G Plus Vol 3 Issue 20 by G Plus

recipe of the week PG 18

Railway budget announced - North Guwahati to get World Class terminal

Priyashree Baruah New Chic on the block

PG 11

Page 23

VOLUME 03 | ISSUE 20 FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

PRICE `10

Mysterious gas wreaks havoc in city

07 GMC to implement PMAY project in the city soon

Is Gogoi’s metro rail foundation a pre-poll gimmick?

04 City’s hoardings & signboards defaced for failing to incorporate Assamese within deadline

In conversation

Question paper leakage puts AHSEC in poor light

Atul Bora

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Lead Story

Is Gogoi’s metro rail foundation a pre-poll gimmick?

rahul chanda

fter the CM’s declaration, Government of Assam submitted a concept paper to the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India requesting for inclusion of Guwahati city in the metro map. The Concept Paper prepared by GMDA submitted to Government of India was approved in March, 2013. MoUD, Government of India approved the project for preparation of Feasibility Study and Detailed Project Report (DPR) in July, 2013. Finally the DPR of the first phase of metro was submitted to GMDA and further submitted to government of Assam, which was approved by the Cabinet recently. Interestingly according to sources in the GMDA, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will lay the foundation stone of the MRTS on 29th February at Khanapara. But will the state government construct the metro all by itself in view of the fact that the central government has not till now sanctioned any money for the construction or it is an election gimmick? G Plus takes a look.

Detailed Project Report The preliminary report of the feasibility study was submitted to GMDA and according to the report metro rail is feasible for Guwahati. RITES (a government undertaking) received the proceeding notice on 23rd June 2014, and after completing the feasibility study the presentation was made before the Chief Minister on 30th April 2015. The monitoring committee approved the report on 25th May 2015. RITES then started working on the DPR and finally the DPR was submitted to the state authorities in January 2016. The monitoring and the advisory committee comprising members from all the stake holders in Assam reviewed the DPR and asked for incorporating necessary changes. RITES made the changes and the state cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Tarun Gogoi approved the DPR for MRTS on 20th February. The DPR was prepared for the first phase of MRTS construction covering 61.4 kms out of the total corridor length of 203 kms which will be prepared in three phases. But what all will be the route of the first phase and what is the budget? What will be

With the first phase of metro rail construction expected to start from January 2017 after a series of vital exercises, the state government plans on laying the foundation stone without any funds sanctioned Final DPR submitted in January 2016

State government approved the DPR on 20th January 2016 Principal approval by GoI is expected in June 2016 (after assembly elections) Appointment of interim consultant will be done in September 2016

Key plan showing proposed phase-1 MRTS network

the capacity of the rail constructed? What will be the power consumption? G Plus tries to explore.

The route In the first phase 61.4 kms will be covered and the metro rail route will be constructed in four corridors. Corridor 1 – Dharapur to Narangi (Elevated) – 22.6 km Corridor 2 – MG Road (essentially Kachari) to Khanapara (Underground) – 10.0 km Corridor 3 – Jalukbari to Khanapara (Elevated) – 19.4 km Corridor 4 – ISBT to Paltan Bazar (Elevated) – 9.4 km Three Railway Safety System (RSS) are proposed to avail power supply for traction as well as auxiliary services from the Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Limited (AEGCL) grid sub-stations at 400 KV/220KV/132KV voltages through transmission lines or cable feeders. According to GMDA sources the DPR says that the metro rails will be constructed in a very modern way and every rail will have three car racks with a carrying capacity of

Cost Component

Corridor Corridor 1 2

Corridor 4

Corridor Total 4

Construction cost including land

4853

3882

3312

1675

13722

Land cost

235

155

160

646

Construction cost excluding land

4618

3786

3157

1515

13076

Taxes

596

323

414

201

1533

Central taxes

501

320

340

165

1326

State taxes

206

Total cost with land and taxes

5449

4205

3726

1876

15255

Total cost with central taxes only

5354

4202

3652

1840

15048

975 passengers. It will have automatic fare collection system. Communication based Train control (CBTC) signalling system will be designed.

Budget According to the DPR the capital cost of the project at prices of products in December 2015 is estimated at Rs. 13722 crores. But there are also other costs which will increase the budget. With escalation factor of 5% per annum, (considering year 2017 – 2023) the completion cost of the project including land and with all the taxes is estimated at Rs. 18020 crores. So the first phase metro rail is approximately estimated to be constructed with Rs. 18000 crores.

Funding According to GMDA sources, the funding is proposed to be shared between state and the central government and also with loan assistance - Government of India (GoI) and Government of Assam (GoA) to contribute equity of Rs. 6950 crores which is 40% of the total completion cost. This means that GOI will share 20% each of the total cost amounting to Rs. 3475 crores which include Rs. 2675 crores (15.40%) as equity and Rs. 800 crores (4.60%) as subordinate debt for central taxes. GoA will also contribute equal amounts towards equity and subordinate debt for central taxes. In addition GoA will provide subordinate debt of Rs. 646 crores towards land required for the project. Through means of innovative financing, local bodies will contribute Rs. 350 crores (2.01%) towards project completion cost. Remaining project cost of Rs. 10074 crores (57.93%) is to be funded through soft loans from funding agencies.

Implementation plan The special purpose vehicle (SPV) named GMRC (Guwahati Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.) has been set up with the mandate to establish, operate and maintain guided urban transit systems in and around Guwahati City so as to meet the urban transport needs of Guwahati. The DPR suggests a two-tier organisation with well-defined responsibilities for getting this project executed. At the apex will be the GMRC – a lean but effective organisation with full mandate and total power and accountability. The second level will be a project management team called the general consultants who will be engaged by the GMRC on contract basis and who will be fully responsible for planning, design and project management. High powered committee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary, Assam should be set up. Other members of the committee may be the secretaries of the concerned departments of the state government and heads of civic bodies who will be connected in one way or the other with the implementation of the project. At the Central Government level an empowered committee, under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary is presently functioning for Delhi Metro project. So, the DPR suggests that the role of this empowered committee is enlarged to include Guwahati Metro project also and the Chief Secretary of Assam should be inducted as a member of the committee. SPV may initiate action for appointment of general consultants for the project management including preparation of tender documents as soon as the DPR is approved by the Government of Assam and the project is approved for construction.

Appointment of civil works to be done in September 2016 Packaging and invitation of bids for priority section to be done in October 2016 Final approval from GoI expected in January 2017 Commencement of civil works on priority section in January 2017 Completion of the project expected in March 2022 State chief minister to lay foundation stone on 29th February, 2016

The CM’s gimmick The Chief Minister is all set to lay the foundation stone of the metro rail on 29th February at Khanapara. Now interestingly, the DPR for the first phase metro has just been approved by the cabinet on 20th February, the SPV is yet to be formed, the central government is yet to approve the DPR, the tendering process is yet to be done and funds are yet to be sanctioned. So in spite of all these activities which is awaited for the Guwahatians’ metro rail dream to be realized, the chief minister will lay the foundation stone for the metro rail. According to GMDA sources, in Jaipur the construction of metro rail was started by the state government and later the central government became a partner. This could be initiated in Guwahati too but the state government meanwhile is protesting against the centre for not releasing funds. So in this situation will the CM’s stunt of wooing the voters by laying just the foundation stone help or create one more controversy? rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

In The News

Question paper leakage puts AHSEC in poor light

Leakage of question paper is a matter of concern and the Government has ordered a probe into the issue

Juthika Baruah

HS Physics paper rescheduled to 17th March The paper which was to be conducted on 24th February was leaked The leaked paper went viral through Whatsapp Messenger G Plus Photo

uestion paper leakage of the board exams has become an issue of concern and the state council has failed to maintain security of the papers which has come as an undue harassment for the students. The Physics test of Class XII which was to be conducted on 24th February has been postponed to 17th March as the paper was leaked before the commencement of the exam and had been circulated through Whatsapp Messenger. Speaking to G Plus, Controller of Examination, Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) Jyoti Kalita said, “We are feeling bad about the incident as examination is a very holy thing. We are taking it seriously and have launched an enquiry into the matter. We have received the information about the leakage of question paper from Hatsingimari, the district headquarters of South

Salmara, Mancachar District and Dhubri town, the district headquarters of Dhubri District. There are certain guidelines to collect the question papers which are kept in the police stations or treasuries and the question paper can be taken to the examination centre only one hour before the exam by the Principal or by the authorised teacher in the presence of the police officer.” Kalita said, “An enquiry has been launched to find out whose fault it was and our team has visited the spot to enquire about the entire issue. At first we were not certain about the authenticity of the information even though the principal of Bhola Nath College, Dhubri, Dhruba Chakravarty sent the question paper through Whatsapp Messenger. We examined the paper quality, the colour of the question paper and after it matched we were confirmed that the paper was

leaked. We immediately cancelled the examination.” The Controller stated that it’s very unfortunate that such an incident took place and it’s a serious issue as for someone’s fault all the students had to suffer. “Our staffs are working hard to conduct the examination smoothly but there are people who want to jeopardize the examinations with such misdeeds. The examination committee of the council has also held a meeting and informed education minister Sarat Borkatoky and the minister has ordered a probe into the matter. Only after the enquiry will it come to light whether the question paper was leaked from the police station or from other source. The chief minister of Assam has also ordered a high level enquiry into the incident and also said that if necessary a CID level enquiry will also be conducted.

Kalita also said that it is matter of concern as to how such incidents take place after so much of security. “The bundles of question paper are sealed and wrapped properly and we are very strict in conducting the examination. The examinations are directly related to the future of the students and such misdeeds bring a bad effect to the society as well. From the next time we will have to be stricter and anyone doing such misdeeds will be suspended,” said Kalita. He said that the next examination will be conducted on 17th March and that a gap has been given to the students so that the state of mind of the students becomes stable to appear in the examination. Moreover, the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) also condemned the incident saying that such type of incidents that plays with the lives of the students will not be toler-

ated. AASU President, Dipanka Nath, said that strict punishment should be meted out to the culprit so that no such incidents take place in the future. A student of Cotton College, lamenting on the incident, said that for one such wrong deed the students who work so hard have to suffer. “The students study hard to attain good results and there are students who also work and such type of offences hamper their preparations. Our concentration level breaks and it’s very difficult to bring back the concentration while fearing that the other papers might also get leaked.” The Higher Secondary examination which started on 15th February will end on 8th March. Around 2.45 lakhs students appeared in the examination in 820 centres and the Physics paper will be held on 17th March. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

Weather report for the week SAT 27 February

SUN 28 February

MON 29 February

TUE 01 March

WED 02 March

THU 03 March

FRI 04 March

Sunny

Mostly sunny.

Sunny

14 / 25 °C

14 / 26 °C

15 / 25 °C

14 / 27 °C

14 / 29 °C

15 / 31 °C

16 / 30 °C

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

In The News

GMC to implement PMAY project in the city soon

Juthika Baruah

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) will be implemented soon in the city in order to meet the housing requirement of the urban poor PMAY scheme “Housing for All by 2022” to be implemented soon in the city The scheme will have three categories: Credit link subsidy scheme, Affordable Housing in Partnership and Self Construction Rs. 140 crores has been sanctioned by the Central Government for the state of Assam Economically backward classes and lower income group people will get the benefit A slum in Guwahati - G Plus Photo

ith the launching of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the city’s housing requirement for the urban poor including the slum dwellers will come to an end and in order to achieve the objective the Central Government has started the mission ‘Housing for All by 2022.’ The PMAY project will cover two categories- economically weaker section and lower income group section and the survey for both the categories has already been completed. It has been essentially mentioned that it should have toilet facility and the houses should be designed and constructed to meet the requirements of structural safety against earthquake, flood, cyclone, landslides etc. conforming to the National Building code and other relevant Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) codes. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) is about to submit the Housing for All Plan of Action under PMAY within this month. “After the demand survey, cross verification list with the socio-economic caste census data will be done after which the final list of the beneficiaries will be pre-

pared. The list will be provided to the state government for approval and for the state’s share of fund,” informed an official of GMC. According to the source there will be three categories in which the beneficiaries will be provided the facility: Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) and Beneficiary led individual house construction or enhancement. “The credit link subsidy will be provided to the beneficiaries of economically weaker section and low income group seeking housing loans from banks, housing finance companies and other such institutions would be eligible for an interest subsidy at the rate of 6.5% for tenure of 15 years or during tenure of loan whichever is lower. The Net Present Value (NPV) of the interest subsidy will be calculated at a discount rate of 9%,” the source informed. The credit link subsidy will be available only for loan amounts up to Rs. 6 lakhs and additional loan beyond Rs. 6 lakhs if any, will be at non-subsidized rate. Interest subsidy will be credited upfront to the loan account of beneficiaries through lending insti-

There will be three categories in which the beneficiaries will be provided the facility: Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) and Beneficiary led individual house construction or enhancement tutions resulting in reduced effective housing loan and Equated Monthly Instalment (EMI). Credit linked subsidy would be available for housing loans availed for new construction and addition of rooms, kitchen, toilet etc. to existing dwellings as incremental housing. The carpet area of houses being constructed under this component of the mission should be up to 30 square metres and 60 square metres for EWS and LIG, respectively in order to avail of this credit linked subsidy. The beneficiary, at his/her discretion, can build a house of larger area but interest subvention would be limited to first Rs. 6 lakh only. The source further informed that if anyone is willing to take the self-construction method they will be

provided a fund of Rs. 1 lakh which is from the Central share. The state government is yet to be approved and after the approval the amount will be more. The Central Government has approved Rs. 140 crore for the state under this scheme. Here people will be able to improve a part of their house such as toilet, kitchen or one or two rooms. If one doesn’t have the toilet or the kitchen they will be able to construct it with the fund that will be provided to them. “The survey has been conducted by the NGOs associated with the Mission Clean Guwahati along with the ward councillors and Area Sabha representatives. The scheme, with all its components, became effective from July last year and will be implemented by 31st March,

