G Plus Volume 2 Issue10 by G Plus

Little Manipur IN GUWAHATI Sangai Manipuri Rice Hotel

FC Guwahati PG 18

into the fray

PG 12

KEITY PRICE

Living in a haunted house

Continued on PG 24

VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 10 DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

PRICE `10

Is there an GANESH

‘Uber’ in the city?

The recent Uber cab rape incident has raised concerns about how safe the taxi services are in the country. G Plus checks out the taxi services in Guwahati and the safety measures in place. Continued on Page 02

WARD WATCH

NAGAR PG 15

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Lead

Is there an

‘Uber’ in the city?

Mrinmoyee Hazarika

part from politics, the most talked about topic among the groups of conscious public is the case of alleged rape by the driver of an international taxi service provider ‘Uber’ in the national capital of Delhi. This comes almost around the anniversary of the terrible case of Delhi gang rape where a medical student was raped and brutally murdered by a group of four. Both the incidents have created waves of panic and fury across the country and the same feelings triggered among the people living in this part of the country too. The recent incident that happened in Delhi has again compelled the people to think about the issue of women’s safety and security, especially at a time when the ‘radio taxi’ industry as well as private taxi industry is starting to boom in the region in general and Guwahati in particular.

The scene

The city of Guwahati witnessed its first ‘radio taxi service’ in the year 2009. The Regional Transport Authority (RTA), Kamrup (M) had introduced a scheme called ‘City Motor Cab’ for providing taxi service to the locals of Guwahati, under which private individuals could run their vehicles. At present ‘My Taxi’ is plying under this scheme. “At present, we have around 80 cars plying within the city. All cars are enabled with GPS tracking system, with the help of which we can constantly monitor the movement of the cars. Fare meters have been installed in every car and passengers have to pay the fare according to the distance travelled by them,” Arunabh S Pathak, proprietor of My Taxi told G Plus. Regarding the safety and security scenario of the passenger, which becomes more relevant after the ‘Uber cab’ incident in Delhi, Pathak told, “Our system of operation is totally different from them. Uber operates through a mobile app only and their office is based outside the country, whereas, we have a locally controlled system. Besides, we recruit the drivers only on reference basis who should have the minimum qualification of 10th passed. Apart from following other necessary norms before recruiting the drivers, we have a satellite operated system called ‘geofencing’, with the help of which the movement of the cars can be stopped automatically if they cross their predefined territory.” Another radio taxi service provider of the city, Prime Cabs, which started operating in the city in 2012, too has the system of ‘geo fencing’ in order to ensure safety and security to the passengers.

Radio taxi services under DTO, Kamrup (M)

My taxi, Mini taxi, Green cabs

Radio taxi services under the office of Transport Commissioner

Prime cabs

Requirements for transport vehicle license holders under MV act, 1988

• Minimum qualification of class 8th pass • Must have at least 1 year of experience as private license holder • Police verification • Pass certificate from authorised driving training institutes • Minimum 20 years of age etc Requirements for ‘Radio taxi service’

• Minimum numbers of vehicles should be there under the possession of a single service provider • There should be a notified stand for the taxis • GPS enabled “Apart from installing GPS in every car, we have the system of ‘geo fencing’. Moreover, police verification of the drivers are done by us before their recruitment and ID cards have been issued to them which they have to wear while on duty. There is a ‘panic button’ installed inside every vehicle, so that the passengers can alarm us in case they face any kind harassment from the drivers,” Pallav Bagaria, CEO, Prime Cabs told G Plus. Moreover, other two radio taxi service providers in the city, ‘Green cabs’ and ‘Mini taxi’ too have panic buttons installed inside their vehicles.

Other private taxi service providers like Pristine cabs and Cherry cabs too have claimed to following all the necessary and modern technology while ensuring safety and security to their passengers.

Alarms ringing

Interestingly, the city which has recently seen a growing number of radio taxi and numerous other cab services, the concerned authority is yet to devise specific guidelines for the private taxi service providers. “Unlike radio taxi service, we do not have specific guidelines exclusively

for commercial or transport taxi service providers. We simply follow the norms mentioned in the Motor Vehicles act, 1988 while providing license to the commercial or transport vehicles, which might be a taxi service or bus service,” an official at the DTO, Kamrup (M) said. According to the officials of DTO, Kamrup (M), permits for ‘radio taxi’ service have been issued to three providers – Green cabs, Mini taxi and City motor cab (My taxi) for plying their vehicles within the city only, by the same office. Apart from those three services,

the office of the Commissioner of Transport has issued permit to ‘Prime cabs’ under the caption of ‘Radio taxi service’ for plying their vehicles within the city. The office does not have any record of issuing permits of radio ‘taxi service’ to any other taxi service provider of the city nor do they have any information on the number of ‘self-proclaimed radio taxi service’ providers. In this regard, a source at the office of the Commissioner of Transport said, “We have the record of issuing permit of ‘radio taxi service’ in Guwahati to Prime cabs only and it took a year before issuing the permit to them (Prime cabs). We also provide permit to transport or commercial vehicles for running in minimum of three states. But we do not have any record or data if those transport vehicle permit holders are plying their vehicles under the caption of ‘radio taxi’. Issuing permit to both radio taxi service and other transport vehicles are two different things.” Though, the government records tell a different story altogether, the officials in both the office of Transport Commissioner and DTO, Kamrup (M) are aware of numerous taxi services plying in the city. “While issuing driving license, we conduct police verification of the concerned persons and follow other necessary norms. Apart from the basic traffic violation rules, so far we have not come across any major violation by the radio taxi drivers or other private transport drivers in the city. Besides, so far, we have not carried out any specific drives against such taxi services,” both officials of DTO, Kamrup (M) and city traffic police said. Meanwhile, in order to ensure safety for the women commuters in the city, few months back, the administration introduced a city bus service exclusively for women. But due to various reasons, the service is not functioning properly. Apart from that, a few days back, the Regional Transport Authority, Kamrup (M) issued a notice directing all the commercial vehicles including the school buses plying in the city to install GPS. But due to the emergence of clashes between some sections, the implementation of the same has been postponed. Now, the question of the hour is – will the concerned authorities pay attention in formulating plans for various private taxi services in the city, the proper documentation of which has not been done yet. Or will they wait until something like the ‘Uber’ incident happens here? mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

In The News

CITY HOTELS & RESTAURANTS

FLOUTING FOOD SAFETY NORMS Mrinmoyee Hazarika

nyone who visits the local vegetable and food market late in the evenings or during the time of closure of the market, would see piles of unsold vegetables lying scattered on the ground. The volume of the piles vary from time to time – sometime it is a lot, sometimes it is less and at other times, rotten. But, they are always there. When asked about the fate of those unsold vegetables, one of the vendors from Belotola area said, “Most of the times, we do not have to throw the unsold vegetables away because the hotel and restaurant staff buy it from us in bulk. We do not know the names and addresses of those hotels and restaurants. But, we heard them saying that they buy it for hotels and restaurants.” Now, any modern, health conscious citizen would be shocked to hear such a piece of information. However, the concerned officials do not have any such knowledge nor do they keep records of such acts. Although, the officials of the health and family welfare department, responsible for checking the quality norms of various food items confirm that various reputed and big hotel groups including restaurants in the city are serving sub-standard or unsafe food to their customers. “A Few years back, during our routine drive, we found out that various reputed hotels, even some of the three star rated ones located in the city were serving sub-standard food. We have served notices to those hotels and have ordered them to improve their food quality,” highly placed sources at the department of health and family welfare, on condition of anonymity told G Plus. The source also mentioned that the concerned department had found sub-standard or low quality food sold by a reputed sweet shop in the city during one of its routine drives carried out before Durga Puja this year. “One case has been detected against a reputed sweet shop for selling substandard food in the city. Since the matter is subjudice now, I cannot mention the name of the sweet shop. But, we will definitely keep an eye on such defaulters,” the source stated. In the last four years, more than 100 cases have been detected regarding the sale of sub-standard or unsafe food in the city. Till date, starting from January this year, the Health and Family Welfare Department,

Kamrup (M) has detected thirty cases under Food safety and standards act, 2006 for selling sub-standard and unsafe foods. “We have also detected unhygienic maintenance in various hotels located at Paltan Bazar including “Maa Kali”. Besides, brands like ‘Annapurna’ are found to be selling substandard food and we have already filed cases against all of them,” the source mentioned. Moreover, the concerned department has so far filed cases against packaged drinking water units, milk and milk products, fruits and vegetables ripened with the help of carbide and other food items including edible oil, jam, jelly, mango juice for ‘misbranding’ or low quality. “This year, we have imposed fine of Rs 70,000 on four mustard oil farms – BR oil industries (Dophool brand), Sreenathji edible oil product (Tractor brand), Baibhav oil mills (Jayka brand) and Sree Saurav agro tech private limited for selling low quality food items. All these farms are from Maurana distrct and they have stopped sending their products into the state,” the sources said. The department, which also checks the quality of all kinds of liquors, is now planning to give di-

“We have also detected unhygienic maintenance in various hotels located at Paltan Bazar including “Maa Kali”. Besides, brands like ‘Annapurna’ are found to be selling substandard food and we have already filed cases against all of them,”

rectives to the meat sellers in the city regarding food safety. Besides, since 2013, the Health and Family Welfare Department, Kamrup (M) has completed registration of 240 food business establishments and registered licensing of 1240 food business establishments. Meanwhile, right after the department of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) found unsafe food samples in some KFC outlets located in Delhi, the Food safety officials here too had

carried out raids in the KFC outlets situated in the city. The food samples taken during the raid carried out last Saturday have been sent for the necessary test, the result of which would be out in the next week. “During our raid on the KFC outlets, located in the city, we have found that the maintenance of the restaurant is good. Also, the handling of the food products is hygienic. But, the quality of food can be determined only after the testing of samples, which we have already

sent to the laboratory. At present, we have carried out food safety drives at around 20 restaurants located at Paltan Bazaar, out of which food samples at three restaurants (Victoria hotel, Saakshi and Jadab dairy) have been sent for testing. Most of the restaurants located in that area are found to be unhygienic,” one of the officials, Health and Family Welfare Department, Kamrup (M) who was a part of the raid said. mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

In The News

POLLUTION CERTIFICATE MADE MANDATORY FOR VEHICLES Mrinmoyee Hazarika

Authorised pollution testing stations in Guwahati 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

he department of transport seems to be waking up to the call of the Central government, which has asked the former to prepare an action plan on prevention of vehicular pollution in view of climate change. In a letter issued by the office of the Commissioner of transport, on 29th November of the current year, it was stated that it had constituted a sevenmember team for conducting special drives in order to activate and streamline the functioning of Auto Emission Testing Stations or popularly known as pollution testing stations in Guwahati under a special pilot project. In the first phase, the team would be conducting special drives for a period of not less than fifteen days and following the order the DTO, Kamrup (M) had started the drive at different localities of the city from last Wednesday. “Following the directive of Transport department, we have initiated a special drive in the city in order to streamline the functioning of Auto Emission Testing Stations. As part of it, from now onwards, we will be strictly checking whether the drivers of all kinds of vehicles, one year old from the date of first registration, are carrying a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) or not,” said Gautam Das, DTO (Registration and licensing), Kamrup (M). Expressing the importance of testing the level of emission by the vehicles, General Secretary, Greater Guwahati Auto Emission Testing Stations Association, Mantu Duarah told G Plus, “For long, we have been demanding the gov-

Pathar Kowari, Narengi Guwahati club (near TC school) Amingaon (near DT office) Near Down town hospital Beltola Tiniali (near Sankardev Netralaya) 6. Rani Gate, Azara 7. Adabari, (Jyoti AETS), near bus stand 8. Santipur, near bus stand 9. Lalung Gaon, Lokhra (opposite National Public School) 10. In front of DT Office, Betkuchi 11. Lakhra, Lalganesh Road (Noonmati) 12. Basistha Chariali (Bazangbali, near petrol pump) 13. Cycle Factory (near Khabar press) 14. VIP Road, Six mile 15. Hatigaon, (near Uttam Bibah Bhawan) 16. Zoo Tiniali (near Tanz Super Market) 17. Bamuni Maidam (near SBI)

Not having a valid PUCC is a punishable offence according to the norms of Motor Vehicle act, 1988 and non-production of PUCC can lead upto a penalty of `2000.

Status of PUCC checking of vehicles till 8th August, 2014 District

Total vehicles

Transport

Kamrup Nagaon Jorhat and Golaghat Dibrugarh Dhubri Sibsagar

7 lacs 1.5lacs 3 lacs 3 lacs 60,000 4.5 lacs

1.3 lacs 15% 15% 15% 8% 15%

ernment to make having a valid PUCC compulsory for all the vehicle owners of the city. Not having a valid PUCC is a punishable offence according to the norms of Motor Vehicle act, 1988 and non-production of PUCC can lead upto a penalty of `2000. But, due to some unknown reasons, the concerned authorities neglected examining the same during their routine checks. Though the authorities sometimes ask for a PUCC from the commercial

Non transport vehicles 5.7 lacs 85% 85% 85% 92% 85%

vehicles, the percentage of private vehicles checked for a PUCC is very less.” He further added, “It is a good sign that the government has come forward to examine the validity of PUCC as well as imposing fine to the defaulters who do not have a PUCC. There is a need for awareness among the public in the matter of vehicular pollution, its affects on human body and health and the importance to prevent it. Earlier, the pollution testing stations located in the city received

PUCC issued in 6 months 45,000 10,000 20,000 35,000 3,000 25,000

Estimated government revenue loss in 6 months 65 lacs 14 lacs 28 lacs 26 lacs 5.7 lacs 42 lacs

20-25 customers every day. But now, after the special drive started by the authority, the stations have started receiving around 100 customers per day. Even, the mobile pollution testing vehicle has witnessed a drastic increase in customers as well.” Duara also stated that the state exchequer has been losing an estimated amount of `1.5 Cr per year in the form of fine due to non-implementation of norms of Motor Vehicle

act, 1988 which allows imposing fine on anyone who cannot produce a valid PUCC. “As per the action plan prepared for activating and streamlining the functioning of Auto Emission Testing Stations, the government is planning to open more stations at the car dealers and petrol pumps in the city,” Duara stated. mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Blueprint

KABULIWALA TO THE RESCUE! HOW LEGIT IS THE BUSINESS? money on interest and running of such businesses by any individual not registered under RBI is illegal. RBI serves for public interest and according to RBI sources, there might exist some acts or regulations under the states to govern such business.

