G Plus Vol 3 Issue 13 by G Plus

recipe PG 18 of the week

the 29th

Kinnori Gogoi

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016 New Chic on the block

book fair PG 14

Page 24

VOLUME 03 | ISSUE 13 JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

PRICE `10

Assam Police launches online Citizen Portal

03 Will Ghy be on the first list of 20 smart cities?

Footage

Freaks

of PG Guwahati 22 Sensational crimes which the city witnessed in 2015

Will Assam witness a violent election in 2016?

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Lead Story

rahul chanda

ith the 2016 election approaching, the political war has already started but the only thing which worries the people of Assam this time is whether they will witness a UPBihar type violent election. The recent Congress-BJP conf lict has grabbed all attention as one state Congress leader made a sexist comment against none other than the country’s Prime Minister associating him with a female union minister whom the Prime Minister, in a public rally, addressed as his sister. On 27th December, Congress leader Nilamoni Sen Deka at a public rally in Nalbari stated that the union HRD minister, Smriti Irani, is the second wife of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The protest On 28th December, the Assam BJP president and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, in a press conference, had urged the Congress president to take stern action against the Congress leader. Himanta Biswa Sarma said the party would initiate legal steps and demanded immediate arrest of Deka for the derogatory remark. He also added that the incident was not an isolated case and was “designed by Tarun Gogoi and APCC president Anjan Dutta”. Dozens of people sustained injuries when a section of Congress workers clashed with their BJP counterparts on GS Road on Monday. The clash took place in the afternoon when hundreds of BJP workers arrived in front of the Rajiv Bhawan searching for Nilamoni Sen Deka for his controversial remark on Smriti Irani.

The clash According to some local shop keepers in Bhangagarh, a section of Congress and BJP workers suddenly started pelting stones at each other forcing security forces to resort to lathi charge and application of tear gas to bring the situation under control. Both the parties blamed each other for the attack. While the Congress said that it was a planned attack by BJP workers when the party was observing its Foundation Day, the saffron party said it was just a peaceful protest outside the Rajiv Bhawan. Reportedly, at least 20 workers from both the parties had sustained injuries in the clash. The injured were shifted to Guwahati medical College Hospital. “They provoked our boys who arrived at Rajiv Bhawan to observe

Will Assam witness a violent election in 2016?

the party foundation day. We tried our best to keep our angry workers under control. But a section of our youths lost their patience when BJP workers started pelting stones at us. More than a dozen Congress workers sustained injuries” said Anjan Dutta, President of APCC right after the attack. He said “APCC has disowned Nilomoni Sen Deka’s comments on Smriti Irani. We also individually have not supported it. Deka has tendered his apology. Then why BJP workers have created the scene?” But BJP leaders have blamed it all on the Congress leaders at the Rajiv Bhawan. BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “The Congress workers attacked the BJP workers by wearing helmets so that their faces do not come up on TV. This shows that they are trained criminals. After that they pressurized the police to arrest the BJP workers. At this moment, more than 11 women have been arrested and have been detained at Bhangagarh police station. I have never seen police arresting 11 women after the Assam movement.” Sarma further said, “This is the first time a married woman’s character has been assassinated in Assam. Assam Chief Minister is saying that Nilamoni Sen Deka has apologised but till 12 am yesterday, Nilamoni sen Deka was not seen apologising in any news channel. Rather he was seen saying that he has taken back his words. What does that mean? If he wanted to apologise, why dint he go to the airport and seek an apology from Smriti Irani?”

The arrest High drama continued for the second day on Tuesday with Congress and BJP workers blaming each other for Monday’s clash at Rajiv Bhawan, the ruling party’s headquarters here, which left over 20 persons injured. General Secretary of Assam BJP, Bijoy Gupta, spokesperson Rupom Goswami and four other leaders of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (Assam) were arrested on Tuesday. Police arrested Gupta and Goswami from Guwahati airport when the duo were about to board a f light to New Delhi. A lower court sent the six leaders to judicial custody later on Tuesday evening. Guwahati MP, Bijoya Chakravorty, was not allowed to enter Pan Bazar Police Station to meet the arrested BJP leaders which drew much criticism of the police as many BJP members alleged that

With the recent BJP-Congress clash, the atmosphere for the 2016 polls looks dangerous and raises questions about police bias

seeking an apology for his derogatory comment against her,” Sarma told reporters outside the airport.

Probe

police is biased towards Congress. BJP leaders said that they identified the Congress workers who started the clash and also lodged a complaint with the police against those Congress workers but police did not take any action against them, whereas they are just arresting BJP members and harassing their families.

Himanta dares Congress government Himanta Biswa Sarma arrived on Thursday morning amid high drama at Borjhar airport. He dared the government to arrest him and demanded the release of the BJP leaders arrested in Monday’s Rajiv Bhawan attack case. Sarma has been accused by the Congress of masterminding the attack which left 20 injured. He had gone to Dhaka on

Tuesday, a day after the attack, on what he said was a personal trip. As there were reports, especially on local television channels and on social networking sites, that Sarma might be arrested, a large number of his supporters from Jalukbari constituency assembled outside the terminal of Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Borjhar since morning. Soon after Sarma left the airport, the supporters hugged and felicitated him with traditional gamosa and shouted slogans in his favour and against the state government. “I do not fear arrest. Rather, I dare the Tarun Gogoi government to arrest me. I have done nothing wrong. It is Nilamani Sen Deka (Congress chief whip) who had committed a crime. Deka should write to Union human resource development minister Smriti Irani,

Police was tight-lipped about the incident. Meanwhile, the state government ordered an inquiry into the Rajiv Bhawan clash that broke out between the supporters of the BJP and the Congress on Monday. Condemning the Monday incident, Gogoi said that the attack on the Congress party headquarters by the BJP supporters was unprecedented and highly condemnable. “It was a planned attack and an attempt to murder. Even the ULFA had not attacked the Congress party office. The hooliganism displayed by the BJP is highly condemnable. The BJP party has turned into a group of murderers”, said the chief minister. The inquiry is headed by Additional Chief Secretary, VB Pyarelal, who will also ascertain lapses on the part of the police, if any. Police also arrested some Congress members on the basis of complaints filed by BJP, but the seven APCC leaders arrested on the basis of an FIR filed by the BJP with Bhangagarh police station on Monday, were granted bail on Thursday. In the FIR, the BJP had accused Congress workers of attacking its supporters who were protesting against Deka’s comment against Irani on Monday. The bail was granted by Kamrup (M) Chief Judicial Magistrate, S. Trivedi. The police said the case (No. 258/15) registered against the Congress workers were all bailable offences. BJP leader, Harekrishna Bharali, slammed the police for being biased and levelling only bailable charges against the Congress members so that they can show that they are also acting against Congress. Whatever be the cause and the consequences of the clash, the incident has raised questions about how violent the 2016 elections will be? In these political wars, the public is the main victim who has to suffer. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Assam Police launches online Citizen Portal

The site will offer services like tenant, domestic help or employee verification, character certificate as also requests and applications for organizing protests, strikes, processions and events

ssam Police is all set to launch its Citizen Portal, from the 1st of January, 2016. The portal will offer a host of services like tenant or staff verification, issue of character certificate and event request. The e-services will be available to citizens having internet connections, enabling them to avail the services without having to go to police stations, as stated by Additional Director General of Police (Communication), Assam, Anil Kumar Jha. According to him, one

In The News

of the major grievances received by the state police department from the public is the non-registration of complaints. With the launch of this portal, any citizen will be able to file a complaint from anywhere. The portalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance will be looked into for its first two months of functioning. The portal is being developed under Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) project. The site will offer services like tenant, domestic help or employee verification, character certificate and requests and applications for organizing protests, strikes, processions and events. Once the testing is successful, more online services will be opened. The next big step according to officials would be to include registration of complaints through the Citizen Portal. The CCTNS project implementation in Assam has been com-

Bipasa Saikia Kashyap pleted in 312 police stations and 154 offices of higher officials, with the continuation of digitization of the FIRs across the state. In 2015, around 1.04 lakh FIRs have been registered across Assam, of which over 96 percent of the cases have already been digitized. The CCTNS system has also initiated the Vahan software with all police stations to directly upload the status of stolen and recovered vehicles. The address of the portal is www.assampolice.assam.gov.in. All police stations having an internet connection are connected with the system. However, 97 police stations are currently working offline due to non-availability of internet connectivity as most of them are located in remote areas. This factor will be the biggest obstruction for the functioning of the portal. bipasa.saikia@g-plus.in

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Governance

Will Ghy be on the first list of 20 smart cities?

G Plus received information that the Central govt will announce Ghy as one of the cities in the first list of smart cities on Republic Day rahul chanda

fter successfully competing with seven other districts in the state in the race for the selection of smart cities, Guwahati was selected as a city which has the potential of becoming smart with 82.5% marks. The big challenge after that was the ‘city challenge’ where GMC had to submit the smart city proposal within the stipulated time of 15th December. Creditably, GMC was able to submit the proposal on time but the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, will analyse 98 proposals from 98 cities across the country and announce the name of the first 20 cities in the first list; the rest will have to wait for the next year for the next list. So, what was the proposal like and will Guwahati be on the first list of 20 cities?

The proposal According to GMC officials, many exercises were carried out to solicit opinion from the people of the city, government officials and experts. Some of the exercises were: A seminar was organised on 7th September, 2015 at Circuit House, Guwahati, involving various departmental officials for thorough discussions on the smart city proposal after selection of Guwahati in Stage-1 competition. A stakeholders’ meeting was organised at Kanak Lal Barua Auditorium in State Museum on 21st September, 2015 with educational institutions, MPs/MLAs/Council-

lors and other think-tank groups. • Talk on Radio/TV was also carried out on 30th September, 2015 • Advertisements in all leading newspapers • Site visits conducted including interaction with citizens of Guwahati for in-depth understanding of the problem areas to be included in the proposal for development • Questionnaire cum feedback forms were circulated in all the 31 wards under GMC for identifying the areas for further development • Leaflet Distribution

• Essay Writing Competition on “My Dream Guwahati” organised at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, Guwahati on 31st October, 2015, where around 53 students from reputed schools and colleges participated. • Seminar on Smart City Guwahati organised by Retired PHED Engineers at Rotary Club Guwahati on 6th November, 2015 wherein their vast experience in infrastructure development, city planning and its allied sectors along with smart solutions were discussed in detail • Technocrat Seminar on Smart City Guwahati organ-

ised on 7th November, 2015 for sharing the goals, vision, city wide concept plan and self-assessment form including key performance indicators wherein senior officials from various departments/ NGOs/Institutions attended and shared their views for preparation of a qualitative and competitive proposal. • Smart Labs were setup at the fair organised on 14th November, 2015, i.e., Children’s Day Celebration at Sarusajai Stadium and Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, Guwahati wherein around 10,000 children participated from various schools. Awareness camps through smart labs created awareness among the children as well as teachers about the smart city areas for development including smart solutions. Large numbers of feedback form/polling form were filled and received online as well as offline during this gathering. • Online discussions, essay writing competition and polling at Mygov.in has been operational wherein adequate numbers of responses to consider various areas/ sectors for development were identified by the citizens along with feasible, long term sustainable smart solutions/suggestion were received. These areas were considered for its compliance in the proposal preparation. • Audio/Video/Photographs along with brief write-ups uploaded on Mygov.in web portal for all the above citizens engagement activities were carried out for preparation of the proposal. Mass level publicity for areas for development with smart solutions, suggestions were invited through dynamic and interactive website, Facebook account/page, Twitter, emails and MyGov.in web portal. After all these exercises by the GMC, M/S WAPCOS Limited in association with OASIS Inc, which was selected as consultant for prep-

aration of the smart city proposal through tendering process, carried out the data collection from various departments and agencies to complete the self-assessment and city wide concept. As part of the citizen participation, GMC with WAPCOS carried out all the exercises and prepared the proposal.

