand for Surrogate mothers go up in Guwahati PG 02

Amitava Sinha DCP CENTRAL

11 Pratiksha Hospital shut down for a month PG 03

BREAKING

With increasing infertility cases among Guwahatians, and no concrete surrogacy law, the demand for a rented womb is on the rise but couples are at a loss because of lack of legal directives

In Conversation with

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Lead Story

Demand for surrogate mothers go up in Guwahati JUTHIKA BARUAH

Infertility is a major crisis affecting all segments of people and about 15% of couples suffer from it. However, there is no Indian Law yet that governs surrogacy and hence willing couple are not being able to go ahead with it.

mother if it helps us in having a child. However, since there are no laws or rules to govern surrogacy, we are hesitant about the security of trusting someone with our prospective child,” said the wife.

The Ivf Scene

OR F SA L E

lthough the Indian Government is still to introduce a law for surrogacy, the city hospitals keep receiving cases for surrogate mothers as the cases of infertility are rising with changing lifestyles. Surrogacy is a method of reproduction where a woman agrees to bear another person’s pregnancy for a fee. “As India does not have a law for surrogacy, the concept is not yet popular in the city. In certain cases, when a woman carries a pregnancy, she might just change her mind and decide not to hand over the child to the intended parents at the end of the term and as the law is yet to implement, action cannot be taken against the surrogate mother. Therefore, cases of surrogacy are less in the city,” said Dr. Pramod Sharma, Director of Pratiksha Hospital. However, the concept of In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) has been readily accepted by the people and parents are proud that they give birth to a special child. “India has only the guidelines released by Indian Council for Medical Research but until and unless the law is implemented, one cannot take the risk of surrogacy,” Dr. Sharma added. On the other hand, Dr. Deepak Goenka, Director of Institute of Human Reproduction (IHR) said, “The concept of surrogacy is well accepted by the people as it is the only option left after having failed to conceive through IVF. The couples bring their own surrogates and according to guidelines, it is said that the surrogate mother should not be paid rather they should be provided the expenses. There are some agencies who provides the expenses of their stay during the pregnancy period but as the couples nominate the surrogate on their own, they pay the surrogate mother.” The IVF surrogates may be known to the intended parents or may be anonymous and as per ICMR guidelines, she should not be over 45 years of age. Complications like pregnancy induced hypertension or gestational diabetes are more common in advanced age surrogates. The concept of surrogacy is still not very popular as it also has some social issues attached to it. However, if it does manage to help couples have children and if people are already demanding for it, it is time that the Indian Government take some steps on it. A city couple, who did not wish to be named told G Plus that they would happily go ahead and have a child using a surrogate mother. “We are open to using a surrogate

Regarding the IVF baby, Dr. Goenka said, “With changing lifestyles, the complications in pregnancy are rising and people therefore opt for IVF babies. It is in high demand and people have changed their mindset to bear IVF babies rather than to stay childless. Infertility is a major crisis and about 15% of couples suffer from infertility.” He also added, “IVF is a technological process where several eggs are retrieved from a woman’s ovaries and then fertilised by the husband’s sperm outside the body in a highly specialised and controlled environment of the laboratory. The fertilised eggs then develop into embryos which are then returned to the woman’s uterus by a procedure called embryo transfer (ET). We get 10-15 new cases of IVF on a daily basis, which indicates that people have accepted the concept. After the woman gives birth to a child through IVF process, a hormonal change happens into her body and after that she might also conceive naturally.” According to Dr. Goenka, infertility is increasing due to changing lifestyles. “Earlier the girls used to get married at a younger age but now-a-days, they are career oriented and late marriages sometimes cause to infertility. The best age to conceive is 25-32 years. These days, women have also because conscious about the family and therefore, they preserve the eggs before the stipulated age so that they do not have to face problems of pregnancy. Recently, Apple too announced that they would pay the women employees for freezing their eggs,” Dr. Goenka informed. Egg freezing is a process by which a woman extracts and stores her eggs so that they can be reinserted into her uterus at a later date, allowing her to have children during a time when she might otherwise be infertile. The doctor also informed that 50-60% of the people get positive results after one cycle of IVF and 80-85% women achieve success from IVF within three cycles. The costs of IVF differ from case to case and it is much cheaper than outside. Most of the patient comes for treatment from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and other parts of Northeast. The rates start from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 1lakh.

According to ICMR guidelines The proposed ART Rules and Bill legalize surrogacy and state that a surrogate mother can get monetary compensation for carrying the child in addition to health care and expenses during pregnancy. The surrogate mother has to relinquish all the paternal rights over the child once the amount is transferred. The birth certificate will be in the name of the genetic parents. Surrogate mother should be in the age group of 21 to 45 years and should have children of their own. They should not attempt surrogacy more than three times in their lifetime. Single parents can also have children using a surrogate mother. Foreign couples seeking surrogacy should first register with their respective embassies. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Breaking

G plus news

Pratiksha Hospital sealed for a month by Health Dept.

he license of Pratiksha Hospital has been cancelled for a month by the Health and Family Welfare Department after one Harunar Rashid, a resident of Japorigog lodged a complaint of medical negligence by the hospital authority. An enquiry was ordered into the matter by the competent authority on 23rd May, 2014 and the Joint Director of Health Service, Kamrup (M) being the Inspecting Officer, submitted the report on 31st December, 2014. The enquiry officer opined that according to the statement of Gynaecologist Dr. Anudhriti Dutta who was involved in a caesarean operation of Asma Siddiqui sustained burn injuries on both her heels which was caused by a hot water bag that was placed on her heels to provide warmth. But the attending GNM forgot to remove the bag on time which resulted which is considered as professional negligence on part of the health care provider of the hospital. On the basis of the enquiry report, the Registrar of State Health Authority issued a show cause notice to the Director of the Hospital wherein the Health Establishment was asked to explain within seven days as to why the Registration and License of the health institution shall not be suspended/ cancelled and closure notice shall not be served against the health establishment under the provisions of Section 12 of Assam Health Establishments Act, 1993 and the Assam Health Establishments Rules, 1995 on the basis of the report of the enquiry caused by the Joint Director

The license of Pratiksha Hospital has been cancelled for a period of 30 days.

The license of the hospital has been cancelled for a month after a complaint lodged by an attendant of a patient accusing the institute of medical negligence. of Health Services on the complaint received against the hospital. Meanwhile, Dr. Pramod Sharma, Director of the hospital denied the findings of the enquiry report and claimed that the incident alleged by the victim never took place in the hospital while Dr. Anudhriti Dutta, the attending doctor in her statement deposed before the inspecting officer and admitted the occurrence of the incident of negligence. The statement of Dr. Dutta clearly indicates that Dr. Sharma has wilfully misrepresented the facts to misguide the authority and

denied justice to a poor patient. The Director of the hospital was again issued an enquiry report on 17th March, 2015 and asked to submit his reply within seven days but no reply has been given by the Director of the Hospital and therefore a final show cause was issued to the hospital on 25th August, 2015 as per provision of Section 12 of Assam Health Establishment Act, 1993. After the final show cause, the Director repeatedly failed to reply displaying gross violation of orders of the Authority.

The Health department therefore suspended the license for a period of thirty days. The OPD of the hospital and fresh admissions has been stopped and the health department directed that the in-patients that are already undergoing treatment shall remain under the care and custody of Pratiksha Hospital pending discharge. Meanwhile, according to inside sources at Pratiksha Hospital, a legal team has been put in place to handle the situation and all the required procedures will be undertaken on Monday.

Harunar Rashid whose wife had undergone a caesarean delivery lodged complaint for medical negligence by the hospital. Dr. Sharma, Director of the hospital denied the negligence by the hospital. Dr. Anudhriti Dutta, the attending doctor accepted the negligence by the attending GNM.

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

In The News

GHC seeks actiontaken report on Assam flood

he Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court of Chief Justice (Acting) K. Sreedhar Rao and Justice P.K. Saikia issued notice to the authorities of the Central Government and State government of Assam to file their replies detailing the current flood situation in the state. The court issued the notice following one lawyer Rajeeb Kalita moving the court seeking its intervention in directing the government of taking effective steps for a long term permanent measures for controlling flood and its impact in Assam. Attention of the court was drawn to the fact that for short term measures, crores of rupees were spent every year and therefore time has now come to plan and implement adequate long term permanent measures to check the havoc of flood in the state. Senior advocate Bhaskar Dev Konwar, represented the petitioner. He submitted before the Court that political parties at the helm of affairs at the Centre and in the State are indifferent and

perhaps due to this reason, proper relief has not reached the affected people. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, till Monday evening 1.442 million people living in 19 districts were still reeling under floods. The SDR Fund for Assam for the fiscal year 2015-2016 is Rs.460 Crores and Assam Government has released only Rs.104 Crores. The current third and severe phase of flood situation in the State, which began in the last week of August, 2015 is the worst in the last 50 years. It has so far affected as many as 5598 villages affecting 4, 57,325 of farm families in 24 districts in the State and affected around, 2,29,851 hectares of crop area as per data compiled by the agriculture department. Konwar viewed that though floods in the State are an annual phenomenon but the authorities have not yet devised and implemented any viable long term measure and minimising impact in the State. The concerned authorities are yet to take adequate and effective relief and rehabilitation measures, he said.

AKHIL GOGOI TRASHES AASU AND BJP LEADERS

MSS leader Akhil Gogoi came down heavily on several student and regional group leaders including its advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya alleging them of compromising their ideology to BJP’s Hindutva ideas. Addressing the media here, the peasant leader said that the AASU adviser has been maintaining a good relation with BJP and did not even oppose not only the Centre’s move of giving away Assam’s land to Bangladesh but also its recent step of absorbing the Bengali Hindus who fled due to fear of life from Bangladesh as Indians on humanitarian ground. He further criticised the former AASU general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi and AJYCP Manoj Baruah for joining the BJP. He said, “AASU leaders are now numb because they think their silence can help them to get away with their connections with Saradha scam. AASU has taken money from Saradha and now to get away with it, they have surrendered before BJP.” Akhil asked the leaders to clarify their stands on the matter. “The leaders who have been demanding the rights of indigenous people of

the state, are now silent. Why?” the KMSS leader questioned. Akhil also announced to launch a series of protests against BJP government’s anti- Assam policies. “It’s for the first time that Assam has recorded a farmer suicide in Barpeta recently due to loss in harvest. Modi government’s anti-farmer policy has begun the trend in Assam. KMSS warns the government to take step to stop such trends in Assam or to face

consequences,” Akhil announced. Amid a bitter blame game between Congress-BJP over the central flood assistance, Akhil Gogoi tore apart the Centre alleging that NDA government has been doing precious little to help the flood-hit Assam. He said the Centre announced huge package for Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir. But Assam has yet to get even an announcement.

GHC directs reposting of officer as SP, Anti- Corruption

Gauhati high court division bench ordered the state government to transfer Mukul Saikia, an Assam Police Service as Superintendent of Police in the Law, Vigilance and AntiCorruption wing of the state within one week. “Few years back while Saikia being posted as SP in the anticorruption wing, had submitted a report against APSC chairman R K Paul citing Paul of accumulating huge amounts of money disproportionate to his known source of income. Saikia also had suggested for further detailed investigation into the matter,” said petitioner and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi. However, surprisingly, Saikia was transferred from the post later and allegedly no action was taken on Paul. The court had earlier directed the chief secretary to file an affidavit with this regard to the letter of Saikia

to confirm whether any such letter was written and if so what action was taken in that regard. The court too directed the Secretary Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) to file an affidavit indicating the process followed in awarding of marks for answer keys in the APSC examination.

Akhil’s petition mentioned that as many as 12 answer keys in the ‘General Studies’ paper in the APSC preliminary examination, were wrong which involved 24 marks with 2 marks for each question. It said, “No candidate could have scored more than 176 out of total 200 marks. However, some candidates have scored 194 marks in the General Studies paper.” Akhil also alleged that there were wrong answer keys in four other optional subjects like Geography, Political Science, History and Law. The court asked the secretary to file the reply within September 20. Peasant leader Akhil Gogoi moved the high court in a PIL alleging rampant corruption in the state’s civil service examination. Akhil and his organization of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS) has been protesting against the corruption in the selection process of APSC.

Weather report for the week SAT 12 September

SUN 13 September

MON 14 September

TUE 15 September

WED 16 September

THU 17 September

FRI 18 September

Isolated tstorms.

Widely scattered tstorms.

Isolated tstorms.

Mostly cloudy.

Tstorms late.

Showers early.

More clouds than sun.