RAHUL CHANDA

ince ages, India has had a long history of the richer sections exploiting the poorer ones by lending money under questionable terms and conditions with the latter not being able to repay the debt which in turn, keeps increasing with huge amounts of interests piled upon. With various acts and laws in place, the government somehow managed to get rid of the so-called zamindari (landlord) system from India, but there still exists ways by which many people keep accumulating extra money from people by lending. Anyone and everyone in India can lend money to help others, but if an individual or an organisation lends money and takes interest on the amount given, then it becomes a business. There are various finance companies, banks, insurance companies and others who run such businesses, but all this happens under a regulation, which is stipulated by the government. With various scams being uncovered, all finance companies need to follow various acts and need to be registered under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to conduct such business. But, there are also individual money lenders in cities like Guwahati, who are running a huge business of money lending by demanding huge interests. But is there any regulation to check and control such businesses? How does it operate? There are some commonly known lenders in the city known as the ‘Kabuliwalas,’ meaning as people from Kabul residing in Gu-

The State

According to sources in the RBI, if any company is not registered under RBI, they are not authorised to lend money and charge interest. RBI does not register or authorise any individual in any part of the country to lend money on interest.

wahati and running the business of money lending. Is the business legal? G Plus takes a look.

Legal or illegal

“I took Rs 50000 from a Kabuliwala who stays in Ulubari two years back. I have been paying Rs 5000 as interest since then and have almost paid double the money I had borrowed, but still I owe him. It was an emergency for me when I took the money, so while borrowing the money I had signed some stamp papers provided by him. Recently, I told him that since I had already paid so much, I requested him to reduce the capital

amount, which I am expected to pay, but he denied and ordered me to pay the entire amount. I am just an auto driver and paying the entire amount now is tough for me,” said a borrower who is finding it tough to repay the entire amount all at once. He further added that he is not sure if he can take legal help to get rid of this loan which he has. So now, who is legally right? According to sources in the RBI, if any company is not registered under RBI, they are not authorised to lend money and charge interest. RBI does not register or authorise any individual in any part of the country to lend money on interest. So, lending

Talking to authorities, we discovered that there is one Assam Protection of Interests of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act 2000, which was amended in 2013. According to the amended act, the Deputy Commissioner or an officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police of the Bureau of Investigation (Economic Offences) can receive complains against fraudulent companies or individuals duping people of that particular district. The amended act also makes it mandatory for financial companies or organisations to take no objection certificate (NOC) from the district administration with proper verification by the police so that they can run their service in that district. According to highly placed sources in the district administration, after the act was amended, they have received ten applications from financial companies for NOC and till date, the scrutiny is on and not even a single NOC has been provided to any financial company. The District Administration as well as the Bureau of Economic Offences (BEO) officials said that they are not aware about any such act with the help of which individual persons can lend money on interest. They also informed that they have not received any such complaints and if they do, then the au-

thorities would act on it. According to sources in the police, they do receive complains on money lending, but it is mostly about people not returning money and the interest rate is not usually discussed.

The trust

According to a lawyer who came across one such case, the Kabuliwalas or the money lenders’ business entirely runs on trust. They have an association, which is not registered but work together so that the business runs smoothly. The money lenders lend money on an interest rate of Rs 10 per hundred per month. Rs 7 goes to the individual lender who lends money and Rs 3 goes to the association so that they can make sure that they receive the money on time. The association also manages the police so that the debtor returns the money on time. The lender usually does not want the main capital money soon, as the interest received every month is a huge amount. The entire interest earned by the lenders is totally black and the government do not receive any revenue from the whole business.

The other side

We can claim that the business is entirely illegal but it is helpful for the poorer class who receive the money or help at an appropriate time when there is urgency. It is very tough for the common man to avail a loan from the bank, and even if it is possible, it takes a lot of time. In such a situation, it is the kabuliwalas who lend the money even though it is at a high interest rate. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

In The News

JIHADI MOTIVATORS AT

LARGE IN ASSAM

RAHUL CHANDA

error threats have been always present in Guwahati and Assam as a whole, but recently, the Jihadi militancy threat has again challenged the state cops to prove their efficiency. The arrest of Sahanur Alom, a Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militant who is a key accused in the October 2 blast in West Bengal’s Burdwan district has brought in praises for the Assam Police. But meanwhile the arrest has raised concerns about the JMB links in Assam and its different districts. How many JMB cadres are still on the run? Are the cadres operationally active or just involved in motivating others to join the rebel group? Which are the parts of Assam that are majorly targeted by the rebels to motivate people and induct them into the group? What is the exact modus operandi the jihadi militants are working upon?

Sahanur Alom was taking shelter in Meghalaya and areas along the IndiaBangladesh border in Assam. But finally, he came to Nalbari with an intention to take shelter among his relatives.

forty to fifty cadres who have joined the group. The police are now looking for five important JMB boys who are in Assam. Names of five females also cropped up among the cadres who did not go for operational training but are involved in motivating people to join the group. There are also people from Sivsagar involved in jehadi militancy. The police are keeping a close check in the vulnerable areas and places like market areas, crowded areas near mosques and madrassas.

The link Sahanur Alom was arrested by state police’s Special Operation Unit from Larkuchi Village under the Mukalmua Police Station in Nalbari district. Alom had been absconding from his house in Barpeta district’s Chatla village since October this year. Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Khagen Sarma said, “Alom was taking shelter in Meghalaya and areas along the India-Bangladesh border in Assam. But finally, he came to Nalbari with an intention to take shelter among his relatives.” Khagen Sarma also explained the link between the JMB leaders and Assam. According to him, Assam has never been used as a centre for operational training, but motivational training did take place in some different pockets of the state. The operational training mostly happened in Bangladesh and in some parts of West Bengal.

Why was Sahanur most wanted? Alom’s name had cropped up several times during the NIA’s investigation of the Burdhwan case and they had even netted his wife, Sujna last month for her alleged involvement in the case. Sahanur Alom is a trained cadre of the JMB and he was involved directly with the Burdwan blast. The police have records of him visiting Burdwan and meeting some of the top leaders. Alom is a good motivator and that is why his arrest was important.

Initially it was thought that Alom was the chief of JMB base in Assam, but according to highly placed sources in the police, the initial interrogation reveals that Alom was third in the hierarchy in Assam and there are two more leaders who are absconding now. The motivators are considered as more dangerous than the operational cadres as they can motivate anyone to join their group. Sahanur was known as a very good motivator and according to police, he was not that efficient in firearms handling. Alom has an alias by the name of Iliyas in JMB but still, he is commonly known as ‘doctor,’ as he has had done some training in paramedicine, and used to work as a quack dentist in his village. Alom had managed to escape from the Assam Police and the NIA in a number of occasions in Assam, Meghalaya and along the Indo-Bangla border. His wife was also arrested from the ISBT in Guwahati. As Sahanur is known as a motivator, it is easy for him to motivate and recruit people from riot affected areas in Assam and

set up bases, after which they can easily create a module.

Who are involved? According to DGP Sarma, JMB leaders after being banned in Bangladesh are trying their best to set up bases in Assam and West Bengal. They have set some bases in West Bengal, but in Assam, until now they do not have any operational base reported. JMB leaders have come to Assam and recruited boys. Districts like Dhubri, Barpeta and Nalbari were very vulnerable and some youths from these districts were motivated towards jehadi activities. Places like Lower and Central Assam and also Barak Valley reported such recruitment. According to the DGP, some JMB leaders come to Assam, settle down and even get married to Assamese women. They then gradually start motivating people to join them to take part in jehadi activities. Till now, ten important JMB cadres are already arrested in Assam and there are around

Are Madrassas providing jihadi trainings? The blast at Burdwan’s Khagragarh has exposed, perhaps for the first time in the country, a terror component where women schooled in khariji madrassas have played a key role. But it will be wrong to say that madrassas provide terror trainings. According to DGP Sarma, it is some people who take shelter in Madrassas and carry out jehadi activities. So, the madrassas are not training the youths to carry out militant activities, but, some militants take the cover of madrassas or take shelter there to carry out their terror module.

Is Guwahati targeted? Guwahati is the main city of not only Assam, but the entire northeast and it is also always targeted many a times by terror groups. According to highly placed sources in the police there are some areas in Guwahati which are under surveillance where jehadi cadres might have influenced

some people to join them. Interestingly, the nearby areas of Kotabari, adjacent to ISBT have reported many theft and burglary cases. According to people staying in the Kotabari area, many illegal migrants from Bangladesh have already settled down there and they claim to be from places like Dhubri, Boko and Barpeta. Recently a group has been roaming around in the areas near Kotabari and has been killing all the dogs in the area treating them to poisonous biscuits. The local people of the areas have been alerted by the police to form a guard squad at nights to make sure that no burglary or theft cases take place there. Also, the migrants staying in Kotabari area are mainly poor and menial labourers and are vulnerable to get lured and influenced by the jehadi motivators. So, there might be a relation between the burglary cases taking place there and some jehadi terror module which the cadres may be working on. As for any module money is the main vital requirement. Alom was allegedly responsible for setting up modules for the JMB in Assam. However the bigger allegation against him was that he had moved money between Assam and Burdwan to fund the operations of the JMB. Police sources said that he also operated several bank accounts into which money was transferred from Bangladesh. The money, the interrogators suspect, was used to finance the Burdwan modules. Alom is now in police custody for 14 days, and further investigation will expose some other facts which might help the cops to get all the clear links including Guwahati. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

City

RAHUL CHANDA

t was expected that the city of Guwahati and entire Assam would witness a landmark change in the working process of the police if the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) would have start working efficiently as it was planned by the Assam Police. The city police is now planning to gift new policing strategies to the public this New Year. But what is the status of CCTNS? Has it started working or will it take some time? Why is it taking so long for the police to adopt such new techniques for which the government has spent huge amounts of public money?

COPS MAKE NEW PROMISES WHAT ABOUT THE OLD ONES? 2014, the police were under training, and now it is almost the end of the year, but people still cannot use the CCTNS service to file their complaints online. The city police is already thinking of launching new modern policing schemes for the public, but the old initiatives taken are not yet to be implemented efficiently.

Why is it not working?

The new gift

The city police is all set to gift to its public the new passport verification monitoring and tracking (PVMT) system from January 1st, next year. At present people are usually confused where their passport file is once it comes to the police. People go to the SP office, then to their local police station to find out if their files have reached, but at times they do not get the information where exactly the file is. With the new PVMT service, the applicants will easily be informed about the status of their passport application when it is with the police for verification. As soon as the file reaches the SSP office, the information of the applicant will be entered into the system and the process update will be informed to the applicants. After every seven days, a message will be automatically sent to the applicants informing them about the status of the verification. In phase one, only the tracking is planned and if the scheme becomes successful, the city police is planning to place a counter in the passport office for further easing the public’s queries.

