VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 45 by G Plus

HEMOPTYSIS

(COUGHING OF BLOOD) AN OVERVIEW PG 18

HOW INDEPENDENT ARE WE ? PG 16

Himakshi Kalita

New chic on the block

Page 24

VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 45 AUG 15 - AUG 21 , 2015

PRICE `10

Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clinical laboratories under strict vigilance

GMC workers threaten to stop city water supply

10 In Conversation

Shio Shankar Singh

Chairman, Assam Gramin Vikash Bank

Last week, Guwahati got overwhelmed with heaps of garbage all around the city and just as the stench and filth threatened to turn the hygiene quotient upside down, the GMC workers withdrew the strike and started work. However, they have threatened to resume the strike if their demands are not met and this time it would go on indefinitely.

PG 02

15 Lack of regulation causes broiler price hike

Monumental Fancy Bazar landmark demolished

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Lead Story

KALYAN DEB

GMC workers threaten to stop city water supply

Following the two days strike, GMC workers to go for indefinite strike later this month which might include halting water supply Even though the pension plan was passed by the cabinet in the year 2009 according to the 3rd finance commission, GMC workers are still deprived of the privilege If the demands are not met GMC workers threaten to go for indefinite strike from August 20th and has also threatened to stop water supply.

n the past few days with GMC workers going on strike, the city underwent a complete change, albeit of an unpleasant kind as the garbage bins across Guwahati were left unattended and household waste accumulated in people’s homes. The unattended trash did not just make the garbage bins but also the surrounding areas littered with filth. Passersby covering their noses while coming across a garbage bin were a common view. While garbage from households and commercial outlets mingled with the stink of rotting corpses of street animals in certain areas making lives miserable for those in the vicinity, households had to bear the additional headache of cleaning up after scavengers went through their unattended dustbins at night. Although the garbage bins were cleared later on Wednesday shortly after the strike was lifted and door to door garbage collection resumed the following day, people are yet to heave a sigh of relief as the GMC workers have threatened to go on an indefinite strike from August 20th onwards if their demands of being provided pension is not fulfilled within due time. The long-standing demand of granting pension to the GMC workers was approved by the cabinet in the year 2009 as per the 3rd finance commission report. However, the order has not been implemented by the government so far following which the GMC workers’ union had launched several strikes and protests although no step has been tak-

en in favour of the workers so far. Four trade unions of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) that have joined the stir demanding regular pension, promotion and regularization of service includes the Guwahati Muncipal Karmi Sangha, All Assam Harijan Mazdoor Union, Harijan Mazdoor Union and Waterworks Workers Union. “We urge the government and the GMC to fulfil our demands and we are hopeful that we will not have to go on indefinite strike from August 20th if the government takes a favourable decision. However, if the same do not happen, we will have no other option but to go on an indefinite strike, where this time possibly

water supply will also be stopped”, said Chandan Sarma, General Secretary, Guwahati Muncipal Karmi Sangha and convenor of all four unions of GMC. “Last year according to the budget, Rs 75 crore had been sanctioned which got lapsed whereas in this year’s budget session, the matter has not been taken into consideration. This means that after taking a certain decision, the government is now reluctant to follow it. The pension scheme was started in the year 2010, but since the past five years, no pension has been provided. All details have been provided to the government including the total number of employees and also those died in the past five years after

the chief minister himself assured to provide us with pension but no step has been taken so far. With due consideration to the recommendation of the 3rd finance commission, we urge the government to take the matter into consideration”, Sarma added. Meanwhile on Wednesday, the mayor in council had a meeting with the chief minister regarding the workers’ demand. However, no time period of clearing the pension has been asserted so far. “We had forwarded a prayer to the chief minister to look into the matter and clear the pension. Since the matter has been rejected by the cabinet, we have urged the chief minister to take a favourable decision since in the past two days the city had to suffer a lot and the workers going on an indefinite strike will only create more havoc and confusion”, said Mayor Abir Patra. GMC Commissioner, Narayan Konwar said, “As a commissioner, I would be happy if the employees are provided with pension but the matter is up to the government. We have also urged the government and to take the matter into consideration.” In the past several protests were carried out by the four unions including a hunger strike and several sit-in demonstrations but the workers’ demands remain unheard. However, the residents of the city need to brace themselves for a tough time if the workers are to go on a strike against the non-fulfillment of demands that have possibilities of stopping of water supply.

The two day strike covered the city in filth which was witnessed by every Guwahatian. However, following the lifting of strike, the scenario of the entire city changed as the dustbins were cleared and garbage collection from households were resumed from Thursday morning. Mayor Abir Patra had a meeting with the chief minister on Wednesday, and forwarded a prayer for providing the GMC workers with pension. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

In The News

Guwahati hospitals turn into Case 1 suicide spots Location: Arya

Hospital Victim: Rupak Das Age: 37

KALYAN DEB

Two incidents of suicides witnessed at two different city hospitals

Cause of suicide:

Unknown

Case 2

ne youth, identified as Rupak Das jumped off the 6th f loor of Arya Hospital in the city on Wednesday. The deceased, whose mother was undergoing treatment in the hospital, was a resident of Beltola Gopal path. Rani Nobis (80) the mother of the deceased is a retired school teacher and undergoing treatment in the hospital. She was admitted since August 6th. Meanwhile, the case is registered as unnatural death (case number 28/2015) since no suicide note is found and is under investigation awaits postmortem report. As stated by police officials the deceased was mentally deranged and the same has been confirmed by doctors and family members as well. According to sources, Rupak, who was the only son of Rani Nobis took the dire step due to suffering from stress.

Hospital: Guwahati Medical College and Hospitals Victim: Raushna Begum Age: 24 Cause of suicide:

Unknown

Earlier on August 10th, another case of suicide was registered at the Bhangagarh police station. At 8:20 am on Monday, one Raushna Begumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body was recovered from the premises of Guwahati Medical College and Hospitals by GMCH officials after the victim jumped off the third f loor of one of the buildings of the hospital. The twenty four years old was undergoing treatment for Monosis Informa since February 2014 and was admitted to the GMCH on 30th July after her illness relapsed. The reason behind Raushna taking such drastic step still remains a

RIST

mystery, although according to sources, it is suspected that the patient went into a depression after learning about her sickness at such a young age and lost hope of being cured. Raushna belonged to a middleclass family from Hajo and had been living with her elder brother, sister and brother-inlaw. However, the family members of the deceased could not be reached. Meanwhile, the police had registered a case for unnatural death (case number 11/2015) and is investigating the matter. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

In The News

Monumental Fancy Bazar landmark demolished

Juthika Baruah

The Oriental Insurance building, the oldest in the city is being demolished and commercial complex would be constructed in the campus. The beauty of the building has been ruined as Assam Type houses have been constructed in the front. SGBG demanded bringing back the original structure of the building being the oldest building in the city Diwali and Durga Puja have been the festivals for the octogenarian to celebrate with fervour.

The Oriental Insurance building in Fancy Bazaar could be used as Museum, Library or Record Room for LICI rather than be turned into a commercial complex: SGBG

he city’s oldest building, the Oriental Insurance building is slated to be demolished with the government having permitted construction of a commercial complex in its place, a move, which is being vehemently opposed by Save Guwahati Build Guwahati, demanding instead, the declaration of the building as a heritage building.

The Oriental Insurance building located in Fancy Bazaar, was the one and only imposing building constructed way back in 1937-38 and festivals like Diwali and Durga Puja were celebrated in the building’s campus. “The Oriental Building is the oldest building in the city and a landmark. It should not be demolished, rather it should be declared as a heritage building.

Old Buildings in Guwahati: • Saraswati Kutir- 1913 • Bogitinor Bangla- 1907 • Cotton College Principal’s Quarter-

1904-05

• Nalini Bala Girls’ Hostel Superintendent House-

1915

• Mukherjee Lodge- 1901 • Phukan Haveli- 100

years old

• Raskul Lodge- 100

years old

• Harekrishna Das Trust-

100 years old

Earlier there were open spaces in front of the building but now other houses have been constructed and the beauty of the area has been destroyed. It had a dome at its top which was fitted with Belgium glass, which had a very beautiful look but now that the Belgium glass has been removed and artificial ceilings attached, the beauty of the building has been ruined,” said Kumudeshwar Hazarika, noted litterateur and educationist while speaking to G Plus. Hazarika said that instead of demolishing the building, it could have been developed as a museum. He said, “In Kolkata, the Oriental Building which was earlier known as Dalhousie Square and now the Binay Badal Square (BBD) has been declared as a heritage building. The oriental building of Myanmar which was earlier known as Burma, then was a part of India is being used as the Indian Embassy office. The question that arises is that if others can preserve their old buildings, why not Guwahati’s oriental building which is the oldest to be declared as Heritage. It can also be developed into a museum or can be used as a guest house instead of being developed into a commercial complex. The Headquarter in Bombay situated on D.N. Road has also been declared as heritage.” Hazarika also said that the old SP Bungalow, Chief Justice Bungalow,

Circuit House right from Sukleswar point to Latasil should be declared as Heritage walk. “The Chamber of Commerce, GMC, GMDA, all should equally be concerned and public should pressurize the government to declare as heritage building or it should be brought back in the original shape and size,” said Hazarika. SGBG demanded that the new houses that have been constructed in front of the building should be removed and the original structure of the building be brought back and could be used as library, museum or record room of LIC rather than constructing a commercial complex. On the other hand, Senior Divisional Manager of LICI, Guwahati division, B.K. Panda said, “The concerned authority has already permitted to construct the commercial complex and the building will be constructed for development purpose. It is not only the LICI that the building will be used but other companies will be equally benefitted and the main objective of LICI is to implement and the policy holders will be benefitted. In other states also, the old buildings have been reconstructed and used as commercial complex for development purpose and therefore I think that the new building constructed in Guwahati will also bring development.” juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

In The News

Cotton College property tussle finally ends Rahul Chanda

CCSU Amendment Bill, 2015 passed in the Assembly so that the reputation of the historical Cotton College remain intact According to GS, the present VC made a team of professors who work only for their own self interest. There is always politics in college and university. Without politics there is hardly any change but it depends what kind of change people seek for.

41 bighas of land would be allotted for CCSU campus at Sonatoli in Kamrup Rural with another 16 bighas in Rupnagar in the city. The long drawn contention between Cotton College State University (CCSU) and Cotton College Union Society (CCUS) have finally come to an end with the passing of the Cotton College State University (CCSU) Amendment Bill, 2015 in the monsoon session of the Assam Assembly. State Education Minister Sarat Borkotoky on Friday stated in the Assembly that the Cotton College should retain its unique identity and grow. “As there has been much controversy between the CCUS and the CCSU, the reputation of the college has been affected and therefore it is necessary to have two separate campuses. A plot of 141 bighas of land would be handed over to the CCSU at Sonatoli in Kamrup district and another 16 bighas would be allotted at Rupnagar in the city,” said Borkotoky. Borkotoky said that the present conf lict is creating problems for the college to receive and utilize various funds besides hindrances in getting and sustaining accreditation adding that the Act will ensure that the existing property of CCUS will remain with it as a constituent college of the CCSU. The situation escalated because of the conf licting nature of the Cotton College State University Act 2011, which states that the Cotton College should have been upgraded to an university but in the act itself it was

stated that Cotton College shall remain as a constituent college of Cotton College State University (CCSU) without its own land and building, creating a conf licting situation. Cotton College Union Society (CCUS) general Secretary (GS) Deepjyoti Das said, “According to the 2011 act, Cotton College is under CCSU and all property belongs to CCSU and the university till now did not establish even a single department on its own.” He further added that the CCSU had appealed to the state government to allot a different campus to the university and there should not be any construction inside the college campus by the university authorities. Earlier the University authorities had said, “As per as the 2011 act, it states that Cotton College is upgraded to a university but the Cotton College was kept as a constituent college. So, if a college is upgraded to a university, the entire land and building goes to the university. The college can very well function. So, we thought that the land and property is there and all the buildings have very old construction so we require a master plan. Accordingly, we sought an expression of interest (EOI) to be followed with a DPR. So, many people showed their interest and very soon we will finalise that”, said CCSU Registrar Prof. Dilip Kumar Patgiri. Now as the amended act has provided new land to the university, the liquid property of Cotton College will remain and with it, the college and the long lasting rift between college students

and university authorities is likely to be resolved. CCUS General Secretary Deepjyoti Das said, “The student fraternity welcomes the move and want that the CCSU should be able to provide international level quality education to the students’ and should be known in various fields including research.” He further said that in 2011 when the university act was formed, the Cotton College was kept as a constituent college, but the university authorities made a team which only worked for their vested interest and not for the students. Some college teachers wanted that both the university and college should remain as a single entity so that the teachers who otherwise, do not have the eligibility to become a university professor can easily become one by being close to the vice chancellor. The GS said that the present VC has made a team of professors who work only for their own self interest and not for the students. He alleged that although the VC is from Assam, he has never worked in Assam and do not know the state at all. There is always politics in colleges and universities, but without politics there is hardly change but it depends what kind of change people seek. At present, the university is expected to shift to a different location and the funds allotted for the college can be utilised. Will the university be known in the future for its role to educate students, or for various kinds of political strategies, however, remins to be seen. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

