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I DO RESOLVE

G Plus speaks to a few prominent Guwahatians and cajoles them into spilling their resolution beans.

Inside G Plus 2015 Calendar VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 12 DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

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HIREN NATH

LIKELY TO BE FIRST

COMMISSIONER PG 02

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Lead

HIREN NATH

LIKELY TO BE FIRST POLICE COMMISSIONER RAHUL CHANDA

City SSP AP Tiwari will hand over his charge to the commissioner of police, but again according to sources he might be promoted to the rank of DIG and subsequently he might be appointed as one of the joint commissioners

any people are not aware that the police commissionerate had been recommended in the Shanti Prasad commission report in the late 70s and attempts had been made since 1984 to put the system in place in Guwahati. The subsequent police reports of various police commissionerates in the country say that any city having a population of more than 10 lakhs should have a police commissionerate. So finally, CM Tarun Gogoi’s promise will be kept and from the 1st of January, Guwahati will witness a change in the policing approach of the city police. So, who is going to be the first commissioner?

The probable candidates Although it is not yet official, sources have informed G Plus that IGP (SB) Hiren Nath has the highest probability of becoming the first ever commissioner of police of Guwahati. There were a lot of speculations by the observers and the names of Hiren Nath and IGP (L&O) SN Singh started doing the rounds, since a commissioner can only be of the rank of an IGP or above. City SSP AP Tiwari will hand over his charge to the commissioner of police, but according to sources, he might be promoted to the rank of DIG and subsequently, he might be appointed as one of the joint commissioners. Sources also informed that DIG AJ Baruah is another probable candidate for the post of joint commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner of police must be of the rank of an SSP or SP and some of the name being murmured about are SP Bibekananda Das, SP Amitabh Sinha, SP Sudhakar Singh, Traffic SP Pranab Jyoti Goswami and SP Longneet Terang. After that, there will be Assistant commissioners who will be taking care of the police stations under one headquarter. But how will the hierarchy work under the commissionerate?

The Division The Governor of Assam has constituted three police districts under the police commissionerate namely, East Police District, Central Police District and West Police District. The districts will be divided into various headquarters under which there will be different police stations. The division of the districts are as follows: -

Headquarter-wise division of the police districts under the commissionerate Districts

Police stations under the districts

Headquarters (HQ) of the police stations

District Incharge

East Police District

Sonapur PS, Khetri PS, Basistha PS, Hatigaon PS, Dispur PS, Bhangagarh PS

Sonapur and Khetri will have HQ at Sonapur headed by ACP. Hatigaon and Basistha will have HQ at Basistha with an ACP. HQ Dispur for Dispur and Bhangagarh PS.

Deputy Commissioner of Police East District

Central Police District

Panbazar PS, Paltan Bazar PS, Latasil PS, Chandmari PS, Geetanagar PS, Noonmati PS, Sachal PS, Pragjyotishpur PS, All Women PS

ACP Panbazar will take care of Panbazar, Paltan Bazar and Latasil PS.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Central District

ACP Chandmari will take care of Geetanagar and Chandmari PS. ACP Noonmati will take care of Sachal, Pragjyotishpur and Noonmati PS. ACP Women unit will take care of All Women PS and all women related cases of entire city given by Commissioner of police.

West Police District

Azara PS, Gorchuk PS, Fatasil Ambari PS, Jalukbari PS and Bharalumukh PS

ACP Azara will control Gorchuk PS and Fatasil Ambari PS. ACP Jalukbari will have Bharalumukh and Jalukbari PS.

Deputy Commissioner of Police West District

The deputy commissioners will be directly working under the Commissioner of Police

STRUCTURE OF COMMISSIONERATE AND PROBABLE CANDIDATES • Commissioner (ADGP or IGP ranked) – IGP Hiren Nath • Joint Commissioners (DIG ranked) – DIG AJ Baruah, SSP AP Tiwari (If Tiwari is promoted to DIG rank) • Deputy Commissioners (SSP or SP ranked) – Bibekananda Das, Amitabh Sinha, Sudhakar Singh, Pranab Jyoti Goswami, Longneet Terang, Sanjukta Parashar

• Assistant Commissioners (DSP ranked) • Additional Deputy Commissioners (Addl SP ranked) • Officer in charges of police stations

All the Officers-in-charge of all the police stations will report to their respective ACPs and the ACPs will further report to the DCPs of the police districts. The DCPs will report to the Joint commissioners and the joint commissioners will report directly to the commissioner of police. The commissioner will be directly reporting to the state DGP.

The power game There are certain obvious powers, which will be taken over by the city police, once it gets upgraded. Powers like the CRPC section 144 and 107 will be taken over by the commissionerate, which at present is implemented by the district magistrate. The Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) empowers a magistrate to prohibit an assembly of more than ten people in an area. Section 107 is used for keeping the peace in other cases. The magisterial powers will be practised between the levels of the commissioner to the assistant commissioners of police. Similarly, according to the home department notification, various powers of the district commissioner will be conferred on the commissioner of police like the Sarais’ Act, 1867 which allows the commissioner to regulate the ‘sarais’ or the hotels in the city along with the Dramatic Performances Act 1876, which will allow the commissioner to control the theatres. There will also be other powers conferred like The Explosive Substances Act,1908, The Explosive Act, The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 and many more. According to analysts, the IAS lobby was against the formation of a commissionerate because of this power shift. With the new commissionerate in place, there are also possibilities of the state DGP being transferred after the recent NDFB (S) terror in the state. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

In The News

NDFB(S) ATTACK AASU, OTHER TRIBAL ORGANISATIONS DEMAND GUWAHATI HIT BY BANDH CENTRE’S INTERVENTION Mrinmoyee Hazarika

he heat of terror and massacre carried out by the Songbijit faction of NDFB (National Democratic Front of Bodoland) on Adivasi people for the last three days in different parts of the state was seen in the city on Friday, where people from various walks of life came out on the road protesting the brutal killings. So far, till the writing of this report, the death toll has risen up to more than 80 people, several of them women and children, in an almost simultaneous attack on Adivasi settlers in four locations spread across two districts of Assam - Kokrajhar and Sonitpur. According to police sources, the attacks, all believed to have been carried out with AK-series weapons, took place between 6.30pm and 7.30pm. On Friday, members of KMSS took out a protest rally from Dighalipukhuri where other people including journalists, senior citizens and intellectuals took part. Meanwhile, various organisations including AASU, AASA, AATSA, AATS, ABSU and the Bodo Sahitya Sabha have had a joint meeting in Guwahati on Friday where they discussed the issue of the brutal attacks of NDFB (S) and chalked out a plan to protest the attack. Demanding the Centre’s intervention, AASU advisor Samujjal Bh-

We would be meeting the Governor of the state today. Besides, on the 29th and 30th of December, we, along with 26 tribal organisations are going to visit the terror affected areas in order to spread the message of goodwill and brotherhood among the different communities attacharyya said, “The brutal killing on innocent women and children by NDFB(S) has to be stopped at any cost and the government has to take action to provide safety and security to the people. The presence of the state government is nowhere to be seen and they have failed to protect

the lives of the public. The Central government should intervene to ensure security of the people.” Mentioning the course of action jointly to be taken by AASU and other organisations including AASA, AATSA, AATS, ABSU and Bodo Sahitya Sabha, Bhattacharya stated,

“We would be meeting the Governor of the state today. Besides, on the 29th and 30th of December, we, along with 26 tribal organisations are going to visit the terror affected areas in order to spread the message of goodwill and brotherhood among the different communities.” All the representatives of AASU, AASA, AATSA, AATS, ABSU and Bodo Sahitya Sabha, who were present at the meeting, strongly condemned the brutal attack of NDFB (S) on innocent people including women and children and demanded the state government to provide relief materials to the victims of the attack. They also demanded full security for the people living in vulnerable areas. “Our people have been visiting the terror affected areas and providing help to the victims. We request people belonging to different communities to keep tolerance, unity and brotherhood among themselves. It is very necessary to keep calm and stand united, so that no third party can take advantage of such situations by giving it a communal colour. We also ask all sections of people not to believe in rumours and be misguided,” representatives of AASU, AASA, AATSA, AATS, ABSU and Bodo Sahitya Sabha stated. Holding both the central and state governments responsible for the heinous act of terror committed by the NDFB (S) militants in several

places of Assam, leaders of several political parties said that the innocent people could have been saved if the government had acted sensibly. “This is a serious issue of negligence. According to the reports the state government had the inputs of such attacks in the state but the state security agencies just could not negotiate it. And the result is loss of lives of common people,” AGP general secretary Kamala Kanta Kalita said on Friday at Guwahati. The leaders of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), CPI, Nationalist Congress party (NCP) and state unit of Samajwadi Party who visited the victims of the killings at different relief camps and shelter places also said that the people are living a very pathetic life. Moreover, major roads of the city looked deserted during the 10-hour long bandh called by the Asom Yuba Parishad (AYP), the youth wing of opposition AGP. The All Assam Tea Tribes Student Association, Adivasi Chhatra Sangathan, Akhil Assam Bhojpuri Parishad, All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) and seven other groups too observed the 12-hour long bandh on Friday. During the bandh, an ASTC bus was damaged at GS road by the bandh supporters. Tires were burnt in different areas of the city including Ambari. mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

City

GARBAGE TRANSFER SYSTEM FOR

KALYAN DEB

POSTMORTEM ROAD

he road beside Dona Planet, more commonly known as the Postmortem road that leads to the Regional Dental College is literally impossible for people to walk along because of the stench from the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital’s (GMCH) garbage dump situated right beside the road. Adjacent to Dimbeshwar Nagar, the road is the shortest way for one to travel from the GS Road to the GMCH. The open space near the postmortem unit of the outdoor patients department (OPD) of the Gauhati Medical College and Hospitals (GMCH) has become a garbage dump with both the hospital and the residents blaming each other for the mess. Since the allotted space is a property of the GMCH, the staff has been dumping garbage regularly at the site but it has also been stated by the GMCH authorities that lately, the residents have been dumping their garbage there as well. Patients, commuters and students of the college staying in nearby hostels often complain of foul smell emanating from the place filled with polythene and all other daily garbage of the hospital. This has turned the place into a breeding ground for diseases as all the pedestrians going

toward the postmortem unit have to face a lot of inconvenience, breathing the unhealthy air. “Several complaints have been forwarded to the GMCH superintendent regarding the shifting of the garbage dump but there has been no response received yet from his end. The location of the garbage dump is very inconvenient and unhygienic for the commuters,” said P.K. Mahanta, a resident of Dimbeswar Nagar. “It creates a very unhealthy atmosphere for us as the place is just near the hostel we live,” Rajiv Barman, a student of the GMCH, said. A.K. Adhyapok, Principal, Regional Dental College asserted, “The college has complained regarding the garbage bin since it is not very hygienic for a garbage dump to be kept openly at a place, which is regularly used by the general public.” Whereas, on the other hand the GMCH authorities claim that despite several appeals to the GMC, no attempts had been made to clean the site on a regular basis. “I have complained to the GMC thrice with the last complain being sent on December 19, referring to the two previous letters. It is the garbage truck of GMC that does not clear the garbage regularly and only carries out