What about the pending projects? Another project which the Assam Police was very confident about is the CCTNS. The CCTNS scheme was expected to cover all the 35 states and union territories. Within the states, more than 14000 police stations and more than 6000 higher offices (including district head quarters, range offices, commissionerates, state head quarters etc.) were to be covered. The best part is that all the 20,000 plus locations will be interconnected, which means a person based in a police station in Goa can access the status of a case filed in Chan-

to visit the police station to sign as unless and until people start using digital signatures, the only authentic verification proof is the signature which has to be on hard paper. It might be that people will be able to scan and send the signatures, but that feature has a danger of being misused. For the time being it was decided by the police that after lodging a complaint, the complainant has to go to the police station to sign using the unique id provided during filing the complaint online. But, whatever may be the loopholes, the scheme was meant to lessen people’s daily footfall to the police stations and solve people’s problems online. Since the month of September

dmari police station in Guwahati. According to Assam Police, the data sharing process with other police stations in the country has already started. But, the main aim of CCTNS if implemented efficiently was to ensure that the general public will not have to visit the police station for everything. The citizens will enjoy some services, can get some information and can check some status online. But till now these facilities have not yet started in Guwahati. With the scheme, citizens can enjoy various services without going to the police stations. But, there is one problem in the filing complaints part that, after filing a complaint or the FIR, the applicant has

It is to be noted that once the scheme starts, the police stations have to be busy solving the cases and replying to the queries, as anyone across the country can view the status of any case. Now, the maximum police personnel in the state are in their 40s and not entirely computer literate, which will delay the process. The younger lot are fine but they will take time to reach a point where they can make decisions. It is also a fact that if people stop going to the police stations, the cops known for taking bribes will have to suffer. According to highly placed sources in the police departments, many police personnel in the state want that the scheme to be a failure. It is only possible for the system to be successful if all the SP level officers of all the districts make sure that the police stations efficiently work under the scheme and help it become a game changer for the police. There will be lesser bribes but even the crime rate will decrease. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

PB Acharya sworn in as 48th Assam Governor

admanabha Balakrishna Acharya was sworn in as the 48th Governor of Assam on Friday at the official residence of Governor, Raj Bha-

wan. Nagaland Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya will assume additional charge as Governor of Assam following the end of JB Patnaik ’s term

as state Governor on Thursday. Acharya is also holding additional charge as governor of Tripura. Acharya, son of Late Balakrishna and Late Radha

was born on 8th October 1931 at Udupi in Karnataka. He started his education upto Matriculation in Christian High School, Udupi. He was the first batch

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G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

City

SMART POLICE IN THE MAKING

G PLUS FEATURE

ast Sunday morning, the city witnessed a new group of joggers joining them on city streets here as a batch of the city police personnel hit the roads. Potbellied policemen and women too were seen running on their track suits and sports shoes as the city police have directed all its personnel to become physically fit. The city police initiative came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pressed for ‘SMART police’ across the country. Modi during his speech in the all India police meeting here presented his concept of ‘SMART police’ — a force which is strict yet sensitive (S), modern and mobile (M), alert and accountable (A), reliable and responsive (R) and at the same time techno-savvy and trained (T). “It is a part of the mass physical training. Every day we have such training at the police reserve. We have a gymnasium where police people go for exercise too. But such mass training won’t be possible every day. So for now it will be a weekly affair,” said city senior superintendent of police, AP Tiwari. However, some police officials believe that there should be stern actions against unfit police officials too. “In Assam, the police force is infamous for its pot-bellied policemen. If we need to make a physically fit police force then some strict actions too need to be implemented,” said a new recruit of the city police. He also urged for better gymnasium infrastructure and incentives for the physically fit personnel. Last year, some 200 commandos

“It is a part of the mass physical training. Every day we have such training at the police reserve. We have a gymnasium where police people go for exercise too. But such mass training won’t be possible every day. So for now it will be a weekly affair”

of Manipur police were removed for their lack of fitness. In several other states, unfit policemen were penalised with a cut on their basic salary too. But that’s not all, the week later the city police started another new course to add ‘smartness’ to them. Many policemen joined a two day workshop organised by a private grooming institute to upgrade their so called ‘personality.’ “To become a smart policeman, one needs to have a good personality too along with health and discipline,” a policeman who joined the crash course said.

City school bags Radiology SARADHA CASES meet at Hotel OF ASSAM HANDED British Council Award Lily TO CBI

he state government has handed over two cases of the controversial Saradha chit fund to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The decision was made as the Saradha chit fund case has inter-state ramifications. The state government had informed the Gauhati High Court recently that one case of Dhubri district and one registered with city’s Dispur police against Saradha chit fund will be handed over to the premier investigating agency. The High Court here has been hearing several petitions against various chit fund companies oper-

ating in the state. As per government records, over 300 cases were registered in various police stations against such chit fund companies. Out of the total cases, state government has submitted charge-sheets in some 103 cases only. Earlier, duped customers who are too a party in the court case, pleaded the court to hand over all the chit fund related cases to CBI. The CBI is already investigating two other cases of chit fund companies of Unipay2u and Basil international who duped hundreds of consumers in Assam. Advocate PN Choudhury is representing CBI in the case.

uwahati based Maria’s Public School has been awarded the International School Award by British Council, for the academic year 2013-14. Nellie Ahmed Tanweer, founder and managing trustee received the award from Gill Caldicotts, head of Global Citizenship Programmes, British Council at an award ceremony in Delhi. The International School Award (ISA) Programme was piloted in India in 2003. This scheme is a benchmark that accredits schools as enriching learning and teaching and having a great level of support for fostering global citizenship in young people. As a part of the International School Award (ISA) Programme, Maria’s Public School had collaborated with other schools from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, UK, Uruguay, Greece, Brazil and Australia and had executed exchange projects based on different subjects. The students from the school exchanged information with the partner schools guided by the respective subject teachers.

he Assam (North East) Chapter is organizing the 40th annual conference of Indian Radiological & Imaging Association at Hotel Lily on December 13 and 14. On the first day apart from scientific programme, the professor BN Dutta Memorial competition would be held among the radiology students of the North East region. The president of Assam Chapter, Dr Santanu Baruah informed that the conference will be inaugurated by Baibhab Talukdar. The organizing members are expecting a huge participation by the radiologist and concerned doctors from the North East region. Globally famed radiologist Professor Sudhir Gokhale will be present at the radiology meet and Professor PK Deka will address the gathering as a national faculty.

Subhrajit Roy G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

City

7TH INTERNATIONAL

GUWAHATI FILM FESTIVAL UNDER WAY SHUBHRaJiT ROY

The big capitals are trying to swallow the smaller narratives of the world. These days the capitals and narratives like Hollywood and Bollywood run after spectaculars; they don’t go for stories. If we see the biggest Hollywood and Bollywood hits of the last 3-4 years, the general trend observed in most of them are mere mindless and spectacular. But one hardly finds a story in them; stories are probably dead. That’s why no film runs for week after week. Now a days it’s a business of two days, you release it in 400 theatres, the business is over,” said eminent Bangladeshi Filmmaker Mostafa Sarwar Farooki at his inaugural speech in the 7th International Guwahati Film Festival 2014 on December 10, 2014, by quoting these lines of a veteran American film personality on present day World Cinema. As a solution to the challenge, Farooki who was the chief guest of the festival, added, “To fight with this cine culture of spectaculars, we really need to have these smaller narratives alive, alongside the grand narratives of Hollywood and Bollywood mainstream capitals. For this, we have to open up

and by that we mean to see interesting stories. We must open up and exchange our cinemas keeping our local industries protected. One way Assam and Dhaka are so near, other way too far. I hope this new step of the Bus services between Guwahati and Dhaka will develop the cultural exchange between both the countries.” The festival began with the screening of Farooki’s much appreciated directorial masterpiece ‘Television’, which was also nominated for the 86th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 2012. The festival, which is organised by the Gauhati Cine Club and supported by the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI), European Union and the International Association of Women in Radio & Television (IAWRT), is scheduled to run between 10-16 December, 2014 at the Rabindra Bhawan, Guwahati. This year the club paid tributes to Late Tasadduk Yousuf, an actor par excellence and released ‘Sonalikhini Bukujuri Boi Thakok’, a collection of writings on Tasadduk Yousuf along with ‘Chitra Chinta’, the annual journal of the club in the inaugural event.

Eminent Bangladeshi Filmmaker Mostafa Sarwar Farooki, noted actress Jaya Seal Ghosh and others light the inaugural lamp of the 7th International Guwahati Film Festival 2014.

Considering Tasadduk Yousuf as the most stylist actor of that era, noted actress Jaya Seal Ghosh, who was the Guest of Honour of the event ruminated her childhood memories when she observed the regular meetings of Gauhati Cine Club at her home. Talking about her upcoming projects after ‘Shringkhal’ she shared that she is going to play the role of a Police Officer in Hem Borah’s next venture ‘O Mur Apunar Desh’ which is based on the communal issues of Assam. This year the bouquet of films includes a total of twenty four full length films across the globe, in which Israel,

Turkmenistan and the USA have two entries each, namely ‘Mabul’ and ‘Gei Oni’, ‘ Little Angel, Make Me Happy’ and ‘Nevestka’, ‘ Love in the time of Cholera’ and ‘Matchmakers’ respectively. The other foreign language films enlisted in the bouquet are ‘Besh Kempir’ (Kyrgystan), ‘Welcome’ (France), ‘Tout est Pardonne’ (Chile), ‘Al Otro Lado’ (Mexico), ‘Solas’ (Spain), ‘The Last Musicians of Bremen’ (Lithuania), ‘The Consul of Bordeaux’ (Portugal), ‘A Friend Shoulder’ (Iran) and ‘Arabian Nights’ (Luxembourg). The Indian selections in the festival are ‘Edegarike’ (Kannada), ‘Oass’

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(Hindi), ‘Akasathinte Niram’ (Malayalam), ‘Aranya’ (Assamese), ‘Necklace’ (Bengali), ‘Amu’ (English), ‘Kurmavatara’ (Kannada) and ‘Ko:Yad’ (Mising). In the category of Short-Fiction-Animation, the festival has almost twelve films in schedule for screening. These films are screened in association with the International Association of Women in Radion & Television (IAWRT). The festival has scheduled to conclude with the screening of ‘Tula: The Revolt’, the only selection from the Netherlands on December 16, 2014.

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G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

City

HISTORIC

Aditya Gogoi

he bus AS 20-1613 of Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) is going to be a part of history as it started its maiden journey from Guwahati towards Dhaka on Wednesday paving a new way for relationship between the two neighbouring countries. A sense of excitement was clearly visible everywhere – be it on the faces of bus crew, public or the government officials at the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) on Wednesday morning in Guwahati on the eve of a maiden journey, though on a trial basis. “I’m lucky to be chosen to carry out the responsibility of the historic journey and that too with high level delegates of the two countries. I’m pretty excited with the development. I’m sure once the service starts, the people in general will be benefitted to a great extent,” said Shanmuddin, a supporting staff of the bus. A chapter was added to the history of the region when the bus left the ISBT at 9 o’clock. Delegates from both India and Bangladesh boarded the first bus who will do a survey on their way for further development of the journey. “It’s a historic day for both the people of India and Bangladesh. Once the bus service is on the way, I believe the relationship between the two countries will be strengthened. I hope the trade and commerce will receive a boost once the bus service gets into operation,” Syed Shah Saad Andalib, assistant secretary of ministry of foreign affairs of Bangladesh said before boarding the bus on its maiden journey. With this, it will be the third road connectivity between the two countries after Dhaka-Kolkata and Dhaka-Agartala bus routes which were started in 1995 and 2002 respectively. “Assam government had been trying for this for several years. The route was open before partition. Government of India has taken a decision after 67 years to reopen the route under the Look East policy,” state PWD minister Ajanta Neog said before formally flagging off the journey.

GUWAHATI-DHAKA BUS FLAGGED OFF “We are extremely hopeful and the Bangladesh government has taken the initiative to make it a success. This will promote and enhance commerce and trade between the countries besides developing the person to person relationship,” she added. The 24 member delegate comprising government and technical officials from India and Bangladesh will study and finalise the routes from Guwahati to Dhaka via Shillong. They will submit the report on the details and feasibility of starting of the regular bus services shortly, said Assam tourism secretary Dhruba Hazarika. The trial run will conclude at Dhaka on Thursday. The proposed bus service covering approximately 500 kilometres starting from Guwahati will be taking the Shillong-Dawki (Meghalaya)/ Tamabil (Bangladesh)-Sylhet-Dhaka route. Though the fare has not yet fixed, it will cost around Rs 1000 to reach Dhaka from Guwahati. Sheikh Abdul Ahad, joint secretary of home department of Bangladesh who is also one of the delegates to undertake the maiden journey said that it is a moment of pride for the region. “It’s a great pleasure for us. I would like to offer my best wishes for the cause,” he said. People on the other side of the border also seem to be pretty excited with the development. Tourism is another aspect where this region can excel. “My reaction will be that it is surely a positive development and will provide valuable impetus to trade and cultural exchange. People to people contact should and will improve significantly and the scopes are immense. The North East has a lot to offer as a tourist destination and Bangladeshis being a travelling people will surely go out in droves to see Assam. Likewise for the Assamese, it will provide opportunities to see

The trial run of Guwahati-Dhaka bus service via Shillong and Dawki in Meghalaya has been flagged off from the Inter State Bus Terminus here in Guwahati.

Bangladesh which is certainly an emerging Asian tiger,” said Dhaka based popular musician Mac Haque who origins from Assam. “I am very excited! It will mean many trips back home to meet my large family and loved ones,” he added. While, some feel that it will also help the people to know each

other after the regularisation of the bus service. “This is a positive move to minimise not only the physical distance of two countries but social and psychological distance as well. The perception of Bangladesh among the Assamese people needs to be changed. Today’s Bangladesh is not the same as of 70s or 80s; the country has travelled a long way to

achieve remarkable success in socioeconomic and human development. This bus service will enable us to learn more about the country and will help to build a fruitful relationship,” said Abdul Kalam Azad, a student of Tata Institute of Social Science who recently visited Bangladesh.

Now get farm fresh vegetables on dial

unique initiative of providing fresh vegetables at your doorstep kicked off on December 10. My Fresh Mart, the state’s first ever tele-service vegetable market, which will help one buy best quality vegetables at reasonable prices. As the products sold through My Fresh Mart are produced directly from the farmers’ basket expunging the multipliers, which result in false inflation, the good can be provided in wholesale prices. Among other benefits My Fresh Mart

also provides one the opportunity to befriend the vendor since there are no chances of being cheated in the weights and prices since the complete orders are triple checked for weight accuracy by a trained team Committed to deliver fresh product at most competitive rate from local market free from the hassle My Fresh Mart apart from providing the true meaning of flavor and freshness also helps one to save time and money making the process quick and convenient.

Despite the efforts if one doesn’t get assured with the quality of the produced goods MFM also offers immediate replacement of products sticking to the goal to have satisfied customers. MFM currently has delivery branches in Khanapar, Sixmile, Panjabari, VIP Road, Hengrabari, Hatigaon, Ganeshguri, Zoo Road, Gita Nagar, Narangi, Chandmari, Silpukhuri, Panbazar and Ulubari and are also working on expanding for more locations very soon.