25 / 33 °C

25 / 34 °C

24 / 30 °C

24 / 28 °C

24 / 32 °C

24 / 33 °C

25 / 37 °C

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

DTO cracks down on buses and trekkers for violating routes JUTHIKA BARUAH

In The News

New routes will be introduced as per public demand as many routes remain dysfunctional for which commuters have to face problems. 140 city buses, trekkers and diesel auto tempos were seized by DTO after being found to have violated traffic rules. New routes will be introduced as per the public demand in the NoonmatiChandrapur area.

he District Transport Office, Kamrup (M) along with the Regional Transport Authority and District Administration started a joint operation from 3rd September to inspect the city bus service and seized 140 commercial vehicles. Speaking to G Plus, DTO (Registration & Licensing) Gautam Das said, “The joint operation has been started in order to bring the public transport system into streamline. The commercial vehicles have been seized for violating routes, for not providing tickets to the passengers, poor physical conditions of the buses and for the drivers and conductors not wearing uniforms during duty hours. The trekkers have the capacity of 9+1 seats but they carry 15 passengers and the vehicles are in a poor condition which might be risky for the passengers.” Das said, “The city buses do not follow any rules as there are many associations and there is no coordination among them. Around 700 buses are running in the city and they all compete for passengers, which is a big problem.” The DTO also informed that some

new route will be introduced as per public demand as the public vehicles do not run in many routes which creates problem for the commuters to travel. The additional route will be from Adabari to Chandrapur via Noonmati, Forest Gate and the bus no will be 33. In the notification published on 21st February, 2011 by the district transport authority, the stoppages of Route 6 and 6 (A) will remain the same. “The drivers of the trekkers that run in the Nepali Mandir to Lakhra route do not have any driving licenses and the vehicles have been handed over to the police and cases have also been registered for violating the clauses of Motor vehicle act. The committee formed by Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (M) cum Chairman of RTA M. Angamuthu headed by ADC Rajib Prakash Baruah along with DCP Traffic and DTO have started the mission and will streamline the public transport system before Durga Puja,” informed Das. During the operation a good number of auto diesel tempos have also been seized under the guidelines of Motor Vehicle Act and seizure memos have been handed over

to them. A high level meeting was also held on the 7th of September to rationalise the transport system and it has been decided that the transport system will be brought under control within 15 days of the meeting. Das also stated that the public awareness is low, for which the city buses halt wherever commuters wave their hands. Since the buses do not follow any rules, it is the passengers have to be alert to reduce such problems. “The city buses and trekkers create many problems which leads to traffic congestion and therefore we have also decided to reduce the city bus stoppages and will take strict action against the buses if they stop in the middle of the road,” said Das. The vehicles were seized after being found to have violated road permits by plying on roads for which they did not have permission and for other issues as well. One of the commuters, Rita Das said, “This is a good step by the administration and DTO as the city buses do not follow any rules and regulations while plying on roads. They run in competition without thinking about the safety and lives of the people. Moreover, they do not provide tickets to the passengers for which many have to fight with them for the fare. Different buses have different rates and they do not provide tickets which need to be rectified for a better service to the public.” On the other hand, the All Guwahati Share Taxi Owners’ Association has called for a 12 hour chakka bandh in protest against the atrocities by the transport department and demanded for the release of the trekkers seized by the transport authority ahead of Viswakarma Puja. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

The commercial vehicles do not have fitness certificates and driving license without which they are plying on the roads.

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Crime

Kalyan Deb

Husband slashes wife’s throat as six-year old son watches

The incident reportedly took place at around 7:00pm.

Amjad left his child at his sister’s place in Sijubari at around 9:00pm and has been absconding ever since. The Six-year old child who had witnessed the crime and had blood stains on his shirt while he was left at Sijubari. Subsequently Amjad’s relatives informed the Hatigaon police who reached the couple’s rented house in Ajanta Path but found the door locked from outside. Police had to break their way into the house when they discovered Nisha’s blood covered body. The duo got married in the year 2008 and has been residing in a rented house in Chilarai Path in Ajanta Path. After two years of marriage the couple had several unresolved issues and involved into arguments that would end up in domestic violence in several occasions.

he Ajanta Path of the Hatigaon area makes it to the headlines yet again within a span of merely seven days. While earlier this Last year, Amjad was convicted of an attempt to murder after he month, the area witnessed a case battered his elder brother following of robbery executed by family which a case was filed by Amjad’s members itself however in an father himself. incident that took place on the evening of Thursday, September

g plus news

10th one Amjad Khan (35) slashed his wife Nisha Sinha Khan’s throat in the presence of their 6 year old son. A case has been registered (case number 289/15) under section 302 against Amjad. After committing the crime, Amjad called his sister who resides in Sijubari and left his child there and has been absconding since

then. The child who had blood stains on his shirt was in a state of shock after witnessing such a brutal incident and kept muttering to his aunt, “Maa ko maar diya (mom has been killed)”. Amjad’s sister who was in a confused state informed her parents who called Amjad but found his phone to be switched off. Subsequently, Amjad’s relatives said that the Hatigaon police who reached the couple’s rented house in Ajanta Path found the door locked from outside. Police had to break their way into the house where they discovered Nisha’s blood covered body. Amjad who is one of the family members of the renowned Khan Tailors in Ganeshguri tied the knot with Nisha in 2008. However the inter-religious marriage was not accepted and they were banished by both their families. The duo since then has been residing in a rented house in Chilarai Path on the Ajanta

MLA sexually abuses his minor domestic help

ublic outcry continues demanding stern action against Boko MLA Gopinath Das from All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) who was accused of sexually abusing his minor domestic help weeks ago. On September 5, the Boko police station registered a case against MLA Das under several sections of IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). The victim who was Das’s domestic help alleged that on August 29 evening, she was sexually abused by the politician while they were returning from his hometown at Nagarbera area, some 70 km away from here. However, she managed to escape on September 5 after which she lodged a complaint with police. Though police has served two summon notices to Das to immediately depose his statement before the police, Das ignored the summons. Police then raided his residences in the city and its outskirts, but did not find him. Kamrup district superintendent of police Indrani Baruah said, “Though we sent notices to both of his residence

in Nagarbera and Guwahati, he has not responded. Moreover our teams have gone to his residences too but he was unavailable. He is currently evading our summons.” Police said if Das does not cooperate with the investigation, they would have to carry out a search operation and pick him up. After questioning him about the charges, police would decide whether to arrest him or not. However, police’s action in the case has

come under severe public criticism. “Police are trying to buy time for Das so that he can avail a bail from court. He is a public figure and he can be traced easily. Then why are the police not finding him?” asked locals in Boko area who are demanding immediate arrest of the legislature. On Thursday, police seized the vehicle. Sources said, the accused MLA is currently trying to move court for his anticipatory bail. He was reportedly seen at Hatigaon area too.

Path. According to neighbours, after two years into their marriage, the couple had several unresolved issues, and arguments till late night was a regular occurrence. On several occasions, the arguments would also end up in domestic violence. It is alleged that since Nisha was the only one to earn the bread and butter for the family, this was one of the causes that led to arguments between the couple. It has also been stated by some of the relatives and neighbours that the marriage was headed towards separation as both were seeking divorce. Meanwhile, for the past fifteen days Nisha had been staying in an ashram in the Narengi area. As stated by Amjad’s relatives he also had a criminal past and last year, a case charging Amjad with attempt to murder was filed by his father himself. Amjad allegedly battered his elder brother following an argument and was also taken into custody but was bailed out by his wife. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

City

JUTHIKA BARUAH

he Bhupen Hazarika crematorium ground is expected to be completed by the 5th of November, 2015 on the occasion of the 4th death anniversary of the legendary singer. The crematorium will be constructed with the objective of making it a tourist destination. Speaking to G Plus, Hemanta Deka, Secretary of Biswa Ratna Bhupen Hazarika Samannay Satra Committee said, “The memorial is expected to be completed by November with many features but there is also a lack of land for the construction of the auditorium and Bhupen Hazarika Research Centre. The Gauhati University were supposed to donate 62 bighas of land for the crematorium ground but have donated only 5 bigha and 7 lechas of land, which is not sufficient.” Deka said, “The memorial will have a two-storied structure with a library, museum and an audiovisual room. A musical fountain has also been constructed and the surroundings will have a replica of the Brahmaputra which will have flowing water 24x7. A garden will be laid out throughout the crematorium.” Deka further informed that a pen shaped aluminium silhouetted statue has been installed which weighs 90 kg and has a height of 10.5 feet. The pen has been designed by Lakshya Jit Bora. Lakhsyajit Bora said, “The sculpture has two parts viz. one microphone and one fountain pen. The microphone, measuring 230 cm × 235 cm, has prepared by cutting

Bhupen Hazarika crematorium to be completed by November, 2015 The Gauhati University has donated 5 bighas and 7 lechas of land for the crematorium but were supposed to donate 62 bighas of land and this shortage of land has put brakes on the construction of the auditorium and research centre. steel sheets in flat and converted it to the 3D shape and the inner part of the same left empty. But it is to be mentioned that though the inner part is empty, a corporate sheet has been fitted from inside to cover up the big holes with an intention to give proper shape of a real microphone.” “Another important part of the sculpture is the fountain pen which has a height of 3000 cm. This part of the sculpture is the crucial one as steel sheets were given chimney shape with 800 FN temperatures,” informed Bora. He also said that the pen is the symbolic representation of the saying ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’. “A realistic statue can give the outer idea about a person but an abstract art can inspire people to think what is behind it. Bhupen da through his versatile personality and sphere of work (as a singer, poet, journalist or as a speaker), leads the whole society towards the ray of hope by annihilating the darkness of ignorance. In the present sculpture, the microphone represents his songs, speeches while the fountain pen represents his writings, ideas etc.,”

added Bora. “In the main crematorium there will be a lamp which will be on throughout and will be operated by gas. The dome of 6500 square feet will be two storied and it will have the museum that will include the songs and instruments of the legendary singer. All the creations of the bard will be displayed at the museum,” added Deka. An official of Biswa Ratna Bhupen Hazarika Samannay Satra Committee said that the work of the crematorium will be completed within November but around of 2-3% of work will still be left and will be completed later. Deka further said that the design of the main gate will be constructed based on the Kamakhya temple designed by Gautam Prasad Baruah. The memorial will also have a souvenir shop as proposed in the project. Meanwhile, Deka informed us that due to the lack of space, the auditorium will not be completed. “A research centre is an important part of the project and if a person comes from Abroad for the purpose

of research, they will not be able to avail the facilities. The research centre is an important project but the University authorities are not giving any importance to it,” said Deka. Moreover, the crematorium is located at a distance of 13 feet from the National Highway and this will create many problems. “It has been quite a few years back that the land has been sold to National Highway Authority for 13 crores and the border has been placed in front of the Jalukbari Police Station. As the distance between the crematorium ground and the national highway is very low, it may prove a danger to the crematorium. The University authorities are least bothered about the construction of the memorial and as a group of Professors are against the singer. They are not interested in converting the crematorium into a full fledged tourist spot,” Deka said. He also said that due to nonavailability of land, they are not being able to construct a proper stage for conducting functions. Three companies are associated in the construction- Auronodoi, CCTS for the construction of dome

Bhupen Hazarika crematorium to be completed within November, 2015. A pen shaped aluminium silhouetted statue has been installed with microphone affixed on it. The two storied dome will have a library, museum and an audio visual room. The entire project will cost around Rs. 14 Cr. The cultural department will hand over the memorial to the Samannay Satra Committee on 2nd November. and Shivshakti Company. A 10 feet statue of the singer will also be installed in the memorial. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

CIty

Bank fraud gangs targeting unsuspecting Guwahatians RAHUL CHANDA

Cyber crime is increasing in Guwahati Bank frauds is the newest trend Many gangs are working to steal account information, produce fake ATM cards and make transactions CID says 90% bank frauds can be prevented if account details are kept secured New gangs steal account information from ATMs by exploiting the carelessness of the customers

With new gangs of cyber criminals targeting city people, CID feels bank frauds can be averted if account details are kept secured

ecently, it has been seen that many Guwahatians have been receiving calls from callers who introduce themselves as bank employees of the likes of State Bank of India, RBI and they start asking the unsuspecting receiver on the other end for their ATM card details. There are people who are aware of cases of bank frauds and do not entertain such calls, but bank fraud cases are on the rise as quite a few people are gullible and fall prey to these bold scamsters. CID ADGP Mukesh Sahai said, “90% of the bank frauds take place because many people do not follow the precautions.” He further added that no bank takes any personal information over the phone or by any other means, but still some people give away the information, which leads to frauds and crimes.

Bank frauds Bank fraud cases fall under cyber crime and city police keep encountering bank fraud cases regularly and with some gangs in Guwahati and Bongaigaon being busted, Guwahati at present is a target for all cyber criminals. The Assam Police CID has a cyber laboratory with the help of which cyber criminals are tracked, but

Sahai said that any cyber crime or bank fraud cases can only take place if the criminals have the personal information about the bank customer. Senior police officials of the police commissionerate also feel that cyber crimes and specially bank frauds are the new trending crimes, which they have witnessed in Guwahati. In the last five years, the graph of cyber crime has been on the rise. The CID received a case from a well known private hospital in Guwahati where the cash payments made by customers were not fully getting deposited in the bank’s account. After CID started investigating it was found out that the front desk officials were involved in siphoning some of the money to a different account by creating a software. The culprits were arrested and some of the siphoned money was also recovered. There are many gangs working together who have different modus operandi. There are some gangs who target dormant accounts in banks and this is mostly done by the ex employees of banks who siphon the money from the dormant accounts to a different account. Sahai said these days there are gangs who take

bank details from people at ATMs and then conduct bank frauds.