Garbage Transfer System A transfer station is a building or processing site for the temporary deposition of waste often used as places where local waste collecting vehicles deposit their waste cargo prior to loading into larger vehicles. The compactors then transport the waste to the end point of disposal in an incinerator, landfill, or hazardous waste facility or for recycling. the process every three to four days,” said Ramen Talukdar, Superintendent, Gauhati Medical College and Hospitals (GMCH). “Apart from the garbage which is produced by the hospital, the residents have also been dumping their garbage in the same area,” Talukdar added. The superintendent also mentioned that the bio-chemical wastes are disposed in the incinerator and the garbage that is dumped are only the non-biological waste. On the other hand, the GMC authorities claim that they have been cleaning the garbage site on a regular basis. Amidst the overflowing filth, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) came up with the new solid waste management program with the

idea of transforming Guwahati into a dustbin-free city. The corporation has initiated the process of setting up transfer stations for which the first station is under progress near nursery on the Zoo Road. Based on the idea of segregation of municipal waste at the primary level, the plan includes mechanisms to deal with dry and wet waste generated in the city. “The same will be introduced in the GMCH garbage dump, for which discussions are ongoing. A proposal has already been forwarded by the GMCH Superintendent and the same is expected by the GMC commissioner within a short period of time after which the construction will start within a period of two months,”

B.N Choudhary, Executive Manager, Division 3, GMC, said. “The NGOs would collect the segregated waste and transfer the waste to the transfer stations, where garbage will be stored in a well covered container. Once filled, these containers will be transferred through the compactors,” he added. “Since, this is a transition period so the basic problems are expected to be faced, but the gradual success of the process is also expected. After the Zoo road transfer station, more such stations along with the Guwahati Medical College and Hospitals will be set up in the Adabari and the Sharabhatti region,” Choudhary asserted. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

Weather report for the week SAT 27 December

SUN 28 December

MON 29 December

TUE 30 December

WED 31 December

THU 01 January

FRI 02 January

Mostly sunny.

Sunny.

Morning Clouds.

More Sun than clouds

12 / 24 °C

11 / 25 °C

12 / 25 °C

14 / 23 °C

14 / 24 °C

15 / 22 °C

13 / 23 °C

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

City

Rahul Chanda

hen small cities develop, the crime scenario too develops along with it and gradually people tend to follow the crime strategies of big cities. Guwahati recently witnessed an incident, which was mostly unheard of before apart from the newspapers and according to the police, incidents like these were hardly reported in the city before. Last week, the Birubari area of the city witnessed cops and media personnel thronging the Jonaki path of the area, where some women had reported that a house owner was attempting to take indecent pictures and videos of them who were staying as tenants in his house. What was the incident all about?

The incident

38-year-old Rajesh Rabha, who is married and has two children, lives with his brother’s family in his own house built by his father. There are also around 20-25 families staying along with them in the same compound as tenants in the many rooms constructed inside the compound. Among the tenants, were also many women, including college going students and married women. For all the tenants, the owners had constructed one bathroom made of bamboo. On the 21st of December some women tenants complained to the police that Rajesh Rabha had in-

BATHROOM SPY CAM SHOCKER Man installs mobile cam to record unsuspecting women bathing!

stalled a mobile phone camera on one of the bamboo walls of the bathroom, recording all the activities happening inside it. A married woman who also has a kid, was taking a bath inside the bathroom on the night of 20th December when suddenly she heard a sound coming from the walls of the bathroom. Interestingly the sound was of a low battery signal, which was coming from a mobile phone installed in the bathroom. On hearing that, she doubted that there was something wrong and after surveying, she discovered that there was a mobile phone installed. She took the mobile and reported the incident to her husband after which, all the tenants gathered and discovered that there were videos of around 25 people bathing. The next

day, the tenants reported the incident to the police after which the police arrested Rajesh and also seized the mobile phone. The police said that there are videos of people taking bath in the bathroom recorded in the mobile. A case has been registered in the Paltan Bazar Police Station (case number – 1211/14 under section 294/354 (a)/354 (c)/506 IPC) and the accused after being forwarded to the court, is in judicial custody at present. What made him do that and was he using the videos for the internet? How long has he been doing this?

The past

According to some local residents, Rajesh Rabha and his family were related to many cases. A few

years back, when Rajesh was unmarried, an incident of firing took place in Rajesh’s house after which the entire family was arrested. A relative had come to Rabha’s place and later on, a group of people came and started firing. The relative was killed and for many months, the entire family was in jail. Similarly, one Sangeeta Rabha has also filed a case against Rajesh Rabha saying that he had taken money from her and had slapped her when she asked for the money. Sangeeta’s sister talked to G Plus and said, “Rajesh Rabha had taken Rs 3 lakh from our family as loan. We gave him the money as he is our family friend and while taking the money he told us that he had some family problems. He did not return the money for a long time and one day when me and my sister went to ask for it, he pushed us and slapped me. His wife then stopped him but this irked us and we complained to the local police. The local police initially did not take up any action as they have good relations with Rajesh, so we went to the city SSP upon whose instructions, our case was forwarded to the court and now the case is continuing in the court.” She further added that Rajesh owes money to many people in the

locality and he has swindled money from many poor people. According to her, the videos which he had recorded from the bathroom, may had been done to blackmail the victims and getting money out from them. One local resident also informed that Rajesh’s family was once very rich as his father was a very hard working and a kind man. They have many business establishments and properties in the area. But once his father died, Rajesh and his brother started many businesses and controversies have always surrounded them. They also started a financial bank named Shrishti where poor people deposited a lot of money. They had to close down the bank and they still owe a lot of money to many people. They also had a CD shop, which is closed now because apparently they used to trade in porn videos. The recent bathroom scandal, according to many residents, is another trick of theirs to earn easy money. Was it for money or just mere pleasure, the interrogators will surely find out. But the shocking thing is that such perversions are gradually settling down in people’s minds in Guwahati as normal way of life. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

City

OVER THEN NEW YEAR PARTIES THE YEARS AND NOW KALYAN DEB

he malls and the market places are decorated with glitzy neon and twinkle-lights, giving a festive look to the city as the countdown for New Year has already begun. The city of Guwahati is ready to embrace the celebrations with the winter chill adding to the joy, of leaving behind the burden of the past and will be welcoming the New Year with hope and cheer. Pubs, hotels and lounge bars spread over the city are also gearing up to welcome the New Year as various events and parties will be held during this festive season. The party organisers are applying full focus to involve all the age groups so that everyone gets entertained while welcoming the New Year. Many of those who prefer the daytime for New Year celebrations go for picnics in the hot-spots in and around the city such as Hatisila, Chandrapur Barapani, Chandubi Lake, Hahim, Rani, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Kaziranga. Even the only amusement park in the region, Accoland sees a large number of people, mainly families, enjoying the rides and games on the last day of the year. Over the years, the city has witnessed a huge transformation in the way of celebrations. As people of the antecedent generation celebrated the same in their own ways, it was vastly different from today’s scenario. Parties still used to take place and people used to get entertained but the scenario of the past had a different hue than that of today. While as of today most celebrations have DJs to entertain the guests, in the past, it was mostly live bands and other artists who were invited as special attraction of the events.

The Pub scene Among some of the older places around the city, which used to hold events on such occasions Hotel Nandan’s, Vice-president, Operations Mrinal Kanti Chakrabarty, said, “Earlier

there were not many hotels in the city and the demand for entertainment was more. But since the year 2003 the scenario has changed, as we have not organised any such event since then. With time, the crowd got divided into certain groups - the youth, the middle aged ones and the married couples and the tightening of restrictions by the city administration has also been one of the major issues. “In order to keep up the reputation of the hotel, as such issues are prone to cause social disorder, organising such parties have been avoided for quite some time now. Though earlier, there were mostly live music played such as Ghazal. However, the hotel always welcomes guests who want to rent the space for private parties,” Chakrabarty added. One of the oldest party hubs, Hotel Rajmahal on AT Road is also ready for its celebration with this year’s theme being a poolside party along with a page 3 DJ. In its 23-year history, Hotel Rajmahal was one of the hottest party spots for celebrating New Year’s Eve. “Going back ten to fifteen years from now, people were not aware of the concept of New Year celebrations but over the years along with the development of the city, the scenario has evolved. Earlier, it was mostly live music by bands and recorded music and DJ’s have played only since the past two to three years,”, said Subrata Kr. Dhar, the F&B Manager of the hotel. “Being situated in a commercial hub it is the hotel’s responsibility to keep things to a minimum and it has avoid any kind of public nuisance. Since such parties involve the consumption of alcohol, it becomes the hotel’s responsibility to avoid any kind of mishaps. Although this year’s party involves a renowned DJ, we are also working on hiring a dance troupe as an added attraction to the party,” added Dhar. Known for holding outstanding events one of the oldest clubs in the city the India Club is also planning its own events. Continuing with its privilege of hosting live events, this year’s highlight is the Edwin Fernandes band, all the way from Goa. The band same was also the closing act in the past

Femina Miss India finale. “For the past seven years, the club has been hosting live bands with a Pink Floyd tribute band as the performing band on December 2013, which attracted a huge crowd from all over the city. Even this year’s event is expected to be a success as other thanthe 328 club members, 400 bookings have already taken place. The event will also have DJ Souvik alongside the band,” asserted Jayanta Madhab Konwar, Manager, India Club.

The Domestic Scene Apart from going to the pubs and hotels to celebrate, a large part of the population also prefer to celebrate the same at their homes with families and friends. New Year’s Eve is celebrated with fireworks and bonfires and the locals gather around, celebrating and singing. Such traditional celebrations can only be seen in parts of Northeast where people along with their family and friends cook on the bonfire and have a late night picnic. It can be said that the tradition of celebrating the arrival of New Year has been derived from Magh Bihu celebrations.

