Rajgarh Road set to turn into 4-lane street Ward Watch
PG 14
VOLUME 03 | ISSUE 44 AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
PRICE `10
Aristocratic ‘IPS officer’ nabbed after cheating crores from elite city PG populace 05
G PLUS APR 23 - APR 29, 2016 Swastika Acharyya
Cool Couture by Sonika Ajmera
New CHIC on the block
PG 19
PG 24
11
2
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Lead Story
New 90,000 sq mtr airport terminal for Ghy by 2020
Rahul Chanda
Present
terminal area – 18,800 sq m
Expected new
terminal area – 90,000 sq m
Daily foot fall
– 8,500
Daily outgoing flights – 46 Daily incoming
flights – 46
Air traffic recorded in 2015 – 2.8 million Pax Expected budget for new terminal – Rs. 1,000 crores Present status – Global tender floated to select the consultant
file photo of guwahati airport, inset airport director jaideep balhara | Adib zamali/G Plus
L
okapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport is the busiest airport and gateway to the northeast and witnesses a daily footfall of 8,500 passengers. Last year, Union Minister of State for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, had said that improving connectivity is the key to promoting tourism in the northeast for which the government has taken a number of new initiatives. One of the major steps is creating Guwahati as a hub to facilitate improved connectivity within the northeast. The government had announced sanction of funds to the tune of Rs. 1000 crores for the development of the LGBI Airport. Now, one year later, what is the status of the airport? Are passengers satisfied with the services provided by the airport? G Plus looks into the present status and the changes that the airport will undergo in the coming days.
The complaints A city-based businessman, who frequently flies outside Guwahati talking to G Plus said, “The Guwahati airport is one of the most important airports in the northeast but I am not happy with it as the airport is not really clean and the toilets are not maintained well.” The businessman also said that in other airports there are so many options to shop and the terminals are usually comparable to the better terminals of the world but
With an estimated budget of Rs 1,000 crores, Airports Authority of India is expected to commence work on a new terminal from 2017 which will have world class provisions and facilities for passengers Guwahati airport has an old, haggard look about it. Similarly, another flier observed that there are lesser luggage conveyor belts in the airport’s arrival lounge which compels passengers to wait for a long time for their luggage. At the departure lounge also there are far less check-in counters than required. Similarly talking to many passengers at the LGBI Airport, it came to light that people want the airport to change and there should be infrastructural up-gradation as announced by the central government last year. To shed more light on the status, G Plus talked to Airport Director, Jaideep Singh Balhara.
The Authority Balhara, talking to G Plus, said that when he joined in May 2015, even he felt that the airport required some changes and it’s been around four months since the mechanised environmental support services has been introduced in the LGBI Airport which uses sophisticated and industrial high-mechanized cleaning equipments to clean and maintain the airport. Balhara said that with the introduction of this system the present condition is better than before. Talking about the development of LGBI
Terminal, the Airport Director said that the existing terminal building is more than 20 years old and scope of improvement is very limited. Therefore, with the allocated fund of Rs. 1000 crores a new terminal with world class infrastructure will be constructed. The new terminal will have an area of more than 90,000 square metres out of which a reasonable area will be allotted for various commercial activities like retail shops, F&B etc. AAI already has already acquired the land for the purpose. Further, the director said that the action for this new terminal building has already started at the corporate head quarter level. He said that the work on site will start in 2017 and it will take minimum three years to complete. Meanwhile, the director said that till the time the new terminal is ready many other new initiatives have been taken so that passengers using the present terminal get proper service which includes interim modifications inside the building like increasing check-in counters, installing additional conveyor belts, enlarging security hold area, etc.
Capacity According to media reports, airlines in India have been busy adding
capacity as the aviation market grew the fastest globally at 20.3% in 2015. The problem, however, is airport capacity. According to a CAPA study, India’s Airport Capacity Crisis, 18 of the 30 larger non-metro airports have already exceeded capacity or will be saturated soon. Capacity utilisation at the Jammu airport is 278%, 167% in Bagdogra, 127% in Kozhikode, 165% in Guwahati and 95% in Lucknow. Balhara said that at present Guwahati witnesses 165% capacity utilisation. But the fact remains that the airport authority still has to provide better services to the public. Balhara said that last year, passenger traffic touched 2.8 million (28 lakhs). And this year it is set to increase by 10%. The present terminal has an area of 18,800 square metres and to further develop the terminal till the new one comes up, there will be one more conveyor belt added to the existing two at the arrival lounge. To ease the queues in the departure lounge 9 more counters with additional belts will come up within six months. At present there are 29 counters. Also, at present there are two aerobridges which will be increased to four. Balhara said that within one year of his taking charge as the airport director 6 flights have increased and 10 more are likely to be
Expected year of completion of the terminal 2020
added in this current year. Now there is an inflow and outflow of 92 scheduled flights. With unscheduled flights the number reaches 100-120 per day. The time of the last flight arrival at present is 9 pm. The airport provides for night landing facilities and is technically capable of running 24/7 on the demand of the various airlines. The director said that the new terminal will further provide all kinds of world class facilities to the passengers but for the time being the airport authority plans to provide a decent service to the passengers and the number of domestic and international flights are set to increase in the coming days. Meanwhile, sources in the AAEU (Airport Authority Employees Union) said that for the time being the issue of privatisation of the Guwahati Airport has subsided but the source also said that the central government might be mulling something new to privatise the airport as the central government, after announcing FDI, will privatise the airport sooner than later. Whatever be the situation the airport authorities should ensure that passengers at Guwahati get a clean and world class airport – it being the biggest in the entire northeast region. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in
3
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
City
Mishaps, jams galore even as DCP (Traffic) post lies vacant
Accidents The city has witnessed a number of accidents in the recent days. Within just the month of August, there have been approximately 22 accidents till the 19th. On 1st August there was an accident at Walford, Christian Basti, but there were no casualties reported. On 2nd August, it was reported that an LPG tanker collided with the divider at Jorabat-Sonapur highway and a major catastrophe was averted by timely and proactive action of the Sonapur Police. Similarly, on 3rd August, a Force Traveller collided with a two-wheeler at Survey; the bike rider was severely injured and is still under treatment in GMCH. On 10th August a Tata Sumo collided with a Scorpio in front of B. Barooah College but no one was injured. On 17th August two accidents were reported; in one of the incidents, a truck collided with the divider and overturned at Jorabat, while in the other three vehicles collided with each other near Manyavar showroom at Christian Basti and around four persons were injured. Talking about fatalities, two fatal accidents were reported in the city: one at Jalukbari where a bike rider died on the spot after his vehicle collided with a truck and the other where a rider again died on the spot at Six Mile in a similar incident. If we look at the data of the accidents collected from police sources, the number of accidents is increasing in the city and the DCP in-charge, BN Morang, talking to G Plus, said that there are various reasons for accidents in the city and in maximum cases the reason is either drunken driving or overtaking from the left side. He also said that there are some breaks in the road dividers in the city which are not scientifically designed causing accidents. Adding to it he also said that in some months there are lesser accidents reported and in some months the number goes up but drunken driving needs to be checked. According to sources in the traffic department, the drive against drunken driving has lessened in recent days primarily after the former DCP Pranab Jyoti Goswami left the city.
