G Plus Vol 3 Issue 36 by G Plus

Child labour menace rampant in city flats, apartment buildings

PG 09

Young hackers on a mission to protect cyber world

PG 11

G PLUS APR 23 - APR 29, 2016

Nandita Saikia

New Chic on the block

Page 24

VOLUME 03 | ISSUE 36 JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

PRICE `10

Poor construction of retainer walls lead to artificial floods in Anil Nagar-Nabin Nagar

04 Special

Ambubachi

Out-dated water treatment plant fails to meet the requirement of Panbazar area

06 Ward watch

Rs. 2256 crore project to change the city by 2020 with the centre already releasing Rs. 200 crore for project commencement

15 Gopinath Nagar

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Lead Story

Dist Admin successfully controls marijuana consumption at Nilachal Hills

KALYAN DEB

G Plus photos

ith the commencement of the Ambubachi Mela, the Kamakhya Temple, atop Nilachal Hills, has been given a bridal look. Along with the decorative lights on the way to the hilltop, the purposeful strides of thousands of devotees add to the delightful sight of the Ambubachi Mela. People from several parts of the country make way to the temple on the occasion of the Mela. Kamakhya Temple is considered the centre of Tantra form of worship and hence, it attracts thousands of tantric devotees to the annual festival. Many sadhus were seen decked up like Shiva and Kaali and devotees flocked to them to seek blessings as well as to present offerings. Some of the sadhus and tantriks claim to be ‘seers’ while many sell herbal medicines in form of shoots, stems as also animal bones and many more. What is a more common component seen among the sadhus is the consumption of marijuana. Sadhus throng the temple days before the commencement of Ambubachi Mela and with the same, a layer of smoke effused from the chilams (earthen smoking pipes) blankets most part of the hillock. Several nooks and corners of the stretch from Bhootnath cremation ground till Nilachal hilltop remains occupied with clusters of sahdus donning saffron, flaunting their dreadlocks and puffing the earthen chilams. However, this year’s scenario tells a different story in comparison to the past years’ Ambubachi Melas. Since January 2016 the premises of Kamakhya Temple was declared a No Smoking Zone by the Kamakhya Devalaya Committee, the body entrusted with the task of managing temple and related affairs. However, there was huge speculation regarding the prohibition, especially as to how the authorities will control the consumption of marijuana during the Mela. Last year the authorities had enforced a ban on use of cannabis and marijuana by sadhus during the five-day Ambubachi Mela. It was for the first time that the Tobacco Control Cell had decided to make the Kamakhya temple premises free from marijuana smoke. However, the result was not satisfactory despite a successful conduct of the Mela. Thus, the authorities remained unsure how to control the rampant consumption of cannabis by thousands of sadhus and sanyasis in this year’s Ambubachi Mela. With the initiative of controlling tobacco consumption, the temple committee had launched a no-smoking drive and prohibited all the shopkeepers and vendors in the Nilachal Hills from stocking or selling any kind of tobacco product within the temple premises. While addressing newsmen

prior to the commencement of the Mela, Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup Metro, Dr. M Angamuthu said that the administration will try to prohibit the consumption of all kinds of banned substances but do not want to hurt any religious sentiments. The district administration and even the police have extended a pro-active support in enforcing this ban which is certainly a challenge. Officials of several departments were seen managing the crowd. Apart from the District Administration and police, the Ambubachi Mela Parichalana Committee, a body formed by Kamakhya Devalaya for smooth functioning of the Mela,

has deployed additional man-power for proper management of the crowd. Around 40 personnel from private security agencies, 400 scouts and guides, 350 NCC cadets, 150 personnel of Civil Defence and 30 officials of Assam Home Guard have been deployed by the Kamakhya Devalaya. Meanwhile, this year’s entry procedure has seen a new initiative as those who want to enter the temple have to go through five check-points. The entry route has been diverted through the foot-over bridge that begins near the parking area with security officials deployed at both ends. Anterior to the entrance of the temple

gate metal detectors have been placed at three spots where the devotees and their baggage are thoroughly checked. The security officials are prohibiting carrying of any kind of tobacco product or banned substance and have seized such substances when found. Subsequently, a large pile of tobacco products were found accumulated near the entrance of the foot-over bridge and such piles got smaller at each check-point. It can be mentioned that the Kamakhya Devalaya and the district administration has been successful in enforcing the ban of tobacco consumption within the temple premises to a major extent. However, the

areas near Bagala Temple and the way atop the hill are the favourite haunts for ganja smokers. Sadhus and several others dressed in saffron could be seen in these haunts puffing the earthen smoking pipes. Meanwhile, the area from the Bagala Temple to Bhubaneshwari Temple atop the Nilachal Hill continues to emit an overwhelmingly distinct smell of cannabis as sadhus and tantriks were seen dragging on the chilams. It may be mentioned that the Kamakhya Temple is one of the oldest of the 51 Shakti Pithas in western Guwahati metropolis. It is the main temple in a complex of individual temples dedicated to ten Mahavidyas – Kali, Tara, Sodashi, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamala. Tripurasundari, Matangi and Kamala reside inside the main temple and the remaining seven other deities reside in individual temples. The current structural temple was built and renovated several times from 8th to the 17th century. As a result of this one sees a hybrid indigenous style that is called the Nilachal type meaning hemispherical dome on a cruciform base. There are four chambers comprising garbhagriha and three mandapas: kalanta, pancharatna and natamandira aligned from east to west. The Kamakhya temple will be closed till 25th June. The nribritti is scheduled at 7:26.31 pm on Saturday, 25th June. However, the temple door will be opened for devotees around 7 am on 26th June. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

In The News

Rahul Chanda

oday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the smart city project for 20 selected cities in the first list from Pune. The Ministry of Urban Development aimed to kick-start smart city projects from June 25, marking the first year of launch of the flagship mission. The 20 cities selected in the first round include Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Pune (Maharashtra), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Surat (Gujarat), Kochi (Kerala), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Sholapur (Maharashtra), Davangere (Karnataka), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC, Delhi), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), Belagavi (Karnataka), Udaipur (Rajasthan), Guwahati (Assam), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Ludhiana (Punjab), and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). As Guwahati is also in the first list of smart cities, G Plus check out what work will be done in Guwahati and how.

Who will be responsible for the work? The implementation of the mission at the city level will be done by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which was already created on 11th May 2016. The SPV is known as Guwahati Smart City Development Agency Ltd. (GSCDAL). At present there are 10 people on the board of directors in the SPV and the chairman is the chief secretary of the state. The CEO, at present, is the Commissioner of the GMC and rest of the members are the heads of concerned government departments. The SPV has just been formed and there might be some more people on the board in the near future. The SPV has been formed adhering to the guidelines laid out by the Union Min-

Ghy smart city project to start today Rs. 2256 crore project to change the city by 2020 with the centre already releasing Rs. 200 crore for project commencement istry of Urban Development. The state or the Urban Local Body (ULB) is expected to ensure that a dedicated and substantial revenue stream is made available to the SPV so as to make it self-sustainable and could evolve its own credit worthiness for raising additional resources from the market. Government contribution for smart city is used only to create infrastructure that has public benefit outcomes. The execution of projects will be done through joint ventures, subsidiaries, public-private partnership (PPP), turnkey contracts, etc. suitably dovetailed with revenue streams. The SPV is a limited company incorporated under The Companies Act, 2013 at the city-level, in which the state and the ULB are the promoters having 50:50 equity shareholdings. Interestingly the SPV has already announced two smart city projects. According to GMC sources, the SPV floated a tender for one project which is development of the Borsola Beel. The other project which will also start on 25th June is the Integrated Power Development Scheme which is a convergence with a centrally funded scheme. The source said that the IPDS project is basically the underground cabling of the city power wires and initially the source said it will be from Paltan Bazar to Last Gate.

What will the city witness today? As Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the smart city project for all the 20 cities in Pune, Guwahati will also witness the ground breaking ceremony for the project with the two initial projects which are Borsola Beel development project and the IPDS project. The PM will address all the twenty cities from Pune through video conferencing and meanwhile GMC will invite all the prominent citizens in the city including councillors, Mayor, media, NGOs and the government officials to participate in the discussion. The GMC has provided the vision and the proposal plan for the smart city to the MoUD which will be presented before the PM in Pune and it will also be aired nationally through TV channels. The ground breaking ritual for Guwahati smart city project will be done by the chief minister and the GDD minister.

The smart city contest According to a very highly placed source in the GMC, the urban local body on the same day will announce a contest for the city people to involve citizens in the making of the smart city.

The source said that the contest will ask people to provide ideas to develop some important points in the city. For example, how to develop Bharalumukh to avoid traffic jams and water logging during urban flash floods. Similarly there will be questions to develop many other such points and the best three ideas will be awarded. Also the best idea will be taken by the SPV and that place will be developed according to that idea. The source said that timeline to submit the idea will be 15 days and the prize money might be Rs. 50,000 for the best idea.

The budget According to sources the SPV has already received a fund of Rs. 200 crores to start the project and in five years the centre will give Rs. 500 crores. The state also will have to spend the same amount, but the entire budget of the five year smart city plan is Rs. 2256 crore. So where will the rest of the funds come from? The smart city mission will be operated as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) and the Central Government proposes to give financial support to the mission to the extent of Rs. 48,000 crores over five years, i.e., on an average of Rs. 100 crore per city per year. The rest will come from the following ways:-

• ULBs own resources from collection of user fees, beneficiary charges and impact fees, land monetization, debt, loans, etc. • Additional resources transferred due to acceptance of the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission • Innovative finance mechanisms such as municipal bonds with credit rating of ULBs, pooled finance mechanism, tax increment financing • Other Central government schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission, AMRUT, National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), etc. • Leverage borrowings from financial institutions, including bilateral and multilateral institutions, both domestic and external sources • State may also access the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which was announced by the Finance Minister in his 2015 Budget Speech • Private sector funds through PPPs Many city people are excited about the project and in the history of all the city projects, the smart city project looks like being the only project which is flagged off in record time. The involvement of the citizen for the city development also sounds interesting in the light of the fact that since many years many projects have come and gone but the city still gets submerged by a small downpour, the traffic still remains chaotic and departments like GMC and GMDA continue to be infamous for all the wrong reasons like corruption and laziness. How smart the city will be after five years only time will tell. But for now let’s participate in developing Guwahati.

rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Concern

Poor construction of retainer walls lead to artificial floods in Anil Nagar-Nabin Nagar

G Plus photos

Juthika Baruah

The natural drainage system and the wetlands and rivers need to be kept clear to drain out the flood water

he artificial flood has been a burning problem for the citizens but the administration and the concerned departments have failed to come up with a permanent solution. Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar and Rajgarh Road, which are the most affected areas, have not seen any hope of getting the problem solved. During the monsoon season, the residents of Anil Nagar and Nabin Nagar remain in jitters as to what they may have to face during the season as the area submerges under rain water after every smart shower which may last just 10 minutes.

Background and development of the problem In order to drain out the rain water accumulating in Chandmari and Pub-Sarania areas, the Country Town Planning Department constructed an RCC Box drain (2’4 m x 2’4 m) and led it to flow out into the Bharalu River with a sluice gate. This was done in 1980 but without any provision for pumping. In the following decades more drains were added to the parent drain in the areas upstream of Anil Nagar despite protests. Speaking exclusively to G Plus,

Amulya Das, President of Anil Nagar-Rajgarh Unnayan Samiti said, “One of our committee members investigated to find that as many as 79 drains have been constructed till date and subsequently, Guwahati Refinery also started releasing their untreated effluents into the roadside drain that meets the Bahini River at Jonali. In 2000, the government constructed 1200 mm huge pipe drainage net in 3 branches in Anil Nagar in the name Storm Water Underground Drainage of Nabin Nagar and Anil Nagar areas in which there was no provision of pumping. Thus the scheme served no useful purpose and it was just a wastage of crores of rupees.” It was due to the scheme that such a condition created a deluge in 2004 when stagnant flood water inundated households up to window levels and remained for days. In 2007-08, following public demand, the government constructed two retainer walls from RGB Road to GS Road, one on each bank with installation of pumps in place of the existing sluice. Since then, it appears that the water resource department have been in an experimental mode with trials and errors and have been unable to churn out any dependable system. Presently, the Guwahati Met-

ropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is aiding the water resource department and after the flood of 2015, 7 medium-sized pumps at Bhangagarh and some pumps of smaller size have been installed. Das said that the present arrangement is only a stop-gap measure and until and unless a good, scientifically planned scheme of diverting storm water is undertaken the problem will not be solved. The problem could be solved by: i)

ii)

iii) iv) v) vi)

Restoring the wetlands like Silsako, Borsola-Sorusola Beel, Deepor Beel to absorb and hold flood water Re-sectioning and reviving all the drainage channels like Basistha, Pamohi, Bharalu, Mora-Bharalu and Bahini Rivers Leading away storm water into the Brahmaputra far downstream of Khanajan Constructing sluices at key locations with high-power pumps Protecting the hills Diverting Meghalaya Storm water along NH 37

Main cause of the floods: In order to provide relief to people of the area affected by artificial (manmade) flooding, more specifically in Anil Nagar since the early eighties, the water resource department constructed retainer walls on both sides of the Bharalu River with arrangement of pumping in 2007-08 but the capacity of the pumps was inadequate. In September 2015, national and state disaster relief forces had to be deployed in Anil Nagar and electricity was cut off for 3 days plunging the entire area into darkness. In the same year against public demand, more pumps have been installed and inefficient pump wells, which on account of accumulation of debris prevented the pumps from working smoothly, have also been modified. The Unnayan Samiti demanded to have the system capable of deploying 350 HP of pumping continuously during flood with a mechanical arrangement of screening out incoming debris which causes heat due to which the pumping has to be stopped. But more alarming is the state of the right bank retainer wall, a portion of which collapsed into the river due to inadequate design depth and poor

quality of construction. Because of shallow foundation the river cannot be cleaned fully through mechanical dredging. The breach was restored in May 2015 but cracks and holes remain. In the September 2014 floods, the wall was overtopped at places and the river water percolated through the gaps and holes which again took place this year on 18th June. The Unnayan Samity had written to the Water Resource department in May 2015 to take urgent action and the same demand was pressed in a public meeting at Nabin Nagar in presence of the concerned officer. The people of the area are facing a catastrophic disaster until the authorities take serious action in searching for and bringing up a permanent solution. Das also said that due to the construction of the so-called commercial buildings, the wetlands, beels, and rivers have been blocked resulting in water entering the area and the water which flows from Meghalaya also causes floods. The JCB which has been used for de-siltation of drains causes problems as it stands on the footpath and once the work is done they do not cover the footpaths with the manholes for which many accidents occur. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Police entraps international drug smugglers; nabs two

Crime branch of the city police arrests two persons and seizes 750 gms of heroine in Guwahati which is being touted as the largest cache of drug seizure in quite a while Rahul Chanda

ity police seized huge amount of heroine recently and even arrested two persons who brought the drugs in Guwahati to sell it. The duo brought the drugs two days before they got arrested. The drugs were originally brought from Myanmar which hints towards an international drug racket. How did the smugglers manage to smuggle the drugs into the city and how did the police receive the information? Who all were involved in the racket? G Plus talked to some police sources to know the modus operandi of the racket.