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

DISPUR EQUATIONS IN BTC POLLS

G Plus news

ith militant turned politician, Naba Sarania popularly known as Hira Sarania, Lok Sabha MP from Kokrajhar, announcing to float a new political party to contest the ensuing Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) polls, a fresh row erupted across the state as well as in the capital. Dispur is now preparing a new game plan for the polls as its former ally Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF) headed by Hagrama Mohilary has withdrawn its support from the government. Last week, Hira Sarania announced his plans to form a new political party, ‘Gana Vikash Parishad’ to fight the BTC polls, expected early next year. Sarania through this party aims to woo the non-Bodos living in the conflict hit BTC. Sarania had said, “Solutions to the problems of those who backed me in the LS polls can’t be achieved through agitation and meetings. Therefore, we need a political party to be a unit and address the concerns of the people in an organised manner.” However surprisingly, the Sanmilita Janogosthiya Aikka

“Solutions to the problems of those who backed me in the LS polls can’t be achieved through agitation and meetings. Therefore, we need a political party to be a unit and address the concerns of the people in an organised manner.”

Mancha (SJAM), a non-Bodo groups’ body, which once backed Sarania to win in the Lok Sabha polls, has opposed the whole idea in a press conference in Guwahati. It feared that such a move would polarise and create conflict between various communities living in the BTC area.

City to organise first ever literary fest

he Publication Board Assam is set to organize the first ever literary festival in the city starting from December 25. Board’s chairman Pradyut Bordoloi said that this year the government plans to give a new dimension to the festival, by holding the Guwahati Literary Fest simultaneously with the 28th Guwahati Book Fair. The 12–day book fair will commence from December 25 at the AEI Ground in Chandmari, which is to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. The Guwahati Lit Fest will be held at NEDFi House from December 27 to 29, where several noted personalities from across the country and abroad will come together. Themes on literary topics and issues concerning Northeast will be put up for discussion at the sessions of the Literary Fest. Live storytelling and song performances by Neelesh Mishra will be an added attraction at the book fair. Meanwhile, the publication board’s lifetime literary award for 2014 will be conferred to Nilomoni Phukan on the inaugural day of the book fair. “Perhaps for the first time in the country such a literary festival has been organized. We want to do something new. Literature is not a profession but a passion – Chetan Bhagat is a living example,” said Pradyut Bordoloi.

Sources said that Dispur might have influenced some of the organisations based at BTC. “It is assumed that Sarania and Hagrama has come to a political understanding to gain power and throw out Congress out of the game,” sources in Dispur viewed. Discouraging Sarania to go ahead

Railway physicians meet at Maligaon

he Indian Railways Medical Service Association (IRMSA), NF Railway Central Hospital, Maligaon branch is to organize the 4th Association of Physicians of India (API), East Zone Conference & 24th Association of Physicians of India, Assam Chapter Conference from December 12 to 14 at NF Railway Central Hospital, Maligaon and Luitgarh Railway Officers’ Club, Nambari. The meet will be participated by renowned physicians from Indian Railways Hospitals. The chief guest of the event will be Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports and NF Railway general manager RS Virdi will be the guest of honour along with the presence of general manager (construction) RK Singh. A tree plantation program and Swachh Bharat Abhijan Mission will also be organized in the premises of NF Railway Central Hospital at Maligaon observing the theme of the year ‘Keep Clean, Go Green and Stay Fit’.

with his plans, the spokesperson of SJAM, Brojen Mahanta opined, “Sarania has forgotten his responsibilities. We elected him to represent us in the Parliament, take up our concerns against the BTC accord and the killings by the ultras in the area. He has failed to deliver so far. While the Parliament session is under way in New Delhi, Sarania is busy working for his new party. He is nurturing his wish to wield more power and has diverted from the real cause.” He added, “The BTC accord was a blunder. The government did not discuss with the non-Bodos living in the area before formulating it. The non-Bodos constitute 80 % of the population. The BTC was created to satisfy some militant leaders. Over 7,000 people have been killed and over 5 lakh rendered homeless in various clashes since its formation.” The BTC was formed in 2003 following a tripartite accord involving the Centre, state government and the erstwhile militant outfit of Bodoland Liberation Tigers (BLT) headed by Hagrama Mohilary, who later joined mainstream politics.

CM urged to rehabilitate fish traders

pon the demand of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to take measures for rehabilitating the indigenous fish traders, who were affected in the fire incident at Fancy Bazar on February 22, 1989, the Save Guwahati Build Guwahati on Thursday asked the State government to uplift the GMC market of Fancy Bazar for the benefit of traders and customers. “The GMC market was opened up in 2004 and the Chief Minister in his inaugural speech assured that all the affected people would be rehabilitated in the market complex. However, as many as 40 fish traders are yet to get their due,” stated a statement from SGBG president Dhiren Baruah. “Problem recently emerged when the traders decided to go on a three days strike, which was later intervened by the GMC Commissioner, helping to restore the normal running of the market. But the problems faced by the traders and customers are still intact. We urge the State government, GMC, district administration and police to help in building an environment, where common people find it convenient to visit the market complex,” added the statement.

Politicking

Manufacturing Technology meet at IIT-G

he two day conference of the 5th International and 26th All India Manufacturing Technology, Design and Research (AIMTDR) is organized by the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) from 12 to 14 December. The theme of the 5th AIMTDR is ‘Enhancing Manufacturing through Newer Scientific Concepts’. The main objective of the conference is to solve several issues related to the manufacturing sector in the country. AITMTDR aims to bring together technocrats, industrialist and scientists for the development of manufacturing sector. Various topics like Advance Manufacturing Technology, Rapid Response Manufacturing, Machine Tools, Green and Sustainable Manufacturing, Manufacturing Modeling Simulation and Materials Processing were discussed at length in the conference. Prof. Amitabh Ghosh, former Director of IIT Kaharagpur as the chief guest along with twenty five speakers of international repute gathered in the conference and delivered talks. NIT Meghalaya, NERIST Itanagar and CIT Kokrajhar also supported in organizing the conference.

School opened for destitute children

o bring hopes in the lives of the children from railway line slums and the streets of the capital, The Brahmaputra Home & School has been opened at Garchuk. The school is started with 25 children, one teacher and two caretakers presently. The project is implemented by the Society for Social Transformation and supported by Lotus Flower Trust, UK. Umesh Baruah, a founder member of the society said, “We have been trying to organise and train the children from the railway slums and the city streets, with basic survival skills, basic education, health and hygiene. The homeless children have a dark future, but finally with this new home for them we can help them rebuild their dreams.” The school was inaugurated by Erik Juul Mortensio, the president of TFWA Care, UK in the presence of Sarah Branquinho, Philip Dean, Ravi Rai and John Hunt, CEO, Lotus Flower Trust and other members of the society. Addressing the people present in the inauguration, John spoke about the objective of the mission and also elaborated on the importance and need of the school for the unprivileged students of the society.”

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Sports

KALYAN DEB

FC GUWAHATI T

Martyrs Day observed in GU campus

INTO THE FRAY

n the backdrop of the Hero Indian Super League that was able to attract a huge fan following and turned out to be a revival of football in the country, Axom Sports Enterprise Pvt. Ltd. presented Guwahati’s very own football team FC Guwahati. The logo of the team was revealed during a press meet held in the city on December 4. As witnessed in the Hero ISL the fan following for the Northeast United FC has received a boost, which seems to be working well for the sport along with providing a platform for the players of the country to display their talents. FC Guwahati plans to focus on providing the same for the aspiring footballers of the state. The team plans to play top-level professional football in the years to come. The team is co-owned by Sanjive Narain, Jayanta Baruah, Bipul Saikia, Dudul Choudhary, Kamal Chandra Das, Pulak Goswami, Zubin Garg and Capers Investments Pvt. Ltd. (Assam). Addressing the media, Sanjive Narain, Managing Director of Prag news asserted, “If Shillong can play the I-League with three teams then why not us. Players like Durga Boro and Alan Deory have always been equally talented but it is only the opportunity to showcase their talent which worked as the key role in their progress.” Narain also mentioned about the degradation in the fan following of the Bordoloi trophy since its introduction, he said, “Marketing is the main cause of the promotion of any sport or player. The sport has to be promoted among its audience as a product, which is very important for the development of both players and the sport.” The priority of the club would be to provide exposure to the players of Assam. Although the club will introduce foreign footballers in order to help the players to develop their skills and tactics, the main aim of the club would be to play in international invitational tournaments. The main target would be to be a participant of the I-League. Initially, the state based tournaments will be started with a

he Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) observed Martyrs day in Gauhati University premises on Wednesday. The members of AASU and AGP paid their tributes to the Martyrs of Assam Movement and also remembered the sacrifices made by the martyrs. The Vice Chancellor of Gauhati University, Dr Mridul Hazarika led the way in paying tribute to the martyrs in the central function held in the University campus. The members of AASU asserted at the event that the sacrifices made by the martyrs will not go in vain and AASU will go on working for the indigenous people of Assam. They also mentioned that the recent condition of the state is much worse than the Assam agitation days. Speaking on the occasion Former Chief Minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said, “The national parties are least bothered about the state’s public. They are only interested in using the regional parties to grab power”.

“If Shillong can play the I-League with three teams then why not us. Players like Durga Boro and Alan Deory have always been equally talented but it is only the opportunity to showcase their talent which worked as the key role in their progress.” Sanjive Narain, Managing Director of Prag news

(L to R) Pulak Goswami, Bipul Saikia, Sanjive Narain, Jayanta Baruah & Kamal Chandra Das during the unveiling of FC Guwahati logo

budget of `3Cr but the club has an expansion capacity up to the amount Rs 10 Cr. “The motive is to produce football as an identity of the state”, asserted co-owner Jayanta Baruah. Ankur Duttta, secretary, Assam Football Association and chairman, I-League committee said, “The team will be a completely professional one and the state football body will provide its full support hoping that such an initiative will mark the

beginning of professionalism in Assam football.” Narain revealed that the mega launch of the team would be held by the end of January next year with a friendly match, which will be played against an international team along with the involvement of Bollywood personalities and well-known faces from the fraternity. Despite the team owners’ optimism to play the I-League within a short period of time, according

to the AIFF (All India Football Federation) a club has to qualify for the Pre-qualification Evaluation and Techno-commercial Evaluation. With a net worth greater than 500 Cr, the bidders will have to provide a corporate guarantee to meet the obligations of a new entity in fulfilling the requirements. In case the successful bidders has a net worth less than 500Cr, they will be required to submit a performance bank guarantee of Rupees 100 crore to AIFF. The club will also have a football academy but the project is still in the pipeline. However, the process of selection of a professional management team is currently in progress, whereas the position for the team coach has been short-listed and includes foreign coaches, which is to be finalised very soon. It has also been mentioned that the target is by January 20 next to form the final team of the club. Along with the unveiling of the team logo, it was also revealed that popular singer and co-owner Zubin Garg has composed the team anthem, to which the finishing touches were given and the same will be released along with the kits of players during the launching ceremony.

Cyberfest held in South Point School

rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

he 14th edition of its annual inter school event ‘Cyberfest’, a festival of competitions to popularize Information Technology among school students was organised by South Point School, Guwahati. Students from CBSE affiliated schools of the North eastern region participated in the IT quiz photo editing. IT debate, power point presentation, movie making, IT model and computer gaming competitions were held in the fest. The two day competition was inaugurated by Sanjib Das, Regional Officer, CBSE, Guwahati, by lighting the ceremonial lamp. Dr Pradyut Kumar Goswami, Vice Chancellor, Assam Science & Technology University, Dinesh Sankar Pegu, Managing Director, AMTRON, Sanjib Das, Regional Officer, CBSE, Dr Atul Kumar Bora, Principal, Assam Engineering College, Guwahati and Director of Technical Education, Assam, Sangita Baruah, HoD, Dept of Computer Science and Information Technology, Cotton College, Guwahati were the guests of honour at the opening ceremony.

Weather report for the week SAT 13 December

SUN 14 December

MON 15 December

TUE 16 December

WED 17 December

THU 18 December

FRI 19 December

High level clouds

Mostly sunny

Broken clouds

Mostly sunny

Morning clouds

More sun than clouds

14 / 24 °C

14 / 25 °C

13 / 24 °C

12 / 23 °C

8 / 25 °C

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Sports

THE PHENOMENON CALLED

INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE Koushik Hazarika

he most football that we Indians have felt is on Television. With our National Football team languishing in the 170th position in the latest FIFA rankings and the I-League struggling to conjure up a respectable viewership, the sport which spawned legends like Pele, Maradona, Best, Platini, Beckenbauer, Ronaldo (Brazilian), Garrincha among others and still produces celestial creatures like Messi and Ronaldo, has never received the kind of attention, support and involvement as it does in some of the other countries around the globe. That cricket has always been the country’s favourite sport would be an understatement and with the monies involved, football was always going to take a backseat. That was until now. At first glance, the Indian Super League (ISL) is looking a sure winner with packed stadiums, frenzied fans, excited sponsors, die-hard fans, raucous cheers and foreign players to add to it. The roar has been such that if a person who was only shown the stadium, the fans and the sponsors, could easily mistake it for the IPL. Credit must go where it is due and in this case, Reliance has done a fine job in venturing into previously untrodden ground and being successful in it. What the mind fails to decipher however is why the Indian Football Association did not think up of doing something like this with the I-league. With the world becoming relatively smaller due to technology and Indian players being exposed to more superior forms of football, Indian football needed a fillip and the ISL has come at the right time. With the first season of the ISL proving to be a major hit amidst unprecedented response from fans and sponsors, people have already started to look forward to the next season and what the teams would do to better their performances. The induction of foreign marquee players in each team has not only helped the youngsters and local players in the team but has also raised the profile of the tournament. The Hero ISL also made its mark against the major global leagues and has surpassed Italy’s Serie A in average attendance, to become the fourth best league in world football. The league now trails only Germany’s Bundesliga, the Barclays Premier League and Spain’s La Liga in terms of average attendance. In terms of infrastructure as well, the ISL has helped the stadiums across the country to develop and grow as respective state associations developed and designed them to suit ISL require-

WHAT went wrong

with NEUFC?