Traffic jams mar city traffic scenario
Rahul Chanda
I
n 2015, the city police commissionerate was formed to change the policing system of the city by increasing supervision. Moving ahead, we kept hearing of frequent transfers of officers of the commissionerate to other parts of the state. The government might have a strategy or rotational policy to transfer officers but there is no set criterion or rule which is followed in such transfers. Recently, news came in that the former SSP of Guwahati, IPS officer Anand Prakash Tewari, has been appointed as the new MD of ASTC in a seemingly illogical move where the post is usually held by an IAS officer. This might be a new initiative of the government but time will determine whether the decision is justified or not. Meanwhile, the former DCP Traffic at the Guwahati Police Commissionerate, APS officer Pranab Jyoti Goswami, was transferred to Hailakandi District as the SP on 27th June 2016 and since then the post has been lying vacant. Additional DCP, BN Morang, is the acting DCP in-charge but he cannot be promoted as the DCP because his promotion is not due. G Plus checks the city traffic scenario in the absence of a DCP (Traffic).
Number of accidents goes up in Guwahati
Manpower shortage cuts short major traffic projects Government transfers IPS and IAS officers unexpectedly and seemingly illogically Important post of DCP (Traffic) lies vacant for last one and a half months
Traffic jams
file photo of an accident in guwahati | Adib zamali/G Plus
With the government transferring IAS and IPS officers unexpectedly an important post like DCP (Traffic) in the Guwahati Police Commissionerate lies vacant for last one and half months while the city traffic scenario turns chaotic
Number of accident cases in Guwahati till June 2016 Month
Class of Road
National Highway State Highway January, 2016 Other Road Total National Highway February, State Highway 2016 Other Road Total National Highway March, State Highway 2016 Other Road Total National Highway State Highway April, 2016 Other Road Total National Highway State Highway May, 2016 Other Road Total National Highway June, State Highway 2016 Other Road Total
Fatal 16 11 3 30 11 9 3 23 14 7 21 8 13 4 25 12 7 6 25 11 7 1 19
Person Killed 16 11 3 30 12 9 3 24 14 8 22 10 13 4 27 13 7 6 26 11 7 1 19
Nonfatal 31 19 16 66 32 20 16 68 28 27 26 81 15 32 16 63 25 22 17 64 21 26 14 61
Person Injured 27 19 14 60 29 17 23 69 20 24 24 68 28 45 18 91 25 19 22 66 21 39 11 71
Total cases 47 30 19 96 43 29 19 91 42 34 26 102 23 45 20 88 37 29 23 89 32 33 15 80
There are certain points and junctions in the city like the Sharabbhatti point, Downtown junction, Dispur point, Vishal Point on AT Road, Saraighat Bridge, etc. which are always jam packed with traffic. The former DCP PJ Goswami, talking to G Plus, had said during his tenure that the traffic system cannot be brought under control until and unless the entire system is made systematic. “The entire system is wrong for which the traffic cannot be regularised. We have deployed the additional traffic cop to see how it works. It has been taken as a pilot project but the traffic cops cannot control the traffic until and unless the system is changed. In other cities there is no traffic police but the system is such that people obey traffic rules and regulations without any violation which is lacking here in the city,” said Goswami. So a pilot project was initiated where 168 additional police personnel were deployed across the city and mainly at junctions and roads which have many diversions. According to city traffic observers the traffic scenario had improved after the project was launched and the police personnel were seen controlling the traffic. The drive against parking in no parking zones was also visible. But as soon as Goswami left the city the project stopped working and the scenario is back to square one. DCP in-charge, Morang talking to G Plus, said that the project was stopped as the police personnel were brought from a refresher course, probation period and after their course and period was over, they were sent back to their respective units and police stations. So there is no man power to carry the project forward. Morang also said that the project was successful and the traffic chaos was eased to a certain level because of the project but unless the traffic manpower is increased the project cannot be continued. So the manpower shortage issue remains a cause of concern and on top of that important posts like DCP (Traffic) lie vacant. At the same time, the government thinks it fit to shift an IPS officer into a post that is usually occupied by an IAS officer. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in
Ttaffic
4
Buzz
KALYAN DEB
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
No headway in investigation on Cotton-Uber fracas; culprits yet to be booked The situation today
As on date, it has also been learnt from sources of the college that the involvement of the students in the fracas is certain and the relations between the auto-rickshaw drivers and the boarders of Mahendra Nath Deka Phukan Hostel was one of mutual goodwill. “What was said in the news channels is an exaggeration of what actually happened. As the autorickshaws are parked near the hostel for most part of the day, they come in handy during any kind of emergency. If anyone has to be taken to the hospital or one has to urgently reach somewhere it is the auto-rickshaw drivers that we approach,” a source in Cotton College stated to G Plus. “The inquiry committee has not made any declaration but it could be learnt that some of the students will be made to pay compensation while others will be suspended from the hostel and expelled from the college,” the source informed adding that one Pranjal Kalita, one Dhiraj and one Nittaranjan Hazarika are among those identified so far.
I
nvestigation into the much talked about issue of the past few days about the involvement of some students of the MNDP Hostel of Cotton College in a street brawl with drivers of app-cab Uber and the subsequent institution of an internal inquiry committee by the college seems to have come to a grinding halt. Even over a week later, those involved in the incident have not been identified. However, there have been reports that seven students have been supposedly identified of being involved in the incident. Moreover, according to footage provided by a local media house, involvement of two students was clearly seen to which the police said that the forensic reports are awaited. “We have collected several pictures and footage that have been forwarded to the forensic department but we are still awaiting reports. While investigation on the case is in process no confirmed identifications have been made so far,” said a police official. Meanwhile, a council meeting was held on 19th August in the presence of the inquiry committee probing the role of Cotton College students in the clash and the disciplinary action committee. Following the meeting it was informed that disciplinary action will be taken by the body for which the report will be sent to the government through the official channel. However, the Principal of Cotton College, Nirada Devi, has flatly refused to divulge any details and share any relevant information with the media. “The problem of the involvement of students in
file photo of the cotton college - uber fracas | Adib zamali/G Plus
the fracas is our internal matter. We have an inquiry committee and a disciplinary action committee and it has been recommended that any kind of action taken on students will be solved internally,” the principal said during a telephonic conversation with G Plus. The CCUS general secretary, Amlanjyoti Deori, echoed similar views.