In last two months People arrested

Cases registered

Ganja seized

30.80 kg

Heroine seized

777

The trap The police did not want to share the entire story as publishing such information might alert the criminals but a highly placed source in the city police narrated the gist of the story of the drug seizure and arrest of the smugglers. The source said that the crime branch of the city police got some information that an international drug racket is linked to Guwahati and drugs come from Myanmar to the city. They received the inputs that the deal happens over the phone and a group of people sitting in Aizawl take orders and accordingly the drugs are delivered in the city. The police decided to lay a trap and called up the gang in Aizawl that there is a requirement of some heroine in Guwahati. Two people Thankhgin Gin from Nagaland and Ngu Ltinlal from Manipur came to the city on 19th June with some heroine but they informed the person who was fielded by police that the drugs will be delivered only to a nonAssamese person. They also informed

gm Suspected brown sugar or white powder seized

4.43 kg

Psychotropic syrups seized

864 bottles

that they have around 750 gm of heroine and for that they will require a minimum of Rs. 42 lakhs. The police came to know about the place they were staying at in Guwahati (Pilingkata under Basistha Police station and the village is bordering Assam). Police kept an eye on the place they stayed in for two days and 21st June was the day set for the deal. The smugglers where called to Dispur and the police nabbed them. The source said that the drugs came from Myanmar through Aizawl, Shillong and then to Guwahati. The

source also said that at present both the smugglers are in police custody and the interrogation is still going on.

Who are the buyers? The source said that at present it is difficult to speak about or identify the people who buy the drugs in Guwahati but definitely there are some buyers in Guwahati who are backed by some big shots. The source said that the mystery will be soon unearthed and such questions will be duly answered. The

source also said that the drug smuggling is directly or indirectly related to arms smuggling and police is investigating the links of this recent arrest. The source also said that Thankhgin Gin was earlier linked to many cases of smuggling counterfeit notes and on occasions, he also involved himself in drug smuggling. Gin brought this consignment as this time the money was huge. In the international market 750 gm of drugs cost around Rs. 75 lakhs. According to the source Guwahati earlier was always known as the transit point for drugs but recently there is an increase in the cases of drug abuse within the city itself and all other crimes are related to drugs these days. Enquiring how the crimes were related, the source said that in the last two months the crime rate has came down as the city police is working day and night to stop drug smuggling in the city. In last two months 40 persons were arrested, 15 cases were registered and a huge amount of drugs and psychotropic substances were seized by the police in 20 special drives. Around 30.8 kgs of ganja was seized, 777 gm of heroine, 864 bottles of psychotropic syrups and 4.43 kgs of suspected brown sugar was seized by the police in the last two months. The source then said interestingly other crimes have also come down after these special drives against drugs were conducted in Guwahati which brings out the relation between drugs and other crimes in the city. The narcotic department officials said that mainly addicts turn into drug peddlers and smugglers in Assam, but with this seizure it explains that there is an in-

Crime

750 gm of heroin costing around Rs. 75 lakhs seized by city police Police laid a trap to nab the international drug smugglers The heroin was brought by two smugglers from Myanmar The route chosen was Myanmar to Aizwal and then Shillong to Guwahati Both came in a Bolero bearing number plate NL02 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; C4921 Police fielded a person to buy the drugs at Rs. 42 lakhs The deal was fixed at Dispur where the police nabbed them Since last two months police is conducting special drives against drug smuggling

ternational racket which might also having links with international arms smuggling racket. But something that causes concern is that the future of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth is scary if the drug smuggling racket is not busted entirely and the big shot buyers of the city and the state are not identified and put behind the bars. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Concern

Out-dated water treatment plant fails to meet the requirement of Panbazar area G uwahati has been long suffering from inadequate water supply. Currently, only about 30% of the population has access to piped water, while many rely on borewells and other sources. However, the supply of piped water is intermittent and its quality is poor due to infiltration of contaminated ground water through broken and leaking distribution pipes. Nevertheless, the other sources of water have not been able to completely address the requirement of people, especially those residing in the hilly areas. To address these problems, the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) had undertaken a program of major infrastructure projects to provide drinking water that will serve the entire Guwahati Metropolitan Area. However, the project remains clouded with its completion date being continuously extended. Suffering from a similar deficiency, 35 households of the Panbazar area approached the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) which is responsible for piped water supply in the city. The locals of Jaswanta Road, SC Goswami Road and the surrounding localities of the area approached the GMC Commissioner to seek a solution to the problem. The irony is that despite being located closest to the water treatment plant at Panbazar under the Public Health Engineering Department, the residents in the vicinity have been facing such pitiable scarcity. When asked, the locals of the area shed light that the service has been gradually deteriorating since the early 2000s and till this date has reached a point where most of the households have to buy their share of water from private sources on a regular basis. It was also informed that the major scarcity started since the beginning of the year 2016 when the supply became irregular and erratic. The supply that was once provided for around two hours was restricted to merely

G Plus photos

KALYAN DEB

45 to 60 minutes per day. What raises eyebrows is that while large numbers of water tankers run throughout the city round the clock the households in the vicinity of the treatment plant remain deprived of adequate water. “After the construction of the plant in 1962 they used to supply water twice a day for around three hours each time. The same schedule more or less continued till late 1980s. From the 1990s onwards the supply was reduced to once a day and from the year 2000 the supply was confined to once a day for around two to three hours which was still adequate for household use,” said Dipak Kumar Das, a resident of Panbazar. “It was since 2015 that the time

period of supply was reduced to 45 minutes to an hour and since the beginning of 2016 the water supply became very erratic. At the same time we have been observing that large number of water tankers have been filling the filtered water from the Panbazar water works and transporting to different places in the city. The water works operate round the clock but in spite of this adequate quantity of water is not being supplied,” Das added. On asking officials of the Panbazar Water Treatment Plant it was mentioned that the supply has been adequate but due to the increasing number of tenants in each residence the consumption has increased. Meanwhile, several flaws were also

Tariff of water tankers of GMC Additional Capacity charge up to 5 of tankers kms

Additional charge within 5 to 10 kms

Charges for 15 kms and each additional kilometre

600 lts 2000 lts 3000 lts 6000 lts 10,000 lts

Rs. 220 Rs. 530 Rs. 670 Rs. 920 Rs. 1210

Rs. 300 + Rs. 20/km Rs. 600 + Rs. 40/km Rs. 780 + Rs. 50/km Rs. 1050 + Rs. 70/km Rs. 1370 + Rs. 90/km

Rs. 160 Rs. 400 Rs. 550 Rs. 800 Rs. 1050

brought to light such as the usual power cut in the morning hours which restricts the duration of water supply to just a few minutes. “The amount of water supplied to each household is adequate enough as it is estimated that each household is supplied with around 1000 litres of water. Since it is only through the pressure of water pumped out of the plant that reaches the reservoirs located at the second floor of the residences, it is clear that the water pressure is adequate enough. With such water pressure it is sufficient to fill a water tank within half an hour. It is due to the increasing number of consumers in the area that the amount falls short to the households,” mentioned A. K. Misra, superintendent engineer, Panbazar Water Treatment Plant. “The locals of Panbazaar are provided piped water under an older scheme of water supply due to which no water metres were installed in the households. Other parts of the city are provided with water from different reservoirs located in various parts of the city. Due to lack of investment the water supplied from the treatment plant is running under an older scheme and due to the same reason metres could not be installed,” Misra said adding, “After the completion of the new water supply projects the treatment plant will become obsolete

and people will have round the clock water supply.” Moreover, it was also informed that the existing water supply facility has already exceeded its intended service life. The plant that pumps 45 million litres per day runs through the rate payers’ money and due to lack of investment new machineries have not been installed. It was in 2008 last that the pumps were upgraded. Apart from households, the treatment plant supplies water to various government organizations such as Assam Secretariat, Assam State Zoo and Botanical Garden, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital and the Police stations to name a few. This water is delivered through tankers. It needs mention that the supply to the government organizations is carried out by PHE whereas GMC supplies water through similar means to the households and commercial establishments under a certain tariff. In order to address the mass scarcity of water throughout the city, separate water supply schemes are already underway that will provide a continuous (24X7) piped supply of drinking water. The Guwahati Jal Board will take over the operation and maintenance of these facilities upon the completion. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Landslide claims one life at Piyali Phukan Nagar L

Juthika Baruah

andslide has been a perennial problem in the city as people encroach forest lands. Also, haphazard earth cutting and earth filling is another major concern and recently one Rukia Begum of Piyali Phukan Nagar, Chandmari has lost her life in a landslide. The landslide in Piyali Phukan Nagar is the first incident in the last 30-35 years and the family of Rukia Begum has been living in the place since 1982. “We have been living here since my birth but no such incident occured till date. This is the first landslide that I witnessed claiming a life. The lady who died was washing clothes in the bathroom when suddenly the land sloped and she was buried under it,” said Nayan Jyoti Talukdar, a resident of Piyali Phukan Nagar. Talukdar said that she, along with her daughter-in-law, was alone at home during the incident. Her daughter-inlaw was in her bedroom and when the incident occurred she ran out of her room to escape from the landslide but couldn’t save her mother-in-law. The wall of the bedroom also collapsed in the landslide. The police and Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (M) rushed to the spot immediately. A team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) however, arrived after 90 minutes. Had the SDRF arrived on time she could have perhaps been rescued and taken to the hospital immediately. It took four hours to retrieve the body. Her younger son tried to dig her out but couldn’t. Meanwhile, Talukdar said that there are around 800 families in Piyali Phukan Nagar and all the residents are established. “There is no record of earth cutting in the area and it is not that risky as in other hilly areas,” said Talukdar. The administration alleged that the family has illegally encroached the land while the family members and the residents claimed that they have been living in the area for 35 years and that they have not done any earth cutting. An official of SDRF, however, said, “It took time to reach the spot as the place was remote and the roads were very bad. We had to reach there with our equipment and so it took time.” One auto driver, who is also a resident of the nearby place, said that earth cutting is the main reason for landslides. It is more common among the people living in the hills as more and more people come to live in the hills after failing to get space to live in the plains. Earlier the Deputy Commissioner M. Angamuthu ordered the identification of the landslide prone areas in the city as this has been a perennial problem since a long time. It is observed that unscientific and haphazard earth cutting and earth filling in the hillocks as well as in the low lying areas of this district for unplanned construction works destabilizes the natural earth slopes, blocks natural drains, clog natural and artificial drains, causes artificial floods and persistent water

City Landslide in Piyali Phukan Nagar claims life of one Rukia Begum SDRF team retrieves the body of the lady after one and half hours The Administration ordered that no earth cutting should take place during the monsoon to ensure safety of people No earth cutting should be allowed from 1st May, 2016 till the monsoon season is over