With NEUFC finishing at the bottom of the table, there is nothing much to say in support of the team except that they fought hard on limited resources. But that being said we surely expected a more fighting finish from the ‘Highlanders.’ You simply do not expect a team who has a 0-2 away win against FC Mumbai and a 3-0 home win against Chennaiyin FC to finish at the bottom of the league and many including myself believe that the team lacked the composure and talent to finish an attacking move. In almost each game, the fans were left frustrated at NEUFC’s inability to find the net. What starts off as a brilliant build-up play and a sumptuous through-ball fails to end up in the back of the net. The lack of a proven finisher ultimately proved costly as the team was almost always left stranded in the final third. With seasoned veterans like Capdevilla and Miguel Garcia at

the back, NEUFC had one of the best defences in the league. While Koke did an impressive job in orchestrating the midfield, his sometimes ponderous passes hampered James Keene, Miguel Garcia and Josl at Radisson Blu NEUFC’s counter atbefore their flight back home tacking moves with James Keene, the English striker opposition teams gethowever attributed the team’s botting enough time to track back. While speaking to Josl, the Czech tom position to the extensive travel player for NEUFC, a few other things they had to undergo. “The travel had too came to light. The attacking mid- taken its toll and being in Northeast, fielder minced no words in criticising it takes a long time to reach the the coach Ricki Herbert and accused other places,” he said. He however him of lacking proper strategy and had no problems with the coach and tactics. “The coach had no proper said that everything was fine and strategy. He hardly communicated team simply failed to win the right with the players,” he said. Apparently, amount of games. Interestingly, Josl had menthe coach’s apparent failure to communicate with players had ultimately tioned that the coach had a few facaused a demise in the quality of play vourite players who would play all shown by the team. Josl however was matches irrespective of form and full of praise for the support staff and specially mentioned James Keene thanked them for their professional- who had no goals and no assists to show for the team. ism.

ments. Even in our very own city, the Indira Gandhi Stadium at Sarusajai wore a different look with the stands bursting with cheering fans, magnificent floodlights and amazing football. Even in terms of game play, ardent followers of Indian football have sworn that the football that has been played at ISL has been far more dynamic, purposeful and stylish to say the least than ever seen on Indian shores. This surely augurs well for Indian football as ISL looks set to revolutionise the game in the country. With players like Capdevilla, Ljunberg, Del Piero, Anelka, Nesta, Elano and others choosing to play in India, the country can expect more players of even higher profile to hit the shores next season. This will only mean more exposure, more sponsorship and more money. The kind of impact that the ISL has had cannot be summed up in a few words or within the constraints of an article and so, we will have further articles on the same. This was only the first season and going by the response, the second season should be bigger with the number of teams only going up. This said however, the ISL should not just remain a spectacle. India should use this as an opportunity to develop their own football culture and provide the best possible support to the budding youngsters and wonderkids. For all that we know with FIFA U-17 WC being scheduled to be held here, the future will only get exciting.

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Society

PURI SABJI FOR `1

THE LEGACY CONTINUES KALYAN DEB

Unbelievable but true, a shop in Uzan Bazar has carried on a century old tradition of serving Puri Sabji at a jaw dropping price!

midst the economic inflation, which is on the verge of touching the sky, it would be unimaginable that some place could offer a plate of Puri sabji for the price of just Re 1. Yes! Rupee One. Situated in Uzanbazar, Ram Baran, an outlet named after its founder has been practicing, for over a century now, what would seem impossible. Founded way back in the year 1885 by Ram Baran Shah started the concept of providing Puri sabji and Kachori in the least prize imaginable on the very day of its establishment. The same is now sold against an amount of one and two rupees, respectively. What started as a business concept is now being continued as a family legacy for the fourth consecutive generation. Way back when the shop started, the initiative was not just to serve the poor and needy but to provide good food in an extremely economic budget, which apparently grabbed the attention of the people and with time passing by, the flow of customers too have only increased. As the shop has earned a large number of loyal customers, children who once visited the shop with their grandparents now come with their children asking for the traditional Puri sabji and Kachori. The shop was divided between the two sons of Ram Baran in the year 1965 and is currently being run by the fourth generation, co-owned by Vijay Kumar Gupta and Suraj Gupta whereas, the other part is co-owned by Vimal Kumar Gupta and Ashok Prasad Gupta. In today’s date, both the shops receive an average of five hundred customers per day asking for the traditional Puri Sabji. The same is served from 6 am to 8 am for which the preparation kicks off from 5 am, according to the century old tradition, the Kachori remains available for the customers throughout the business hours. Talking to G Plus, Vijay Kumar Gupta, co-owner asserted, “Over the years we have tended to a large number of customers among which we have earned many loyal customers. The legendary singer Late Bhupen Hazarika was a regular visitor of our shop. He also used to mention about our shop during his concerts in different places. Among others, Zubeen Garg, Capt. Robin Bordoloi, Prafulla Kr. Mahanta, Bijan Mahajan, and others are frequents customers of our shop.” The reputation, which has

Vijay Gupta, proprietor of Ram Baran

Customer enjoying the Ek tokia puri sabji

The fabled puri sabji of Uzan Bazar

developed due to the shop’s consistent service has attracted customers who visit from various corners of the city. Every morning people line up in front of the shop to have a flavour of the century old tradition. “We receive tourists visiting the city, who not just consume our delicacies but also carry it with them for their journey. Some of our customers who are settled in other parts of the country ask their relatives

to parcel the traditional Puri sabji and Kachori,” said Vijay. “At times, due to inflation, the shops even have to suffer losses, but the priority is to keep the tradition going keeping aside the matter of profit and loss,” Vijay added. Other than festive seasons such as Bihu and Durga Puja, the Puri sabji is available throughout the year. Situated near the GMC market, Uzanbazar the founder of the shop also laid the foundation of the Hanuman temple in

the GMC market itself, which was later renovated in the year 2007. Apart from the traditional delicacies the Ram Baran shops also deal in various sweet dishes, which are sold in comparatively economical prices. The shops also carry out catering services in various ceremonies such as weddings and other events. Considering the legacy of the shops, customers themselves have come up with proposals of setting up

other outlets in other parts of the city, which will continue with the legacy of selling the one Rupee Puri sabji and Kachori but no conclusion has been reached yet. Even after their century and a quarter of providing the one of its kind service there is still a large part of population, which is not aware about the existence of such an iconic and a must visit place within the city itself. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Ward Watch

Ward number 30(c) Population 11000 (approx) | Voters 8000 (approx)

GANESH NAGAR

TO UNDERGO DEVELOPMENT KALYAN DEB

he area of Ganesh Nagar, which used to be covered by a cloud of dust due to the unconstructed and poor road conditions, lies adjacent to the Beltola road. Situated in the interiors of the city, Ganesh Nagar is located around two to three kilometers from the last stoppage, before the Basishta Temple. Earlier, with very poor road conditions, transportation had been a major problem since the settlement of civilization in the area. A peaceful settlement at the base of Khandarpa hills, which is also a part of the Garo hills, Ganesh Nagar shares the same boundary with Meghalaya stretching the area as Dakhin Ganesh Nagar. It is only in recent times that the development work has kicked off in the region but it took a long wait for the people to be able to receive the basic luxuries. Meanwhile, work on the development of the drainage system is being carried out in full force, which will extend up to Dakhin Ganesh Nagar to the AssamMeghalaya border. Although, the people have expressed gratitude and relief due to the development work being carried out in the region, some of the residents have also complained regarding the biased dislodging of their lands, which has been processed in order to broaden the Ganesh Nagar road. While one side of the residences had to vacate 3 feet of their lands, the other residents had to boot 5 feet of land. “We are happy with the development work that is been carried out and its only for the good of the people of the area but the partial decision is what made us upset. If one has to vacate some part of their land for the matter of development, there is no objection regarding the matter unless the decision is taken being very impartially,” stated Kabita Pathak, a resident of Ganesh Nagar who had to give away 5 feet of land from their entrance. “The road condition and other major problems have been resolved after the recent GMC elections and all the work has been carried out. But the only objection is that the proposed road with the width of 36feet, which is not being carried out evenly throughout the road,” asserted Madan Mahanta. “The only major problem that has been unattended to is the transportation. Since no rickshaws

Concentrated area Ganesh Nagar Councilor Manabendra Malla Bujar Baruah Phone number 9864073215

Area Sabha Member Lila Saikia Phone number 9864508583 Problems Transportation

“Although, nothing has been carried out yet, the matter will be looked in to very soon. A major issue that causes such problems is that the buses, which are supposed to travel till the Basishta Temple most of the time, divert their route from the Basishta Chariali when there are not too many passengers travelling to these areas. It should be made mandatory for the buses to travel to their designated stoppage, regarding which complains have been filed to the transport department.” Lila Saikia, Area Sabha Member

or trekkers run from the bus stand, people who do not have their own means of commute have to walk a long distance in order to reach their destination,” he added.

Says Area Sabha Member Speaking to G Plus, Area Sabha member, Lila Saikia asserted, “The area of Ganesh Nagar has only been attended to after the GMC elections. Previously, many ministers had visited the place and promised about the development but no one took any step until the initiative was taken up by the people’s selected candidate.

“The current development process that is being carried is under the 18 Cr project, that has been sanctioned by the GMC. According to the project, the Ganesh Nagar area should be developed with a proper drainage system and good road condition within a span of one year,” Saikia added. Discussing about other problems Siakia also mentioned that at times the Indian army, which has one of their major bases in the Basistha region, creates problems regarding land issues. Many parts of lands in this region are conflicted, since the same is claimed by the army. Due to this, no work can be carried out in such areas.

Among, other sanctioned projects, the streets of Ganesh Nagar will soon be lit with streetlights, which are already been installed up to the area of Patarkuchi. The scarcity of proper drinking water has also been resolved after supplied water was also recently made available. Regarding the transportation problem the area sabha member said, “Although, nothing has been carried out yet, the matter will be looked in to very soon. A major issue that causes such problems is that the buses, which are supposed to travel till the Basishta Temple most of the time, divert their route from the Basishta Chariali when there are not too many passengers

travelling to these areas. It should be made mandatory for the buses to travel to their designated stoppage, regarding which complains have been filed to the transport department.” When most of the important parts of the city remain underdeveloped, the initiative for the development of such a region, stands as an example for the elected members of the other wards of the city. Although, the same has created a few inconveniences, no complaints have been made to the authorities as the fact holds less priority than the development of the region. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Health

RH DR Dolly talukdar, Satribari Christian Hospital

NEGATIVE PREGNANCY

hesus factor is a substance found in people’s blood. Everybody’s blood is either rhesus positive or rhesus negative. Most people have the rhesus factor (Rh) and test rhesus positive (Rh+), however, some people are rhesus negative (Rh) and don’t have the Rh factor. On its own the rhesus factor does not cause health problems. But when a mother is Rh negative and her fetus is Rh positive, there can be health risks for that fetus and for the fetus of any subsequent pregnancies she may have. Here are answers to some common questions which most couples have when they are planning to conceive.

My blood group is Rh negative. Will I be able to get pregnant? Being Rh Negative does not affect your fertility. You can certainly become pregnant. Are there any problems that can happen during pregnancy due to my blood group? If your husband is Rh positive, then your fetus (baby in womb) may be Rh positive. If your fetus is Rh positive, your body may form antibodies against your own fetus which may harm him/her. The chances are less though.

Why and how do antibodies form? The Rh positive fetus has Rh antigen in his blood. During pregnancy, sometimes a small amount of fetal blood may ‘leak’ into the mother’s blood stream. This may lead to stimulation of the mother’s immune system which produces antibodies against the baby’s Rh antigen. These antibodies enter the baby’s circulation and destroy his red blood cells and cause anemia.

What precautions should I take so that my baby is safe? Your obstetrician would test your husband’s blood group. If he is Rh negative, your pregnancy would not be at risk. However, if he is Rh positive, your doctor would test your blood for

antibodies against the fetus, every 6-8 weeks. If the test remains negative (meaning no antibodies formed), it means that your baby is safe.

Do I need to take any treatment or injections to protect my baby? The risk of forming antibodies is highest in the latter half of pregnancy. Your doctor would give you an injection (Inj Anti D) at 28 weeks of pregnancy to prevent formation of antibodies in the last trimester. If at any time during pregnancy, you get bleeding per vaginum, you would need to take an additional shot of Inj Anti D to prevent antibody formation. After delivery, the doctor would test your baby’s blood group. If your baby is Rh positive, you would need an additional shot of Inj Anti D to prevent formation of antibodies which may harm your baby in a future pregnancy.

Do all women need to take that injection? No. Only if your baby’s blood group is Rh positive, you need to take the injection within 24 hours, preferably as soon as possible.