Modus Operandi A case solved by CID recently saw a new kind of modus operandi the cyber crime gangs are using these days. A city based doctor discovered that Rs one lakh was missing from his account and later it was discovered that the perpetrator used it for online shopping. Dr Pallab Kalita had taken a home loan and had some money in his SBI account. But one fine day, when he checked his account balance, he discovered that he was a lakh short. He immediately contacted the police, while CID Additional DSP

Cyber crimes in Guwahati 2011 -61 2012 – 132 2013 -141 2014 – 219 2015 – 100 (upto May)

Nirmal Baishya happened to be his class mate. Baishya, a cyber crime expert tracked the account details and later discovered that his bank account details were hacked and used for online shopping. Baishya narrated that once when Kalita was withdrawing money from an ATM in Hatigaon, the culprit, from over the shoulders, figured out the pin details and the last four digits of his card number. With the help of last four digits and the name one can call up the bank customer care and after persuading for a while, can acquire the phone number with which the account is linked. The culprit then got a duplicate phone number citing that his sim card was lost, and with the phone number, card details and the pin, he made online purchases. He said that one can fake a driving license or any other identity card by just printing the correct name matching with the bank account holder and fool the telecom companies and get a duplicate sim. Similarly in ATM cards, only the last four digits are different, so, if one gets the last four digits and the name of the account holder, he or she can call up bank customer care and can persuade the executive to share the phone number. This is what happened in Kalita’s case.

Therefore it is important that while transacting inside an ATM, no one else should be present. There are also gangs who target old illiterate people in the ATMs by acting to help them replace their card with a fake card and then make huge transactions with the original card. Such cases were reported and recently a gang was arrested in Bongaigaon for duping innocent people at different ATMs. The phone calls which are becoming very frequent these days are frauds and according to the CID, no information should be provided as investigation proves that all these calls are mostly from different places like Delhi, Jharkhand and so on. The police are aware of a operating Jharkhand who make calls to Guwahati in order to extract bank details. The CID officials also said that ATM cards also can be forged as it is easy for the criminals to make ATMs as only the magnetic chip has some information. A device which is used at ATMs or POS’ is known as a skimmer which can copy ATM details and the process of copying the details and fixing it in a fake ATM card is known as skimming. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Governance

Kalyan Deb

City Vending zones far from implementation

The hassle that took place on September 6th was triggered due to the goods that were seized by the GMC were not returned the vendors and neither any prior notice was served before carrying out the eviction drive. According to GMC commissioner the department is not liable to serve any prior notice since the vendors are not yet legally recognised. The corporation will only be liable to such issuance after the identification cards are provided to the vendors. In order to make the identification more prominent we have asked the vendors to provide us with their blood group which will help in preventing any kind of tempering with the identification. Since the blood group has not been provided yet it is causing the delay in issuing of i-cards. GMC has identified particular locations in Fancy Bazaar area which can be turned into a vending zone but is in dispute due to protest by locals of the area. GMC will initiate outlets of meat and milk products that will sell meat that is scientifically slaughtered and processed.

While eviction drives against illegal settlements continued relentlessly, the allocation of vending zones remains far from being set-up.

hile the city streets and footpaths are being vacated off illegal vendors to give the city a makeover, the initiative has incited several protests and demonstrations against the authorities. Though eviction drives against illegal settlements of any kind is a continuous process, the drives to remove such shops are gradually taking a turn for worse. In a recent incident that took place on September 6th, police had to resort to a mildlathicharge after scores of unregistered traders blocked the RG Baruah Road over an eviction drive undertaken by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC). The incident took place after GMC staff, along with trainees of ACS and Allied Services attached to the municipal body, undertook an eviction of unregistered fish and vegetable vendors from Silpukhuri and Jonali localities and seized a huge quantity of goods from them. The eviction was carried out following complaints by locals and pedestrians over sidewalks being taken over by the illegal vendors. However, as the team was moving towards Ganeshguri after completing the eviction at Jonali, a number of vendors blocked the road near the Assam State Zoo and started shouting slogans against the GMC. “The hassle was triggered due to the goods that were seized by the GMC and were not returned to the vendors and neither any prior notice was served before carrying out the eviction drive. Several shops were demolished and many vendors had to suffer losses due to the drive. We somehow manage to earn our days living and feed our families through the shops and if the seized goods are not returned it will be even tougher for us to survive. Moreover, if the vendors were served any kind of immediate notice before carrying out the eviction drive, we

would have moved our shops,” said a vendor from the zoo road area. Police rushed to the spot and there was a scuffle between them and the vendors. The vendors reportedly pushed a couple of senior police officials which triggered a mild lathicharge following which the vendors lifted the road blockade. However according to officials nobody was injured in the lathi-charge, but the vendors claimed that some of them did sustain injuries. However according to GMC commissioner Narayan Konwar, the department is not liable to serve any prior notice since the vendors are not yet legally recognised as street vendors. “During our survey in indentifying street vendors there were over 7000 of them found in the city but until the identification card is issued to the vendors they are not recognised as the registered vendors. In order to make the identification more prominent we have asked the vendors to provide us with their blood group, which will help prevent any kind of tempering with the identification. Since the blood group has not yet been provided, it is causing delay in issuing of i-cards,” said the GMC commissioner. So far, only two vending zones have been identified by the GMC that are located near the Guwahati Medical College and Hospitals and under the 6 Mile flyover in which, only a handful out of over 7000 vendors have been allotted with space. Meanwhile, some more probable locations have been identified in the city such as the Fancy Bazaar and the Jalukbari area. “There is a particular location in the Fancy Bazaar area which can be turned into a vending zone but is in dispute due to protest by locals of the area. Among other possible zones , the Jalukbari area too can be a possible vending zone but meanwhile, the same stands as a big challenge,” the commissioner said.

“The problems being that the street vendors are unorganised and secondly the target customers may not be available in the allotted vending zone,” Konwar added. The GMC commissioner also emphasised on the need of awareness among people to start consuming processed meat rather than those sold in the open. To create such awareness, GMC will initiate outlets of meat and milk products that will sell meat that is scientifically processed and will help in discouraging the open selling of meat. However, some of the citizens and mostly pedestrians have welcomed the drive saying that several vendors occupy the sidewalks which makes it tough for them to use the footpaths. Most shops such as tea stalls and

grocery stalls and several other vendors illegally occupy the footpaths that are meant for walking but are rather used as commercial space. Earlier, in an initiative by the GMC, Scorpion, a city-based NGO conducted a street vendors’ survey as a part of the implementation of ‘The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014’and had already handed over the report to the city’s municipal corporation. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Town Vending Committee with Commissioner, Guwahati Municipal Corporation as the Chairman as per which, Scorpion had been entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the survey to identify different categories of street vendors such as stationery vendors, mobile vendors and others as such. As per the findings of the survey, the Town Vending Committee shall ensure that all street vendors, identified in the survey are accommodated in the vending zones subject to a norm conforming to two and half per cent of the population of the ward or zone or city, as the case may be, in accordance with the plan for street vending and the holding capacity of the vending zones. Every street vendor, identified under the survey will be issued a certificate of vending by the Town Vending Committee, subject to such terms and conditions and within the period specified in the scheme including the restrictions specified in the plan for street vending. The survey was conducted in all the 31 wards of Guwahati Municipal Corporation and also involved students pursuing Master’s degree from Gauhati University engaged as enumerators. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

In The News

BGS Global Hospitals perform complex liver transplant successfully

NH starts oncology consultation services in Ghy

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team of doctors at BGS Global Hospitals successfully performed a complex liver transplant on a 33-year-old man from Guwahati diagnosed with end stage liver disease. This was announced at a press conference by Dr. Sonal Asthana, Consultant, Multi-organ transplant surgeon, BGS Global hospitals and Dr. Amitava Goswami, Consultant, Gastroenterologist, Guwahati, recently The patient, a small time businessman from Guwahati was critically ill for over a year, requiring repeated admissions to local hospitals, when his case was referred to Global hospitals by Dr. Amitava Goswami. He often complained of tiredness and weightloss and had accumulated fluid in his abdomen. He had also developed jaundice in December. On diagnosing

the need of an urgent liver transplant was known, Dr. Amitva contacted the Global Integrated Liver care team at BGS Global Hospitals Bangalore. The patient was first evaluated by a team of specialists in Guwahati at the monthly OPD clinic held by the hospital. Post the initial testing and on confirmation of the liver disease, he was referred for surgery at the hospital’s main unit in Bangalore. The patient’s mother came forward as a potential donor, but was excluded because of her age. A suitable organ of the same blood group harvested from a brain dead person was available in the nick of time, which helped save his life. The transplant operation took over 7 hours to complete and the patient was kept under observation in the ICU for five days. He was discharged

from the hospital within 3 weeks after complete recovery. Dr. Sonal Asthana, Consultant, Multi Organ Transplant Surgeon, BGS Global Hospitals, said “The family who found themselves facing the tragedy of the loss of a loved one, decided to rise above their personal loss and offer the deceased’s organ for donation. There is an urgent need for measures to improve organ donation rates so that more people like Mr Dhrubajyoti can lead normal lives.” Global Hospitals Group, leading Quaternary Care provider in India, offers comprehensive integrated medical services for all sub specialties and super specialties with the best teams of clinical talent across disciplines trained in foremost institutions from across the world.

arayana Super-specialty Hospital announced the commencement of ‘Oncology Consultation Services’ at its Guwahati facility. Senior consultants in Oncology from Narayana Super-specialty Hospital, Kolkata and Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Center, Bangalore will travel to the city every month. The Oncology clinic commences from 12th September and will be held every alternate Saturday of the month at the hospital. For further enquires, the hospital has provided a helpline number (8811 888888) where people get all the required information about the appointments and other services. The consultation will cover all aspects of cancer that will be screened by medical oncologists and oncosurgeons. The announcement is significant at a time when Eastern India is reporting particularly higher incidence of tobacco related cancer in men and cervical cancer in women and is gradually emerging as the cancer zone of the country. Most patients are unaware of the early symptoms of cancer due to

which they consult an oncologist only when they are referred or reach an advanced stage. Dr. Suman Mallik, HOD, Radiation Oncology from Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Kolkata said, “Of utmost importance in cancer treatment is awareness and early detection. This calls for the need for specialized diagnosis and treatment facilities. The regular planned outreach programme would open up avenues for us to get a more indepth understanding on how cancer can be better combated in this region.” Commenting on the initiative, Retd. Wg. Cdr. Ghosh, Facility Director, Narayana Super-speciality Hospital, Guwahati said, “The objective behind introducing OPD services for cancer care is to be able to provide greater access to superspecialty treatment without compromising on quality and affordability. With our strong network of hospitals in this region along with our outreach plans we intend to take effective cancer care to areas where this disease is often under-diagnosed.”

Excise dept to empanel liquor carrying vehicles soon I n a move to act against vehicles which carry liquor illegally, the excise department has decided to provide special permits to only those vehicles which will be allowed to carry liquor from bottling plants to distributors and also to the liquor shops. The excise commissioner Shamsher Singh said that the idea is to identify the vehicles that carry liquor which will help the excise department to act against other vehicles operating illegally. He said, “Strict action will be taken against private vehicles which carry liquor in huge quantities.” The department recently got its new office which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in the presence of excise minister Ajit Singh. The Excise department was established in 1946 and it is for the

first time that the department has got a new office for the commissioner. Singh said that excise is one of the highest revenue generating departments in the state and a new office was required for the employees to work in a proper environment. After the inauguration of the new office the commissioner is planning to improve the skills of the employees by providing them proper training. According to a source of the excise department, the new commissioner recently took the employees of the department to the bottling plants to give them an idea of how a bottling plant works. It is shocking to know that all these days the employees of the department did not have any knowledge of how liquor is manufactured.

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

In Conversation

All important cases in the Central Police District have been solved... Amitava Sinha, DCP-Central

rahul chanda

orn in Silchar, DCP Central, Amitava Sinha has pursued his academics in various parts of Assam as his father was in the government service and had a transferable job. Sinha studied in St Joseph School in Tezpur, St Agnes School in Haflong, St Mary’s School in Guwahati, Don Bosco School in Guwahati and Holly Cross in Silchar. He then moved on to GC College Silchar and completed his graduation in English from Delhi University. He was also a management graduate after which he appeared for APSC exams and got into APS in 1997. He started his policing career as DSP, Headquarters in Jorhat and then became DSP Chandmari division Guwahati after which he was promoted and went back to Jorhat as Additional SP Headquarters. Sinha then served as Additional SP Headquarters Tinsukia, Additional SP Headquarters NC Hills, Additional SP Headquarters Nagaon and Additional SP Crime Guwahati before being promoted as DCP Central. The 1997 batch APS officer exclusively talks to G Plus about his district.