In The News

Anti graft body seeks public support to combat corruption

RAHUL CHANDA

After December 2014 the vigilance and anti corruption department can act immediately after receiving any complaint on direct demand for bribery The department also has a toll free number (1800345-3767) where complaints can be reported

With new powers since December 2014, the Vigilance and Anti Corruption department can now lay traps on receiving complaints about direct bribery without government’s permission, but the number of complaints received by the department is very less.

efore December 2014, the department of vigilance and anti corruption did not have the right to directly entrap offcials involved in corruption cases as they had to take permission from the government before inquiring into any case. But, in December 2014 Assam government empowered the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption department to lay trap against corrupt public servants for offences of graft under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 which allows the vigilance officials to take action after receiving any complaint of corruption by the public. Recently, the reports of a police OC and an education department official getting arrested by the vigilance department may have rekindled hope among city people to combat the social problem but after talking to many Guwahatians, G Plus discovered that many people do not know whom and how to approach for such kind of complaints. A city based resident said in anonymity, “I applied for building permission two years back and faced lot of problem getting it. I had to get hold of a middleman and also had to give bribe to some officials through him, and after wasting a lot of time and money, I received the permission two months

back. All these days I thought of complaining about the corruption. I didn’t know where to go as I thought that if I complained to GMC’s higher officials, I might not get the permission and I am scared of going to the police too.” Many people have similar thoughts which made G Plus visit the Vigilance and Anti Corruption department to find out how can a person approach the department to lodge complaints against corrupt officials.

How to complain against corruption? Vigilance and Anti Corruption ADGP R Chandranathan said, “We can combat corruption only if the public cooperates. It’s the people who have to take action and create an environment where people do not take bribes.” He further said that anyone can go to the anti corruption department and file complaints against corrupt officials and if the complaint is about direct bribery, the vigilance department will entrap and get hold of the perpetrators. He also said that till December 2014, the department had to take permission from the government for inquiring into any case but after December 2014, they can directly take action on complaints of direct bribery without any permission. The department

also has a toll free number (1800345-3767) where people can call and complain about incidents of corruption. After the FIR is lodged in the department, the officials will take action but the money used for the trap should be provided by the complainant which will be returned after the court procedure is over.

The process After receiving the complaint, the department forms a team which also includes two independent witnesses who are civilians. The serial numbers of the currency notes provided by the complainant is noted and then phenolphthalein powder is put on the notes. Once the treated notes are touched by someone and then the hand is dipped in a solution of sodium carbonate and water, the solution turns pink. The complainant then goes to the accused with one of the witness while the other individual witness remains with vigilance team but somewhere near the scene of action. As soon as the money is handed to the accused, the witness with the complainant sends a signal to the team and they apprehend the accused. The hands of the accused is dipped in the solution to confirm the graft charges and the money is recovered. The accused is then

arrested and forwarded to the special court. The court decides on the punishment and simultaneously the department authorities of the accused are also informed to take action accordingly. The vigilance department further if required, also inquires into the assets of the accused and a disproportionate asset case if required, is also registered against the accused with the government’s approval. So far, the department this year have investigated and solved seven cases. The cases filed and investigated by the anti graft body directly after receiving complaint in the year 2015 are

Case number 1 Complainant Benu Kanta Hazarika Profession Assistant Project Officer, DRDA Accused Abhijit Dutta

In 2015, till date seven cases reported and acted on immediately, all accused arrested red handed The arrested people are either in jail or suspended Disproportionate asset cases can also be reported but will be investigated only after government’s approval

Profession Inspector, Vigilance and Anti Corruption (later turned out the name and designation was faked. Original name was Ikram Yusuf Ali, Accounts officer at Directorate of Finance, Assam Government.)

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

In The News Plot The accused called the complainant saying he is from the vigilance department and have received a complaint against Hazarika, demanded Rs 50,000 as bribe to stop the enquiry. He called Hazarika at Bhargab Hotel, Ganeshguri. Hazarika complained to the vigilance department and after a stratagem, Abhijit Dutta alias Ikram Yusuf Ali was arrested and the truth discovered.

Case number 2 Complainant Amit Ghora Profession Truck driver Accused Raju Choudhury Profession Driver, Transport enforcement department

Plot Amit Ghora was coming to Guwahati from Kolkata driving a truck (RN – WB 29A 8746) and near Jalukbari, few people in a Sumo stopped his vehicle and asked him for the vehicle documents.

Ghora showed the documents but the people in the Sumo seized his documents and asked him to give Rs 7,500. He said he can give the money but not at the spot. He was given a mobile number and asked to contact them after he has the money for the documents. He approached the vigilance department and a trap was laid. He was called near the passport office and finally the driver Raju Choudhury was arrested. Later on during the probe it was found that there was a team of officials from the enforcement department including B Kalita – Enforcement Inspector, M Ali – Assistant Enforcement Inspector, R Baishya - Assistant Enforcement Inspector and S Talukdar – Enforcement checker, who used to take money from many drivers. Raju Choudhury used to take money on their behalf. The probe is on and the authorities of the department has been informed.

Plot Jintu Patwary was constructing his house and in the process had given some money to a carpenter to build the doors and the windows. But the carpenter was not able to provide the service because of which there was a scuff le and both the parties had to go to the Birubari police. The officer-in-charge, Indreswar Pathak asked Rs 15,000 from Patwary to work in his favour. After receiving the complaint, the vigilance department laid a trap and arrested the accused red handed.

Case number 4 Complainant Chandu Yadav Profession Businessman

Case number 3

Accused Sisir Bhatta

Complainant Jintu Patwary

Profession Officer in Charge, Guwahati Railway Police Station

Profession School teacher Accused Indreswar Pathak Profession In Charge, Birubari Police Outpost

Plot Yadav has a loading and unloading business at the railway station and mainly deals with eggs. The police had asked him to pay bribe or else he would not be allowed to do business at the

station. He approached the anti graft department and after laying a trap the OC was arrested red handed.

Case number 5 Complainant Chandrajeet Baruah Profession Lessee at Majuli Accused Pankaj Kumar Gogoi Profession Executive Engineer, Inland Water Transport, Dibrugarh Division

Plot Baruah filed a complaint against Gogoi that the latter had asked for Rs 20,000 as a bribe to allow him work as a lessee at Majuli. A team of vigilance department went from Guwahati and arrested the accused red handed.

Case number 6 Complainant Jilmil Bora Profession Associate Professor, Dakshin Kamrup College, Mirza

Accused Utpala Saikia Profession Junior Administrative Assistant, Education (Higher) Department

Plot Bora, to pursue her PhD degree required an approval from the education department and Utpala Saikia asked Rs 5000 as a bribe to get her the approval. Bora filed a complaint and Saikia was caught and arrested red handed. All these cases were acted upon as soon as the vigilance and anti corruption department recived the complaints. But they cannot lay trap unless they receive public complaints therefore, the public needs to be proactive and complain to the department whenever there is a demand for bribe. Till December 2014, the department was not able to function effectively but as they have the powers now, public support can help cut down the issue. The department can also investigate cases of disproportionate assets but it can be done only after government’s approval. The department like Guwahati Municipal Corporation have their own vigilence cell these days but still the importance of Vigilence and Anti Corruption Department cannot be kept aside as it is the only body which has the powers of laying traps againts any government official who asks for bribe. In 2015 only seven cases till now proves that the complaints recieved are somehow less. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

Assam CM was aware of Louis Berger scam: Himanta Biswa Sharma

Syeda Ambia Zahan

ontroversial former Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has once again hit back at the ruling Congress by his sensational comment on the infamous Louis Berger scam. On the last day of the monsoon session of the Assam Assembly, the former minister of Tarun Gogoi cabinet claimed that Assam Chief Minister was well aware of the whole Louis Berger issue. Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was holding the portfolio of the minister for Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) said, “The Assam Chief Minister was well aware of the Louis Berger issue.” Talking to newsmen, Sarma said, “You people do a proper enquiry and then you will get to know whose hands the files went to.” Notably, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was serving

his second term, i.e. from 2006 to 2011, as the Chief Minister of Assam when the scam was allegedly took place during the securing of water projects in Guwahati. When the US firm confessed that bribe was paid to an “unknown minister”, all eyes turned to Dr.

Himanta Biswa Sarma as he was the Guwahati Development Department (GDD) Minister between 2006 and April 2011. The company was awarded the consultancy in 20092010 in Guwahati under Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority.

Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, whose name has been repeatedly pronounced with the scam, has been leading the rebellion in Assam Congress for the last couple of years along with more than 50 MLAs in the 78 member assembly of the ruling party. On the other hand, a PIL has been filed against the Louis Berger scam in the Gauhati High Court. Bhaben Handique of Swaraj Adhikar Sangram Assam has filed the PIL against six departments of the Assam government. The first hearing will take place on 17th August. Louis Berger, a US firm has been charged with bribing Indian officials with several crores to secure two major water developmental projects - one each in Goa and Guwahati. The consulting firm provides engineering, architecture, construction management, environmental planning and science, and economic development services.

On the other hand, the Goa Police on Wednesday said prima facie, it has come to light that “bribe was paid” by a US firm for a water developmental project in the state. “The instance of corruption has been proved in this case through the judgement of the US court. There is no doubt that bribe was paid,” Inspector General of Police, Goa, Sunil Garg told. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has also ordered an enquiry against the multi -crore corruption. The investigations are currently at preliminary stage. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is yet to react to the statements of Himanta Biswa Sarma who was Man Friday for Tarun Gogoi until he fell out with the Chief Minister in July 2012 and tendered his resignation from his ministership in July 2014.

City

KALYAN DEB

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Lack of regulation causes broiler chicken price hike Generally, such hike is experienced during festive seasons like Bihu, Eid, New Year’s Eve, etc.which gradually settle back but the unseasonal price hike of broiler chicken is seen to have sustained for quite a few weeks now. An undressed broiler chicken that was earlier available for `100 is now sold at `140 per kg whereas the price of dressed chicken is now touching `240 per kg.

Besides seasonal price hike the growing price of broiler chicken continues to burn holes into consumers’ pockets

ise in prices of broiler chicken has hit Guwahatians yet again with the rising prices refusing to deflate even after several weeks now. Generally, such hike is experienced seasonally as the demand of such goods go up especially during times of Bihu, Eid, New Year’s Eve, etc. and then gradually settle back to the earlier price. However, this time, the unseasonal price hike is seen to have remained constant for quite a few weeks now. While an undressed broiler chicken is now being sold at Rs.140 per kg, a few weeks ago, the landing price of the chicken was Rs. 120 per kg. A few months ago, the selling price of an undressed chicken was hovering between Rs 100 to Rs 110 for a kg. On the other hand, the price charged for a dressed chicken is now touching Rs 240 per kilogram. With the uncontrolled hike in the prices, retailers are having a torrid time. “We do not know the reason for the rising prices. We are selling according to what the wholesalers are charging with the same margin. The latest price hike was prior to Eid before which undressed broiler chicken was being sold for Rs 110 per kg but the price have kept rising for reasons unknown”, said a poultry retailer at Ganeshguri. On the other hand, Amrit Sinha, a local wholesaler, stated that over the past few months, corporate firms based outside the state has taken

over the market which has affected the wholesale market due to the unregulated price charged by them. “In the past 10 months, the production scale of local farms has gone down following which firms based outside the state has taken over the entire wholesale market as per the demand of the goods. The firms have taken over almost ninety percent of the market since the local wholesalers like us were not being able to meet the demand. The outstation firms not just provide the goods but also charge according to their whims which is the main cause of the price hike”, Sinha said.