What if during my pregnancy, at any point of time, my blood test shows positive for antibodies? What effects can that have on my baby? If you develop antibodies against your baby at any point during pregnancy, your baby is at risk of developing anemia and jaundice inside the womb, which becomes progressively worse with time. Sometimes the anemia becomes so severe that the fetus develops heart enlargement and swelling all over the body.

After delivery, the baby may be born jaundiced or may develop jaundice within 24 hours. What treatment can be given in such cases? If antibodies develop during pregnancy, you would then need to get your fetal blood tested (by putting a needle into the baby’s umbilical cord-called cordocentesis) to diagnose how much he/she is affected. If the damage is severe, the doctor may need to deliver the baby urgently or do an ‘exchange transfusion’ within the womb if the fetus is very premature. Herein, the fetal blood is withdrawn and is replaced with fresh blood from a donor of O negative blood. By doing this, the mother’s antibodies are removed. However, this procedure may need to be repeated many times till the baby is safe to be delivered.

What if my baby develops anemia and jaundice after delivery? If your baby develops jaundice and anemia after delivery, he/she would have to be admitted to intensive care unit and given ‘phototherapy’ to destroy bilirubin in the blood and ‘blood transfusions’ to treat anemia.

What are the chances of having problems in the next pregnancy? If you have not had any complication in the present pregnancy and have taken Inj Anti D after delivery on time, the chances of developing complications in the next pregnancy are rare (less than 1%). However, all due precautions (as with the first pregnancy) would need to be taken. The doctor is an MD in gynaecology

HEALTH TIP Increase your fibre intake as much as you can. You can get more fibre from eating more fruits and veggies or try adding a sprinkling of oatbran to your cereal in the morning

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

LOVE WHAT YOU HAVE James Allan

e live in a disposable society. We buy things, use them and then throw them away. Our landfills continue to grow, despite no one wanting garbage in their own back yard. Meanwhile, debt is also growing. People continue to spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need. We need to come back to reality. We need to focus on growth in our bank accounts, not on growth in the landfills and growth in our debt. So what’s the solution? How can people grow their savings, while shrinking their garbage and depleting their debt? Love is the answer. We need to learn to appreciate what we already have. We need to love what we have. If you love what you have, you don’t feel the need for more. If you love what you have, you can easily say no when you’re bombarded with thousands of marketing messages to buy each day. If you love what you have, you’re not going to throw something out once it gets a little used.People who love what they have are happy. They see the beauty in what they’ve got. When they buy new stuff, they are very selective; because it has to be something they can love. People who love what they have perform proper maintenance, and ensure they

Give Miracles A Chance There are three components in life Effort

Without your self-effort, nothing happens. So you have to put your effort. Will everything happen only through your effort? No. You make an effort and sow a mango sapling today and you want the fruit of it tomorrow, it is not going to give you the fruits tomorrow. It will take its time.

time get the most out of their purchases.If you’re looking for ways to reduce the money you spend this year, spend some time admiring what you already have. Love your possessions. Maintain them so they last longer. Disposable items are always more costly in the long run. Loving what you have costs nothing, but can save you lots of money. It can also save you time. You won’t need to run out and get something new just because you have money in your pocket. Why would you want something new? Save time and money by loving what you already own! Is it any wonder that the average ‘million-

aire next door’ has a car that’s eight years old? People that are rich love what they have. They know the value of quality, and they know the value of getting the most out of their purchases. Do you spend time dreaming of a new car or loving the car you’ve got? Do you spend time dreaming of new furniture, a new house or new clothes? Or do you spend some quality time loving the furniture, house and clothes you’ve already been blessed with? What’s going to save you money and make you happier? Loving what you have, or dreaming of what you don’t have? Save your money, your time and your environment this year: love what you have.

Tirus and Chukoo nother loud booming noise broke Chukoo and Tirus’ reverie. The sound echoed, reverberated in the hills and traveled over the beel, which was mostly covered with water hyacinth. The sound would panick anyone who would have heard it for the first time. They got to their feet with a start. The sound was accompanied with a rustle in the bushes and some deep-throated snorts. The booming continued for some time and by this time, Tirus was getting restless to know what was happening. Chukoo put his fingers to his lips and directed Tirus to follow him. They stealthily moved a short distance. What they saw next as they crouched in the shrubs took Tirus’ breath away! There was a huge herd of swamp deer, gracefully trotting towards the swamp. Except for the soft sound of their hooves on the leaves, there was absolute silence. Tirus had read about the swamp deer and he was now delighted to see this elegant animal in all its beauty. “Chukoo, do you know that the swamp deer is also known as Barasingha?” Tirus whispered to Chukoo. “Really? I didn’t know this!” “And they are an endangered species!” “What does that mean?” “Chukoo, it means the population of the Barasingha is slowly dwindling. In the whole world, there are only around 5100 left.” Chukoo became thoughtful and at the same time looked crestfallen. “What happened,Chukoo? Why are you suddenly looking so sad?”

Life

“You know what. I have grown up seeing the deer almost every day. They are my family. What will happen if they are to disappear?” Tirus looked at him and both of them felt a numbness they couldn’t express. As they watched, the entire herd of doecoloured swamp deer got into the water, except for a couple of young ones, who looked apprehensively at the flock. They trotted on the banks of the water-body, desperately wishing to join the group. The older ones looked back at them, as if beckoning them to join them in the revelry and not be afraid. They took a couple of steps forward and as if to test the temperature of the water, they touched it with their hooves and then slowly started inching into the water. Once in, they started splashing around like little kids in a swimming pool. The entire herd looked gorgeous as the sun shine glistened on their wet bodies. They stayed there for quite some time while Tirus and Chukoo looked on. “Chukoo, I want you to take your studies very seriously from now on,” Tirus kept whispering. “I want you to read a lot of books on things that are happening around the world. With knowledge, you will be able to help the people of your village in more ways than one and maybe also help in the dwindling population of this most beautiful animal.” Chukoo looked wide-eyed at Tirus and then nodded in affirmation. “I will, I promise you.” “By the way, Chukoo, did you know that only the male deer sport antlers on their heads? Incidentally, the female reindeer also have antlers but slightly smaller than the males. And do you know what these antlers

(part 3)

are?” “Kokaideu, are these stuck to the head of the deer?” “No dear Chukoo, these are not stuck to the head. The antlers are extensions of the skull. They are bone structures that usually grow in symmetrical pairs. You know bones? Bones that are inside our body and give the body shape and size?” Chukoo nodded excitedly in affirmation. “Yes, yes! I know about bones. See, I have very strong bones. My Koka always says that if we eat healthy food, we will have strong bones in our body.” Chukoo flexed his arms to show Tirus his muscles. Tirus smiled at the thrill of the little boy. “Well, you see, the function of the antlers are mostly to attract and select their female counterpart and sometimes to fight other male deer. In many temperate zones, antlers are shed and regrown each year.” Chukoo never knew that there was so much to learn about the deer which he had been seeing ever since he and his friends had been coming to this end of the area. By this time, the huge herd of swamp-deer were done splashing in the beel and feeding on the tall grass growing there, which is locally known as dol ghah and is also a favourite with elephants! Elephants? Ofcourse, Tirus and Chukoo, while watching the deer forgot that they were actually going to see the elephants. Both of them slowly crept through the shrubs so as not to frighten the deer and got onto the road, which lined the beel.

tinat ATIFA MASOOD

That is the second aspect. Everything has a right time. Similarly, even for acting there is a right time. Suppose in winter you sow a mango sapling and then you say, ‘Oh, nothing has sprouted’, it is not going to sprout now, unless it is in a green house. There is a right time to act and a right time to receive the fruit of action as well. So, time is the second factor.

higher power or grace

that of all possibilities. You should always keep room for possibilities; give miracles a chance. Logically you may think that something is impossible, but many times it becomes possible. How many of you have had this experience? A gift from the higher power is that of all possibilities. You can club the three components as perseverance, patience and possibility. These are the three aspects. This is knowledge. At midnight, you cannot say, ‘I made all the effort, I removed the curtain but the sun is not coming in’. No, the sun will only come at the right time. And if you have all the blinders on even when the sun is there, you will not get the light. So, all the three have to match. Like in a cell phone, the charger, sim card and the signal, all these have to be there. If the phone is charged but the sim card isn’t there or the range isn’t there, then the phone is not going to work. So, all three aspects are needed. If you put a lot of effort at the right time, there is achievement. But sometimes it also happens that you put very little effort but still you are very successful. This is because the unseen possibilities are coming to your help. For example: someone has not put any effort, but they won a lottery. When time and possibilities come together, you call it luck. You say, ‘I don’t know how it all happened!’. In a devotee’s life this is more; the right time and the possibility come together. When at the right time you put a lot of effort, it will give you benefit. When you put in a lot of self effort, but there is very little support from nature, that is bad luck. When there is little effort but a lot of support from the divine, it is good luck. Solar eclipse is over just now. Eclipse is a very good time for mantra chanting and meditation. When the Earth, Sun and Moon are in one line, at that time it affects the mind, and they say that when you chant mantras at that time, it is much more powerful. This is the ancient saying. One or two hours before an eclipse, stop eating so that the food gets digested well and during the eclipse time you have an empty stomach, and on the empty stomach chanting and mantras are done for maximum result.

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Food

sanjukta dutta

(Food enthusiast) The Kitchen Affair...

Little Manipur IN GUWAHATI Sangai Manipuri Rice Hotel

y love affair with food is platonic and that makes me feel that food makes me spiritually happy. This little truth about me has made me more adventurous about finding different types of food that the city has to offer. Many people living in Guwahati often tell me that the city has limited options when it comes to eating out, but my belief is on the contrary. The city has incredible assortments to offer. All it needs is little journeying. People living here in the city know how commercial and cramped Manipuri Basti in Paltan Bazar of Guwahati is. And this is where we discovered a retreat for food lovers. I went for a stroll and looking around, found this place called ‘Sanghai Manipuri Rice Hotel’. I instantly thought, ‘it’s going to be a Manipuri lunch for me’. As I inquisitively walked

Food for 6- Rs. 1000/-(Approx) Near Ratna Kuber, Manipuri Basti, Guwahati. upstairs that led me to a small hall, the first thing that hit me was the fact that it was a ‘clean dining area’ and that made me very happy. It was unlike those bhojanalayas around the city where many people would not want to go in because of the unhygienic surroundings. I loved the place instantly and what made me happier was that the staff/waiters are very friendly and promptly help

I loved the place instantly and what made me happier was that the staff/waiters are very friendly and promptly help you to choose the menu because for a first timer, non-manipuri, the eronbas, thongba, sinju may confuse us to the maximum

THE SEVEN SISTERS sanjukta dutta (Food enthusiast)

ust when the food of North East India is gaining momentum, a book called ‘The Seven Sisters Kitchen Tales from the North East’ by Purabi Shridhar and Sanghita Singh, caught our attention. And I collect cook books and try out new recipes religiously, so writing a review becomes likely for me, even though I consider writing a cook book review very challenging. What attracted me to the book was the title itself. ‘THE SEVEN SISTERS-Kitchen tales from the North East’ and the fact that there are not just the famous recipes of the Northeast but also a few selective stories that have evolved and must have inspired the authors to come out with the book, was interesting. The pictures are very articulately

So if you are looking for a book that can give you an insight on Northeast cooking, you can give this book a try. Overall, we appreciate that there are people who are trying hard to bring northeast food into the limelight and The Seven Sisters has done a fine job.

• Paperback: 226 pages • Publisher: Westland Ltd • Language: English • ISBN-10: 9384030678 • ISBN-13: 9789384030674

you to choose the menu because for a first timer, non-manipuri, the eronbas, thongba, sinju may confuse us to the maximum. Another highlight of this eatery is that it doesn’t have a written menu card; the waiter/staff will carry the entire non-veg platter right in front of you where you can choose what to eat and what to give a miss. So once you do that a standard veg thail will follow along with the orders that you have placed. This dining experience makes me so happy that I go there from time to time and I have also taken my like minded/tongued friends here who have loved this place tremendously. My thumbs up to this clean, small eatery and I highly recommend this place to all the food lovers in the city to try out and experience the little Manipur right in the heart of Guwahati.

Kitchen Tales from the North East selected and that is one of the USPs of the book. ‘A picture speaks more than a thousand words’ fits into the bill. What is more distinctive is the fact that the recipes are a compilation from various people belonging to different parts of the North East India. Mary Kom makes a notable contribution too. The book is smartly complied into segments that cover Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura and a brief about each state is specified for readers in case they want to know more than just the food. The glossary pages are added bonus for those who are looking for the common English names, Hindi translation and the local names of the recipes and ingredients and this too

has been segmented state wise. Another prominent fact drawn from this book is that as the recipes are from various people across north east, living here or elsewhere, the compilers, Purabi and Sanghita have duly credited the recipe contributors here. So if you are looking for a book that can give you an insight on Northeast cooking, you can give this book a try. Overall, we appreciate that there are people who are trying hard to bring northeast food into the limelight and The Seven Sisters has done a fine job. The book is available in leading retail book shops across the country. It is also available in ‘www.amazon.in’ in both kindle version and paperback.

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Women generally not safe in Delhi, opines Sonam

Entertainment

Salman and Paris Hilton Caught partying together

ctress Sonam Kapoor has strongly condemned the recent sexual assault on a young woman by a taxi driver in the capital and said that Mumbai is safer than Delhi for women. A 25-year-old woman was allegedly raped by an Uber cab driver Friday night after she took the cab around 9.30 p.m. from Vasant Vihar area in New Delhi. “It’s an awful thing to have happened. Women are generally not safe in Delhi as compared to Mumbai,” Sonam said on Tuesday at the DVD launch of her film “Khoobsurat”. Reacting on Delhi government’s decision to ban “all activities” by Uber company in the national capital, Sonam said, “Honestly, it’s not the fault of the cab company. It’s fault of a government in a lot of ways because they have given a character certificate to the cab driver”.