What did the proposal contain? The proposal for participation in the ‘city challenge’ in the smart city mission was submitted on 15th December to MoUD, as per the prescribed format given by the ministry. There were many elements that were considered and the major considerations presented for the changes are the following:Building ecological infrastructure along the contiguous network of storm water channels of Bharalu, Morabharalu, Pamohi and Barsala Beel to augment the measures taken to mitigate flash flood problem of the city by constructing things like:• Total length of the Water Channel - 57.2 kms • Total length of Riverfront Development - 7.0 km • Sluice gate to divert water & block back flow from river • Cycling & walking trail • Approximate level difference of street and river edge is 4 to 6 metres • The level difference can be utilized to fit in activities below the road level. This ensures the view from the road remains unhindered and people get all the facilities at the lower level • Concrete edge being built along the drain • Proposal for easing the traffic congestion by ICT based traffic information system and improve the service level of public transport to increase the model share of use of public transport Similarly there are many plans in the proposal and the central government has uploaded the entire proposal which the public can see by visiting https://mygov.in/sites/default/files/master_image/GuwahatiSmart-City-Draft-Proposal.pdf link. Now the question is will Guwahati enter the first smart city list of 20 cities? According to the information received by G Plus from a highly placed source in the MoUD, on 26th January 2016, the names of the selected smart cities will be announced and Guwahati is one of them. Let’s wait and watch when Guwahati turns into a smart city? rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Governance

Verification deadline of NRC postponed to January 18 The verification process of NRC has been extended to 18th January as people residing outside the state have been given an opportunity to come to their hometowns to celebrate Bihu as well as complete the verification Juthika Baruah NSK Based Special Verification Drive

1st -18th January Venue

Documents submitted with application form, preferably original, and if original is not available then legible photocopies Any additional documents applicants wish to submit

It is not mandatory for persons staying outside the state to visit NSK for verification. If the verification teams are satisfied, verification can also be conducted without requiring personal presence of applicants. However, if the verification team finds it difficult to ascertain eligibility without physical presence then the applicants would be called in

Designated NRC Seva Kendras Time

1st - 8th January, 2016 10 AM-12 Noon

9th - 18th January, 2016 10 AM – 6 PM

Acknowledgment Receipt

In case it isn’t possible for all members of the household to visit the NSK, the head of the family or any adult member can visit and bring along the photo identity proof of the members to get verified

Period

he Special Verification Drive of National Register of Citizens (NRC) has been extended till 18th January, 2016 as the people living outside the state has been given a chance to celebrate Magh Bihu in their hometowns which will also help in the verification process. The Supreme Court had set the deadline of verification as 31st December, 2015 and that the draft NRC should be published on 1st January, 2016 but the State Coordinator of NRC has extended the date to 18th January, 2016. “The verification process has been extended because we want to take the opportunity of Magh Bihu so that the people residing outside the state could come during the Bihu to celebrate as well as for the verification process. The date for draft NRC can’t be confirmed now as the Supreme Court is the authority to decide the date and only after I will show the progress, the date for draft NRC will be decided,” said State Coordinator of

Applicants are also required to carry the following for verification:

NRC, Prateek Hajela, while speaking to G Plus. Hajela said, “The verification part is very important to publish a correct draft NRC. I can’t force people to come for verification and therefore we have asked them to come down to our centres during Bihu. And if anyone is not available for the verification it depends on them. There should not be any impostors or fictitious people for which they have been given a chance to come for the verification and if anyone misses the opportunity then their names will not be published in the NRC.” Meanwhile, 86% verification has been completed in Kamrup (M) as on 27th December, 2015 including online verification. 34000 online applications have been received in Kamrup (M) as the NRC is being updated based on the National Register of Citizens, 1951, and electoral rolls up to the midnight of March 24, 1971. NRC Seva Kendra (NSK) based

verification drive is for the applicants residing outside the state and those who have missed the visit of verification team to their house or locality. As stated by the Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi earlier, “The state government is committed towards protecting the interests of the state and its people so that it can be ensured that a correct NRC could be published and the long pending problem of illegal Bangladeshis could be solved. Altogether 25,000 officials and workers are engaged in the verification process. The officers are working day and night to complete the verification process and according to officials more people will be deployed if necessary to complete the process within the stipulated time. There should not be any loophole in the NRC update exercise. It has to be fool-proof. I appeal to every organisation and individual to bring to our notice any lacuna or loophole so that the NRC update exercise is smooth and hassle-free.”

Those applicants currently residing in Assam but have missed the verification teams visit to their house or locality may also avail this final opportunity to get themselves verified at designated NSKs. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Crime

Sensational crimes

which city witnessed in

2015

G Plus relives the five sensational crime stories of 2015 that rocked the city, grabbing headlines, TV footages and creating topics of numerous discussions – most of it based on conjecture. rickshaw driver in Delhi, Chauhan and his grand auto theft gang have been found guilty of stealing over 4000 cars. All this car nicking made Chauhan quite a well-heeled man who owned several properties throughout the country, most of them in and around the city of Guwahati. Apart from Delhi, Chauhan stole several cars from Mumbai too. Police said that his gang stole vehicles from the various parking lots of Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad. They thereafter changed the number plates and whisked away the vehicles to other states - several wound up in the north-eastern states.

Hatigaon Homicide An incident that shook Guwahati to its core was the triple murder which took place in Banphool Path, Hatigaon. The chain of events began on 21st June when Priyanka Mahanta and her two daughters, Adrita (18) and Akshunna (12), were found dead inside their house at Banphool Path, Hatigaon. The whereabouts of Pranab Mahanta (54), the main suspect of the homicide and the father of the two girls, is unknown till date. However, his car was found parked near the Brahmaputra River at Jalukbari. Police confirmed the case to be a homicide as blood was oozing out from the bodies that were found in two different rooms of the Mahantas’ three-storied residence. A hammer was also recovered from the spot. Pranab had called several relatives on the morning of 21st June, offering an apology, following which his mobile phone was switched off. Police had also recovered a note which revealed that one Nayan Jyoti Bhattacharya had not returned Rs. 7 lakhs that he owed Mahanta. Preliminary investigations suggested that Bhattacharya’s refusal to pay back the money had resulted in financial distress for Mahanta. The twist in the tale came when the hitherto absconding businessman Nayan Jyoti Bhattacharya, turned up at Hatigaon police station over a month later after securing an anticipatory bail. Police had also found possibilities of a different motive behind the murder after arresting one Bhaskar Dutta from Pathsala who was allegedly having an extramarital affair with Priyanka Mahanta and Adrita at the same time. The same also had led Priyanka to attempt suicide once. All things considered, the accused Pranab remains untraced and the motive behind the killing remains foggy till date.

Hatigaon Murder The Hatigaon area witnessed another murder in the past year which took place on 10th September. One Amjad Khan (35) slashed his wife Nisha Sinha Khan’s throat in the presence of their 6 year old child and has been absconding ever since. Khan has his roots in Bhopal and so is suspected to have fled there. Hatigaon police informed the Bhopal SP and shared all details of the convict. Amjad also has a criminal background. A case was filed by Amjad’s father himself for attempt

Hatigaon homicide

Indrani Mukerjea

Sheena Bora murder case

Amjad Khan to murder after he battered his elder brother following an argument. Following the incident Amjad was taken into custody and was bailed out by his wife. On the evening of 10th September, after executing the crime, Amjad had called his sister who resides in Sijubari, left his child there and has been absconding ever since. The child even had blood spots on the shirt he was wearing. It was only after Amjad’s parents had informed the police that the incident came to light. After reaching the couple’s rented house in Ajanta Path, Hatigaon police found the door locked from outside and had to break their way in where Nisha’s body covered in blood was discovered. Amjad and Nisha had an inter-religious marriage and were residing in a rented house in Chilarai Path (sublane of Ajanta Path) since the couple had been ostracized by their families.

Woman commits suicide in Dispur PS Police faced severe criticism after Victoria D. Kharkongor (39), hailing from Shillong, was found dead inside a toilet of the Dispur police station. She had allegedly committed suicide. Victoria was brought to the police station at around 8.30 pm on 6th July after a security guard of the International Hospital reported to the police that she was found in a “restless state” in the hospital premises where she was neither a patient nor an attendant. The officer-in-charge of the PS immediately assigned two women

Anil Chauhan (centre)

Victoria Kharkongar police officers to enquire into the matter. On their arrival at the hospital, the attending doctor handed over the lady to the PS staff with a report and the police officials brought the woman to Dispur PS at around 9.30 pm. At around 10.20 pm the woman went to the toilet attached to the PS. Noticing that she had not come out after 10 minutes and also as there was no response to the repetitive knocks, the police personnel decided to break the door and found that she had hung herself inside the toilet with a scarf. The woman was rushed to Guwahati Medical College hospital where she was declared as ‘brought dead’ at 10:45 pm. As stated by the police, the postmortem was carried out under the surveillance of videography and the report indicated a clear case of suicide with no signs of any struggle or sexual activity. But since the motive remained unidentified, it brought officials of the Dispur police station under the radar of suspicion. Two policed personnel, namely SI Pritilata Talukdar and SI Sanjib Kumar Chettri were suspended for dereliction of. An inquiry was also ordered by the District Administration, Kamrup. Akhil Gogoi alleged that

the woman was raped and had demanded CBI inquiry into the incident. The womens’ wing of KMSS, Nari Mukti Sangram Samiti, staged a protest in front of the Dispur.

Auto-theft kingpin arrested Police arrested Anil Chauhan, labelled most wanted and perhaps the richest car thief in the country. Fate caught up with Chauhan after more than two decades of successful car thefts, and he along with his associate Munin Choudhury, was arrested by Guwahati police in Azara on the outskirts of the city while the duo were driving around in a Hyundai Eon. The police found a couple of pistols and some ammunition, along with four ATM cards and four mobile phones. Police then raided Anil Chauhan’s house and seized several cars, fake driving licenses, and registration cards. As mysteries kept unfolding, police also discovered a link between Congress MLA, Rumi Nath and Anil Chauhan which grabbed headlines for several days. From his humble beginnings in 1985 when he was an auto-

A tale containing sex, money and greed as its main ingredients, the Sheena Bora murder case was the most hyped news of the year. The case didn’t just raise the hackles but made virtually every Indian stick to his TV or eagerly wait for updates in the newspapers. With the brother, Mikhail, claiming to know the “reason behind the murder” and Indrani Mukerjea accepting that Sheena was her daughter and not sister, and with three men having been married to the same woman at different times, the case took a new twist every day. The case came into limelight on 25th August when Indrani was arrested for allegedly murdering her sister. By next morning things began to get complicated when it was reported that Sheena was actually Indrani’s daughter. News became rife with theories behind the murder even as Mumbai Police chose to remain tight-lipped although its chief, Rakesh Maria, said that they had a clear idea about the motive. Friends, relatives and acquaintances of the Mukerjea-Bora family were hounded by reporters and police. Each of them gave their own version of the motive behind the murder. On the fourth day of investigations, Sheena’s remains had been exhumed which turned out to be an important breakthrough. Mumbai police came to Guwahati to question Mikhail and Indrani was interrogated at a secret location in Mumbai. A mother from Guwahati, Indrani is a vicious lady who used her sexuality to climb the social ladder and in the process committed a heinous crime. Meanwhile, her husband Peter chose to feign ignorance when confronted claiming he had nothing to do with the murder. However, Peter’s lies were caught and he was arrested by the CBI. Investigations are still underway and things just cannot get any murkier hopefully.

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

City

What did Guwahati get in

2015?

rahul chanda

Every year GMC provides some amenities to the public; even in 2015 it provided many facilities. But how responsive have people been to the conveniences provided?

very year the city, in the name of development, expects many things from the authorities; the authorities, in turn, aim at providing new amenities to the citizens. The same are utilised and also criticised. In 2015, the urban local body, Guwahati Municipal Corporation also initiated many projects and many amenities were provided to Guwahatians. G Plus looks at some major amenities that the city got and also checks out if these are working properly.

Public toilets In response to the present scenario of sanitation and hygiene in Guwahati, various locations have been identified around the city to construct toilets for public convenience. The public toilet at Fancy Bazar has been completed and opened for public use. Three other toilets are under construction at:Nepali Mandir Khanapara GMCH, Bhangagarh All the public toilet sites will have bio digester tanks for its sewage treatment.

Issues According to the public at Fancy Bazar, as the toilet is in public domain its maintenance is a concern as the toilet remains dirty most of the time. Also the construction work of toilets is progressing at a very slow speed and the probable date of completion is still clearly fuzzy.