“As per ex-farm rate, the selling price of broiler chicken is Rs 105 to Rs 110 with an additional charge of Rs 15 for food and other charges, which makes the current wholesale rate Rs 120 to Rs 125 per kg,” Sinha added. Meanwhile, officials of the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary stated that there are no such regulations over the price of broiler chicken and it is the concern of the food and civil supplies department. “The price hike is due to the lack of supply in proportion to demand of the goods which is similar to any other good in the market. Moreover,

there is no such regulation over the price of broiler chicken. Besides, suspected involvement of middlemen between the farms and the retailers or the wholesalers and the retailers is one of the causes of price hike. It was also found through market survey that after most retailers receive one consignment, they do not make the payment until the stock gets over and the second batch is delivered, for which the wholesalers charge them an extra percentage of money for late payment which is remunerated in turn from the customers. This is another cause of price hike,” said an official of the poultry department of the directorate of animal husbandry and veterinary. On the other hand, according to officials of food and civil supplies department, goods such as poultry and eggs are under the directorate of veterinary and any kind of regulation has to be done from their end unless a direct order has been passed from the deputy commissioner. Inspite of several reasons being presented for the price hike which is burning holes in the consumers’ pockets, it is clear that the price has to be regulated by the concerned department rather than throwing the ball into each other’s court. However, no department is ready to take the matter into consideration which should have been a priority with the fast growing price hike.

According to local wholesalers, the price hike is being influenced by corporate firms based outside the state who have taken over the market in the recent past and are charging unregulated price. The farm rate of broiler chicken is `105 to `110 per kg along with an additional `15 for food and other charges, which makes the current wholesale rate `120 to `125 per kg. According to veterinary officials, suspected involvement of middlemen between the farms and the retailers or the wholesalers and the retailers is one of the causes of price hike. Officials of the directorate of animal husbandry and veterinary stated that there are no such regulations over the price of broiler chicken.

kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Online building permission started ADITYA GOGOI

City

PC Jeweller launches ‘Jewels For Less’ scheme on Independence Day

uwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will launch a new online building permission system from August 17 in a bid to bring transparency, speedy, hassle free and user friendly procedure in the system for the persons seeking permission for construction of building within Guwahati metropolitan area. Builders and people in general have welcomed the move of GMDA. According to the new system, the applicants will receive the permission copy in their mail without worrying for much hassle. “Everything will be updated time to time. Once the documents are submitted with the application, the concerned applicant will receive a message or an email that his or her documents are alright. They don’t

need to keep on coming to the office or take help of any middle man which used to be there with the old system,” said a top official of the GMDA. On the verification of all the details, the scanned copy of the building permission will be mailed to the applicant and if the applicant does not use email, he or she will be alerted with SMS to collect the certificate from the office. “We are hopeful that it will be greatly beneficial to the people of the city. It’s less time consuming and more transparent,” said the official. Assam Real Estate and Infrastructure Developers' Association (AREIDA) president PK Sharma hailed the computerized automated online building permission system.

“This switchover has been a long pending demand of this association to safeguard applicants from the onslaught of unscrupulous officials. We have examined the system and are quite satisfied that it is fool proof and manipulation proof,” Sharma said. It was also decided in a meeting chaired by additional chief secretary to chief minister, MGVK Bhanu to observe the fifth day of every month as building permission grievance redressal day when the GMC commissioner, along with the officials of the building permission branch would directly meet applicants and attend to their grievances. A similar exercise has been ordered to be carried out by GMDA on the 15th day of every month.

C Jeweller announces the launch of the popular Jewel for Less Scheme (JFL Scheme) for its existing and potential customers spread across the country. The unique JFL scheme will help customers to plan their jewellery purchases in advance. The scheme ‘Jewels for Less’ would kickstart on the auspicious occasion of Independence Day (15th August) from all its 54 showrooms across the country. The scheme will be applicable from PCJ Rang Mahal, Lachit Nagar, Ulubari, G.S. Road, Guwahati. This scheme gives huge returns in a profitable way to plan jewellery collection as well as smart way to keep aside a certain amount every month, planning future festivals and special occasions. PC jeweller provides a special discount at the end of the installment period. Speaking on the occasion, R K Sharma, COO & Executive Director of PC Jeweller Ltd said “We are highly delighted to launch JFL scheme that will be a boon for our valuable customers. In India we have so many occasions where buying a jewellery is a part of traditions so keeping this mind we are launching JFL so that the life’s important events can be treasured much more with our Jewel for Less scheme. “ “We have divided the JFL scheme under two categories. First one is for 14 months wherein the

customer has to pay 14 monthly installments within a minimum of Rs. 2000. The additional amount can be in multiple of Rs. 1000 and the maximum installments can be of Rs. 6000 per month. After depositing 14 installments on or before due dates, the customer will be entitled to purchase jewellery with benefit in the form of discount equivalent to one month installment after completion of the 14th month from the date of subscribing the scheme” Sharma added further The second one is for 20 months, wherein the customer has to pay 20 equal monthly installments with a minimum of Rs. 2000. The additional amount can be in multiples of Rs. 1000 and the maximum installment can be Rs. 4000 per month. After depositing 20 installments on or before the due dates, the customer will be entitled to purchase jewellery with benefit in the form of discount equivalent to two months installments after completion of 20th month from the date of subscribing the scheme. PC Jeweller Limited is one of the leading jewellery companies in India. The company offers a wide range of products including gold jewellery, diamond jewellery and other jewellery with a thrust on diamond jewellery and jewellery for weddings.

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

City

City’s clinical laboratories under strict vigilance Juthika Baruah

The District Administration will take strict action against the clinical laboratories running without appropriate licenses The doors and walls of the X-ray rooms should have a thickness of 10 inch or have special coating so that the ray produced during x-ray examinations cannot affect the patient New Apollo X-ray and Clinical Laboratory, New Geetanjali X-ray and Clinical Laboratory and New Assam X-ray and Clinical Laboratory have been closed down for not having license.

Three clinical laboratories have been closed for running without license which might be a risk factor for the patients

he city’s clinical laboratories have come under strict vigilance of the District Administration with three laboratories having been closed down after they were found running without license in violation of norms under the Health Service Act. Hospitals and clinical laboratories in the city are being inspected by officials of the health department and the district administration as laboratories have been found lacking the other basic requirements besides not having license. “It should have been examined earlier. Laboratories can only be established under some rules and regulations but a section of healthcare laboratories are running without licenses which may put the patients’ lives at risk. The Health Service Act has set some norms which should be followed by all health institutions but it seems that most health institutions are not following them. We have started a joint operation with the Health department and found three clinical laboratories which have been closed down for not having licenses,” said Fakhruddin Ahmed, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup

(M) while speaking to G Plus. The clinical laboratories that have been closed are New Assam X-ray and Clinical Laboratory, Apollo X-ray and Clinical Laboratory and New Geetanjali X-ray and Clinical Laboratory. Ahmed said, “The unlicenced clinics cannot treat patients efficiently as they do not have the basic requirements to open a clinical laboratory. The license is issued only after they meet the various requirements laid down in the Health Service Act. For instance, the doors and walls of X-ray rooms should have a thickness of ten inch

or should have special coating to prevent radiation which most of the clinics have not maintained,” Ahmed said. Ahmed said that if a clinic does not have the basic facilities, people cannot expect the appropriate treatment. “If a rule says that the examination rooms should have certain criteria, it means that it has some value associated with the patient. Harmful rays may be produced while doing an x-ray which might affect the patients and their attendants if the doors and walls of the x-ray rooms are not constructed accordingly,” Ahmed

added. Regarding the variant rates of different tests and examinations like x-ray, ultrasound, MRI etc. in different clinics, the ADC admitted that some clinics do charge very high rates while some maintain moderate rates. But as the rates are not mentioned in the public domain, they cannot take any action against those charging high rates for various tests. The district administration will continue the inspection as there are a number of clinical laboratories and if any of them are found to have discrepancies, it will be closed

down. A customer, Meera Das while speaking to G Plus said, “The administration has taken a good step as we, the common public, are not aware of which is the best clinic or who can provide us the best treatment. We often gather information about the clinics from word of mouth and we go there with the hope that we will receive good treatment. But if a section of clinics do not even have licenses, then we won’t be able to trust any health institution. People anyway prefer to go to other states for medical treatment as they do not get the required treatment here in Guwahati, let alone in other parts of the state. Now, if the people find that the clinics are deceiving the public about their status of their licenses or the facilities provided, patients will be compelled to go outside for treatment.” Das also said that the closing of the three clinics should raise questions in the minds of the people whether the reports that they received from these laboratories were right or wrong or does it make any sense. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Magazine awards, MoU with Green School mark USTM PR Day

he USTM Public Relations Day was celebrated with a multi agenda function held at Hotel Landmark in Guwahati on Sunday. Welcoming the guests on the occasion, PG Rao, VC, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) presented a bird’s eye view of the emergence of Education, Research, and Development Foundation (ERDF) as the fastest growing education network of the North East over a period of about 15 years. Rao along with Ni Putu Tirka Widanti of University of Nugrah Rai, Denpasar (Indonesia) also participated in the signing of an MoU that would open up new avenues of human resource and information exchange between the two universities. Altogether 15 awards under seven different categories were handed over to the winners of the first ever All North East College Magazine Competition that was organised by USTM earlier in the year. The awards for the three best college magazines went to College of Veterinary Sciences, Guwahati, Cotton College, Guwahati and Doom Dooma College, Doom Dooma. The editorial committees of these colleges

received one desktop computer, a memento and a certificate each. PJ Baruah, Executive Editor, The Assam Tribune and Anisul Hoque, Director, Resonance Brand Communications, who were members of the jury that evaluated the competition, spoke on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, HN Das, former Chief Secretary, Assam, Dr AC Bhagawati, former VC, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, Padmashree Lakhinandan Bora, former President, Asom Sahitya Sabha, and Dr Amarjyoti Choudhury, Pro VC, Tezpur University recalled their long association with ERDF, simultaneously showering accolades for the innovativeness and excellence displayed by the different schools of the USTM. “Media has been one of our backbones in our march forward over the years and as a token of gratitude to them, today I am informing that one seat each would be reserved for an accredited media person or his/ her immediate family member in every course in USTM,” announced Mahbubul Hoque, Chancellor USTM and Chairman ERDF. He further

informed the gathering that ten per cent of all seats in USTM and RIST are reserved for free education of meritorious BPL students and requested the media to carry this information to the remotest corners of the State so that the most deserving boys and girls could take advantage of this offer. In his address as the chief guest, RS Mooshahary, former Governor of Meghalaya, said that there is no denying of the fact that knowledge is power. He added, “But this power may be misused without character and morality. When character and morality are present along with knowledge that is real education.” Prof NK Choudhury, former VC, Gauhati University and Principal Adviser ERDF, said that USTM is always innovative and it is perhaps unique in the way it takes care of education for all ages – right from pre primary to PhD. Earlier in the day, ERDF received an award of excellence from the North East Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi) coinciding with the 20th anniversary celebration of the latter.

City

Uber launches its services in Ghy

he on-demand taxi booking service, Uber has launched its services in Guwahati. Uber India is now in many cities and is the largest market for Uber outside the US (by number of operational cities). Ever since its launch in India in August 2013, Uber has been on rapid expansion spree in the country. Currently it has services

available in cities including Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai etc. The company assures luxury rides in AC Sedans and Hatchbacks at just Rs. 7/km and also promises to provide free ride worth ₹250 each time one refers a friend to Uber. It will be a Mobile App only service which will only deal through Credit/Debit cards and Paytm gateway.