2022,” the source added. The affordable housing project is a mix of houses for different categories but it will be eligible for central assistance, if at least 35% of the houses in the project are for EWS category and a single project has at least 250 houses. Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) however, can reduce the requirement of minimum number of houses in one project on the request of the state government. Allotment of houses to identified eligible beneficiaries in AHP projects should be made following a transparent procedure as approved by SLSMC and beneficiaries selected should be part of HFAPoA. Preference in allotment may be given to physically handicapped persons, senior citizens, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minority, single women, transgender and other weaker and vulnerable sections of the society. While making the allotment, the families with differently-abled persons and senior citizens may be allotted house preferably on the ground floor or lower floors. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

In The News

City’s hoardings & signboards defaced for failing to incorporate Assamese language within deadline

AYM has taken a drive to blacken the hoardings & signboards which have not yet incorporated the regional language Juthika Baruah AYM undertakes drive to blacken those hoardings which have failed to meet the deadline for incorporating Assamese language The drive will be a continuous process to compel the traders to incorporate Assamese AYM members defacing a hoarding

fter the Kamrup (M) District Administration’s notification of converting the signboards and hoardings in the city to Assamese by 31st January, the Asomiya Yuba Mancha (AYM) has taken in upon itself to paint the errant hoardings in black. Since 19th February, the AYM has taken out a drive to blacken the hoardings, signboards etc. which have not incorporated Assamese as was instructed by the administration. On a notice issued by the district administration last month ordering that all the commercial, semi-commercial, government and non-government institutions should use Assamese as the primary language in the signage and hoardings and as most of the organisations have failed to meet the demand of the administration on time, the AYM has taken the initiative of defacing the same by painting it black. Speaking to G Plus, Chief Secretary of AYM Jitul Deka said, “The district administration had given a deadline of 31st January to make the hoardings in Assamese and we have also distributed leaflets to the organisations to implement the regional language in the signboards, hoardings, advertisements etc. on 4th February. The signage/hoardings which have not yet incorporated the regional language have been painted black so that the regional language gets implemented on it. On 19th February we have taken the drive from Maligaon to Lachit Nagar and our drive will continue till the entire city

G Plus Photo

implements the Assamese language on the signage and hoardings.” Deka said, “implementing of Assamese language is to respect the regional language as the mother tongue itself is vanishing from our society. Many organisations have taken it seriously after the drive has been undertaken and it will be a continuous process. It is not a one-time initiative that once it will be done and after a certain period of time it will be forgotten.” Replying to a comment of a citizen who asked whether the initiative has been taken genuinely or is it just a political gimmick that has been taken out suddenly, Deka said that there is a section of people who will make it controversial but that doesn’t mean that we will deny the fact. “In other states, the signboards and hoardings are all in the regional language. Most of the people visit outside and they bring back memories with them by clicking a photograph in front of the signage or hoarding written in regional language which identifies the state. The hoardings of South Asian Games had been made in English but if it had been made in Assamese the players could have taken memories with them from here that they have visited Assam for such a big sporting event,” Deka added. He further stated that it is not that it will carry a wrong message to the tourist as they will be unable to identify which language it is written in. “We are not against other languages but the regional language should be known by all and we have

not said that the hoardings and banners should be written completely in Assamese. Rather the regional language should be given priority and it can also have English or Hindi in it. And if other languages are there why wouldn’t the tourist be able to read or understand it?” Deka asserted. On the other hand, the global companies are seeking a government circular so that they can send the approval for the change of hoardings to the headquarters. “As we are a global company we cannot change the hoardings on our own. The logo, size all are approved by the headquarters and even the space left on both the sides in the hoardings are specified by them. I have been repeatedly asking the administration to provide us with a circular so that we can change the hoardings and signboards to make it in Assamese which needs an approval by the head office. One hoarding costs around Rs. 1-1.5 lakhs and the company is ready to bear the loss but they need a circular as to how authentic the order is,” said an employee of a German-based company. An official of the district administration said that the global companies need an excuse and the government notification is itself a circular. “No separate circular is necessary and those companies who come to loot Assam make excuses which won’t be accepted. The administration has given a deadline of 31st January and as the special squad has been formed the hoardings/banners will be enforced if they cannot change the same as the deadline has got over. The companies

who are running their business here in the city will have to follow the instructions of the administration,” the official said. Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Narayan Knowar, said that they will issue notice to the traders from the next financial year when the trade licenses will be required to be renewed. It will be during the renewal of the licenses that certain guidelines will be given to them. If they violate the rules the licenses will be cancelled.

GMC will give new guidelines from the next financial year No separate circular will be provided to the global companies which require clearance from their head offices juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Governance

War memorial is necessary where a nation has gone for a war on its own

Former DGP, Assam

Juthika Baruah

Construction of war memorial has been put on hold by Gauhati High Court Civic bodies opposed the construction of the memorial saying that it will destroy the heritage site No concrete construction will be allowed in Dighalipukhuri 90% of the work has been completed Proposed war memorial at Dighalipukhuri G Plus Photo

Based on a PIL, GHC has put the construction of the war memorial on hold as the civic bodies opposing it say that it will destroy the heritage site

auhati High Court (GHC) halts the construction of the war memorial at Dighalipukhuri based on a PIL filed by the senior citizens of the city led by Dr. Hiren Gohain, Dinesh Baishya, Manjit Mahanta and Harekrishna Deka. The war memorial, of which 90% of the work had been completed, has been kept on hold as a section of the people opposed the construction saying that it will destroy the heritage site. “There is a legend that the Dighalipukhuri pond had been created by Bhagadatta and that a canal was dug from the Brahmaputra River during the Ahom rule. It also has a link with the other water bodies and there is also a link with the environment. The restaurant in Dighalipukhuri has already hampered the environment. It’s not only the eco-system but also the environment needs to be preserved. The Government has taken a wrong step by permitting them to construct a restaurant,” said senior citizen and former DGP, Assam Police, Harekrishna Deka while speaking to G Plus. Deka also said that the heritage site will be lost with the construction of such restaurants or a war memo-

rial. “Today they have constructed the restaurant, the war memorial has been constructed and in future some other parties will come and construct some other edifice which will not be acceptable as it will destroy the environment. The construction of war memorial has already hampered the site,” Deka added. He further said that according to the Water Body Act, the water bodies should not be tampered with. Most of the water bodies in the city have been hampered and now the Dighalipukhuri has also been tampered with. “The pond which is related to heritage should not be touched. We have not only opposed the construction of the war memorial but also the construction of the restaurant and we will object to any construction in the future as it will destroy the heritage site of the pond. Anything related to heritage should not be destroyed; rather it should be preserved. The history of Assam is not related to wars and it is not linked with the history of the independence of the country. India is not a war mongering nation. It has not seen a full-scale war that we need a war memorial. War memorial is necessary where a nation has gone for a war on its own,”

said Deka. He further added that it should be left as a free space and the whole issue is now subjudice. A PIL has been filed and now it will be the decision of the GHC whether it should be necessary or not. Also a delegation had met the Chief Minister regarding the war memorial and the CM said that it will not be allowed but the Government has not kept his words. The chief minister does not have any value for his words. He should have taken the statements of both the parties before permitting them to construct the memorial.

On the other hand, Director of the Directorate of Sainik Welfare, Commodore KC Choudhury said, “We have put the construction of the war memorial on hold as per the direction of the GHC. I will abide by the law and will not violate any rule. 90% of the work has been completed which will go into loss if the court orders the demolition of the construction. The budget of the project is Rs. 7.5 crores and Rs. 3.60 crores has already been spent in the project. The Dighalipukhuri pond in on Daag No. 244 and we have constructed the memorial on Daag No. 242 and 243

“Amar Jawan“ G Plus Photo

Rs. 3.60 crores already spent in the project which has a total budget of Rs. 7.5 crores which means we have not touched the pond. We will also recommend a sub-committee to involve in the dayto-day work of the memorial and the locals will be included.” Choudhury said, “A war memorial committee was formed in 2014 and the project has been started with the approval of the GMC and GMDA as per government notification. The war memorial will have the statue of Bir Lachit Borphukan and we also proposed that we will join the existing concrete pathway with the war memorial so that people could take a round of the park. People will get to know about the history of Assam as many people do not know about the real heroes of the state who sacrificed their lives. There will be a tiger hill, a tank and an aircraft and children would gain knowledge out of it. Moreover, the Chairman of GMDA, Dhiren Baruah, said that the Sainik Welfare has never taken the permission of the authority nor did they give any permission for the war memorial. The chairman said that as it has become a High Court case, the court will decide whether the construction is to be done or not. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Mysterious gas wreaks havoc in city

Matter under investigation after DC orders probe

tioned Rajesh Hazarika, a resident of Silpukhuri, adding that the stench lasted till the next morning. The demise of Bimala Debi (75), a resident of the Silpukhuri area, is also attributed to the mysterious gas leakage as the victim discharged foam from her mouth during her last moments. As stated by a relative, Bimala was physically fit on the day of her demise and did not show any sign of ailment. Bimala was immediately rushed to GMC Hospital but she breathed her last on the way. However, the actual cause of her demise will remain in the dark as the body of the victim was already cremated before the police was informed and so, a post-mortem could not be carried out.

Role of Guwahati Refinery

People in the Chandmari, Silpukhuri and Chenikuthi area rushed out of their houses after a foul smelling gas engulfed the area.

late-night incident of gas leakage engulfed several areas causing health problems to many residents of Chandmari, Silpukhuri, Nabagraha and Chenikuthi on Friday, 19th February. A number of people in the localities were affected by the mysterious leakage including the death of an elderly woman which has been attributed to the same by the local residents. The district administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident of alleged gas leakage. Lakshminandan Saharia, Circle Officer and Executive Magistrate, is probing the matter in coordination with police and Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA).

The Incident On Friday night at around 1:30 am people were jolted out of their sleep by a pungent odour. Local residents said the toxic odour was

so strong that many people had difficulty in breathing while many vomited. There were also many who complained of chest pain due to inhalation of the toxic gas. Initially, the doubt was of leakage in the household LPG cylinders following which many residents of the Chandmari area rushed into their kitchens to check on any kind of leakage. There were also many who checked their vehicles to determine the source of the smell. However, nothing was found. People soon rushed out to the open to avoid any kind of mishap due to the gaseous smell. It was also doubted that there might have been a gas leakage in the neighbouring houses but after realizing the intensity of the odour it was soon understood that the smell emerged from a different source. “The smell had become unbearable and we were finding it difficult to breathe. It continued for several hours. We had informed the Chand-

mari Police Station, but the source of the foul smell is yet to be ascertained,” said Bani Ram Mahanta, a resident of the Chandmari area. Echoing similar views, residents of Silpukhuri mentioned that the smell was much stronger than LPG. Residents also mentioned that many physically healthy people had problem in breathing and suffered from chest pain due to the foul smell. “It was around 2 am when I first experienced the unbearable, foul smell. It was much stronger than LPG but our first move was to check out the cylinders. On affirming that the smell was not from the cylinder at home I called up our neighbours and friends to check on them and they also mentioned similar problem. As we rushed out to the open we felt that the stench was much stronger outside. The police and the fire department were immediately informed but the source of the stench could not be determined,” men-

Following the mysterious gas leakage the needle of suspicion pointed towards Guwahati Refinery. Many residents suspected that the source of leakage was at the refinery. However, representatives of the refinery have dismissed the same stating that no such smell was experienced in the nearby areas such as Noonmati or within a 5-km radius of the refinery. “Although the people of the Chandmari area had experienced the smell but people residing near the refinery as well those working inside the premises did not experience any such smell. There are so many chemicals that can discharge irritating smell so it is hard to tell which particular chemical had caused the smell. Within a 5-km radius of the refinery there was no such smell experienced. We are also curious to find out what caused the smell,” mentioned an official of Guwahati Refinery.

Probe on the incident The Kamrup (M) district administration has ordered an inquiry into the suspected gas leakage. Guwahati Revenue Circle Officer, Lakhinandan Saharia, a team comprising of officials of the pollution control board and the police have been assigned to probe into the incident and will submit a report on the same in a week. “Investigation in the matter in coordination with PCBA is underway. The investigating team has visited the affected areas and the team is collecting relevant materials from there. We believe that we will get some confirmation as to the cause of the gas leakage within a day or two,” Saharia stated. The administration and the police however are clueless to the development till the filing of this report. It also merits mention that the area does not have a pipeline that could be the source of leakage.