E-Toilets

Litter bins

On 17th May, 2015, GMC had installed two blocks of e-toilets, each one for ladies and gents near the foot bridge of Maligaon Chariali starting a new chapter in the sanitation sector of the city. GMC has also procured 20 numbers of portable toilets which include 3 numbers of portable toilets for differently abled persons. These toilets are expected to be installed at ten prominent locations around the city. Three portable toilets were installed and inaugurated at Zoo Road, below Ganeshguri flyover and Dispur College on 20th December, 2015.

Stand mounted PVC litter bins for disposal of solid waste in public places/ parks consisting of 2 numbers of 40 litres litter bins, coloured red and green mounted on a stainless steel stand are currently being installed. The litter bins are mounted on stainless steel stands with a base of the stand fixed on a concrete surface. The litter bins have the provision to easily unload the waste collected. The entire project will be implemented in phases. In the first phase, the entire stretch of almost 10 kms of the GS Road from Paltan Bazar will be covered wherein 200 litter bins will be installed in a criss-cross fashion at a distance of 100 metres between two bins. Stainless steel dustbins of 60 litres capacity will also be installed at government offices and important locations like Gauhati High Court, Assam Secretariat, etc. The project is funded by OIL through their CSR programme and OIL has agreed to supply litter bins worth Rs. One crores to GMC. In some places like Sixmile, Panjabari, Rukmini Gaon, etc. the bins are already installed.

Issues The e-toilets are pay and use facilities which run on electricity but according to some people who use it, there is water scarcity at times. Also the toilets are mostly dirty and require better maintenance.

Transfer stations GMC has planned transfer stations in an around the city to maximise the collection and transportation efficiency in the city. GMC initiated the project on pilot basis at Rajdhani Nursery on RG Baruah Road for purchasing of dry waste from the citizens. Accordingly, an area for waste purchase centre is also designated within the transfer station.

Issues The transfer station is yet to start in all the places and as it is only in one place that the rush is huge. The other transfer stations are taking time to start for various reasons like financial crunch of GMC.

Parking under flyover For mitigating the traffic congestion in Ganeshguri area and also for a safe parking zone for the public, GMC took up the project of providing vehicular parking underneath the Ganeshguri flyover. CCTV cameras are installed for round-the-clock monitoring of the parking area. Presently the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Society (Sainik Welfare Board) has been engaged for secured management of the parking space. At present, 50 four wheelers and 200 two wheelers can be parked at a time. It is also proposed to

create parking spaces under the flyovers at Sixmiles and Bhangagarh.

Issues While the Ganeshguri flyover was started with the aim of revenue generation and also for providing vehicular parking underneath, according to the workers there, people do not prefer to park their vehicles there as a lot of time is wasted in parking the vehicles as also while coming out.

Issue According to the NGOs who collect garbage from all the wards, the litter bins are not being used as the garbage collection men do not get garbage in some of the installed bins. A GMC official talking to G Plus, said that the citizen of Guwahati should understand the importance of the bins. It is mostly the shopkeepers near the bins who use them instead of the pedestrians. With the smart city dream coming to every mind, the amenities which the city got may not be so great for Guwahatians, but at least the people received something which not only the authorities have the responsibility to maintain, but even the people individually should be responsible enough to make use of. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

City

Upcoming projects of GMDA for the year 2016

he Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has a few upcoming projects for 2016 which are to be started soon for the development of the city. The schemes will be started as soon as GMDA gets the consent approval from the Government and the same will be completed within 31st March, 2016.

Hydraulic Modelling study for Brahmaputra riverfront from Nilachal Hill to Raj Bhawan The Brahmaputra riverfront beautification project was given to the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee, for hydraulic modelling study in January, 2014. NIH is about to hand over the project in January, 2016. The Brahmaputra riverfront beautification has been proposed from Raj Bhawan to Saraighat Bridge.

Estimated Value

(Rs. in lacs) 83.43 Amount required for 2015-16

2016.

Estimated Value

(Rs. in lacs) - 95.00

Amount required for 2015-16

(Rs. in lacs) - 95.00

Development of Umananda Temple premises, Navagraha Temple premises, Sukreswar Temple Premises Umananda temple will have a lift and sky bridge so that it becomes more convenient for the elderly to visit the temple. As of now they have to use the stairs. GMDA has two projects in hand for the Navagraha Temple - construction of two buildings and a garden. The building is necessary as many people want to perform rituals and there is not enough space which can be used for serving prasad and food.

(Rs. in lacs) 40.00

Estimated Value

(Rs. in lacs) 1025 Amount required for 2015-16

(Rs. in lacs) 180.00 Construction of Commercial Complex in front of Shraddhanjali Kanan

Estimated Value

(Rs. in lacs) 154.00 Amount required for 2015-16

(Rs. in lacs) 74.02

Improvement of twenty by-lanes in the city The project which should have been started earlier had been postponed and will be started soon. The roads will be constructed as per the demand of the citizens. The roads have been surveyed earlier and it will be constructed in a manner that citizens do not face any difficulty.

Latasil Park

Estimated Value

(Rs. in lacs) 7.00

(Rs. in lacs) 930.02

Amount required for 2015-16

(Rs. in lacs) 3.00 Installation of statue of Hem Baruah, Mohendra Mohan Choudhury, Syed Muhammad Saadulla at Machkhowa, Tayabullah, Sukafa, Ambikagiri Roy Choudhury The statues of Mohendra Mohan Choudhury and Ambikagiri Roy Choudhury have already been installed at MMCH hospital and Ambikagiri Park respectively while the other statues will be installed in

Amount required for 2015-16 2 Numbers of Foot Bridges in Guwahati city

(Rs. in lacs) 783.96

Estimated Value

Deep tube well projects in four places in the city.

(Rs. in lacs) 700.00 Amount required for 2015-16

(Rs. in lacs) 100.00

1. Maa Mangal Shandi, Uzanbazar where people will get 2000 gallons of water daily and Ali Kati Basti where 8000 households will get water. 2. Another tube well will be set up at Chandmari Durga Puja Committee where several business

establishments and the Bihu committee will get water. 3. At Baghorbori where 200 households will be benefitted and one deep tube well has been set up at Baghorbori Mahila Samiti where 6000 gallons of water will be provided. 4. At Jatia where thousands of households will be benefitted from the tube well project.

Construction of Lamb Road will be started soon under the supervision of Chief Engineer of PWD and GMDA, Dilip Pathak. The fund sanctioned is Rs. 70 lakh. Slum clearance and rehabilitation of people living on railway land at Uzanbazar.

Estimated Value

(Rs. in lacs) - 100.00

Amount required for 2015-16

(Rs. in lacs) - 30.00

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

ortrayal of a literary work on stage always demands a life on it and if such adaptation is done with artistic elements and skilled techniques, there arises a symbiotic deliberation between both literature and art. Recently, one such symbiotic exchange occurred on the stage of Rabindra Bhawan in Guwahati, when Anuradha Sarma Pujari’s highly acclaimed novel “Jolchobi” was enacted with directorial adaptation by Abinash Sarma on December 29 and 30, 2015. Presented by “Yugashutra - a Bornali Puzari initiative,” the play dealt with the critical situation of old age and its subsequent psychiatric subjects. The story revolved around Subarnajyoti (Manjula Baruah), who fought many difficulties bravely in her early life, but now caged within her own limitations as a patient of Alzheimer’s disease. Her daughter, Malini (Bornali Puzari) and sonin-law, Hridip (Kopil Bora) were in close affection with her amidst their busy professional commitments. It was a unique family with many positive elements to be appreciated in this cosmopolitan urban nuclear society. As it has become an obvious phenomenon of sending the parents to old age homes, Malini set the example of serving her mother till her death to the best of her abilities. Her concern for the mother made her anxious on many occasions. Malini took immense care of her mother, though at times she became fed up with the tantrums thrown at her by Subarnajyoti. Momentary transitions in the state of mind of the old lady made the maid servant Rama (Ujjayani Hazarika) irritated frequently. Unknowingly, Subarnajyoti could recollect many of the past events of her life, be it her days in the tea garden or her memories of her travel to Hong Kong for her husband’s treatment which she used to

PORTRAIT OF SOUL

compare with the “Behula-Lakhindar” saga. But these days she used to forget her own words spoken a few seconds ago. Ironically, it can be compared with the fact that a small ripple in the water can disturb the stability of the images reflected by it. But when the effect of the ripple vanishes, the images which seemed shattered a while ago converge at the same point again to give shape to the original reflection. Here arises the

fulfilment of the nomenclature of the story as the fluctuations in the state of mind and the inner hollowness of the old people always exemplify the fact of shattered reflection. It was indeed a good play with a marvellous performance by veteran actress Manjula Baruah. With shades of trauma of aloofness, outcry of anger, sorrow of being separated from her own home, childish behaviour due to old age and happiness in

Art

rumination, all were visible in her performance. Portraying the character of Subarnajyoti, she brought to life the issues dealt in the play. Her humorous deliberations with Ujjayani Hazarika brought many light moments on the stage. Kopil Bora remained cool and calm as the character demanded. Bornali Puzari too took the character of the caring and concerned daughter delicately and justified it. Dr. Jayanta Das played the role of a psychiatrist. The play became more of a visual treat with the multi-dimensional set design by Umakanta Sonowal. The properties used on stage gave the look of a well furnished apartment where two rooms were clearly distinguishable. The duration of the play was more than two hours and

Subhrajit Roy had too many scenes which required change of costumes several times and which were deftly handled by Priyanka Sarma who also enacted a small role in the climax. It is to be mentioned that the play started with the ringing of a telephone placed at one corner of the stage and the light fell directly on that. Many such minute examples of illumination enlivened the play for which Kaushik Borbora has to be accredited. As Zubeen Garg sang the title track of “Kanchan”, the debut production by “Yugashutra”, here Tarali Sarma has composed and rendered her voice in the theme song. But the background score of the play was not that extraordinary and quite unlike Abinash Sarma’s other directorial presentations. Finally, the director admitted that the original novel has endless opportunities of exploration, whereas an adapted play has several limitations. He also said that a play can be enjoyed with open eyes, whereas a novel is to be read with the eyes of soul. But the spectators present in the auditorium may find both the literature and the adapted enactment complementary due to the directorial credits. Abinash Sarma’s experiments with big plays have always entertained the audiences and most of the times brought reflection of the urban society; the last one was Girish Karnad’s “Wedding Album” staged two months back. “Jolchobi” also proved to be a masterpiece in the same league. Among his directorial ventures, just as Arun Sarma’s “Purush” dealt with the untold realities of the future, “Jolchobi” did the same with an old woman as the protagonist. The correlative bonding between literature and art made the play one of the best presentations of 2015 in Guwahati.

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Special

G Plus reviews the year 2015 and presents the 20 most relevant pieces of news. Some were maliciously sensational that not only shocked us but laid the basis for widespread discussions, debates and even gossip. Others were pragmatic, good-forthe-city types that raised our sense of well-being as citizens of Guwahati. The pieces are presented in random order and the reader is invited to rank them as per their discretion.

The Police Commissionerate The long standing demand putting in place a police commissionerate in the city was finally addressed on 8th January with Jyotirmoy Chakravarty taking over as the first commissioner of the city. Prior to taking over as the commissioner, Charkravarty was serving as ADGP of Training and Armed Police.

Top 20 News of 2015

Rumi Nath’s connection with a car lifting nexus

Transfer of Jyotirmoy Chakravarty

Within a short period of taking over as the first commissioner of police, Charkavarty was replaced for reasons that remain undisclosed till date. Chakravarty was chosen after a lengthy and proper scrutiny but was removed from the post within merely five months and was shifted to the inconsequential post of ADGP Prosecution which raised various questions.

Transport commissioner, Dr. J. Balaji, was bafflingly shifted from his job within four months of joining. It was said that the transport department had just started to do a good job after Balaji had joined in May.

Sheena bora

New liquor selling norms

While the mammoth hike in liquor prices, the new amendments by Assam Excise (Amendment) Rules that were implemented from 17th January. According to the norms liquor sale timings were changed to 2 pm to 10 pm against the old timings of 10 am to 10 pm. The amendment also added more dry days to the calendar and above all the price of liquor was also hiked by 30%.