The encroachment in the hills and earth cutting leads to landslide which has been a perpetual problem in the city logging during the rainy days resulting in substantial loss of human lives and cattle and destruction of properties. Whereas haphazard human activity like wanton earth cutting leads to down slope movement of rocks, debris and earth under the influence of gravity, it also triggers processes like heavy rainstorms, cyclones, floods, earthquakes etc. This sudden movement of materials causes extensive damage to the downward settlement. The unscientific earth cutting also degrades environment and overall ecological balance. The DC mentioned that if haphazard, unscientific and unplanned earth cutting and earth filling are allowed to continue unhindered in this district, it may cause a catastrophe, mishap and calamity of great magnitude putting the public in general in a situation of great inconvenience and hardship. The DC thereby feels an immediate necessity to direct all the concerned departments including the enforcement agencies like Revenue Circle Officers, District Police, Forest Department, PWD, Transport Department, planning and regulatory bodies like GMC, GMDA, Panchayat functionaries etc. not to permit any earth cutting and earth filling activity in the hilly terrains, water bodies and in low lying areas of this district. In view of the grave situation arising out of the recent landslide incidents in and around Guwahati City, it is also hereby directed that no earth cutting should be allowed from 1st May, 2016 till the monsoon season is over, even if permission has been procured from the regulatory authorities like GMDA, GMC for any construction activity. It is further directed not to allow carrying of earth procured after hill cutting. Before procuring the procurer should ensure that the earth is not out of hill cutting. All the concerned departments and regulatory bodies will take steps to review the permission accorded, if any, during the current year and take steps to cancel those permissions forthwith

in the most vulnerable areas prone to landslides and flash floods considering the present risk and vulnerability in the hilly terrains, water bodies and low lying areas of the district. This direction is issued in greater public interest and as per provisions as laid down in Section 30.2 (lll) (V), (VI), (VIII), (lX), (XI), (XX) (XXII), and Section a1 (c) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Features that might be noticed prior to major land sliding • Springs, seeps or saturated ground in areas that have been not typically been wet before • New cracks or unusual bulges in the ground, street pavements or sidewalls • Soil moving away from foundations • Ancillary structures such as decks and patios tilting and /or moving relative to the mail house. Tilting or cracking of concrete floors and foundations, broken waterlines and other underground utilities • Leaning telephone poles, trees, retaining walls and fences • Sunken or dropped road beds • Rapid increase in creek water levels, possibly accompanied turbidity Sticking doors and windows and visible open spaces indicating jambs and frames out of plumb. What to do if you suspect imminent landslide danger • Contact your local fire, police or public works departments • Inform affected neighbours • Evacuate- Quickly move away from the path of landslides or debris flow. What to do during landslides • Listen to any unusual sounds that might indicate moving debris, such as trees crackling or boulders knocking together • If you are near a stream or channel,

be alert for any sudden increase or decrease in water flow and for change from clear to muddy water. Such changes may indicate landslide activitiues upstream, so be prepared to move quickly. Don’t delay! Save yourself , not your belongings. What to do after landslide • Stay away from slide area, there may be danger of additional slides • Check for injured or tapped persons near the slide, without entering the direct slide area. Direct rescuers to the location

The direction is issued as per provisions laid down in Section 30.2 (lll) (V), (VI), (VIII), (lX), (XI), (XX) (XXII), and Section a1 (c) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005

• Help the neighbours • Listen to local radio/ television for emergency information • Look for broken utility lines such as telephone, electrical lines, water pipes etc and report to authorities • Check gas leakage from cylinders • Check the building for damages in landslide prone areas, the residents is requested to move to safer places on their own. In case of any difficulty, the concerned Circle Officer may be contacted.

juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Governance

Encroachments around

railway tracks cause concern

Bipasa Saikia Kashyap

he NF Railways has expressed grave concern over the massive encroachments along railways tracks stating that if not curbed, it will soon start to hamper any kind of development activities for the NF Railways. With about 164.50 hectares of railway land under encroachment and about 20,837 recorded cases of encroachments on railway land, especially in stations and railway residential areas, the problem is fast emerging to be a major impediment for smooth working of the railways in Assam. If this not enough, encroachments are also proving to be a serious obstruction to the execution of development projects and expansion of railway tracks. Just last year, it was announced that the Agiathori junction would be taken up as one of the major NF Railways projects and be converted into a world class junction. This project has been halted due to heavy encroachments. However, it is not just limited to Agiathori. Various other major projects like the work of a new Pit line and sick line at New Guwahati, the expansion and upgradation of circulating areas of railway stations at Silchar, Hojai, Diphu, Tangla and Chaparmukh are also being affected due to massive human encroachment. There is a dire need in the city to have an alternate route of entry to the Kamakhya Railway Station due to the heavy traffic congestion and due to the illegal occupancy of railway land by encroachers. The development of rail connectivity to the Pandu port of the Inland Waterways Authority of India from the Kamakhya station is long overdue. The opening of such a connecting route will help hasten economic and business activities to a big extent. However, encroachment issues have proved to be the biggest obstacle and this project has been put on hold. Apart from major projects screeching to a halt, the illegal occupation of railway land is also endangering the lives of residents and nearby settlers. The illegal population has seen a spurt of growth over the years and now there are many

unauthorised markets running in the vicinity of railway tracks. These unauthorized markets and makeshift stalls that are set up leave behind huge quantities of garbage every day. During monsoons, the garbage collected flows into the drains clogging them. The pipelines from the entire stretch from Kamakhya station to Guwahati and further to New Gu-

wahati are almost entirely clogged due to the accumulation of garbage. This is one of the prime reasons why this whole area remains inundated during heavy monsoons. Other than development issues, illegal encroachment is another prime reason for the rise of anti-social activities. The growth of this encroaching population has also given

rise to a number of bootleggers and drug peddlers who seek refuge in such places and conduct their businesses. Bootlegging is one grave problem as the railways tracks seem to be the most convenient place for the sale and resale of railway property. This menace has been most often spotted around the tracks of Guwahati’s railway tracks where frequent

theft of railway property has been reported. These thefts have been mostly conducted by the residents of shanties which occupy both side of the track in Guwahati-Kamakhya area. Incidents of stone pelting, theft of signalling cables, components from stabled coaches are frequently recovered from here. “The NF Railways are carrying out frequent eviction drives under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act 1971 to tackle the issue of illegal encroachment along the railway lines of Guwahati and adjoining areas. We are setting up several meeting in the coming year with senior officials of state government and we will have joint inspections,” said Pranav Jyoti Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer, NF Railways. “The Commissioner & Secretary of Home & Political Department of the Govt. of Assam had also written to all Deputy Commissioners and Commissioners of Police for providing adequate security to the railway administration for carrying out eviction drives.” bipasa.saikia@g-plus.in

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN 26 June

MON 27 June

TUE 28 June

WED 29 June

THU 30 June

FRI 01 July

Heavy Rain

Numerous showers

Heavy rain

Mostly Cloudy

Partly Sunny

26 / 34 °C

25 / 34 °C

25 / 33 °C

26 / 33 °C

26 / 34 °C

24 / 31 °C

SATURDAY

25 June

Widely scattered tstorms

25 / 34 °C

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Concern

Child labour menace rampant in city flats, apartment buildings

With authorities allegedly not trying their best to eradicate the issue, the problem is still on the rise and the state government, in the last few years has not sanctioned any special funds to combat the menace

hile people often take pledges to fight against child labour, the city still shows an increasing trend in the cases of child labour. There are many bodies and NGOs in the city who are committed to work against child labour. Even the authorities have various laws and acts in place to combat the issue. But many kids below the age of 14 are used as domestic and commercial helps in Guwahati. Child labour is illegal, but there are many reasons which bar the authorities from completely eradicating the problem from the society. G Plus takes a look at the situation.

The rescue According to sources in the Child Welfare Commission, 114 child labourers were rescued in Guwahati from January 2013 to 16th June 2016. In 2013, 19 child labourers were rescued, in 2014 - 33, in 2015 - 43 and in 2016 till 16th June 18 child labourers were rescued. Shockingly, some child labourers are also sexually exploited and according to CWC sources many children are rescued from sexual abuse and such cases nowadays get registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012 (POCSO) Act. In 2013, 5 cases were registered under POCSO, in 2014, 3 cases, in 2015, 8 cases and in 2016 till 16th June, 1 case was registered. Childline, Guwahati, Labour Department, CWC and other authorities like the administration and police work hand-in-hand to rescue the children. 1098 is the helpline number where anyone can call and provide information about any child being exploited and requires protection from abuse. Childline India Foundation is an NGO in India that operates a telephone helpline called Childline for children in distress. It was India’s first 24 hour, toll-free, phone outreach service for children. Childline was first established as an experimental project in June 1996, by Jeroo Billimoria, a professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai at the department of Family and Child Welfare. Subsequently, Government of India established the service across India in 1998-99, under Ministry of Women and Child Development, as an umbrella organization to support and monitor services across India, while also serving as a link between the ministry and various NGOs working in the field. Childline was established in Guwahati on 10th February, 2001 under Collaborative Organisation (Indian Council for Child Welfare) and Nodal Organisation (National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development). As in many cities like Mumbai and Delhi, the city district administration too works hand-in-

Number of child labourers increase in the city

State Government fails to sanction any Rahul Chanda special funds to tackle the menace

Child labourers rescued

Labour department submits proposal to make the city child labour free by 2017

2013 – 19

33 2015 – 43 2016 – 18

2014 –

Till date no survey has been conducted by any authorities to estimate the exact number of child labourers in the city and the state

(till 16th June) Minors rescued from sexual abuse and cases registered under POCSO

Some child labourers are also sexually exploited

2013 – 5

2014 – 3 2015 –

At present maximum child labourers are working in the flats of the city’s apartments

2016 – 1 (till 16th June)

G Plus photo

hand with Childine to protect children from abuse. Despite all the authorities working towards eradicating the issue of child labour, the city is witnessing an increasing trend.

The reasons Child labour may be illegal and there are many theoretical reasons like lack of education, lack of awareness behind child labour, etc. that keeps the problem from resurfacing. But the reason which tops the chart is poverty. When parents are not able to feed their children and purely to earn some money by engaging the kids in work, child labour starts. All child labourers are also not treated badly. According to Childline, there are cases where the employer treats the kids well and even takes care of their education. A source in Childline said, “Once we went for an investigation where two girls below the age of 14 where working as domestic helps. We brought the kids to CWC but they were returned to the foster care of the employer because the kids were willing to stay with the him. In foster care, the employer has to take care of all the requirements of the children till the age of 14.” The source added that similarly there are many cases were the children are found to be in decent condition and situation in spite of working with an employer. At the same time though, there are also cases of child abuse and sexual harassment. The POCSO, as accorded by the President of India, aims to offer protection to children (individuals below the age of 18) from sexual violence, namely sexual assault, sexual harassment and the inclusion of children in

pornography. The Act also stipulates special courts for the arraignment of such sexual crimes committed against children. The POSCO Act has stricter punishments, but the police are often not that aware of such acts, and fail to book the culprits under such acts. So, sensitising the police about the various laws and acts is very critical. A source in the Labour Department, talking to G Plus, said that the number of child labourers has drastically reduced in commercial establishments but it is still a concern in domestic households. The source said that the department is trying to reduce the problem with various awareness programmes which have been carried out since 2012 but the irony is that the Assam government, till date, has not sanctioned any fund to spread awareness about the ill-effects of child labour. The source said that the Labour Department has already submitted a proposal to the government to conduct a survey to find out the exact number of child labourers in the city and also to initiate a campaign to make Guwahati child labour free by 2017. The source said the budget of the project will be approximately Rs. 1 crore and it depends on the government to sanction the budget for the cause. The source said that the flat owners really need to be sensitized regarding the issue as maximum child labourers in the city are at present working in various flats in the city’s apartment buildings and some even get exploited. The source said that the number of child labourers is increasing in the city but mainly in domestic households. Child labour and protecting chil-

dren from any kind of abuse are not tough, but to eradicate the problem completely from the society, major problems like poverty should be dealt with which gives birth to such social problems.

Number of child labourers in commercial establishments have decreased rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Snippets

Yoga development cell in each block of State: Sonowal

Bipasa Saikia Kashyap

n Tuesday last, the day that was observed as the International Day of Yoga, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, along with the rest of the country, took to celebrating and highlighting the importance of Yoga and announced that at least one yoga development centre will be set up in each development block. The CM drove 200 kilometres from Guwahati to his constituency, Majuli as the deliberately chosen centre to promote the form of discipline amongst students at the Majuli College Field, Doria at Garamur where he gave a public demonstration of yoga postures in front of the local audience. Addressing the students and the people, the CM said, “Yoga helps to build not only a healthy body and stable mind but also moulds our personality. For inculcating discipline, punctuality and grooming of personality, the world has realised the importance of Yoga.” The newly elected BJP leader stressed that the Assam government is wholly committed towards making the state the most developed in the country and that everyone should

n front of an audience of approximately 900 spectators from all across the north eastern region, Meriya Subba from Namchi, Sikkim was crowned Sunsilk Mega Miss North East 2016 at the ITA Cultural Complex, Machkhowa on Sunday. The contestants travelled to Guwahati for almost a week of activities which included grooming and training sessions conducted by Mega Entertainment, followed by rehearsals, leading up to the Grand Finale of the pageant. The pageant has been supported by Reliance Trends, Radisson Blu, Vodafone U and State Bank of India. 18-year-old Meriya Subba was crowned by Sunsilk Mega Miss North East 2015 Jessica Marbaniang in front of a packed audience. She is the second young woman from Sikkim to take home the Sunsilk Mega Miss North East crown. Meriya, whose parents are school teachers, said that she must thank the people of Northeast for the support and specially her family members who supported her throughout her life. “I owe my success to my parents and mentors. Special thanks to the panel of judges and Mega Entertainment, and especially Abhijit Singha, for crowning me Sunsilk Mega Miss North East 2016. I am overwhelmed and can’t express my happiness… this is a dream coming true for me,” said Meriya after winning the title. Arunachal Pradesh beauty Licha Thosum was crowned the first Runner’s up at the gala event on Sunday. Licha, who hails from Doimukh, is a second semester Master in Sociology student at Rajiv Gandhi University, Doimukh. The second Runner’s up at

G Plus photo

imbibe yoga in their lives. It was the CM’s first visit to the island after becoming CM. “This is a matter of pride for pride for our 125 crore Indians. Our Prime Minister deserves encomiums for prevailing upon UN to observe 21st June as International Day of Yoga,” Sonowal added while praising

the efforts of Modi to bring Yoga to the global forefront. Stressing his keen interest on working for the people of Majuli, Sonowal also maintained that the new government would take up a lot of initiatives to make Majuli a spiritual and cultural hot spot of the world. Stating the examples of As-