Since the majority of the police stations and out posts are in your district, what are the challenges you face? In my district, we have a law and order situation almost every day, because places like Dighalipukhri and the DC Kamrup’s (Metro) office is located in my jurisdiction. So, having these two important places mean most of the dharnas and processions happen in my area. Every day we need to plan those with my team so everything is peaceful and this keeps us engaged for a good part of the day. Apart from that, criminal investigation is very important. These are the two challenges in the central police district.

Which is your busiest police station and how do you manage it? The Paltan Bazar one, as far as registration of cases are concerned. There is a large inflow of floating populations in the area and a large number of people come from outside the state as well. It’s a busy area and lot of surveillance needs to be done. We have deputed additional man power in particularly in and around the railway station, bus stands, ASTC bus stand. So, you will always find some party, patrolling or static, deployed there.

The Paltan Bazar area is

blast-prone and it does not have proper CCTV surveillance. So, how would you secure the area?

Chandmari late at the night. The Noonmati girl who was murdered was yet another case we cracked.

What are the new trending crimes in your district? We have also heard about the Irani gang?

In case of CCTV, the progress has been slow but the concerned people are following up and hopefully, it will happen very soon. However I don’t want to comment on this as it is not my prerogative. I am not the right person to comment on it but yes, as a police officer I will definitely want a very strong CCTV network in the entire Guwahati city so that in case of criminal investigation, I get some help from the CCTV cameras.

We have observed that in areas like the Chandmari Flyover, Paltan Bazar and other places under the Central District, the lawbreakers are scared of police nowadays. So what was the strategy? As visible policing is very important, we have tried our best to be more visible in more number of places. Night patrolling has improved and if you see the statistics, then problems like vehicle theft and burglary has drastically come down and this has happened because of the efforts taken by all our police men. Also the levels of supervision have increased now after the formation of police commissionerate. There is a DSP ranked officer in the form of an ACP for every two or three police stations. Then, there is a SP ranked officer who supervises six to eight police stations. So, the level of supervision has increased.

The All Women Police Station is also under your jurisdiction; do you have any special strategy for that? There is no separate strategy to handle that police station. They handle the crime against women part of it, particularly cases of torture and dowry related incidents and so, no special strategy as such. But we have improved the police station, modernised the infrastructure to a great extent. But man power is a concern in every police station. There is a constraint of man power in all the police stations and out posts everywhere in Assam.

What were your initiatives to cut down graft in your district among the police personnel? When the level of supervision is increased the scope of discretionary pow-

ers is less. When there are discretionary powers you can decide whether to leave or arrest someone, so with such powers the chances of corruption are there. But when senior level officers, people of the rank of DSP, Additional SP or a DCP goes to the thana, checking details, asking questions, obviously the levels of corruption will go down and it has gone down. I go to at least three thanas every week.

How are you handling the smart policing system that is to be implemented? As I understand and believe, professional policing is what is required. We should be professionals. I am a police officer and I am empowered to do certain things as per the law. I have to enforce the law and that is my mandate. I have to investigate cases as per law and so, only if we do that we can be smart. Smart policing is nothing but professional policing and if we are professional we will automatically become smart.

Technically, what do you require in your districts for better policing? I would say if we have a good network of CCTV cameras and if we can motivate the citizens to use GPS devices for their vehicles and two wheelers, it will help us a lot.

What initiatives have you undertaken to improve the police-public relationship? In our entire district, we have put up signboards at very conspicuous spot, at all police stations and outposts, listing the address of my office, my telephone number, my email address and the

contact numbers of the ACPs and the Additional DCPs. Just in case a person who has a grievance walks to a police station and if somebody is not accepting the FIR or the response has not been good or if he thinks that police is not behaving properly, they can call me up, send messages and emails and also call other ACPs and Additional DCPs. This is a part of our grievance redressal mechanism. We also have a Facebook page (Central Police district Guwahati). These things have helped raise confidence in people, reducing corruption. People can contact us and we are very accessible. We also organise area-wise meetings with the public.

Tell us about the cases in your district? Do you solve all of them? In central police district all important cases have been cracked so far. There are many tough cases which we have solved but there was one case which has drawn the attention of media – a case for which we did not really require to wrack our brains - the Sweety Baruah murder case. If you see, after reaching the place of occurrence we were pretty sure as to who had done it. Whatever investigation happened was to just trace him and apprehend him. There have been many other cases which were solved when I was the Additional SP crime and even when I joined here, for example one Innova driver was abducted, shot dead near Boko, his dead body was dumped and the vehicle was recovered in Goalpara. We connected the pieces, we caught hold of the persons and apprehended them and also recovered the weapon with which the poor driver was killed. Another murder case that we solved was where a young boy was murdered on the day of Bihu in

Lot of young people are making mistakes while using the social networking sites. I would request the youth that they should be very careful when using social networking sites. You should not accept friendship requests from any unknown people, because you do not know who that person is. You should not make friends in the cyber world unless and until you know the person physically. You should not share the pin number of the ATM over the phone. They are making themselves vulnerable by doing all these things. Even while shopping online you should go to certified, secured websites and then use your card details because there are many fraudulent e commerce sites. If you go to a site like Flipkart, you generally see a green lock near the address bar which means it is certified. The Irani group is nothing new and they come from a place near Jalpaiguri where there is an Irani Basti. They use several tricks like throwing currency to draw your attention and then take away your money. They will chew a biscuit and spit on your body and then while you concentrate on that, they run away with your money. They specially target people who come out from banks after withdrawing money. That is their modus operandi. We had sent a team to the village from where they come and that is how it got reduced to a large extent. The entire village is involved with such type of activities. Another major issue concerning the youth today is drug and substance abuse and we as a society, should take some steps regarding it.

People say you are very strict; do you reward your men for good work? That is what I am supposed to be. I am very good in rewarding people and I do not waste any time in highlighting the good work that my boys do. I let the commissioner know and they are rewarded as well. It’s basically team work.

Your hobbies? Please tell us about your family. I love reading a lot and I have two lovely daughters. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Blue Print

Rahul Chanda

Guwahati vying to enter

With 98 cities in the fray and Guwahati being the only one in the state the city has a chance to be announced as a potential smart city. But will the Rs 200 Cr annual budget for five years make the city smart? It is good news for Guwahatians as the city successfully competed with seven other districts in the state in the race of smart cities and was selected as a city which has the potential of becoming smart with 82.5% marks. The Union Ministry of Urban Development had sent letters to all states and union territories to shortlist potential smart cities in the first stage of the intra-state competition. G Plus looks into how the city has the potential and what all features Guwahati will have if it does become a smart city.

What is a smart city?

ccording to GMC, there is no universally accepted definition of a smart city. The word means different things to different people. The conceptualisation of a smart city varies from city to city and country to country depending on the level of development, willingness to change and reform, and resources and aspirations of the city residents. GMC officials said that the objective is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of smart solutions. The main focus is on sustainable and inclusive development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a light house to other aspiring cities.

The beginning

rime Minister Narendra Modi had announced his vision to set up 100 smart cities across the country soon after his government was sworn into power last year. Since then a race has been on among cities to land up on the list that the ministry of urban development is compiling. The 100 smart cities mission intends to promote adoption of smart solutions for efficient use of available assets, resources and infrastructure.

Elements of a smart city would be • Adequate water supply • Assured electricity supply • Proper sanitation including solid waste management • Efficient urban mobility and public transport • Affordable housing specially for the poor • Robust IT connect and digitalisation • Good governance, specially e-governance and citizen participation • Sustainable environment • Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and elderly • Health and education

Guwahati won the intra-state competition and was announced in the list of 98 smart cities Guwahati completed stage 1 by securing 82.5% and is one of the city in the centrally announced 98 potential smart cities Guwahati competed with six other districts of Assam (Silchar, Tezpur, Nagaon, Jorhat, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh) in the intra-state competition and won the race According to criteria set by MoUD the participating cities to qualify would have an effective revenue generating urban local body, city expansion plan, adequate water supply plan, yearly growth of revenue plan by the body, grievance redressal mechanism, proper sanitation plan, efficient public transport plan and so on The city was able to present itself successfully in all the criteria to win the race among other districts. Now the city is in stage 2 where it has to make a smart city proposal

The budget of the proposal and the plan There is a budget of Rs Four Crores for the smart city proposal preparation There is a yearly budget of Rs 200 Cr for five years to implement the plan of smart city 50% expenses will be provided by the Central government and 50% by the state government Rs 100 crore every year will be provided by the Centre and state will provide Rs 100 crores For the proposal preparation, Centre will provide Rs two crores and state will provide Rs two crore

Stage 2

The challenge round for selection In the second stage of the competition, each of the 98 cities have to prepare their proposals for participation in the city challenge by presenting a Smart City Proposal (SCP) SCP is expected to contain the model chosen, whether retrofitting or redevelopment or Greenfield development or a mix thereof, and additionally include a pan-city dimension with smart solutions According to highly placed sources in the GMC the proposal is to be submitted to the MoUD by 15 December 2015 The proposal will be evaluated by a committee involving a panel of national and international experts The winner of the first round will be announced by MoUD and the cities will start implementing the smart city plan

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Blue Print

the first list of 20 smart cities Smart city proposal preparation

How will GMC plan the proposal?

• The Central Government has not prescribed any particular model to be adopted by the smart cities • Each city has to formulate its own concept, vision, mission and plan for a smart city that is appropriate to its local context, resources and levels of ambition • Cities have to choose their model of a smart city and describe what kind of smart city do they want • The city vision plan will include the vision (how the city visualises in five years) • City wide concept plan based on a review of previous plans, interventions and documents of all departments and agencies (like the old or revised city development plan, sanitation plan, mobility plan and the master plan) • Identification of key challenges like physical, economic, social, legal and institutional infrastructure

Essential features of smart city proposal • Assured electricity supply with at least 10% of the smart city’s energy requirement coming from solar • Adequate water supply including waste water recycling and storm water reuse

• According to GMC officials there will be detailed consultations all stake holders and citizens of the city to take their view on the plan. • GMC recently discussed with all the government departments, and very soon they are planning to talk to the educational institutes, financial institutes, leading citizens and other stake holders to get ideas • After consultation an overall strategy will be prepared that will define the smart city and clearly state the objectives • According to GMC officials the focus will be on transformative projects with the highest possible impacts on economic growth in the city and improving the quality of life for all, especially the poor • MoUD has technically qualified a panel of consulting firms and the GMC is at liberty draw upon this panel • GMC may request financial proposals from these firms • GMC also have the option of appointing a consulting firm outside the panel by following transparent and fair procedures as per state financial rules • The agencies include World Bank, ADB, JICA, USTDA, AFD, KfW, DFID, UN Habitat, UNIDO etc. • There are nine consulting firms selected by the MoUD and GMC has to choose from one of them for consultancy

• City improvement or retrofitting – Fancy Bazar, Pan Bazar, Athgaon to Tokobari area, Along the GS Road, Paltan Bazar area and Ganeshguri area • City renewal or re development – Umananda Temple area, Kamakhya Temple area (Nilachal Hill), along the NH 37 (Boragaon area), Dighalipukhuri area, Kharghuli area and VIP Road area (cycle track, pathway for pedestrian) • City extension or Greenfield development • Pan- city initiatives in which smart solutions are applied covering larger parts of the city – Brahmaputra River front development, Bharalu River water navigation route, storm water and sewerage system of Guwahati city

Various smart solutions for the city E-governance and citizen services

• Sanitation including solid waste management

• Public information and grievance redressal mechanism

• Rain water harvesting

• Electronic service delivery

• Smart metering

• Citizen engagement

• Robust IT connectivity and digitisation

• Citizens – city’s eyes and ears

• Pedestrian friendly pathways, encouragement to non-motorised transport (like walking and cycling)

• Video crime monitoring

• Intelligent traffic management, non-vehicle streets/ zones, smart parking, energy efficient street lighting

Strategy components of area based development and indicative areas in Ghy

Waste management • Waste to energy and fuel

Energy management • Smart meters and management • Renewable sources of energy • Energy efficient and green buildings

Urban mobility • Smart parking • Intelligent traffic management • Integrated multi-model transport

Others

• Innovative use of open spaces, encroachment-free public areas

• Waste to compost • Waste water to be treated

• Tele-medicine and tele-education

• At least 80% of buildings should be energy efficient and green buildings

• Recycling and reduction of C&D waste

• Incubation/ Trade facilitation centres

• In Greenfield development, there should be at least 15% in the affordable housing category

Water management

• Skill development centres

• Smart meters and management • Leakage identification and preventive maintenance • Water quality monitoring According to GMC officials the urban body is all set to prepare the proposal and it will try its best to make sure that Guwahati enters into the first list of 20 smart cities. There is an annual budget of Rs 200 Cr and if the politicos and the officials have the motive of development, the city would surely end up as a smart city.

rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Ward Watch

WARD NO

Concentrated Area Solapara Ward number 10 Councillor Mrigen Sarania Phone number 9864043462 Sub-division 10(c) Area Sabha Member Sanjay Debnath Phone number 8486512103 Problems:

Solapara road re-laid at last

After a wait and wrangle of over 25 years, the much used and abused Solapara road finally stirs the authorities and undergoes development

KALYAN DEB

he Solapara road that has been suffering from dreadful conditions for over 25 years is being renovated. The dilapidated condition of the road that has been a cause of suffering among the locals as it remains water logged and miserable most times of the year and has been a major concern of the people of the area. But now, the streets in the area that were in desperate need of construction are finally being upgraded at the initiative of the councillor.