City

KALYAN DEB

A mysterious gas engulfed areas of Chandmari, Silpukhuri, Nabagraha and Chenikuthi late night on Friday, 19th February As stated by locals the stench jolted them out of their sleep between 1 am and 2 am The gas caused health problems to many such as vomiting, chest pain and problem in breathing The death of Bimala Debi, a resident of Silpukhuri who breathed her last in the same timeline, is being attributed to the gas leakage While fingers were raised towards Guwahati Refinery, officials dismissed the same stating that no such smell was experienced within a 5-km radius of the refinery District administration has ordered a probe into the incident which is being investigated in coordination with Pollution Control Board of Assam According to officials of the administration a result is expected within a day or two kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

City

City hosts first ever expo on fire, safety and homeland security

KALYAN DEB

uwahati witnessed the first ever expo with an exhibition and conference on fire and homeland security. Nexgen Exhibitions, in association with Foundation for Police Research, held the NEFSEC EXPO 2016 (National Expo on Fire, Safety and Homeland Security 2016) that was organized in the backdrop of several incidents of insurgency that has been a major concern for the northeast region. The Northeast is also considered as one of the most sensitive areas of the country on the security front. Thus the expo focused on homeland security by central as well as state governments. The one of its kind exhibition inaugurated by Harekrishna Deka, former DGP, Assam on Tuesday, 23rd February in the presence of F.D. Sangma, Inspector General, Meghalaya Police, Mithilesh Kumar, Group Commandant, CISF, Prof. Archana Sharma, Department of Economics, Gauhati University and Tapan Chakrabarty, Executive Director, Foundation for Police Research. Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, chief guest Harekrishna Deka mentioned that the problem of insurgency in the state began after the period of Assam agitation and the police and various other forces did their best to bring the situation under control. “The government has to work hand in hand with the security

One of the stalls at the expo G Plus Photo

forces to bring problems of insurgency under control. There have been a lot of improvisations but the technologies have to be upgraded with developing techniques. Through this exhibition we are expecting up-gradation in the technologies,” the former DGP stated. F.D. Sangma, IG Meghalaya Police stated, “There were times when the police had to tackle insurgents with very outmoded weapons where-

as the insurgents carried AK-47s. However, times have changed and with the development in technology, police and other forces are well equipped to tackle such situations. I hope in times to come the government will also contribute more towards providing upgraded equipment to the various forces.” The three-day exhibition that concluded on 25th February show-

cased the latest and modern equipment and technology for Fire, Safety, Security, Emergency and Disaster Management, Body Armor, Surveillance Technology, Covert Communication Technology, Detection Systems, Navigation and GPS Systems, Training Simulation, First Aid for Police and Armed Forces, Night Vision and other optic solutions. The Expo also aimed towards introducing better and modern technology equip-

ment for the forces, which will enable them to prepare and handle the surge of various threats to the states like terrorism, disaster, homeland and internal security. Being the Northeast’s only exhibition on homeland security it witnessed participation of various forces like state police forces, Assam Rifles, SSB, CISF, CRPF, ITBP including State Disaster Management Authorities, PSU’s, Industrial Establishments, etc. NEFSEC is an endeavor to provide a platform to the suppliers and procurement departments of the respective forces who attended the event and will abridge the identification and technical assessment of the required products. Speaking at the event, Nexgen Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd. Exhibition Director, Mukesh Kharia said, “Safety, security and disaster management are of utmost priority to the north-eastern state governments. Keeping the current issues pertaining to security, safety, counter-terrorism, and disasters and emergency management, this expo will provide excellent opportunity for the stakeholders to discuss and witness the latest technology.” NEPL is led by a team of professionals and has held similar exhibitions in New Delhi, Chennai, Thailand and Vietnam. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

The dark side of SAG: Volunteers exploited, still await payment

KALYAN DEB

he recently held 12th South Asian Games (SAG) concluded amidst fanfare, magnificent fireworks and a display of the diverse and colourful cultures of northeast India. The ceremony also saw hundreds of the Games’ volunteers dancing and singing in joyous mood to the rendition of Games’ song ‘Ei Prithbi Krirangan’ but little did they know about the trouble awaiting them after the Games ended. There is no denying the fact that the volunteers played a vital role in the successful conduct of the games but their payments have not been cleared in full for the services they rendered even after several days of the conclusion of the Games. This resulted in their staging a protest demonstration at Nidhi Bhawan, the office of the SAG Organizing Committee at Borsajai,‬ demanding release of their pending daily allowances. While addressing the Volunteers’ Training Programme, Sarbananda Sonowal had stated that volunteers have to play a major role during the Games as they serve as crucial guides

SAG volunteers stage protest at Nidhi Bhawan for all participants. While the volunteers did their part to perfection the organizing committee has failed to do theirs. Throughout the Games the white jersey troops could be seen managing every aspect of the event. While much was promised to the volunteers nothing has been fulfilled so far. Prior to the Games the volunteers were promised a fee of Rs. 500 per day along with transport facility and SIM cards for those volunteer-

ing in the communications wing but these were not provided to them during the Games. The volunteers were allotted shifts of 8 hours that often exceeded by several hours. The volunteers were asked to reach the venue two hours prior to any event. Eventually with the commuting time and everything the shift exceeded to more than twelve hours. They even had to buy their food and drinking water.

“There was no one who could point us in the right direction. We had trouble reaching the venues as we had to travel at our own expense. Moreover, we had to reach the venue at 7 am and everyday it was past 10:30 pm by the time we reached home. Even the names in the accreditation cards were wrong. While we were informed that our allotted venues would remain the same throughout the Games we were relocated sever-

al times. Since the card mentioned our allotted venues so while we were shifted to a different venue we had problem in getting access to the venues. Giving our attendances also became very troublesome after the allotted venues were shifted,” stated a volunteer. The volunteers were also told that all payments would be made by 19th February while the other proceedings would be concluded by 27th February. The organizing committee had approached several educational institutions such as the Mass Communication department of Gauhati University and Idol Academy. It was evident that majority of the volunteers were students and from the picture emerging so far it is apparent that they have been exploited by the organizers. Meanwhile, it has been informed by the organizers that payments for more than 350 volunteers had reached the bank for payments into their accounts on Friday and matters will be sorted out by Saturday. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Local campuses express solidarity with JNU Colleges in Guwahati condemn the central government’s action on JNU students Gauhati University throws up difference of opinions; maintains that anti-national elements need to face the right kind of punishment

n just a period of two months, a student leader was led to kill himself, another student leader was arrested on charges of sedition, hundreds beaten up on the streets of the capital and major media houses stand divided leaving people no idea as to what to believe in, no options to negotiate and no platforms to discuss. A recent video clip that surfaced in social media questioned students in and around New Delhi regarding the JNU row. A couple of youngsters’ prompt reply that Afzal Guru was a politician and a revolutionary was shocking for its ignorance and led us to check out the local campuses in an attempt to understand where the college students of Guwahati stood for far as the controversy was concerned. Most of the students at least appeared to have their facts correct before passing their judgments. “The JNU row is a domino effect of the instances that happened first in FTII, then IIT-Madras, then Hyderabad University and now it has led to the gates of JNU,” Cotton College General Secretary, Amlanjyoti Dewry, stated matter-of-factly. “The goonda raj of BJP’s youth wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), has gone on for long and now that the BJP is in power, they are misusing it. What happened to Kanhaiya Kumar is a tragic example. What is happening to students like Umar Khalid is outrageous. Student recklessness is being punished with elements of capital punishment. This was not the

SMSS members protesting the JNU incident G Plus Photo

constitution we knew. We used to be a free functioning democracy where students were not dealt with like criminals.” Dewry is a representative of the Satra Mukti Sangram Samiti, the student wing of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti that took out a rally in the city very recently from near Dighalipukhuri to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (M) in protest of the ongoing student crisis in JNU. The rally was also supported by members of the Assam unit of Students’ Federation of India (SFI), former principals of Cotton College

and KMSS adviser, Akhil Gogoi. The purpose of the rally apparently was to tell the people of Assam that the Centre is arresting students who are working for the country. According to KMSS leader, Akhil Gogoi, “The students questioned whether hanging of Afzal Guru was right and sedition charges were slapped on them. Then goons of RSS and BJP attacked Kanhaiya Kumar, students and teachers of JNU and journalists on the premises of the court. The situation is now like the one during Emergency.” Ankit Saikia, President of B. Ba-

rooah College Students’ Union and a member of the National Students’ Union of India, while sharing his thoughts said that the Centre was trying to tap the power of the students and it was a wrong move. “If we students are not allowed to speak our mind, then who will provide a strong opposition to the current government? Freedom of speech is being curbed and the powers are being misused. Students are the future of the country and if our voices are snuffed out, there will be none to oppose. The people in power are going to rule

Akhil Gogoi and other protesters condemning the JNU issue

G Plus Photo

Buzz

Bipasa Saikia Kashyap

without any idea as to how the lowest sections of our society are performing. As a united front, B. Barooah College is condemning the acts of the current government.” However, the Post Graduate Students’ Union (PGSU) wing of Gauhati University seemed to be divided in their opinions. “No one has the right to speak against the nation. The country comes first. A varsity is never above the constitution,” said PGSU president Manab Jyoti Kalita. Condemning the recklessness of student body leaders, GU maintained that the nation comes first before anything and in our Indian judicial system elements of anti-nationalism was never tolerated. Maintaining that no one had the right to speak against the nation, the University has demanded a thorough probe into the events at JNU that led to the arrest of student leader Kanhaiya Kumar. However, he also maintained that if such instances of hooliganism by the AVBP were to happen in GU where students would get hurt, it will not be tolerated. To no one’s surprise, Bittu Dutta, President of the GU unit of the ABVP said that the JNU students were glorifying terrorists like Afzal Guru and that would not be tolerated. “Even after being born and brought up in India, if someone speaks against the country and shouts pro-Pakistan slogans, what can we say about him?” he asked. The recent occurrences in the country have left the nation in a state of shock. The central government’s paranoia is alienating a huge majority the students of our nation from a government which they want to believe in. Slogans were shouted from both sides - be it national or ‘anti.’ As rightly summed up by Cotton College GS, Amlanjyoti, “The Centre should have discussed the problems of students rather than dragging them to jail. This will give rise to agitation and there can be no questions asked about it. Branding student body representatives as anti-national will only brew hatred and anger amongst students. The Central government’s duty is not to arrest students, but to set an example and hold discussions. This will also show the students that the current rule is accepting and welcoming of change. Anti-national statements will never be tolerated, but there are other ways of telling that to students, rather than thrashing them and sending them to jails on charges of sedition. The word sedition is being hugely misinterpreted and because of our Constitution’s inability to properly define it and we are paying the price.” bipasa.saikia@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Concern

Massive imbalance in Pupil Teacher Ratio in Kamrup (M)

Bipasa Saikia Kashyap

than two that don’t even come close to touching the required ratio. A survey was done in the city to measure the imbalance in the division of teachers as per students - government schools like Milan Mes of Ward 22 maintains a ratio of 37:5, Milan Chandi Hindi School of Ward 34 maintains a ratio of 66:7, Happy Villa LPS of Ward 37 maintains a ratio of 34:3.

More than 70% schools in the state do not maintain satisfactory PTR Maligaon Girls School maintains a PTR of 29 pupils to 10 teachers

The issue

More and more teachers applying for jobs in cities; students in villages face major crisis

he Right to Education Act (RTE) states in affirmative tones that every educational institution affiliated to the Central Board is mandated to follow a particular Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR). As per the Act, a PTR of 30:1 for the lower primary and 35:1 for upper primary has been made mandatory for all educational institutions in the country. However, the numbers present a tragic tale in some schools of Kamrup (M). According to a survey done, while schools in bigger cities like Guwahati do maintain a desired PTR, most schools in the interiors are having a major problem. There is at least a single instance of an institution in an interior district of Assam with a PTR of 400:1. This is the direct fallout of more and more teachers applying for transfers to work in the urban areas than in the rural areas making it one of the biggest obstacles to the right to education in Assam.

The Assam Statistics According to statistics, nearly 70% schools in the state do not maintain a

he “CORAS-Pratiksha India Club Tennis-O-Mania 2016”, a tennis carnival for recreational tennis players aged between 40 to 50 years and above began here today at India Club courts. The 3-day tournament is being organized for Senior Men’s Doubles for above 40 years and above 50 years and Mixed Doubles. Altogether 60 senior players from various parts of the region are taking part in it. The tournament is organized to have a carnival atmosphere in the city in the midst of some serious tennis action. The tournament was inaugurated by former national

Empty classroom in one of the schools satisfactory PTR as prescribed in the Right to Education Act (source: Annual Status of Education Report, Assam). According to this report, in 2013, only 31.3% schools of the state were recorded as maintaining the desired PTR. This too, was a drop from the previous year when 35.2% schools maintained the desired PTR. The analysis is based on data from government schools in 21 districts of the state. According to a report, in 2014 an elementary school, Sukharjar Lower Primary School in western Assam’s Barpeta, is believed to have created a record of having 400 students to 1 teacher. On record, the pupil-teacher ratio in lower primary schools in Assam is 26:1 - better than the 30:1 that RTE desires. However, according to Sherman Ali Ahmed who represents the All India United Democratic Front from Baghbor assembly, a constituency in Barpeta District,

averages presents a wrong number, “Averages give the impression that everything is fine with education in Assam. Truth is, for every school with a record of 300 to 400 times more pupils than teachers, there is also one school with more teachers than students,” he stated, which is the same scenario with the situation in Kamrup. According to him, most of the schools with a lopsided pupil-teacher ratio are in Barpeta and Dhubri districts.

The Kamrup (M) Statistics Although there is an immense imbalance in the PTR all over Assam, this is mainly due to the fact that there is an uneven distribution of teachers all over Kamrup (M). If we compare statistics, it has been found that the PTR is usually comparatively much

more in bigger cities, like Guwahati. According to a recent data released by the Unified District Information for Education (U-DISE-2015-16) there are approximately 10 teachers for every 90 students and this is just the average. According to the same report, educational institutions like Maligaon Girls Medium School have a PTR of 29:10. According to the report, almost ninety percent of schools here in Kamrup do not maintain the necessary PTR. If there are some schools, like Chenikuthi Junior School with a PTR of 324:11, there are also schools like Puberun LPS with a PTR of 04:10 in Guwahati itself. According to official sources of the Board of Secondary Education, Assam, this imbalance is mostly happening due to people seeking transfers to preferred urban locations. For every school that maintains a satisfactory PTR, there are more

Tennis carnival under way at India Club

tennis player Mrs. Susan Das Chowdhury in a colourful opening ceremony. Earlier, Mr. Abani Barua, Chairman, Organising Committee, welcomed the gathering. After the inauguration ceremony a special talk on Sports Injuries and Management was delivered by Dr. Arvind Gupta, MS, an eminent Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist from Paras Hospital, Patna. This was a joint effort by India Club and Pratiksha Hospital to reunite the senior

tennis players of the region and to create awareness on prevention of sports injuries and its management. The tournament is also sponsored by Oil India Limited, Airtel, Yo-Chaina and MP Construction. Few matches of all events were played in the flood-lit today. Mr. Kalyan K. Das, Vice-President, India Club, informs in a press release that matches from tomorrow will begin from 9 in the morning.