Such celebrations include people from all age groups as family members and friends come together for the celebrations. In the winter chill, people gather around the fire and enjoy the eve while dancing and playing music with an acoustic guitar. “We make barbecues and even cook the special dinners on the bonfire itself, while some of our friends play the guitar, which gradually gets groovier as we dance along with the music,” said an enthusiast Dhanjit Talukdar. “We even prepare various delicacies such as chicken, pork and duck meat at times taken into consideration,” he added. Amlandeep Das, Associate Professor, Department of English, Cotton College asserted, “Ten years back the scenario was very personal as we used to look for places to celebrate the New Year along with very close friends. But now the party scene has changed a lot with the introduction of several pubs and clubs all over the city. Since we are the generation X, the youth are the generation Y and there is a vast difference in the way of celebrations. Musically there has been a huge change with the digitalisation as DJs have taken over the live bands that we used to have during our times. Even this year, I will prefer the old school way while hopping from one place to another along with the company of very close friends,” Das mentioned. Pradip Baruah, Retd. Assistant Commissioner, Taxes, asserted, “Back then, we used to take resolutions to make the new year better and since phones did not exist, we used to wish our family and friends through greeting cards. Regarding celebrations, such occasions only involved family and friends.” “It was good, clean fun and it used to be like having 10 to 15 DJs along with you, as it was just about changing CDs. Of course, there used to be live music as well, mostly bands playing during the parties,” reminisced D’com Bhuyan. Regarding the security issues that raise a concern for the partygoers Bhuyan said, “People then were more responsible in regards to accidents and reckless driving. But now, the consumption of alcohol is very open.” Celebrations also raise security issues and organisations such as the Asom Sena, a vigilante group and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) have laid down strict guidelines for the New Year’s Eve parties and celebrations. Notices have been submitted to the hotels and pubs regarding guidelines to be maintained during celebrations. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

City

s the year is ending, the city authorities may be coming up with new plans for the next year, but the most pathetic problem, which Guwahati witnessed in the year 2014 were the urban floods. Post Ramky, the urban local body Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) involved 31 NGOs to collect garbage from approximately 3 lakh city households. The initiative seems to be getting good response from all quarters, but to get rid of the urban floods problem, the observers have concluded that all the city drains need to be cleaned and should be maintained properly so that they do not get blocked, resulting in urban floods.

Plan of action

According to the new GMC plan, the entire city drains will be de-silted and cleaned by 31st March 2015. According to GMC officials the de-silting work has already started in the city from December 18th 2014. The plan of de-siltation is designed in a PPP mode were the work would be allotted to contractors. Some contractors have already been assigned with the work and rest of the scrutiny is in the process, which will select the rest of the contractors. Thirty major packages have been made and the work will be allotted to 31 contractors to carry out the

`15 Cr TO GO INTO DRAINS EVERY YEAR

RAHUL CHANDA de-siltation of all city drains. It was noticed during this year’s urban floods that one main reason for the urban flood problem was blocked and dirty drains, which did not allow the water to pass through and so the urban body has decided to clean all the drains before 31st March. This is to make sure that during the monsoon season, the water flow is not blocked. But, previously too, the drains used to be cleaned but it was noticed by the general public that the silt and garbage coming out of the drains used to be near the drains, which eventually again went back to the drain by wind and rainfall. Will the same thing happen this time as well?

Confidence

The GMC officials are pretty confident this time of the plan and according to the officials, the budget

of the project per year would be Rs 15 Cr. The 31 contractors will be allotted the work for a period of three years and they will also have to maintain the drains. The project is divided into 30 packages. For example, in the first package the drains like the Fakirtola inner drain, Kabarsthan inner drain, Santisabha inner drain, Machkhowa inner drain, FA Road side cover drain, Sati Joymoti Road side cover drain from AT Road to SC Road culvert (west side), Kedar Road Side covered drain from MG Road to FA Road, Kedar Road underground drain from MG Road to FA Road, KRC Road side cover drain, KRB cover drain, RKC cover drain, Sankar Madhab cover drain, AT Road side cover drain from over bridge to Bharalu (both side), Durgasarobar inner drain from Naranarayan to Sankar Madhab,

Santipur inner drain by the side of Marzinabura inner drain and Santipur inner drain by the side of Namghar, are kept for an estimated budget of Rs 106.57 lakhs. Similarly, all the city drains are divided into different packages. The contractors who will be alloted the work will clean and maintain the drains for a period of three years. Rs 15Cr will be spent every year for the project and this time the silt coming out from the drains will be immediately be transferred and disposed. GMC has bought 8 bighas of land near the Neptune Cinema in Beltola to dispose all the silt and garbage extracted from the city drains. To further make the project a successful one, a monitoring team also has also been formed, which includes senior officers like the GMC Commissioner, GMC

Additional and Joint Commissioners, Deputy Commissioner and the Additional Deputy Commissioners who will monitor the cleaning and maintenance work of the drains on a regular basis. The general public also will be involved in monitoring the work. The councillors and reputed ward members will be also be involved in the committee in monitoring and supervising the work and reporting the issues to the urban body. With projects after projects coming and going, some being successful and some just being money wasters, this project of cleaning the city drains sounds good, but it should not be such that Rs 15 Cr should be going ‘down’ the drains literally every year. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

In Conversation

TAKING CHARGE

The newly appointed President of the APCC, Anjan Dutta speaks to G Plus regarding his new role, priorities and the party plans. Mrinmoyee Hazarika

“The top most priorities in the party will be mainly to take up membership drive for the party and eliminating the differences of opinion or dissidence prevailing among the members of the party.”

ast week, after a long time, the entire complex of the ‘Rajiv Bhawan’ was seen to be full of enthusiastic faces. All of them had gathered at the premises to greet the newly appointed APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) President Anjan Dutta. After taking charge as the President of APCC, the two-time MLA from Amguri LAC, spoke exclusively to G Plus about his future course of action, strengthening the party base in the state and other issues.

Short profile of

Anjan Dutta Name: Anjan Dutta Father’s name: Late Thaneswar Dutta

What will be your top priority as President of APCC? The top most priorities in the party will be mainly to take up membership drive for the party and eliminating the differences of opinion or dissidence prevailing among the members of the party. We are targeting to induct 30 lakh new members. The date of 31st December has been set as deadline for the new membership drive by the party high command, but, since the deadline is about to end soon, we will try to extend it. Last year, we had inducted 10 lakh members. So far, an amount of Rs 65 lakh has been deposited in the party account and we are targeting to deposit around Rs 1.5Cr. Though, I have been appointed on an ad-hoc basis, we will be holding party elections in the month of May next year.

How would you prepare the party for the upcoming assembly election in 2016?

First, unity among the party is the most important aspect for fighting elections and I will look into it while preparing the party for the upcoming polls. I have already mentioned about the party membership drive, which is to be done keeping in view of the upcoming elections in 2016. Besides, I have prepared an action plan till the month of March next year, after which we will concentrate on preparing the election strategy. We are going to organise training camps in all block and district committees in order to eliminate difference of opinions among the party workers. Moreover, we are going to organise training camps where the Chief Minister and other MLAs and Ministers will be participating and it will encourage other party workers to take part in such training camps.

Mother’s name: Late Anjali Dutta Date and place of birth: 13/4/1952, Sivsagar, Assam Spouse’s name : Smt. Ananya Dutta Children: 3 (Three daughters) Present Address: House No 16, Bishnu path, Rukminigaon, Guwahati -781022 Permanent Address: Dolmukh Gayan Road, P.O. Sivsagar Name of Constituency: 103, Amguri LAC

According to you, what are the faults existing in the Congress which need to be rectified? See, there are major and minor mistakes in every party and the Congress being a massive party, might have some faults. But after making mistakes, we accept it and it is the very nature of Congress party to accept mistakes. Moreover, we cannot blame the party for making mistakes. It is the mistakes of the leaders, which defame the name of the party and we have to stop it. We have taken up measures to rectify the mistakes of the party leaders in the action plan.

What is your stand on the Indo-Bangla land swap deal? Our stand is the same as before. It was very clear that Dr Manmohan Singh, the then Prime Minister had signed an agreement with Bangladesh and if implemented it would ultimately help us. It would help to secure and seal the border.

Now the BJP is saying that too... Earlier, before the general elections, the BJP was opposing the deal and after winning in the elections, they were supporting it. It proves that

BJP accepts that Congress speaks the truth only.

Then, why the Congress was unable to place the benefits of land swap deal before the public?

POSITION HELD IN THE PARTY (A) Past

1. President, Assam Pradesh youth Congress Committee 2. Chairman, North East youth Congress Co-ordination Committee 3. General Secretary, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee 4. Member, All India Congress Committee 5. Vice-President, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee

We have been placing the benefits of the deal before the public. We (Congress) work more and take less credit or publicity. Whereas BJP does not work, but takes more publicity. That is the difference between the Congress and BJP. Therefore, after taking charge, I am stressing importance on publicity.

(B) Present

Will you take any policy to address the issues of Guwahati, the capital city of the region?

6. Executive Member, Governing Body of Assam Cricket

So far, the party does not have any Guwahati-specific plans. If we see anything which needs attention, we will suggest to the government since we cannot do anything on our own. The government after discussing the matter with the party, will look into it. I have just taken the charge of the party. Therefore, my first and foremost duty will be to strengthen the organisational base of the party. But, I will definitely look into the major problems faced by the city. mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

1. Member, All India Congress Committee 2. Managing Editor, AJIR DAINIK BATORI (An Assamese daily) 3. Editor, ANUBHUTI, an Assamese Magazine (monthly) 4. Vice President, Assam olympic Association 5. President, Sivsagar District Sports Association Association Legislative Experience

1.i) Elected as MLA from 103, Amguri LAC in 1991 1.ii) Elected as MLA from 103, Amguri LAC in 2001 1.iii) Chairman, Employment Review Committee of ALA in the year 1991 1.iv) Member, Assam Agricultural University Contd... 2. i) Joined in the council of Minister’s in Nov. 1992 to May 1996 and Portfolio held as Minister of State (Ind) Town and country planning Public Enterprises, Irrigation & Hydro-carbon Dev. Assam 2.ii) Joined in the Council of minister in 2001 and portfolio held as minister Transport, MAD, GDD, Industry & commerce & Public Enterprises etc. up to 2006 Hobbies: Reading books, News papers and writing Articles in various

Newspapers & Magazine

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

City

NEW YEAR PARTY WATCH

CITY BARS AND CLUBS

UNDER SCANNER RAHUL CHANDA

ast week, a few bars and clubs had to shut down for a few days because the district administration had suspended their licence for not following norms. As the New Year is an ultimate excuse for everyone to celebrate, the bars and clubs in the city are gearing up to cash in on the season. But then it is not a piece of cake as the excise department is doing all they can to persuade the clubs to follow all legal measures for the safety and security of the public. So what are the rules that they have to follow? Why were the licenses suspended for a few days? Is there any illegal liquor getting sold in the city?

The raid Last week, the excise department along with the district administration conducted several raids in the city and found that many people were selling illicit liquor. The department arrested several people from various locations in the city, selling liquor illegally. The department raided places like Narengi, Bamunimaidam, Noonmati, Uzan Bazar, Bhangagarh, Lakhtokia, Fancy Bazaar, Fatashil Ambari, Segunbari Pahar, Amguli, Sangmaigali Basishtha, Mith Aamtol and Bapujinagar and found that people are selling and making illicit distilled (ID) liquor. There has been a history of fatalities in the country because of illicit liquors. The excise department in its raid arrested 90 people and seized around 22000 litres of fermented wash. The

RULES FOR CLUBS/BARS/PUBS

• The bar premises should have the facilities of CCTV covering inside the premises and the entry points, and the footage of which must be provided as and when required. Today

Today

• The bar premises should have enough security personnel including adequate female bouncers.