A recap of the fracas It may be mentioned here that allegations are of students destroying public and private property including a number of cabs, media equipment, injuring media personnel and also a police woman and the insistence of the college authority to interpret the same as an internal matter of the college comes as a surprise. Hot after the incident on Saturday last, the union body of Cotton College had said
that if the students of the college are found guilty in relation to the Thursday night issue, strict action would be taken against them by the college authority. But the union body had simultaneously demanded an enquiry into the incident of stone pelting at the college building that happened during last Friday morning. The students had also alleged that a journalist of a private news channel was involved in the stone attack issue. The general secretary of the college, Amlanjyoti Deuri, had said that both the incidents were condemnable and an inquiry committee had been formed by the college authorities immediately after the incident to look into the involvement of the students. However, he had alleged that the situation had taken an uglier turn after an electronic media journalist incited the cab drivers to attack the college build-
ing on Friday morning. He had also asserted that the same journalist had misbehaved with the superintendent of the MNDP Hostel of Cotton College. He had also said, “Police has the footage and evidences of the incidents and the truth would come to light during investigation. But in the next day’s event, a deliberate attempt was made to create chaos in Cotton College which must also be thoroughly investigated.” The college union body had also acknowledged the need to develop the campuses of college hostels with adequate security and necessary provisions like cafeteria, so that the students did not go outside the campuses at night thereby obliquely admitting that students were indeed outside their hostels as late as 1 am on that fateful night.
The students’ side of the story Following the incident, Cotton College Union Society (CCUS) released a press note where it was mentioned that the students only got involved when they saw the autorickshaw drivers and the cab drivers quarrelling and urged them not to do the same and tried to settle the matter. However, the cab drivers took to violence and tried to hit the students. Moreover, while the students were on their way back to their hostel a recklessly driven cab hit three students viz. Kartik Kakoti, Chandan Das and Saurabhjyoti Deka who had to be rushed to Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital. The cab drivers also pelted stones at MNDP hostel and at the warden as well and that is when the scenario worsened.
Cabbies’ allegations Earlier it was alleged by the cab drivers that the students somehow went berserk and armed with cricket bats, hockey sticks and iron rods, they went about vandalising on the streets smashing several vehicles and injuring many in the process. Guwahati awaits the results of the enquiry committee and it remains to be seen what punitive action will be taken against whom for what turned out to be wilful destruction of private and public property which does not isolate the incident as an internal matter of Cotton College. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Aristocratic ‘IPS officer’ nabbed after cheating crores from elite city populace Tushar Bhuyan alias Rajveer Kashyap was arrested by crime branch for duping his various victims off crores of rupees
Tushar hails from Narayanpur in North Lakhimpur District and came to Guwahati in 2013 Tushar led an aristocratic lifestyle and posed as an IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre Tushar used to introduce himself as Rajveer Kashyap and promised government jobs and contracts to many He targeted unemployed youths belonging to rich families To target them he used to visit posh hotels, bars and even started working out in Gold’s Gym He used to roam around in high-end cars and met his targeted victims in posh hotels and restaurants He had the gift of the gab, the ability to convince people and acted like he knew all the politicians and bureaucrats in the government Police started getting complaints against him since last year after which he went absconding Finally, police tracked and nabbed him after which many victims started thronging Dispur police station with complaints of being cheated Victims are worried about the recovery of their money
Most of the victims are educated and from well-to-do families
tushar bhuyan and his fake appointment letter | Adib zamali/G Plus
Posing as a fake IPS officer suave and sophisticated Tushar Bhuyan duped many people off crores of rupees on the promise of government jobs and contracts
I
n a major accomplishment, the city police crime branch on Wednesday last successfully arrested a most wanted crook of the city who was wanted in many cases of forgery since a long time. Interestingly, the fraudster used to dupe people posing as an IPS officer. Tushar Bhuyan alias Rajveer Kashyap was nabbed from a rented apartment located at Radhanagar, Chachal on VIP Road. G Plus explores the crimes committed by Tushar, his modus operandi, the number of people duped by him and why he is considered the most wanted fraudster of Guwahati.
The arrest Since the last one year, many complaints were received by the city police against Tushar on the grounds of taking handsome amounts of money from many people with the promise of government jobs and contracts. The Hatigaon police, the CID as also the city crime branch received a number of complaints. The hunt for the fraudster continued all these days but he had vacated his rented apartment in Hatigaon in the meantime. Police tried to track him but he was sharp enough to frequently change his phone numbers and addresses and managed to keep a step ahead. Finally, with special inputs, the city
police crime branch tracked him to an apartment located at Radhanagar, Chachal on VIP Road. He was arrested by the team of crime branch assisted by Dispur Police. A case has been registered in Dispur Police station (Case number – 1963/16 under section 120B/419/420/468 of IPC). Police recovered a police uniform, an ID card that had ‘Indian Police Service’ written on it and two mobile handsets which are currently being scanned thoroughly. A highly placed source in the police told G Plus about the crimes the fraudster had committed and his normal modus operandi.
Crimes and modus operandi The police source said that Tushar originally belongs to a place called Narayanpur in North Lakhimpur District and according to various information collected by the police, Tushar had shifted to Guwahati in 2012. His father’s name is Lakhi Bhuyan who is a well-to-do man in North Lakhimpur. Tushar had visited many places in India for various purposes and had developed a keenness to live the good life. He came to Guwahati and started targeting unemployed youths of wellto-do families. He started visiting the posh discos, hotels, bars and gyms of the city. He also registered himself in
Gold’s Gym where he targeted many people. According to police, he used to pose as a senior IPS officer in the police department and promise people various government jobs and contracts. He used to travel in high end cars like Fortuner, Honda City, etc. and used to meet his targets wearing his police officer’s uniform. The police source said that ever since his arrest at least 20 people have reported on the very first day that he had duped them off huge amounts of money. He used to lead an aristocratic lifestyle and used to treat the targeted victims in posh hotels so that they believed that he is rich and powerful. He used to tell them that he is an IPS officer who is deputed in Assam as an undercover ATS wing member. He mostly used to dupe people by promising them jobs in Assam Police, FCI, Gas Cracker Plant, etc. Also, he used to promise them high profile government contracts of making roads and government buildings. It is a wonder that educated people from well-to-do families can be so gullible as to get tricked by such crooks. G Plus talked to some victims to understand the situation better.