78 cases against PVR launched in Assam police in 2014 Guwahati A

nternational company PVR on Friday fulfilled the long standing demand of Guwahatians for more multiplexes in the city after the closure of Cinamex at Dona Planet mall by launching its multiplex in Guwahati. With the 2.45 pm show showing Akshay starrer Brothers, the multiples started its services at the same place where Cinamex was

located before, on the fifth floor of Dona Planet mall. With 2K projection, 7.1 sound, 3D silver screen, recliner seats and gourmet food, the multiplex promises to provide all new super comfortable experience of cinema watching to the viewers. It also has an exclusive PVR parking lot (15 k sqr feet) 150 meter away from the mall.

ssam police are yet to get over from its lackadaisical nature. The latest report of State Police Accountability Commission revealed that in at least 37 cases that the commission has taken up last year, the state police had chosen to sit over the investigations of several serious criminal cases. The commission’s 2014 report said that it has recorded at least 78 cases against police’s misconduct last year, out of which in majority of the cases, citizens lodged complaints against police for either delayed action or of complete inaction. “While at least 37 complaints were registered against police’s alleged delay in investigation, another 17 cases were recorded against non-registration of FIRs too,” a commission official said citing the report. The commission has recently submitted the report to chief minister Tarun Gogoi who also holds the home department. In its report, the commission observed that often the Officers-inCharge of police stations refused or delayed registering FIRs allegedly by asking unauthorised preliminary enquiries.

“It also proposed the state home department to take necessary disciplinary actions against two top level police officials in Golaghat district who did not responded to complaints,” sources added. But that’s not all. The tall claims of improving of policepublic relationship fell flat with police personnel even indulging in blackmailing common citizens. “In some 15 cases police officials were charged of blackmailing citizens,”

the official said. Besides, the commission also registered cases from citizens who alleged police of making illegally detention in at least five cases. There were three complaints of grievous torture and one custodial death too. The complaints said that police had very often picked up many, including women, and even minor girls and boys and elderly persons to appear in police stations even at night in the name of investigation.

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

CIty

Bandhan provides micro finance to city women Juthika Baruah

andhan, a non-government financial institution, providing yeoman’s service for the upliftment of the women and the poor, may well become the first private micro-financial institution to receive license from the Reserve Bank of India to start the Bandhan Bank which will have more facilities for the beneficiaries. Bandhan has been providing micro-finance service to women with an aim to facilitate their ability to become independent and self reliant. Speaking to G Plus, Branch Manager of Bandhan, Guwahati subdivision, Khagendra Nath Roy said, “Bandhan is a financial group which provides loan to the people, especially women, who are economically poor and those who are being exploited in the society for starting up different business. There are different schemes under which the loans are being provided according to the need of the women.”

Schemes under Bandhan:

Reserve Bank of India issues license to Bandhan to start a full fledged bank. Bandhan Bank will be launched on 23rd August in the city help them in long terms. “The loans are being provided to them so that they can earn their livelihood with the proposed business they start,” said Roy.

Loan provided in the month of July: 177 Loan provided per month: 220-225 beneficiaries

Bandhan Education Programme

Samridhi Under this scheme loan is being provided to the women up to Rs one lakh and more as per the necessity of the beneficiaries.

Targeting Hardcore Programme (THP): This scheme is being provided to the poor section of the people for one year. In this scheme, cash is not given to the beneficiaries, rather the products necessary to feed the animals are being provided to them. Roy said that as the people are not literate and being economically poor they might use the money in buying household items and other basic necessities which would not

Under this scheme, primary education is provided to the students who are willing to study but cannot afford it. It also runs the Bandhan School of Development Management.

Sanction of Loan The loan starts from Rs. 1000Rs.15000 and if a person gradually grows in their business feels the need to increase the term of loan it can be increased as per the growth of the business. The highest loan amount is given upto Rs. 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakhs. Speaking to G Plus, one of the beneficiaries, Kalpana Das said, “It

is through Bandhan that I got micro finance which helps me to start up my business. To get loan from a public sector bank or other private bank we have to go through a long process but it is much easier to get financial help from this institution. The interest is very nominal com-

pared to other banks and we have to pay an instalment every week which becomes easier for us.” Das said that the financial institution also provides LIC to each beneficiary which is of great assistance for the women. “It has been a great help for the women, espe-

cially in rural areas, who do not get opportunity to come out of their house and work for the family but Bandhan has provided a opportunity for such women to start their own business and earn their livelihood,” said Das. Roy further informed that the city women take loans especially to start a paan shop, fast food restaurant, pharmacy, tailoring etc. He expressed hope that they will be able to reach more beneficiaries after the bank is formally opened. He said, “After the opening of the bank, the beneficiaries can deposit their amount in the bank and there is a possibility that the officials of Bandhan will go to the beneficiaries and can deposit the amount at their doorsteps which will be helpful for them. After the opening of the bank, the beneficiaries might also apply for a large amount of loan to upgrade the business.” juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

Weather report for the week SAT 15 August

SUN 16 August

MON 17 August

TUE 18 August

WED 19 August

THU 20 August

FRI 21 August

Thunderstorms. Cloudy.

Numerous showers.

Heavy rain

Scattered showers.

25 / 30 °C

24 / 30 °C

24 / 29 °C

24 / 30 °C

25 / 30 °C

24 / 28 °C

23 / 28 °C

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

CIty

Paltan Bazaar Multilevel Parking vulnerable to crime Proposed over bridge to be constructed having connection with the multilevel car parking will create more untoward incidents

Juthika Baruah

ASTC multilevel car parking has turned into a crime prone area The crime that took place are mostly occurred as outsiders enter into the area from the railway station Lack of security has been a problem for which such incidents take place

he ambitious first ever Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) multilevel car parking has become a crime prone zone and Paltan Bazar being a priority target for miscreants and terrorists alike, the public may be in worse danger than thought what with the lack of security and minor involvement of the police. Speaking to G Plus, an official of the ASTC multilevel car parking said, “At the very beginning there were many untoward incidents happening at the parking place as the security was lacking and the security guards who were appointed were not provided with any equipments for safeguarding the area. Several private parties are also vying to hire the car parking and once it goes into the hand of such parties then the place will be more vulnerable. Private parties do not generally take any security measures and they will allow all kinds of people to enter the parking area. People with nefarious intention may try to take advantage of the place.” The official alleged that even the police are involved in criminal activities, preferring to look the other way when the local mafias bring girls to the parking lot. “We caught one such couple red handed and many such incidents keep taking place. The area is not at all safe, even though it has a police station in its vicinity. The CRPF and police are involved and as the Paltan Bazaar police station is local, the po-

Fees allotment for car parking Entry Fees- Rs 20 for first one hour and additional Rs 5 in each hour Revenue earned per month- 3lakhs 37thousand Revenue earned per day- Rs. 11000 Time- 6 AM-9PM

lice don’t want to spoil the relation with the mafias. All kinds of crime takes place in the area although the police station is quite nearby.” He mentioned an incident few months ago when a local mafia kept his car in the parking lot and did not take it away for three-four months altogether. When the official reported the matter to the police, they didn’t respond at all. The car was not even locked which presented a rather risky proposition. The car was parked improperly and without any rule. Even after the police was informed no one seemed to know who was the owner of the car. After repeated complaints, the battalion has intervened and the

police station is now in problem, the official added. There are four permanent security guards, while another four are being hired from ISBT and the parking lot is under CCTV surveillance. “The parking lot will be renovated as there is no space for two wheelers. At present it’s only for four wheelers but we have made a little area for two wheelers as well. The cars that are parked here are mainly of known officers. Some officers also keep their cars for one-two months when they were out of station,” informed by the official. The parking lot has been witness to many untoward incidents as the railway station is nearby and people,

mostly those coming from the railway station, take advantage of the isolated nature of the facility and use intoxicating materials. The railway station has been a problem for the area and the officials of ASTC also urged the government to move the Guwahati Railway Station to Chandrapur as many crimes take place due to the presence of railway station in the area. “In other metropolitan cities of the country, the railway stations are being moved to outskirts of the city which should also have been done in case of the Guwahati Railway Station as well. It was also proposed that the railway station will be connected to

the multilevel car parking which will increase the threat level for the place. The railway police force is not at all functional and miscreants are being helped by the RPF. If the railway station were connected to the car parking, all kinds of immoral and illegal activities will happen at the parking place. The first floor that had been allotted as parking for the railway authorities have been closed as no one from railway will be allowed to enter the parking and if anybody park the car they can take their car from outside which will not have any link with the interior part. Metal detector will be necessary and collapsible gate is very important,” added the official. It has also been asked to the railway authority to cover the area with net so that the passengers can’t enter the parking lot. Managing Director of ASTC Ratul Baruah said, “We are taking care of the security issues and presently we will not hand over the parking space to any private parties. We are earning a good revenue from the parking place and evn if we hand over the parking space, then we will do it in a public private partnership (PPP) mode.” However, the OC of Paltan Bazaar police station Rukma Buragohain denied involvement of the police in any crime and that they are ignored complaints of any such incidents taking place in the parking place. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Ward Watch

WARD NO

KALYAN DEB

Ramkrishna Mission Road remains deprived of basic amenities

Despite several dharnas and applications to the authorities people remain deprived of basic requirements Concentrated area: Ramkrishna Mission Path Ward number 18 Councillor: Abir Patra Phone number: 9435148503 Sub-division: 18(a) Area sabha member: Rajima Begum Phone number: 9707917996 Problems: Poor road conditions, drainage system,

street-lights, unhygienic condition Councillor’s Say

bysmal condition of the Ramakrishna Mission Road, Birubari, one of the connecting road to the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama in the city is turning into a serious health hazard for the residents, with wastes from the nearby government TB Hospital discharging on to the road itself after the slightest rainfall. The area has not seen the face of development for a long time now. Even after several efforts made by locals to bring the pathetic condition of the road, drainage and footpath to the notice of the authorities, nothing has been done to improve the substandard condition of the area. Recently, on August 8th, a dharna was also carried by locals against the authority’s lackadaisical attitude about the various aspects of development in the area. Several arrests were also made following the dharna, although, no affirmation was received regarding any kind of development of the area.

Poor road condition and drainage: Not much have changed in the area over the last 15 years and similar substandard conditions have prevailed here for a long time now and locals allege that the authorities have not taken any development initiative since the past twenty five years. Several doors were knocked, be it of the GMC or the area’s councillor who also happens to be the city’s mayor. Even the Deputy Commissioner of the district was also approached several times but no response was received from anyone.

However, the condition of the area has deteriorated so much that the roads get under knee deep water with the slightest rainfall. According to locals, the Ramkrishna Mission Road that also connects to Birubari faces unprecedented unhygienic condition during heavy rainfall when medical wastes that also include syringes, clothes of tuberculosis patients, drip pipes and other waste materials comes flowing out of the backyard of the tuberculosis hospital that shares the same boundary wall with the road. “The water and garbage flowing from the TB hospital has led to spread of several diseases including tuberculosis among some of the residents who have to take the road to commute on a regular basis. During monsoon the area from the front of the Ramkrishna Mission till the TB Hospital gets under knee deep water which is very unhygienic for the people of the area. The Ramkrishna Mission

Nagarik Committee approached the Deputy Commissioner and the Mayor several times but no initiative has been taken so far. The main demand of the residents is to get the authorities to construct the main road from Aurobinda Bridge to the Birubari area via the Ramkrishna Mission Road. If the main road is not in a suitable condition, what is the use of constructing the lanes”, said Eliza Phukan Deka, a resident of Ramkrishna Mission Road. “This was not the first time a dharna was carried out for the development of the area. Earlier, the Ramkrishna Mission Nagarik Committee has staged a protest for the same reason, while this time the dharna was initiated under the banner of BJP’s Yuba Morcha but nothing got the attention of the authority members. Moreover, this is the second time Abir Patra has been chosen as the mayor of the city but he has not taken initiatives for any kind of development of the area”, added Deka who is also a member

Meanwhile, talking to G Plus Mayor and councillor of ward number 18 expressing concern over the condition of the road said that there had been several dharnas taken place for the development and is in the consent of the councillor. However, the councillor dismissed allegations that no initiative has been taken for the road. “When Cpt. Robin Bordoloi won the MLA election from Ulubari constituency that was for the second time while the first was from Dispur constituency, he had worked for the development of the area and is continuing to provide his support. Meanwhile GMC lacks in the required amount of fund for the construction of the entire road and moreover the area is under PWD. We have notified the department from our part and hope to get an early result”, the mayor said. of Ramkrishna Mission Nagarik Committee. Besides the Ramkrishna Mission Road that connects the Sharabhatti area, the other end connecting to Birubari area is in a similar disastrous state with potholes that are prone to causing accidents created due to lack of repair works. The diversion adjacent to Birubari road has been in a similar state as of the R.K.Mission Road. “A footpath was constructed on one side of the road but the other side has been left out, part of which has also been encroached by settlement of certain shops by the road. If the footpath were constructed following the construction of the road with proper drainage system it will put an end to most of the problems. Same is the condition with the backyard of the TB hospital. If the road were constructed in a proper manner along with the boundary wall of the hospital, the condition will be much favourable for the people living in the area. But due to the indifferent attitude of the authorities, no such initiative can be seen, despite so many approaches being made by the people of the area”, said Ratul Rabha, a local resident.