There is a massive imbalance in the distribution of teachers all over the State. However, what became clear was that this uneven distribution is happening due to one major reason. A lot of teachers who are assigned their posts, after the completion of the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) prefer their locations to be in bigger towns like Guwahati or Sivsagar. A school in Sivsagar, Krishnabari LP School maintains a PTR of 7 to 6 teachers. This is an issue of rising concern. There are over 80 government schools just in Guwahati and according to the Board’s statistics, there are approximately about 1.7 lakhs students enrolled in these schools and most of them are deprived of proper quality education. Most teachers prefer to teach in institutions with locations that suit personal needs. According to the Board, even when the teachers are assigned posts, most teachers apply for transfers to other locations citing personal crisis. The statistics boil down to this - even if there is once school in the city, for example, that maintains a PTR of 20:3 (Uzanbazar Shishu Vidyalaya) there is another that is suffering a crisis of teachers. Apparently the Education Ministry has identified the high and low PTR districts in the State and has and undertaken a process of rationalization of teachers to maintain the balance. However when it comes to the education rights of each and every child in Assam, the statistics still present a bleak picture. bipasa.saikia@g-plus.in

OIL team for PSPB Tennis Meet

he 35th Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) Inter-Unit Tennis Tournament 2015-16 will be hosted by Engineers India Limited (EIL), under the auspices of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) at New Delhi from 29th February 29 4th March 4, 2016. The following players have been selected to represent Oil India Limited (OIL) in the tournament. MEN’S: Chandra Sekhar Mohanty, Angshuman Dutta, Ashim Bharali and Pawan Kumar Singh VETERAN’S: Kalyan Kumar Das, Hakim Ali, Gyan Prakash Saha and Debasish Bora. This was stated in a press release issued by Kalyan Das on behalf of Oil India Limited.

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Railway budget announced - North Guwahati to get World Class terminal T

Bipasa Saikia Kashyap

he Railway Budget announced this week has big plans for the North East - including a world class terminal at Agyathuri (North Guwahati) and several other broad gauge projects. Few hours after the Railway Budget for 2016 was announced, H.K. Jaggi the General Manager for NF Railways, addressed a press conference in the NF Railway Headquarters in Maligaon, Guwahati where he stated that the budget allocated for the NF Railways will not only allow introduction of new tracks, but will lead to all-round development of the railways. Listing out the key highlights of the entire budget, Jaggi mentioned that the North East in particular will be benefited in a lot of ways. “We have been allocated sufficient funds and we have been assured that even later, there will be no dearth of funds for the NFR. This year, there has been a hike of 151% in terms of investment for the NF Railways - this is more than the average investment of the NF Railways from the period 2009 -2014. Also, the Centre has announced that all the capitals of the North Eastern states will be connected by the year 2020.” According to Jaggi, many new plans have been announced for the NF Railways. The biggest project that has been announced is the construction of a world class terminal with provisions for integrated facilities at Agyathuri, situated in the northern bank of Brahmaputra River. The broad gauge from Lumding to Silchar will be opened which will be connecting Barak Valley to the rest of the country. Agartala is to be brought onto the broad gauge network linking it with Guwahati and Delhi. Plans to construct new railway tracks connecting Manipur to other NE states have also been sanctioned. Plans to connect Silchar to Guwahati, Delhi and Kolkata have also been initiated. States of Mizoram and Manipur will shortly come on the broad gauge map of the country with commissioning of the Kathakal-Bhairabi and Arunachal-Jiribam Gauge Conversion projects. Electrification of tracks, according to Jaggi will reach the NF Railways this year. By March 2016 onwards, electrification up to Katihar station is planned and from Katihar to New Jalplaiguri should be electrified by 2017. According to him there are also suggestions in the budget to electrify tracks up to Guwahati and New Bongaigaon by 2018. According to the GM, Guwahati’s terminus will be connected to Tupul, Manipur by 2017, Mizoram by 2019 and Kohima by 2020 as per plans. Track maintenance and safety issues are going to be given topmost priority. Local cuisines are going to be introduced in trains and according to the General Manager, safety issues, especially for trains running in hazardous terrains will be given topmost priority. Key highlights of the Railway Budget, 2016 • No hike in passenger fares • Action has been initiated on 139 bud-

H.K.Jaggi, G M, N.F.Railway addressing media persons at Maligaon Railway HQ get announcements made last year • Eliminate all unmanned level crossings by 2020 • Swacch Bharat: 17000 bio-toilets and additional toilets in 475 stations before the close of this financial year • Increased quota for senior citizens and women travellers this year • Wifi at 100 stations this year and 400 stations next year • Enhanced capacity of e-ticketing system from 2,000 tickets/min to 7,200/ min. Supporting 1.2 lakh concurrent users now, as opposed to 40,000 earlier • All major stations to be brought under CCTV surveillance in a phased manner • Deen Dayal coaches for long distance trains for unreserved passengers. These coaches will include potable water and higher number of mobile charging points • IRCTC to manage catering service in phased manner. Local cuisine of choice will be made available to passengers • Cleaning of toilets by requests through SMS • Children’s menu, baby foods, baby boards to be made available for travelling mothers • GPS-based digital display in coaches for showing upcoming stations • Will open cancellation facility through 139 helpline number • Introduce bar-coded tickets on pilot basis to tackle menace of ticketless travel. New projects to be implemented this year: • Overnight double-decker trains to be introduced on business travel routes • 1,600 kms of electrification this year and 2,000 kms proposed for the next year • Broad Gauge Lumding-Silchar section in Assam, connecting Barak Valley with rest of country • North-East India, especially Mizoram and Manipur, to be connected

through broad gauge soon Breakdown of the railway Budget for the NE Region: • Rs. 515 crores has been allotted for doubling of lines • Rs. 26 crores has been allotted for construction of bridges • The 11 National Projects in NE have been allocated Rs. 4208 crores, out of which Rs. 3808 crores has been earmarked for new lines • For enhancing safety at level crossings, 306 unmanned level crossings will be manned out of which 207 of them are in NE • Rs. 49 lakhs has been allotted for Reconnaissance Engineering cum Traffic Survey for Pasighat – Tezu – Parashuram Kund • Rs. 15.77 lakhs allotted for survey for construction of new line to link with Bangladesh Railway • Rs. 20 lakhs allotted for Reconnaissance Engineering cum Traffic survey for new line between Sairang to Hbichhuah for port connectivity on Colodyna River in Myanmar as extension to Bharabi – Sairang new line (266 kms) • Rs. 50,000 each for Survey for new line between Patharkandi to Kanmum (45 kms) and Panisagar – Simanapur (80 kms) • Rs. 44.8 lakhs for preliminary engineering cum traffic survey for new line between Dhubri and Mendipathar (120 kms) with double line bridge over Brahmaputra at Dhubri • Rs. 92 lakhs for Preliminary Engineering cum Traffic Survey for doubling between Lumding and Dibrugarh • Reconnaissance Engineering cum Traffic survey for new line between Moirabari – Jagiroad (50 kms) – Rs. 5 lakhs • Reconnaissance Engineering cum Traffic survey for new line between Margherita – Deomali (31 kms) – Rs. 3 lakh bipasa.saikia@g-plus.in

Business

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

In Conversation

No party can single-handedly form government in 2016

rahul chanda

I was born in an interior village of Golaghat. I did my schooling and also college in Golaghat. I did my post graduation and LL.B. from Gauhati University. When I was a student I joined the Assam movement. After a long agitation the Assam Accord was signed in 1985. In 1985 I was nominated to the central committee of All Assam Students Union. I was the organising secretary of AASU at that time. Probably in 1987, I was elected as the general secretary of AASU. In 1989 I was selected as the president of AASU and then as advisor. When I was advisor, I took the initiative to form the students’ forum comprising of student organisations of the northeast region. AASU gave birth to NESCC (North East Students Coordination Committee). I joined AGP in 1995 because AASU is a non-political organisation. But it still believes in regionalism. It is fighting for the cause of the people and AGP is also a regional party. Also AASU gave birth to AGP. Immediately after joining I contested from Golaghat in 1996 and I got elected. After that I have been working for the party taking various responsibilities.

Why does the AASU now dislike AGP even as some AASU leaders keep saying at public forums that AGP has betrayed the people of Assam? People’s expectations were very high and we have failed to fulfil all the expectations because we have always had enormous problems in the state. Since independence we have seen many terms of the Congress government. Janata Party was in power for some time. Congress did nothing for the people of the state.

That certainly did not answer my question but AGP came to power twice and after two terms Congress came to power thrice. Why is it that in two terms AGP was not able to gain people’s confidence? AASU started the movement to deport the foreigners and delete the names of the foreigners from the voters list, but the Union Home ministry is the nodal ministry to implement the clauses of the accord. Without the help of the union government, the state government cannot do anything. The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983 was a hurdle to implement the clauses of the accord. The union government did not cooperate with us. But we did many more things like IIT, Shankardev Kalakshetra and the other clauses of the

Incumbent AGP President, Atul Bora, always wanted to do something for the state and has always fought for the state’s movement. Bora feels that he is the only regionalist who can fight for the region till eternity I can’t say that right now unless and until we decide.

Is it that BJP is giving very less seats to the AGP because of which you are not allying with the saffron party? Yes, that is also another reason, and I told you that what they will see on the issues regarding ordinance of the Central Government, the violation of the Assam Accord.

What kind of ordinance? Ordinance like issues on Indo Bangladeshi … they opposed earlier … there is a difference between AGP and BJP. We will not compromise on basic ideologies. G Plus Photo

Please tell us how you chose to enter politics and the profiles you have had before becoming the president of AGP.

Atul Bora, President, AGP

accord were implemented. It is not that we did not have political will. We had strong political will. We were committed towards the people of the state. On the other hand the national parties were propagating against us. There were many problems. Unemployment was the major problem. Interstate boundary is there which is still pending in the Supreme Court and we were helpless in trying to resolve that. So only because of those reasons AASU, all other organisations and the people of Assam lost faith in AGP. We are trying to revive again.

There are some people who still believe in AGP and protested against the alliance between AGP and BJP. So what is the scenario now and will AGP contest in all the 126 seats? We won in 84 constituencies since 1985 to 2011. So we are targeting those constituencies this time.

So you will not contest in all the seats? No, we are targeting only 84 seats. And some other constituencies are also there, some new constituencies like Duliajan, etc.

If you only target 84 seats can AGP become a single majority party? I cannot say right now but it is up

to the people because people have lost faith in national parties. Congress is still in power since 2001 and the anti-incumbency factor is very strong. They have failed to honour their own commitments. Unemployment problem remains the same, nothing has been done. They always talk about the Assam Accord. Though it was signed by Rajiv Gandhi, they did nothing because they are dependent on the vote banks. They have failed to fulfil the aspirations of the people. On the other hand, the BJP leaders who came to Assam just before the Lok Sabha polls also made many commitments but they have also failed and taken a complete U-turn.

If BJP has failed, why was AGP trying to ally with BJP? The people of the state want change. So we also want a non-Congress government in the state though we have differences. Earlier also we made an alliance with BJP. That is why some of our friends still feel that if we ally with BJP it will be easy for us to defeat the Congress.

So now you have decided that you will go it alone? We have decided but the general body has asked the steering committee to take the final decision. We are not finally decided till today.

So there might be an alliance?

Can we consider that there might be an alliance? I cannot say right now until and unless we have seats.

If BJP doesn’t ally with AGP, can they alone form the government? Never! They Cannot. It is impossible. It will rather be a dream only. You see the population structure and voting behaviour is also different compared to others states of the country. Politically people are very conscious.

If there is no alliance between AGP and BJP and with Congress and AIUDF contesting individually, who will form the government singlehandedly? It is very difficult to predict but no party can single handedly form government in 2016.

Still what is your calculation? No, it is very difficult to predict.

Like BJP has announced its CM candidate Sarbananda Sonowal, Congress will also soon announce Tarun Gogoi. From AGP who is the candidate? We are more democratic than the other parties. CM candidate will be elected by the support of the MLAs.

One of your party leaders, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, is not seen too much in politics these

days. What is the reason? He is active, though he is not president at the moment. But he is active. He is a member of the high powered committee, one of the members of the policy making body which was formed only for the election, to take the final strategy for the election.

As you are eyeing 84 seats, will you be actually contesting from 84 seats? We are targeting that. Let’s see what we can do.

Will you be contesting from Golaghat? No. From Bokakhat, if I contest.

What is the strategy? How is AGP trying to get the votes? How are you trying to impress your voters? Why should people vote you? We did many good things. We constructed schools in the rural areas and did many more things in the field of education, field of health, field of agriculture, and many more things.

Still why should people vote you? These rashtriya dal … national parties … they do nothing for the people of our state. They do not do anything. When NDA government was there, what did they do? So because of the failure of the national parties, I think people … AGP is the pillar of the regionalism of the state. People have already realised to lead the regional party will give benefit to people of this state.

Please tell us something about your family members and hobbies? Yes. I have my mother, father, my wife and my daughter, my brother, my sister.

And your hobbies? Actually, I was a sportsman, a sports lover.

What sports? I loved gymnastics. I contested 2-3 times in university long back. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Will there be dissidence in BJP after the candidates’ list is declared? With sources saying that the election dates might be announced on 3rd March, the BJP ticket applicants are eager to know who will get a chance to contest

he 2016 Assam elections are just round the corner and observers feel the contest this time will be very exciting as people are facing a tough time in predicting who will form the government. Interestingly the list of the candidates who will contest from the 126 constituencies in the state is not yet out and according to political parties, the higher leadership is still scrutinising on who should contest from which constituency. According to political observers the Election Commission might announce the dates of the elections on 3rd March and soon after that the politicos will also declare the names of the candidates. According to sources in the BJP, 900 applicants have applied for tickets, so after the list is announced will the candidates who do not get the tickets back the party?

The alliance chaos The BJP has already announced the alliance with BPF and since a long time the party is in talks with the state’s regional party AGP for an alliance but they are not reaching any consensus. According to sources in the AGP, the BJP is not giving them the number of seats they want but the AGP leader Atul Bora talking to G Plus said that some of the party members want an alliance with BJP. Meanwhile many AGP supporters protested against the alliance with BJP. If there is an alliance with BJP, there will be seat sharing and AGP

G Plus Photo

candidates will not be able to contest in some seats from where BJP will contest. The supporters of AGP agitated on this issue and want the regional party to contest from all the 126 seats but the AGP leaders are eyeing to contest only in 84 seats if they contest alone. Sources in AGP said that there might be a pre-poll alliance with BJP but in the constituencies where the AGP candidates do not contest whom will the AGP supporters vote for? This situation might lead to split of votes as the irked candidates might contest independently without any party backing and might also support some other party instead of supporting BJP. The AGP supporters have dared the AGP leaders to ally with BJP and face the

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consequences, so if there is any prepoll alliance not all but some AGP supporters might divert their support.