Transport Commissioner transferred

Congress MLA Rumi Nath’s connection with a car lifting nexus headed by notorious car-lifter Anil Chauhan simply dragged her into the headlines in April. Anil Chauhan is associated with 3,000 car lifting cases across India but Nath stated that she helped him because his wife was a Congress worker. All said and done, Nath personified the politician-criminal nexus and gave ample proof that this nexus indeed exists.

Without doubt, the Sheena Bora murder case gained the maximum coverage on all types of media. A tale of ambition that embroiled greed, violence, huge money and social stakes, Indrani Mukerjea nee Bora, hailing from Guwahati, created sensational news by murdering her daughter with the help of her ex-husband and driver and managing to conceal the crime for three years. The story is detailed under “5 sensational crimes” in this issue.

Himanta Biswa Sarma joining BJP

Desecration Crystal Bar of Don Bosco statue

On 28th August, Sarma landed in Guwahati from New Delhi to be formally inducted into the BJP at a public rally that was attended by thousands. Following Himanta’s footsteps nine Congress MLAs viz. Jayanta Malla Barua, Pijush Hazarika, Rajen Borthakur, Pallab Lochan Das, Binanda Saikia, Kripanath Malla, Abu Taher Bepari, Bolin Chetia and Pradan Barua switched parties.

As part of the year-long bi-centenary celebrations of Don Bosco’s birth, the school authorities decided to erect a statue of the Italian priest. The location was to be Bharalumukh river front at Machkhowa and the day of unveiling the statue was decided as 7th August. However on the same day at around 6 am a group of unidentified people defaced the statue and threw it in the Bharalu River.

Night City buses started in Guwahati

Guwahati got its first ever night city bus service on 1st October with the theme “Use Public Transport, Avoid Traffic Congestion.” The service was initiated on three routes with 20. Although it was appreciable move, it somehow did not make too much business sense to the ASTC with virtually no response from the public and total lack of commuters. The big fleet has subsequently been reduced and moves are afoot to scrap the service at least during the winter because Guwahatians “sleep early.”

It was a deplorable incident of moral policing that took place in the Zoo Road area where a girl was assaulted by a mob on the night of 14th December. The girl who was in an inebriated condition had come out of the Crystal Bar when a group of men reportedly stopped her on the street, groped her, pulled her hair and forcefully tried taking pictures of her. Following the incident the victim had lodged an FIR against those who molested her.

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Special

Cotton College property tussle ends

B. Borooah College Controversy

Fancy Bazar Fire Diwali turned disastrous for Fancy Bazar when a massive fire broke out in the commercial hub of the city on 11th November. The mishap took place at around 8:45 pm. Property which included 73 shops, 6 residences and several godowns and were worth over Rs. 100 crores were burnt to ashes. The fire started from a cotton shop in New Market and within merely five minutes turned into a blazing inferno destroying every shop in the immediate vicinity.

Mukesh Sahay takes over as new DGP

The long drawn contention between the CCSU and the CCUS - Cotton College State University and Cotton College Union Society - came to an end after passing of the Cotton College State University Amendment Bill, 2015 in the monsoon session of Assam Assembly. According to the bill, 141 bighas of land would be allotted for the CCSU campus at Sonatoli in Kamrup Rural with another 16 bighas in Rupnagar in the city.

Sarbananda Sonowal Guwahati to appointed BJP chief get 65 kms of Metro rail The CM, in his budget speech, initiated the exercise of setting up a Metro/Mono Rail system in Guwahati. The Concept Paper prepared by GMDA was submitted to the Centre in March, 2013 and was approved in July. With a tentative budget of Rs. 19,000 crores, Guwahati is expected to get metro rail connectivity in four corridors in the first phase.

An incident of sexual harassment of a female student by an Assistant Professor had stirred a controversy in the college. Assistant professor Hemen Majumdar allegedly tried to physically and mentally harass female students. However, following the inquiry, Amulya Chandra Das, secretary of B. Borooah College Teachers’ Union and Associate Professor of Department of Assamese was suspended and Hemen Majumdar was left untouched.

News channel slammed by people on social media

Mukesh Sahay officially took over charge from Khagen Sarma as the new Director General of Police of Assam at a meeting organized at the office of the DGP, Ulubari on 30th November. A 1984 batch IPS Officer, Sahay in his first press meet after taking charge as the new DGP, said, “Media tries to keep an informed society and we try to keep a safe society, both are interrelated.”

With just five months to the Assam assembly elections, the BJP on 22nd November, appointed Sarbananda Sonowal, union minister of state for sports and youth welfare, as the new state BJP president. Also named chairman of the state election committee, Sonowal is likely to be projected as the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for Assam.

Sweety Baruah murder

With several incidents of crime that shook the city in the past year, the murder of model Sweety Baruah who appeared in the NRC advertisement was a shocker. Sweety was found dead in her bedroom at Livin Apartments near Bora Service Station on 26th August. The needle of suspicion pointed towards Neil Nibarun Lahakar who had an affair with Sweety, was apprehended from Hajo on 28th August and confessed to killing Sweety.

Anup Chetia freed

ULFA co-founder Anup Chetia was released from Guwahati Central Jail on 24th December after a special court granted him bail in the last of the four cases for which he was detained after he was brought to Delhi from Dhaka on 11th November.

A local TV station was slammed on social networking sites after it aired a report on “scantily clad” women, calling them a summer-time nuisance that went against the local culture. The report on Pratidin Times, which ran as an “exclusive” began by showing shots of monkeys wearing clothes and then of women in short skirts, with the background commentary saying that while animals were keen on wearing clothes, women are shedding them. The video went viral on social media prompting massive outrage.

Debutter Board stripped off its power

The long drawn tussle between the Debutter Board and Bordeori Samaj (a cluster of families which had run the Kumakhya temple for over a century) finally came to an end on 7th July after Guwahati High Court ordered the administration of the temple to the Bordeoris. The Debutter board was formed in 1998 and had forcibly taken over the administration of the temple.

Environment

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Sports

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Buzz

Bipasa Saikia Kashyap

29th NE Book Fair inaugurated by CM

The

29 North East Book Fair th

Over 120 publication houses participating in the 12-day event Book enthusiasts from all over the state assemble to encourage the love of reading

he ongoing 29th NE Book Fair held at the AEI Ground, Chandmari, in the city, was inaugurated by the CM Tarun Gogoi on 25th December. Encouraging the practice of reading, the CM urged the youth of the city to indulge more and more in the productive habit of reading. Lamenting the death of many indigenous languages, the CM also addressed Guwahatians to be open about the acceptance of people from different backgrounds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to understand that our diversity is our

strength,â&#x20AC;? he stated. Echoing his inclusions in the budget speech last year for the creation of four development councils for the Kumar, Madahi, Chut and Hajong communities, the CM stated that this could be a huge step in the revival of many lost languages in Assam. Adding to that, Gogoi also mentioned that the translation of books should also be encouraged, especially to promote inter-exchange of culture in the state. On the inaugural day, the CM also distributed various awards in

recognition of the works achieved by the literary community of Assam. Nabin Chandra Sharma, a veteran in the field of Assamese literature, received the Assam Prakashan Award for his contribution to the field of literature. Sharma, who retired as the HOD of the Folklore Department of Guwahati University, received the recognition for his research works on Assamese scholar and saint Srimanta Sankardev. The award consisted of a citation and a sum of Rs. 2 lakhs. Book Fairs have played a vital

role in promoting the kind of intellect and quality of readership in the city for years. This year there was a book fair organized in Kalgachia, Barpeta which also happens to be one of the remotest areas of the State. The reach of this can only highlight the fact that where technology fails, books can extend their reach. In such a time where the rest of the world is falling prey to technology and relying more and more on the eculture, Assam still boasts of being one state with a big population

of book readers. In all, about 120 publication houses from all over Assam set up stalls at the 12-day Book Fair organized under the Publication Board of Assam. It was also announced that the Board which was set up in 1958 is all set to release 57 new books out of which eight are by debutant writers. The fair will go on till the 5th of January, 2016 and will include various other activities and events. bipasa.saikia@g-plus.in

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Special

Resolution 2016

G PLUS DEC 26, 2015 - JAN 01, 201615 23

Citypedia

My New Year resolution is to continue with my writings and thinking aloud on issues the way I want; immerse myself in the hope of peace and harmony in my state and nation; and be detached from the senseless outpourings of our politicians. Amen!

ary. In the meantime I will try to fulfi ll my responsibilities towards my family and try to deliver on those areas that I have missed in the past and also concentrate towards my daughter’s education.

WASBIR HUSSAIN TV PERSONALITY AND JOURNALIST

MRINMOYEE G. SARMA SINGER

Resolutions are something that is tough to keep. One makes thousands of it and by the time they implement it the year is over. Th is is what I have realized over the years. Th is new year I want to keep it simple. I want to give quality time to my family - my father especially. Be there for him. And I want to give quality time to my music. Learn some more. Experiment some more. Spread love and peace through my music. Above all I want to practice patience and empathy.

GHULAM KIBRIYA ADVERTISING PROFESSIONAl I resolve to give quality time to myself by indulging in what I love but miss out at regular intervals due to professional commitments - go for regular walks, follow a workout regimen for fitness and play tennis at least thrice a week. Further, I resolve to start a socially driven project close to my heart that is currently at a planning stage.

ARMAN ALI SOCIAL ACTIVIST My wish for myself is to continue to stay happy and also wish the same for everyone else. I also hope and believe that Guwahati and the country develop a mutual respect for the diversity that we have. I will continue to work and do my best.

NARAYAN KONWAR GMC COMMISSIONER

“Making Guwahati the cleanest city in the country is my new year resolution.”

M ANGAMUTHU DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, KAMRUP (METRO)

“My new year resolution is to make a safe and secure Guwahati for all”

MITRA PHUKAN AUTHOR AND COLUMNIST Knowing fully well that my New Year Resolutions never last beyond February, here goes…Topping the list: to de-addict myself from Facebook. With the time freed up, I mean to watch more TV. Perhaps I can learn a new skill, like changing a light bulb or fi xing a fuse. And always, always, this resolution: to lose weight. I mean, seriously, at least fi ft een kgs. WIth these unrealistic goals in mind, here’s wishing all readers of G Plus a Very Happy New Year!

ARUNI KASHYAP AUTHOR INDRANI RAI MEDHI JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR “My resolution for this year is to be a more tolerant human being and I hope to be more giving instead of wanting more out of life then it will be my endeavour to leave less carbon foot prints by saving electricity and doing away with less gadgets. I plan to read all the books that I have in my collection and work on my eleventh book with passion and dedication.”

In 2016, I hope to spend some time with myself: read more, write more. I just made several trips to the Guwahati Book fair and came back with a stack of books and a nearly unbearable resolution: “OMG, there’s so much to read! I am so poorly read! I must be really dumb!” I want to travel to new places; alone. I want to write more and make new friends. If a resolution has to be taken, these are my New Year resolutions.

GAUTAM DAS DISTRICT TRANSPORT OFFICER

“I resolve to make a green Guwahati and save Guwahati from pollution.”

DR. HIMANTA BISWA SARMA BJP LEADER “Forming BJP government in 2016 election is my new year

DHIREN BARUAH GMDA CHAIRMAN

resolution.”

SUMON KALYAN DUTTA MUSICIAN AND BUSINESSMAN My new year resolution is to try and take entertainment to a next level by presenting more new concepts and new songs and work towards humanity.

ATREYEE BOROOAH THEKEDATH ENTREPRENEUR I would like to lose some weight and see a fitter me. Secondly, I would like to bring to fruition some ideas I have been procrastinating on for a while. And fi nally, I hope I will be able to keep my resolutions beyond the fi rst month!

AABHIJEET SHARMA ENTREPRENEUR AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST I will be more active through Assam Public Works and mitigate issues such as NRC, Big Dam under National Green Tribunal and be more active against corruption through legal procedure. I will expand my business to Digboi, Tinsukia and Tezpur. I will also start an all-women restaurant by Febru-

ZERIFA WAHID ACTOR

“I want to be more disciplined in 2016. Also I want to do something for the society in an individual capacity. I want everyone to take some effort to make a safe and clean society for all. I also wish that the new government which we get in this coming year should not be corrupt.”