Street lights: The residents with a collective effort had installed street lights but the authorities continue to neglect their duties. Even after GMC’s initiative of Project Jyoti that was recently launched, most people are unaware of the entire procedure. However, according to GMC, the representatives of each ward were to provide the people with the basic information of the entire process but no steps have been taken to do so in the area. “Some of us learnt about the project through advertisements and articles but no further knowledge has been provided by the authorities. While we collectively installed streetlights in some of the areas where it is most required but inspite of having an area sabha member and a councillor, no steps were taken from their part”, said Deka. Deka also mentioned the possibility of another dharna to be carried out in the Birubari area in the coming week with the similar agenda of the development of the area. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

In Conversation

We provide around `1500 cr in loans every year

rahul chanda

Shio Shankar Singh, Chairman, Assam Gramin Vikash Bank

Asking more people to approach Assam Gramin Vikash Bank (AGVB), the chairman Shio Shankar Singh talks exclusively to G Plus and describes how one can obtain opportunities from his bank to become self employed and also provide employment to many. Could you tell us something about your background, your experience in banking and the profiles you have had before becoming the chairman of Assam Gramin Bank? I was born and brought in Muzaffarnagar in Bihar and I also studied from there. I did my higher studies from Bihar University which is also in Muzaffarnagar. I joined UBI as a probationary officer in 1992 and I was given the role of RDO (Rural Development Offices) in the Purnia branch in Bihar. Thereafter I was given various other assignments as deputy manager, manager and senior manager. I was in charge of rural branch, urban branch and even metro branch, I was also the chief manager in the head office of the core banking solution department. In 2008, I joined Assam Gramin Vikas Bank (AGVB) as the general manager. When I came here, I realised that there is vast area for development in Assam. We realised that due to lack of opportunity and infrastructure, the growth of the state was not upto the mark. We thought that through our vast presence, we can play a tremendous role here for the development of the state and its people. During those days we heard that many people were taking loans from money lenders at very high interest rates. Many MFIs used to charge as much as 30 per cent interest rates, which used to pinch me. Then I was transferred from here to different positions in our head office but I enjoyed this place and I always harboured a wish to come here again as the chairman. In 2012, I was again appointed as the chairman of Assam Gramin Vikas Bank. I did not have the apprehension of being a new comer as I was familiar with the place and knew a lot about the state. The bank was launched in 2006. Can you please narrate the journey of the bank in Assam and the achievements in short? At present we have 407 branches across Assam and it is the largest bank so far as network is concerned.

Only in Assam there is 50 per cent share of the central government, 15 per cent state government share and 35 per cent share of a nationalised bank, the United Bank being our sponsor bank. Earlier there were four banks and in 2006 all the four banks were amalgamated, thus becaming one entity, the Assam Gramin Vikas Bank. At that time the business was around `2,500 crore roughly but in the last balance sheet, it was seen that the business now is `11,330 crore. Within this period the business grew about four times and our presence is almost everywhere in the state baring two districts which are Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. Out of 27 districts we are working in 25 districts and are major players and loan providers.

AGVB. We are the largest financer of Kissan Credit Card. We have received national award for being number one in financing PMEGP (Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme). Most of our people do not know the purpose of the chit fund companies or the money lenders, so we started the financial literacy programme and we took it as a mission. We have instructed all our branches to organise one financial literacy programme every Saturday. We have already organised more than 8000 such literacy programmes. Many people try to mislead the public saying that if one goes to bank it will take a long time to get loan etc.

Is the bank only for rural areas, if not, what are the sectors the bank works in?

What are the different kinds of loan which your bank provides? Who and how can one apply for loan, especially if one has no asset to mortgage?

It is not only for rural areas. We have schemes for all sectors and sections. More than 90 per cent of our population live in rural areas so we started self help groups and we are the pioneer in Assam for women entrepreneurs. We believe that we cannot develop unless and until the women in the society are strengthened. We are the highest financer of self help group. 55 per cent of entire Assam’s SHG are financed by only

Three things are required for taking loan-character, competence which is capacity and capital. There are two types of loans, first generation and second generation. In first generation loan, if a person comes from a school or college just after taking training for somewhere and he/she decide to take loan for a particular business, we will check if they have skills for doing that or not. We also have self employment

training institutes where people can be trained in various skills. We have five institutes in Assam where we provide skills free of cost like stitching, dairy products, raring of goats, computer repairing, beautician and many more. Skill is a must for the success in any business. Our institute in Tezpur was rated third in all India. Upto a certain level there is no collateral required and it depends on the scheme. In service sector or production, upto Rs one crore with no collateral is required for loan. In agriculture upto Rs one lakh with no collateral is required. People applying should be clear about their project. We have so many entrepreneurs who have started with Rs 10,000 and now they are playing in crores. Anyone from Assam can approach us for loan baring the two districts where we are not functioning. People require money in time but they do not approach the bank. They should directly go to the branch manager or related field officer rather than any third person. We have designed products for each and every person of the society, weather it is a very small vendor, rickshaw puller, cobbler, farmer, student, serviceman, big businessman, builder and everyone. We provide all kinds of loan like education, housing, car and many more. Most of the big hospitals are financed by us. What have been the challenges you have faced as the chairman? We have manpower weakness. This bank’s presence and the acceptance among the people is very high. Our bank is everywhere, even in remote areas. In rural banks since long, recruitment was banned but from 2010 we have started taking new people. So, many people are very old now and some have physical problems also. Earlier, they were not exposed to big finance. They were not exposed to the large number of products. Geographically, the location of some branches is a problem and the problem of insurgency is also an issue. Earlier, some branch managers were threatened and on early occasions some were kidnapped and even killed.

Who are your main competitors? UBI has a good presence. SBI also has a good presence which is followed by us. There are so many banks in urban areas but in villages, SBI and UBI will be our competitors. What is the long term objective/vision or target of AGVB? My target is to make everyone employed here and I want to see a smile on every youth. We are the largest sustainable employment provider of the state. We want to see our bank as the most vibrant and strong bank so that we can provide transparent service to the society. We have around 70 lakh customers across Assam. We provide around `1000 to 1500 crore loan every year. There is less demand and we want people to come but it is because they don’t have the market, good infrastructure and the environment. What do you like and dislike about Guwahati? This is my most preferable place. I always wanted to come here as a chairman. I love the place because it has the blessing of Maa Kamakhya. There is the perennial river Brahmaputra and you will rarely find this kind of river in any country. Talking about dislikes, there is some communication problem and some development should be made in this sector. People from outside should be invited to come here and set up industries so that our local people can be employed. The future of this city is very bright. Tell us about your family, interests and hobbies? I am a music composer as well and performed in many programmes. I like bhajans and the songs sung by Dr Bhupen Hazarika like “Manuh he manuh hor babey”. This song has a great meaning and I always like listening to it. In my family I have my wife, a son and a daughter. My son is in final year of B Tech and daughter is in 10th Standard. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Special

t’s been 69 years since we gained Independence from our Colonial masters. But there are still some things that even 69 years of Independence hasn’t been able to liberate us from. Maybe it’s because the system that is designed to govern us is the same system that is responsible for denying us our basic necessities. Day in day out, we deal with the same petty issues. Not to say that our city has not survived major bumps. The great city of Guwahati has stood the test of time and still endures on. However, even after 69 years, there are still some small things in the city that get to our nerves. This upcoming metro city still has a long way to go. There are things we should get over with and move on to a better and progressive society

Auto Drivers: They are their own bosses. No authority body can seem to get a handle on their outlandish rates and random wishes. They fall under the category of public conveyance, but their bold refusal by saying ‘NO’ to any given destination is a big issue for Guwahati. They just blindly ask for `100 to travel from KFC in Zoo Road to Ganeshguri. According to the rates set by the Regional Transport Department, the fare should be restricted to about Rs. 50. But no, the Autowalas saying ‘dada najau’ is getting annoying now. The month long campaign to check auto fares and meters seem to be fruitless.

HOW

Western Clothing and Suspicion:

ARE WE ? Garbage Management A civic body strike for a couple of days, and the city reeks like hell, or maybe worse. At least on grounds of public hygiene, the least the authorities can do is ensure some alternative instead of just throwing their hands up. Moreover, all this garbage is a menace during the rainy season. Plastic bags and other garbage are either floating around or blocking some drain. It was easier to get rid of British 69 years ago than to get rid of the wet plastic bag stuck to your feet. There however was an interesting initiative on solid waste management system last week; Small ideas, big hopes. But solid waste management really won’t be able to take care of Public urination will it?

What is it with the society going crazy about someone wearing a dress? And to top it off, imagine she enters a pub wearing that! People will not hesitate to jump to conclusions and label her. You’re in the 21st century; you talk about metros, drones and Virtual reality but in reality we can’t seem to handle a girl walking into a bar with western clothing. We’ll have uncles and aunties alike gawking at her. God have mercy on their soul; rid them of this burden of pointlessly judging someone. This obsession has gone so far that there are media houses making news out people wearing short dresses in Guwahati. Forget the weather, forget personal choice, forget independence, people are still enslaved to society’s judgement.

VIP Racism

Liquor with restricted timings:

2PM to 10PM is a ridiculously small window if you want to drink and let loose. While we are not trying to promote alcoholism, there are still people who know how to hold their drink. Maybe, instead of this small window, there should be a flexible window. If we get out of the office at around 7:30-8:00, how are we expected to freshen up and hit the bar? By the time we get to the destination in Guwahati’s traffic, it will be 9:45pm and the waiter will be hovering around asking, ‘please make the order soon’. Civic authorities say that the step is to check drunk driving. What if I have a driver and I want to get sloshed because I have a long weekend. Should I not because some college kids are raging the streets of Guwahati after being drunk? Maybe we don’t need restricted timings but need alcohol to be regulated in a way that we get to enjoy our weekends and not have kids cause havoc within the streets of Guwahati

Peeeepoo- Peeeepoo! The blaring sirens are symbolic of keeping the streets clear. Their unnecessarily long convoys, the escort cars, the prison like security just raises a question of why must our tax money go for their security. Maybe it’s their arrogance that they think they will be targeted, but please, come down from that high horse, walk like a normal civilian and you won’t even be recognized.

Sidharth Bedi Varma (sidharth.bedivarma@g-plus.in)

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Has Guwahati finally started celebrating Independence Day? We have grown up with a certain tradition of staying inside our homes rather than coming out and celebrating our national holidays. For long, Guwahatians, along with most people across the state, have chosen to remain in our homes and watch the Independence Dy parade on our television sets, a result of the fear phychosis over the years of the culture of bandhs announced by different insurgent groups ahead of the Independence and Republic Days. But over the past few years, a certain change in the scenario has been seen with youths now deciding to come out on the streets and take out bike rallies.

Dr. Samya Das Dentist

Kalyan Kumar Kalita

es, Guwahati is absolutely overcoming its fear psychosis and starting to celebrate Independence Day. We have been going out on Royal Enfield rides for the past four to five years and people are coming out of their houses and celebrating. We find people roaming about and waving the tri-colour and every year we are seeing improvement. This is also the first year after a decade or so when a bandh has not been called in Meghalaya, so not just in Guwahati, but in the entire Northeast, people are enthusiastically starting to celebrate Independence Day.

uwahati is trying to overcome its fear psychosis but since it has already settled in the minds of people due to certain past events, the day is rather taken as a holiday more than celebrating it as the country’s Independence Day. Earlier, the day was also celebrated in schools and we used to take part in several activities whereas nowdays, the day is being celebrated a day prior to the actual Independence day. People need to come out and actively take part in the celebration. However, some groups are taking initiatives and we need more positive change. Rather than celebrating on 14th August, we should celebrate our Independence day on the actual day.