BJP dissidence Himanta Biswa Sarma might be a trump card for the BJP to win the 2016 elections but his entry to the party might again create dissidence. Along with Sarma, many other Congress MLAs also joined BJP and are presently expecting tickets from BJP to contest polls. According to sources in the BJP, approximately 900 candidates have applied for tickets and the scrutiny is going on to select the candidates who will contest. The BJP leaders say that the party national

committee in Delhi will decide the fates of the candidates after series of surveys done in all the constituencies. Now this time in all the constituencies there are some old BJP supporters and some new ones. The new ones are because of the leaders they support. For example before Sarma joined BJP, maximum people in the Jalukbari constituency were Congress supporters. But as soon as their leader joined BJP, the Congress supporters converted to BJP. Similarly there are many constituencies where the Congress MLAs who joined BJP are expecting BJP tickets and again there are old BJP members who are also hopeful of a ticket from the same constituency. So after the BJP candidate list is announced, the

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Ward Watch

rahul chanda

old BJP members who do not get the ticket might revolt against the party. A highly placed source in BJP said that the party president, Sarbananda Sonowal, is conducting meetings with all party members and also asking them not to feel bad if they don’t get the ticket. Few days back a TV channel aired a report naming the first list of candidates which irked many BJP members and the very next day election convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma had do organise a press meet rubbishing the list and also said that the final list will be given out by leaders sitting in Delhi. The source said that Sarma no doubt will get a ticket from Jalukbari but if the nine other Congress MLAs who joined BJP get tickets there are chances of a revolt within the BJP as older BJP members who applied for tickets from the same constituencies will certainly be irked resulting in a possible vote bank loss for the saffron party. The BJP is taking a lot of time to announce the list of the candidates and according to sources after the election dates are announced on 3rd March, the BJP will announce the list in the second week. Congress sources meanwhile said that they will announce their candidates in the end of March. But how will BJP do away with any possible situation of dissidence in the party is something the political observers are keeping an eye on. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

G Talk

Blackening the face E

aint my love, baby paint my love, it’s the picture of a thousand sunsets … sang MLTR in one of their iconic verses. All these years I failed to understand what exactly was the meaning or intent of the piece of lyric until litterateur Paramananda Rajbongshi from Asom Saihitya Sabha, the Asom Yuva Mancha (AYM) and Sodou Asom Unnayan Parishad (SAUP) brought me up to speed with their zealous painting (read defacing) activity. For the Guwahatian entrepreneur, his enterprise is a labour of love. It is a risk of life undertaken with all the good intentions of surviving in this big bad world and of feeding his family thereafter. For all the pitfalls he has to face in terms of the various licences, government clearances, etc. as also the bribes that exchange hands to expedite matters enroute to establishing his humble shop, his signboard stands as his enterprise’s welcoming face with which he hopes to attract business. Given the climate of indifference currently pervading trade and business activities, the Guwahatian entrepreneur today is struggling and his paisa saved for the moment is a paisa earned for that moment. In this worrying situation comes along a government decree that demands expenditure – change your signboards to incorporate Assamese by so and so date or else! “Or else” essentially meant peaceful legal penalties conforming to the law and this allowed the shop owners a breathing time to do the needful towards incurring the expenditure of changing their signboards. If I understand correctly, they

had time till the financial year-end of 31st March, failing which their trade licenses would not be renewed. Fair enough! The SAG came along and with it the diversion of attention mainly perpetrated by the huge number of hoardings – all printed in English – which was a clear case of oversight by the administration in showing the way. It had indeed missed the bus in celebrating the Assamese language in front of the world. The strange, unwarranted and irritable part in this scenario was the AYM and the SAUP taking the law in their hands and engaging in a signboard defacing spree all across the city immediately after the SAG ended. Isn’t this an insult to the hard working entrepreneur? If his signboard is the face of his outlet, isn’t this fanatical “dadagiri” akin to blackening his face in public? And thereafter, it is downright appalling that the administration has chosen to remain a mute spectator without providing any defence to the shop owner against what is clearly a piece of organized crime. Protestors would do well to understand the travails and tribulations that an entrepreneur goes through in running their establishments. They have never refused to “Assamize” their boards but are just taking their time in incurring an expenditure as allowed by the government. This defacing in the name of language is unpardonable and condemnable.

Swapnil Bharali Executive Editor

Rants, Reservations and TRPs

Sidharth Bedi Varma

he recent stir across Universities of Hyderabad and JNU and now the dramatic furore at the parliament all seem to point only towards the incited political ideals that have been guiding opinions. Smriti Irani has been both lauded and laughed at regarding her recent dramatic act in the Parliament. The Union HRD Minister became emotionally charged while talking about the Rohith Vemula incident. She has been ridiculed for flailing her chubby arms, taking out papers, quoting textbooks and letters for about an hour. The Union Minister however brilliantly shed some light on how there is a nexus between the government and the institutions it governs but did so by pointing fingers, the Achilles’ Heel of being politically active. Added to this, another video went viral on the internet; a video featuring Anuradha Beniwal, a national chess champion, who made a plea to everyone about the 10-day agitation that caused the death of 28 people, injured hundreds and caused damages worth crores. The cause for agitation was the demand to include Jats in the Centre’s OBC list. However, the

Supreme Court has rejected the inclusion of Jats in the list on the ground that the National Commission of Backward Castes does not consider them socially and economically backward in Haryana. The chess champion went on to make a plea to humanity with tears in her eyes calling out to people not by their caste, but with the logic that the ‘reservation’ they are fighting for is worthless if they damage property, hurt people and kill innocents. Issues in India have always been viewed with a political angle probably to gain maximum mileage and in both these instances the women spoke their heart out, or so it seems. An honest opinion is still much more acceptable than politics over dead bodies, opinions in institutions, religion, caste and reservations. People in India listen half, understand quarter, think zero and react double. India does not need people with more oratorical skills. It needs opinions not diktats, concern and not TRP ratings and the very fingers that point need to be held and guided because we have all become savage only to make ourselves heard and not hear out others.

Could Smriti Zubeen Irani defend her government over the JNU issue on the floor of the Parliament?

hen Smriti Irani stood up in the parliament and belted out her tirade of almost 40 minutes, it caused quite a stir – not just among the opposition that she was speaking up against, but also among the multitude of Indians who had a chance to listen to or watch it. It was an emotive, articulate, assertive and confident speech delivered by a woman who was also armed with several documents, which she used to add to her rhetoric. Over the last few days, the NDA government has been under a lot fire for the JNU unrest incident and this was not made easy by the fact that only a few weeks back, Rohith Vemula’s suicide at the University of Hyderabad had already caused the Centre some headaches. Moreover, since both these incidents revolved around students, the situation was threatening to scale up into almost revolutionary heights. However, Smriti Irani did what she felt was the right thing to do – stand up for her party and her Prime Minister. No doubt, she is an erstwhile actor and she might have used some of her talents to make the speech sound even more dramatic, but she did a good job on it. There was just the right amount of aggression and emotion to create discomfort among all present there. With the stance that she took, she got the desired effect – ruffle the feathers of the opposition, take the sting out of the accusations against the ruling party and also reinforce her image as a no-nonsense politician who would not take things sitting down. The last that we heard, the opposition members of the parliament had refused to let the normal proceedings go on unless Smriti Irani apologised for the speech. Well, so it seems that the objective was achieved.

Koushik Hazarika

t seems like Union Education Minister Smriti Irani is elated for delivering a melodramatic speech defending the central government’s actions on the JNU issue and Rohith Vemula’s death, but her grand oratory was just a top-class emotional act to gain sympathy from all sections. That on the very next day Rohith Vemula’s family and friends criticized Irani, calling her portion of the speech on the research scholar’s suicide a set of “absolute lies, speaks volumes about the hollowness of that “moment of triumph.” “Smriti Irani, this is not a serial, this is real life. Bring out the facts, don’t fabricate them,” said Rohith’s mother Radhika Vemula in Delhi. Similarly the JNU issue defended by her looked straight out of a melodramatic saas-bahu soap opera. She was so desperate to defend her government that she even pulled out personnel letters written by MPs as back-up documentary evidence. The discerning public can easily understand that whatever evidence she showed can be produced by anyone who is in power. Far from police completing the investigation she was already sounding like a top cop who had delivered justice. She was claiming that she is a patriot and can die for the country. Well, that is natural and an expected choice of every proud Indian. And why get personal by taking pot-shots at Rahul Gandhi who was her co-contestant at Amethi? She should understand that the JNU issue has jolted the entire nation the university being within her portfolio of work, she has to take the responsibility. Irani refused to listen to the speaker’s plea and like a footage freak ended up with a rambling 45-minute speech; the same time could have been used for other vital issues in the country.

Rahul chanda

Dear Sir,

Letter to the Editor

‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.’ This law of thermodynamics is very much prevalent in today’s state politics. During the SAG, one could witness many hoardings erected across the city depicting our duly elected Prime Minister of the nation in poor light by the ruling state government. Now what message did they want to convey to the players and officials from the foreign countries? Being a citizen of the country I was really ashamed to see such hoardings. Also, the hoardings were put up during that period when the populace of all the participating countries was firmly fixed upon Guwahati. It is the duty of every political party to keep aside politics when the nation’s prestige is at stake. The act of Congress was nothing but hitting below the belt. The other day while driving through the city, I again came across a set of hoardings depicting the duly elected Chief Minister of the state in a poor light by their political foes. Thus the above quoted saying holds true.

Aparna Sarma Chowdhury Ambari, Guwahati-1

Dear Sir, Quisling is a term that was coined in France during World War II. The said word was used to brand the French collaborators who used to pass vital information to the Nazis of Germany in exchange for cash and kind. After the war was over those quislings were executed by the patriotic French people in full view of the public. That is history. Now the very same type of story is prevailing in two of the most revered universities of the country namely JNU and Jadavpur University. A section of students with leftist leanings are polluting the university campus with their anti-national activities. Those students who are, on one hand, deriving the benefits of subsidy from the government are, on the other hand, working as agents of anti-India elements. These youths are well supported by a few pseudo secularists like Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, D. Raja, Akhil Gogoi, etc. whose loyalty to the country is secondary. Their prime concern is POWER at any cost. If we are blessed with Quislings like the above mentioned leaders then do we need Afzal Guru, Yakub Menon, Ajmal Kasab, Dawood Ibhrahim to bother us?

Dr. Ashim Chowdhury, GNB Road, Guwahati-1

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Are youth organizations justified in Meet Meet defacing property and hampering civic Meet Manjula Barua life to ‘enforce’ Assamese language? With youth organizations painting the town black to protest against the defaulters of the Administrations’ direct orders, is it justified that such organizations take it upon themselves to deface property and hamper civic life at the cost of ‘enforcing’ Assamese language?

Nibir Bhuyan

Deekshita Das

Saptarshi Dutta

Nozmul Hossain

Abu Malik

bsolutely not! You cannot impose this. If this was to be followed just because we are Assamese, then we must eat, wear and do what’s there in Assamese culture. So whatever these guys are doing I think it is nonsense. These are the same people who visit KFC and hit a bucket of whatever after a tiring day of ‘colouring’ these sign boards to black colour? Do these guys follow everything that is there in Assamese culture? I bet not!

Actor / Costume Designer

bsolutely not! Self-appointment as saviours of Assamese culture and language is not justified as various languages are used all across Assam: Bodo, Dimasa, Karbi, Mishing, Assamese, Bengali, etc. Even the cultures of various places within Assam are different. You can’t compare lifestyle of a Guwahatian with a person residing in Majuli or Silchar or Haflong. Being a Guwahatian, I strongly condemn such actions and urge all other Guwahatians to show zero tolerance towards acts that would take back Guwahati to 1990’s. Guwahati has got its own style and colour. We don’t need outsiders or a small group of people telling us how we should live or act. Government should take very strict actions towards companies not abiding the law and also towards groups taking law in their own hands.

Snehal Deb n primitive days when there was no language for communication people lived in peace. Now to save that language we can’t risk our civic life or property. Language should be used as a medium of communication only, according to my point of view. But when it comes to Assamese language we can simply do it by knowing n singing our state anthem properly because many of the youth protagonists do not know it themselves. Enforcing it strictly in schools and making protests and feeding up the local news channels with these things is not making any development to the Assamese language in any way. So we better take necessary steps where it is required like in fields of Assamese literature/history/movies/culture instead of going and damaging the civic life.

In Focus

n awesome city beautification project is being carried out by some people in Guwahati carrying brush in their hands, and painting the hoardings all around the city in black because it’s English. Is this the correct way of forcing people to implement a government order? Do these enforcers have some work or not? Or just getting up and thinking of doing some nuisance the whole day to create problems for the public is work for them? Instead of fighting over these silly matters do some positive work. I respect the Assamese language and the English language both equally. But watch out your steps before doing something. This is not the correct way. Don’t let the pride of Assam go down in other people’s eyes with your silly activities.

asically what I feel is that it is the work of the government to impose the new rules so that these youth organizations have some better work to do. Now-a-days imposing heavy fines or monthly fines are the best way to implement the rules if it is not followed. What these youth organizations are doing is called vandalism and hooliganism.