The Past “The water level rises to a height of around 2 to 3ft during monsoons and floods most of the houses and shops in the area. The plying of heavy vehicles through the road has also been a major reason for the sorry condition of the roads,” asserted Rajib Raut, a resident of the area. The area houses several courier services and travel agencies and being adjacent to the GS Road and Paltan Bazar, several heavy vehicles ply through the road. This is one of the primary reasons for the poor condition of the road. Arun Acharjee who has been residing in the area since 1971 said, “Since the 1970s, the road has not undergone any major construction

and the people have suffered every monsoon. Now that the construction of the road has started, we hope that it will bring an end to the problems of the people. However the drainage system should also be taken into account while the construction is underway.” The Solapara area, a part of which is also included in Ward number 14 has also lagged behind in several other basic amenities such as availability of drinking water and drainage system along with proper road conditions. Like several other parts of the city, the lack of a proper source of drinking water is among the major concerns of the residents of Solapara. Most of the residents who live in apartments have borewells but others have to buy their drinking water on a daily basis. “Most of the houses have to buy drinking water, which costs a lot for the residents as most of them are from middle-class families. Even those households that have wells, the water is too deep,” lamented Jogender Das, a resident of Solapara. “Although a tube-well was installed in the past through a government initiative, but that too is not in working condition any longer. Though pipelines have been installed throughout the area, the project cannot come any sooner”, Das added.

The project: The construction of the road has been undertaken by the Flood Disaster Restoration Fund (FDRF) and the project started on September 1st. Within the first week itself a major chunk of the road connecting to GS Road has been covered. Meanwhile, from September 7th onwards, the part of the road heading towards B Barooah was initiated and the entire work is estimated to be completed by next week. “The Solapara area was proposed for the FDR fund, which has only

recently been sanctioned, after sustained efforts of the councillors. An amount of Rupees 1 Cr 38 lakhs has been sanctioned for ward number 10 of which, a sizeable chunk of the FDRF funds has already been utilised for developmental purposes. A major part of the road has been already been covered within the very first week of construction process. However, it will be another week before the construction is completed,” said Mrigen Sarania, councillor of ward number 10. Unlike the highways and other roads, the road is being plastered with a sand and cement mixture

rather than using bitumen or concrete blocks. “The use of concrete blocks had not been mentioned in the tender and making last moment changes would lengthen the process. It was suggested by the GMC engineers that plaster would be much enduring. Moreover, the base of the road was also not firm for which cement plaster was suggested to be a better option. After the plaster is laid the road remains closed for five to six days and is watered every morning for the plaster to be more enduring,” the councillor said. “While the construction is in process we have also asked the local residents to monitor the workers to avoid any kind of blunders”, the councillor added. Ward number 10 that includes most of offices of government departments, hotels and commercial organisations required special initiative in order to constitute cleanliness and development in the area. It was also informed by the councillor that the amount of six lakhs that was awarded during the Mission Clean Guwahati Contest, 2014 will also be utilized for carrying out development purposes such as constructing culverts while the road construction is underway. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Society

A Destination for the challenged

Kalyan Deb

A home for the challenged, Destination works as a healing effect

he requirement for a place where people with mental disabilities could grow as individuals has always been a necessity and with this aim in mind, Rupa Hazarika stepped in like a healer. The inception of the NGO took place on the 1st of June 2005 and Destination, as the place is called, provides vocational training to children. With an atmosphere akin to a home, the place tries to make sure their needs are being catered to. Nested in the Bhagaduttapur locality of Kahilipara area, Destination is a home for the mentally challenged people who are often abandoned by their families and are made to be like the unwanted elements of the society. This quiet environment serves as the perfect place for the inmates to find companionship and also develop their skills so that they are not completely left out in the race of life. The place serves as a residential rehabilitation programme for these mentally challenged children who experience a complete homely environment. Though in the initial stages the shelter home served the requirements of only children, they gradually extended their helping hand towards the people of different age groups and with different conditions. Thus, the NGO now functions in two different sections for children and grownups. “The requirements of the mentally challenged changes accordingly in their different phases of life but care and nurturing will always be a major need. We try to provide the care and at the same time train them through our different programs that help them to be self reliable and develop their decision making ability. But that can’t be said for children who have been born with such conditions as

they would always need care and attention from others,” said Rupa Hazarika, founder and president of Destination. Each inmate is assessed thoroughly by a special team of professionals, giving the children the much needed training through help and pre-vocational. The shelter home also carries out behaviour modification programme, medical and psychiatric intervention, academic evolution, speech therapy, and music lessons etc. and all these with an objective to provide training programme to develop independent living skills in them. Although not every inmate can acquire the skills within a very short term and rather requires years of practise to develop

basic habits. “The categorisations of the inmates are done in two different structures which are done depending upon the IQ level and special education assessment of the occupants and after observing the behavioural pattern for three months the inmates are provided with the appropriate training. Depending upon the categories some children with such condition can develop the IQ level of a seventh grader while others develop even less”, Hazarika added. Destination, however, was not started as a conscious project to begin with. The initiative for accommodating as many mentally challenged people was an outcome

The requirements of the mentally challenged changes accordingly in their different phases of life but care and nurturing will always be a major need. We try to provide the care and at the same time train them through our different programs that help them to be self reliable and develop their decision making ability. But that can’t be said for children who have been born with such conditions as they would always need care and attention from others

of an emotional experience. Rupa is also a mother to a 22 year old son who suffers from a similar condition .Sarangapani Hazarika (Rishi) was suffering from cerebral palsy, autism and epilepsy and in the process of raising him, Rupa has developed the experiences over the years which also inspired the term Destination as the name of the shelter home. Until Rishi was four years of age, his condition could not be identified but on noticing the lack of any kind of development Rishi was taken to Man Vikas Kendra in Sikanderabad, a school for the mentally challenged children. During the process she also talked to renowned psychiatrist Dr. Deepali Dutta who convinced here to take up a special course for a better understanding of the mentally challenged people. “It was Deepali Dutta who told me to enrol for a diploma which was a training programme for non– formal parents from the Kendra itself under the affiliation of the NIMH, which I thought would help me better in dealing with the needs of my son,” said Rupa. She continued further with her efforts to perfect the skills of handling people with special needs and got herself enrolled as a special educator at the Kendra. Soon the idea to conduct an experiment at home eventually conceptualised in Destination The shelter home started out with just two inmates following a newspaper advertisement but the

numbers soon started to go up and the house informally began to be seen as a place where distraught parents could hope to give their mentally challenged child a homely environment to grow as a person. The need to excel in this effort soon took over Rupa’s zeal and she decided to take the next step in forming an organization that would cater to the needs of these mentally challenged young people. Over the years Destination has received from that consist some of the prominent names of the society along with GM Shrivastav, the former DGP of Assam and Tripura, Dr. Dipesh Bhagabati, HOD Psychiatry GMCH, Moloy Borbora, Bhabani Kalita, Col. Dipak Chakrabarty as advisor to the organization, Munmi Das and Purabi Das as vice presidents, Bikram Singh as secretary, Minakshi Sangmai Das as treasurer whereas Rupa Hazarika the founder of the shelter home acts as the President. Since 2005, the organization has done considerable work for the mentally challenged people, be it holding workshops for raising awareness on the issues or rescuing mentally challenged destitute people from the roads. The home to this date serves around 75 inmates and with the association and support of Social Welfare Department and other associated organisations looks forward to take forth their work and efforts towards a better future. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Life

The Source Of true happiness

TO RUSSIA

She walked; Slowly at firstToiling the stony-briar path To nowhere! The begging faces with flaying hands Calling her to stop. “There,” she says “Is my goal,” The searching eyes. Look- beyond the smoke and dust, A band of colours She sees, With several flags. Her face lights up As the fair pigeon Alights on her shoulder.

t is Purnima (Full moon day) today, but it is very cloudy. This is how it is in life also. You are beautiful and pure just like a full moon, but that is not visible because of the clouds (here meaning inertia and negativity). When grace starts showering in life, all these clouds start to move away and disappear, and then the fully blossomed moon becomes visible. In the same way, there is a veil (of ignorance) over knowledge. Just understand this: Whenever we are miserable, discontent, and restless, in those moments there is a veil or curtain over our vision, and we are facing away from the light (of knowledge). We are facing away from the light of God in such times, which is why we feel surrounded by darkness. At such times our shadow (of sorrow or misery) appears large and we feel afraid just by looking at it. Whenever we experience some fear in life, it is because of the shadow (of worry or misery) that we see. And we keep struggling and fighting against the shadow. So what do we need to do to overcome this? We need to simply turn towards the light; towards the Guru.The instant we turn to the light, in a matter of seconds the darkness around us disappears, and the shadow we were fighting with also vanishes. It is said that one should consider the mind and the world as a part of the Divine. What happens when you see the entire world as a part of the Divine? The attachment that one has towards the world comes to an

end. Your anger, and greed vanish, and the feverishness of your desires that grips you also comes to an end. This is experiential truth. It is not superficial talk. You should experience this for yourself in your life. We often say that the mind is very fickle and restless. Why is it so? It is because the mind always seeks greater pleasure and more joy. It is always in pursuit of the highest joy. How can we get that joy? We often think that we can get such joy by being with a particular kind of company; or by getting some high post, etc. When a handful of people speak lofty praises about you, you tend to feel so elevated as if you are getting some great joy. This delusion or tendency of the mind (to find limited pleasure in objects and people) needs to be understood first. When you understand this, then at the same time you will also realize that the Divine is the greatest source of happiness. And then you realize that there is no distance between you and the Divine. There is total oneness and you feel that you and the Divine are the same, and the whole world is made up of the Divine. That’s it. This is the essence of everything. Just keep reminding yourself about this. When you realize this, all misery disappears.

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

Alas! The pigeon is stung, By the poison arrows of time; Staining red its feathersAnd her white scarf. Her smile is gone! A quiet murmur, But all is silentThe wound is deep. The Temples of God Lower their heads in prayer; In unison they sing To relieve the Fair Bird’s pain. But she smiles A pitiful smileThe deed has been done It cannot be undone.

THE ADDICT

She walked through the college campus, Lonely and disarrayedThe knowing faces, unknown The heat penetrating, a hush. Her thighs clad in denims A cotton shirt hung loose In her pocket, a ballpointA gift of love. Her eyes sought the only ‘one’ Her face burned through In her hands, she held One a poppy, one a lily. Her vision blurredShe stretched her hands To touch the little girl In a pink pinafore! To give her the lilyAlas! A gargantuan darkness The lily fell, to be crushed By the sands of time.

tinat ATIFA MASOOD

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Is the Centre’s move of allowing Hindu refugees to stay on in the country justified? An official notification, issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said the Central Government has decided, on humanitarian considerations, to exempt Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals belonging to minority communities, who have entered India on or before December 31, 2014 from the relevant provisions of rules and order made under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Foreigners Act, 1946, in respect of their entry and stay in India, without such documents or after the expiry of those documents, as the case may be. There are many sections who are against the move and others who are backing it. G Plus takes the view of some Guwahatians regarding this.

ranting citizenship based on one’s faith is a dangerous precedent. Citizenship and Nationalism are two diverse things. Just because one practices a faith does not automatically imply loyalty, political and social affiliation to that particular country. When a person is born, or has been raised in a particular national structure, he gets socialised and nationalised in that country, respecting its constitution, laws and cultural norms. Many eminent persons have been granted honorary citizenships in recognition of their endeavours of excellence in their respective domains, but never ever on religious basis. History is witness to many such failed attempts like Hitler’s dangerous experiment to create a pure Aryan state which yielded a world war, genocide of Jews and the present day stalemate between Israel and Palestine to create a Jew state. These are all shameful examples in the history of mankind and India repeating these mistakes is quite reprehensible. It’s nothing but creating a perfect platform for religious fanaticism to take over rationalism.