The victims A victim who was duped of Rs. 2,20,000, talking to G Plus, said in
5
Crime
Rahul Chanda
anonymity, “I met Tushar through my cousin who used to exercise in Gold’s Gym with him. Initially, my brother was tricked by him for a job in FCI for which he paid around Rs. 6 lakhs. Similarly, since I have always harboured ambitions of working as a police officer, my brother had told me that Tushar would help me get an inspector level job in Assam Police.” The victim further said that Tushar posed as an IPS officer and used to introduce himself as Rajveer Kashyap who joined as an officer of the Maharashtra cadre but was transferred to Assam on deputation. Tushar asked the victim to pay the money once the relevant advertisement was out in the newspapers. Such an advertisement actually appeared in the newspaper after two months as foretold by Tushar. The victim had no other option but to believe Tushar and he borrowed some money from his mother and some on interest without informing his father who happened to be a state government employee working at a decent position and who was totally against corruption. Tushar asked the victim to apply for the post but he never received any call letter. The victim then started pressurizing Tushar but he used to meet him in high profile places and promised him of a job sooner than later. This incident occurred in 2013 and after two years of pursuit, i.e., early in 2015, the victim informed one of his elder brothers about the incident. The elder brother immediately visited Tushar’s rented house and they even had a heated quarrel. Tushar, instead of returning the money, filed a case in the Dispur police station against the victim and his brother. Later, Tushar went absconding and only after his recent arrest the victim turned up at Dispur police station to register his complaint. Similarly, many other victims thronged Dispur Police station to lodge their complaints and the police have taken statements from all such victims. Some victims said that Tushar could easily convince anyone to fall into his trap and given his lifestyle no one could gauge that he was a phony cop. He used to cite many examples of his “glorious” career and also showed his photograph in uniform near the Maharashtra Police Academy. Tushar used to always roam around the city in high-end cars and claimed that he was close to many politicians and bureaucrats. He used to always dupe people showing them advertised job vacancies and government contracts. One businessman was cheated off Rs. 76 lakhs for a government contract in FCI. But whatever style he adopted, Tushar indeed took advantage of one known factor and that is the existence of corruption in the system. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in
6
City
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Juthika Baruah
Cancer medicines to be available at 90% concession in AMRIT Pharmacies
Amrit Pharmacy to be set up in every medical college of the state Cancer medicines to be available at 90% concession PET-CT scan machine inaugurated at 200 bed cancer hospital 25,000 new cases of cancer detected every year in the state Centre sanctions Rs. 170 crores for Diphu Medical College Dibrugarh and Silchar to come up with new dental college Three medical colleges will be started at Lakhimpur, Dhubri and Nagaon
GPLUS NEWS
W
cm sarbananda sonowal and health minister himanta biswa sarma at the inaugural function | Adib zamali/G Plus
The state government emphasizes on transforming the Guwahati Medical College Hospital into a national institute of excellence
T
he state health department has come up with a good initiative for cancer patients as AMRIT Pharmacy will be set up in government hospitals where medicines for cancer will be available at 90% concession and other medicines will also be available at much lower rates. State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a function held at Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) auditorium, announced that exploitation of medicine is so high that the lower class people cannot afford to buy the medicines; hence, the decision to set up the Amrit pharmacy.
“The Amrit pharmacy will be set up in every medical college so that the poor people can afford to buy medicines and we want to compel retail outlets to sell medicines at reasonable prices which otherwise is much higher in the market,” minister Sarma asserted. The Minister also informed that Dibrugarh and Silchar will come up with two dental colleges so that the people do not have to take the trouble of coming all the way to Guwahati for dental treatment. He further announced that the Centre has also sanctioned Rs. 170 crores for Diphu Medical College which will be opened
in 2017. “We want to make Assam the hub for medical treatment so that people do not have to go outside for better treatment. Another three medical colleges at Lakhimpur, Dhubri and Nagaon will be started so that people don’t have to move from one place to another for treatment,” added Sarma. He further stated that the state government wants to make GMCH the hub of treatment of eastern India by providing the best of facilities to the people. It has also been announced that the super speciality hospital at GMCH premises will be started by DecemberJanuary.
Freedom Jam – celebrating ‘being independent’ through the power of music
ith an idea to celebrate the essence of Independence, a group of music enthusiasts initiated the idea of Freedom Jam in 2009 at Commerce Point, one of the hotspots of Guwahati city. From its humble origins, the event has grown
bigger with each passing year witnessing newer faces joining the attempt. The initiators of the event are – Rupam Chetia Bora, Rajib Phukan, David Koch and Shaun. Freedom Jam is celebrated every year by the music lovers of the city on
15th August in front of Commerce College in a bid to evoke love for the country, to remind the significance of the day and to spread the message of being independent through a musical initiative. The first year of the event was a modest offering with a gathering
of just a handful of people. The event that had successfully reached people over the years was held on a bigger scale this year. Artists like Hriday Goswami, the band Swadhyay and Joshua Neville Queah were amongst the lot to perform this year. Unlike the past years, the event this year was organized with proper amplifiers and lights. As shared by one of the initiators, the event is being planned on an even bigger scale next year, with properly made ramps, stages, lightings etc. Shaun, said, “The very essence of Independence Day is lost within our people. People choose not to come out of their home, irrespective of the fact that there is a bandh call or not. Freedom Jam is the initiative to bring that difference in the mindset of people and inspire them to spread the message through the binding power of music.” Commenting about the event, Rupam said, “We do not have highsounding objectives or ideas. There are no big names or stars involved in this session and everyone is free to join. The only motive behind organizing this session is to celebrate the day through music so that today’s generation is at least reminded of the significance of being able to live in a free, sovereign country.”