Nishita Goswami

ore than the fear psychosis, it is the mentality of the people that keeps us from celebrating the day. Since when we get a holiday after working for an entire week, we indulge in other activities or take rest at our places that keeps us from coming out and celebrating Independence Day. However, fear did play a role at one point of time since different insurgent groups targetted such days but it is up to the government and the security services to motivate the people to come out of their homes and celebrate Independence Day and actively take part in the different programmes.

Cultural Journalist

irstly, Independence Day is a national holiday and nowhere in India shops are kept open and all officials get paid holiday. Secondly, all establishments celebrate the day by arranging official functions where people also actively participate. I have participated in New Delhi for five years during Independence Day celebration and actively taken part in the celebration. While some people take part, others enjoy the ceremony on t heir television sets. Moreover, now there are no more boycotts by insurgent groups and they are not calling any kind of bandhs. People have the freedom to celebrate according to their desire.

Dilip Borah

Actor

DGP, Home guards and Civil defence

uring the late 70s, as teenagers, we used to celebrate the day with full enthusiasm and shout out slogans while roaming around the streets of the city and hoist flags at our places. The generation today wants to celebrate in the similar way, be it our generation or the younger ones but due to certain reason are not being able to do the same. Meanwhile, we have adapted to a culture wherein, amidst our hectic lifestyle, we choose to stay at homes and take the day as a holiday rather than celebrating it as Independence Day and because of this, the sacrifice of the freedom fighters has been microscoped.

Kumudeshwar Hazarika

Retd. Principal, Sonaram Higher Secondary School

lthough, the scenario has improved in the last few years, a lot still has to be done to take away the fear psychosis that has prevailed over the decades. In fact the Government has a big part to play in encouraging the public to come out and celebrate the day. Apart from the standard I-day celebrations, they should organise day-long cultural and fun events where the citizens can participate. And not just that, they should p r o m o t e and market these initiatives using digital and social media to reach out to the present day youth. This will instill a feeling of security as well as patriotism in them.

Olonkar Kashyap Corporate Proffesional

Meet

In Focus

Arman Ali

Executive Director of Shishu Sarothi

well-known and committed activist for the specially abled and winner of the National Award in Public Recognition for Outstanding Performance as Most Efficient Disabled Employee in the Year 1998 from the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at the young age of 18 years, Arman Ali, now 32, is currently the executive director of Shishu Sarothi, a centre for rehabilitation and training for multiple disabilities, a nonprofit voluntary organisation that has been providing needs-based services for children and young adults with disabilities in the northeast, India since 1987. Ali was born and brought up in Guwahati in a family of six brothers but was the only one who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, a congenital condition which has restricted him to use the wheel-chair. It was during his initial days at school when Ali realised about the problems faced by children like him in schools as there were no lavatories for the specially abled and the nurses refused to help him. With the first hand experience of getting to know about his disability, Ali had to switch schools. Ali dropped out of his school when he was studying in the 7th grade because his school building was inaccessible to people with disabilities and Ali started helping his father in his business. But rather than stopping, Ali’s parents motivated him to study further and later, he completed his high school from National Institute of Open Schooling and also went on to do his graduation in Information Technology from Manipal University through distance learning. “After dropping out of school, I got a lot of exposure while working in my father’s office. I started working at the age of 13 but it was in a much secured environment. It was during my visit to Delhi to receive the award of best self-employed youth for the year 1998 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Environment that I came across the term disability and found there are several others like me”, Ali said. “After receiving the award I was called at Sishu Sarothi to interact with the children and I realised that there are so many disabled children like me and learned about the problems they face in their day to day lives. Since, I was from a well to do family and my upbringing was done in such a way that I was taught to achieve my own things, but after my visit to Sishu Sarothi, I became more aware of the problems faced due to disability. In India, most of the educational institutions are not accessible, places of employment are not accessible and it is not just about people with physical disabilities but also the disability for the blind and the deaf. There is a stigma attached

to disability. I believe poverty leads to disability and vice-versa. Take for instance, if a mother does not get proper care during pregnancy, she produces off-springs with various disorders. Our society, however, is designed for the majority who are ‘normal’ people and that is how I got driven towards being more socially active. In the process I met several people such as Javeda Bedi and groups and took part in different dharnas”, Ali added further. Ali is also a member of Child Welfare Committee, Kamrup (Metro), Assam, Chairperson of the Zonal Coordination Committee, Northeast, Rehabilitation Council of India, a statutory body under the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Member of the Board of Directors, ARUNIM (Association for Rehabilitation under National Trust Initiative of Marketing), Executive Member, National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC), and Executive Council Member, Asom Sarba Siksha Abhiyan. He was also awarded twice by Infosys for delivering operational excellence – the Infosys Excellence Award for Inclusivity and Diversity from Infosys for the year 2007 and the Ramp Award for Exit Counselling for the year 2008. Ali is also the recipient of the Outstanding Individual Award 2007 constituted by Atma Nirbhar – Ek Challenge, a civil society organization based in Northeast India and Super Idol Award from CNN IBN 7 for his work in the disability sector. However, Ali believes that awards are just moments in life that work as a booster and rather believes everything is work and doing one’s job well an achievement within itself. Ali has also expressed his desire be a part of the political scenario. “If you are not in a position of power you cannot make a difference in anything. My agenda is to work for the people and we need to break the barriers of the mind, which can be done only by spreading more awareness. Although I am not very clear about the first step but the picture is clear in my mind”, Ali said.

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Health

HEMOPTYSIS (COUGHING OF BLOOD) AN OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION

emoptysis is the coughing up of blood or bloody sputum from the lungs or airways. It may be either self-limiting or recurrent. Coughing up blood generally requires urgent medical evaluation . Massive hemoptysis is life threatening and is defined as 200 to 600 ml of blood coughed up within a period of 24 hours or less. The patient may or may not have chest pain. Hemoptysis is derived from the lungs or bronchial tubes as a result of pulmonary or bronchial hemorrhage. The lowpressure pulmonary system tends to produce small-volume hemoptysis, whereas bleeding from the bronchial system, which is at systemic pressure, tends to be profuse. The source of massive hemoptysis is usually the bronchial circulation (90% of cases) rather than the pulmonary circulation (5%).

CAUSES In the primary care setting, the most common causes of hemoptysis are acute and chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and lung cancer. In India, pulmonary tuberculosis, including tuberculosis bronchiectasis, is the most common underlying cause of massive hemoptysis. Bronchogenic carcinoma and chronic inflammatory lung diseases due to bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, or aspergillosis are the most prevalent causes of hemoptysis in Western countries.

HEMOPTYSIS TESTS In people who are coughing up blood, testing focuses on determining the rate of bleeding and any risk to breathing. The cause of hemoptysis may be suggested by the history, physical examination or chest x-ray findings, but often diagnostic procedures such as CT scan, bronchoscopy, bronchography and pulmonary angiography are needed for definitive diagnosis.

TREATMENTS FOR HEMOPTYSIS For people who are coughing up blood, treatments aim to stop the bleeding, as well as treat the underlying cause of hemoptysis.If haem-

optysis is 30-50 ml in the previous 24 hours, it requires hospitalisation for observation, due to increased risk of further heavy bleeding. Medical management includes blood transfusion, antibiotics and tranexamic acid etc. Massive haemoptysis is a medical emergency with a high mortality rate (80% death without treatment). The patient requires resuscitation by ABC principle ( maintain air way, breathing and circulation techniques) and to be admitted in intensive care unit. Localisation of the bleeding site via radiology and early bronchoscopy, chest X ray and even CT scanning may not be helpful (due to the presence of aspirated blood). In these group of patients , there are specific therapies to control bleeding by nonsurgical and surgical measures. In non-surgical measures, the doctor advances a catheter through the leg into an artery supplying blood to the lungs. By injecting dye and viewing the arteries on a video screen, the doctor identifies the source of bleeding. That artery is then blocked, using metal coils or another substance. Bleeding usually stops, and other arteries compensate for the newly blocked artery. This technique name embolisation which started early in 1973 by Rémy et al is a revolution in medical science. Other surgical

measures includes cutting out the lung ( segmentectomy or lobectomy or pneumonectomy ) is difficult in emergency and has a high risk of septic complications and a significant mortality rate.

COUGHING UP BLOOD WHEN TO SEE A DOCTOR The most common reason for coughing up blood is acute bronchitis, which typically gets better on its own without treatment. People with bronchitis with small amounts of blood in the mucus for less than a week can watch carefully and wait for their condition to improve. Smokers should be advised to stop smoking. But when hemoptysis lasts longer than a week or there is recurrent or severe hemoptysis , urgent evaluation and treatment is required.

GNRC HEMOPTYSIS CLINIC In GNRC, we have treated around 97 patients with severe hemoptysis by this catheter embolisation

In the primary care setting, the most common causes of hemoptysis are acute and chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and lung cancer. In India, pulmonary tuberculosis, including tuberculosis bronchiectasis, is the most common underlying cause of massive hemoptysis.

technique. In Assam the incidence of hemoptysis due to tuberculosis is increasing day by day. We get at least 7 patients with severe hemoptysis in a month. Once a young 34 yrs male class teacher from Diphu who was on antitubercular drugs complaint of recurrent massive hemoptysis. Opinion from cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon was taken but due to gross lung destruction it was not possible for him to go for surgery. After lots of discussion we took him in our operation cathlab and under image guidance a catheter was taken inside his artery (blood vessel) and the bleeding vessels were selectively blocked using medicines. We did the operation without giving him any general anaesthesia. He had a good outcome and was stable after the operation. Today he is fine and enjoying a healthy life.

CONCLUSIONS Hemoptysis is a common symptom with a good prognosis in most cases. However, patients exhibiting massive bleeding need urgent hospitalisation and blocking of the bleeding vessels by embolisation technique.

Dr Firdaus Ahmed, Consultant

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Life

AN ODE TO MY

COUNTRY

he purple sunset Cloaked, in her dark stead; Then wolvesAre they not but, the Follies of men? To bring hyenas and Bats!.....racing Towards the mortal? Who is he (here) That laughs – without A tear in the eye? “I”, she whispers – But she’s mottled – the Jarring sound of chains Blotting the song on her lips She’s now banished From her loved one – for Whom, the war was fought! T’was a bloody battle Ages old, Reminisce of heroes In tombs? Why? We are But gullible Flocking the street Mocking the democrat, Wounding The dead, the sick, Why? Are we thus so weak?... Unable to pluck The thorns from her feet A shrouded figure Now creeps With bloodshot eyes... Spreading the plague Thrashing the old And bleeding the young; In disguise? A mother weeps In the hearth, Consoling her child Just born

tinat ATIFA MASOOD

aith is the central core of human existence. Faith sustains life and leads one through difficult times. Faith brings out hidden courage and potential in more ways than one. There are three types of faith: Faith in oneself, faith in the world, and faith in the Divine. All these faiths are connected. You must have all three faiths to be strong. To have faith is to realize that God is protecting you. This is a necessary and a sufficient condition to move ahead in life. During the harvest season, the farmer separates husk from grain with a broad sieve. He stands on an elevated platform, holds the sieve and puts all his grains into it. He then proceeds to shake the sieve. If the particle that falls through the sieve is mere husk, it flies away and is lost. Meanwhile, the grains fall to the ground and stay put. Similarly, if your faith is shaken very quickly and too often, or if you lack faith in difficult times, then you are akin to the flying husk. One whose faith shakes when faced by catastrophes cannot smile through them. If you lack faith and if events frighten you, then you fly away like the husk, lost and anchorless. On the other hand, if you have faith that

Faith leads to prayer, and prayer is a vital tool to improve your life. Prayer nurtures values such as integrity and honesty. Now, prayer happens in two situations or in a combination of situations. You pray when you feel grateful or when you feel utterly helpless.

everything will be all right, you will find stability and everything will settle down. When this knowledge “I am blessed,” is established firmly in one’s life, it is called faith. This feeling of “I am blessed” can help you overcome any obstacle. Once you realize that you are blessed, complaints disappear, as do grumblings and insecurities. Not everything in this world is hunky dory. However, if you are grounded in faith, then you will progress and maintain your equanimity in this world. Faith leads to prayer, and prayer is a vital tool to improve your life. Prayer nurtures values such as integrity and honesty. Now, prayer happens in two situations or in a combination of situations. You pray when you feel grateful or when you feel utterly helpless. In either case, your prayers will be heard / answered. If you are not grateful or prayerful, you will be miserable. Your love, faith and belief should be deep-rooted. The world is a celebration and you should be happy in life. All aspects of life involve ups and downs. For example, the human body may be susceptible to colds, coughs and fevers one day and may be fine the next. However, one must ensure that happiness is always established in oneself and that things will

change. Faith plays a big role in shaping one’s life. Even those who say, “I don’t believe in anything,” have to believe in their words! The issue is where you place your faith. For an atheist, his faith in objects is obvious; his faith in people is fluid and his faith in the unseen power of creation is ambiguous. However, for a believer, his faith in the unseen power is supreme; his faith in people is inconsequential and objects do not matter in any way. The role of faith is even more visible in the materialistic world. Faith saves one from suicidal tendencies and helps people see beyond the obvious. When life is based on faith, one follows philosophy rather than getting caught up in revenge and hatred. If there is faith that everything will be all right, then everything will settle down. Faith is realizing that you always get what you need. Faith is giving the Divine a chance to act.