Meriya Subba from Sikkim becomes 14th Sunsilk Mega Miss North East 2016

the Sunday’s event, which completed 14 glorious years this year, was Imphal’s Soibam Kanchan Chanu. A Master in Public Administration student, Kanchan did her schooling from Imphal. Interestingly, her father is also police personnel with Manipur Police. Sunsilk Mega Miss North East 2016, Meriya Subba has won a cash prize of Rs 50000, gifts from pageant sponsors, opportunity to become the face of Sunsilk’s print and outdoor campaigns and an opportunity to walk the biggest fashion event of the country Lakmé Fashion Week for Reliance Trends in Mumbai. Besides, she has also won travel opportunities to South East Asian countries with ICSI, profes-

sional representation by Mega Entertainment, portfolio shoot by Rahul’s Spectrum and public relations and reputation management consultancy for one year by Life’s Purple. The judges who sealed the fate of this year’s winner included: Runner Up-Mega Mister North East 2009 and leading fashion designer from Shillong Arif Mukhim; Activation Manager for Hindustan Unilever brands Divya Ramakrishnan; Runner Up- Mega Miss North East 2013 and author of ‘Dear Bohemian Man’ Subi Taba; marketing consultant and Brand Head at Kingfisher Naved Qureshi; and Entrepreneur and Hotelier Bobby Singh.

samese preachers Sri Shankardeva and Sri Madhabdeva, the CM urged the people to go back to their roots and find meaning in yoga to attain physical and mental well being. He mentioned that a vast transformation was the need of the hour and that would only be attained if the entire

state maintained a disciplined, punctual and hard-working attitude. He was accompanied by Health and Education Minister, Himanta Biswa Sharma, who announced that more than 300 development blocks across the state would each have yoga centres to promote the form of ancient discipline. Echoing the CM’s words, he also stated that the 2nd International Day of Yoga was enthusiastically observed at each State, district, sub-divisional, block and panchayat levels across Assam. “These centres will help to inculcate scientific temperament by inculcating the practice of yoga among the youth of the State,” Sharma added. The state level occasion was also graced by Chief Secretary, VK Pipersenia, who spoke on the occasion and encouraged people to take up yoga as a regular routine in their lives. The function was also attended by the Satradhikar of Uttar Kamalabari Satra, Janardhan Deva Goswami and prominent personality, Ajay Jamwal. bipasa.saikia@g-plus.in

Aucto Creation celebrates the 10th edition of ‘In Rhythm with the World’

Annual World Music Day celebration draws music fans from various age groups

n sync with celebrations around the world, Aucto Creation, a Guwahati-based Event and Production House, organized the 10th edition of its ‘In Rhythm with the World’ the annual World Music Day celebration at the GMC Auditorium premises yesterday. Rajib Kalita, Founder of Aucto Creation said, “We celebrated World Music Day for the very first time in north east in 2007. Now, as we celebrate the 10th edition of our journey, we can proudly announce that this event has offered a platform for upcoming talents of this region, to showcase their latent musical inclinations and hone their talents for the national

and international music arena.” The event upheld its festive avatar with a round of musical performances by a number of regional as well as nationally acclaimed artistes, like Deep Rajbongshi from ‘Shruti Horizon’, classical singer Maitreyee Das Bhowmik, Arak – a 6 member Karbi folk fusion & jazz blues band, folk singer Mustakin Ahmed, contemporary musician Bhuchan Pathak, contemporary singer Bonjyotsna, Spreading Roots – a ‘Power Blues/Hard Rock’ Band, K.C. Lights – a Shillong based choir band, PollEngers – a Guwahati based band, Jammer’s Graveyard – a Technical Deathcore band and Sycorax – a 4 member band from Darjeeling.

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Young hackers on a mission to protect cyber world

here are two types of hackers. First, the kind that is so often portrayed in movies - as a nerd who is anti-social, who carries a chip on his shoulders, likes to dominate the cyber-world, breaks secure networks, steals your intellectual information, and messes things up. And the second handful of nerds are those who love to fiddle with codes, the kind who swear by the love for software coding, the software-hardware gigs, the ones who love to build from the broken. The two teen jewels, Ronnie Dash and Sohan Basak, who hail from Bongaigaon, fit into the second category of hacking technicians. Ronnie Dash, a student who just passed his 12th exams from Bongaigaon Railway Higher Secondary School, and Sohan Basak, a student of B.Sc. in CS, from Birjhora Mahavidyalay, are two tech geniuses who have pushed boundaries by cracking and repairing codes, all by sitting in the corner of their bedrooms. The two boys come from struggling families and wish to pursue their passion to let the world know how vulnerable the cyber-world is. Ronnie and Sohan, the then soonto-be-hacker-duo, met each other via Facebook pages a few years ago not knowing that together they had so much to offer to the world. Inspired by the movie Hackers 1995, the two friends embarked on a journey of trying their hands on codes since they were in Grade 7. In the words of Ronnie, “Hacking is ethical. Cracking is not. Hacking is just being playful with what we already have in hand. To this, Sohan added in a very casual note, “Hacking is jugaad. It is creating something to make lives easier, not necessarily just computers and laptops, but with something as simple as the mobile phone we carry along 24X7.” Ronnie, while in class 9, tried his hands on hacking his own Wi-Fi network for the first time. While his system was connected via wireless router and secured with strong passwords, he managed to intrude into the information without the router password. Sohan, on the other hand, started with fixing the hardware parts that his uncle’s room was filled with. With

ox Populi was hosted by Miles Bronson Residential School, a school that has the aim to make the students accept change in the best possible manner. With over 150 participants from all over northeast taking part in 15 debates altogether, this is the largest debating event of the region. All top notch institutions from the region were invited and fought for the Best Delegation trophy over the two days of 17th and 18th June, 2016. The Founder and Principal of the host institution, MBRS, Dr. NK Dutta said, “Leaders are not born, leaders are honed by nourishing their qualities and

Buzz

Two young teens Ronnie Dash and Sohan Basak showed G Plus how vulnerable the cyberworld is. From Assam Gramin Vikash Bank to finance giant Money Control, the duo could slam our faith on every platform on internet Chandrika Das

these broken parts in his uncle’s room, he tried to design things that made a digital difference. Sohan, who otherwise is a lover of mathematics, holds a brilliant ranking in projecteuler.net, a fascinating world of mathematics and programming. So far, Sohan has solved 64 problems in the globally acclaimed competition. Sohan is one of the 23,545 people who could enter the 64th level of Euler problem competition. Pointing towards Ronnie, Sohan said, “He breaks the codes. I repair it. He again tries another way to intrude into it, to which I find another solution. The cycle goes on and we keep learning.” According to Ronnie and Sohan, most of the official websites over the internet are vulnerable. Sohan told G Plus, “We hover on the internet all day. We come across so many sites that are so easy to intrude. Whenever we find a site which is extremely vulnerable, we try to contact the officials of the site, explain them the issue, and try to save them from falling into unscrupulous hands. Most often, people don’t be-

lieve our words - may be because we are young. So we have to prove the vulnerability right in front of them.” When asked what they do with the data they gather from the sites, Ronnie, very humbly answered, “We do nothing with the data. We don’t do this to con money from the authorities. We do not even carry an external hard drive with us, where we could load the data for any potential purpose. We work on fixing the vulnerabilities to save the sites, and more, to help teach ourselves.” The duo left the G Plus team in utter shock when they informed that they had even mended the sites of Money Control, India’s largest online finance investment portal, and Cricket Celebrity League, the largest entertainment platform that brings together cricket and films. Sohan said, “When we first came across the problems in these two sites, we knew it might invite huge trouble in near future. We tried to contact the officials of the two websites and showed them how easily one could

providing them with the right opportunities. We decided to bring to North East something that has never been experienced by the people here and to be honest, I was a little worried as to how people here would take it. Today, I can say that MBRS has given to the state something that everyone can learn from and cherish. At the end of the day, all the students across are the students of the MBRS family” Shreyansh Bhalotia, President of Vox Populi: The Debating Phenomenon said, “Young India needs to be at par with the other generations. The intellect of this generation happens to be of

G Plus photo

access the information. When we probed into moneycontrol.com, we easily could get our hands on the credentials of 50 million users, which was a huge number. We displayed on the screen the login credentials of each user, their email ids and amounts that each user invested. In short, we could access the entire Money Control database. The same was the case with the site ccl.in. We could view the entire database with a few clicks. It was just that simple.” According to these two genius minds, the problem lay in the mindset of Indian developers. The developers of our nation are not updated. Once they utilize a particular technology, they remain stagnant with the same. The developers most often remain unmindful of the fact that technology and software are two things that are updated each day. “The main security glitches that we often find in websites are - SQL injection, Cross-site scripting, and Remote Code Execution. It’s not that these things are some sort of rocket

science. Much of the security could be ensured if the developers are technically sound, and adopt cloud computing”, said Ronnie. Ronnie and Sohan take pride in whatever they have learnt from Google about the cyber-world, and are utilizing the knowledge for the betterment of the nation at large. They believe there are only two ways to know the cyber-world. If you swear by the positive aspects it carries, Google has everything you need. If you want to learn things otherwise, Dark Internet has it all for you. In the words of Ronnie, “If we had money on our minds, we could have adopted so many ways. We had the entire database of Money Control. We could have used it so easily for our selfish motives. But we informed the authority and fixed it instead, in front of them. We just want to learn more and more about coding.” On a different note, Ronnie and Sohan explained the significance of a strong password in every account, which is a basic step to security. “Passwords are not emotions, it is a security measure. One should not keep the name of their partner as password. Also, using terms like ‘abc123’ is a strict no-no.” Sohan further said that, if a person is contemplating to use a password with the word ‘rainbow’, it should look something like ‘76r4inb0w6@2’. This is a strong password.” In a world of rapid rise in cyber espionage, data security has become the need of the hour. But what is the best way of doing that? While it took two teenagers just few clicks to show the loopholes of the sources we rely upon so blindly, where are the remedies of these? Until we are secured by the sources we trust, and the platforms where we display our identities, let’s just try keeping ourselves updated, safe, and secure, from being prey to such apertures.

Vox populi: The Debating Phenomenon North East held successfully at MBRS a great stature and hence giving them a forum to voice their opinions is of paramount importance. It is not everyday that you get to do something for the nation and get a chance to debate your ideas and opinions about issues of local, national and global interest.” The Best Large Delegation trophy was awarded to Miles Bronson Residential School. The Best Small Delegation trophy was awarded to St. Francis De Sales School.

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Snippets

uwahati-based leading outdoor advertising agency, Outreach Advertising has bagged the prestigious award for the Media Owner of the Year – East category at the Outdoor Advertising Awards held at New Delhi which was part of the 2-day annual event - Outdoor Advertising Conclave 2016. The Media Owner of the year category adjudges the best outdoor advertising agencies across regions on the basis of their media assets, innovation, service orientation, different formats and campaigns. This is a fiercely competitive category among hundreds of outdoor media owners/advertising agencies which is judged by a very prominent jury including top marketing leaders from across the country. An elated Sunit Jain, Director at Outreach Advertising

Outreach

adjudged Media Owner of the Year, East for 2016 at Outdoor Advertising Awards

commented, “It feels great to be recognised at this level in front of the entire industry for our efforts to create foremost outdoor mediums in this region, driving innovation and cost effective solutions” Outreach Advertising is a leading outdoor agency in the region owning hundreds of hoardings, bus shelters and other outdoor media. Outreach is also spearheading various public private partnership (PPP) projects with the state government like development of modern automated traffic signals, modern steel bus queue shelters, electronic toilets, etc. in the area of advertising.

Sunit Jain, Parle Gogoi and Vinil Todi of Outreach receiving the award

Annual General Meeting of INDIA CLUB on June 26

ASDMA begins “ZONE – V: Earthquake Awareness Programme for Apartment”. 2016

uwahati is the gateway to the North-eastern region. Therefore, the development of the city is not only crucial to the state of Assam but also to the entire Northeast. Over the last two decades, Guwahati has witnessed unprecedented growth in terms of infrastructure as well as high-rise buildings. Guwahati falls in Seismic Zone V, susceptible to earthquakes of major intensity. ASDMA therefore, has been persistently working towards making the city prepared through a number of Capacity Building, Training, Public Awareness programmes along with catalysing effective techno-legal framework and appropriate policy for disaster preparedness. Keeping the above facts in view, Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) is organising “ZOVE – V: Earthquake Awareness Programme for Apartment”. The Programme will run from 13th June

2016 to 28th August 2016 covering 203 Apartments in Guwahati City. The launch of the event was on 13th June 2016 at the ASDMA State Headquarter in the Assam Secretariat Campus. The programme was flagged off by Hon’ble MOS, Revenue & DM, Shri Pallav Lochan Das. Chief Secretary, Government of Assam, Shri VK Pipersenia, Addl. Chief Secretary, Revenue & DM, various higher officials of the Government of Assam and Actor Nishita Goswami were also present to grace the occasion. The main objective of this initiative is to involve the community in the disaster preparedness activities initiated by the government and also to sensitise the apartment dwellers on the issue of earthquake safety. Besides, educating the apartment dwellers on the steps to be taken before, during and after earthquake, this initiative aims to build a culture of safety in the society.

Campaign Event Flow (at residential apartments): • Venue production takes place couple of hours prior to the actual campaign execution at the respective apartments. • Necessary arrangements are made in the apartment (visual banners, standees, nominal sound setup including mics for addressing) so as to evoke as much interest and response as possible. • Once sufficient number of people gathers below, an MC takes over to keep the crowd engaging. • Certain infotainment games/ activities are organized within the apartment premises.