Today

• The venue should be sufficiently lighted. • Liquor should not be served to anyone below 21 years of age. Age should be checked at the entry point with the age proof of the customers/guests by means of age proof certificates, identity cards, driving license etc. • The applicant should be held responsible for drunkenness and disorderly conduct causing scandal, nuisance or obstruction that occurs in the neighbourhood of the venue on the part of persons who have consumed liquor at the venue or of the others in company with such person. • The bar shall be closed at 11.30 PM. No serving of liquor should be made after the stipulated time. By 12.30 PM all the venues should be closed and crowd should be disposed. • The organisers/licensees will be held responsible for any indecent behaviours or vulgarism by their guests/customers. • All the venues who desire to have the permission must have adequate parking facilities. • The temporary venues/premises must apply for such permission within 27th December, 2014 so that proper inspection can be made. • The temporary venues organisers must procure liquor from authorised vendors only within the state. • Cleanliness is must for all the bars/clubs/temporary venues.

enforcement people seized 2700 litres of ID liquor and 85 liquor making equipment.

issued a suspension order to these bars suspending the license for three days from December 20th to December 22nd. Furthermore as New Year is just around the corner, all the bars and clubs are gearing up to organise events for the New Year eve and the administration, this time around, has laid down strict rules for the clubs. At present, there are 303 liquor shops and 133 bars and clubs in the city and the permits for any more new liquor shops are completely suspended as of now. Application for bar licenses are open but there are various criteria to be followed and most importantly anyone applying for a bar should have an existing reputed restaurant in the city, which can be converted to a bar. The recent suspension of the city bars and clubs were done under the Assam excise Act 2010 and all the bars and clubs are under strict scanner for the new years.

Today Today Today

The bars Not only the houses and small time Dhabas, but the excise department along with district administration officials raided many bars in the city too and found that many prominent bars in the city are flouting the licensing norms. Prominent bars like the Kitchen bar and restaurant, Café Henrix, Ozone, Terra Mayaa and Regale Club had to face a suspension for a few days. After the raid, it was observed that these bars were not shutting down at the administration prescribed time, which is 10 PM. According to sources in the excise department, some bars were also not maintaining the sales and stock register properly. So, the administration on December 18th

Authorised Authorised Distributor Distributor Authorised Distributor for for for

North North EastEast North East rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Society

CULTURE SENTINEL

The Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture aims to promote and preserve indigenous culture and protect identities.

KALYAN DEB

ituated on the banks of the river Brahmaputra, the Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture in Guwahati envisions its role in focusing on the indigenous cultures of northeast India and also nurtures communities. It focuses on seminars, research, documentation and lectures-cum-interactive sessions by directly involving the communities concerned in order to understand the richness of the traditional systems. The institute helps in identifying the unifying elements and reflects on how to best provide meaningful continuity to these practices in the fast-changing complex lifestyles, by inspiring leadership with the idea of development of an indigenous culture. In order to protect and promote such cultures, documentation projects are undertaken by the institute to record the multifarious elements through the compilation and publishing the material on the cultural life of northeast India. A vision of Eknathji Ranade, a social activist and leader, laid the foundation stone of Vivekanada Kendra in Kanyakumari where Swami Vivekanada meditated for three consecutive days from December 25 to 27 in the year 1892. The headquarter was founded in November 19, 1914 by Ranade, who believed in Indian nationalism and the Hindu way of life. He was also known for his great organisational abilities and identified one person who could be projected as a big leader and that was Swami Vivekananda. It was in the year 1993 the Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture was founded in the city of Guwahati

as an entity of the Vivekanada Kendra, but it was only three years later in 1996 when the institute was moved to its current location. As Eknathji dreamt, since northeast is rich in culture thus, such an initiative would provide a platform for like-minded people to come together and share their views, since VKIC is described as a spiritually oriented service organisation. Dr. Dipok Kr. Barthakur, the chairman of VKIC along with his team has played a great role in setting up the institute in the city. In the process of trying to understand the cultural issues of various tribes along with regular interactions with different communities, periodic lectures are organised, seminars, workshops, discussion, exhibitions and research are undertaken and a data bank is kept, on the basis of field data that is collected through various documentation projects for the benefit of scholars and researchers. The communities are mentioned along with their forte and are guided on measures required to be taken in order to develop such skills. “Despite the cultural diversities, different communities share a bond which are developed and promoted among them in order to build harmony and cohesiveness among the cultures,” asserted Prabal Kr. Das, associate director of VKIC. “In recent studies, the Rabhas who are among the oldest communities, we looked into what changes have been introduced. We cover the sociological and anthropological aspects of such indigenous cultures,” said Das. “The proper documentation about the heritage of the tribe ‘Tradi-

tional Culture of the Rabhas of Assam’ is a report based on the field investigations of the tribe,” Das added. “Another recent project that was carried out by VKIC and was highly acclaimed is a study done on the Kamakhya temple complex. Dr. Pradip Sarmah, a senior archeologist and former director of VKIC, carried out the project along with his team of researchers. Most people know Kamakhya as just a temple and are unaware of its archeological and anthro-

pological history, which were covered under the guidance of Dr. Pradip Sarmah and was published as Heritage of Kamakhya on the Nilachala Hill,” Das asserted. Among other projects, scientists from South India came over to conduct studies on the Buddhist communities in the upper Assam region. The same was also documented in Tinsukia. On the foundation day that is observed on January 31, VKIC Sanman

an award, which is presented to the contributor of one indigenous community to promote their culture and preserve and documentation of the same. The award is presented in order to provide recognition for such work and provide the required limelight. “VKIC also provides training to students working on any kind of research projects. The research methodology is provided to such students as we are currently training the second batch of students of Sarla Birla Gyan Jyoti”, Das said. Since preserving and documentation is one of the objectives of VKIC, the institute has a library primarily on sociology, anthropology, history and culture of the northeastern region of India that also accepts donated books. VKIC also initiates yoga-training sessions in the institute itself and has a conference hall and auditorium named as Williamson Magor Auditorium. Quest, a journal based on the researches is published half yearly, based on cultural tourism focusing in northeast India. Culture is more of an identity rather than clothes, art, art forms and also ones thought and behaviour and a way to relate to the known and the unknown. It defines the community and its relationship with an individual and brings unity but not uniformity, for a culture celebrates variety. Lack of understanding of this strength leads to conflicts; clear understanding leads to meaningful, sustainable and harmonious development and Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture continues to work on the preservation of the same. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Special

The year that was ISL Fever hITS the city The month of October and November could be marked as the months of football. Guwahati hosted seven matches of the first edition of Indian Super League (ISL). During the matches, apart from players across the world, various celebrities including Sachin Tendulkar, John Abraham, Abhishekh Bachhan etc made their ways into the city.

Flash flood killS 11 people in the city In the worst ever case of flash flood experienced by Guwahati, unrelenting rainfall followed by landslide has claimed as many as 11 lives in the city. The authorities have raised landslide alarm in certain places like Kharghuli, Chandmari hills following a rain triggered landslide at Kharghuli area. The chief minister’s principal secretary MGVK Bhanu, deputy commissioner and other officials visited the flood affected areas in the city. Reliefs materials were given to the people affected in flash flood.

New building by-laws introduced in GHY The state government approved a new building bye-law with many new features to regulate building construction in the rapidly expanding city. The most important feature of the by-law is to make the concerned authorities to grant permission for building construction within a specific time-period failing which, applications shall be deemed to have been granted, and the applicant may proceed with the construction with written intimation to the Authority concerned and necessary permit fee to be deposited within at least 10 days.

Guwahati witnesseS record number of 78.34% voter turnout in LS polls

Pranab Boro SELF IMMOLATES in front of secretariat demanding land rights Pranab Boro, a carpenter by profession and protestor from the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity, a peasants’ group led by Right To Information activist Akhil Gogoi, died after setting himself ablaze in front of the high-security state secretariat complex in Guwahati in the month of February. The incident comes a day ahead of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s tour of Assam. Boro, 45, belonged to the Gorchuk area of Guwahati was taking part in a protest demanding land rights for 85,000 families in and around Guwahati.

EX- DGP Shankar Barua shoOtS himself

With the administration’s endeavour to streamline the traffic chaos of the city, the authority made its stand clear by issuing a notice barring parking on the entire stretches of AT Road, GS Road, MG Road, Md. Tayabullah Road and GNB road particularly from the Bharalumukh point to the Ulubari Point. The notice that was issued by the GMC on September 10, 2014 set a deadline of 30 days from the issue of the date of the notice, to designate and arrange parking places as per the provision of the Building Byelaws for all the commercial, institutional, government establishments on their own. So far, the directive has not implemented fully, but the authority is working to implement it in full force.

The trial run of the Guwahati-Dhaka bus service via Shillong and Dawki in Meghalaya was ceremonially flagged off this year from the Inter-State Bus Terminus on the city outskirts by Assam’s Minister for Public Works Ajanta Neog in presence of senior government officials. The 32-seater air-conditioned bus of the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) began its trial run with a select group of passengers on board including a joint delegation of high officials from India and Bangladesh.

After Ramky debacle, NGOs cOme forward to keep the city clean

In the last Lok Sabha election ended in the month of April, 2014, the Guwahati constituency, infamous for recording the poorest voter turnout figures in previous elections, registered the biggest jump among all 14 constituencies. With the largest electorate in the state, the constituency registered 78.34% voter turnout this time, an increase of 13.98% from the 2009 figure.

New parking directives given to the commercial establishments and other offices

Guwahati-Dhaka bus begins trial run

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) might have bragged that they tried their best to manage the city garbage by outsourcing the task to Ramky, but all the efforts went in vain as the private party terminated the agreement and decided to pack up from the city. From 1st July, GMC introduced a new plan to keep the city clean. As per the new GMC ward distribution plan, 31 different NGOs have been chosen to take care of every ward. The NGOs are expected to do house-to-house garbage collection and dispose the waste at the GMC dustbin of the area.

Prime Minister Modi’s maiden North east visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Guwahati on his three-day maiden visit to North East on 29th November. Besides Assam, Modi also visited Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura as well. During his stay in Guwahati, Modi flagged off the first train from Meghalaya (Mendipathar) to Guwahati via video conferencing from Northeast Frontier Railway headquarters and unveiled the plaque for a new rail line from Bhairabi to Salrang, Mizoram. He also participated at the 75th anniversary celebrations of the Assam Tribune Group, a local media house. On November 30, the Prime Minister had addressed the conference of director generals of police and chief ministers of all North Eastern states held for the first time outside the national capital since its inception and also took part in a party rally.

In a sensational suicide case, high profile former state top cop Shankar Barua shot himself with a .32 bore personal revolver. Barua shot himself on the terrace of his two-storied house at Barowari in Uzanbazar. He was taken to a private hospital (Borthakur Clinic) nearby where doctors declared him ‘brought dead’. A post-mortem examination conducted at the GMCH found that the bullet, fired from point-blank range, had pierced the right temple. Barua was amongst the many others who were raided by the CBI on 28th August during a part of the investigation into the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.

Arsenic found in Guwahati underground water In various water-testing camps organised in different parts of the city, it has been found that the underground water of Guwahati has considerable amounts of deadly chemicals arsenic and fluoride and the worst part is that, the people living in that area are drinking the same polluted water.