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

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Reviews

u Yo LD TEN SHOU LIS

GAME IEW REV

Album: Lovers Know Artist: The Mynabirds

Evolve

W Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sidharth

Malhotra, Shefali Shah, Jacqueline Fernandez, Jackie Shroff Director: Karan Malhotra

he story takes off with the release of Gary Fernandez (Jackie Shroff) from prison who is a ex-fighter. In a senile state now. Gary is received by his younger son, Monty (Sidharth Malhotra) while his eyes keep searching to see the elder one David (Akshay Kumar). What follows is a f lashback of how Gary landed up in jail and how after their mother Maria’s (Shefali Shah) death, Monty and David fall apart. While David pursues education and becomes a school teacher who is now married to Jenny (Jacqueline), Monty grows up as the notorious one whose anger is beyond his control thanks to his alcoholic nature. Monty has inherited Gary’s fighting skills and even enters the ring to show his father the same. David who has an ailing daughter is struggling with means and participates in street fights to make money resulting in him getting suspended of his job. While there is an emotional upheaval in the lives of Gary and Monty, R2F – Right To Fight, a popular mixed martial arts tournament is to be held in India which promises the winner a huge sum. David in order to save his daugter enters the competition and Monty too who wants to make his father proud. Soon the Brothers are pitted against each other in a finale which will not only shed blood but also their emotional distress. Jackie Shroff as Gary Fer-

nandez does a compelling job. In a scene where he has an emotional outburst, he truly makes an impact. He may given a set of white hair and ragged clothes to show his despair but his act definitely works more than his look. Akshay Kumar is the perfect choice for the role of David. He is convincing as the forgiving elder brother and is of course a treat to watch when it comes to action. Sidharth Malhotra once again fails to make gold of his opportunity. As Monty, he may have worked hard on the physicality but mentally, the actor fails to emote with the right turbulence for his role. His beefed up body is a work but the wooden expressions that go along with it are not very praiseworthy. Especially if you have seen Tom Hardy in Warrior, one feels sad about Sidharth playing the same part. Jacqueline Fernandez as Jenny is quite a delight. She looks pretty sans make-up and taking the role of a mother is a good plunge for her. In the emotional scenes, she performs decently. Kareena Kapoor’s item song brings the glamorous quotient in the film that could have been avoided altogether. Brothers is a remake that gets lost in the way since it is neither a complete rip off nor a refined Bollywood version. If you are looking for kick ass action, watch Warrior and if you are looking for a teary-inducing family drama cum action then watch Brothers. I am going with 2.5/5 for this.

look utterly dreamy. Its chief objectives? Survive and gorge... oh, and make basically every other species on the planet Shear extinct. Survival of the fattest, baby. Evolve is currently a smidge schizophrenic. Sometimes you play a match and the game’s clever systems all coalesce beautifully; creating a charmingly hectic hybrid that occasionally channels Left 4 Dead’s frantically back and forth antics while handling like a monstrous Titanfall. Play without mic’d up pals, though, and the pull of chaos is too strong, with battles struggling to keep their focus. The game also feels a little limited – you’ve really only got four match types to repetitively chew your way through – leaving you with an uneven, entertaining Jekyll and Hyde. Although last time I checked, Edward couldn’t nuke people from above with an electric storm.

hat a funny old game Turtle Rock has made. Not Joe Pesci ‘I’m going to shiv you over this plate of linguini’ funny. It’s more ‘unpredictable downright confounding, but against all olds, occasionally brilliant’ funny. There’s the core of a great premise here: you can’t get much more viscerally primal than dudes going full Neanderthal on a 70ft squid thingie. Yet a good deal of the action you’re treated to in Evolve doesn’t so much court Darwinism as it burns books over a fire made from monster bones while hollering about Adam and Eve. At its most base level, this fourvs-one co-op shooter acts as a hunting sim. Either you and three chums/ AI bots form a crack hit squad looking to kill the other player’s monster, or you take control of a beastie that makes the thing out of Cloverfield

he third studio long player from the Laura Burhenn-led indie pop outfit, Lovers Know doubles down on the slick electro-pop elements that crept in on 2012’s Generals, but also dials back some of the more socio-political aspects of that album in favor of a return to the heartfelt and unabashedly earnest soul searching that dominated the group’s 2010 debut, What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood. Inspired by a cross-country American road trip, a South African solo tour, and a bout of European wanderlust, Lovers Know reflects the inward journey that each traveler takes when trying to parse the near constant flow of stimuli that accompanies a grand adventure. Burhenn’s sultry baritone and penchant for pairing brooding neo-soul with wide-angle-lens electro-indie rock lends the 12-track set a real Killers-meets-Florence + the Machine vibe, but where those two artists nearly always have their sights set on the nosebleed section, Burhenn manages to keep things emotionally intimate enough that the album’s more sonically expansive cuts like “All My Heart,” “Wildfire,” and “Believer” stay firmly rooted in terra firma.

Book: Tell Me a Story Author: Ravinder Singh

You SHOU Rea LD d

here is always a story that changed your life… And that is the time when life happened for you! Tell Me a Story is collection of heartwarming stories about events and incidents that have affected or changed the lives of the writers in ways that they cannot forget. Happy or sad, inspiring or shocking, these are stories of moments that have left an indelible mark on their lives. Stories, that they would love to share. Selected and edited by Ravinder Singh, Tell Me a Story is about moments that make life worth living. It is the second such anthology, after the highly successful Love Stories that Touched My Heart.

NOW SHOWING Brothers

Drishyam

Bahubali

Mission Impossible 5

Apsara Cinema

Daily at 10.45AM, 2, 5.15 & 8.15 PM

Anuradha Cineplex

Daily at 9 AM, 2.30, 5.30, 8.30 PM

Daily at 11.45AM

Fun Cinemas

Daily at 8.40 AM, 11.40 AM, 5.15 & 8.45 PM

Daily at 2.40 PM

Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazaar)

Daily at 11, 11.30 AM, 2, 5, 5.30, 8 PM

Gold Cinema (Fancy Bazar)

Daily at 11, 11.30 AM, 2, 5, 2.30, 8, 8.30 PM

Gold Cinema (Narengi)

Daily at 11AM, 2, 5, 8 PM

Daily at 8.30PM

Daily at 2.30PM

Daily at 2.30 PM

Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Daily at 5.30PM Daily at 5.30PM

Telebooking numbers: Anuradha Cineplex; 03612656968, 9954544738, Fun Cinemas: 9864800100, 9864800200, Gold Cinema (Fancy Bazaar): 03612735367, 9854077177, Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazaar): 9854066166, Gold Cinema (Narengi): 8811001898

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Tech Watch

GAME

Something about being able to escape into another world, another fantasy land, away from the humdrum of daily life that revolves sitting around in an office chair, snacking and freaking out about work, we all love to sneak an occasional FIFA match or Tekken battle. Some of us like to splurge on online gaming like Clash of Kings or 8-Ball Pool. Then there are some like Sumail Hassan who have the ability to win $1.2 million playing DOTA. So yes, gaming is not all evil like our older generation tells us. Admit it, no matter how much you want to seem grown up, gaming is always a good way to take your mind off of things. Today, let’s a look at some gaming devices, all portable, all high end and that will kill some quality time at the doctor’s office.

Xiaomi Mi

Pad (Tablet)

Asus

This tablet will stand tall against its competitor, the Apple iPad Air 3 and costs half as much. Xiaomi, dubbed as the ‘Apple of China’ offers top of the line specs for a ridiculous low budget. A 7.9 inch screen is a major attraction when you have to buy a device for gaming. Imagine, you’re playing a game and your thumb is running all over the screen and you can’t shoot your enemies; No fun right? The MiPad is powered by a NVIDIA Tegra K1 quad core 2.2 GHz processor. The hero of the story however is the 192 core Kepler GPU. It scores over 41,800 on AnTuTu benchmark tests; basically making all 2015 games obsolete. In fact you could try to port Playstation 2 games on it using PSX emulators and you will be pretty happy with the results.

G750JX-CV069P Starting with a laptop, this beast of a device will make any gaming enthusiast drool. However, it does come with a price tag that can burn a hold trough your pockets. Asus ROG series (Republic of Gamers) has been wooing its gamers since 2013, and this one is pretty competitively priced at almost ` 1,40,000 against Alienware gaming machines.

Tech Specs: Fourth Gen Intel Core i7 chip

Beast of a processor, clocked at 2.4 GHz

24GB of DDR3 RAM

You’ve read that correctly! Never ever will you experience lag.

2TB storage

All that space will go to waste if you don’t lead it up with games

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M GPU with 3GB GDDR5 memory

Yes, you can run Crysis with ‘Enthusiast settings’

Pros: Dual fans to prevent overheating and does not make loud noises, backlit keyboard, Sonic Master sound system Cons: 4.6kgs and does not look sleek in its finish Price: `1,49,999 Availability: The laptop is available online, but if you want to hustle around the streets of Guwahati and try negotiating, you could ask at WebX Technoyard, near Latasil Ground. They’ll take the order and have it delivered within a week or two.

iPhone

6 Plus (Smartphone) No matter how much you talk about it, an iPhone is and always will be an iPhone, a class apart. What makes iPhone great for gaming is that the apps and games are optimised for the devices. Even low end hardware will deliver the best performance. iPhone 6 Plus has a screen size of 5.5 inches with full 1080P display. iPhone’s indigenous A8 processor coupled with PowerVR Series6XT GX6450 GPU which is under clocked at 533MHz is a beast in terms of delivering gaming output. The multiplayer experience is seamless on the iPhone; no distortions no jagged characters. One of the best games to try on the iPhone is Real Racing 3 and The Room 2. Try Shadowmatic if you want to exploit that hardware.

Pros: Large screen, Full HD, Quick charge, Optimized games Cons: Battery backup is fairly poor; Use of iTunes makes transfers complicated albeit secure Price: ` 55,000

Tech Specs: 5.5” display

Full HD Retina Display for Crisp display

1GB RAM

1 GB on an iPhone is better optimized than more 2GB processors

A8 processor with PowerVR Series6XT GX6450 GPU

Currently the best GPU for handheld devices

Pros: Portable and easy to carry, Large screen (2K display), Camera and Expandable memory Cons: Overheating of the device while using performance mode Price: ` 12,999 Availability: Online

Tech Specs:

IPS display at 326 PPI

Improved viewing angles

7.9” display

Large displays, better gaming

2GB RAM

Lag free gaming

NVIDIA Tegra K1 quad-core 2.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A15 processor

PC level computing in the palm of your hand.