• The primary objective behind holding such activities is to provide the general public with a little entertainment while at the same time disseminate information related to earthquake safety. • At the same time officers of ASDMA give away their respective presentations on earthquake safety and awareness which is followed by a brief interaction with the general public. • At the end certain goodies are awarded to the winners of the respective interactive games/ activities. • Finally on a good note the campaign is wrapped up.

he 79th Annual General Meeting of India Club, Guwahati – premier tennis club of the country, will be held on June 26 next at the club premises at 11.00 am to adopt the Secretary General’s Annual Report and Hony. Treasurer’s Annual Audited Report respectively and will discuss various matters related to the development of the club. The meeting will also elect the new officer-bearers for the year 2016-2018. Mr. Anupam Chowdhury, Secretary General of the club requested all the Life and Permanent Members respectively of the club to attend the meeting to make it a success. The Secretary General has also requested all the members of the club along with their spouses to join for a complementary lunch at 1.00 pm after the meeting.

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Syndicate still prevails in Bamunimaidan Shani Mandir Market

Bazaar

Juthika Baruah

Syndicate still exists in the Shani Mandir Bazaar of Bamunimaidam The committee of Shani Mandir Bazaar collects different amounts from the shops while failing to provide the facilities The Railways also evict the vendors frequently as they occupy railway land

G Plus photo

The local residents also complain about the chaos of the market which disturbs normal life

The Bamunimaidan Colony Bazaar functions under three different committees and two of them run the market without following any protocol

he Shani Mandir Bazaar Committee in Bamunimaidan fails to provide land for the vendors for which they have to face problems as the Railway authority evicts the vendors from railway land. The committee also charges twice the fees from them. There are around 170 vendors in the colony bazaar under Shani Mandir Bazaar Committee but they have not been allotted permanent plots for which they have to occupy railway land to run their business. “The vendors are permanent and in a bid to earn their livelihood they are running their businesses from that place but the Railways harass them with evictions. We have urged the railway authorities several times to allot them the plots but have not received any response. It is since 1998 that the vendors have been running their business here but the Railways haven’t provided any land to the vendors yet,” said Karuna Das, Office Secretary of the Shani Mandir Bazaar Committee, while speaking to G Plus. It was informed by the Secretary that an amount of Rs. 5 is collected from the vendors everyday as they have to pay the security guard and for general maintenance. On the other hand, one of the fish traders said that they have to pay Rs. 5 to the committee everyday which is the fee but the committee also charges Rs. 800 - Rs. 1200 from the shops on a regular basis. “We pay Rs. 5 daily to the

committee which is paid to the security but the committee also demands extra amounts saying that they have to pay the Railways. I pay Rs. 1,600 for two shops. I am a fish trader and the profit which I make out of my daily sale has to be paid to the committee. We also face problems when the railways force us to leave the place. We are running our families out of this business and if they harass us we don’t have any other option but to close our shops for 2-3 days after which we have to come back to start our business again as this is our only source of income,” said one of the shopkeepers. 60% of the vendors are from Bihar while 20% are Assamese and another 20% are from other communities. Some of the shopkeepers have set up their own shops while the others have to face the problems. Although the committee takes a huge amount from the shops for maintenance the market is seen to be very dirty with the floors being piled with debris. Earlier, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation used to collect the garbage but as they charge a high amount which the committee cannot afford the GMC has stopped collecting the garbage. Another shopkeeper said that the committee collects Rs. 2,200 every month. “We run a small shop and if we have to pay Rs. 2,200 every month we can’t afford to run our family. If we don’t give the money they demand and force us to pay. There are fish traders who

own a small room but have to pay Rs. 60 – Rs. 70 everyday. We do not make huge profits to pay a huge amount. We have repeatedly asked the committee to allot us a permanent place but they have failed. If we are paying such a huge amount then we should be provided with permanent shops,” the shopkeeper said. Moreover, the residents of the railway quarters residing behind the

market also complain about the market as the vendors are noisy and create chaos which disturbs the normal life of the people. On the other hand, the New Guwahati Railway Colony Bazaar Committee which heads the main market consisting of more than 500 shops has 70% of the plots allotted by the Railways. “There are basically three committees running the market

G Plus photo

and all the committees head different areas of the market. We don’t have any link with the other two committees and the shops which come under our committee are all permanent. There are no flying vendors which the other two committees have. We have all varieties of shops from garments to vegetables, stationary, pharmacy, etc.,” said the Secretary of the Committee, Girin Talukdar. Talukdar said that the Railways allotted the land to the shopkeepers and an amount of Rs. 5,000 has to be paid annually to the Railway authority. One of the shopkeepers Soumen Pal said, “I have two pharmacies here and since the 11 - 14 years that I have owned the shops, I have not faced any problems. The committee handles the problems and we pay a minimum amount to the committee but don’t have to pay extra charge to the outsiders. If an outsider comes for any type of donation they have to deal with the committee and it is at the committee’s discretion that such payments are made. We pay a minimum amount on some particular occasions and other than that we don’t have to pay any amount,” said Pal. He also mentioned that the rates of the items are very cheap and all items from clothes to fruits, vegetables, grocery, stationary etc. are available in the market. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Special

G Plus photos

Ambubachi 2016

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Ward Watch

WARD NO

Concentrated area: Kalyani Nagar Ward number: 26 Sub-division: 26(c) Councillor: Manjula Kakoti Phone number: 8011149307 Area Sabha Member: Runuma rabha Phone number: 9854320703

G Plus photo

Problem: Artificial flood

Wrong drain gradient, underconstruction apartments keep Kalyani Nagar submerged throughout the year

t was once a road but now, from the looks of it, it has turned into a marshy cove with residences on both sides. One does not have to go too far to take in the sight of a floating city and the irony is that it is just around 2 kilometres from the Assam Secretariat. Every heavy downpour completely swamps the area known as Kalyani Nagar which links crucial and important areas such Kahilipara and Hatigaon. Apart from the otherwise welldeveloped area, the 400-meter stretch of the road has been under water for over a year now. Mounds of debris piled up by the wayside, mud and filthy water has submerged the road. One can only drive through the road; a two-wheeler rider will have to bear the risk of toppling in the flooded, uneven road whereas for pedestrians, the only option is to take off their shoes and wade through the water in order to reach their destination.

Woe of the locals A lane called Kalyani Sagar Path that lies adjacent to Kahilipara road leads to Kalyani Nagar which is located around a kilometre in the interiors of the area. The trouble of the locals began after a GMDA/JICA led water supply project was carried out

in the area following which the road was excavated. Although not fully developed prior to the project, the road was convenient enough for locals to commute on. It was by the end of 2014 that the troublesome situation emerged. According to locals the cause of the deteriorating condition of the road is the apartment buildings which are under construction and which dispose heavy quantities of waste water into the drainage system resulting in blockage. Adding to the distress another under-construction apartment a few metres away from the road disposes heavy amount of waste water through the drainage system of the road that results in clogging of the drains and eventually overflows onto the roads. Apart from the three under-construction apartments there are around ten households in Kalyani Nagar. “The problem has been there for a year now and due to the lack of a proper drainage system the water overflows onto the roads. The construction of the apartment buildings in the area causes the blockage of the drainage system of one side of the road. Following the commencement of the construction of the apartments several heavy vehicles have started plying on the road. Eventually both the drains got blocked and after a

minor downpour the area gets submerged under knee-deep water,” a resident, Bhaskar Chakrabarty, stated in distress. “Adding to our suffering the Uttarayan Ville (an under-construction apartment close to the area) started draining out their waste water through the drainage system of the area. Because of the discharge of water by a few apartments an entire area has been suffering for over a year,” Chakrabarty added. Due to the problem, the mid portion has become more low-lying than the side drains. It was also informed that the builders responsible for the construction of Uttaryan Ville were informed about the problem but no concrete step for the solution of the problem has been taken so far.

Opinion of Uttarayan Ville officials It also came to light that the immediate localities near Uttarayan Ville are well-constructed. Thus, the residents did not mention about any such inconvenience. However Kalyani Nagar is located at a distance of around 400 metres from Uttaryan Ville. “The problem was brought to our notice in 2015 after which the drainage was excavated to increase

its capacity. However, the problem resurfaced soon. This year, once we received complaints we stopped dumping water for around fifteen days. After the heavy downpours in the past few days we had to continue the process. Due to the occurrence of the problem we forwarded a letter to the PWD urging them to dig up the drain following which GMC officials also came. However, without approval we cannot take any steps as it will violate norms. If we are to divert the waterway we will have to be notified by the concerned department,” said Sanjib Ghosh, Assistant General Manager, Teron Construction Pvt. Ltd. which is a unit of Uttarayan Group. He added, “However recently we engaged four labourers and asked them to de-silt the drain but there was hardly any cooperation from the residents. We are ready to provide any kind of co-operation that can help to bring a concrete solution but without breaking any law. We had also offered to bear the cost of digging out the drainage system with the help of an excavator but virtually no co-operation was shown by the residents.”

Probable solution The side drain, which has a gradient problem with the middle portion

KALYAN DEB

being lower than the rest, is under the jurisdiction of the PWD. Thus following the deplorable condition after the water supply project was carried out locals of the area forwarded a request for repairing of the road in August 2014. Munindra Bora, a conscious local of the area said, “Following the water supply project, although the road condition was restored, it was not constructed in the conventional way. Thus an application for repairing was forwarded to PWD. The expense for the construction of the road and drainage system of the 400-metre stretch was estimated at around Rs. 41 lakhs which was sanctioned in September, 2015 and by February 2016 the work order was passed.” However, with the assembly election dates being declared the code of conduct came into play which halted the construction work. It was further informed that the PWD has assured that the work has been referred to a contractor though, due to lack of manpower, the proceedings came to a stop. Meanwhile, it has been assured to the locals that the work will commence within the coming fifteen to twenty days. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

G Talk

The Game Changer E

ilgrimage tourism is a judicious mixture of devout devotion and economic exchanges. After all it is human beings and their simple business practices of buying, selling and travelling that constitutes their pilgrimage. Guwahati, at the moment, is under virtual siege with the annual Ambubachi Mela attracting hordes of devotees to the Kamakhya shrine. And these devotees come in various hues, shades and hairdos making for an interesting photo opportunity to the enthusiastic and discerning clicker. The footfall runs into lakhs, perhaps millions, and while the situation, by itself, presents huge challenges in matters of shelter, amenities, food and hygiene, fact remains that over the years, Ambubachi Mela is acquiring a reputation of being one of the world’s largest human pilgrimage congregations that can easily match the Kumbh Mela. More so, due the many caricatures of human species that seeks their tryst with spiritual gratification, in all their glorious nakedness and semi-nakedness, the colours and hues present a breathtaking sight that is unlike anything else on earth. The milieu, as mentioned, provides huge logistical challenges and the administration is currently browbeating itself to ensure a smooth Mela. What the occasion also presents is a chance for the fledgling tourism industry of Guwahati to take a proper flight. All that it requires is Ambubachi to be showcased in the proper manner in front of the world. And yes, its uniqueness needs to be highlighted rather than comparisons with the Kumbh Mela. Ambubachi is, by no stretch of imagination, the Kumbh Mela

of the northeast or that of Assam. The two are similar only in respect of the size of human congregation, nothing else. Players in the tourism game can easily do some original brand-building of Ambubachi and position it correctly as an occasion worth exploring. A scientific, well-thought out plan can actually prove to be a good blueprint in drawing tourists from all over India and abroad and the administration could do well in supporting such a blueprint with important and crucial infrastructural back up. Proper and well-equipped tourist buses and other facilities would be important aspects that would need attention. To present some figures, unconfirmed reports peg the number of visitors this year at 15 lakhs. It is a reasonable expectation that 10 lakh of these visitors are currently spending around Rs. 800 to Rs. 1000 a day within the city’s various business establishments. Such being the case, Guwahati is, at the moment, actually doing business of Rs. 100 crores. In just 4 days! Given such figures, it is but imperative that Ambubachi Mela is promoted in a far better and more scientific manner than is being done currently. With all facilities surrounding such a massive tourism experience being developed and giving the whole exercise an international angle coupled with international tourism practices like helicopter tours over the Brahmaputra River and Nilachal Hills et al, Ambubachi can indeed progress to be the game changer for Assam’s economy.

swapnil bharali EXECUTIVE Editor

Vexed by Brexit

SIDHARTH BEDI VARMA

he morning headlines of the day read, ‘Pound tumbles 11% as UK votes for Brexit.’ So the phenomenon of Brexit is an interesting one, only because Britain’s separation from the EU has been so brilliantly labelled with a catchphrase: ‘Brexit.’ As it turns out, 51% of the population voted to leave the EU. The remaining 49% however were more sensible. Although the percentage is too ‘neckto-neck’ to actually consider it ‘the victory of Britain’s ordinary people’ as Nigel Farrage put it, the die has been cast. The architect behind the referendum, the UK Independent Party (UKIP), have proved that fear psychosis is real. Fear psychosis here does not indicate living in a stagnant economy with inflated prices and lack of employment opportunities. It means that people are afraid of losing their ‘identity.’ In most elections around the world over the past year, identity has played a pivotal role as an election agenda and time and again, the mandate of the public proves that people actually suffer from an identity crisis; cases-inpoint: Modi and the Hindu identity, Trump and the American identity. The so called ‘natives’ must understand that there is no one out to get their jobs or steal their identity.

It’s just that there were people who chose not to stand by idly when they were living in impoverished conditions. In the search to make amends, some people straightened up, worked difficult hours and survived this cutthroat world. And now there is a certain section in the population that feels that they have lost out to these ‘motivated’ individuals which includes having a job and a secure future. They must understand that the idea of identity is a myth in itself. You were labelled because of geography and religion; otherwise you are essentially composed of the same elements. Added to this, the UKIP has decided to ignore the experts’ warning about a financial storm that could possibly affect several economies and reduce Britain to financial turmoil. Raghuram Ranjan has issued a fair warning about a financial storm heading India’s way. The British Pound’s performance overnight looked like an Arsenal performance graph but no! Let’s chase ‘identity’ because that is more important. Nigel Farrage said, ‘We did it!’ to celebrate the Brexit polls and yes, we agree, ‘we did it’, we divided identities, put a wedge in the economy, divided and hurt sentiments and it all calls for celebration!