Inaugurating the Positron Emission Tomography (PET)-CT scan machine installed in the 200 bed cancer hospital at GMCH, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the medical profession is a noble career as practitioners get the chance to serve the people of the nation. The chief minister said that dedicating the services of the PET-CT Scan machine is a momentous occasion for oncology treatment in the state. “Patients of the state have to go to other states, or even outside the country for better cancer treatment and those with poor financial conditions have to suffer a lot. However, with the introduction of this facility patients will get better treatment within the state and also we want to make the state have the best of facilities for better treatment so that people don’t have to go outside,” he said. Sonowal also said that health and education are the priorities for the government and with concerted efforts from all quarters revolutionary changes can be brought about in these sectors. He asserted that the state government is treading the path forward by giving special impetus to medical education. Sonowal further added that in Assam cases of cancer are increasing with nearly 25,000 new cancer cases being detected every year and during the last five years more than 80,000 cases of cancer have been reported. He underlined the state government’s emphasis on transforming the GMCH into a national institute of excellence. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in
Now book your UBER without an App GPLUS NEWS
I
n a move to increase user base in India and other cities, UBER has initiated an app-less version of booking rides and travelling in the comfort of an UBER. The San Francisco based company has launched ‘UBER for web’ so that people can ride an UBER cab without the app. This will also ease travelling and expand user base. This feature is only available in 4 cities across India - Nagpur, Kochi, Guwahati and Jodhpur and can be availed via any web browser like Chrome, UCWeb, Safari or Opera. This is a pilot project according to UBER officials and will expand if the response from the public is positive. HERE’S HOW IT WORKS: 1) Navigate to dial.uber.com on your mobile phone 2) Enter your phone number to quickly login or sign-up 3) View pricing information, get a fare estimate, and request for your ride with a single tap 4) After requesting, you will be instantly connected with your driver over call to coordinate pickup 5) Once the trip is completed, you can pay your driver in cash
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Dr. Bibhuti Lahkar nominated for World Heritage Hero Award
Snippets
A brief sketch on Banwarilal Purohit, new Governor of Assam GPLUS NEWS
GPLUS NEWS
Adib zamali/G Plus
Working extensively for community development and wildlife protection in Manas earns Dr. Bibhuti Lahkar nomination to Heritage Hero Award
D
r. Bibhuti Lahkar, an ecologist who has intensively studied the grasslands of Manas National Park in Bodoland Territorial area understood that conserving threatened flora and fauna is a longterm process which can be achieved only when locals are supportive and receive some benefit from the exercise. Lahkar, the Asian coordinator for the French NGO Awely, started his journey of struggle as a volunteer for Araanyak in 1993 and found himself in the middle of the Bodo agitation followed by the armed struggle of Bodo insurgents during which land
grabbing and poaching within the protected area of the National Park was a regular occurrence putting Manas’s position in the list of World Heritage Sites “in danger” (1992-2011). Working to engage the people of Manas in wildlife protection in lieu of their desired benefits, Lahkar started training young people to hone tourist guide skills and in wildlife monitoring. Also, he constantly moved around holding meetings and workshops with various stakeholders discussing how solutions can be found for both threatened wildlife and the locals of Manas. This high-spirited environmental-
ist never got tired of explaining about the treasures of Manas. Bibhuti’s hard work paid off and he took a leading role in training surrendered poachers and hunters on biodiversity, protection and monitoring of wildlife. These poachers-turned-conservationists are now helping the forest department in patrolling and protecting Manas. With IUCN’s Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme in Manas, Bibhuti and his team are extending their activities to the neediest and most dependant neighbours of Manas and striving with them for a liveable future for both wildlife and the people. For his great commitment to Manas, Dr. Bibhuti Lahkar has been nominated for Heritage Heroes award in 2016. The Heritage Heroes award aims to recognise the outstanding efforts of a few brave people around the world who relentlessly invest time and effort to make a difference in the way natural World Heritage sites are conserved - sometimes even in life-threatening situations. This award is both a celebration of the places and people that inspire many and a wake-up call on the reality of threats on the ground. IUCN received over 30 nominations for the Heritage Heroes awards from across its World Heritage networks. The selection panel, led by experts of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), has shortlisted three nominations for the Heritage Heroes awards, which will be launched at the IUCN World Conservation Congress. Other nominees of the award are Bantu Lukambo and Josué Kambasu Mukura for Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Yulia Naberezhnaya and Andrey Rudomahka, Western Caucasus, Russian Federation.
7
B
\anwarilal Purohit has been appointed the new Governor of Assam. Purohit is an important public personality, who is actively involved in social, political, educational, and industrial fields of Vidarbha. He has contributed significantly in these fields with his hard work, devotion, and ideas. Purohit won the election to Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 1978 from Nagpur East Assembly Constituency with a handsome margin. Purohit got re-elected to the state legislature in 1980 from Nagpur South Assembly Constituency. His work earned him a berth in the state ministry in 1982, when he served as a Minister of State for Urban Development, Slum Improvement and Housing. In 1984 and 1989, Purohit got nominated to contest elections to the Lok Sabha from Nagpur-Kamptee Lok Sabha Constituency and won hands down. As a Member of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Defence Ministry, Purohit contributed significantly to the thought-process on national Defence and Security. In 1996, Purohit again successfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Nagpur-Kamptee Parliamentary constituency and won with a handsome majority. Purohit served as a member of the Parliamentary Consultative Com-
mittee on Home Affairs, Member of Standing Committee on Defence, and Member of Public Sector Undertaking Committee and made significant contributions. Politics, however, is only one part of Mr. Purohit’s public life. One of the most important contributions of Mr. Purohit is revival of ‘The Hitavada’, an English daily founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the mentor of Mahatma Gandhi. It was because of Purohit’s leadership that ‘The Hitavada’ has become a leading newspaper of Central India, whose voice is heard across the country. Mr. Purohit’s views on various important issues definitely find a good reflection in his paper, but the contrary views also are given honourable coverage in the columns. That is the strength of ‘The Hitavada’, which apart from its headquarter edition at Nagpur also has launched editions in Jabalpur, Raipur, and Bhopal. Purohit has been associated with many social, charitable, religious, and sports organisations. He is National Trustee and Executive Member of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chairman of the Nagpur Kendra of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chairman of Shri Ramdeobaba Smarak Samiti, which runs Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management (RCOEM). Purohit is the Chairman of Subhash Mandal, one of the leading sports organisations of this region. He is also associated with the premier educational institution The Women’s Education Society, which runs Lady Amritbai Daga College for Women of Arts, Commerce and Science and Smt. Ratnidevi Purohit College of Home Science and Home Science Technology, and Women’s Technical Education and Research Smt. Ratnidevi Purohit Institute. Mr. Purohit is also Trustee of Jagruteshwar Mandir, Nagpur and President of Vidarbha Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti, Nagpur.