G Plus Photo

o, it is not justified. It is vandalism and hooliganism. Today, if we support them because they are doing it for something that we believe, then tomorrow they will have enough power to do this for something not acceptable to us. The district administration passed the order and it is only their job to enforce it. Police and officers have the power to take action against defaulters, not street elements or shoddy organizations. I ask those who are defacing the sign boards: where were you when people of Assam were facing worse tragedies? Did you do something for the flood victims or the Bodo riot victims? Then why show fake care now by defacing sign boards and harassing businessmen in this issue which is not that relevant to our lives and can be tackled in other ways?

well-known face within the Assamese film fraternity she has won the hearts of many with her performances in movies and drama. Manjula Barua was born in Jorhat to father Bijendranath Saikia and mother Kironmoyee Saikia and is the second child with four siblings. Her spell in acting began at the tender age of nine years. Sharing the experience Manjula mentioned, “There was a theatre hall near our house in Jorhat named Tarajan Milan Mandir which hosted plays regularly and my father, besides being a veterinarian, also had a theatre group and he was a very good prompter and make-up artist. So I and my brother Pranjal (Saikia, the actor) used to regularly go to the rehearsal sessions. However, our intention was not to see the rehearsals but to grab some of the cookies and the black tea that was served during the sessions. Just a day ahead of one play being staged, the child artist who was playing the role of Piyoli Phukan fell ill and the play needed a replacement. So I spontaneously raised my hand and said that I’ll play the role. Surprisingly I remembered each and every dialogue and could do justice to the role. Impressed by my performance many people gifted me with souvenirs and that’s how it all began.” However, rather than acting, her field of interest was dance. Manjula specialized in Manipuri and Xatriya dance and trained under Late Rothin Singh and Tirtha Baruah, in the respective forms. She was also a student of Rupjyoti Kala Mandal. Her interest in dance developed from a very tender age and seeing her interest her father enrolled her to learn Xatriya dance. During her university days she was also offered an opportunity to go for a six-month exposure training in Chennai but due bindings from her family she was not allowed to. “Not being allowed to take such an opportunity left me incensed so I decided not to continue dancing. If I could not do something to perfection there was no use continuing it. Thus, in the meantime, acting drew most of my concentration,” said the veteran actor. She has been continuing her stint along with dancing and has done several plays. She got the first offer for the movie Kazirangar Kahini. However her first release was Upoja Xunor Mati. Though her dance career was cut short Manjula was determined to continue acting and did several movies such as Ganesh, Xun Tora and many more.

Balancing her personal life and her career was a challenge for Manjula as she had to work only after taking approval from family members. However, her fatherin-law Late Hemendra Nath Barua, had been supportive throughout her career. Siva Thakur approached her for the movie Bowari. “I told him that you will have to convince my in-laws for me to do the character. Then my father-in-law told me since you have the talent so you should carry on with acting if the characters are good enough rather than spending time in the kitchen. He used to ask me to perform the roles in front of him but sadly he never got the opportunity to watch any of my movies. Back in those we did not have any medium to play the movies at home since VCRs did not exist here and he was suffering from arthritis so it was not possible for him to travel. He used to say that if he could somehow go to the movie theatre and watch the movie sitting in a wheel-chair, but it could not be made possible,” Manjula said. Her wedlock with film director Munin Barua also has an interesting story behind it. Since Munin Barua was more into stage plays back in those days their paths crossed during a play called Aparajay by Siva Prasad Thakur. They were stationed in Golaghat for the play. She noticed Munin Barua for the first time during a performance of his band where he played the mandolin. The duo again met in Guwahati where they interacted for the first time and gradually the intimacy deepened. It was in 1968 that the director proposed to her. Manjula agreed but asked him to talk to her parents. The rest is history. Besides being a prominent actor Manjula is also a self-groomed Mekhela Chadar designer. She always had a keen interest in art and craft and used to fiddle around with waste materials putting them to productive use. The same interest made her design Mekhela Chadars and create a mix and match of various colours that today provides a standout look to her designs. Manjula made a comeback in acting after 42 years through the play Jolsobi by Anuradha Sarma Pujari and will soon be seen on television in a series named Akaxor Thikona Bisari. Manjula has been contributing to Assamese cinema as an art director. Movies like Rang and Ramdhenu are among those where the sets were designed by Manjula.

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Art

An Evening with Folk Couple

International Mother Language Day 2016

Subhrajit Roy

auls, the wandering mendicant minstrels, who were once rooted in the undivided Bengal, has been practising this tradition from ages. With the changes of time many modernised aspects are also visible in the styles of presentation and performance of Bauls. The songs of the minstrels of villages are now-a-days performed on international stages equipped, fused and synchronised with modern musical instruments. But the incomparable flavour of such tunes and rhythms always touch the soul of the listeners, which is the most unique feature of the Baul folk songs. Recognised as the song of the soil, such music always proves to be a source of inspiration and enthusiasm for human beings and if such enthusiasm is conveyed by a musical couple who seem to be made for each other, the flavour becomes more melodious. The couple, Tulika Mandal and Gangadhar Mandal of SaReGaMaPa (Bengali) fame, enthralled the audience of Guwahati on 20th February, 2016 at the Pragjyoti ITA, Machkhowa. The occasion was the 10th Bhasha Sanskriti Milan Utsav 2016 (Festival Uniting Lingo Culture) organized by Byatikram MASDO in connection with the International Mother Language Day. The duo began their performance with the combo, folk number “Ekla Nitai…” and Tagore number “Ekla Chalo Re…” followed by a bouquet of popular Baul songs which included “Tomay Hridmajhare Rakhibo…,” “Menoka Mathay Dilo Ghomta…,” “Saadher Lau…” and many more. Their musical bouquet comprised of many compositions of Hasan Raja, Abdul Karim and most importantly Lalan Fakir. To keep a grip on their performance, Tulika added some local flavor in their collection and sang the popular Kamrupi Folk number “Ghon Boruxun Pisol Maati…” on experimental basis. It is to be mentioned that Tuilka has been honoured by famous Hollywood figure Anthony Cigar with an Award instituted in the name iconic Goalpariya Folk Singer Pratima Pandey Baruah in 2003 in Kolkata. The three days long celebration began on February 19, 2016 at the Guwahati Press Club where noted literary icon Nirupama Borgohain and social activist Padmashree Ajoy Dutta were conferred with ‘Ekushe Samman’. Apart from this, book release and poetic conference were also part of the celebration. A panel discussion on the topic “Crisis of ac-

ademics in vernacular medium” was also held on that day, participated by Choudhury Shahid Kader, a history researcher from Jagannath University, Bangladesh, noted Tagore expert Prof. Usharanjan Bhattacharjee and Shantanu Roy Choudhury. On the third day of celebration, the organizers, in collaboration with Heart Care Society of Assam, celebrated Women’s Heart Day at the Pragjoyti ITA Complex. A panel of eminent

medical professionals from various hospitals and nursing homes of Guwahati discussed and deliberated on the topic “Women Heart Care.” In this connection, a quiz competition especially for women was also organized. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Saumen Bharatiya, President, Byatikram MASDO said, “Language is the lifeline of a society. The importance of mother language in a multilingual state like Assam cannot be ignored at

all. It is the 10th year in our endeavor in creating harmony among all the linguistic communities of Assam through such celebration.” Returning to the discussion on musical performance, it is to be mentioned that one of the important features of Baul Folk is its high pitch modulation with full on acoustic and the couple has been well versed with such practice which kept the audience spell bound and ignited them

to dance with the couple on stage that evening. Hailing from a remote village in West Bengal, this achiever couple has diligently become the categorical winner of Folk Genre in the reality show and proved their perseverance towards music. Their devotion and appeal to the God made the audience emotional. At the same time, the exchange of rhythmic complements between them during performance also made the audience thrilled. While on the one hand the traditional versatility has made the couple popular among the masses, on the other hand their inspirational struggle of success has also sparked their ease for performing better and better. The flavour of enthusiasm, pain, devotion, religious harmony, truth of life as well as issues of human race, social changes are often reflected in the Baul tunes and the couple is well capable in delivering all these flavours to their audience. Their audience connect mechanism on stage incorporated after every song was entertaining and much applauded. Finally, the duo concluded their musical extravaganza with a medley of five folk numbers. Considering Lalan Fakir as “Baul Shiromani,” the two hour long musical concert ended with the number “Milan Hobe Kotodine…”

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

BRAHMAPUTRA VALLEY “BUSINESS PLAN CONTEST”

tartup Assam organised the Sanjib Kumar Gogoi Memorial Prize Money Business Plan Contest on 20th February, 2016 at Cotton College. Late Sanjib Kumar Gogoi from HS batch 1989-1990 was an alumni of Cotton College and a brilliant student who met with an untimely death. The Programme started with the lighting of the lamp by Dr. Arup Kumar Misra, Director ASTEC . A total of 34 teams which had submitted their business plans competed for a rapid fire round with an elevator pitch of 2 mins, out of which 10 teams were shortlisted for the final presentation round of 10 mins each. Umananda Dairy of Neeraj Parek and Amit Verma won the first prize money of Rs. 10000. The second prize of Rs. 5000 was won by Schoolmate of IIT Guwahati team comprising Aman Dalmia, Ankit Chahar, Prabal Jain, Raunak Agarwal, Umang Pardhi. The third prize of Rs. 2000 was won by Oxysquare comprising Healthcare solution by Nabajyoti Das, Bikash Gogoi, Abhinov Kumbang.

Bikram Chakravarty Memorial Award

Event

Days

Events

Febuary 27th to March 04th

FEB 27

ilm Director Suruj Kumar Duara received the prestigious Bidyut Chakravarty Memorial Award at Rabindra Bhawan on 21st February. The award consists of a cash of Rs. 25000, a memento and a Chelang Sador. The award was presented by noted filmmaker Munin Baruah.

Rough it out at Decathlon Azara

GAURI SADAN, ABOVE DELIGHT RESTAURANT AT 4:30 AM

LGBT FILM SCREENING

THE HUMSAFAR TRUST, MUMBAI AND XUKIA PRESENT LGBT FILM SCREENING IN GUWAHATI. DREAMLAND AMUSEMENT PARK AT 7:00 PM

SONIC SPECIES

ELECTROVIBE BRINGS YOU THE 1ST MASSIVE OUTDOOR EVENT OF THE YEAR, FEATURING THE PHENOMENAL PSY-TRANCE ACT FROM UK SARUSAJAI STADIUM AT 7:00 PM

ROUGH IT OUT : BOOTCAMP CHALLENGE

NORTHEAST INDIA’S ONE AND ONLY MILITARY INSPIRED OBSTACE RACE

FEB 28 ARYA VIDYAPEETH COLLEGE AT 10:00 AM

Designer’s Battle in Guwahati

CALL OF THE HOUR : CYBER CRIME AWARENESS PROGRAMME

MAR 01 INDIAN INSTITUTE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT 9:00 AM

ashion Wizards 2016 is a first ever Designer’s Battle cum Designer’s Show introduced by All Assam Polytechnic Students’ Union (AAPSU) in the history of Assam Textile Institute. It was organised and conceptualised by model, choreographer cum civil engineer, Raktim Kumar Das and was held on 19th February, 2016. The objective of the event was to provide a platform for the young and aspiring designers of North East India pursuing diploma

in various departments of Assam Textile Institute to enter into the glamour industry. A total of 25 models and 17 designers participated in this mega event which was divided into two sub events – Designer’s Battle and Designer’s Show. Fashion wizards 2016 was a huge celebration for fashion lovers of Guwahati. The venue was filled with a huge gathering and received a great response from not only the fashion industry but also from local Guwahatians.

NATIONAL SEMINAR CUM PRODUCT EXHIBITION OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF NORTH EASTERN REGION

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Lifestyle

yon gyan

VAASTU SHASTRA

We are an Assamese couple from Guwahati who have been married for 3 years and have a pretty active sex life. To be frank, we often spice things up with some pornography in the bed room. Anal sex caught our attention and my wife is rather interested in trying it out but is wondering if it might be hurtful. Can you give your suggestions in this regard? Is it safe? First of all, hats off to you as a couple for attempting to keep the spice in your loved life up. Otherwise most people generally have the same predictable course of sex which often becomes boring and their love life dies an untimely death. For our readers anal sex is insertion of the man’s penis in the partner’s rectum. A lot of additional lubrication is required otherwise it may cause difficulty in insertion and discomfort. Anal sex can provide a tighter grip on the penis and allows the man free access to the manual stimulation of the woman’s breast and genitalia which can be exciting for some. Anal sex is free from pregnancy fears and adds novelty. Please note anal intercourse is forbidden by our laws and an appeal is on in the courts presently. Further details about this law and review petition were explained in my last column. However as two mutually consenting adults you may wish to engage in it. Please note that it is advisable to wear a condom while engaging in anal. Help - my wife has low sex drive! There has been a lot of noise about the new medication. It has been labelled “The Female Viagra.” It is Fibanserin. The product is available in western countries and not yet available in India. It is licensed for pre-menopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire. Among neurotransmitters, excitatory activity is driven by dopamine and norepinephrine, while inhibitory activity is driven by serotonin. The balance between these systems is of significance for a normal sexual response. By modulating serotonin and dopamine activity in certain parts of the brain, Fibanserin may improve the balance between these neurotransmitter systems in the regulation of sexual response. In our male dominated society, very little emphasis is given to women’s satisfaction. The husband stops on ejaculation and this may not satisfy the needs of his partner. To be honest the average male may not care for the partner’s satisfaction. The unsatisfied female decides not to engage in sexual activity as she is left high and dry by her partner. She feels it perhaps better to avoid the distress. The husband then gives the opinion, “My wife is not interested in sex” which is actually a reflector of his own incompetence. I believe a change of attitude may be the first remedy before going down the route of medications and starting to order the same online.