Considering the fact that Yoga should be practised daily, does an International Day of Yoga hold any significance?

f you are a Facebookie, yes it does hold a huge significance. You get all the ammunition required in the form of your latest photographs to bludgeon the news feed of your friends and bore them to death. Twisting your rigid body into shapes that you are distinctly uncomfortable in and getting clicked, updating your Facebook account and thereafter, counting the likes and reading the comments – yes, for one day it holds a lot of significance. Yoga is nothing but an exercise regimen. The problem is it comes from ancient India, has a lot of Hindu connotations and carries a reputation that if practiced in its purest form for years, it is capable of imparting remarkable powers often bordering on the superhuman! The current hype surrounding the International Day for Yoga is needless as the world (especially the West, thanks to some Yoga gurus who have spent a better part of their lives jet setting the world selling yoga as a spiritual tool for attaining Nirvana) have already embraced yoga as an excellent form of exercise. The Hinduism in yoga is a needless attachment and remains so because of its ancient nature; anyone can practice yoga because it actually does not involve any religious ritualism. It is this forged attachment of Hinduism with yoga that has made the saffron brigade entangle the two and perpetrate an energetic celebration of an International Yoga Day that simply defies logic especially if the next day you are going to give up doing your share of yoga anyway. In one sense, it is a silent but tangible pressure on you to do something that you might not really want to but are doing so due to peer pressure. Everything considered, a single day of yoga per year is a huge joke!

Swapnil Bharali

he symbolism part is what is significant and important and I would not be really agreeable with the crass commercialism and mass hysteria that the last International Day of Yoga turned out to be. However, a day marked in observation of a truly excellent exercise regimen bears a lot of significance in that it creates a huge sense of awareness to the uninitiated. Let’s be frank in agreeing that yoga is not really practiced in the right earnest in our households today as was done by our forefathers. Most of us grew up watching our parents and grandparents doing yoga in the living room. But we have not really managed to imbibe the same virtues to our next generation simply because we aren’t yoga practitioners ourselves. This is on the home-front and to a large extent is true at our national level as well. However, at the international level, the exercise regimen of yoga is worth popularizing. While there are no “days” marking other Oriental regimen’s like kung-fu, jujitsu etc. these have been popularized enough through the iconic Bruce Lee’s and as Olympic sporting disciplines. Not so in case of yoga. And so, a UN-backed resolution that seeks to observe a day for yoga internationally is actually akin to not only spreading some good cheer around the world but also some worthwhile education in fitness, health and good living that is so desperately required at this moment in time. Further, such a day holds significance in raising inquisitiveness among the uninitiated across the international platform and makes for a huge feel-good factor that the country is leading the way in showing the world a means of self-cleansing and a path of healthy living.

Koushik Hazarika

Interactive

eing a citizen of Guwahati, the religious festival Ambubachi Mela, that draws lakhs of devotees, tourists, sadhus, aghoris, tantriks, from all over the world, has always been a reason of awe for me. The term Ambubachi is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Ambubaci’ which loosely means “issuing forth of the water”. The occasion is celebrated to mark the menstruation course of Maa Kamakhya, which is an aspect of womanhood, a force that keeps the world going. As the cycle begins, the doors of the temple are kept closed for a period of 4 days. The otherwise serene and quiet Nilachal hilltop witnesses bustling crowds during this period. The energy in each devotee is wild and potent, and the faith upon Maa Kamakhya is palpable. There is no statue, idol or image of Devi in the temple, but in the corner of the cave, is a sculptured image of the Yoni or Vagina of the goddess, which is the object of worship and reverence. Hinduism is a fascinating religion, and India is a place of various kinds of rituals. Some rituals are beyond our power of faith and some bind us strongly to the belief of its existence and origin. The Ambubachi Mela is one such festival; believe it or not, you cannot ignore it.

A citizen via email

Dear Sir,

Letter to the Editor

I am a resident of S.C.Lane-3 which is popularly known as Athgaon Pukhuripar. This lane is in such a dilapidated state that it feels as if you are walking through a large drain. The lane is in a perpetual state of despair with the same being waterlogged throughout the year. In addition to above the people whose houses are situated in the mouth of the lane have encroached into the same causing great inconvenience to the other residents of the locality, these people have diverted their personal drains into the lane causing water logging in the same. Moreover, the Local Councillor of our locality who is a lady and who had won the last GMC election on the ticket present ruling party has not done anything to solve the problem. So I am to request you to please feature the situation of our lane in your esteemed magazine so that the authority concern takes up the matter seriously and mitigate the suffering of the people of this locality.

A.Biswas Athgaon

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

In Focus

While Maa darshan at Vaishno Devi entails a trek/ hike of 13-14 kms, is the issue of car passes for a mere distance of 3 kms during Ambubachi a mandatory requirement?

Meet

Santanu Bharali Politician

evotees across the world come here to Guwahati to witness what we can term as one of the major religious gatherings in India. It’s something that we as residents of Assam should be proud of. If we can walk 13-15 kms barefoot to visit Maa Vaishno Devi, can’t we walk 3-5 kms and avoid travelling by car? If not for the love of God at least to make the lives of hundreds and thousands of devotees travelling to visit Maa Kamakhya a little easier? Remember what we have been taught all our lives - “Athithi Devo Bhava.”

Shib Nath

o car passes should be introduced except in emergency conditions. If one car is allowed then 1000 car owners will cry for passes. Ambubachi comes once only in a year and for 4 days only. 3 lakh people gather in this Mela. So if cars are allowed it will increase congestion. If people can walk 4 to 5 hours at Vaishnodevi, Badrinath and Kedarnath then 3-4 kms is not a big deal. It’s a matter of spirituality, true devotion and Devi Maa’s blessings. So people can at least sacrifice for 3-4 kms of walking. Car passes and VIP treatment should stop in these types of huge affairs.

Prabahan Puzari

he main reason is in Vaishno Devi Mata road there are no residents. So only horses are allowed. But here at Kamakhya Temple there are many residents. So officially not allowing cars is a bit difficult. Although the public can themselves choose to walk and take the blessings of Maa. By themselves though and not in car.

Abhilash Bali

ue to inappropriate ratio of space available and number of people visiting the shrine the stoppage of vehicles is necessary. But giving car passes to non residents of Kamakhya is actually not needed. There should be provision of vehicles for elderly and sick and no one should be allowed to use their powers to obtain car passes. Comparing with Vaishno Devi won’t do any good because the geographical location, climate and residency factors near both the shrines are completely different.

Shyamalima Bhattacharyya

evotion is the most important element which we need while praying. It may be either at a temple, home or within our heart. And to reach to God’s home or place of worship it is not always necessary for facilities of transportation. Car passes during Ambubachi festival is not mandatory for all the people but to some old people or people with difficulties who wish to worship Maa Kamakhya, a little help can be forwarded as a gesture of helping hand. For others like the youth we need to feel Maa Kamakhya with each step forward towards her home and feel the peace and significance of gaining strength from the great Ambubachi Mela and consider it as the most sacred path of life we took on earth.

Pooja Das

eople have become lazy. The richer, the lazier! 3 kms is nothing. They should consider it as exercise.

Aparajita Sangma

haratiya Janata Party (BJP) got its new state president on 6th June in the form of Santanu Bharali. A former advocate Bharali was born in Guwahati and went on to join BJP in 2008. He has been serving the party ever since. An alumnus of Cotton Collegiate Government Higher Secondary School and Cotton College, prior to joining the saffron league, Bharali had an established career in law. Bharali started practicing soon after completing his Ll.B. from Gauhati University. He has been an advocate in the Gauhati High Court since 1989 and so, has been practicing law for twenty-two years. However, after joining BJP Bharali quit his profession to be more assiduous to the party. His contribution towards the party soon caught attention of the superiors. In 2011 he was elevated to the post of the general secretary of BJP and thereafter, went on to become the vice-president of the party. Recently, after the state elections which the BJP won with a landslide victory, he was chosen as the new interim state president. In a conversation with G Plus, Bharali mentioned that his first responsibility will be to reorganise the party in such a way that the party will be able to serve the people of Assam for the next fifty years. He said this with a lot of conviction and his foresight in this regard was obvious and visible. Bharali also mentioned that the main priority of the party under his presidency would be to give constructive support to the Government. He observed and distinctly pointed out that

the people of Assam, who were fed up with the high-handed but inept Congress rule, had elected the BJP-led alliance government. He also observed that people had sought this change of government with high hopes and it was indeed up to the BJP-led Government to deliver the expectations of all sections of people. He said that the BJP has booth level committees and diligently worked at the very grass root level and these members would be asked to send the popular feedback on the performance of the Government. The feedback received from the grassroots level would be shared with the Government so that it can formulate its policies and plans according to the expectations of the people, he added. Bharali, as a full-time politician and president of the state BJP also said that at the personal level also, he would maintain regular contact with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and inform him of the feedback received from the ground level. Bharali is one of the forerunners for the post of party president for a full term, elections for which is expected to take place in July. Besides being associated with politics Bharali is also a sport enthusiast and during his early years actively and competitively took part in several sporting activities. Cricket, badminton and boxing were some of his favourite sporting disciplines in which Bharali excelled at a very competitive level. Bharali is a socially amicable person and so, has a large popular support within the party.

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Lifestyle

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he Uzanbazar area is one of the oldest residential areas of Guwahati. Archaeological evidence indicates that people were residing here since 2 BC. The name Uzan Bazar comes from the word Uzan, which refers to old settlement in the area which is located upstream of Brahmaputra River. This area served as a major river port in earlier times. Being situated on the river bank, the main business of the residents depended on the river like fishing and trading from the agricultural fields of the northern bank.

The British had made a master plan for Guwahati in the late 19th century with proposed settlements in the hills and the main plains area retained as catchment area and used for some Government and educational buildings only. But we did not stick to that plan and instead built habitats haphazardly all over the city! The result is known to all. The Panbazar and Uzanbazar areas were two of the few areas where most of the Guwahatians were residing 200 years ago. Roads were planned in a grid pattern in northsouth and east-west directions which have remained the same even now. Because of this grid pattern

The famous Kachari market is situated on the bank of the river Brahmaputra at the end of the MG Road (at the start of the Upper Strand Road). It does brisk business daily. The fish market slightly ahead is at the Uzanbazar Ghat which is very popular among Guwahatians having the benefit of the river at north. According to Vaastu, any plot which has roads on all four sides is the best plot of all. The famous headquarters of Tata in Mumbai has such a fortune of having roads on all sides of the Tata Centre. The

Latasil ground at the west of the Uzanbazar area has this benefit of having roads on all four sides. The playground is a permanent venue for its famous Bihu and Durga Puja celebrations. The playground also serves as a coaching centre and practice ground for various cricket and football clubs. The Gauhati High Court (Old Building) also has this benefit. If one notices, there is an old Assam Type house in the southeastern side of the Latasil playground (near the Latasil police outpost). This is a north-eastern plot and it is supposed to be one of the best plots as per Vaastu. But the north-eastern corner is rounded, i.e., it is not at 90 degrees or extended. Rounding of the northeast is a very serious Vaastu defect. So no development has been seen in that plot for ages despite having the benefit of the northeast. The F.C Road sees several business establishments like restaurants, pharmacies or even tailoring outlets running successfully over the years. Knowingly or unknowingly, their entrances are proper and the proprietors are sitting facing the right directions!

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

recipe of the week

rifle, in English cuisine, is a dessert made with fruit, a thin layer of sponge cake soaked in rum or brandy and custard. It can be topped with whipped cream. The fruit and sponge layers are suspended in fruit-flavoured jelly, and these ingredients are usually arranged to produce three or four layers. However, since we are based in India and the exotic Mango, the King of fruits, is slowly making its grand entrance into the markets of the sub-continent, I have improvised the cold English trifle into an exotic tropical bonanza!!

of roads, the Uzanbazar area has tremendous Vaastu potential. The residents MUST have their main entrances at proper directions, i.e. northeast, western northwest, southern southeast or at the middle of the plots. There was a restaurant at Bolo Bora Road (Bhuban Road) which was doing very well when it started. But it had its main entrance at southern southwest and there was lot of vacancy at south. It could not sustain and finally, it was closed down. On the other hand, a bakery-cumconfectionery was started on the southern side of the FC Road which has its kitchen at south and the cash counter is facing east. It is doing very well till now and it has opened several branches in other parts of Guwahati as well.

THE TROPICAL TRIFLE

PROCESS Take a tall glass and start layering with the custard. Cover with mango, lychee and cream. Layer with cake and soak with rum. Sprinkle with some chocolate and repeat till glass is full. You can make it in any container. Freeze for one hour before digging in.

Ingredients

Launch Date:

VAASTU ANAYSIS OF UZANBAZAR AREA T

• • • • • • • •

Chopped mango chunks Peeled Lychee chunks One cup of made custard Two thin slices of plain cake Two cups of Amul cream Four tablespoons of rum A few bits of chocolate chunks For the vegetarians instead of the cake you can use rum soaked Oreo biscuits.