8
Art
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
“All award winning films may not be good movies,” Adil Hussain
Juthika Baruah
Kothanodi to be released on 16th September The film is based on Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa’s Burhi Aair Sadhu Ample number of cinema halls need to be set up for revival of Assamese film industry
press conference at indian club | Adib zamali/G Plus
N
Sound, projection and the script should be excellent in order to produce quality films and having more cinema halls is equally important
ational Award winning Assamese film Kothanodi, directed by Bhaskar Hazarika, will be released on 16th September in cinema halls across Assam. The trailer of the film was released today at a press conference by the director in the presence of actors Adil Hussain and Kopil Bora. This is one of the latest Assamese films to be partly financed by crowd funding. At the press conference held at India Club, Bhaskar Hazarika spoke at length about his experiences and challenges while working on the film. “The film is based on events and characters described in Buri Aair Xadhu by Lakshminath Bezbaroa,” shared the director. As cited by actor Adil Hussain, an award winning film may not necessarily be a good film. Stating that to make a good film the script, sound quality, projection should be excellent and every district should have one cinema hall. In these times when the Assamese film industry is seeing a lot of controversy, a section of the film fraternity raised questions that if films are not qualitatively good how can these win awards? At the same time, others like the hall owners have maintained that Assamese films cannot be screened as they are not commercially viable. Commenting on movie quality in general, Adil Hussain, speaking ex-
clusively to G Plus said, “It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to make a good film as it is art and craft. The filmmaker should undergo training on how a film can be made interesting. People are not attracted to dull movies; rather they look forward to interesting cinema.” Hussain said, “To run the films a lot of cinema halls need to be set up and the films should have such quality that hall owners would not dare to remove them even when a Bollywood film gets released. For that the film has to be commercially viable and it is only possible when the quality of
the films is improved. There are thousands of script labs across the country and a particular script needs to be sent to such labs to gauge whether it would make a good and commercially viable proposition. Our directors do not do this.” Talking about the mindset of the audience who show no interest to watch Assamese cinema despite the fact that some films get national and international awards, Hussain said that every award winning film is not a good film. “It is only the quality which will attract the audience and for that many factors need to be emphasized
adil hussain
on,” said Hussain. Although people have not witnessed quality Assamese films in recent times, director Bhaskar Hazarika has created a milestone with Kothanodi, The River of Fables. Based on four stories of Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa’s “Burhi Aair Sadhu,” the film stars Adil Hussain, Seema Biswas, Zerifa Wahid and Kopil Bora. While the stories in Burhi Aair Sadhu have traditionally been presented as tales for children, Kothanodi tries to push them towards darker, unorthodox directions. Here the magic is real, illusions starker, emotions rawer and horror more visceral. Why make a film based on obscure folk tales from a little known place tucked away in the north-eastern corner of India? Director Hazarika said that the world is getting smaller and with it more homogenized. Contemporary stories are increasingly irrelevant to their settings. An urban love story set in Bombay is likely to have the same themes as one set in Guwahati. This is perhaps the perfect time for cinema audiences to enjoy the rich diversity of culture and folklore in the world. Kopil Bora informed the audience that Kothanodi was one of the most fulfilling projects in his career. He also spoke about how the film has elements of Assam’s culture and heritage and also explores a form of story-
Scripts of films need to be sent to script labs for quality assessment and to see if they make viable commercial propositions The film Kothanodi stars Adil Hussain, Seema Biswas, Kopil Bora, Zerifa Wahid, Kasvi Sharma and Monisha Bhuyan among others
telling like no other. Adil Hussain and Seema Biswas were his acting gurus and taught him a lot in the workshops that were conducted before the shooting. Adil Hussain also had a lot of good things to say about the film. He appealed to all the movie enthusiasts across Assam to embrace Kothanodi with open hearts and watch the movie in theatres to experience a new form of storytelling. Debutants Manisha Bhuyan and Kasvi Sharma also expressed their happiness in working with stalwarts like Seema Biswas and Adil Hussain in their very first movie. The film has already been screened at various film festivals around the world including the 20th Busan International Film Festival 2015, BFI London Film Festival 2015, 17th Jio Mambi Mumbai Film Festival, Dharamshala International Film Festival 2015, Goteborg International Film Festival, and Indie Meme Film Festival, Austin among others. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in
9
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Business
Startup India proving to be a non-starter in Assam
KALYAN DEB
Start-up means: • Startups have to register under the authorised integration centres assigned across the country • An entity, incorporated or registered in India and is not older than five years • Annual turnover not exceeding Rs. 25 crores in any preceding financial year • Working towards innovation, development, deployment or commercialization of new products, processes or services driven by technology or intellectual property It is important to note the following points: • Provided that such entity is not formed by splitting up, or reconstruction of a business already in existence. • Provided also that an entity shall cease to be a Start-up if its turnover for the previous financial years has exceeded Rs. 25 crores or it has completed 5 years from the date of incorporation/ registration. • Provided further that a Start-up shall be eligible for tax benefits only after it has obtained certification from the Inter-Ministerial Board setup for such purpose.