Dr. Mithun Bhartia is an expert in Diabetes, Thyroid and Sexual matters. He has returned from England after 12 years. His clinic is in Panbazar near Hari Sabha. Send your queries to advicesexologist@gmail.com

VAASTU ASPECTS ON BELTOLA AREA

he Beltola area starts from Dispur Last Gate and goes up to Bashistha Charali. Breadth wise, it touches Hatigaon, Khanapara and Rukminigaon. The stretch from Dispur Last Gate to Beltola Bazar area is straight and it runs from north to south. It bends towards southwest and then again straightens to south from near Hotel Kanishka. The by-lanes from the Beltola road towards Hatigaon and G S Road are running from east to west in most of the cases. The dwellings on the Beltola road are mostly commercial or semi commercial in nature barring a few residential ones. The business establishments on the western side of the road are lucky to face east and they are doing well if the entrance is kept at east or northeast. The west facing shops on the eastern side of the main road have to be careful in choosing their main entrances and placing their showcases. The owners or managers MUST face north with the cashbox at the left hand side and sit at southwest. They should have a place for puja, if any, at the northeast corner preferably on the eastern wall. The northern and eastern side of the shops should stock the lighter items as far as possible. The east facing shops are lucky to get the benefit of having walls at south and west to keep heavier items. They should also keep lighter stuff at north. The owners have the privilege of facing both east or north but they should do so by sitting at the southwest corner. If they are facing east, then the cashbox should be placed on the right hand side. There is a big wedding complex on the eastern side of the road called Bhabendralaya which is having a big extension at northeast which is a very positive Vaastu feature. It has its

DUCK ROAST

Ingredients

In upper Assam, in the Assamese muslim households, Duck Roast is a must on the special wedding menu for the groom’s party. This dish is not prepared in an oven, but is cooked in a pot and hence called a pot roast.

entrance from central south and there is a huge empty area at north and east. The water sources are located at northeast. A big building with a wedding hall and rooms has been constructed at southeast. All these positive points are in favour of the location and it is doing very well. The by-lanes, which are going towards east and west from the main Beltola Road have residential houses mainly apart from few educational institutions and small shops. Since Beltola is a big residential area, there are numerous small lanes off-shooting from these bylanes towards south and north which are interlinked. Its grid like area at places gives the residents scope to build their houses as per Vaastu if they wanted to. The north facing houses should fix their main gate at northeast or central north only. The south facing ones should have their main gates at central south or southeast. The source of water MUST be at northeast, north or east only. The septic tank should be placed between the central north and northwest corner. It can also be placed at central east or central north. The magnetic compass must be used to detect deviations of directions, if any. According to Vaastu, the southwestern plots are ideal for business. The daily bazar for vegetables etc. is situated at the southwest of the Beltola Charali and it is doing very good business since its inception.

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

recipe of the week 1 Whole duck with its skin intact 5 Onions diced 1 Tablespoon ginger paste 1 Tablespoon soya sauce 1 Tablespoon vinegar Salt to taste 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil 2 Potatoes cut into four pieces and fried

PROCESS

ie or truss the duck with a string so that the feet and wings do not flail apart. Take a wok, add the oil and fry the duck till it is brown on all sides. Please do not burn it. Take a pressure cooker, pour the hot oil into it and fry the onions till soft. Add the ginger paste, fry some more and add the whole duck, the soya sauce, vinegar and salt. Add two cups boiling water and pressure cook. One whistle on high and three on sim. Open cooker and add the potatoes. Keep on heat till water dries and potatoes are cooked. It is served with Paratha to the groom’s party but can be eaten with Polau or plain rice or even hot toast.

KULKUL RAHMAN Entrepreneur, mother and a passionate cook

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

BENEFITS OF Supplementing with fish oil just got a lot easier. Way better omega-3 doses, way fewer pills to swallow and – get this – less expensive supplements.

ou probably know that fish oil provides numerous health benefits, such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, arthritis, diabetes and even cancer, by keeping inflammation in check. It also appears to enhance brain function and joint recovery. Even more appealing to the hard-training guy or girl is the fact that supplementing with fish oil can aid fat loss and improve muscle growth and strength gains. These benefits are due to three omega-3 fats in particular found naturally in fish oil: DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DPA (docosapentaenoic acid). In future articles and videos, I’ll cover DPA and explain why it’s important to use a fish oil product that includes these three nutrients. But this article will focus mainly on DHA and EPA, which play the most critical role in muscle growth and performance.

Lifestyle

‘DHA’

DHA Dominance: At one time fish oil recommendations were based on the total amount of fish oil. In the past, I simply recommended taking 2-3 grams of fish oil with meals two to three times a day for a daily total of 4-9 grams of fish oil. However, the research on fish oil and omega-3 fats over the last few years now allows us to make more specific dosing recommendations. Recent studies in both males and females, young and old, confirm that fish oil enhances muscle protein synthesis and leads to greater gains in muscle size and strength. Although the research has yet to uncover the precise mechanisms responsible for these performance-enhancing gains, it appears that DHA and EPA play a direct role in activating enzymes involved in catalyzing the reactions that result in increased muscle protein synthesis. From these studies, it appears that the proper dose of omega-3 fats for activating these processes and enhancing muscle protein synthesis is about 1,500 mg of DHA,

along with a similar dose of EPA. This is precisely why Omega 3 supplements containing 1,500 mg each of DHA and EPA are the best to ingest. Many fish oil and other omega-3 supplements don’t even list the amount of DHA and EPA in the product. That’s right, even fish oil supplements can be proprietary blends! And the fish oil products that do list the amounts of

Try Banana on Your Beauty Tips

DHA and EPA typically provide such a small amount of DHA per capsule that you have to choke down more than 10 a day to reach 1,500 mg. Not only is that a lot of capsules to take, but it’s also a lot of extra fat to consume just to get sufficient DHA and EPA. Plus, if you have to take 10 or more capsules per day, you’ll be going through so many bottles of fish oil that it will become cost prohibitive to get sufficient

DHA and EPA amounts. So friends take your health and your muscle-building results to a new level with Omega 3 fatty acid supplements.

Xiaomi Mi5

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

TECHWATCH

scrubbing cream. Banana works as a moisturizer and sugar helps to remove dead cells. Take half ripe banana, mash it, and apply on your face and neck. Keep it for 20-25 minutes. Wash off with lukewarm water. It’s a natural moisturizer for dry skin. If you have very dry or dull skin, you can add honey. This banana helps to remove black pigmentation.

anana is a much lauded fruit for its multiple benefits for your skin, which can do a lot for upping your beauty quotient. From giving soft skin to shiny hair, banana has lot more to offer. Instead of spending on costly cosmetics, it is a pretty good idea to use banana for enhancing your beauty. Read on to know the best beauty benefits of banana.

Mash ripe banana, add 2 tsp lemon juice, mix well, and apply on your face and neck. Leave it for 20 minutes. Wash off with warm water. You will get a glowing face. This face mask helps in reduction of spots and blemishes. Add sugar with mashed ripe banana, apply on your face, and massage it in circular motion. Then wash off your face. It’s a natural

Say good bye to puffy eyes. Mash half a banana and apply around your puffy eyes. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then wash it with cold water. The puffiness will vanish instantly. Mash avocado and banana, apply on your skin, and leave it for 20 minutes. Then wash off. This pack works as an anti-aging cream. Try this pack at home, say good bye to ageing. Get set to try out these amazing beauty uses of bananas in your beauty regimen right now! And face the world with aplomb!

GPU Adreno 530 SIM Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) Screen Size 5.15 inches Resolution 1080 x 1920 pixels OS Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow) MIUI 7.0 CPU Dual-core 1.8 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo - Standard edition Dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo - other editions Internal 128 GB, 4 GB RAM - Pro edition 32/64 GB, 3 GB RAM - other editions Card slot No Primary Camera 16 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, OIS, du al-LED (dual tone) flash Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps Secondary 4 MP, f/2.0, 1/3” sensor size, 2µm pixel size, 1080p@30fps Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 Features 1/2.8” sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Reviews Cast: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gerard Butler Director: Alex Proyas

vie o M view Re

n Alex Proyas’ overlong and very silly Gods Of Egypt, 10-foot-tall Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), playboy heir to the Egyptian throne, gets his eyes plucked out by his apparently Scottish uncle, Set (Gerard Butler), and must join forces with a thief to save all of creation by solving a bunch of puzzles. A treasure trove of gilded fantasy bric-a-brac and clashing accents, Proyas’ swordand-sandals space opera is a head above the likes of Wrath Of The Titans, but it rapidly devolves into a tedious and repetitive succession of monster chases, booby traps, and temples that start to crumble at the last minute. If nothing else, it makes one appreciate the artistry and economy that Paul W.S. Anderson brings to similar material, and the genuine otherworldliness that the likes of Hercules In The Haunted World conjured up with a couple of light gels, a fog machine, and some foam rocks. Yet there’s something to be said for Proyas’ effects-driven,

fantasy-kitsch vision of the surreal cosmology of Egyptian myth. Ra (Geoffrey Rush), who can grow bigger or smaller through the power of a constipated facial expression, totes the Sun across the flat disk of the Earth on his spacecraftlike solar barque, spending each night in battle with Apep, the Lovecraftian ancient that dwells in the primordial abyss beyond the cosmic ocean. Snake-tongued assassins ride fire-breathing giant cobras that resemble the sandworms of Dune. The gods bleed gold paint over their gold armor in palaces inlaid with even more gold. There are chariots pulled by giant scarab beetles; sedan chairs carried aloft by hundreds of birds; staves that shoot red death-rays; gods who transform into glistening animal-headed robots and then throw each other at architecturally impossible buildings while the human rabble flees. Every dress has more plunging neckline than fabric. Proyas (Dark City, The Crow)

doesn’t have a sense of staging that goes beyond putting the biggest object dead-center, which makes the decision to make the gods a different size from the mortals a waste of an opportunity to play with visual scale. And yet, one almost wants to rescue the movie’s extravagant high-fantasy paperback aesthetic—with its writhing monsters, biomechanical wings, and ogled cleavage—from the clutches of its screenplay. Writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (The Last Witch Hunter, Dracula Untold) tackle Egyptian myth the only way they know how: as a wannabe franchise-starter that feels like it was adapted from a tabletop role-playing game, with strict rules that need to be repeatedly stated out loud and a bestiary of creatures. There are dashes of corny humor—a lot of it involving the god of knowledge, Thoth (Chadwick Boseman, with an embarrassing accent)—but perhaps a movie like this is easiest to appreciate when it’s being stupidly serious.

Cast: Manish Paul, Sikander Kher, Pradhuman Singh Director: Abhishek Sharma

harma Junior (Manish Paul) comes from the ‘Halwai Khandaan’ and is expected to join his family business of making Jalebis by his family. The only problem is, his heart breathes Bollywood. He aspires to be a big ticket director and decides to take off to Mumbai to fulfill his dream. Frustrated over not getting producers for his scripts, Sharma’s destiny shines when he meets Osama Bin Laden look alike, Paddhi (Pradhuman Singh). Convincing Paddhi to star as Osama, Sharma finally gets a producer and casts actor Ali Zafar in the lead. The film becomes a super-hit but brings no fame or fortune to Sharma. In the west, news of Osama’s death has arrived but the media seeks a proof. To secure the President another term, David (Sikandar Kher) under the dis-

guise of a Hollywood producer plans to kill Paddhi and shoot it as an evidence for the President. In Pakistan, Khaleeli (Piyush Mishra) is a businessman for Fidayeen terrorists and is seeking Paddhi to shoot a video to show him alive, to keep his business running. What will happen to the fake Osama? Will he be shot (with a camera or a bullet) dead or alive? Abhishek Sharma who directed the prequel as well, comes up with a sequel story that nicely connects. This time his characters are goofier and funnier than before. Pradhuman Singh who also acts in the film has written the dialogues but they are as unfunny as his performance. More than the film’s writing being funny, one has to rely on the placards and the setting that most of the scenes

have which make you laugh. An example would be Olympia-e- dehshat which is like a competition among Fidayeens. This is the kind of comedy that is in the face. It is mindless and will tickle your funny bone only when you can keep your thinking hat at bay. In some instances, the jokes become repetitive and that is where the problem starts. So at first when the location of ‘Somewhere In Somewhere’ seems funny but when it is repeatedly pushed even in writing on the screen, you may just want to yawn. Other funny elements such as a fake mole that is technologically a mouthpiece to change dialects work. Especially, a scene where the mole falls off and David confidently says ‘detachable hai’. Even the acronym of CIA as Cinema In Amrica gives you giggles.

NOW SHOWING Anuradha Cineplex Noonmati 03612656968, 9954544738

TOmar Premot Pari (Assamese) 11.00 AM Gods of egypt 2.00 & 8.15 PM Neerja 5.15 PM

PVR Cinemas

Dona Planet. GS Road 08800900009 Neerja 10.30 AM, 3.25 & 8.45 PM Tere bin laden dead or alive 3.40 PM Deadpool (E) 10.15 AM Gods of egypt 12.55 & 5.50 PM the revenant 12.40 & 8.30 PM Aligarh 5.55 PM

Fun Cinemas

HUB, GS Road 9864800100, 9864800200 Neerja 9.00 AM & 6.10 PM Tere bin laden dead or alive 11.20 AM & 8.45 PM

Apsara Cinema Ulubari 0361 2541335

Neerja 2.00, 5.00 & 8.00 PM Bollywood diaries 11.00 AM

GOLD Cinema ASTC Complex, Paltan Bazar 9854066166

Album:

Neerja 11.30 AM, 5.30 & 8.30 PM Tere bin laden dead or alive 11.00 AM, 2.00, 5.00 & 8.00 PM Bollywood diaries 2.30 PM

Four Organs; Phase Patterns Book:

Artist:

Like a Love Song

Steve Reich

Author:

GOLD Cinema

Nikita Singh u Yo LD OU H S read

u Yo LD OUTEN H S IS L

his is something of a historical recording, capturing the distinctive musical moment when Steve Reich’s music began to move out of the lofts of Berkeley and Lower Manhattan and into the cultural mainstream. It was recorded in a pair of concerts in 1970, Four Organs at the Guggenheim Museum and Phase Patterns at the Berkeley Art Museum. Soon after that the album was released, and reissues have followed peri-

odically. Three years later Four Organs would still shock audiences in the citadels of culture, accustomed to safe modernism. If you haven’t heard these performances, by all means pick up this 2015 reissue. In Four Organs and Phase Patterns, Reich transferred the overlapping and phase-shifting effects of his late-1960s electronic works to conventional instruments. Four Organs demands a lot from a maraca player who has to keep

an unchanging beat going for more than 15 minutes, but it’s an excellent example of early Reich, inexorably proceeding toward its giant chordal finale. Phase Patterns is a close cousin to Four Organs, lacking the percussion and focusing closely on the shifting effect. These are landmarks of the early minimalist movement, still absorbing and compelling in their own right even leaving aside their powerful influence.

ove is a many-flavoured thing: it can go from vanilla to rainbow sprinkles in the blink of an eye. Four years ago, Maahi’s heart was broken into so many pieces that it looked like she might never put it back together again. Yet time has healed her wounds and she has found her true calling - and even a dash or romance. But when the past

comes knocking on her door, threatening to shatter a life she has carefully rebuilt, her world is turned upside-down. What will Maahi do when she is torn between her head and her heart? Emotionally charged and vivid, Like a Love Song is about the sort of love that consumes and sears you … and the healing powers of true passion.