Eviction drive ACROSS Guwahati In the wake of the devastating flash floods triggered by heavy downpour in the month of June, 2014, the administration resorted to a massive eviction drive to clear water ways and natural water bodies in and around the city of encroachers. The eviction drive also triggered clashes between encroachers and government eviction party. Police have arrested many persons for trying to resist the move.

2015

Holiday

January 14-15 - Ma January 26 - Repub January 31 - Me-Du February 17 - Maha February 14 - Netaj

calender

j a n f e b m a r a p r

m a y

j u n

j u l a u g s e p

31 3

Guwahati b o c t

y list

agh Bihu blic Day um-Me-Fi a Shivratri jiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Birthday

July 18 - Id-Ul-Fitr August 15 - Tithi of Shankar Deva August 15 - Independence Day August 24 - Tithi of Madhav Deva September 05 - Krishna Janmastami

March 06 - Dol Jatra April 03 - Good Friday April 14-15 - Bohag Bihu May 01 - May Day May 04 - Buddha Purnima

October 24 - Muharram November 11 - Diwali November 25 - Guru Nanak Jayanthi December 25 - Christmas

September 17 - Ganesh Chaturthi September 23 - Id-Uz-Zuha October 02 - Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti October 22 - Vijaya Dashami

by hand

Illustration By Lovita Chaudhury

n o v

d e c

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Ward Watch

Ward number 9

Population 50,000 (approx.) | Voters 30,000 (approx.)

HAZI SOBIRUDDIN ROAD NEGLECTED KALYAN DEB

Concentrated area Hazi Sobiruddin Road Sub-division 9(c) Population 15,000 Voters 10,000 Councilor Rajkumar Tiwari Phone number 9435112493 Area sabha member Reena Mitra Phone number 9796135947 Problems Poor roads, drainage, door to door garbage collection, maintenance of street lights.

mong several other regions in various wards that have suffered the consequences of the GMDA/JIKA’s water pipeline project, Hazi Sobiruddin road of the Chatribari region has been one of its worst victims. The project of installing water pipelines throughout the region was successfully initiated but the post-project situation has left the streets devastated turning the conditions from bad to worse for those residing and commute through this region. Being the shortest way that connects the Paltanbazar road to Chatribari, the road stays very busy for most part of the day with all kind of vehicles passing by it. Another major reason for the poor condition of the road is due to the construction of the various residential complexes that are undergoing in the region. The construction materials are unloaded on the roadside itself causing blocked drains and remains clogged even after the construction is over. Most of the residences in H.S. Road are multistory buildings and several others are under construction but the road does not look like it is of a developed region. “Due to the ongoing constructions, the rapid flow of heavy vehicles is one of the main reasons for the damage of the road even more. The construction materials are dumped on the road itself and that creates a lot of inconvenience

Councilor’s speak

for the people. It is also one of the main reasons for the blocked drains, since the drain bed is on a lower level than that of the main road, it keeps the garbage and the drain water from passing out,” said Tapash Roy, a resident of Hazi Sobiruddin Road. “Since the JIKA’s pipeline project that was carried out in 2013, the road condition has become worse as the entire street was tempered during the process. The authorities after digging out the constructed road didn’t take any initiative for the reconstruction. The residents of the Chatribari region and the commuters who travel from Paltanbazar, have to face huge problems due to the inconvenience caused by the poor road condition,” added Roy who has been residing in the region for over 40 years. “Even if the drains are cleaned

once in a while the garbage are stacked on the roadside, which later with only the slightest of drizzles, goes back into the drain itself, which make the cleaning completely pointless. The road has been in this condition for over the past twenty years and no major initiative for construction has taken place since then, apart from filling up the potholes. In the past, member of the state legislatively assembly Capt. Robin Bordoloi visited the area and surveyed about the problems of the region but no initiative was taken by the MLA,” stated Dilip Kr. Boro, a resident of H.S. Road. “To some extent, the lack of civic sense among the people who throw plastic bags in the drains and dump their garbage in private properties has also contributed to this situation,” added the 65 years old.

Talking to G Plus, councilor Rajkumar Tiwari said, “The proposal for the development of the road was already sent on November 19 to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and awaits approval. As soon as the proposal gets approved the construction will not take much time as the estimated amount will be provided from the councilor’s fund.” Regarding the ongoing constructions in the region the councilor asserted, “The authorities lack integrity, which is due to the growing corruption in the government workers. While providing permission for such constructions, there should be a clause added that the maintenance of the road and the drains within a ten metre radius of the road should be the responsibility of the builders or the landowners. Since, the road condition is hampered due to such constructions so the cleaning of drains should be made their responsibility. The condition of the H.S. Road was not brought to my notice, but now that G Plus has me aware, I will take care of the matter.” “Since the people have elected me as their representative, it is my duty to put my fullest effort towards the development of the region,” the councilor asserted. Among other major projects that are to kick off are the construction of the AT Road from the Vishal Mega Mart up to the Athgaon flyover, the Dakhinpar Satra near railway gate number 4 and also the GMDA Jail complex, which will have a parking zone for the area and is expected to be complete by March, 2015. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Health

Are you tired? Don’t be…

G PLUS FEATURE

Be Serious About Fun

Lack of sleep isn’t the only thing sapping your energy. Little things you do and don’t do can exhaust you both mentally and physically, which can make getting through your day a chore. Here, experts reveal common bad habits that can make you feel tired, plus simple lifestyle tweaks that will put the pep back in your step.

You skip exercise when you’re tired Skipping your workout to save energy actually works against you. In a University of Georgia study, sedentary but otherwise healthy adults who began exercising lightly three days a week for as little as 20 minutes at a time reported feeling less fatigued and more energized after six weeks. Regular exercise boosts strength and endurance, helps make your cardiovascular system run more efficiently, and delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. So next time you’re tempted to crash on the couch, at least go for a brisk walk—you won’t regret it.

You don’t drink enough water Being even slightly dehydrated—as little as 2% of normal fluid loss—takes a toll on energy levels. Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume, explains Goodson, which makes the blood thicker. This requires your heart to pump less efficiently, reducing the speed at which oxygen and nutrients reach your muscles and organs. To calculate your normal fluid needs, take your weight in pounds, divide in half and drink that number of ounces of fluid a day.

Things that can boost you up Build in pleasure throughout your day — open all email jokes and pass them on, flip through a magazine, call a friend, daydream, waste time, play Twister with your kids, buy a CD and play it while you’re car pooling. Instead of bogging you down, mini-breaks will buoy you and make your routine a little less routine.

Lighten Up

You’re not consuming enough iron An iron deficiency can leave you feeling sluggish, irritable, weak, and unable to focus. It makes you tired because less oxygen travels to the muscles and cells. Boost your iron intake to reduce your risk of anemia: load up on lean beef, kidney beans, tofu, eggs (including the yolk), dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, and peanut butter, and pair them with foods high in vitamin C (vitamin C improves iron absorption when eaten together). An iron deficiency may be due to an underlying health problem, so if you’re experiencing these symptoms of iron deficiency, you should visit your doc.

You’re a perfectionist Striving to be perfect—which, let’s face it, is impossible—makes you work much harder and longer than necessary. You set goals that are so unrealistic that they are difficult or impossible to achieve, and in the end, there is no sense of self-satisfaction. Levine recommends setting a time limit for yourself on your projects, and taking care to obey it. In time, you’ll realize that the extra time you

were taking wasn’t actually improving your work.

You make mountains out of molehills If you assume that you’re about to get fired when your boss calls you into an unexpected meeting, or you’re too afraid to ride your bike because you worry you’ll get into an accident, then you’re guilty of catastrophizing or expecting that the worstcase scenario will always occur. This anxiety can paralyze you and make you mentally exhausted, says Levine. When you catch yourself having these thoughts, take a deep breath and ask yourself how likely it is that the worst really will happen. Getting outdoors, meditating, exercising, or sharing your concerns with a friend may help you better cope and become more realistic.

You skip breakfast

The food you eat fuels your body, and when you sleep, your body continues using what you consumed at dinner the night before to keep your blood pumping and oxygen flowing. So, when you wake up in the morning, you need to refuel with breakfast. Skip it, and you’ll feel sluggish.

Eating breakfast is like starting a fire in your body by kick starting your metabolism. Goodson recommends a breakfast that includes whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fat. Good examples include oatmeal with protein powder and a dab of peanut butter; a smoothie made with fruit, protein powder, low-fat milk, and almond butter; or eggs with two slices of whole-wheat toast and low-fat Greek yogurt.

You live on junk food Foods loaded with sugar and simple carbs (like the ones you’ll find in a box or at the drive-thru window) rank high on the glycemic index (GI), an indicator of how rapidly carbohydrates increase blood sugar. Keep blood sugar steady by having a lean protein along with a whole grain at every meal. Good choices include chicken (baked, not fried) and brown rice, salmon and sweet potato, or salad with chicken and fruit.

You have trouble saying ‘no’ People-pleasing often comes at the expense of your own energy and happiness. To make matters worse, it can make you resentful and angry over time. So whether it’s your kid’s coach asking you to bake cookies for her soccer team or your boss seeing if you can work on a Saturday, you don’t have to say yes. Train yourself to say ‘no’ out loud. Unlock the Weight-Loss Power of Emotional Intelligence. Try it alone in your car. Hearing yourself say the word aloud makes it easier to say it when the next opportunity calls for it.

HEALTH TIP .Try to set a meal pattern to help you to control what you eat and when you eat it. It is also better to have 5 small meals a day rather than just one or two huge meals. Having a small snack in the morning and afternoon stops you getting over hungry and then wolfing down an extra large portion at dinner time.

Sneak out for a 10-minute walk outside at least once during the day or when you’re most tired — bright light has a caffeine-like power to make you more alert. Get out even if it’s cloudy; you’ll get a lot more light exposure than you do in your office. If you just can’t get out the door, spending a few minutes in a room that’s drenched with natural light may also help.

Belly-Breathing Practice breathing from your diaphragm several times each day — when you’re feeling tired or you’re about to go into an energy-draining situation like a laborious meeting: Put your hand over your belly button. As you inhale, focus on making your stomach and chest move. This will automatically expand your lower lungs so you take in more air with each breath.

Moving More Stretch. Walk. Yawn (with your whole body). Stride to the bathroom. Frequent breaks will keep your body alert. Relieve eyestrain by focusing on something distant every 30 minutes or during commerical breaks, advises Margit L. Bleecker, M.D., director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Neurology in Baltimore.

Regular Sleep Establish a regular bedtime and wake-up time, and try not to stray from it, even on the weekends. If you want to get more sleep on a particular night, go to bed 20 to 30 minutes earlier — it will be less jarring to you, says Lauren Broch, Ph.D., director of education and training at the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center.

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Special

I DO RESOLVE AP Tiwari, City SSP “I will hand over the charge to the commissioner of police and go to a new workplace. I will deliver my best in terms of human resource building and use of technology to improve policing in particular field or area and will show smart approach of policing for our citizens.”

As the year draws to a close, G Plus speaks to a few prominent Guwahatians and cajoles them into spilling their resolution beans.