KULKUL RAHMAN Entrepreneur, mother and a passionate cook

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Lifestyle Lifelong learning is a worthwhile process. Increasingly, scientific research is proving this correct and technology is making it easier. The best professional athletes are not always the most talented. They are the athletes who are the most coachable and work the hardest. The richest people in the world are not the smartest people with brilliant ideas; they have learned from others and hired the best people to work for them. The richest people may not always have a great formal education, but they have mentors and people who have taught them how to succeed. The most successful people are constantly learning and adapting. They never stop learning . and listening to people even when ........they reach the top of their . . profession or business.

he most educated and successful people in the world never stop learning. The most educated people are not always successful, but if you combine education with hard work and goal setting it can create awesome results.

Successful people don’t just learn anything. They are highly selective about what they learn, opting to be educated over being entertained. Warren Buffet spends most of his time reading. Bill Gates reads about 50 books per year, which breaks down to 1 per week. Elon Musk (Founder of PayPal,

A better

LIFE

Tesla, SpaceX) is an avid learner and when asked how he learned to build rockets he said, “I read books.” Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook) resolved to read a book every 2 weeks through the year. The best entrepreneurs in the world don’t act like they know everything. They all understand the fact that they have to continuously learn to be successful. For us to live life to the fullest, we must continually look for ways to improve. Continuous learning keeps your mind sharp and your skills fresh; it makes you more confident, keeps you positive and keeps you updated. 42% of all college graduates never read another book again. Ever! So once you start learning after college, you are already ahead of those 42% graduates. Continuous learning is vital to making the most of what the world has to offer. You could say that it’s what separates us from the animals. “Once you stop learning, you start dying,” said Albert Einstein. So, resolve today not to stop learning, because life never stops teaching.

Madhur Jayne A practicing chartered accountant and a certified nutritionist. He is the cofounder of a coaching centre for chartered accountancy and commerce students. He is a life coach and trains people on subjects like time, health, lifestyle and people management. Visit www.madhurjayne.com for more details.

Cool Couture

Handbag hacks 3.

Handbags, of course, carry your essentials, but they also serve another purpose. Handbags are the easiest way to incorporate the latest trends into your wardrobe, look puttogether and show off your personality. As in all fashion, there are style Dos and Don’ts when selecting handbags that are ideal for your body type, the occasion and your needs. This handbag guide describes different handbag styles and explains how body type and handbag size, shape and length can be used to accentuate your favourite features and mask others. As much as a handbag can enhance an outfit and really define your style, it can also break your look. The wrong bag can draw the eye to areas you’re self-conscious about and make you look bigger/smaller and even ruin your signature image. This handbag guide also includes helpful buying tips, so you can buy your new handbags with confidence. So it’s super important to thoroughly think about what bag styles complement your personal style, to make sure you have a bag-collection that you love. Let’s take a look at important pointers to women’s handbags: 1. However new or old, it should look as clean and as well-maintained as possible. Cloth bags can be drycleaned and leather can always be wiped, buffed and polished. 2. Broken or fraying handles and straps are just not acceptable. Neither are zippers that don’t fasten and buckles that don’t hold.

Ensure it suits, compliments and accentuates your body shape, build and lifestyle. If you are small built, carrying a very large bag will make you look even tinier. 4. Never let it look overstuffed – your bag should be a perfect fit for what you need to carry in it. Multiple pockets are always a good idea – especially since practicality is far more important than the colour, design or style of it. 5. Carry a work bag to the office, a day bag outdoors, a formal bag where necessary and a trendy one to the party. 6. Depending on how much attention you want to draw to it, it can and should most certainly either match or contrast your clothes and accessories. Show offs will normally carry bright colours and the more sophisticated amongst you will pick neutrals like beige, black, white and brown. 7. Avoid materials and labels that are or look obviously fake. Stay away from plastics, synthetics and polyester blends. You don’t need a trained eye to spot a fake – even from miles away. 8. Printed and heavily embellished ones (especially animal prints) are a thing of the past. The more ‘Plain Jane’ your accessories are, the more chic you will look. 9. Texture is hot – from crocodile skin to fish scale. 10. Gold, silver and tone on tone buckles are timeless, classic and a standard. Modern and minimalist styles come with transparent PVC transfers, while some handmade natural and crafty styles use eco materials like jute and biodegradable fibre. Sonika Ajmera Fashion Blogger

IMPORTANCE OF “BCAA” IN EXERCISE

Definition of BCAA:

BCAA or branched-chain amino acids (i.e. leucine, isoleucine and valine) constitute approximately one-third of skeletal muscle protein basically ingested during workout in the form of powder or gel caplets. BCAA supplements are sold as dietary supplement in the form of powders, tablets and gel capsules and are usually taken as an Intra workout supplement. An increasing amount of literature suggests that of the three BCAAs, leucine appears to play the most significant role in stimulating protein synthesis which helps to build lean muscle. In this regard, amino acid supplementation (particularly the BCAAs) may be advantageous for people involved in regular exercise. Functions of BCAA’s during Strength Training: Scientific studies reported that when BCAA’s were given to humans at rest, protein balance increases by either decreasing the rate of muscle protein breakdown, increasing the rate of protein synthesis or a combination of both. Following Strength Training in males it has been shown that the addition of free leucine combined with carbohydrate and protein led to a greater increase protein synthesis as compared to taking the same amount of carbohydrate and protein without leucine. Functions of BCAA’s during aerobic exercise: BCAA ingestion has been shown to be beneficial during aerobic exercise. When BCAAs are taken during aerobic exercise the net rate of protein degradation has been shown to decrease. Equally important, BCAA administration given before and during exhaustive aerobic exercise to individuals with reduced muscle glycogen stores may also delay muscle glycogen depletion. When BCAAs were given to runners during a marathon it improved the performance of “slower” runners (those who completed the race in 3.05 hrs-3.30 hrs) as compared to “faster” runners (those who completed the race in less than 3.05 hrs). Although there are numerous reported metabolic causes of fatigue such as glycogen depletion, proton accumulation, decreases in phosphocreatine levels, hypoglycemia, and increased free tryptophan/ BCAA ratio, it is the increase in

Corrigendum : In the last issue dated June 18-24, 2016, the names of Bibhu Moni Singha (Fitness columnist) and Madhur Jayne (Best Version Of yourself columnist) got inadvertently interchanged. The error is regretted.

the free tryptophan/BCAA ratio that may be attenuated with BCAA supplementation. One more study also shows that during prolonged aerobic exercise, the concentration of the amino acid free tryptophan increases and the uptake of tryptophan into the brain increases. When this occurs a biochemical called serotonin found in the body increases which are thought to play a role in inducing sense of fatigue. Similarly, BCAAs are transported into the brain by the same carrier system as tryptophan and thus compete with tryptophan to be transported into the brain. Therefore, it is believed that when certain amino acids such as BCAAs are present in the blood in sufficient amounts, it theoretically may decrease the uptake of tryptophan in the brain and ultimately decrease the feelings of fatigue. Conclusion: Because BCAAs have been shown to aid in recovery processes from exercise such as stimulating protein synthesis, aiding in glycogen resynthesis, as well as delaying the onset of fatigue and helping maintain mental function in aerobic-based exercise, we suggest consuming BCAAs (in addition to carbohydrates) before, during, and following an exercise bout. It has been suggested that the RDA for leucine alone should be 45 mg/kg/day for sedentary individuals, and even higher for active individuals. However, while more research is indicated, because BCAAs occur in nature (i.e. animal protein) in a 2:1:1 ratio (leucine: isoleucine: valine), one may consider ingesting ≥ 45 mg/kg/day of leucine along with approximately ≥ 22.5 mg/kg/day of both isoleucine and valine in a 24 hour time frame in order to optimize overall training adaptations. This will ensure the 2:1:1 ratio that appears often in animal protein. It should not be overlooked that complete proteins in whole foods, as well as most quality protein powders, contain approximately 25% BCAAs. Any deficiency in BCAA intake from whole foods can easily be remedied by consuming whey protein during the time frame encompassing the exercise session; however, an attempt should be made to obtain all recommended BCAAs from whole food protein sources. (Source: Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition20074:8 DOI: 10.1186/15502783-4-8, Campbell et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2007) BIBHU MONI SINGHA,

Gym Manager Training & Nutrition Head, SFL Fitness Gym & MMA For further Workout Programs & Diet follow me on Facebook or log on to my website – www.bibhuuniversalfitness. com. You can also watch my videos on my YouTube channel.

Editor

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Reviews Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal, Vipin Sharma, Sobhita Dhulipala Director: Anurag Kashyap

aman Raghav 2.0 is actually a film idea extracted from a potential biopic set in the 1960s that the makers found impossible to make after the massive debacle that was Bombay Velvet. Anurag Kashyap and his writers decided to turn it into a script with a modern day setting, and thus came the idea of Raman (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and Raghav (Vicky Kaushal) being two different people. While one is a drifting serial killer with blood as cold as the arctic, the other is a cop who is trying to solve his daddy issues by dousing himself with drugs and women. The Raghav narrative really looks like it’s going somewhere, but ends up being a bummer in the end. Raman’s serial killing ways continue throughout the film, but his real purpose comes into the picture pretty late, and this more than anything, weakens the narrative. His obsession with murder slowly reveals itself as an obses-

vie w o M vie Re

do not converge into a satisfying narrative. Nawazuddin Siddiqui yet again leaves our jaws hanging with his unbelievable performance. He just somehow steers all the attention towards himself in whichever scene he is in. He is the best choice for this role, and has done utmost justice to it. Vicky Kaushal is good as a cocaine-addicted cop, but I did have trouble believing that an ACP from the Mumbai Police visits night clubs and dances with women before taking them home in his swanky SUV. His performance is true to his part, but the fact that the character is hard to believe sort of takes away his flair. His bouts of anger and regret in the second half are really worth appreciating. Sobhita Dhulipala as Raghav’s estranged girlfriend impresses by embodying a complicated character, while Amruta Subhash does justice to her role of Raman’s sister.

sion with Raghav. While a very compelling plot point, it fails to build the suspense as well as the director would have hoped to. Raman Raghav 2.0 has delved beautifully into the intellect of a serial killer. Raman’s fascinating descriptions of his delusions, his deranged thinking and his extracasual approach towards murder are wonderful to witness. His fascination with the real Raman Raghav has been nicely embedded into the script, with subtle allusions to real life incidents that had transpired in the life of the notorious serial killer from Bombay; be it the sexual assault of his own sister (Amruta Subhash), his initial release by the police or his love for chicken curry. However, the script is bogged down by the lack of a well-bound story. You don’t know what to look forward to. The murders aren’t leading up to something most of the time. The scenes, although incredibly detailed and interesting,

Yami and Pulkit, we won’t be wrong if we say that their ‘much-hyped’ chemistry is the only backup of this typical romantic saga! Pulkit, who is famous for his over-acting has hardly improved his acting skill and yet another time, he tries hard to get into the character but alas, fails miserably! On the other side, Yami, who can be seen in a glamorous role has done an average role and we can’t blame her much, as in spite of being a lead cast in the film, she doesn’t have much to offer! They are a few intense scenes between Yami & Pulkit, which might be liked by their fans. But overall, there was hardly any striking moment between them, which you will appreciate.

PVR Cinemas

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Slow

Book:

Artist:

Beyond the Last Blue Mountain

Starflyer 59

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Album:

ason Martin and his band Starflyer 59 have been though many styles and sounds over a 20-plus-year span. The 13 albums they’ve released have covered noisy shoegaze, ambitious space rock, swirling dream pop, earnest singer/songwriter, and sleek new wave revival territory, always tethered to the core of Martin’s sure-handed guitar playing, his understated vocals, and the impeccable production and arrangement skills he’s honed over time. Like most of the recent Starflyer 59 albums, 2016’s Slow is a warm blend of all the styles Martin has latched onto

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certain section of audiences! The story of the film revolves around the two characters i.e., an army officer Jahaan Bakshi (Pulkit Samrat) and a chirpy Punjabi girl Suhaani Kapoor (Yami Gautam). The duo meet during an incident, where Jahaan Bakshi rescues Suhaani and falls head over heels in love with her! This meeting leads to a friendship, which leads to a fight, drama and ultimately a passionate love affair. But after becoming lovers, their love story takes an ugly turn and goes to an extent of obsession, which leads to heartbreaks, tears and sad song sequences and basically some more drama! So, whether they unite or not and how, forms the crux of the story! Coming to the performance of

over the years, mixed together and boiled down to something instantly familiar and reassuring. It’s mostly built around easygoing introspective songs that see Martin exploring his station in life (happily married with kids and a minivan, pondering his place in the music world) in a kind of bemused, almost weary fashion. A few songs branch off from the mainstream, like the ominous gunslinging rocker “Cherokee” and the late-period Jesus and Mary Chain-inspired “Hi Low,” and aim for something a little more dangerous-sounding,

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Fun Cinemas

Cast: Pulkit Samrat, Yami Gautam Director: Vivek Agnihotri

ami Gautam and Pulkit Samrat came together on board for the first time in Divya Khosla Kumar’s Sanam Re! The film was utterly brainless but it was their off-screen chemistry which caught everyone’s attention. Rumours were rife that during the shoot of Sanam Re, the married actor Pulkit Samrat fell in love with the gorgeous Yami Gautam, and their controversial affair became one of the most important reasons for the film to emerge as a hit! Now, the duo has collaborated once again for a romantic flick, Junooniyat. So let’s see what they have to offer to us or whether are they back with same typical romantic masala film, which attracts only a

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Author:

u Yo LD N HOU S ISTE L but these efforts pale in comparison to the gentle, slightly square-sounding tracks like “Slow” and “Retired,” or the slowly unspooling final song, “Numb.” Martin sounds much more at ease on those songs; when he tries to sound tough or hard, it comes off as forced, like he’s a little desperate, a dad rocking out to show he still has it but only succeeding in being dorky and awkward. Better to stick to the songs that work best and stop trying to be something you aren’t anymore.