A
lthough Startup India has seen a boom since it’s unveiling in some of major cities, the Tier2 and Tier-3 cities are yet to see the dawn of innovation and new entrepreneurship. To create a platform in order to identify and promote potential start-ups and provide them with an ecosystem, i.e., a forum of companies, ‘Startup Assam’ is an initiative to lead aspiring entrepreneurs. The initiative will help the aspirants get easy access to resources, such as angel investors, venture capitalists, mentors, industry experts, etc. which are essential for businesses to transcend its early stages and thereby create a pipeline of entrepreneurs who spearhead innovative businesses. It was on the occasion of India’s 69th Independence Day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Startup India initiative from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort. On 16th January 2016, that is just five months later, the PM unveiled the Startup Action Plan which was preceded by a day-long workshop on various aspects of entrepreneurship. The Prime Minister said he wishes to turn the youth of India from job-seekers to job-creators. He said that if a Startup can offer employment to even five people, it would be doing a great service to the nation. He mentioned some areas where youth innovators should focus on including crop wastage and
file photos of start up meetings in guwahati
cyber security. The Prime Minister unveiled the highlights of the Start-up Action Plan. He said a dedicated Start-up fund worth Rs. 10,000 crores will be created for funding of Start-ups. The Rs. 10,000 crore ‘fund-of-funds’ is a significant financial commitment by the Government under the Action Plan. It is set to start with Rs. 2,500 crore initially with the amount set to recur for 4 years. This mega fund will not directly invest in start-up ventures. Instead, it will do so via SEBI registered venture funds. This fund will contribute a maximum of 50 per cent of the daughter fund size, providing a significant boost to the corpus of investments that start-ups have access to. It is important that this corpus is not managed by politicians or bureaucrats, but smart, savvy fund managers who have a track record on investing. On the cost saving side, an 80 per cent rebate on patent filing costs alongside an exemption from having ‘prior-experience’ to be eligible under the public procurement process are steps taken to promote tech-based start-ups in particular. However, Startups from the northeast region choose to move to tech cities like Bangalore due problems such as fund and investor constrains while many keep themselves from taking the leap of starting something of their own. While banks are an option to get investment they
have their own protocol. One has to provide security to a bank in order to attract investment. As such, the question of the assurance of success of a business venture pops up creating a major hurdle for a Startup to begin. Taking into consideration the location and demographic advantage of Assam which is the gateway of the northeast, the idea for creating a Startup culture was conceived and, eventually Startup Assam was formed. It is the outcome of the endeavours of some thought leaders, industry veterans and entrepreneurs; Redlemon Communications, TechHelp Consulting and Barooa Infotech collaborated and Startup Assam plan was executed on 24th January, 2016. An initiative of Pankaj Gogoi, who has earlier tried his hands at entrepreneurship with ventures such as Eshopany and Cel Fisher, his vision is to facilitate a networking channel among the entrepreneurs, investors and mentors so as to boost the start-up ecosystem in the region. Since its inception Startup Assam has organised several events which were attended by entrepreneurs, investors, financial experts, students, etc. As many entrepreneurs, financial experts, thought leaders and industry veterans attend the events organized by Startup Assam, these events are helpful in providing proper guidance and mentorship to the budding entrepreneurs. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in
A business is covered under the definition if it aims to develop and commercialize: • A new product or service or process; or a significantly improved existing product or service or process that will create or add value for customers or workflow. • The mere act of developing products or services or processes which do not have potential for commercialization; or undifferentiated products or services or processes; or products or services or processes with no or limited incremental value for customers or workflow would not be covered under this definition. Eligibility to be considered as a “Startup” • One has to be supported by a recommendation (with regard to innovative nature of business), in a format specified by Department Of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), from an incubator established in a post-graduate college in India • Should be supported by an incubator which is funded (in relation to the project) from the government as part of any specified scheme to promote innovation • One should be supported by a recommendation (with regard to innovative nature of business), in a format specified by DIPP, from an Incubator recognized by Government of India • They should be funded by an Incubation Fund/ Angel Fund/ Private Equity Fund/ Accelerator/ Angel Network duly registered with SEBI that endorses innovative nature of the business; or • Startup should be funded by the centre as part of any specified scheme to promote innovation • A Startup should have a patent granted by the Indian Patent and Trademark Office in areas affiliated with the nature of business being promoted.
10
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Society
‘Well meaning’ youth’s Pakistani flag masquerading outrages mob
KALYAN DEB
the unfortunate “well-meaning” youth and his father in custody
W
hile the whole nation was celebrating the 70th Independence Day, there were a few belts that were scorched by violence. Misled by vested interests, some youths indulged in hardcore arson resulting in destruction of the peace and harmony of the nation. In Assam, Independence Day was celebrated with adequate security measures in place. Although a few incidents of violence took place the celebrations were largely peaceful. However, an in-
cident in the city raised eyebrows and which many would compare with Kashmir. Although, it could as well be an act of utter innocence, a youth affixed the flags of India and Pakistan and took a ride down the city roads. The act led to mob outrage sending the youth behind bars.
The Incident On 15th August, a youth who is a college-goer named Aman Ali was
arrested by Basishta police for allegedly riding a bike with the Pakistani national flag affixed to it. Ali (19), a student of Karmashree Hiteswar Saikia College, took to the streets of the city on his two-wheeler. He had attached the flag of Pakistan on the rear view mirror of his motorcycle. Soon tension erupted as locals saw the youth riding his bike in the Latakata area under Basistha police station. Outraged by his actions the angry mob thrashed Ali and set his motor-
cycle ablaze. Meanwhile, the police was informed and he was handed over to the men in khaki. A police source said that a case has been registered against him under Section 153 (A) of the IPC on charges of indulging in acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony among different sections of people on the basis of an FIR lodged by an organisation called Hindu Yuba Mancha. “He was produced in court on Tuesday which remanded him to judicial custody,” the police source said. The police had also picked up the father of the accused, Nasiruddin Ali, for questioning but he was allowed to go as he was not found to be involved in the incident. Meanwhile, Ali told newsmen that he had made two flags – an Indian and a Pakistani - on his own. “My intentions were not bad and you can check the flags. Those were made by me. Since 14th August was the Independence Day of Pakistan and 15th August for India, I had put both the flags on my bike as a good intention and only to promote peace and harmony between the two nations. But the way the public reacted was not expected at all,” Ali said while talking to local media.
Past incidents
GPLUS NEWS
T
he first Assam, cent to pukhuri, was
ever War Memorial of which has built adjathe banks of Dighaliinaugurated by Chief
fice, a MIG 21, an Indian Army tank, which depicts glimpse of the iconic battles from pre and post Independent India. The memorial also portrays a big photograph of the historic 1971 surrender of Pakistani Army at the hands of the Indian Army. Director of Directorate of Rajya Sainik Board, Commodore K.C. Choudhury said, “The memorial has been built here because the Dighilipukhuri tank was considered important during the Ahom period. In As-
kalyan.deb@g-plus.in
It may be mentioned that simi-
Everything you need to know about Assam’s first War Memorial Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on the country’s 70th Independence Day. The War Memorial depicts the 1671 Battle of Saraighat and other major wars in Assam honouring martyrs and heroes of the land. The memorial is an initiative of Rajya Sainik Board and the main visualizer of the project is Air Commodore (Retd.) KC Choudhury. The memorial also portrays the iconic Amar Jawan reverse arm salute commemorating the martyr’s sacri-
lar incidents had come to light in the past. In one recent incident, a motorcycle was spotted with the Pakistani flag affixed to it in the Sarabhatti area. However, it was later found that the incident was the act of some mischievous elements who had placed the flag on the motorcycle with unknown intentions. Moreover, it also came to light that the flag was from the 12th South Asian Games that was organised in the city earlier this year. Earlier, war of words had broken out when the Pakistani flag was hoisted in Darrang and Udalguri districts during the 2008 communal violence. A war of words broke out today between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP and AASU over the hoisting of Pakistani flags in northern Assam during the recent communal violence even as the government ordered an inquiry into the episode. The flags were hoisted in Darrang and Udalguri districts. While similar incidents in different corners of the nation had given rise to controversies, this particular incident directs towards one opinion that the two nations may celebrate Independence just a day apart but peace and harmony are nowhere to be attained. The actions of Ali, regardless of his intentions, has led to outrage of the people of the city and sent him behind bars.