I thank the people of Guwahati and wish them a prosperous new year. I resolve to take up a mission, ‘home for all,’ for all the people of Guwahati and I will dedicate the next two years for this mission.

JAIDEEP BALHARA LGBI AIRPORT DIRECTOR

I want to increase the connectivity of Guwahati airport to new places and I want to stress on customer satisfaction of the services at the airport.

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

G Talk

Happy Resolutions D

n the rut of things on the political front and with the current verbal volleys that the politicians are finding pleasure in exchanging over issues that actually are non-existent (NaMo’s second wife actually doesn’t exist), I hereby express my disgust at the brazenness of our so-called leaders. They often make me wonder whether they have lost their sense of discretion to decipher the right from the wrong or whether they ever had such sense in the first place. For all the woes that besiege us throughout the year, I choose to be happy in December. And the coming new year. As do all others perhaps. It is up to the politicians to find their happiness even as I wonder, with the coming elections, what exactly would make them happy in the true sense. For a start, they can please take some resolutions about minding their tongues and with their choice of words. And so, just to ensure this happiness and its continuation, I have chosen to undertake the following resolutions which I feel can be conducive to a better tomorrow for me. 1) I will keep my petrol tank full so that I find myself in the “Oh Shit! Just half a tank left” league rather than at the other end of the spectrum that goes, “Eeks! Kata E paalegoi!” It is basically a one-time investment of just three thou-

Is the New Year Eve celebration restricted to just clubbing and partying?

M L

sand rupees, more or less. 2) I will plant a tree and see it grow in my backyard – my humble return gift to all that Nature has given me. All I need to do is water it. Guwahati’s fertile soil will do the rest. 3) I will not upload selfies on Facebook. I hereby understand that it bores people to death and all comments and likes might just not be from the heart. Pretty much achievable, this one! 4) I will not drunk-dial, text or try to chat at 4 am because, in my otherwise sober state, I understand that my target at that moment in time: my now-married mother-of-two ex-girlfriend is happier than me and not overtly keen and awake to reciprocate with equal drunken vigour. 5) I will not “Jabong” shoes ever again because, for the umpteenth time, I hate an online shopping portal telling me I have big feet, that I need to order boats for shoes, and that those low prices invariably bring unto me shoes shorter than my ordered size. To sign off, I feel great quoting Rainer Maria, “And now we welcome the New Year, full of things that have never been.” Happy New Year, and love to all from G Plus!

Swapnil Bharali Executive Editor

Restricted Access

any so-called intellectuals have this issue that clubbing and partying is wastage of time and money in the name of celebration. But then, it would be great on their part to explain how exactly people should enjoy and celebrate. It is for the benefit of these intellectuals that I would like to assert that happiness is a very personal phenomenon. In India, a 70-year-old woman usually feels good and happy to be visiting temples. Her celebration during her son or daughter’s birthday entails visiting a temple and feeding poor people. She might want to watch some of the available bhakti channels during the New Year eve or watch some entertainment channel just to enjoy a twist in the plot of a soap opera. Similarly, some intellectuals might like to make some philosophical comments on social sites criticising the government or may term the loud music during the New Year celebrations as nuisance disregarding the fact others may also enjoy the same. Clubbing and partying on the New Year eve is gradually becoming a culture for many and it gives people an opportunity to expose their talents too. Many DJs play during various events, music bands perform, dancers dance, singers sing and so on. The bars and clubs do brisk business while providing customer satisfaction to their many patrons. Many old friends unite and party together and there are many in these parties who don’t drink. Even drinking is not a crime if you know your limit and one day in a year if a person feels that he/she needs to drink to feel happy it is their personal choice and people should not have a problem. There are also many who work while the rest of the world is partying and they do not complain as they know that “work hard and party harder” is a new tagline which the youngsters are following. Partying and clubbing is not everything but it is surely a way of feeling happy for some. Perish all complaints! Kalyan Deb

ccording to some reports, a rise in road accidents and assault cases kept Mrityunjoy 108 ambulances busy during the New Year eve in Assam. Drunk driving, youngsters triple-riding motorcycles recklessly without wearing helmets, jumping of traffic signals and a total disregard for traffic rules have become the order of the day during New Year eve. According to police personnel, the main chaos is always near the bars and pubs from where people come out drunk and create nuisance on the streets. On one hand many people cry when the subsidy on LPGs are cancelled which is for the development of the country, but on the other hand, people spend huge sums of money on liquor and they term it happiness. My point is when the government is always criticised for not doing anything for the society, why are the citizens not proactive for the betterment of the society? Instead of wasting money on partying, why can’t people be happy donating that money to the poor? Clubbing and partying is not a crime but when people leave their work early to party, it is very much a social crime. Many people bunk their important work like offices and colleges while planning for the party wasting public time and money. If you go to any office, half the people are absent on the excuse of it being New Year eve. People lie to their parents for an excuse to go to a party. No party is complete without alcohol. For all of people wanting to find happiness by drinking, they tend to forget that drinking is injurious to health. It is also a serious cause for anti-social behaviour like quarrels, brawls and creating unruly scenes. The Crystal bar incident has already proven that city bars are not safe for women and at the end, the police and the authorities are the ones who are blamed. My only concern is that making clubbing and partying a culture always carries a potential danger to the society.

Juthika Baruah

Sidharth Bedi Varma

nce again the ‘freedom’ surrounding the internet is being questioned. The internet is an extremely useful tool that can open a world of possibilities as a poverty alleviation tool to a gateway to limitless opportunities. Starting from a farmer’s need to look up fertilizers and monsoon preparedness, to his son working on an assignment for school, to artisans connecting with the e-market, the internet has just literally provided the ‘web’ of opportunities. Amidst all this, the debate of ‘Free Basics’ has popped up again. Once again, telecom companies have started spending millions on advertising on what is only another sham. In the pursuit of offering ‘free’ internet, the underlying agenda has once again been hidden. This is specifically a Facebook initiative that once again promises ‘free Facebook’, but in return raises the prices for the whole other world that internet promises to offer. Basically, monopoly of the internet is what should raise cause for concern. The telcos that have signed up with the ‘Free Basics’ services will essentially provide the most popular social media for free and other sites that actually give out information will be

kept away from public eyes unless they filter their content and follow the norms that this ‘pseudo regulatory’ body will put in place. Forget future whistleblowers, forget unravelling buried paper trail and forget the freedom to discuss ‘Illuminati’. The ‘SaveTheInternet’ campaign was also another initiative that the Government had taken to make the freedom of internet questionable. And once again, facts had been hidden and people have been left hanging. But thanks to Facebook, there are people signing petitions against them, regardless of whether they’ve understood the loopholes. The concept of Free Basics is addressed for the Indian market because well, we like things for free. The spirit of openness is in question again. The death of the internet basically means death of creativity and innovation and our ability to access knowledge. Whoever said ‘Knowledge is Power’ obviously never was a part of the Government which is always cooking up schemes to curb citizen power. Point is the Government needs to reconsider its priorities and put its foot down by actually making laws on Net Neutrality. There are only so many online petitions people can sign.

Interactive Hello sir,

Interactive: Our city of Guwahati has a lot of problems and sometimes, it is great to see citizens come together and deal with the issues themselves. I came across one such organization last week where a group of people had come out to the streets on a Sunday and started preaching traffic rules and civic sense. I asked around and found out that the organization was working with Geetanagar Police station and that traffic authorities welcomed this step. This is actually an inititiave i would like G PLUS to take up. G PLUS has been very actively involved in such issues and I understand that civic problems is a burning issue in the city that your paper can actively deal with.

Name withheld

Dear Sir,

Letter to the Editor

It seems that the city has witnessed the establishment of many NGOs. The question is, are the NGOs which are established with a motive to help people really worth it? Now-a-days it is seen that if a person does not find any option to earn his livelihood, he opens an NGO which is an easy way of earning money. Most such NGOs do not have proper registration as many IAS officers, Ministers and MLAs are associated with it. Many NGOs are basically fraudulent organizations and are in business to deceive people. It is their own way to earn money rather than to help the society although NGOs are meant for helping the society by solving social concerns. But here it is seen that rather than coming up with solutions people are building their own career with the money that are being provided by the Ministers, MLAs and the government in the name of NGOs. Through this letter I urge that G Plus brings such fraudulent practices to light.

Rahul DAS via email

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

In Focus

Which political party’s election prospects have been hampered by the recent political clashes and why? The city witnessed stone pelting and axe wielding clashes at the Congress headquarters that was sparked by a derogatory comment from an ex- Minister. In light of recent events, it seems like political parties have started abusing their powers and the resources entrusted to them.

f course BJP. They are proving over and again how intolerant they are. BJP is a party which loves playing with the sentiments of the common people. After fooling the public in the Lok Sabha elections, common people would not like to be fooled again. Everyone knows corrupt Himanta Biswa Sarma is. He does not have any ideology and only knows how to grab power by hook or by crook. Don’t be surprised if he tries to topple Sarbananda Sonowal. He will make sure BJP doesn’t get enough seats, so that people will blame Sarbananda and he will use this opportunity to elevate himself. But public will never let this greedy and corrupt politician to rule Assam.

Mukul Gogoi

Jayanta Kumar Sarma

Muktikam Daas

Sandeep Khaitan

Pradip Borah

hat’s your take, all the folks at G Plus? I thought the ex-minister who comes from an otherwise literary family was totally obnoxious and unbecoming with his words or the choice of the same. His tenure as a minster was also very questionable ... Being holier than thou?

Meet

Moloy Baruah Environmentalist

coin has definitely two sides but a political party has many sides. Whether Congress or BJP, all have their star performers with respect to calling names. So it is basically the pot calling the kettle black. But one fact remains - the general atmosphere has vitiated with many bhakts asking Indian Muslims to leave for Pakistan and has only stopped now because of the drubbing BJP received in Bihar. I only wonder what would have happened if BJP had won Bihar. So it is best to wait for June when people like us can do normal business. And this jatiotabad business needs to be thrown into the trashcan the sooner we do that is better for Assam. In the name of jatiotabad lots of star performers from Assam have also looted their own motherland. So why blame others!

Sunny Borah olitics is the greatest show business on earth. I think most political dramas are planned and stage-managed; so was the recent one. More such dramas are likely post Bhogali Bihu, i.e., around the third and fourth week of January because elections, in all probability, will be announced in the first week of March. And in all political dramas the modus operandi is the same: you stage them and then try to get most out of it to stay in reckoning, sway public sentiments in your favour and then try to dissolve it into votes. Remember, bad publicity is also publicity?