Hiren Nath IGP (SB), Assam Police “I always believe that one should do his duty at the station of life with utmost sincerity and I will try to continue doing that this coming year also.”

Pranabjyoti Goswami Traffic SP, Guwahati Bobbeeta Sharma Chairperson, Assam State Film Finance & Development Corporation “For me resolutions don’t come with New Years only ...resolutions are a part of my life for example if I feel that today I am not giving too much importance to my health and fitness I may decide to give it more importance and resolve to maybe take measures for better health at any time of the year because as you grow older you need to take care of yourself more and more in order to be active in life and not be dependent on anyone. Along with resolutions I have many wishes ....I wish this world that we are living in would be less violent, I wish people would have more compassion and love for one another than hatred because of religious or cultural differences...I wish there was less divide between the rich and the poor.. and my resolve always is to do my little bit towards trying to lessen the above and try to make this world a better place to live in.”

Gautam Das DTO (Registration and licensing), Kamrup (M) “In the New Year, I will look into cutting down the number of road accidents. And, on the personal front, I want to say that peace and brotherhood should prevail in the society and terrorism should be replaced. In one sentence, I would say that we want peace. I hope that this New Year brings peace and joy to everyone.”

Dhruba Hazarika Writer “I would like to develop myself into a more peaceful human being so that some of that peace rubs off on others. There is too much poison in the air and it has to be removed by people who want to work towards the society.”

“There is a need to develop the police-public relation positively. In our state people are still scared of the police and there exists a gap between the police and the public. This gap should be bridged. In coming years, I will try to reduce this gap.”

Mridula Baruah Actress “There are so many things to do in a year and it is hard to say that I would be picking up one from the list and make it a New Year resolution. I have listed so many works to do in the coming year, but, I do not want to disclose it until and unless those get done. I have also thought of doing something very good in the New Year, but right now I do not want to reveal it.”

Pallav Bagaria CEO, Brand New Day “I resolve to scale higher serve better.”

Joi Barua Singer & musician “Truly speaking I don’t have any resolutions, but I sincerely wish for peace to come back to my homeland. That has been my only concern.”

Srutimla Duara Associate Professor, Dept. of English, Handique Girl’s College. “My new year resolution is to celebrate life and live every moment and accept what life has stocked for me.”

Dr M Angamuthu DC, Kamrup (Metro) “Let’s aim and work for the flood free Guwahati and better traffic management.”

Atreyee Borooah Thekedath Director, Webcom India “My resolution would be to learn something new in my field and to attempt the healthier and fitter year ahead.”

Vikram Rai Medhi CEO, NEIFT “I resolve to cut down my work hours and spend more time with my family. I would also like to increase my fitness levels.”

Abir Patra City Mayor “Through G Plus I would like to wish all Guwahatians a very Happy New Year and this coming year, with the help of the public, we will make sure to develop a clean Guwahati which does not face the problem of urban floods.”

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Life

Joseph J. Mazzella

What can you do when you have done nothing but mess up your whole life long?” These were the words I heard when I turned on the television the other day. They were coming from one of the talk shows that are so popular on television these days. I started to turn the channel but the words I had heard made me stop for an instant. I looked at the speaker of them. He couldn’t have been more than eighteen years old, but already he was writing off his life as a useless waste. I wanted to yell back at him: “You’re not dead yet!” It is so sad that so many people cannot get beyond their pasts and live in the present. There are so many people like that talk show guest. There are people still in their teen years thinking that their lives are over. There are people in their twenties who already feel like they have missed the boat to success and happiness. There are people in their thirties and forties who sit around moaning that life has passed them by. I want to shout to them all: “Wake up! You’re

START TODAY

E still alive! What have you done today?” If you want a happy life you can’t dwell on your past mistakes. If you want joy and love in your life you have to choose them today. God gives us a new chance at life every time we wake up in the morning. It is up to us to seize it. Today can be the beginning of a new life for each of us. We can choose joy right

now. We can share love today. We can live in delight starting at this moment. It doesn’t matter how miserable our past has been. Our present can be full of joy and our future can be full of happiness. It doesn’t matter if we are eight or eighty--we can still make our lives wonderful. Life isn’t over until your last heartbeat. Start today, then, to make your heart beat with joy, love, and light.

DIFFERENTLY ABLED! Q

uoted in Harvard Magazine, one leading psychiatric textbook “has 500,000 lines of text with thousands of lines on anxiety and depression, and hundreds of lines on terror, shame, guilt, anger, and fear. But there are only five lines on hope, one line on joy, and not a single line on compassion, forgiveness, or love.” Having said this, I remember growing up in an ambience of positivity and creativity! Mother had this fantastic idea of waking me up with music, not to forget of course that Sangita, my neighbour would already be up and practicing her singing. Maybe that might be one reason why I can’t pass a single moment without music. Mother always believed in being active from the word go and that is exactly what I tried to do. She was painfully dexterous and it was sometimes hard to keep up with her. But she never missed out on anything; seamlessly going through the day, not losing a second to lazy banter. Now when I look back, I couldn’t in the life of me imagine how she managed to cook me hot, sumptuous meals at all times of the day, wash the clothes, iron them, do the marketing, clean the house, go for her social activities (she had held several posts as treasurer and secretary of the local ladies organisation at Shillong), feed me, dress me up and definitely not to forget how she would sew beautiful clothes late into the night and morning of the next day (not only for me but for the entire neighbourhood), while I slept like a baby, secured and assured that my Mom was around to take care of everything. But oh yes, my mother made me feel responsible for our home as well. Being the only child didn’t stop her from making me work around the house. Every Sunday or a school holiday, she would make it a point that after a couple of hours at the study table, I would have to dust the furni-

Why Postpone Happiness to Tomorrow?

ture, clear the cobwebs, clean the only huge glass window panes of our room(we stayed in only one room, which worked as a bedroom, study-room, dressing room, with a small kitchen to the west and a washroom to the north-west), put the clothes out to dry, do the dishes, cut vegetables, go to the market if necessary to get meat and veggies and not to forget, polish the wooden floor of our bedroom and kitchen with wax, till I saw my reflection. Being treated more like a boy around the house, I sometimes had to get water from the spring which flowed at the bottom of three flights of stairs of our huge compound, which meant I had to do a balancing act with two buckets of water (like they show in the martial-arts movies) and walk back upstairs! However, it was fun and all this made me feel very tough and like my Mother wanted; sans any fear for manual work! However, the readers are not supposed to think that my mother was all work and no play. Mom and I had the time of our lives whenever we had the chance. She would plan out small trips for us around town to different locations. I remember the District Library was one of her favourite haunts and I followed suite after regular visits to the place. We would spend hours in the different sections browsing through books; I sometimes taking a couple of hours to complete a Famous Five or Secret Seven. Mother would take me to the Lady Hyderi Park and while I ran around in glee, often getting to ride high on the swings, she would sit back at a safe angle to keep an eye on me, knitting away another sweater for Dad. Talking of Dad, I got to see him only during the weekends; Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Dad would ride his Jawa (the Chechoslovakian engine that he’s still so proud of) all the way from Guwahati to Shillong and I would sit in the veranda of our house, wait-

ing to hear the ‘dhook dhook’ of his bike. And once he arrived, all of us would crowd around him and ask him news of Guwahati. I especially would spend all my time with him. Dad ofcourse would come armed with the latest in music and play the records on his HMV record-changer, while we (my two cousins and I) danced around the fire-place, unabashedly. Before Dad left for Guwahati again, he made sure he would teach me some of his work of art; water-painting, nail-painting and what not. Being a commercial artist, having expertise in calligraphy, Dad had his own place in the Sun when as an artist in the Information and Publicity Office in Shillong, the Reserve Bank of India requested his office to provide the Assamese letters for the words to be printed on the one, two, five, ten and hundred rupee currency notes. I can only understand how overwhelmed my father must have been when he saw his handwriting on the paper money, ‘cause I can feel my heart pounding in pride as I narrate this to my friends and associates. So, when a couple of days Tirus, my sonny boy asked me, “Mom, what is the meaning of sacrifice?”, I couldn’t think of a better explanation than what my parents did for me. There were tiny details that they were very particular about like disposing garbage in a proper manner, revere each and every human-being, show kindness to the impoverished, follow the laws of the land and most importantly, live one moment at a time in happiness! Thank you so much Mom and Dad. Your blessings have made me a stronger human-being to take care of the underprivileged and I wish the New Year will give me opportunities to make a difference to the lives of many and become a good mother!

tinat ATIFA MASOOD

very living creature wants to be happy. Whether it is money, power or sex, you get into it for the sake of happiness. Some people even enjoy misery because it gives them happiness! To be happy, you seek something. But despite getting it, you are not happy. A school-going boy thinks that if he goes to college, he will be more independent, free and, therefore, happy. If you ask a college-going boy whether he is happy, he feels that if he gets a job, he will be happy. Talk to somebody who is settled in his job or business, and you will find that he is waiting to get a perfect soulmate to be happy. He gets a soulmate, but he now wants a kid to be happy. Ask those who have children if they are happy. And they say: how can they relax until the children have grown up and have had a good education and are on their own? Ask those who are retired and done with all their responsibilities if they are happy? They long for the days when they were younger. All of one’s life is spent in preparing to be happy someday in the future. It’s like making a bed all night, but having no time to sleep in it. How many minutes, hours and days of your life have you spent being happy from within? Those are the only moments you have really lived life. Those were perhaps the days when you were a small kid, completely blissful and happy or a few moments when you were surfing, swimming or sailing or on a mountain top, living in the present and enjoying it. There are two ways of looking at life. One is thinking: “I’ll be happy after achieving a certain objective.” The second is saying: “I am happy come what may!” Which one do you want to live by?Life is 80 per cent joy and 20 per cent misery. But you hold on to the 20 per cent and make it 200 per cent ! It is not a conscious act, it just happens. Living in the moment with joy, alertness, awareness and compassion is enlightenment. Being like a child is enlightenment. It is being free from within, feeling at home with everybody, without barriers. Don’t judge and don’t worry about what others think of you. Whatever they think, it is not permanent. Your own opinion about things and people keeps changing all the time. So why worry about what others think about you? Worrying takes a toll on the body, mind, intellect and alertness. It is like an obstruction that takes you far away from yourself. It brings fear and fear is nothing but a lack of love. It is an intense sense of isolation. This can be handled by relaxing and doing some breathing exercises. Then you will realise that you are loved, you are a part of everybody and you are a part of the whole universe.” This will liberate you and the mind will take a complete shift. You will then find so much harmony around. To find harmony, it is not as if you have to physically seek it by sitting somewhere for years. Whenever you are in love, your mind is in the present, you feel joyous. At some level, to some degree, everybody is meditating without being aware of it. There are moments when your body, mind and breath are all in harmony. That’s when you achieve yoga. The art of living lies in the present moment.