Noorie Hussain

t is not acceptable. The political parties are trying to take it up as major issue for the upcoming elections. Assam and its people have been providing illegal Bangladeshis refuge for many years now. The major threat is that this may change the cultural, political and demographic scenario of Assam. This is the time when the people of Assam should wake up and oppose the Centre’s decision of accepting the Hindu Bangladeshis in the state/country. This will damage the religious equilibrium of the state.

Firstly let me proceed with my points in my desired direction. Partition of India on the basis of religion (Hindus and Muslims) was shrouded by the laxity of Jawahar Lal Nehru and Mahatma. Because of this, the real objective was not achieved .Nehru most of the time played into the hands of the British and the British never solved the problems of the Indian sub continent. A slogan of Secularism arose due to the fact that the Congress could not do without the votes of the Muslims that were referred to as minority community. But East and West Pakistan were not secular and were Muslim countries. And in these two countries as the statistics would suggest, the number of Hindus got reduced to a negligible percentage and much less than that of 1947. Either they were converted or they were killed. Even after creation of Bangladesh, the diminishing trend continues. On the other hand in India the completely opposite has happened (increase in the number of Muslims). Now, the Hindus who fled or managed to save themselves from atrocities and harassment of the countrymen and managed to enter India, will it not be the responsibility of the present leaders to accept them? They were the victims of indecision or casual attitude of the past leaders of this country. In other words their sufferings were caused by the Congress government that took over from the British. They are our people. If the partition policy was followed properly they would be in our country. But one point must be raised in this context. The Nehru regime wanted to and managed to dump East Pakistan infiltrators in Assam to meet the vote requirement. They forced Assam to take the load of all the Hindu refugees will be repeating Nehruvian autocracy. India as a whole will have to share the population .Or else there will be discontentment and uncalled for situation of mistrust between the people of Assam and those from the rest of the state

Mrinalesh Choudhury

t is not justified, and neither will it be accepted by the people of Assam nor by the rest of India. It is an unconstitutional step taken by the Centre. It is shameful that the Government. is going to sell the entire nation for its political interest. The Land Of Assam is not a ground for experiments.

Ritesh Jaiswal

Xabilash Limbu Maitu

Bhaskar Phukan here is already an influx of so many Bangladeshi people in Assam, let the influx continue. After NRC illegal Bangladeshi will be deported and replaced by Hindu Bangladeshi

Meet Meet

In Focus

Barsha Adtya Singh Fashion Designer

micro-biologist by qualification but a fashion designer by profession, Barsha Adtya Singh has made a mark in the fashion scenario of the city. Born in Jorhat on the 19th of June 1980, Barsha spent her childhood in various parts of Assam. She completed her schooling from Nagaon and went to Bangalore for further studies. Barsha then attained a bachelor’s degree in micro biology from Bangalore University. It was while pursuing her masters’ in micro biology when Barsha discovered her calling in fashion designing following which she enrolled herself in the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Bangalore. After pursuing Advanced Diploma in Fashion Designing in the year 2004, Barsha then went on to join the Vogue Institute of Fashion Technology. “The transition from a microbiologist was not very sudden as the seed was laid during my childhood itself. My mother used to make the dresses for all us sisters with different fabrics which also tempted me on trying my hand at designing and experimenting with bits and pieces which helped me to operate the sewing machine at a very tender age. My interest with arts also played a major part in boosting the desire to choose this particular career,” said Barsha. “It was more of a family’s desire for me to pursue a scholastic career but it was after enrolling for masters’ degree that I realised my aspiration for developing a career in fashion designing”, Barsha added. Barsha shifted to Guwahati in the year 2006 after her marriage and subsequently went on to work with renowned

fashion designer Dipankar Kashyap and participated in several shows. However, in the year 2007, Barsha had to be involved in her husband’s business and till 2013, had worked as a centre director at Jet Wings, Guwahati. Nevertheless, she drifted back into the career she had left. “It was a rather funny incident that took place during a business conference held in Delhi in 2013. My husband noticed me making sketches which made him realise that I should revive with my career”, Barsha asserted. Since then Barsha has never looked back and over the years did several shows and designed dresses for known faces such as Nishita Goswami, Ravi Sharma, Angarag Papon Mahanta among several others and also designed attires for Neha Dhupia. A milestone of her work came on the 12th of March, 2014 in the form of Vasundhara, a boutique showcasing Barsha’s designs located on the Mother Teresa Road. However, Barsha believes that a lot has to be done in the years to come. She also expressed her desire to be a part of national fashion weeks of prominent brands such as Wills and Lakme. “The fashion scenario of not just Guwahati but of entire north east has developed a lot over the years but in the meantime it also needs a lot of upgradation. People of the region have become fashionably aware but the designers have to get buyers through their shows. This is lacking in the fashion scenario here,” asserted Barsha. Currently Barsha is gearing up to present her collection in the Northeast festival, Delhi to be held in October 2016 and Bangalore fashion week which is to be held in March next year.

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Health

Bypass Surgery of Heart Bypassing trouble

oronary heart disease is the heart disease when coronary arteries (blood vessel which carries pure or oxygenated blood to heart muscles) become blocked with fat and calcium deposits known as “plaques”. The blood supply is thus compromised to the muscles of the heart causing symptoms like chest pain and breathlessness. Left untreated, it can lead to heart attack or heart failure. One of the most popular and important lifesaving treatment for coronary heart disease is bypass surgery. This is the commonest kind of heart surgery performed world-wide. It is done when medications have failed to relieve the symptoms and there are multiple blockages in more than one artery and angioplasty is not a good option.

What is bypass surgery of the heart? Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG), or bypass surgery, is a surgical operation in which the heart surgeon uses a section of vein, usually from the patient’s leg or an artery from inside the patient’s chest, to create a new route for oxygen-rich blood to reach the heart muscle.

Why does someone need Bypass Surgery? A person needs bypass surgery because one or more of his coronary arteries has become too narrow or blocked and enough blood cannot reach the heart muscle. Bypass surgery improves the blood flow to the heart with a new route or “bypass” around a section of clogged or diseased artery. Bypass surgery is one the most suitable forms of treatment to improve blood flow to the heart muscle and reduce the risk of further heart problems.

tips for a

healthier heart

to more towards the chest side and has become shrunken. After the bypasses are complete, the patient is withdrawn from the heart-lung machine if the machine was used. A wire suture is used to close up the breast bone, and sutures or clips are used to close up the chest and leg wounds. The procedure can take from 2 to 6 hours, depending on the number of bypasses needed.

How many days patient has to stay in hospital?

What are the benefits of bypass surgery? The results of bypass surgery usually are excellent. Bypass surgery will improve blood flow to the heart muscle and reduce the symptoms of heart disease, such as chest pain and breathlessness. In time, the person may feel healthier and active than he was before the surgery. The risk of further heart problems will also be reduced to a great extent. The surgery improves long-term survival of patients especially those who are suffering from low heart muscle pump function. It improves the pumping action of the heart if it has been damaged by a heart attack in the past. It also improves the quality of life and allows a more active lifestyle.

How bypass surgery is done? One end of the vein or artery is connected to the coronary artery that is blocked or narrowed beyond the blockage or narrowed area. A long piece of vein from the leg (the saphenous vein) may be removed for

Quit smoking now Twelve months after quitting, your increased risk of dying from heart disease will be half that of a continuing smoker.

the graft. The surgeon may choose to use an artery from the inside of the chest wall (the internal mammary artery) instead. Or the surgeon may use both for grafts. The other end of the vein is connected to the aorta, the main blood vessel through which the heart pumps out the blood to all parts of the body. By creating this new conduit for blood flow to the heart muscle, the graft is said to “bypass” the narrowed or blocked section of the coronary artery in question. Depending on the number and location of blockages, bypasses are performed. Unlike other kinds of heart surgery, the chambers of the heart are not opened during bypass surgery. Sometimes a heart-lung machine is used to circulate and oxygenate the blood while the surgeon works on the beating heart. Now-a-days, the usage of the heart lung machine is not necessary and bypasses can be performed even on a beating heart by a skilful surgeon. The heart is usually accessed by dividing the patient’s breast bone with a 10-12” long incision on the patient’s chest. But, with the coming of age of the minimal invasive cardiac surgery, the length and the approach of the incision has been changed

Improve your diet

Exercise regularly

Include wholegrain cereals, legumes, fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts in your diet and lower your risk of heart disease.

Walk briskly for 30 minutes a day and reduce your risk of heart attack by one third.

Limit your alcohol It is recommended you limit yourself to no more than two standard glasses of alcohol a day if you are a man, or one glass a day if you are a woman.

A patient who undergoes bypass surgery usually stays in the ICU for approximately 2 days, with a total hospital stay of 6-7 days. One can resume a normal routine on the second day, including eating regular food, sitting up, and walking around a bit. Full recovery from coronary artery bypass graft surgery takes about 3 to 4 weeks.

What is “Beating Heart Technique” in bypass surgery?

When heart bypass surgery was introduced in the 1980s, bypass surgery was done by stopping the heart and transferring the heart functions to a machine called “Heart Lung Machine”. After the heart bypass surgery is completed, the heart is reactivated and the heart functions are shifted back from the “Heart Lung Machine” to the original human heart. In the late 1990s a new technique was developed in USA and later it was widely adopted in India and other countries. It is commonly known as “Beating Heart Technique”. In this technique, the portion of the heart where bypass needs to be done is slowed down by a special equipment known as ‘Heart Stabiliser’. The surgeon then performs the bypass with the heart beating very slowly. After the bypass, the stabiliser is withdrawn and the portion of the heart which was slowed

Maintain your friendships People with supportive friendship networks are at less risk of heart disease.

Avoid salty and high sodium foods Don’t add salt when preparing or eating your meals.

Eat more fish Oily fish like tuna, sardines or salmon are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and will boost your good cholesterol.

down then starts beating normally. There are tremendous advantages of “beating heart technique” in terms of faster recovery, lower risks and so on. However, the Heart Lung Machine is still kept as a stand-by during all heart bypass surgeries even when beating heart technique is used, so that the surgeon can go back to the conventional technique, if so demanded.

What is Minimally Invasive Bypass Surgery?

Minimally invasive bypass surgery is done through smaller incisions. Some patients can even leave the hospital within 48 hours. This operation is only used for patients whose blockages can be bypassed through this smaller incision and whose risk of complications is low. Heart bypass is a critical surgery that requires state of the art infrastructure and highly skilled heart surgeons, both of which are available in Guwahati. The cost of heart bypass surgery even at best hospitals for heart bypass in Guwahati is a fraction of what it costs in the major metros. Most people remain free from any symptoms for 10-15 years after the surgery. However, it is important to note that heart bypass does not cure the underlying problem of coronary heart disease, which caused the narrowing of blood vessels. Thus some medicines to lower the cholesterol level and long term changes in lifestyle are still necessary even after the surgery. Quitting smoking, exercising, dietary changes are few of the important lifestyle factors one needs to work on to have a healthy heart.

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

Switch your chocolate choic Switch from milk chocolate to dark chocolate. When eaten in moderation, dark chocolate is good for your heart.

Have a diabetes test

Make fitness fun

Uncontrolled diabetes can damage your artery walls and contribute to heart disease.

Choose activities that combine exercise and socialising like pilates, water aerobics, dancing, cycling or yoga.

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Events

Magicians Day 2015 9

th September, 2015, The Magicians Day was celebrated at the Guwahati Town Club. It was organized by Runway Event in association with North East Magic Association as a tribute to The Late Jadu Samrat M. Hussain on his 16thDeath Anniversary. Many Magicians from different parts of the region took part in the event and made the event a grand success. The event comprised of A Magic competition ‘Battle of Magicians’, Discussion and speech of Chief Guest, VIPs and Association

Next days

members, Gala Magical Event The competition was held between Magicians from different parts of the region and the result was announced on the same day. The winner of the competition was Levis Lyngkhoi from Shillong who did a beautiful act of producing hundreds

EVENTS

SPETEMBER 12 TO SEPTEMBER 18

DATE

VENUE

EVENT

12 SEPT

RG BARUAH SPORTS COMPLEX, NEHRU STADIUM

TAEKWONDO REFREE SEMINAR

12 SEPT

DMD, 1ST FLOOR,DOLEY HIP HOP NIGHT FEAT. DJ KAVE COMPLEX, SIX MILE AND DJ ESPY

12 SEPT

TERRAMAYAA

DJ NITIN || HILL TOP REC || PSYCHEDELIC 8:00 PM

12 SEPT

TOPAZ

DJ NITE; DJ PRAVEEN ACHARY; RODNEY GORDON; ROHIT

13 SEPT

CHEERS CROSSROADS

4TH ELEMENT; LIVE;7:00 PM

17 SEPT

ROYAL GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

YFFP GLOBAL LECTURE; LECTURE BY SHASHI THAROOR

of playing cards and multiple billiard balls from his bare and empty hands which mesmerized the audience. Chief Guest Pulak Gogoi (An Award winning Serial and Film Maker from Assam), the VIPs: Bidyut Bhuyan (Senior Journalist), Altaf Hussain (Nephew of Late Jadu

Samrat M.Hussain and a Senior Magician), Rupah Chaliha (Senior Magician and Journalist) and the Association Members: Suresh Nawka (President) and Arup Chakrabartty (Treasurer and Vice President) attended the discussion session on the present magic scenario of Assam and how to develop and take it forward to the national level. A very senior Magician from Assam Rupah Chaliha was felicitated by the Association followed by his short performance. The main Gala Event which was started by a Kshatriya Dance which was followed by a short Fashion Show and after that magicians from all over the region and also a guest magician Sam Mazumdar from Kolkata performed. The winner was awarded by the Association. Some of the interesting highlights from the performance are: Glamorous Magic performance by Illusionist Mon, Amazing cigarette act by Rajen Barman, a really grand Magical Act by Sam Mazumdar and a combination of Unique, Spooky and Comedy Magical Act by Kunal Newar.