“So the punishment and the rules have to be more stringent from government’s side. Are you saying that if rape takes place in a public transport vehicle, they are going to ban public

transport? “I think it works either way. Neeyat insan ki change honi chahiye (mentality of a person should change). You can’t ban things,” she added.

Ayushmann planning to quit acting arena

ctor-singer Ayushmann Khurrana, who will soon launch his own band Ayushmann After School, says he will come out with a single after every three months. “I am launching my band Ayushmann After School very soon. Every three months, I will be coming out with a single,” Ayushmann, who recently released his single “Mitti di Khushboo”, said in an interview. The “Vicky Donor” star is also looking forward to his new film “Hawaaizaada”. “I have composed a ghazal ‘Dile-nadaan’ by Mirza Galib for “Hawaaizaada” and it has come out really

was caught partying with stunning socialite of west Paris Hilton at Venkateshwara Hatcheries owner Balaji Rao’s birthday on Thursday evening. Paris who is in India on a personal visit got an opportunity of having a rendezvous with Salman at the Balaji Rao’s party where she even clicked a pic with him and posted it on Instagram with a caption, `#GoodTimes in India with my friend @BeingSalmanKhan.

What Freida looks for while accepting a movie? well,” said the actor, who has sung in films like “Vicky Donor” and “Nautanki Saala!”. “It has two versions. Besides, there

is another song called ‘Dark ticket’ that has been composed by my friend Rochak Kohli. Both the songs are being sung by me,” he added.

No better teacher than experience, feels Kalki

ctress Kalki Koechlin says she is still learning and hopes to excel in acting when she turns 90. “There is no better teacher than experience. After every film, we all learn something and take that with us. I hope when I am 90, I will be a great actress,” the 30-yearold told reporters in a group interview. “Yes, I have done films which were not hit, but that’s fine. I think it’s not important all your films should be hit. Your performance should be appreciated. We all work and try to improve and better ourselves,” she added. The “Dev D” star’s recent releases like “Zindagi na Milegi Dobara” and “Yeh Jawaani Hai Dee-

t’s been decades now ever-since we are listening an cherubic vocal that, Salman is one of the most eligible bachelor of Bollywood. But it looks like now another latent fact has surfaced in the buzz arena. Which reveals that besides some of the struggling or not so famous firang divas even some sought after hotties of west are gaga over this Dabangg of Bollywood. And this aforementioned secret got revealed recently, when Salman

wani” are all commercial projects. But she says it was not a conscious decision to do them.

“I don’t take any conscious decision to do commercial films. I do what I find interesting,” she said.

here is a recurring pattern in actress Freida Pinto’s films and that is the presence of strong female characters. The Hollywoodbased Indian actress says it’s the first thing that she considers while choosing films. Be it “Slumdog Millionaire”, “Miral” or her upcoming film “Trishna” all the films have seen her playing such charcters. “A strong female character is the most important thing that I look for in my films. Hence the bottom line is that every character I play needs to have a strong undertone,” Frieda said in an interview. She did pick up a film in which she couldn’t get the same satisfaction that she drew from her earlier films. “I’m not going to mention the film’s name and I’m glad that most of the people didn’t see it. In the film, I did a role where I could not feel the strength of my character and it showed in my

performance. Since then, I haven’t repeated that thing,” she added. Freida, who gained global recognition after Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire”, minces no words to declare the hype around objectification of women in Bollywood a hypocrisy. “I have a problem with women being objectified on-screen. But I feel it’s also unfair that we only talk about women objectification as if it’s perfectly okay for men to be objectified,” said the actress while she was in Delhi to unveil the Girls Rising campaign in India. “I feel there is a little bit of hypocrisy over there,” Freida added. “I am a kind of person who doesn’t talk about any film until it’s done. The same goes for the production ventures. I will not talk about the film I am producing till it’s done. I am producing two films. I can promise you that the films have strong female characters,” the actress said.

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Reviews

GAME REVIEW

You SHOULD LISTEN

World Of Warcraft

Movie Review Director: Adeeb Rais Starring: Shenaz Treasurywala, Barun Sobti, Danny Sura

iss Perfect looking for Mr Right: standard rom com schtick gets played out in ‘Main Aur Mr Riight, with a couple of nice touches, but it never lifts off the screen. Aliya (Shenaz Treasurywala) is a Bollywood casting agent with not a hair out of place, nor a crease in her dress. Her search takes her through fruitless dates with artless men to no, as they say, avail. Clearly, she is ripe for the ‘opposites attract’ cliche, and when struggling actor Sukhi (Barun Sobti) shows up in her office with a hearty Punjabi accent and crude sense of humour, we know where this is headed. Finding one’s Mr. Right can be an ordeal. Well Adeeb Rais’s Main Aur Mr. Riight was one in itself. One begins to think, why would a talented actor like Barun Sobti, choose a film like this as his debut to Bollywood and sabotage his apparent film career. The movie is about finding ‘Mr. Right’ but does one really exist? A slice of life, romantic comedy that talks about love, relationships and singlehood. Its a story of eight friends

living their individual and successful lives. The story sails through each and every one’s life of which the major plot being that of Aliya & Sukhi. Barun Sobti essays the role of Sukhi in the movie, who is a struggling actor. He does his part quite well and his effort is noticeable and worth mentioning. He has essayed a character which has a comic element, which he does hilariously well and the only time one will laugh in the movie, because the other time you would laugh without a point. Shenaz Treasurywala is annoyingly cute in the movie. She essays the role of Aliya who is a casting director for films. Well she is one who needs to learn to act. Wearing skimpy clothes can’t do the trick always, can it? The movie has a boring storyline and half baked plot and characters. The music doesn’t do any magic to the film, in fact pulls it down even more. This weekend, better look for your Mr. Right of Miss Right elsewhere, because they are definitely not at the movie, unless you are a die hard fan of Barun Sobti as he is the only ‘Riight’ in the film

irst, let’s talk about The Grind. In a traditional persistent online RPG, you advance your character by killing an endless string of monsters, and by doing “FedEx” quests where you get some money and/or experience points by delivering an arbitrary item from Point A to Point B. As your character advances, his or her progress begins to slow. It takes longer and longer to get to the next level, because you need more and more experience points each time, yet the experience returned from monsters and deliveries does not scale accordingly. Yet you feel compelled to continue because at Level X you get a really cool spell or other ability that’s supposed to make the game more “fun.” The second part of the grind is “downtime,” the amount of time it takes to recover from each monster (or “mob”) encounter. When I played DAOC, it typically took every ounce of my resources to defeat an enemy that would give me respectable experience. Then I would sit down and wait while my energy bars slowly refilled. Then you’d have to wait awhile for the next batch of monsters to

You SHOULD Read

spawn again, and you’d typically be competing against other players and “camping” this same spot all day long. Now, imagine an MMO where your experience is a string of quests where you’re rewarded with a cool item, recipe, or a decent amount of pocket money. A game where the grind is virtually eliminated--a game where downtime is relatively nonexistent, where enemies respawn rapidly and dynamically according to how many players are in the local area; where you can use a healing spell, or bandage yourself, or eat some food, or all three, before diving right back in again. Your character’s death doesn’t result in the loss of many hours of experience points, or one of your items, or any money (although there is item decay, so whatever you have equipped currently takes a 10% durability hit). When you die, you resurrect as a ghost who moves quickly, runs on water, and cannot be harmed on its way back to its body. You can also have a player resurrect you in a matter of moments, even after you have entered ghost form. This is a game that understands Fun.

e’d get to hang out with Amy Poehler, watching dumb movies, listening to music, and swapping tales about our coworkers and difficult childhoods. Because in a perfect world, we’d all be friends with Amy—someone who seems so fun, is full of interesting stories, tells great jokes, and offers plenty of advice and wisdom (the useful kind, not the annoying kind you didn’t ask for, anyway). Unfortunately, between her Golden Globewinning role on Parks and Recreation, work as a producer and director, place as one of the most beloved SNL alumni and cofounder of the Upright Citizens’ Brigade, involvement with the website Smart Girls at the Party,

ith a title that refers to nine years away from home, 36 Seasons finds Wu-Tang rapper Ghostface Killah returning to his Tony Starks character, who is himself returning home to a different and more dangerous Staten Island. Starks is just looking to spend his later years chilling in familiar territory, but as the action movie lyrics and the accompanying comic book written by Matthew Rosenberg, explain, betrayal and Berettas are everywhere, so Starks dons his gas mask and schools the hood on what’s good. This is also the atmosphere where comic book choruses like “Exquisite doctor, his work of art/Created a gas mask to save Tony Starks” become great singalong moments with an accompanying fistin-the-air. Cooler, cinematic numbers thrive as well, and with that unique Ghostface style, like when “Homicide” goes from macabre to chuckle-worthy (“I’m stuck back on the couch like a potato”). Inspiration flows out of the man throughout the album, and this endto-end concept is executed with little note-spinning or boring lyrics that just serve the story, and while Twelve Reasons took a big giallo risk and nailed it, this more expected, ‘70s-favored success still surprises with its vigorous sense of purpose. frequent turns as acting double for Meryl Streep, and her other gig as the mom of two young sons, she’s not available for movie night. Luckily we have the next best thing: Yes Please, Amy’s hilarious and candid book. A collection of stories, thoughts, ideas, lists, and haikus from the mind of one of our most beloved entertainers, Yes Please offers Amy’s thoughts on everything from her “too safe” childhood outside of Boston to her early days in New York City, her ideas about Hollywood and “the biz,” the demon that looks back at all of us in the mirror, and her joy at being told she has a “face for wigs.” Yes Please is chock-full of words and wisdom to live by.

NOW SHOWING Action Jackson

Badlapur Boys

Adamya (Assamese)

Exodus Gods and Kings 3D (English)

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G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Toshiba launches WT-8 budget Windows tablet for Rs. 15,490

Tech Watch

YouTube Offline launched in India

oshiba joins the budget Windows tablet segment with its WT-8, 8-inch Windows tablet. The Japanese company has partnered with e-commerce site Amazon to exclusively sell the WT8. The tablet is priced at Rs. 15,490. The 8-inch Windows tablet is powered by an Intel Atom Z3735G quad-core processor clocked at 1.33GHz. The tablet has 1GB of RAM and comes with 32GB of internal storage which can be expanded via microSD cards up to 128GB. Toshiba uses an 8-inch 10-point multi-touch display which has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Speaking on Toshiba’s entry in the Tablet market in India, Sivakumar, Vice President – Sales and Marketing, PC Business – DS Division, Toshiba India stated, “WT-8 is a testimony to Toshiba’s philosophy of consumer-focused design and innovation. Our tablets are developed and designed to offer unparal-

leled proposition to customers seeking a tablet that complements their arsenal of devices, giving them the familiarity and common functionality of Windows for a more seamless computing experience, along with a rich, immersive entertainment. Our association with the World’s leading e-commerce player – Amazon, will expand our reach to the country’s online and tech-savvy

Pirate Bay taken down for ‘copyright infringement’, again

audience. WT-8, coupled with this association will help us in achieving a strong footing in the tablet category in India.” The Windows 8.1 powered tablet has a 5MP rear camera and a 1.2MP front-facing camera. Toshiba has also included a year subscription of Office 365. The tablet will be going against tablets from iBall, Notion Ink and Dell in its category.

New Password stealing virus hits Android devices

ouTube has launched the offline feature that allows users to download videos to their Android or iOS device for later consumption without internet connectivity. Google stated that uses will have to sync with YouTube to watch the videos. The downloaded content will be available for offline playback only through the YouTube app, and can be downloaded via Wi-Fi connectivity or mobile data. The videos will be available for viewing for 48 hours only, to help avoid issues involved with free downloading of copyrighted content, the company stated at the launch. YouTube stated

that, “much of India’s popular YouTube content” is available to view offline. Google had announced YouTube’s offline feature along with the Android One devices earlier this year. The new feature will be useful in India which has the slowest internet speed in Asia, poor 3G connectivity and expensive data plans. YouTube has over 10,000 Indian films and over 250,000 Indian songs. According to a recent report, Indians watch nearly 5 billion videos on YouTube every month and the country is expected to become the second largest market in the world, for video content, by 2015.

Disable or Remove Blue Seen Tick Marks in WhatsApp INDRAJEET BHUYAN

Controversial torrent website, The Pirate Bay, has been taken down by the Swedish police. The police reportedly raided one of the website’s server rooms in Stockholm and seized several computers and servers. While there is speculation that the file sharing website was taken down for hosting some of the movies leaked from the Sony hacking incident recently, the Swedish police have only confirmed that the crackdown was for ‘copyright infringement’. While The Pirate Bay has been down since yesterday, this is not the first time that the website has taken a hit like this. Copyright infringement and other piracy charges have been quite common for The Pirate Bay and the website is no stranger to such controversies. That said, it is currently unclear what the crackdown will mean for the future of the Pirate Bay, but going by what we’ve seen in the past, we think it’s a matter of time before it goes back up again.