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Events

DEC 27th

Event: An Acoustic Evening With Srishti

Event: Black Death Reunion

Featuring: Srishti Venue: Urban Mantra restro lounge, Khanapara, Namghar path Time & Date: 7pm to 9:30pm, December 27

DEC 28th

Featuring: Insane Prophecy, Sacred Secrecy (Arunachal Pradesh), etc. Venue: Shilpgram, Near Kalakshetra, Panjabari Time & Date: 2pm onwards, December 27

Smirnoff Experience (Pre-New Year Bash)

Featuring: Jerome Isma-Ae (Germany) & DJ Ivan (Bangalore) Venue: Greenwood Resort, Time & Date: 3pm onwards, on December 28 Call: 9957525656/9954048708

DEC 29th

New Year’s Eve Pool Side Party

Venue: Hotel Rajmahal, A.T. Road Time & Date: 7pm onwards, December 31 Call: 0361-2549141/2511602

Acoustica - Unplugged Competition

Venue: Dighali Pukhuri, Time & Date: 12:00pm onwards, December 29 Call: 9706109960/9707272448/9508425027

DEC 31st

The New Year’s Eve Party

Featuring: DJ Evan Venue: Silver Streak Time & Date: 6pm onwards, December 31 Call: 9707079295

New Year’s Night

Featuring: DJ Sagar, DJ RnB Venue: Illusion, Crest Shoppers Point

Bollywood Night, Live music and Poolside Party

Featuring: DJ Sherrin Varghese (Mumbai), Chapman and The Other Chaps, DJ Brahmin Venue: Radisson Blu, Time & Date: 8pm onwards, December 31 Call: 0361-7100100, 8811099384

New Year’s Celebration

Featuring: Work In Progress Venue: Guwahati Club Time & Date: 10pm onwards, December 31

248 Minutes To Midnight

Featuring: Vic Halley (Barcelona, Spain), DJ Kabir (Delhi), J Victor (Guwahati) Venue: R&B Club, Time & Date: 8pm onwards, Call: 9954605339/8811998911

Bringing in 2015 in style

Featuring: DJ Javed Khan Venue: Terra Maya, Time & Date: 7:30pm onwards, December 31 Call: 7399027661/9957525656

Neon Party

Featuring: DJ Michella (Europe), DJ Ramone, etc. Venue: XS, Anil Plaza, G.S. Road Time & Date: 7:30pm onwards, December 31

Last Day Music Carnival Venue: Shradhanjali Kanan Park Date: December 31

New Year Party 2015

Featuring: DJ B.Square, Acoustic Bands and Magic Show Venue: O’Guwahati Restro-Bar, Time & Date: 8pm onwards, December 31 Call: 8134967900/8486371060

NEW YEAR EVE “Welcoming 2015”

Featuring: DJ AURA, Euphonica, Metafor, Nightangle Dance Group Venue: Kiranshree Portico, Time & Date: 8pm onwards, December 31 Call: 8822233323/9706098015/9706098014

NEW YEAR BASH

Venue: Ambrosia, I TAG Plaza, Near Rajib Bhawan, G.S Road Call: 9854009001/9854009009

WHERE’S

THE PARTY

Red Carpet Masquerade Party Venue: Hotel Nandan Date: December 31

Edwin Fernandes band (Goa) and DJ Souvik Venue: India Club, Date: December 31 Call: 9859688276

Event: Jeevan Kite Festival

Featuring: Kite Flying by International Experts, Celebrities, etc. Venue: Umananda Ghat, Latashil Time & Date: 10am to 9pm, January1, 2, 3 and 4

This party season, G Plus brings you the list of the hippest parties in the city so that you don’t miss out on the fun.

JANrd 03

JAN 01st

The Bollywood Rock Concert

Featuring: Ash King, Jonita Gandhi and The Local Train Venue: Greenwood Resort, Time & Date: 5pm onwards

Winter Rock Carnival

Featuring: Midnight Garden Factor (Shillong), Adams Apple (Darjeelinhg), etc. Venue: Café Hendrix, Date: December 19 to January 4

JANth 04

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Reviews

Top Movie releases of 2014 Bollywood

Hollywood

Queen | Director: Vikas Bahl

A Delhi girl from a traditional family sets out on a solo honeymoon after her marriage gets cancelled. Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, Lisa Haydon, Mish Boyko

Ankhon Dekhi | Director: Rajat Kapoor

Ankhon Dekhi centers around Raje Bauji, played by Sanjay Mishra who, after a dramatic incident, decides that he will only believe what he sees with his eyes. Stars: Sanjay Mishra, Rajat Kapoor, Seema Pahwa, Taranjit Kaur

PK | Director: Rajkumar Hirani

A stranger in the city asks questions no one has asked before. Known only by his initials, PK’s innocent questions and childlike curiosity will take him on a journey of love, laughter and letting-go. Stars: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani

Haider | Director: Vishal Bhardwaj

A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in an attempt to ensure humanity’s survival. Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy

Boyhood | Director: Richard Linklater

The life of a young man, Mason, from age 5 to age 18. Stars: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Elijah Smith

Gone Girl | Director: David Fincher

With his wife’s disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it’s suspected that he may not be innocent. Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry

Big Hero 6 | Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams

A young man returns to Kashmir after his father’s disappearance to confront uncle - the man who had a role in his father’s fate. Stars: Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon

The special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes. Stars: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung, T.J. Miller

Kya Dilli Kya Lahore | Director: Vijay Raaz, Karan Arora

Guardians of the Galaxy | Director: James Gunn

In 1948, a cross-fire erupts at an isolated stretch of Indo-Pak border, leaving only two soldiers alive. Stars: Vijay Raaz, Manu Rishi Chadha, Rajendranath Zutshi, Vishwajeet Pradhan

Mardaani | Director: Pradeep Sarkar

A cop’s search for a missing teenage girl leads her to the depraved world of child trafficking. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between the fearless cop and a ruthless mafia kingpin. Stars: Rani Mukerji, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Gautam Babbar, Probir Dutt

City Lights | Director: Hansal Mehta

Deepak Sing is a farmer in Rajasthan. After a tragedy, he migrates to Mumbai with his wife and child to lead a better life. However, upon arriving, he soon discovers the challenges of life in a big city. Stars: Rajkummar Rao, Mallhar Goenka, Manav Kaul, Patralekhaa

Mary Kom | Director: Omung Kumar

A chronicle of the life of Indian boxer Mary Kom, who went through several hardships before audaciously accomplishing her ultimate dream. Stars: Priyanka Chopra, Zachary Coffin, Darshan Kumaar, Darshan Kumar

Hawaa Hawaai | Director: Amole Gupte

Arjun dreams of skating. Can Arjun follow his dream and be a champion? Stars: Mahesh Balraj, Bugs Bhargava, Makrand Deshpande

Highway | Director: Imtiaz Ali

Right before her wedding, a young woman finds herself abducted and held for ransom. As the initial days pass, she begins to develop a strange bond with her kidnapper. Stars: Alia Bhatt, Randeep Hooda, Durgesh Kumar, Arjun Malhotra

TOP GAMES 2014 Dark Souls 2

Interstellar | Director: Christopher Nolan

oes it matter whether Dark Souls 2 is greater (or lesser) Dark Souls? It shouldn’t — not when it’s this good. Series newcomers Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura recapture most of what makes Dark Souls feel like a Dark Souls, scaffolding to foundation, the world swathed in plaintive John Barry-ish piano strains, melancholy lighting and baffling alien architecture. Ironically risk-averse, the sequel plays like an extended version of the original moody hack-and-slash.

A group of intergalactic criminals are forced to work together to stop a fanatical warrior from taking control of the universe. Stars: Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana

X-Men: Days of Future Past | Director: Bryan Singer

The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants. Stars: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy

The Fault in Our Stars | Director: Josh Boone

Two teens, both who have different cancer conditions, fall in love after meeting at a cancer support group. Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern

The Raid 2 | Director: Gareth Evans

Only a short time after the first raid, Rama goes undercover with the thugs of Jakarta and plans to bring down the syndicate and uncover the corruption within his police force. Stars: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara

Nightcrawler | Director: Dan Gilroy

When Lou Bloom, a driven man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran. Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed

How to Train Your Dragon 2 | Director: Dean DeBlois

When Hiccup and Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Stars: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson

Grand Theft Auto V

e’ve been forced to wait over a year for it to arrive, but when Grand Theft Auto V hits PC we get the best version possible: huge resolution textures, heavier traffic, more wildlife to hunt, a first-person view, and framerates not determined to bog you down. GTA’s satirical Los Angeles is huge, and it’s going to look phenomenal on PC. It’s also a great game too, perhaps the best GTA Rockstar have made. Three distinctly different protagonists that you can swap between at any point drive the action, and the missions on offer never fail to entertain. And then there’s GTA Online vying to become your weekend multiplayer go-to; a sandbox to get together with friends in and run amok, rob every bank in the state, and buy a sweet penthouse.

Batman: Arkham Knight

ocksteady are back behind the wheel of the Arkham series this year, and they’re rolling out the big guns. No, not Batman’s impressive arms, but his Lamborghini-come-tank personal transporter, the Batmobile. With the streets of Gotham city finally opened up, the Arkham series’ staple of swift, fluid combat now comes packaged with destructive car chases. The Joker is also absent from proceedings due to the events of Arkham City, which means that Rocksteady have to get inventive when it comes to a new antagonist. With a bit of luck, the Arkham Knight mystery will be one to rival the Bat’s greatest cases.

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Tech Watch

Top gadgets launched in 2014 Apple iPhone 6 Plus

pple has launched two new iPhones, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5inch iPhone 6 Plus. Along with larger screens and a completely new iPad-style design with an ultra thin body and rounded corners, the two new phones offer faster processors, better cameras, and Apple’s new Apple Pay payment system. Apple’s new iPhones are available in Gold, Silver, and Space Gray, and are available in 16, 64, and 128 GB capacities. The iPhone 6 pricing starts at $199 on contract,

while the iPhone 6 Plus pricing starts at $299. While both models include the same 64-bit A8 chip and the same general design, there are several differences between the two phones. The iPhone 6 measures in at 6.9mm, while the iPhone 6 Plus is slightly thicker at 7.1mm. Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus also has three major differentiating factors: optical image stabilization for the camera, and a longer battery life, and an iPad-style landscape mode that displays more content on the screen.

Google Chromecast

e’ve seen devices with almost identical functionality, like Plair, but Chromecast is backed by Google, whose relationships with content providers and developers mean that the Google Cast technology powering it will soon be popping up in even more apps. Not to mention, there’s the price. At $35, it’s almost a third of the cost of Plair and also

Roku 3 and Apple TV, the current most popular devices that bring internet video to your TV. Even for such a paltry outlay, is it a worthy addition to your living room? And is it really “the easiest way to enjoy online video and music on your TV” as Google’s marketing would have us believe? Read on to find out.

Sony PlayStation 4

new laptop that doubles as a blender -- and it has Android! Video game consoles, thankfully, aren’t quite so prolific. In 18 years of PlayStation’s existence, we’re only just this week reaching number four -- a massive difference from the likes of Apple’s iPhone or Nokia’s (ridiculously populous) Lumia line. This Friday, the PlayStation brand enters the “next generation” once more with the PlayStation 4, and the world is significantly different than the last time around: HD

is now standard, online multiplayer an expectation and multitasking a given. Beyond interesting, great-looking game experiences, gamers in 2013 expect a multitalented, speedy game console that’s as fast and powerful as the ever-surging wave of bleeding edge electronics that are standard in modern life. Let’s find out if the PlayStation 4 lives up to our lofty expectations.