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Reviews

NOW SHOWING

Cast: Athiya Shetty, Sooraj Pancholi Director: Nikhil Advani

ven though the new Hero is a cutout of the 1983 classic, there are quite a lot of flaws that even contemporary times won’t forgive. For the older version of the film, it had everything going for it, the drama, the acting, the music and well for the newer one, it’s a hits and misses situation. The problem lies in the writing department and unfortunately, the film rarely gives you dialogues which could make you hoot and whistle. Unlike today’s other films which are laden with punchlines, Hero lacks them. Another problem is the shoddily written characters. While Radha is on one hand a selfie-

rom the author of the beloved New York Times bestselling book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and the creator and star of The Mindy Project comes a collection of essays that are as hilarious and insightful as they are deeply personal. In Why Not Me?, Kaling shares her ongoing journey to find contentment and excitement in her adult life, whether it’s falling in love at work, seeking new friendships in lonely places, attempting to be the first person in history to lose weight without any behavior modification whatsoever, or most important, believing that you have a place in Hollywood when you’re constantly reminded that no one looks

like you. In “How to Look Spectacular: A Starlet’s Confessions,” Kaling gives her tongue-in-cheek secrets for surefire on-camera beauty, (“Your natural hair color may be appropriate for your skin tone, but this isn’t the land of appropriate–this is Hollywood, baby. Out here, a dark-skinned woman’s traditional hair color is honey blonde.”) “Player” tells the story of Kaling being seduced and dumped by a female friend in L.A. (“I had been replaced by a younger model. And now they had matching bangs.”) In “Unlikely Leading Lady,” she muses on America’s fixation with the weight of actresses, (“Most women we see onscreen are either so thin that

clicking instagram girl, her calling ‘eating nonveg’, ‘drinking alcohol’ and using cuss words as ‘gandi baatein’ is quite shocking and unnecessary for the times we live in. Especially with the meat ban issue so sensitive at the moment, someone saying having non-veg is ‘gandi baat’ in a Bollywood film irks me too! Sooraj’s character is carved out too mancandy types and hence while you may drool over his abs and his ‘halka’ smile, he does not seem convincing enough as a goon or tapori sort of a guy, something which Jackie Shroff pulled off easily in the original. His character clearly lacks the edge in writing even

oor old Max. Seems like he can’t start the day without having the sense kicked out of his skull and being left for dead in the desert. It’s like an alarm clock for him. Only with no snooze and more boots. Warner’s tie-in, while oddly divorced from the recent movie, upholds that tradition, with Max waking up in the dust minus a car and setting out on a quest to build a new one, mainly via the medium of blowing shit up and frowning. The game’s opening introduces you to an Igor-esque mechanic called Chumbucket who builds you the bare bones of the Magnum Opus, a replacement for the movie’s iconic Intercep-

tor. It forms the backbone of the whole story as Max tries to trick it out to a level high enough for him to reach the mythical ‘Plains of Silence’, an arbitrary plot MacGuffin driving the whole thing forward. To achieve this you’re set loose in a vast, hugely populated map, pulling off missions for various minor warlords and trying to lessen the grip of the dominating Scrotus gang by destroying its bases, minefields, totem-like scarecrows and other displays of power. In terms of scale this is right up there with The Witcher 3 for having the kind of map that makes you want to switch the game off as soon as you see it - the thing’s huge, with the sort

of obscuring smatter of markers that’ll have you wiping the screen just to make sure you’re actually seeing it right. It’s this scale that’s both Mad Max’s greatest strength and, to a lesser degree, its weakness. There’s a good game here eventually, but one that takes some time to find itself. Early on it’s all a bit directionless with such an arbitrary overall objective: you’re trying to make your car better by completing missions to… um, make your car better. With such a woolly heading, the first 4-5 hours become a formless muddle among the wealth of things to do, making it easy to get lost or find yourself in trouble above your level.

Hero(H) 9.20 AM, 3.15 & 9.10 PM Welcome Back(H) 12.05 & 6.00 PM

Fun Cinemas

HUB, GS Road 9864800100, 9864800200 Hero(H) 9.30 AM, 12.05, 5.40 & 8.45 PM Welcome Back(H) 2.40 PM

u Yo LD HOU S read

Noonmati 03612656968, 9954544738

GOLD Cinema

ASTC Complex, Paltan Bazar 9854066166 Welcome Back(H) 11.30 AM & 5.30 PM Hero(H) 11.00 AM, 2.00, 5.00, 2.30, 8.00 & 8.30 PM

u Yo LD TEN SHOU LIS

o say that Iron Maiden’s The Book of Souls was ardently anticipated would be a vast understatement. Though it was (mostly) finished in 2014, vocalist Bruce Dickinson’s cancer diagnosis and treatment delayed its release until he was medically cleared. While 2006’s A Matter Of Life And Death and 2010’s The Final Frontier showcased longer songs, Book of Souls is epic by comparison. Their first double album, it’s 92 minutes

Anuradha Cinema

Welcome Back(H) 2.15 PM Hero(H) 9.30, 11.45 AM, 5.30 & 8.15 PM

Album: The Book of Souls Artist: Iron Maiden

PVR Cinemas

Dona Planet. GS Road 08800900009

they’re walking clavicles or so huge that their only scenes involve them breaking furniture.”) And in “Soup Snakes,” Kaling spills some secrets on her relationship with her ex-boyfriend and close friend, B.J. Novak (“I will freely admit: my relationship with B.J. Novak is weird as hell.”) Mindy turns the anxieties, the glamour, and the celebrations of her second coming-of-age into a laughout-loud funny collection of essays that anyone who’s ever been at a turning point in their life or career can relate to. And those who’ve never been at a turning point can skip to the parts where she talks about meeting Bradley Cooper.

ME GA VIEW RE

though Pancholi makes up with his presence. Flaws could be pinted out endlessly in the film and the writers give you many chances but it is the packaging that saves them as I could pass off a few considering its entertainment quotient every now and then. Hero is not Kal Ho Na Ho or D-Day, it is a rather faulty film made by the same director. Only half-entertaining, the film is more like a promotional video for Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty that doesn’t require a solid plot. Nonetheless, for Bollywood buffs this is a decent watch with great music and the typical ‘Hindi cinema’ storyline.

long, and three of its 11 tracks are over ten minutes. Steve Harris contributed one solo composition, and co-wrote six tracks with various bandmates. Dickinson -- for the first time since Powerslave -- wrote two solo tunes, the album’s bookends, and collaborated on two more. The music is cleanly divided between the two discs. The first is tight; it offers a bit of everything that makes Iron Maiden...well, Iron Maiden.

GOLD Cinema

Salasar Building, Lakhtokia 9854066166 Welcome Back(H) 2.30 & 8.30 PM Hero(H) 11.00, 11.30 AM, 2.00, 5.00, 5.30, & 8.00 PM

GOLD Cinema

LG Towers, Narangi 8811001898 Welcome Back(H) 2.00 PM Hero(H) 11.00 AM, 5.00, & 8.00 PM

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

WWDC 2015, W Apple drifts away from Jobs’

hile many of you already know about the unveiling of the new Apple devices at the WWDC2015, there are still many who are unaware of the revolution that Apple is hoping to bring about. This WWDC (Apple Worldwide Developers Conference) saw the unveiling of the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S plus, iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil among other things. It is no doubt that Apple smoked their competitors. But however, the WWDC sounded grandiose; using words like revolution and change and ‘like no other’, they renamed the old haptic feedback to Apple Taptic feedback and offered a dock keyboard; something Microsoft Surface did a long time back. It sounded lot like a rebranding conference. They had to throw out the old ideals that Steve Jobs’ Apple had set. It’s best not to comment on whether Apple is going in the right direction or not, but it was Jobs himself who said, “If you see a stylus, they blew it”. Prov-

THE BEARDED GENTLEMEN

Lifestyle ing him wrong is going to be a hard task though. But, Apple has once again delivered excellence by offering forcetouch and renaming it as 3D touch. This nifty little design basically senses the pressure you are putting on the screen. Each level of pressure has a different action. A Tap, a press and a pop, hence 3D touch. This feature is however only available on the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6 Plus. 4K videos, a 12MP iSight camera and iOS 9 out of the box were the additions to its arsenal. Physically, it still looks like the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. But what left me gawking is the iPad pro. Apple stunned everyone by bringing a Microsoft executive to comment on the new iPad. Apple has introduced MS Office to their device which was probably a welcome move. In less than 3 minutes, the designer made a sweet little presentation using seamless multitasking and multiwindows. The device is powered by the latest A9X

processor which has almost double the performance of its predecessor in terms of speed and graphics. To add icing to the cake, they introduced a $99 Apple Pencil which is amazing for artistic work and editing documents on the go. But a detailed analysis and its worth will only be determined after its proper influx into the market. Also, the iPad Pro has a $169 Smart Keyboard accessory to give you the feel of a physical keyboard and it supposedly makes typing easier. Yeah, we’ll see... All in all, Apple was almost a couple of months behind on the force touch feature, and beaten by Huawei. But Apple, known for being better than the rest probably has more tricks lined up its sleeve than just weighing oranges. The iPad definitely is better for work now that MS office and Adobe were integrated. Yes, Adobe too! Is it worth it? Just buy one this November and let us know!

sidharth.bedivarma@g-plus.in

SHAVING TIPS

ith winter fast approaching, clean skin is going to go out of style and No-Shave-November is going to be hashtagged with all the selfies regardless of people knowing its relevance. Beards are about to get really popular, really soon. Unfortunately, one question that simply does not get asked enough is ‘which type of beard would suit me best?’ Here is a small list that’s going to help you figure out your next winter scruff

Get water into that beard

Goatee and Moustache The extremely popular Walter White look of Breaking Bad fame is great for most faces. It can give a square face a nice rounded finish and tightening the beard can cut a couple of pounds from a heavy person. The growth for this is however a 2 month no-shave period. This can go wrong pretty easily if you are not careful with the stash and then the whole process starts again. Remember to keep the lip growth full. Wet shave on the cheek every 48 hours is best to keep your face looking fresh. Beard oil is great to keep your beard from flying around.

Close and clipped to the face If you are blessed with a strong, hard face and have a prominent jaw line, take that trimmer and give it a trim. A 1 mm clipping is great for such faces. This softens the face a little, and gives it a great even look. It’s quick, minimalist and gives it a nice stubble look for you to run your hand over and over again.

To get a great close shave without irritation or razor burn is to ensure your beard is wet. Facial hair absorbs a lot of moisture. Hair laden with water becomes quite soft and therefore easier to cut. It is best to Showering before shaving is a great way to ensure your beard is properly moistened. Washing your face and applying a warm moistened towel to your face for a couple of minutes is also quick and efficient. Never shave cold or apply shaving products to a dry face. This could cause razor burn and shaving rash.

Foam well before running that blade

A full beard Painter’s Brush Moustache

If you have a prominent nose, it’s great to have a painter’s moustache or a handlebar stash. This should however not be considered as a slim or a tapered design. The body of the stash will go with a bigger nose.

If you have a short face, with a pointed narrow chin, your face probably looks like a triangle. For this, a full beard is great because it gives off a rounded finish while making your face look longer. It is necessary to make sure that the beard going beyond the chin is a little rounded at the bottom and not pointed.

A quality shaving cream with high concentration of lubricants and moisturizers that creates a rich creamy lather and does not foam up like cheap local brands is a better option. The less “foaming” in the shave cream the better. The shaving cream lubricates your face so that the razor glides smoothly and also serves to lock the moisture into the whiskers, keeping them soft and upright, primed for the cut. Try keeping the shaving lather on for a minute before cutting.

Brush it up!