Meet Meet

bviously the Congress! When Nilamoni Sen Deka makes such a derogatory statement against the union HRD Minister, Smriti Irani, then just imagine the kind of mentality he has and how his behaviour will be towards ordinary women. He has also disrespected the PM. And police should not act in a partisan manner and take action against him and not only the BJP workers. People will protest when you make such statements and democratic protest is our basic right.

he present situation of Assam politics is not healthy. Where politicians are concerned, we just do not understand what they want to teach our new generation. They ruined our political environment purely for their own benefits.

ature lover and environmentalist, Moloy Baruah, is a person who has a strong bonding with wildlife and it was only with the tenacious demand of Baruah and his co-workers that the Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary has been given the status of a sanctuary. Baruah, who is a retired employee of Guwahati Refinery, has been associated with Early Birds’, an NGO. Being the President of the NGO he has dedicatedly worked to protect the flora and fauna of the state. Early Birds’ was formed in 1991 by Baruah and some of his co-workers. “While I was working in the refinery, I visited many places and also went for Himalayan trekking where I saw many species of birds and fell in love with the birds. I have gained interest in different types of species and started to think as to why such species do not come to Guwahati or to other parts of the state,” said Baruah. In December 1991, a few employees started the non-governmental/non-profit organization Early Birds’. They were initially all amateur bird watchers; while enjoying bird watching in the water bodies of the wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas, they observed that these sanctuaries and national parks were steeped with a lot of problems and which, at one point, might not remain wonderlands of avian beauties. “Our group reflected to do something and after consultation with the wildlife keepers, we decided to offer our services to create and sustain an immune belt around the protected areas of Assam - immune in the sense that no outside diseases shall be allowed to be transmitted to the wild from the domestic bovine group. Normally wild animals are affected from diseases carried by the domestic group and they are Haemmorhagic Septiceama, Black Quarter, Foot and Mouth Diseases, Anthrax and Rinderpest,” Baruah added. “In 1988-89 I started to examine the birds after I bought a binocular. While on a visit to Pobitora, an officer of the sanctuary informed me about the problems that the animals faced. It was then that I decided that we should do something to

save the animals,” Baruah added. It is since 1995 that Baruah has been the President of Early Birds’. Other activities undertaken by Early Birds’ are the formation of eco-clubs in schools located on the fringes of the protected areas of Assam, tree plantations by involving the student community, street dog anti rabies programme along with animal birth control programme, publication of environment based school education books with central ministries, participating in the annual bird census under the aegis of the Asian Water Fowl census since 1992, Tiger and Rhino census and various publications, to keep an eye on the migratory birds and their places of interest in the state and their food habits and mating life. Baruah has achieved success in this field. It is due to the activities of Early Birds’ that diseases in many wild animals have come down to a great extent as it was rampant in many wildlife areas prior to the activities of Early Birds’. Young school students who got exposés through the eco-clubs have become guardians of the wildlife areas and work relentlessly to protect flora and fauna of the locality hand-in-hand with the jungle keepers. It had fought may environmental issues in the court including no high-rise buildings on the Brahmaputra river front and opposing filling up a big wetland called ‘Dabaka’ near LGNB airport in the highest court of the country. It also filed a petition in detail to the High Court which was accepted as suo moto petition by the court about rampant encroachment in Amchang wild life sanctuary. Baruah has also published two books on environment namely Aranyar Cha Gosoki (2006) and Aranyar Suwadi Maat (2013). Early Birds’ has already completed 199 major vaccination camps (till December 2015) and also held elephant treatment camps for wild life departmental elephants, a small project from ‘Rhino Foundation’ during 2001-05. Early Birds’ also performed 17 human treatment camps exclusively for wildlife staff and periphery people.

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Lifestyle

yon gyan

Subject: First night worries

I am a 24 year old Assamese girl from Guwahati. While I come from a reasonably conservative Brahmin family who believe in the social taboos associated with sex, I had a sexual relationship with a friend while I was at college in Delhi. The relationship lasted for about a year and when I was 21 years old. Now my marriage has been arranged and I quite like to

boy I am engaged to. But I am afraid of getting married because my future husband may find out that I had sex before marriage. Will he be able to find out whether my hymen is broken on the first night? I cannot ask anyone nor tell my parents because I fear I will get stigmatised.

Hymen can be broken in a variety of ways without sexual encounter like exercise, swimming, gymnastics etc. Alternatively some women can have an intact hymen even after sexual intercourse. “Do not make a big issue out of a

small issue.” The past is a foreign country. I realize the fact that your husband finding out is more troubling to you! Please understand that there is no way your husband can ever find that out, unless you tell him yourself!

I am a 27 year old man from Guwahati and getting married to a girl that my parents have fixed. I have never had any sexual encounters. My fiancée and I have been dating in the various hotels of Guwahati trying to get to know each other better before

our marriage and we have grown to like each other. We want to have pre-marital sex. I have heard that men also bleed at the first attempt at sexual intercourse. Is it true?

Some men (uncircumcised) do bleed at first attempt at sexual intercourse. Generally, it happens if a man has difficulty in retracting the foreskin or if there is forceful attempt at penetration during which the frenulum (a small triangular fold of

skin on the underside of the glans penis, connecting the prepuce) may tear and cause bleeding. The immediate treatment is to stop the bleeding. This can be effectively done by simply putting pressure with the thumb on the bleeding spot itself for some time.

Dr. Mithun Bhartia MRCC UK, SECSM Amsterdam CCT Diabetes and Endocrinology UK advicesexologist@gmail.com

VAASTU SHASTRA

VAASTU ASPECTS ON THE EASTERN SIDE RG BARUAH ROAD (ZOO ROAD)

he entire stretch of RG Baruah Road from Chandmari to the State Zoo runs from north to south from where the road bends a bit towards the southeast till the Ganeshguri crossing. The refinery drain joins the road at Zoo-Narengi crossing and flows towards south and joins the Bharalu River. But the drain continues towards the Sundarpur area and joins the Bahini river of Hengerabari. This wrong direction of flow of the rainwater through this drain and ultimately the Bharalu River, i.e., from north to south and from east to west has been the woe of Guwahatians residing in this area. Vaastu always says that water MUST flow from South to North or from west to east or northeast for all round prosperity and wellness. Water bodies at west and south are bad. So the inhabitants and business establishments on the eastern bank of this drain and on the northern bank of the river must be extra careful while constructing their houses/shops. They would do well to cut off the drain area with the help of vaastu pyramids and mirrors. A Shani Yantra will help. People on the northern side of the Bharalu river should install a Mangal Yantra. The main entrances towards the eastern side of the drain should be from the middle of west or from the northern side of west. They must dig their wells and bore-wells in the northeast, north or east only. There are several bye lanes going eastward from the main road. These will have houses on the northern side as well as on the southern side. The houses on the southern side can have their main gate exclusively

Ingredients

FROSTED ICING

recipe of the week

SHAMI KEBAB

This is a popular variety of Kebab from the Indian Subcontinent. It is composed of a small round patty of minced meat, chana dal, spices and egg to hold it together.

500 gms Minced Meat 125 gms Soaked Chana Dal 2 Onions diced 1 Tablespoon Ginger Paste 1 Teaspoon Ground Pepper 1 Teaspoon Salt 1 Cup Water 2 Eggs 2 Cups Refined Oil

at north or northeast. The houses on the northern side can have their main gate exclusively at south or southeast. There are some corner plots which have roads/lanes at north, east, south or west. North-eastern plots are supposed to be best provided other vaastu aspects are followed. South-western plots are good for business and businessmen.

The State Zoo Despite having a lot of visitors, the zoo authorities have not been able to show a profit as its main entrance is from the southwest and it has hills at northeast. There have been reports of deaths of animals due to various diseases. The water bodies for swans and otters at south are not helping the cause.

ASSAM INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (AIDC) AIDC is one of the large State Government run Finance Institutions on RG Baruah Road. It is also not doing well financially as its main entrance is from western southwest. It also has a heavy overhead water tank at northeast.

Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist

ressure cook the Mince, Dal and spices with one cup of water for twenty minutes. Open pressure cooker lid when cool and dry all the water. Grind this mince paste in a mixie. Add the two eggs and make into round patties. Fry in a frying pan till brown. You can serve it as a snack or with paranthas.

KULKUL RAHMAN Entrepreneur, mother and a passionate cook

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Lifestyle

REASONS FOR

EXERTIONAL HEADACHE AFTER A

WORKOUT O n social media, I get a lot of questions that may seem random to the average person. But when you talk to thousands of people every day as I do, you begin to see some issues that affect more people than you would imagine. Once such issue is exercise headaches, or more technically referred to as “Exertional Headaches.” These are simply headaches that come on during or right after exercise. Although there’s no conclusive

BIBHU MONI SINGHA, Fitness Expert & Sports Nutritionist Gym Manager, Training & Nutrition Head, SFL Fitness, Guwahati

WHAT TO DO?

answer as to the cause, one theory is that they’re the result of the dilation of blood vessels in the head during exercise. For most people, they hit suddenly for an hour or two, reappear for a few days, and then disappear. This is normal and not problematic. But if the headaches last longer than a day and continue for more than just a few days, you should take action.

The first thing you should do is to see a doctor to make sure that it’s truly a “primary” exertional headache and not a “secondary” exertional Headache. Primary exertional headaches are benign (mainly harmless) and not caused by any known issue. Secondary exertional headache is a symptom of more serious condition, and worsens with exercise. If you’re prone to exertional

headaches, try to avoid exercising in severe heat or at higher altitudes. Some people get headaches only from certain types of exercise, such as running. If you are susceptible to exertion headaches, simply doing a 5-15-minute warm-up before starting hardcore training can help prevent headaches. Exertion headaches can also be caused from holding your breath,

such as when you do heavy lifts or heavy squats. While you normally should hold your breath during the hardest part of a lift (such as when ascending from a squat to better support the spine by increasing intra-abdominal pressure), try exhaling during the ascent to avoid a headache. Avoid clenching your teeth/jaw when you lift; if you can’t avoid it; consider getting a mouth guard or bite guard when you train.

MEDICATIONS An easy fix is to take an antiinf lammatory medication only under the supervision of a doctor. But if you are worried about muscle growth or just do not want to have to take anti-inf lammatory medications every time you train, a more natural alternative is melatonin. Some research suggests that those taking as little as 3 mg to as much as 12 mg of melatonin every night before bed had a reduction in recurring headaches. I recommend a sublingual melatonin and starting with a 2-3 mg dose. If this doesn’t help, you can gradually increase the dosage. Another option is to take melatonin before your workout. Some research shows that taking

Grandma’s Remedies For Sprains

For Tan

For Oily Scrap

Mix two spoons of gram flour with two spoons of curd. Squeeze half a lime in the mixture. Apply this mixture on the affected are and scrub off. Use this mixture regularly.

Massage a mixture of lemon juice and honey into your hair. Rinse it off after five minutes.

For Depression

For Acidity

Add one teaspoonful of Saunf to one cup of boiled water. Cover the mixture and leave it overnight. Strain the water in the morning, add 1 teaspoonful of honey and consume this potion three times in a day.

For Migraine

Pound the crusts of lemon into fine paste in a mortar. Apply the paste on forehead for relief.

Warm the outer leaves of a cabbage in hot water and bandage it around the sprain.

Powder the seeds of cardamom and boil them with water along with tea. It gives a soothing aroma to the tea. Take this tea regularly for the treatment of depression.

three gram doses twice daily, in the morning and evening. This remedy helps with dry cough.

For Frizzy and Curly Hair For Grey Hair

Boil a few amla (Indian Gooseberry) pieces in coconut oil till they turn black. Apply this mixture on your hair regularly.

For Low Blood Pressure

Soak 7 almonds in water overnight. Peel them and grind to a smooth paste. Add in a glass of milk

and boil. Drink warm.

For Insomnia

Mix two teaspoon Fenugreek Juice with one teaspoon of honey. Consume this mixture everyday at bedtime.

For Cough

Roast and powder a root of the turmeric plant. Take this powder in

Mix in a bowl half cup honey, half cup yogurt, three drops of rosemary essential oil and one tablespoon almond oil. Massage it into your scalp and wash off.

For Toothache

Place a clove of garlic with rock salt on the affected tooth. It will relieve the pain and may even cure the toothache completely.

as little as 0.5 mg melatonin 60 minutes before working out can lead to higher growth hormone (GH) levels during the workout. Although we’re no longer sure if boosting GH levels during exercise can promote further muscle growth, it may help to enhance fat loss by increasing lipolysis, or the release of fat from fat cells. Taking melatonin before exercise won’t make you tired: Research shows that while a 5 mg dose can decrease alertness (but not performance), a smaller amount (2.5 mg or less) won’t induce sleepiness or decrease alertness. If you have any more questions on the topic, reach out to me on facebook and mail me at info@bibhuuniversalfitness.com.

For Diarrhoea

Mix one tea spoon fresh mint juice along with a teaspoon each of lime juice and honey. Take this mixture thrice a day to treat diarrhoea.

For Earache

Grind a few holy basil leaves and extract some juice. Apply two drops inside the ear.

For Cracked Heels

Soak your feet for ten to fifteen minutes in a bucket of warm water with lemon juice added to it. Finally wash your feet using pumice stone and soap and pat your feet dry with a towel.

For Dandruff

Boil both tops and roots of beet in water. Massage this water into scalp every night for dandruff free hair.

For Sore Throat

Mix 1 teaspoon pepper powder, 1 teaspoon ginger powder and 1 teaspoon honey. Consume this mixture twice a day.