The deadly virus has been identified as ‘AndroidSmssend’ and it can acquire as many as four aliases to hoodwink the user and perpetrate its destructive activities on a personal Android enabled phone. “Android/SmsSend is a premium service abuser family malware that arrives bundled with legitimate Android applications and infects Android based smart phones. “Once infected, it sends text messages (typically with a link to itself or a different threat) to a specific number, typically to numbers on the contact list and is also capable to send SMS to premium rate numbers,” the Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) said in its latest advisory to Android phone users in the country. The CERT-In is the nodal agency to combat hacking, phishing and to fortify security-related defences of the Indian Internet domain. It said that after a typical successful infection of the virus, basic information about the smart phone like IMEI number, device id, device type among others are compromised and it can even install spyware on the targeted device.

Dell launches two new rugged Latitude laptops in India

C and laptop maker Dell, today, announced two new convertible notebooks in India. The devices, the Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme and Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme, will be available at Rs. 2,39,999 and Rs. 2,29,999 respectively (excluding local taxes). Commenting at the launch, Indrajit Belgundi, Director & General Manager, End User Computing, Dell India said, “The Dell Latitude Rugged devices are a game changer when it comes to servicing the needs

of a highly intense job, being carried out in difficult conditions. With these devices, we not only aim to deliver technology solutions, but in fact solutions which can withstand challenges as well as their users do.” The two devices will be available with the option of either Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 and feature upto 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of solid state storage. As the name suggests, they are made for areas where rugged usage is required, like military, factories etc.

he instant messaging client has currently got a new and interesting update along with feature never expected by many. The fresh feature rolled out ‘read receipts’ in the form of two blue tickss in the application, showing that the sent message is been read by the person to whom it is sent. However, it seems that this wasn’t a universally popular move and lots of people were unhappy with this. WhatsApp is now introducing a new beta version of the messaging tool includes the option to disable this feature if they want to keep the nagging out of their conversations. The latest beta version of WhatsApp on Android has been released with the option to disable the blue tick marks which were introduced recently. It’s available to Android users who have downloaded the new beta version of the app, those that have can go to Settings > Privacy > and disable the ‘Read Receipts’ option to banish the blue ticks when you read other people’s messages.

How to get WhatsApp Beta Version for Android Mobiles? • To get the WhatsApp beta, you have to enable ‘unknown sources‘ in Settings, to allow installation by APK. • You can then download the beta version(WhatsApp 2.11.44 version) of the app from the official website of WhatsApp ( http://www.whatsapp. com/android/ ) because it hasn’t been released on Google Play Store. • After downloading install it directly from your Android phone. • Then go to Settings > Privacy > and disable the ‘Read Receipts’ Indrajeet Bhuyan is a 16 year old tech blogger and security researcher. He is passionate about computers and believes in sharing knowledge and information . He uses his spare time helping people and companies secure themselves. fb.me/indrajeet.bhuyan

G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Fun

Your weekly dose of Aries

TIMEPASS

Taurus

Though action and adventure may call to you, Jupiter’s retrograde phase encourages you to slow down and opt for inner journeys that encourage greater self-knowledge. The emphasis shifts with a focus on exploring those beliefs that affect your creativity and experience of romance. You may feel a desire to be free of rules and regulations, and you might consider working for yourself as opposed to a company or corporation. Don’t act impulsively, though. Take it one step at a time.

Leo

Gemini

You’ll be eager to explore ideas for earning more money, and you may be tempted to invest in classes with this aim in mind. Information is key this week, and accessing the knowledge you need could prove a turning point. At home, Jupiter’s retrograde phase may slow down your plans for your house or family. Seeds planted may take longer to come to fruition. Later, a potent transit suggests you may be limited by outdated beliefs. It’s time to replace them.

Virgo

Creative and romantic opportunities seem well starred, especially early in the week. Yet as Jupiter rewinds in your sign, you may find certain associations or projects a bit too superficial. It’s time to direct your energy to activities and people who have depth and inspire you. Despite this, your social life continues to flourish, as do romantic options. Big questions circle around in your head as you may notice a desire to escape from too much responsibility, but at what cost?

Sagittarius Your responsibilities to others may seem to restrict your freedom and dampen your enthusiasm. If real-life demands weigh you down, perhaps you’ll escape through travel or other adventures. As Jupiter turns retrograde in Leo, you may prefer to acquire more knowledge. Regular meditation and reflection over the weeks ahead can encourage you to review and change outdated beliefs. Avoid impulsive moves over the weekend that might affect your financial security, even if you’re tempted to take a gamble.

SUDOKU

HOROSCOPE Cancer

Partnerships and relationships flourish this week as your involvement with others expands. You can expect a lot of encouragement, but try not to promise more than you can deliver. Later, the cosmos encourages you to reflect on deep soul bonds and committed relationships and how much you’re willing to share. Key could be finding the balance between keeping things lighthearted and desiring security and commitment. However, social delights await you over the weekend, with the potential for a love adventure.

There are advantages to be gained from stepping outside of your comfort zone this week. Say yes to new people, places, and experiences, particularly if you’re looking for a new job or hoping to set up a business for yourself. Meanwhile, Jupiter’s retrograde phase encourages you to ponder the spiritual source of your supply. Doing so could be a revelation. Finally, a revolutionary transit encourages you to take your goals and dreams seriously. Don’t let personal relationships stand in the way of your success.

Libra

Focus on home affairs, plans, and projects that need to get sorted before the holiday week. You may be the one organizing get-togethers, especially as people seem to enjoy chilling out at your place. Give yourself a chance for some alone time, as this is when inspiration could strike, bringing solutions to problems and creative ideas. Over the weekend you might be faced with a dilemma, as a potent transit encourages you to be honest about your feelings rather than hold back.

Capricorn

Scorpio

Your outlook is upbeat and expectant, with a desire to reach out and connect. As the festive season gets underway it’s time to send cards and messages to those who are dear to your heart, which you’ll enjoy. Jupiter turns retrograde in your social sector, so you may prefer your own company and the chance to reflect at times. Still, there will be enough get-togethers to keep you occupied. Later, ask yourself if you’re resisting an idea whose time has come.

Spend time at home where you can think up ambitious plans and share your ideas with family and friends. You might want to invest in gadgets and other devices that make life easier. Jupiter turns retrograde in your career sector on Monday, so a goal or career move could take longer to materialize. This might not be a bad thing, encouraging you to reflect on what’s best for you. Finally, you might notice how your thoughts affect your well-being for better or worse.

Aquarius

You may want to help out with charity work or volunteer your time in other ways. A focus on your spiritual sector encourages you to be generous, as by giving you will receive. Meanwhile, Venus hikes into your sign on Wednesday, boosting your confidence and making you an attractive option. Later, you may notice a conflict between putting yourself and your own thoughts and feelings first versus doing your duty and making sure you fulfill your responsibilities. You may need to strike a balance.

Pisces

Your social life is busy, but you aren’t complaining! With festive gettogethers keeping you busy, you’re in your element. Jupiter turns retrograde in your relationship sector on Monday, so interactions could slow. For instance, a business partnership may see you both acting more independently for a while and learning much as a result. If you’re in a long-term relationship, you may relish more alone time. Finally, the weekend may set you thinking about what’s holding you back from being successful.

A focus on Sagittarius and your career sector makes this a good time to get your message out to the world, and to be bold and forthright about doing so. When it comes to everyday matters or lifestyle issues, it might be time to journey within to uncover and release anything blocking success. Your social life picks up midweek, with romance looking likelier. Finally, if a friend disapproves of your behavior, you might wonder why you hang out with him or her.

JUST FOR LAUGHs

House Hacks EMPTY PAPER EGG CARTONS ARE A CHEAP WAY TO COOL DOWN YOUR LAPTOP 1. Placing your laptop on empty egg cartons will help improve airflow and heat dissipation. This will help keep your laptop cooler and running better.

Wife: “How would you describe me?” Husband: “ABCDEFGHIJK.” Wife: “What does that mean?” Husband: “Adorable, beautiful, cute, delightful, elegant, fashionable, gorgeous, and hot.” Wife: “Aw, thank you, but what about IJK?” Husband: “I’m just kidding!” A woman is at a grocery store. She goes to the clerk to purchase her groceries. The clerk looks at her items and sees a carton of eggs, a gallon of milk, and a head of lettuce. He says to the woman, “You must be single.” The woman was surprised & replies, “Yes, how did you know?” The clerk answers, “Because you’re ugly.”wives!

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G PLUS DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

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

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

International Hospital 0361-7135005 Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (2541477, 2543998) Marwari Hospital & Research Centre 0361-2602738/39 Marwari Maternity Hospital 0361-2541202/01 Nemcare Hospital 0361-2528587, 2455906, 2457344

Pratiksha Hospital 0361-2337260, 2337183/84 Basistha Military Hospital (2304617/0351) Railway Central Hospital Casuality (2671025) Redcross Hospital (2665114) Sri Sankardeva Netralaya 0361-2233444, 2228879, 2228921 TB Hospital (2540193) Wintrobe Hospital 0361-2519860, 98647-77986 GNRC Hospital 0361 2227702 GNRC Life First Ambulance 9401194011

24-HOUR PHARMACIES Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) DEAD BODY CARRYING VAN GLP Social Circle 2737373, 9435047046 Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251 GGUMTA 98640-16740 ELECTRICITY SUPPLY Call Centre – 9678005171

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

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

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

police station 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 DEC 13 - DEC 19, 2014

Catching Up

Katie Price

Air pollution is discolouring Taj Mahal

Has Haunted House?

team of researchers from India and the US has found that the browning of the Taj Mahal’s iconic marble dome and soaring minarets is due to dust and airborne carbon particles. “Our team was able to show that the pollutants discolouring the Taj Mahal are particulate matter: carbon from burning biomass and refuse, fossil fuels, and dust - possibly from agriculture and road traffic,” said Michael Bergin, professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US. Attracting millions of visitors each year, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Beginning in the 1970s, observers noted a brownish cast to the white marble that makes up the structures. For the study, the researchers used air sampling equipment to measure what was in the air in the Taj Mahal complex from November 2011 through June 2012. In addition, they also placed small samples of pristine marble onto the Taj Mahal at various locations near the main dome. After exposure to air pollutants over a two-month period, the researchers found particles of dust, brown organic carbon and black carbon in the filters and on the marble samples. The carbon particles come from a variety of sources, including fuel combustion, cooking and brick-making, trash and refuse burning and vehicle exhaust. The dust may come from local agricultural activities and vehicular traffic - or from distant sources. Now that researchers know what’s discolouring the Taj Mahal, the next step will be to identify the sources of the particles and plan control strategies.

atie Price says that there are strange goings on in her house and believes that the property may be haunted. Price and her husband Kieran Hayler say that they keep smelling cigarettes and hearing sounds and now a medium is being called in to take a look at around. However, Price is convinced that her house has a ghost in it. Price said: “Kieran keeps smelling cigarettes and I Googled it and spirits normally smell of smoke and flowers. “I am getting a medium in. Because we’re knocking things down, we’re disturbing the spirits. I am 100 per cent sure there’s a ghost.” And while Price may think that there is a ghost living in their house, Kieran seems less sure and blames some of the noises on their dog Kevin. Kieran said: “The other day Katie woke up at 4am swearing blind she could hear a ghost but it turned out to be Kevin the dog outside our room!”

Bird bombs: Here’s a brand new entry in Taliban arsenal

UK Labor MP wife selling cleavage selfies on eBay

er husband is Labour MP Simon Danczuk, and the 31-year-old mother of two is also a councillor in the town of Rochdale in England’s north west. She also has a Twitter account, with 25,100 followers. Popular, for sure, and when one takes a look it is easy to see why. She even has a social media fan page: @KarenDFanClub. Karen Danczuk is clearly proud of her breasts, or perhaps we should say her cleavage, as nearly all of her selfies feature her breasts. The selfies come with seemingly innocuous tweets. She has now hit on the idea of selling her selfies on eBay, complete with signature and a spray of her favourite Chanel perfume, for $AU19 (£10) each. Already 10 have been snapped up. Before this profit-making venture, Danczuk offered a free selfie to buyers of her old clothes. “I’m taking selfie to a whole new level! It’s a real personalised process to each person,” Danczuk said. She has, perhaps obviously, come in for a lot of flak but claims she is doing nothing wrong.

errorists the world over are known to deploy suicide bombers, or ‘human bombs’, to wreak death and devastation on their targets, but have you ever heard of a bird being used as a suicide bomber? The Taliban seem to be using such a strategy and the Afghan police reportedly shot dead a bird which had been equipped by the terrorists with an explosive pouch, a GPS tracker and a detonator. The bird had several wires protruding from its feathers, a mobile phone detonator and a spe-

cially designed ‘suicide vest’. Alert officers spotted the suspicious-looking bird in the Faryab province in the north of the country, near the border with Turkmenistan and their suspicions increased as the large bird is not known to be native to the area. The bird exploded when it was shot and ‘suspicious metal stuff ’ was scattered around, Abdul Nabi Ilham of the Afghan police said Ilham added, “We are gathering all the stuff, but found parts of what looks to be GPS and a small camera.”

ARUNACHAL VANISHES FROM INDIA PORN MAP

n yet another incident, a survey by Adult website Porn Hub and its partner Quartz India omitted Arunachal Pradesh from the Indian Map. The survey was conducted to find out which country spends the highest time watching porn online. This seems to be getting way out of hand now! Though, according to the survey India has managed to make it to the 4th place in terms of number of worldwide visitors to the site on mobile devices has been claimed to be most active on Pornhub. But the website along with their associates missed out the map of Arunachal Pradesh from the map of India. This is not the first time such an incident has taken place. Earlier, during the promotions of the Sunburn Festival that was held in Goa the promoters erased the entire northeastern part off the Indian map.

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