A shaving brush it helps raise the hair so that a closer cut is possible and it helps create a rich creamy lather with the shaving cream that stays close to the skin. Don’t forget the dead skin cells it helps to remove! Use the brush in a circular motion ending in an upward stroke to help lift the beard up and away from the face.

Change the Blades often

There are no two ways about this. A good blade means a good shave. You also scrape off about two layers of surface skin when you shave. A dull blade can do more harm than good Change the blade somewhere between every three and every ten shaves, if you shave every day. Ditch that dull blade.

Wash that razor

Rinse your blade under hot water before you begin to shave and after every few swipes. This removes the accumulated shaving cream, whiskers, and skin gunk. The use of hot water here is to help lubricate, has nothing to do with “killing bacteria.”

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Entertainment

Assamese film Kothanodi bags official selection at the 2015 London Film Festival

fter winning the prestigious Asian Cinema Fund Post Production grant and becoming an official selection for this year’s Busan International Film Festival, Assamese film Kothanodi has now bagged an official selection at the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival, 2015. The Festival – now in its 59th year – is one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious film festivals. Hailing Kothanodi as “bold and unsettling,” the London Film Festival will showcase the film as part of its ‘Dare’ category – which, as per its catalogue, is curated for “those who take their movies strong, no sugar,” with films by “cinema’s troublemakers and boundary pushers.” Kothanodi has been written and directed by Delhibased filmmaker Bhaskar Hazarika, and features adaptations of four

New Assamese Movie

MARKSHEET

DR Creations in its first venture is working on a movie titled Marksheet. The movie follows the story of a charming, playful kid Babu, who dwells in his own fantastical world much to the dislike of his father who constantly rebukes him for his academic detachment. Babu fails in his half yearly examination and is filled with horror to hand over his marksheet to his dad. In a bid to escape the horror of paternal confrontation he runs away and meets Azad, a poor kid who lives with his dumb uncle. Azad learns from Babu, the latter’s trials and troubles. He helps Babu escape to his grandmothers’. The film captures the culminating friendship of these two innocent kids who are mesmerised by each other’s company, as their lives change forever.

The movie is currently looking for Crowdfunding to complete the project and is targeted for a winter 2015 release. It is a non commercial endeavour and is aimed at movie festivals. ‘Marksheet’ is the first film of Ratan Sil Sarma as a director. The storyline of the film has been written by Himjyoti Talukdar who is also the founder of internationally acclaimed web project enajori. com. The man behind the camera is Dikhit Das. He has been a part of many projects, both national and international. He says, ‘We are targeting a section in the Assamese movie industry which has been neglected for a long time now. The movie will be a visual treat for the audience.’ The cast of the movie includes Aditya Malla Buzarbaru, Abhijit Choudhury, Pranami Bora, Jintu Kalita, Dibyajyoti Saikia.

stories from Laxminath Bezbaroa’s ‘BuriAi’rXadhu’ (Grandma’s Tales). The film stars a host of stalwart actors, including Seema Biswas in her first major role in an Assamese film, Adil Hussain, Zerifa Wahid, Kopil Bora, Urmila Mahanta and Asha Bordoloi. The film has been partly crowdfunded, and was the first Assamese film to receive support from the Asian Cinema Fund, South Korea, which included post-production in Korean studios. Kothanodi will have its world premiere in October, 2015, as an official selection in Asia’s biggest film festival – the Busan International Film Festival, Korea. The film’s screening at the London Film Festival later that same month will mark its European premiere. While the film will no doubt be watched by many among the large Assamese community in England, audiences in Assam will have to wait a little longer for the film to hit the screens, as no India release plans have been shared yet.

Music album and website launched in city

ndia’s #1 music portal “Anylouder” and the much awaited album “Your eyes” by Nibir bhuyan were launched in a gala event on the 8th of September, 2015 at Terra Mayaa. The event was graced by many dignitaries and some of the most well known and veteran musicians of the city. The event kicked off with a soothing performance by Yashira who sang a Shakira number and was followed by Arindam Sikdar who belted out some classic rock numbers. Later in the evening, Anylouder was officially launched with the promotional video being exclusively screened which received a great applause by the audience present there. The launch was followed by the exclusive screening of Nibir Bhuyan’s video “Your eyes” which was cheered and applauded by the people. Nabajit Sharma then performed a couple on numbers and kept the audience pepped up. Then Nibir Bhuyan took stage and

performed “Your eyes”. He performed “Drive” by The Cars and “Layla” by Eric Clapton. After Nibir Bhuyan’s album was unveiled, dignitaries like Manoja (Director, Lamp Genie), Suman Kalyan Dutta (Moonwind/SKD), Radha Barooah Panesar(Album producer) and Mrinmoyee Goswami (Founder, Mo and the Shooting Stars) took stage to officially launch the album. It was followed by performances of Metafor performing a Bryan Adams number followed by some Hindi numbers and rounded off with a tribute to Dr. Bhupen Hazarika. The highlight of the show was when D’com Bhuyan asked veteran musician Suman Kalyan Dutta to take stage with Nibir bhuyan, David Goldsmith and Kundal Goswami for an impromptu jam. Suman sang ‘Summer of 69’ and took everyone down the memory lane when Moonwind ruled the roost. It was followed by David and Kundal doing ’Here

I go again’ and was finished off by Kundal performing a CCR number. Nasim Raj performed some soothing Sufi numbers which calmed the evening. The last performance of the day saw Anylouder’s founder and Cocky Magpie’s vocalist Ashiqur Rohman perform with his bandmate Rakesh Singha, belting out “Wonderwall” by Oasis and “Runaway Train” by Soul Asylum. The event also marked the official beginning of the Event Management Group and Production House “Lamp Genie” which would also manage every event and production work of Anylouder. Lamp Genie is managed by three young entreprenuers Manoja, Ashiqur and Rajiv. The event was made possible by Anuraag Singh and Juhie Singh, owner of Terra Mayaa who helped the Anylouder and Lamp Genie team in organizing the event at Terra Mayaa.

G PLUS SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Horoscope Aries You may notice the tension developing as the week gathers pace, particularly as there’s a Solar Eclipse in your work and lifestyle sector on Sunday. You may be pushed by events to make one or two key changes to your routines, plans and goals, and perhaps job. However, it also offers the chance for a fresh new start, which could take you into new and exciting territory. Where diet and health are concerned, it might be time to make positive changes.

Home affairs take the lead, with plenty of opportunities for expansion, entertaining, and making family life exactly what you want it to be. Even so, this week’s Solar Eclipse could coincide with a big decision. If it’s something you’ve been considering for a while, this Eclipse might push you to take action sooner rather than later. However, go easy on the weekend and for a few days after.

An intuitive hunch could see you taking swift action concerning a home or related family matter. Fresh insights could provide you with a new perspective that enables you to efficiently resolve a tricky issue. There’s also a lot going on in your zone of creativity, romance, and fun. This week’s Solar Eclipse could encourage a budding romance to become more lively and passionate. Don’t rush, however, as you’ll benefit from getting to know this person better first.

Money matters look buoyant and can remain so if you’re willing to plan for your success. Toward that end, the Solar Eclipse that’s building this week can encourage you to venture outside your comfort zone. You don’t have to do so all at once - baby steps are fine! You might even discover that someone will pay you for a skill that you haven’t really appreciated.

There’s a chance of a small windfall early this week, which could put a smile on your face. Or an opportunity to increase your income could give you a pleasant boost. A lively Solar Eclipse may also encourage you to become more efficient with such things as time management and everyday administrative tasks. You may become a lot more productive if you implement new strategies.

Virgo Mark this week down as a potential game changer, as the developing Solar Eclipse might encourage you to make a key decision. You may find information that puts a new spin on things, and you might want to take advantage of an associated opportunity. This could be an exciting time when you’ll venture into new territory and begin to see possibilities you haven’t considered before.

Scorpio

Libra

Your social life sparkles, and this week is no exception. With Mars continuing its lively pace, this is the perfect time to explore new venues, date, join clubs, and network. There’s also a Solar Eclipse in your spiritual sector that might encourage you to take up certain spiritual disciplines. If you’ve been busy and feeling somewhat stressed, you may find that doing so brings you greater peace of mind in the long term.

Social trends look particularly buoyant, with opportunities to mix with people who can expand your social horizons. This week you might take a big step forward as the Solar Eclipse in Virgo pushes you to be more adventurous. There’s also the chance of an encounter that sets you thinking of new possibilities you hadn’t considered before. This Eclipse might see you taking a bold step in an extremely promising direction.

Capricorn

Sagittarius If you’ve been hoping for some kind of a breakthrough, this week could start the process. Maybe it’s an inspiration or someone you meet that sets you thinking, or perhaps you spot an opportunity that seems too good to be true. Whatever shows up will certainly be worth investigating. Watch out for coincidences or synchronicities that seem to point in a particular direction.

Keep an open mind this week and don’t limit yourself to the tried and trusted. Where your job and career are concerned, a conversation could reveal options that may seem outlandish. However, if this person can also provide proof, then you might be persuaded. The Solar Eclipse on Sunday encourages you to actively study and acquire knowledge in key areas.

Pisces

Aquarius

Sudoku

This can be an exciting week in which a conversation or encounter has a profound effect on you. A positive alignment in your relationship sector suggests that the people you connect with have the potential to change your life in one way or another. This week’s Solar Eclipse hints that someone could take you under their wing or may even want to date you.

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 03612541202/01 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 1800-345-0022 (Toll Free) GNRC Ambulance 1800-345-0011 (Toll Free)

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

GMC helpline number for garbage collection

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

Vigilance and anti corruption toll free number

8811007000

1800-345-3767 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

Shared finances and business affairs are looking a whole lot livelier since Jupiter entered Virgo. This week there could be even more positive changes afoot as the Solar Eclipse sets you wondering about the future and tantalizing thoughts of success. Toward that end, you may be motivated to look around for opportunities that could be big earners. It also pays to have a sound business plan before you make a move.

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 SEP 12- SEP 18, 2015

Catching Up Most shared story of the week In a particularly uneventful week, a post about GMC lodging FIRs against 2 Guwahatians for littering the street received maximum attention. The post was viewed by over 19,000 people, shared 63 times, liked 339 times and received almost 50 comments. The same post on our Twitter handle also received a lot of attention.

facebook.com/guwahatiplus twitter.com/guwahatiplus

Guwahati

GYAN

Did you know?

Silpukhuri

New

Chic

on the block

Juthika Bhuyan About Me

Hi, this is Juthika Bhuyan. I’m a fun loving simple girl with a bright mind. I hail from the small town Dhekiajuli, presently pursuing M.A. in mass communication and journalism from G.U. I love modelling, and it’s sort of becoming a passion for me now. I’ve started modelling professionally now and I don’t want to look back. I have been involved in many ramp shows like “North East India Fashion Week Itanagar edition 2015”, “BLITZKRIEG 2014”, “Walking Tall” etc. My work has been published in many magazines and I’ve been featured in many magazine covers. I also made a small appearance in “Beharbari Out Post” for the TV channel Rengoni. My achievements are my own and I am proud of it.

Mojo

here is hardly any Guwahatian worth his salt who has not heard of the Silpukhuri – the waterbody as well as the area. Although, it is one of the most well-known places of the city, very few people know about its history. In 1753 AD Ahom King Rajesvar Singh who built the Nabagraha Temple also excavated a tank at a little distance away from the temple so that the devotees might have an easy way and perennial supply of water. The tank named as Silpukhuri continues to be filled of wa-

ter as it was when it was first excavated. However, over the years the tank has turned into a landmark rather than a source of water and hence the entire area is named after the water body. In a recent beautification project the water body underwent a makeover after the GMDA sanctioned Rs 27 lakh in the year 2006 to develop and beautify the tank. As per the plan, Silpkhuri now has a children’s park, concrete pathways, sheds for visitors and a garden and was reopened for Guwahatians in the year 2010.

With no questions here, my parents are my strength and without their support, I would be nowhere. My friends have always been a great source of inspiration too and with the career path I have chosen, I need people to inspire me and give me confidence.

Route in the Woods

I haven’t thought too much about the future. I’d rather think and live in the present. Making my present better will definitely make my future great. I however, will be doing some music videos in the near future and some more fashion shows. Stay tuned Guwahati!

WHAT DID I JUST HEAR?

fter Rakhi Sawant claimed that Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is her very good friend, Assam CM laughed it out and denied this. He said, “I have heard that Rakhi is saying all these. But I do not remember whether I have met her or not. Maybe I have met her once, but where and when I forgot. If everyone starts claiming like that I will be good friend of many. I have also told my wife that I do not know Rakhi Sawant well and that I have not met her on many occasions as she said. So I do not think that should be a problem between her and me.”

Ka m u r of the week

s the authorities clamp down on errant city buses and trekkers for violating norms and not following the safety standards, the various associations of which these vehicles are a part have decided to call for bands and strikes. It is a wonder how they rule the roost over public convenience.

PIC OF THE Adda over a cuppa. 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