Sony RX 100 III Point And Shoot Camera

hen Sony launched its first RX100 back in 2012, we were very impressed. The camera offered tremendous functionality in a pocketable package. Then, when the RX100 II came around last year, Sony added WiFi along with a full-size hot shoe (which can accommodate high-end audio gear, among other accessories),

besting the original model. This year’s iteration is by far the most capable yet, with a superior lens, XAVC S encoding and a unique pop-up EVF. At $800, it’s a significant investment, particularly within the point-and-shoot category, but if you need a ton of power in your pocket and you don’t mind paying for it, you can’t do any better than this.

Xiaomi Redmi 1s

espite the battery and heating issues, most Xiaomi Redmi 1s owners in our survey were satisfied with the phone. Priced at Rs 5,999, the phone seemed to get away with the drawbacks and a whopping 83% of our respondents gave an overall rating of above 5. One of the responses, which probably sums up the user review is this: “Overall I have mixed feelings

for Xiaomi. I like it because it’s cheap with great features and great looks.. But it lags and hangs that’s very frustrating…” Another respondent said that “Redmi 1s is a superb phone, love all the features, camera quality is very good but the only problem is it hangs when playing heavy games or multiple apps, even if you end all open apps or game RAM gets too low and you can’t do anything.”

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

Food

CHOCOLATE-RUM CAKE sanjukta dutta

(Food enthusiast)

f you’re a cook who can’t resist tossing in a handful of this and a sprinkle of that, you may find baking can be a bit hit and miss. Baking is an area of cookery that doesn’t take kindly to artistic licence. But follow a few basic baking rules and success is sure to follow...

recipe I inherited from my grand mom, who married my grandfather at the age of 15 and made liquor cakes in her kitchen, when even holding a bottle of alcohol by women was a taboo.

1. Use a good recipe

Ingrediants you will require

For guaranteed results it’s important to follow baking recipes to the letter so your cake will only ever be as good as the recipe you use. Start with a recipe from a source you trust. A lot of recipes, particularly on the internet, haven’t been tried and tested (ours have!)

• 1 cup bitter chocolate melted and kept in room temperature • 3 eggs well beaten until frothy • 1/2 cup of all purpose flour • 2 tablespoon of baking powder • Sugar according to taste • 170 gms of butter (I have used white unsalted butter) • 2 tablespoon of cocoa powder (optional) • 1 cup of rum with drunken fruits –soaked overnight (I have used raisins, pomegranate seeds, chopped apples and some tooty-fruity)

How to bake a cake: Top 5 tips for success

PROCEDURE 1. In a bowl, add the well beaten eggs and add the baking powder to it and mix well. Now when its well mixed we add the sugar till it dissolves into the liquid. 2. Now, gradually add the molten bitter chocolate and the flour and continue beating it along with the rest of the liquid. 3. Add the butter and keep beating well. You can use an electronic beater to make it effortless (I prefer beating

it with the traditional hand beater)

4. Now we can pour the drunken

fruits along with the rum into the mixing bowl. Beat it well enough till the mixture become silky and smooth. (if the mixture tends to become doughy and you don’t get a desired silky mixture, you can add some milk to it).

5. Keep this aside for sometime in the mixing bowl.

6. Grease the baking tin with butter. Pre-heat the oven for 3 minutes. 7. Place the low rack and place the baking tin in the pre-heated oven. Now, set it in convection mode and the temperature at 180 degrees. Baking it for 35 minutes and let the cake rest inside the microwave oven for another 10 minutes before taking it out into room temperature. 8. Your Chocolate Rum cake is ready

GAJAR KA HALWA (Carrot Halwa) Procedure: • Heat up a large deep dish (kadhai) and pour ghee into it. Allow it to heat up and then add the grated gajar (carrots). Stir it vigorously from time to time allowing the carrots to cook. Now put in the elaich and keep stirring • Add the sugar, enough to sweeten the halva and hence keep a tab as the carrots are sweet in itself. Keep stirring • Now once the carrots are done by 80%, we can add the dry fruits. Keep stirring and also keep a tab that the carrots are not burnt. Keep the flame at low

• Now, add the milk allow the carrots to cook along with the milk which will in turn become dense and the carrots will eventually cook on its own. • Just as the milk is completely dissolved with the grated carrots, we can check if the carrots are soft enough to be served. • Once done, add the cream and mix it well. Your Gajar-ka-Halva is ready to be served hot. (every household has a different recipe of gajar ka halva. This is my preferred recipe and is simple to make.)

Ingrediants you will require • Gajar/Carrot (red variety)- 1 kgs grated properly • Sugar (per requirement and sweetness) • Milk – 1 litre (Amul Taza) • Dry fruits – cut into small pieces except the rasins – I have used Almonds, Cashew, Walnuts, rasins, dates etc • Fresh Cream- 1 cup (well beaten) • Ghee for frying- use generously • Cardamons – about 4-5 pieces

2. Use the tin size stated in the recipe and line it well If you want to use a different one then you’ll need to adjust the cooking time. Baking parchment works really well for lining as it’s nonstick. Softened butter dusted with flour, or oil dusted with flour, are alternatives. Don’t use too much fat though or you’ll fry the sides of the cake. If you’re cooking a cake for a long time (rich fruit cake, for example), it’s worth wrapping the outside of the tin too using brown paper and string to stop the edges from burning.

3. Preheat the oven If you put a cake into an oven that’s not hot enough, it will affect the way it rises. Fan ovens can dry a cake slightly so for a longer shelf-life use the conventional setting.

4. Be accurate with weights and ingredients Make sure you use the exact measurements and ingredients as stated in the recipe. You can’t just add more baking powder if you want your cake to rise more or substitute self-raising flour for plain. Use measuring spoons rather than tablewear to ensure accuracy. Also, avoid mixing imperial and metric measurements, pick one or the other.

5. Make sure ingredients are the right temperature Most recipes require the fat and eggs to be at room temperature. If you take the butter straight from the fridge it doesn’t cream well and cold eggs are liable to curdle the cake mixture.

G PLUS DEC 27, 2014 - JAN 2, 2015

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Horoscope 2015 Aries

uring the year 2015 there would be more demands on you. This would prompt you to turn more aggressive, bold and action-oriented. Make sure you do everything in a constructive way. Bouts of procrastination might make you pay a big prize on your relationships. Your impulsive nature should be put in the cold-storage for quite some time, at least for the year ahead. There would be much growth and development in your personal and professional life for this year. Also a time for much free-falling too. Do find support and strength from your near and dear ones when in dire need of the same.

Taurus

he year 2015 shall see to that you shall work to your fullest potential. Your best characters like stability and patience shall bring in good rewards for this period. However you are at times prone to take certain rash and harsh decisions regarding life and its future. New ideas and concepts bloom in your mind for this year period. This is an apt time to start building your dreams. This is also a time when there would be occasional instances of fatigue and passive responses from your side. However make sure you put in your best for this year.

Leo

his year 2015 will be rich in opportunities for new projects in all areas of your life for all you Lions out there. You would be able to find solutions to life’s unanswered problems till date now. This is an apt time to take wise decisions regarding your future course of actions in life be it personal or professional. The planetary positions shall help you to keep a check on your emotional imbalances. This year is a good time to bury your past grouses and work towards a brighter future. If you are in the artistic field then this is the ideal time to showcase your works to the world. Fame and name are waiting for you.

Sagittarius

uring this year of 2015 the planets shall help you to have better confidence in you and your abilities. You would be able to perform more in life than the previous years for now. But you need to prioritize your ideas and ideals before venturing into the action field. Plan your works with much caution giving some leeway for breathing in fresh air. Though you would be held tightly this year with your personal and professional works, make sure that the environment around you is ambient for you. Much luck and fortune are also on the cards for you during this year like never before.

Gemini

he year 2015 is likely to bring in major changes in your personal life , Gemini. Long pending personal and professional projects take shape in this time. Your ambitions and ideas shall take a tangible form for now. But this year shall see you settle down in life. Avoid any misconceptions about life and its percussions on you. This year shall help you to enjoy life to the fullest. The planetary positions shall help you to prioritize your life’s plans. However make sure that you do not deviate from your path. The end of the year promises some luck and fortune for you.

Virgo

uring this year of 2015 there would be major changes in your personal and financial life. All your efforts would end in success for now. But do not rest on your laurels and be aware of tempting flattery en-route. Count your blessings and let your brains and not brawns do the major judgments in life. Your creativity shall come to the fore in this time. The planetary positions support your intellectual growth and development. Do not hesitate to put your foot forward in times of other’s needs.

Libra

his year would be problem-free for you thanks to the good planetary placements. You would be able to make good advancements in your life. You will accumulate all your energies towards your major goals in life. Your creativity and artistic talents would come to the fore in this period. There would be some impatience on your part in personal and professional life. Handle things with tact and diplomacy. Take the path of compromise for goodness in life. There would be good rapport with those around you for now. Most of your hopes shall be realized in this year’s time.

Capricorn

uring the year 2015, your creativity and inherent talents shall take you to the limelight. There would be much growth and development in your skills that there would be good satisfaction with life. Stick to your goals and be prepared to lend your ears to advises from all quarters. Do not be a mere spectator to events happening around you. Plunge into the action field as things are hotting up around you of late. Duty calls first and be prepared to tackle problems head on for this year’s period.

Aquarius

uring this year there would be much pressure on you from all quarters. Garner all your strength and energy and face the world with all your might. Who knows you might miss a potential lead to stardom. Works left undone for quite some time now might take wings. Socializing would be taking a major chunk of your time for this year. Jupiter helps you to go in search of your ambitions and ideals in life. Saturn shall reveal your creativity and talents to the fore.

Cancer

uring this year, You Cancerians are promised a new source of energy and vigor. You would be able to go to any extreme to make sure that your ideas and ideals are met with. You would be able to tackle issues with a new source of light. Artistic inclinations would be more pronounced for this period. Mars and Neptune together are likely to make you take rash impulsive decisions which should be handled with double caution. Recreational activities ought to be minimized for this period and you need to focus on the larger tasks at hand.

Scorpio

uring this year you would be able to revive and revisit your ambitions in life. Take life’s goal seriously and act accordingly. There would be overlapping of your personal and professional life. There would be some rush to end certain important projects in your life as the year moves on. Do devote your time and hard work so that your works come out surprisingly well. There would be some changes in your life but make sure that you take ample time off to be with family and friends because this is “the thing” that counts ultimately in life.

Pisces

uring the year 2015 there would be more demands on you. This would prompt you to turn more aggressive, bold and action-oriented. Make sure you do everything in a constructive way. There would be much growth and development in your personal and professional life for this year. Also a time for much free-falling too. Do find support and strength from you near and dear ones when in you are dire need of the same.

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