The fourth device on the list is a dedicated gaming console. The PlayStation consoles have been a timeless classic which have been alluring kids and adults alike. The PSP, as the name suggest is a portable PlayStation and promises to offer the same fun on a relatively smaller display. The PSP 3000 offers the best the best Portable Gaming experience ever! A big punch, in a small package, the built of the PSP is mobile, light and sleek, with a huge, ultra-crisp LCD screen. All of this means you get to enjoy your games, movies, videos and browse the internet. The PSP has an arsenal of games that you can enjoy over Wifi and get the whole multiplayer experience. So if you’re just looking for a handheld gaming device, although released almost 2 years ago, the PSP 3000 is still one of the best devices out there. All the stunning graphics and entertainment you’d get with a console, but you can play it wherever, whenever.

PSP

3000 (PlayStation Portable)

Pros: AC Charging, Regular memory Cards, Web Surfing and Skype, array of games Cons: Lack of inbuilt memory Sidharth Bedi Varma (sidharth.bedivarma@g-plus.in)

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Entertainment

Assamese action-thriller

‘Hari Om’

ssamese movies have been trying to find new ground and have been experimenting with different genres of movies. There is no doubt about the quantity of movies that have lined up. However, when the question of quality is raised, many people in the recent past have criticized Assamese movies. But there are a number of newcomers who have been involved with new and interesting projects. A group of such newcomers are working on an Assamese suspensethriller titled ‘Hari Om’. Though the producer and the director of the movie are newcomers, they have been well involved with the project and are trained in the art of movie making and acting. The movie is now in post-production.

The story of the movie revolves around two friends; one of whom is inf luenced by martial arts and takes on a dangerous and violent path. The movie also stitches a love story with the violence which is sure to attract the young audience. The stunts in the movie are however real and the action scenes have been shot without using any vfx, cables or stunt and body doubles. If this won’t be a crowd puller, I don’t know what will. The lead roles in the film have been played by Bhaskar Ranjan, Prince, Trishna Kurmi, Debashree Gogoi, Bichitra Borgohain, Reev Batsalya, Sourav Baruah, Mukut Deka, Babu, Smrity Das, Kajal Sharma, Prafulla Kr Nath, Dipankar Gogoi, Ruprekha Das, Sarat Hazarika, Sadhan Ray, Rati Ray, Arup Nath, Syon Hazari-

Making a mark K ulendra Raychoudhury, son of Dharmeshwar Raichoudhuy and Kiran Raichoudhury is a Goalpara born actor who has become popular with his recent work. Having acted in more than 30 stage plays, his work in Hemlet, Sikar, An Inspector Calls, Gojanon Chor, Kukur Nesia Manuh and Aaboddho have earned him laurels from audiences and critics alike. He has learnt acting at Munna Ahmed’s School of Drama and National School of Drama. He

ka among others. Syon Hazarika, who has played an important role in this movie, has learnt about film-making from Mumbai Digital Film Academy. The shooting of the movie has been done by Suruj Deka around scenic locations of Guwahati, Shillong and Sikkim. The movie has three songs and one is them is in Hindi. The trailer of ‘Hari Om’ is gaining popularity on social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook and is getting positive response. The movie Hari Om, sprinkled with love, friendship and revenge, will hit the theatre this year. The movie’s publicity designer is Kalyan Kumar Kalita. The film is expected to give Assamese film lovers a different type of entertainment while promoting new artists.

has to his credit several TV shows like Doordarshan’s ‘Porinoti’, ‘Bhola Borar Dinlipi’, Rang Channel’s ‘Top Top Xopun Xore’, ‘Bharaghar’ and ‘Kosuguti’. He has also worked as an assistant director in a Bengali movie titled ‘Pratishod the murder’. This NEBCUS Media Award 2014 winning artist is also gaining popularity for his poems, and he has already released two audio albums with his collection of poems titled ‘Kamakhya Mandir’ and ‘Ekhon Adha Likha Sithi’. He is currently preparing for a mobile theatre has a number of new projects lined up.

Spotless

now on Youtube

he highly acclaimed short film titled ‘Spotless’ which earned several accolades in International Film Festivals all over the world will be available this Friday (14 August). The film will be available on the ‘Woofame Creations’ Youtube page. It has to be mentioned that the Assam-born and nephew of popular actor Dinesh Das and Khagen Das, Naba Kumar Das was awarded the ‘Best Actor’ for this short film in the 4th Bangalore Short Film Festival 2015. Moreover, the movie has already been screened at the Indian Cine Film Festival 2014 (Mumbai), 3rd Delhi International Film Festival-2014 (Delhi), Kanyakumari International Film festival-2014 (Kanyakumari), 5th Dada sahib phalke film festival-2014 (Delhi), 2nd International film festival for national unity-2015 (bahrain) and 4th Bangalore shorts international Film Festival-2014 (Bangalore). The movie has been directed by Vikramjit Kashyap and produced by Naba Kumar Das under the banner of Woofame Creations, India. The story of Spotless revolves around Naba, a differently-abled boy who loses his mother at very young age. His struggle with physical disability was compounded by an unsympathetic step mother and a weak father who couldn’t express his emo-

tions. Naba tried to find solace in his guitar. As he grows up, his search for mental peace and tranquility lead him astray; to drugs and makes him an addict. The situation worsens when his parents die in a car accident and he is left to struggle alone with nothing to look forward to. He is abused, misused and ill-treated by his relatives who take advantage of his helplessness. Naba eventually succumbs to the pressure and takes his own life to find salvation. Spotless was also screened at the 3rd Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival and Naba was the joint winner of the Best Actor Award along with the legendary Naseeruddin Shah. The film’s story and script have been penned by Naba Kr. Das. The other cast and crew of Spotless includes Manash Sharma, Jina Baishya, Rumi Kalita, Vikramjit Kashyap, Haridhan Das, Dhritiman Kashyap, Ashim Goswami, Moon Rajiv, Jeet Barua, Dudul Bodo, Pranjit Haloi, Tirtha Nath and Vijay Kumar. The film’s co-producer is Kulen Ch. Das; cinematography has been done by Harshajit Kashyap and Bipul Das. Lyrics have been penned by Parikhit Mahanta, and music has been scored by Manasquam Mahanta. Background music has been provided by Anindya Kashyap and the film’s production Manager is Rashmi Goswami.

Kalyan Kumar Kalita

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Horoscope Aries While you may be busy with creative ideas or competitive sports, this week brings a potential shift in interests. As Jupiter hikes into Virgo you may find your energy level and overall vitality increasing. You may also be eager to look into time management as well as ways to streamline your habits and routines for best effect. The New Moon on Friday can be a good time to start a home-based business or ask a special person on a date.

With Mars in Leo, there could be the temptation to be a bit pushy. It helps to take a leaf out of Libra’s book and see things from the other person’s point of view, as doing so can bring positive rewards. If you work in sales or the media, you will certainly be busy, and you could exceed your own and others’ expectations.

Much of your energy could be spent sorting out matters at home or in the family. You’ll be firing on all cylinders and eager to make changes. As a result, domestic affairs should improve as your partner and other family members share your enthusiasm for DIY projects or other family events. If you enjoy arts and crafts, Jupiter’s move to Virgo could make you indulge in your hobby. Not only is it therapeutic but it could also have business potential.

You’re in your element, particularly with Mars encouraging you to move outside your comfort zone. It’s a good time to explore your creative potential, offer to organize key events, and fulfill your role as manager and motivator. You stand to gain financially as Jupiter moves into Virgo. It will be here for a number of months, so you have time to explore the many possibilities open to you.

The temptation to splurge could be hard to shake, especially as Mars in Leo strengthens the desire for certain objects or experiences. If in doubt, take a friend along who can keep you from making unwise purchases. Jupiter’s move to Virgo can be excellent for communication, teaching, study, and writing. If you work in media, opportunities may become more plentiful.

Virgo The cosmos is encouraging you to take a break, so you’re in a phase in which time for quiet reflection is worth its weight in gold. You’ll be able to connect with creative ideas as they come bubbling to the surface. Time out allows you to reflect on key issues or problems and make wise decisions concerning them. You’re also in for a stroke of good fortune as Jupiter enters your sign.

Scorpio

Libra

Your social life continues to be buoyant and upbeat, with plenty to amuse and delight you. With Mars now zipping through this sector, you could be busier than ever with parties, celebrations, charity events, and more. You’ll love every moment! Jupiter enters Virgo and your spiritual zone on Tuesday, indicating that subtle forces are working on your behalf to support you through dreams, intuition, and unexpected happenings.

You’ll be firing on all cylinders to make the desired progress on career goals and personal ambitions. You’ll have the extra energy needed to get the results you seek. As Jupiter edges into Virgo you’ll get help from social and networking circles that could put you firmly on the path to success. It’s not just what you know but who you know that counts for the foreseeable future.

Capricorn

Sagittarius

Aquarius Someone could be a force to be reckoned with and a catalyst for positive change in your life. Mars in Leo indicates that those you’re closely connected to may inspire you to get moving on a project or plan. In romance, you could be tempted by thoughts of a passionate liaison. Jupiter in Virgo enhances your chances of financial success, especially if you’re in business or eager to invest. Be sure to get good advice before you start, however.

Sudoku

Money seems to take up a lot of your time and energy, but it’s all to the good. A desire to increase your income or get your money working harder for you could see you putting in a lot of effort to get the results you want. Keep paperwork and receipts if you’re dealing with large amounts of money, as retrograde Venus hints at potential changes. Jupiter’s move to Virgo suggests you’ll benefit from study or travel adventures that broaden your mind.

Pisces

Mars in your health and lifestyle sector can encourage you to get fit and toned. This is a great opportunity to lose a few pounds and feel better as result. Relationships look set to flourish with Jupiter in Virgo for the next year or so. This can bring positive changes to your relationship status, perhaps helping you find “the one” if you’re looking for love.

BLOOD BANK

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

last week solution

It’s time for action and adventure as the current aspects entice you outside your comfort zone. If you’ve been planning a vacation, you’ll likely opt for something different. There’s also a chance of romance while you’re exploring new places and cultures. More materialistic goals may also be on the agenda as Jupiter dances into Virgo and your career sector.

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

Cancer

Leo

Citypedia

AMBULANCE

Taurus

Gemini

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

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

G PLUS AUG 15 - AUG 21, 2015

Catching Up

Himakshi Kalita Amanda Seyfried

keeps fit by boxing.

he 29-year-old actress has a set exercise regime which she follows in order to stay “strong” rather than look “skinny”. Although she sometimes has to skip some sessions when she’s shooting a movie, Seyfried feels as though her body gets the best workout when she straps on the gloves and pounds the punch bag.

In an interview, she said: “When I’m not working too hard I try to see a trainer twice a week. I do weight training, a bit of boxing and running at the gym. I aim for that ‘strong not skinny’ look.” As well as accepting she has a responsibility to her work to stay in great shape, the ‘Ted 2’ star also likes to look good in designer clothes.

Ka m u r of the week THE MAGGIE SAGA

With months of speculation and controversies, there still seems to be no end to the ongoing controversy of the instant noodles brand. With multiple and different reports coming in, the public still don’t have a clear picture about the product’s fate.

Guwahati

GYAN

About me Hello Guwahati! I am Himakshi Kalita, currently pursuing HS 2nd year and stepping into the world of beauty and glamour. Swimming, dancing & travelling are my hobbies. My journey into this profession started after receiving the National Best Actress award in 2012 at Dehradun. I’ve also won the title of Miss Telegraph t2 Assam, Miss Nikon DY365 and I was the Runner up for Miss Sanskriti. I’ve been a part of several fashion shows, music videos, shortfilms & dramas. I’m currently working as the brand ambassador of Sunshine Academy of

Makeup and Styling Northeast and my 1st debut film is underway to release. Mojo My parents’ immense support, my friends motivating me at every step, my self confidence and my criticisms have help me come this far. route in the woods Passion to me is doing something which gives us happiness and I firmly believe in turning passion into profession no matter what people say. There will always be people pulling you down and doubting your ability and I will be there, to prove them wrong, every single time.

Did you know?

Anwarpur Masjid

he Anwarpur Masjid situated in Bhangagarh was established in the year 1937. Surrounded by market areas and several shops the mosque is situated in a nook in the area adjacent to the Bhangagarh f lyover. The mosque is

named after Late Sayed Anwaruddin who constructed the masjid in allies Kashmiri Molvi and has been standing ever since. In today’s date the mosque is run by a committee of several members and feverously host all Muslim festivals.

PIC OF THE

WEEK

Veggie Tricolour. Photo: Adib Zamali

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