GOLD Cinema

R. M. Lala

u Yo LD HOU S read

eyond The Last Blue Mountain is a biographical account of the life and times of J R D Tata, who was the founder of the biggest industrial house in India. He was the forerunner of aviation in India and is still highly respected both in India and in other parts of the world. This biography starts right from Tata’s birth and eventually reaches the time of

his death, which is the year 1993, when he died in Switzerland. The discloses details about his personal life and public persona that have not been discussed in any other book till date. It also speaks about his long-lasting friendships with famous personalities such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi and a number of celebrities as well.

UDta punjab 11.00 & 5.00 PM Dil toh dewaana hai 8.30 PM Junooniyat 2.00 & 8.00 PM Raman Raghav 2.30 PM A Scandall 5.30 PM 7 hours to go 11.30 AM

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LG Towers, Narangi 8811001898 UDta punjab 2.00 PM Junooniyat 11.00 AM & 5.00 PM A Scandall 8.00 PM

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Entertainment

Chinmoy Bora’s music video getting rave reviews

ai Loi Pronam, an Assamese music video by Chinmoy Bora, Sunix Flo and Suraj Pradhan seems to have caught everyone’s attention. G Plus had a chat with Chinmoy about what made him write this song. If you’ve heard the lyrics to the song and the rap, he talks about the sensational media channels of Assam, their fraudulent activities and how they are raking in money. He also says that our generation isn’t spoilt just because they wear short clothes. FYI, short clothes does not mean nudity! A resident of Tezpur, Chinmoy Bora had a regular childhood with schooling from K.V. Lokra, Tezpur after which he moved to Guwahati to study at the Assam Down Town University. “Well it was not my choice but you know my parents had great expectations from me and so I took admission in BBA, but never attended classes. Since I was involved in dancing, I dropped out of college. Finally after realizing that I had wasted my parents’ money to pursue my passion,

next 3 years, dancing to make a living. “Those days were the hardest for me. I danced in various crews, collecting money from dance competitions and shows everywhere around Guwahati just to continue my passion. I was writing lyrics and practicing rap at the same time,” shares Chinmoy.

I mustered the courage to tell them the truth,” said Chinmoy to G Plus. Chinmoy’s parents, like most, told him, “Do whatever you want but

we are not going to support you at all in this dancing thing that you’re passionate about. A dejected Chinmoy then stayed on in Guwahati for the

Kohinoor Theatre goes 3D

ohinoor Theatre this year will present the viewing pleasure of 3D on the stage through the play ‘Breaking News.’ With modern cinemas and theatres all employing advanced techniques for entertainment, the concept of 3D is hardly a mystery anymore. The concept of 3D in theatres has time and again captivated the audience and now, popular Assamese mobile theatre group, Kohinoor Theatre is going to add another feather to its cap by bringing in 3D effects to the mobile theatre industry. Renowned actor and producer of the theatre, Ratan Lahkar, along with his two sons Tapan Lahkar and Pranab Lahkar have worked on this new idea to implement the concept of 3D in theatres this year. Both the young producers, Tapan Lahkar and Pranab Lahkar said that the initial work is complete and they are set to try it out on Rajdweep’s play ‘Breaking News’ this season. To successfully implement this on stage, the theatre group also consulted with technicians from Mumbai. Much like regular 3D at theatres, the play will also feature the special 3D sunglasses which are provided for the best experience. The theatre group has already approached various organizing committees all over Assam and the orga-

nizing committees announced that they will provide the tickets and sunglasses to the audiences before the staging day. Producer Ratan Lahkar expressed his views that he wants to bring a new twist to the mobile theatre industry which Kohinoor has always aimed to do, right from its inception. With the love and appreciation of the Assamese audience, the theatre has successfully been able to implement several changes and new ideas and to continue with the tradition, they have decided to present 3D to the audience. People will be able to see artists like Barasha Rani Bishoya, Parag Sarma, Kamal Rebati and others this season at the Kohinoor Theatre. The playwright, Rajdweep, feels positive about launching 3D in mobile theatres and has put all his resources together to bring in the perfect results. The play is basically written on media. The story of the play reflects the connection between media and social life. A parallel love story is also featured within the play. The music of the play has been scored by Poran Borkatoky with guest composers like Zublee and Tarali Sharma. All the songs have been penned Rajdweep. The promotional video of ‘Breaking News’, sung by Zubeen Garg, has been directed by Deepak Dey.

And now, Chinmoy has a dance school at Lokra, Tezpur. He has started to make music videos for other artists. “I sell songs because I don’t have money to make my own,” said

the youngster who is the founder of Culture Theory, a community for talented young boys who are seeking opportunities for a better future and with a goal to modernise and to find their place in the society and put Assam on the top of the world. Chinmoy was attracted to the Hip-Hop culture and started learning more about how music played an important role in fighting for the rights of the African-American people. “I realised how Rap as a genre could bring a revolution in the society,” says Chinmoy. Chinmoy is looking to collaborate with other artists for his future projects and has taken loans to open his institute and produce the video. “Everyone has responded positively and understood the message behind my video. People have asked for more songs and that is enough strength for a struggling artist like me. I consider that my success.” Here’s hoping, we have more such artists like Chinmoy who are willing to follow their passion after beating all odds because that in itself is the real challenge.

‘Amal Rahang’s Dusoku’

genuine singer is someone who can sing with conviction and one who has the ability to feel the lyrics and emote along with it. Most contemporary newcomers lack this quality and this is a prime reason for the degrading quality of songs. It doesn’t augur well for the Assamese music scene. Then again, there are others who are dedicated and passionate about their music. There have been several newcomers who are showing great interest in producing singles. Amal Rahang, a promising young singer recently released his first single ‘Dusoku’. Amal, though not a professional singer dabbles in music to fulfill his dream of becoming a popular singer one day. The lyrics of the romantic song ‘Dusoku’ talks about the purity and kindness of a relationship. The song has been written by cine-journalist Kalyan Kumar Kalita. The song has been composed by Hrituv Hazarika and

musically arranged by Palash Gogoi. The video of the song is set to release soon. The singer has also geared up to release his second single which will hit the market very soon, both

audio and video. Amal Rahang is hopeful of the Assamese audience giving him the support and hopes for a positive feedback from the crowd.

KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Citypedia Taurus

Gemini

Shopping fever could grab you at the start of the week as the Full Moon encourages you to splurge on items that you’ve coveted for some time. You might decide you’re getting them no matter what, and if so, you might as well enjoy them. Communication is key as the Sun joins Venus in your sector of talk and thought, which could inspire you to get in touch with family members or anyone else you haven’t seen in a while.

Go easy at the start of the week, as the Full Moon in your sector of relating could inspire some blunt conversation. If you have something to say, try to be tactful, especially if you want to remain friends over the long term. Later, opportunities could come your way through property and real estate or business-related matters linked with family or relatives. The chance to invest your money could prove lucrative over time.

The week gets off to a dynamic start with a Full Moon in your lifestyle sector encouraging you to forget about your diet or exercise routine and indulge. The Sun glides into Cancer that same day, enhancing your vitality and encouraging you to get cracking on projects that have been on the back burner. You won’t want to miss out on a potential opportunity or lucrative collaboration this weekend. It’s certainly something to watch out for.

The start of the week could be excellent for a party, celebration, or get-together at your place, as the Full Moon encourages you to kick back and have some fun. However, the Sun glides into your sector of spirituality and introspection that same day, which suggests that the next four weeks could usher in a time of reflection and meditation. In fact, you may have an opportunity to get closure on an issue that you’ve struggled with for some time.

The Sun’s move into your sector of wishes, long-held dreams, and friendships could be a call to get more involved in community life and connect with your friends more often. In addition, you might be motivated to reflect on your goals and consider whether they’re applicable to your life as it currently stands. This is a time of taking stock, so don’t be surprised if your priorities have changed.

Go easy at the start of the week, as the urge to be very honest could cost you a friendship. The Full Moon in Sagittarius can bring emotions to the surface while also encouraging you to express them openly. While it’s great to speak your mind, employing a little tact would be helpful. The focus then shifts to your sector of career and goals, encouraging you to take stock and consider your plans for the coming months and tweak them if necessary.

The Full Moon at the start of the week could nudge you over the edge and cause you to splurge unnecessarily. If you’ve been scrimping and saving lately, your hard work could go out the window unless you refuse to give in to temptation. The Sun’s move into Cancer and your sector of travel and study could see you eager to acquire new knowledge. Taking up a course or class could give you the skills necessary to rise further up the ranks.

You may feel quite gung-ho as the Full Moon in your sign encourages you to express yourself freely and openly on Monday. However, try to be careful of more sensitive souls who might find your honesty somewhat disconcerting. The Sun’s move into your sector of shared finances and intimacy could be a call to think carefully about your income and expenses and how to make the most of them. Finally, opportunity knocks over the weekend.

The Jupiter/Pluto connection in your sign peaks this week, so prepare to make the most of a situation or circumstances that could propel you to greater success. If you’re willing to do the groundwork now, you could reap the rewards later. It would be wise to go easy on Monday, as the Full Moon could see you making a rash judgment. Avoid impulsive moves to avoid embarrassment!

The Full Moon at the start of the week can be excellent for all kinds of celebrations and social events. If you throw a party, it could be everything you hope for - and more. Meanwhile, the focus shifts to your sector of lifestyle and wellness, encouraging you to think about your habits and how they contribute to your overall well-being. Making changes to diet and exercise could be key to feeling more energized and upbeat than you have in some time.

Be careful when dealing with those in authority, particularly at the start of the week. The Full Moon could encourage you to answer back or rebel. It might be best to toe the line if you want to avoid problems. Aside from this, the Sun’s move into your leisure and pleasure sector is the perfect time to indulge your senses. If you’ve felt somewhat frazzled due to a hectic lifestyle, head to the nearest bathtub with a glass of champagne and unwind.

Cancer

Libra

Capricorn

GUWAHATI

Leo

Scorpio

Aquarius

Virgo

Sagittarius

Pisces

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Sudoku

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About Sudoko

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.

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GMC helpline number for garbage collection

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last week solution

Aries

The week begins with a Full Moon in your travel and adventure sector, which could stir up wanderlust. You might need to put such dreams on hold for a while if you have responsibilities to attend to. A focus on your home zone suggests that you may be happier pottering around the house than on the other side of the globe anyway. This could be just as well, as you’ll be in the right place to take advantage of a great offer this weekend.

Hospital

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 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

Vigilance and anti corruption toll free number

1800-345-3767

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Event

Days

Events

June 25th to July 1st

Hip Hop! DVJ Kan-I

Another High Energy Night! Kan-I in the house mixing sound with visuals like no one else. Great crowd with even greater dance moves!

JUN 26 XBHP ANNIVERSARY MEET

JUN 25 7pm XS

JUN 25 6pm TOPAZ

A meeting of All India Mixed Martial Arts Association of Assam took place at AB Martial Arts & Fitness gym for an upcoming fighting event to be held in the month of November. The selection for the upcoming fighting event was conducted on 20th June, 2016 and the fighters representing the gym were selected for the same.

JUN 25 7pm VIVANTA

by TAJ

JUN 25 7pm Terra Mayaa

G PLUS JUN 25 - JUL 01, 2016

Catching Up Most shared story of the week India lost a son by the name of Apurba Deka, a Cobra Commando, resident of Khetri. He was martyred in a Maoist IED attack at Gaya last week. GPlus ensured that this brave sacrifice was not left untold. With 37 shares and over 480 likes, people condoled the death of the soldier in the comments. facebook.com/guwahatiplus twitter.com/guwahatiplus

Guwahati

GYAN

Did you know?

Latasil Playground

New

Chic on the block

Nandita Saikia About Me

Hey there I’m Nandita Saikia. I’m a 22 year old from Narengi, Guwahati. I recently appeared in my B.Com finals. I’m professional model and to my name I have the crown of Focus HiFi Calendar Girl 2015. I was also the 2nd Runners Up of the Pond’s Eclectic Model Hunt 2015. I’ve done several Government and Commercial fashion shows across Northeast. I completed my training in Sattriya and I’m passionate about other dance forms like Modern, Hip Hop and Salsa.

Mojo

oday it may sound unbelievable that there was a tank at the site of the present Latasil playground. Around this tank was located one of the three oldest markets of Guwahati during the British era. It was known as Chawk Bazar, the first market in the Uzanbazar area of Guwahati. The other two markets were Sadar Bazar, which is

now known as the Fancy Bazar, and Dalangghat Bazar near the Bharalu Bridge where the West Guwahati Puja Mandap is now located. The Latasil Pukhuri was filled up between 1898 and 1900 to develop the Latasil playground at the initiative of late Manik Chandra Borooah. The Chawk Bazar was shifted to the present day Uzanbazar Municipal Market.

I am passionate about dancing, acting, cooking, travelling and I think keeping myself busy with these things is what keeps me going.

Route in the Woods

In the future I would like to walk the ramp as a successful model and hit the screen as an actress.

Ka m u r of the week

e are not being religious or irreligious in stating that the traffic problems arising out of the Ambubachi Mela has derailed normal life in the city where school buses are getting delayed, normal commuting schedules are going haywire and reaching the airport has become a nightmare. Nothing can be a bigger kamur than Guwahati’s traffic during Ambubachi.

WHAT DID I JUST HEAR?

ow that was a rather insensitive remark by Salman Khan, wasn’t it? Shooting for a movie drains him out and he likened it to getting raped. That does send a touch of indigestion: more so the casual, off-hand manner in which the word “rape” was used.

PIC OF THE In search of Tranquillity Photo: Adib Zamali

WEEK

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