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Review Cast: Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Edgar Ramirez, Delroy Lindo Director: Ericson Core Once again, our hero is Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey), an extreme sports enthusiast who suffered a great tragedy—one that plays more like a spoof of the opening of “Cliffhanger” than anything else—that inspires him to quit the sport and become an F.B.I. agent. For his first case, he is assigned to investigate a pair of strange heists in Mumbai and Mexico in which massive American conglomerates are robbed by people whose heists are accompanied by wild stunts (such as motorcycling off of the upper floors of skyscrapers and parachuting to safety—don’t ask about what happens to the bikes themselves) and who appear to distribute their ill-gotten gains to the poor. Putting two and two together and coming up with “Dude,” Utah figures out that the perpetrators are fellow extreme athletes whose trail of crime parallels the infamous

Album: This Thing Called Life

ounting the front cover, the booklet for This Thing Called Life contains over two-dozen photos, all black-and-white, mostly downcast. In a couple shots, August Alsina’s view is from the ground, at the mercy of an ambiguously clothed man pointing a gun at him. Others show the singer staring at a shattered RIAA plaque for “I Luv This Sh*t,” his platinum debut single. Only in the last two is he shown cracking a smile. Altogether, the images closely reflect the percentages of dark and light content that color Alsina’s second album. “I done worked my way to the top,” he proudly asserts, yet those who prop him up are treated with as much suspicion as those

Ozaki Eight—a collection of eight extreme (needless to say, the word “extreme” is used a lot here) challenges spanning the globe devised by environmental activist Ozaki Ono to honor the beauty and power of Mother Nature while still looking like a refugee from an old Mountain Dew commercial. Considering that Ono himself supposedly died during the third challenge, you can tell how impressed Mother Nature is by this. Utah’s brilliant plan is to infiltrate the gang and figure out where they are heading next— most of his superiors think his idea is silly but since he already has the necessary hair, his boss (Delroy Lindo) lets him pursue it. Utah catches up with his suspects off the coast of southern France just in time for the surfing portion, where he immediately whiffs it and nearly drowns. He is rescued by Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez) and

luckily for him, his savior turns out to be the leader of a group that is attempting to do the Ozaki Eight while simultaneously pulling off elaborate robberies as a way of giving back to the planet while also helping them to fund their around-theworld journey. While Utah’s contact (Ray Winstone) frets that he is getting too close to his target, Utah accompanies Bodhi and the gang as they base jump, fly through canyons in wingsuits and snowboard down the face of a mountainhe also gets to indulge in another form of extreme athletics with token hottie Samsara (Teresa Palmer) but I don’t think that this activity counts towards the Eight. Of course, it is all fun and games until Bodhi & Co. blow up a gold mine and Utah, finally reminded that he has a job to do, pursues Bodhi to Venezuela to stop him before he can complete the Eight and disappear forever.

Artist: August Alsina

who attempt to knock him down. Success has exacerbated previously existing problems while dealing him a set of new ones. In one verse, for instance, he laments, “I try to buy my momma’s love, she don’t appreciate it, so I stay inebriated,” while in another, he smacks down prospective hangers-on. As with the Downtown: Life Under the Gun EP and Testimony, most of the highlights here involve production from the Exclusives and Knucklehead. “Dreamer,” strengthened by a sample of a Eugene Record ballad, shows Alsina spinning realist tales with as much conviction displayed in inward-looking highlights like “Song Cry” and “Hip Hop.” Even though

Alsina is a soul singer to his core, he continually draws connections to hiphop, borrowing a song title from Jay-Z, interpolating Naughty by Nature, referencing 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G. Given the album’s immersion in street life and its grim aftershocks -- details ranging from hunger pains to the contemplation of suicide -- it’s gratifying to hear it conclude with a sentiment similar to that of the booklet’s last page. In the Polow-produced “The Encore,” a Ralfi Pagan-sampling throwback anthem with a touch of gospel, Alsina concludes with “Had to get it how I could, I was so misunderstood out the hood, now it’s all good.”

attle in the Bay is a new release from 1st Playable Productions and GameMill Entertainment set after the events of Disney’s Big Hero 6 film. The game is a side-scrolling action game set in the city of San Fransokyo where players can take control of each of the hero team depicted in the upcoming film. The game incorporates very simplistic gameplay and controls with a decent amount of unlockables and other content to create an above average experience for players on Nintendo handhelds. The game isn’t a must own , but fans that can’t wait to see the soon to be released Disney film will have a fun time with the

the new title. Battle in the Bay isn’t a must own title, but it’s a fun way for fans of the upcoming Disney film, Big Hero 6, to celebrate the release of the film or interact with their favorite personalities from the movie after seeing it in theaters. With 4 playable characters, 20 levels, multiple locations and plenty of unlockables, there is enough content included with Big Hero 6: Battle in the Bay to make the game worth a purchase, but we’d like to see any future releases for the series further expand on each playable character’s unique abilities and have a more polished presentation overall.

Noonmati 03612656968, 9954544738

Bajirao Mastani 2.30 PM Dilwale 9.30 AM & 5.30, 8.30 PM Point break 11.30 PM

PVR Cinemas

Dona Planet. GS Road 08800900009 Bajirao Mastani 3.25 PM Dilwale 10.00 AM, 6.25 & 9.20 PM Star wars: the force awakens 12.50 PM

HUB, GS Road 9864800100, 9864800200 Bajirao Mastani 9.00 AM Dilwale 9.45 AM, 12.35 & 6.00 PM Star wars: the force awakens 3.30 PM

u Yo LD OU H S isten L

Author: Jasim Khan

game while counting down the days until the movie releases in theaters. Battle in the Bay features a decent storyline that finds the heroes of the film doing battle with an army of robots. The game doesn’t feature any cutscenes or any instances of spoken dialogue, and levels are bereft of any audio minus the same theme songs across many levels and repeated sound effects. There are panels with written text before each level that allows the personalities of each character to shine through in a virtual comic book scene of sorts, but the game’s narrative is overall forgettable and not a reason gamers will want to pick up

Anuradha Cineplex

Fun Cinemas

Apsara Cinema Ulubari 0361 2541335

Bajirao Mastani 5.15 PM Dilwale 10.45 AM, 2.00 & 8.00 PM

Book: Being Salman ME GA VIEW RE

NOW SHOWING

u Yo LD OU SH READ

GOLD Cinema

ASTC Complex, Paltan Bazar 9854066166 Bajirao Mastani 11.30 AM, 2.00, 5.30 & 8.00 PM Dilwale 11.00 AM, 2.30, 5.00 & 8.30 PM

alman Khan turns fifty on 27 December 2015. Having made his film debut in 1988, he has found his place in the hearts of millions, with blockbuster movies ranging from Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Koun to the more recent Dabangg, Ek Tha Tiger, Kick and Bajrangi Bhaijaan to his credit. He is also well known for his magnanimity, including his work with the non-profit chari-

table organization, Being Human, which he runs. Salman’s stint with controversies has been as long as his career. His personal life has often made headlines, as have his involvements in the blackbuck poaching case and the hit-and-run case. He has a reputation for getting hot under the collar and abusive when riled. These attributes have earned him the dubious title of the ‘bad boy of Bollywood’.

GOLD Cinema

Salasar Building, Lakhtokia 9854066166 Bajirao Mastani 11.30 AM, 2.00, 5.30 & 8.00 PM Dilwale 11.00 AM, 2.30, 5.00 & 8.30 PM

GOLD Cinema

LG Towers, Narangi 8811001898 Bajirao Mastani 2.00 & 8.00 PM Dilwale 11.00 AM & 5.00 PM

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Entertainment

‘Zubeen Garg r Gaan Aru Kobitar Golpo’,

a book of short stories by Zubeen, released

Fulfilling a dream

Model Naba Kumar Das

ots of newcomers have entered into the glamour world of acting and modeling for survival, but some have attached themselves to this world to fulfill their dreams. Naba Kr. Das, one such promising actor and model, who otherwise belongs to a different profession, dabbles in acting and modeling world to fulfill his dream. Son of Late Uttam Chandra Das and Putuli Das, Naba has recently released a short film titled ‘Spotless’ under his production which has been very well received by the audiences and critics in various national and international festivals. He has penned the story and script and also played the lead role in ‘Spotless’. For his role he was conferred the best actor award in the 3rd Kolkata International Short Film Festival and 4th Bangaluru Short Film Festival in 2015. Now his second short film titled ‘Pain’ directed by himself will be released soon. Focusing on different issues that every citizen in their daily life has faced in society, Naba through his movies, always tries to address these issues and bring a message so that people become conscious about the society. Naba shared his feelings saying that he wants to make the city neat and clean through his works. Besides acting, Naba has also made forays into the mod-

eling world. To fulfill his dream of becoming a supermodel, Naba has recently completed a photo shoot by ace photographer Anup Baruah with R J Nabish Alam’s theme concept. The photos were released in social networking sites and earned some good comments from the viewers. According to

‘Just Sing’

eedless to say, Zubeen Garg’s contribution to Assamese music is unparalleled. In an age when very few took up singing as a professional carrier in the Assamese music industry, Zubeen brought in a gust of fresh air. This singer has brought a new trend to the Assamese music industry. While he has enriched the Assamese music industry, he has also rendered his voice in other languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bangla, Bodo, Nepali, etc. He is also an equally popular actor who has essayed various roles in movies like ‘Tumi Mor Matho Mor’, ‘Dinabandhu’, ‘Mon Jai’, ‘Rodor Sithi’, ‘Gaane Ki Aane’, ‘Xaat Nomboror Xondhanot’, ‘Mission China’ etc. Zubeen Garg always tries to bring something new to his fans. This time people of Assam will be able to see this singer, composer, lyricist, producer, director, poet and writer from a completely different perspective. Through a book titled ‘Zubeen Garg r Gaan aru Kobitar Golpo’, published recently, Zubeen fans will find him as a short-story writer. Come the New Year, Assam Publishing Company of Panbazar, Guwahati will launch the published book where ten songs and eight poems of Zubeen have been transformed into short stories. Ten

highly appreciated songs of Zubeen Garg like ‘Pakhi Pakhi Ei Mon’, ‘Hahile Tumi’, ‘Xobdo Jodi Prerona Hoi’, ‘Pakhi Meli Diye’, ‘Mugdha Hiya Mor’, ‘Kaar Porokh’, ‘Ondho Aakakh’, ‘Diya Ghurai Diya’ etc. have been transformed into short stories. This book also contains 49 rare photos of Zubeen. Eminent people like Phanindra Kumar Devchoudhury, Kalyan Kumar Kalita, Hemanta Sarma, Robson Baruah, Pabitra Margherita and Zublee Baruah wrote their views about Zubeen Garg and his musical journey. Apart from this, various comments about Zubeen written by his father Kapil Thakur, wife Garima Saikia Garg, Pami Borthakur, Dev Borkotoky, Diganta Bharati, Jatin Bora, Rajesh Bhuyan, Prastuti Parashar, Nitumoni Saikia, Sanjiv Narayan, Priyanka Bharali, Babu Baruah, Nahid Afrin, Nibir Swapnam Shiwam, Amrita Gogoi, Kalpana Kalita, Ajay Phukan and others are also published in this book. The cover photo has been shot by Anup Baruah while the cover has been designed by popular cover designer Sourich Mitra. The book contains 136 pages and is priced at Rs. 100.

KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

Naba, many people forget about their dreams due to their busy lives but Naba, despite his busy schedule, has also worked hard in fulfilling his dream to become an actor and a popular model in the glamour world of acting and modeling.

KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

English audio album released

n English album with 7 songs rendered by a talented Tezpur-based singer, Nirmata Borah, was released by eminent music director Bhupen Uzir at a function held at the Guwahati Press Club recently. The function was also graced by cultural activist Surya Hazarika, cine-journalist Arunlochan Das, writer-journalist Naba Thakuria among others. Everyone on the occasion heaped praise and appreciation on the singing skills of Nirmata who has also tuned and penned the lyrics in the album. The album musically arranged by Anirudha Baruah also includes a song called ‘The power of your songs....’ rendered as a tribute to Dr. Bhupen Hazarika. The music video of this song was released in 2013 on You-Tube. The release function coincided with the release of music video of the song ‘Just Sing’ directed by Jyoti Kakati and Sanchita Talukdar. It talks about love and hope despite a profusion of obstacles in life. Nirmata, who is equally proficient in dancing, acting and painting, has also earned her Visharad in Bharat Natyam. Apart from singing, she has also made a name for herself as guest anchor in the popular reality show ‘North East Got Talent’ shown on Rengoni Channel. It’s quite heartening to know that Nirmata Borah, who is undergoing musical training under Jiten Basumatary, has released a music video – ‘God bless me…’ on the You-Tube recently as a homage to the victims of heinous terror attacks that took place in the heart of Paris on November 13. The album produced by Lakhi Prasad Borah under the banner of ‘One Man Journey’ is marketed by Ashok Music.

KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Special

FootageFreaks The year 2015 was full of people who said a lot of things for their share of the proverbial 15 minutes of fame! From the twittering Chetan Bhagat boldly declaring that historians actually don’t have any work or actors like Rimi Sen who, on Big Boss, enquired why the swimming pool (it was the jacuzzi, actually) was so small, people kept us entertained with their gaffes! Some of our Guwahatians were not far behind in allowing us the sneaking suspicion that these people just love to hear their own voices when they speak and enjoyed seeing themselves on TV more than anything else. We list out the biggest Footage Freaks of Guwahati. The list is in random order and readers may please make their own countdowns.

Nilamoni Sen Deka

t was one fine sunny morning when the Congress leader and former Minister took a dig at Human and Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani calling her Narendra Modi’s second wife. Disgustingly unnecessary, if you ask us!! If this was an attempt by the former Minister to get back into the limelight just prior to the Assam elections we don’t know, but the callousness of his remark sparked off some serious mayhem and some serious counter remarks by no less than the CM himself. Point is, all of them managed to procure some serious footage.

of Guwahati

Akhil Gogoi Hemen Rajbongshi

journalist with a thoroughly conservative mindset, he chose to mock women who wear shorts. Hemen Rajbongshi is a serious footage freak journalist who had singlehandedly reduced the image of the local media. Earlier this year, this self-proclaimed “keeper of morals” aired a piece of news on local prime time comparing women of Guwahati who wear shorts and any clothing that leave the legs uncovered to monkeys leaving every viewer f labbergasted and wondering who the actual monkey was in the first place.

Rumi Nath

rom shaming us Assamese at the CNN IBN awards where he pleaded with Navin Jindal to “hota dijeeye” his dam project to making a mess of the city’s streets, its traffic and its schedules, his staged dharnas never seem to end. Rumors go that once, while leading a campaign in Bokakhat, he asked one of his cronies just a few minutes before the dharna, to buy him a pair of new Hawaii chapels so he could project his poverty properly! Footage FREAK!

P. B. Acharya

charyajee is one of the current victims of “Islamophobia.” In a statement made by him, the Assam Governor asked the Muslims of India to move to Pakistan citing accommodation problems. The dear honourable Governor might as well wonder if this were to hold true for arguments’ sake and all the Muslims of India be shifted to Pakistan or Bangladesh, what would happen if all the nations in the world decide in unison to send their Hindus back to India! It was pretty decent attempt to gain some footage, we think.

Tridib Duarah

Zubeen Garg

n 2012, she made headlines when she eloped with her Facebook friend Jackie Zakir taking her two year old daughter from a previous marriage. Soon, she was also the victim of a mob attack following her act. She was also condemned when Congress legislator Kabindra Purkayasha filed an FIR against her alleging that she, along with her second husband, had illegally entered his residence and beat up visitors suspecting them to be involved in the mob attack. This year, she was involved in a car lifting nexus with notorious car-lifter Anil Chauhan who already had the reputation of having stolen 3000 cars. This woman is either looking for trouble or desperately seeking footage!

e don’t say we dislike Zubeen for his attempts at gaining footage, we rather applaud his guts. Recently in his reply to a television channel’s false claim that he was misusing a part of the donations received by him, Zubeen fired back from the stage of a live show that he was not someone to be messed with and

T that he would “shoot” them. On another occasion, on being asked why he climbs the poles erected in his event venues, pat came his reply with a cool counter question. “Bonai kiyo? Nobonabo akou!” (why erect them? just don’t!). Just simply for the cool dude that he is, we give him the footage freak award…. with all our love, of course!

Rajib Prakash Baruah

eems like the other four DAs of Guwahati are not quite interested in the city’s many affairs as much as this gentleman! We are not discouraging. We love the gusto he brings in every time there is a broadcast reporter standing with a blinking camera. We just hope that someday the entire administration comes forward with the same enthusiasm and spirit as Rajib Prakash Baruah does.

he sports pages of local newspapers often seem incomplete without the table tennis association’s supremo, Tridib Duarah’s photo. Also, his association with Oil India Limited as one its main publicity officers does allow him the liberty to be photographed with the big PSU honchos. For his sheer capacity and PR skills to repeatedly appear on the pages of newspapers, Tridib is one of our very respected footage freaks.

Himanta Biswa Sarma

ustic and yet suave with a whole lot of earthy charisma, even with his utterly broken English, his switch to BJP has given him the world of scope to acquire footage across TV screens and channels. And he has exploited it to the hilt. With press conferences galore stating that his political beliefs of 23 years stand redundant because Rahul Gandhi’s dog ate the biscuits that were served with his tea, Himanta is doing his amazing bit for his state. All the footage will be justified or nullified in the coming elections though.

G PLUS JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Citypedia

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Horoscope Aries There’s a major focus on work and you’ll be eager to play an active part. While Mars in Virgo encourages you to put your best foot forward, it might not be so easy when Neptune’s influence comes into play, especially early in the week. Clarity will begin to dawn once Mercury turns direct on Friday. Sunday brings a fabulous opportunity to make a bold move. It also offers a chance to take your business or a key ambition to the next level.

Taurus You could be pushed into making a decision early on, but avoid doing so unless you’re absolutely sure it’s right. Research your options and bide your time for a few more days. Venus dancing into Virgo adds extra sparkle to your romance zone, bringing more opportunities to find that special person or enjoy creative pastimes. Issues associated with lifestyle and health also clear up as Mercury pushes ahead on Friday.

Cancer

Gemini The week begins on an intense note that could affect a budding romance or your performance in a creative or entrepreneurial project. You may feel pressured, but try to avoid making decisions until you’re sure you’re on the right track. You’ll soon notice a difference once Mercury forges ahead on Friday. There may be a chance of a small windfall over the weekend that would make you smile.

You may feel a greater responsibility to get ahead now that Saturn is moving through your work and lifestyle sector. This means you’ll likely be putting more pressure on yourself. Don’t forget to schedule in plenty of leisure time and the chance to relax to avoid burnout. Also avoid signing anything of importance on or around Tuesday, because things may not be what they seem.

Virgo

Leo Go easy with your finances, especially in the early part of the week. And take extra care of your credit cards and personal data. If you need to make a major purchase, keep receipts and any associated paperwork, as there’s the potential for a mishap. At the same time, Jupiter’s presence in your financial sector boosts opportunities to expand your income and enhance business success.

It can be easy to get in a muddle this week, as there is the potential for mixed messages and general misunderstandings. But there’s also a lot that’s exciting and upbeat happening for you in the days ahead. Venus dances back into Virgo on Thursday, making you an attractive option. Money matters will be less subject to delays and frustration once Mercury turns direct on Friday.

Scorpio

Libra

You may feel put upon by family members and pressured into taking a course of action that irks you. A touch of diplomacy can help swing things your way. Later, you’ll find that delays begin to melt away fairly rapidly as Mercury pushes forward, leaving you able to get on with plans and projects that have been on the back burner. If you get an intuitive hunch to go somewhere or connect with someone over the weekend, follow it up.

It’s that time of year when you need to take time out to relax and enjoy life a little. Take stock of all you’ve achieved and look ahead to your goals and plans for the next twelve months. Be sure to leave plenty of opportunity for socializing and leisure, as there’s a powerful lineup that encourages you to meet with others, network, and become part of your community.

Capricorn

Sagittarius The desire to succeed could take on a whole new meaning this week as Mars moves deeper into your career sector. There’s also an exciting aspect involving Jupiter, which could see you latch on to a brilliant idea and eager to take it further. This might involve a business plan or an insight into your career or industry that could see you doing very well further down the line. Avoid making any impulsive moves, however.

Avoid making important decisions early in the week, as you may lack critical information. Research your options and you’ll make a wise choice. Romance may show up when you’re on a trip or in an academic setting. Even so, it could take some time to develop into a close, intimate relationship. The weekend brings some exciting times as you have a chance to put a plan to the test.

Pisces

Aquarius

Sudoku

Others may be only too willing to offer practical advice this week, especially if they think you’re heading in the wrong direction. They may be right, but they might not understand exactly what you have in mind. Avoid making decisive moves until later in the week. Finances look set to improve as Mercury pushes ahead on Friday. Now you can go ahead and purchase big-ticket items or close lucrative deals.

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 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

BLOOD BANK

HOSPITALS

Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) B Baruah Cancer Institute (2472364/66) Brahmaputra Hospital Ltd (2451634/678) Chatribari Christian Hospital 0361-2600051, 92070-44374 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, 098641-03333 Dispur Hospital Reception 97070 20370 82539 99124 361-2235759 (Landline No. / Fax) Hayat Hospital

8011003110 GNRC Hospital 1800-345-0022 (Toll Free) GNRC Ambulance 1800-345-0011 (Toll Free)

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

OTHERS Fire Emergency 101 State Zoo 2201363 GMC Carcass Pickup 9435190720, 9864047222 LPG Emergency/Leakage 2385209, 2541118, LPG Booking (ivr System) 7670024365 Child line Guwahati 1098

GMC helpline number for garbage collection

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

Vigilance and anti corruption toll free number

8811007000

1800-345-3767 police station

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

last week solution

Go easy with money matters early on, as there’s a potential for mistakes. If you’re thinking of purchasing a big-ticket item, hold back for a few days and look into your reasons for wanting it in the first place. You might be able to save some cash. Travel plans look promising, too, especially once Mercury turns direct. The chance of a relaxing break could do you a world of good. Later, an intuitive idea could help enhance your income and take it to a new level.

AMBULANCE

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 JAN 02 - JAN 08, 2016

Catching Up Most shared story of the week Himanta Biswa Sarma is known for his ‘not so subtle’ political statements. This time, the BJP leader very casually said, ‘After I come back to Guwahati, the Police can arrest me, No Problem’. He made this statement when whispers about his arrest were churning in the rumour mills. G PLUS Social Media handle was the first to break the news and naturally, the post got fans excited. facebook.com/guwahatiplus twitter.com/guwahatiplus

Guwahati

New

Chic

on the block

Kinnori gogoi About Me

GYAN

Did you know?

St. Joseph’s Church

Hey guys! I’m Kinnori Gogoi. I am a student of Gauhati Commere College and currently pursuing HS 2nd Year. I love to dance and I am extremely passionate about it. I have completed my training in Sattriya dance and now I am trying to pursue modern dance professionally.

Mojo

ne of the oldest and prominent churches of Guwahati, the history of St. Joseph church goes back to 1850 when three missionaries of the Institute of Foreign Missions of Paris set up chapels in Guwahati and Nagaon. In 1877, Fr. Broy built the church of Panbazar and dedicated it to Saint Joseph. Over the years the church has evolved a lot. The previous church which was located in the football ground of Don Bosco School had an

Assam type construction was made of wood and bamboo that suffered damages in the 1897 earthquake. In the year 1998, the Salesians of Don Bosco decided to build a bigger church in order to cater to the needs of the growing community. The older structure was pulled down in October 1988 and the foundation stone for the present structure was laid on 6th October, 1990 by Archbishop Hubert D’Rosario of Shillong.

The support from my friends and family has kept me going strong and I know if they continue to do so, there is no hurdle that I won’t be able to jump over.

Route in the Woods

I know that a couple of years down the line, I would love to see myself pursue acting professionally. I really want to step into Bollywood someday.

Ka m u r of the week

olitical parties have all the rights to protest and demonstrate peacefully. But in the name of political events, the citizens and common people should not be affected or jeopardized. This week, BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma’s supporters were really a pain for many. On Thursday, when Himanta arrived at LGBI Airport, scores of his supporters thronged the place and in the rush some private and public property was damaged. The supporters were callously good enough to compensate the loss by just leaving some money behind.

PIC OF THE

WEEK

WHAT DID I JUST HEAR?

alking of stupid comments, on 27th December, Congress leader Nilamoni Sen Deka took the cake when, at a public rally in Nalbari, he said that the union HRD minister, Smriti Irani is the second wife of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The New Year Sprit. 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