Salasar Building, Lakhtokia 9854077177 Love Shhuda 2.30 & 8.30 PM Tere bin laden dead or alive 11.00 AM, 2.00, 5.00 & 8.00 PM Bollywood diaries 11.30 & 5.30 PM

GOLD Cinema

LG Towers, Narangi 8811001898 Tere bin laden dead or alive 11.00 AM & 5.00 PM Bollywood diaries 2.00 & 8.00 PM

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Entertainment

Antara’s new single takes youtube by storm

fter the grand success of “Ya Devi” – Celebrating Womanhood, during Durga Puja last year, which went on to win the best composition in the “Delhi International Short Film Festival” and Best Jury Award in the “Mumbai International Short Film Festival” on 15th December, Antra Nandy of Saregamapa Little Champs fame is back again with her latest Assamese single video, “Dheere Dheere,” launched online during the Valentine’s Day week this year. The single “Dheere Dheere” expresses

Swagata Baruah shines at Bordoisila Theatre

hen Assamese celluloid artistes moved to mobile theatre industry, a lot of people criticized their acting. Among them, some have failed to establish themselves in mobile theatre while some of them have proved through their performance that they are equally popular in mobile theatre. Swagata Baruah is one such actress who shone at Bordoisila Theatre this year with her three different roles. Whether it was Stuti of ‘Tandov Naach’ or Snigdha of ‘Thikona Bihin Thikona’ or Kangkana Baruah of ‘No Xajere Xojam Tomak’ – she excelled in each and every character. Noticeably, Swagata Baruah and her work have been discussed by theatre aficionados all over Assam. Her acting is highly appreciated by the people of Assam who have enjoyed all the three plays of Bordoisila Theatre. The producer of the theatre, Najrul Islam also expressed his view saying that they have got this actress in each and every role as per their requirement and the appreciation and clapping of people in every show has proven this. Swagata has said that she feels very happy with the love and support of the audiences of Assam. She also added that, for the upcoming seasons, people will be able to see her in a new mobile theatre group named ‘Rajmukut Theatre.’ Now the audiences are eagerly waiting to see her in all three roles of three different plays belonging to Rajmukut Theatre, produced by Manas Kalita. Seeing her acting skills and performance, Swagata Baruah may be termed as a complete actress of present time.

KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

the first feeling of love experienced by a girl when she reaches her teenage, but her mind is confused which restricts her from expressing her feelings. This is about the first infatuation which every teenager goes through. The difference between love and infatuation is presented well in the video as the girl on the mission has not deviated at all from the path of her goal. The team behind this video comprises of Rajdweep (lyricist and composer), Partho Ganguli (video director), Ankur Baishya (editor), Abhishek Kothari and Ronika Acharya

(actors). The song is arranged by Sibobrata, which is further programmed, mixed and mastered by Aryan Sekhar. The VFX of the single is done by Abhijit Handique. “Dheere Dheere” has already crossed over fifty thousand views on Youtube within two weeks of its release. Among her upcoming projects she informs that a Tamil song in original and a Hindi folk number are in the pipeline and she dreams of doing classical fusion with Zubeen, Papon and Arijit Singh one day.

Subhrajit Roy

Voice A of the east

new bilingual film titled Purab Ki Awaaj is all set to hit the theatres along with its Assamese version Epah Phulil Epah Soril which has been made in the backdrop of the historic fateful incident of brave heart Kanaklata Baruah who sacrificed her life during the 1942 movement along with Mukunda Kakati at Gohpur. Kanaklata’s role is essayed by Urmila Mahanta who has already carved a niche for herself in Bollywood; small screen actor Debasish Bezbaruah has enacted the character of her male counterpart in both the versions apart from senior actor Nipon Goswami amongst others. Produced by Loknath Deka, the twin projects have been directed by Chandra Mudoi. Mudoi, who has been an acclaimed director in regional cinema with Maghat Mamonir Biya, Ujanir Dujoni Gabharu and others, has for the first time tried his hand in the Hindi movie territory. Says the ace director, “Our sole motive behind the entire project is to take the heroic but little known episode of Kanaklata to the national level. She too deserves recognition of equal importance on the lines of Swahid Bhagat Singh and others. However, the female protagonist is also playing the role of an extremist in the present context parallel to the historic one.” Though these sort of regional subjects and stories have been made in Hindi earlier, this time it assumes significance for the fact that the entire crew hails from Assam - right from the producer to actors, music directors, and the technical staff. The music of the film was released recently in a press meet which was addressed by Dr. Hitesh Baruah, one of the music composers among others. The playback has been rendered by a host of prominent singers that include Padmanabh Bordoloi, Simanta Sekhar, Pranamika Goswami, Priyanka Bharali, Pranjal Parash, etc. - all from the state. It was also informed that a special screening of the Hindi version has been arranged in the national capital before an invited audience comprising of parliamentarians and other dignitaries and the same was held accordingly at the auditorium of Film Division, New Delhi on 7th January. The entire crew was present as reported. The marketing strategy is being looked after by Jamaluddin Ahmed Rao who disclosed that plans have also been made for overseas screening as the subject has an international appeal. Dr. Hitesh Baruah also apprised the press about the gloomy scenario the film industry is passing through at present though a viable solution has to be figured out to keep the Assamese cinema alive.

‘Marksheet’

Dibyendu Goswami

selected for New York International Film Festival 2016

new full length Assamese film titled ‘Marksheet’ has recently got the official selection for the New York International Film Festival 2016. The film has been directed by Ratan Sil Sarma and produced by Himjyoti Talukdar, Dikhit Das and Ratan Sil Sarma under the banner of Enajori Talkies and HDR Creations. The film’s story and screenplay has been penned by Himjyoti Talukdar. The movie’s story revolves around a sweet charming kid named Babu who is always happy in his own world of fantasies. Not too fond of studies, Babu is always been yelled at by his parents - especially his dad due

to his poor academic performances. Azaad a poor kid lives with his dumb uncle who works as a labourer in a construction site. They meet when ‘Babu’ runs away from his school after failing in his half yearly exams with an intention of not going back home and to escape the horror of confronting his Dad after handing him his poor Marksheet. Azaad then learns Babu’s trouble and helps him escape to his destination, Babu’s Grandmother’s place. The film then captures the innocence and friendship of these two kids, who gradually gets too fond of each other, mesmerized by each other’s company that ultimately

changed their lives. The key role in the film has been essayed by Aditya Malla Bujarbarua, Abhijit Choudhury, Pranami Bora, Jintu Kalita and Dibyajyoti Saikia. Music is scored by Tarali Sarma, whereas the promotional track music and artist is Joi Barua. Director of photography is Dikhit Das, editor is Ratan Sil Sarma and sound is designed by Sumir Dewri Damlong. Marksheet’s executive producer is Ananta Borah; Assistant editor is Hiranya Jyoti Das. The movie’s publicity is designed by Amarjit Bormudoi.

KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Citypedia

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Horoscope Aries The Full Moon in your zone of wellness and lifestyle could be the reason you venture off track regarding your diet or exercise routine. If so, try not to let it stop you in your tracks. Pick yourself up and start again when you feel more settled. Later in the week you may find that a discussion brings a chance to explore new ideas and ventures that you’ll want to work on as part of a team.

AMBULANCE

Taurus The Full Moon shines on your zone of leisure and pleasure, spotlighting activities you’ll love to indulge. Will it be a romantic liaison or creative pursuit, sports or more cultural activity? Watch out, though, as you could act on impulse, especially where romance is concerned, which might cause you to do something you’ll come to regret later. The end of the week could be excellent for getting your bearings regarding a job or career goal.

Cancer

Gemini The Full Moon enhances sensitivity to everyday situations, so home could be a place of tension and potential spats on Monday. It’s worthwhile staying calm and not upsetting the apple cart. If you know a topic will cause tension, avoid it. Thursday and Friday could prove enlightening, particularly if you’re eager to explore a new path or branch out into new territory. Friends or significant others may have encouraging information for you.

Monday’s Full Moon could skew discussions regarding deals or other important opportunities. It might be better to hold such conversations a few days later, such as on Thursday or Friday, when the influences are more supportive. Also, both of these days can be useful for discussing business matters and career issues, particularly in terms of their financial realities. Someone could have a bright idea about how you can improve your income.

Monday’s Full Moon in your personal financial sector could see you splurging on items you don’t really need. If you’re emotional or out of sorts, you could head to the mall or visit your favorite shopping websites in a bid to feel better about something. Think carefully before you make any purchases if you want to avoid problems in the future.

Monday’s Full Moon in your sign could leave you feeling a tad more emotional than usual, which might be a problem if you have lots to do. If you can lighten your schedule, this might be preferable to muddling your way through. Whatever you do, go easy! Thursday and Friday could be pivotal days when much can be accomplished by seeking out further information or getting feedback on innovative ideas.

Leo

Virgo

Scorpio

Libra

Your dreams could be very powerful on or around Monday, when the Full Moon can make them more vivid and realistic than usual. Watch out for any that attract your attention or that might hold useful guidance. Get feedback on your intuition, as it could be somewhat unreliable on that day. Another’s perspective can be very helpful. Creativity may also be enhanced by getting an opinion or even advice from others in the know.

Monday could be a great time for a party or celebration, as the Full Moon makes for a wild and upbeat atmosphere. As everyone will likely be a bit sensitive, be careful about what you say or suggest. Avoid doing anything you might come to regret a few days later. Mercury makes some sterling aspects on Thursday and Friday that could resolve a family issue or put a positive spin on an idea that’s been around for some time.

Capricorn

Sagittarius

Aquarius The urge to splurge could tempt you to make purchases that aren’t truly worthwhile. You’ll benefit from holding back at the start of the week even if what you’re contemplating seems like the most desirable item on earth. Later in the week you might wonder what you were thinking. If in doubt, get feedback from someone you trust. Later, your opinion may be sought by others who see you as the go-to person for their particular issue.

Sudoku

The call of the wild could be the reason you’re moved to explore new territory or take up a class early in the week. There’s a Full Moon at that time, so take care not to act on impulse. You’d be wise to think through your actions so you don’t come to regret them later. You’ll enjoy the upbeat discussions that are possible around Thursday and Friday, which could lead to an in-depth understanding of an ongoing emotional issue.

Pisces

Relationships are very much in focus early in the week as the Full Moon brings out feelings that may have been buried beneath the surface. Take care when discussing delicate issues, as they will require tact and diplomacy. Avoid doing or saying anything that you might come to regret later. Pay attention to any intuitive hunches toward the end of the week. They might help you save money or avoid delays. 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

You could find yourself in the spotlight on Monday or feel encouraged to put yourself center stage. If you’re in the public eye, you’ll want to do your best and avoid drawing attention to yourself for all the wrong reasons. This is the time to behave impeccably. Later in the week you have a chance to discuss issues that are close to your heart.

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

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 FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

Catching Up Most shared story of the week What kept the G PLUS social media handles buzzing this week was youth organizations taking it upon themselves to propagate Assamese through the signboards in the city. Although mandated by the District Administration, people have slammed the organizations for defacing public and private property since these organizations lack the appropriate authority to do so. The post received 218 likes, 22 shares and 50 comments. facebook.com/guwahatiplus twitter.com/guwahatiplus

Guwahati

GYAN

Did you know?

Guwahati War Cemetery

New

Chic

on the block

Priyashree Baruah About Me

Hey there! I’m Priyashree Baruah. I am 20 years old and belong to Tinsukia. I’m currently studying Graphic & Animation from Image Institute. I’m a fun loving person, down to earth and very sociable.

Mojo

I think small things inspire me which could include travelling, meeting new people from all walks of life, trying out the most exotic cuisines and occasionally grooving to some peppy music.

Route in the Woods

he cemetery was started during the World War II as a burial site for Commonwealth servicemen. Bodies were brought from military hospitals in and around the city. Gradually, other graves were brought in from other parts of the eastern region such as Sylhet, Badarpur, Cooch Behar and Darjeeling as there was no certainty that the graves would remain unscathed there. Incidentally this

was the only Commonwealth cemetery of the World War II that till 2012 had graves of Japanese soldiers too. There are 486 Commonwealth servicemen buried at the Guwahati War Cemetery. Although the cemetery receives a large footfall from both locals and tourists the site is yet to catch the attention of the tourism department and its inclusion on the city’s tourism map.

Ka m u r of the week

ow that the South Asian Games are over, the traffic of the city is back to being its best - clogged, unruly and in disarray. Sometimes you wonder whether this city is ever gonna change but then when you see the orderly traffic during events, you know that it is just a matter of intent.

I hope to be a very well loved and cherished human being. I aspire to be a successful model and actress. I wish to lead the life of a celebrity and at the same time be down to earth and humble.

PIC OF THE

WEEK

WHAT DID I JUST HEAR?

31-year-old man from Puranpur was killed on the spot after he lost control of his car on the Pilibhit-Puranpur highway and hit a truck. According to reports, the man was with his girlfriend in the vehicle, who suffered severe injuries but survived the crash. Probably the couple was having sex in the moving car and either didn’t see the truck coming from the other side or couldn’t drive past it, said police.

In Association with Face-off!

Photo: Adib Zamali

G PLUS FEB 27 - MAR 04, 2016

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Call us: 97060 89066 | 84860 02305 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