sam we don’t have a state-level war memorial. We have one at Tezpur commemorating the 1962 War but it is for the unknown soldiers who died during the war. This memorial in the city would be a complete one saluting the heroes of Assam.” Noted sculptor Biren Singha has designed the statues and the artefacts for the memorial. The evening of the inauguration saw the enthusiastic response of Guwahati’s residents who thronged the war memorial in hordes
of families and friends posing for photographs and clicking selfies. A beaming Commodore Choudhury was the cynosure of all eyes and his beaming face told the story of a super effort seeing the light of the day. Needless to say, the war memorial construction had hit a major hurdle earlier in the year when a case was filed against its construction by a group of citizens led by noted intellectual Dr. Hiren Gohain whereby the Gauhati High Court issued a stay against its construction. The court thereafter saw no merit in the arguments of the complainants and ruled in favour of the Sainik Welfare Board. The Board resumed its construction activities literally on a “war” footing to deliver the memorial to the city on the promised date of 15th August.
Weather report for the week Guwahati
SUN 21 August
MON 22 August
TUE 23 August
WED 24 August
THU 25 August
FRI 26 August
Cloudy, t-storm
Sun, t-storm
Shower, partly sunny
Clouds than Sun
Sun, t-storm
Clouds than Sun
36/ 26 °C
33 / 25 °C
32 / 25 °C
34 / 25 °C
38 / 30 °C
38 / 29 °C
SATURDAY
20 August
Clouds than Sun
35 / 26 °C
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
11
Concern
No respite of street vendors; additional Rs 20 per day cleanliness charge to be levied
Juthika Baruah
file photo of street vending | Adib zamali/G Plus
GMC to collect Rs. 20 per day from street vendors even as it fails to provide space/vending zones to 7183 vendors; the city currently has only two vending zones
T
he Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has come up with a new step to promote better, greener and cleaner Guwahati by charging Rs. 20 from the street vendors. The levy of cleanliness charges of GMC is not only to generate revenues but also to promote economic efficiency. Earlier this charge was collected by NGOs on behalf of GMC but now the divisional engineers and supervisors of GMC will be collecting daily cleanliness charge of Rs. 20 from all vendors of tea stall, fresh coconut, sugarcane, chat corners, parathawalas, momo stalls, other mobile stalls, temporary daily shops like vegetable shops on riverside in Uzan Bazar, daily market like Paltan Bazaar, weekly market like Gorchuk, Boragaon, etc. The street vendors are charged Rs. 20 as cleanliness charge but the unfair part is that they are not being allotted with vending zones for which they have to conduct their business on the streets without having a permanent location. This often results in traffic chaos on the streets and most of the time the district administration thereby have to evict these vendors. “We are thinking of declaring no vending zones at GS Road, RG Baruah Road and MG Road so that the street ven-
dors do not create chaos. There is lack of space in the city for which we have not been able to allot land for vending zones and therefore we have to declare no vending zones in some areas for the convenience of the commuters,” said Joint Commissioner of GMC, Ghanshyam Dass, while speaking to G Plus. On being asked where these street vendors will operate from if the main roads are declared as no vending
zones, Dass said that they can move to other places in the by-lanes and sub-lanes if the public does not object. It is the vending committee who will decide as to where the street vendors would be allotted space as there are only two vending zones in the city for the current 7,183 street vendors. The joint commissioner also informed that the street vendors will be allotted with identity cards so that they are able to operate in the vending zones.
The Supreme Court has ordered that the vending zones should be allotted under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 two years ago but till date the city street vendors have not been allotted with specific locations and therefore they have to move from one place to another. President of Street Vendors’ Association of Assam, Nayan Rajbongshi said, “The three vending zones
Fees Collection by GMC Sl. No
Category
User Charges
1
Roadside vendors like tea stall, fresh coconut, Sugarcane, Chat corners, parathawalas, Momo stalls etc. per day
Rs. 20
2
Temporary daily shop like vegetable shops on riversides at Uzanbazar per day
Rs. 20
3
Daily market like Paltan Bazar per day
Rs. 20
4
Weekly market like Gorchuk, Boragaon etc. per day
Rs. 20
which have been allotted for accommodating the street vendors are not sufficient as there are 7,183 vendors of which only 200 vendors have been allotted the space in the existing vending zones while the others have to roam here and there and even have to close their business at times during sudden and intermittent eviction drives conducted by the administration. In Jalukbari area, the vendors have to face huge problems as the construction of the flyover is in process and the contractor, Gammon India, creates problems for the vendors while carrying out their construction work. Therefore, allotment of vending zones in of immediate importance so that the street vendors stop facing regular problems. Vending being their only source of livelihood they incur heavy losses if they have to close their business even for half a day.” Rajbongshi further informed that Identity cards have been issued to just 115 vendors. A sum of Rs. 200 is charged by GMC for issuing the I-cards. After allotment of space in vending zones a monthly rental will also have to be paid to GMC. According to an official of GMC, the Street Vending Act says that the vendors should be rehabilitated in the area where they run their business itself which is currently a difficult proposition as the city is very congested. “A street vendor who is running his business in Ganeshguri can’t be rehabilitated in Six Mile but the problem is a vending zone cannot be created just like that anywhere as there is not enough space. Some places have been identified so far but no decision has been taken because the traffic department’s compliance on the matter is necessary for the smooth flow of traffic,” the official said. The Act also says that the Town Vending Committee shall ensure that all existing street vendors, identified in the survey, are accommodated in the vending zones subject to a norm conforming to two and half per cent of the population of the ward or zone or town or city, as the case may be, in accordance with the plan for street vending and the holding capacity of the vending zones. Certificate of vending to be issued to all street vendors and every street vendor, identified under the survey who has completed the age of fourteen years or such age as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government, shall be issued a certificate of vending by the Town Vending Committee, subject to such terms and conditions and within the period specified in the scheme including the restrictions specified in the plan for street vending. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in
12
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Snippets
BACARDÍ NH7 Weekender set to charm Shillong again
GPLUS NEWS
T
he happiest music festival returns again with its seventh edition and massive new plans. The seventh edition of the BACARDI NH7 Weekender will present some of the most prominent global names including Steven Wilson, DJ Premier, Jose Gonzalez, Vertical Horizon, RAC (DJ Set) and Anoushka Shankar. Amongst the Indian contingent, Shankar Mahadevan presents ‘My Country, My Music’, Papon, Indian
GPLUS NEWS
C
Mustard, 2nd cutest rescued cat alive
ity cat ‘Mustard’ was ranked the first-runner up in the PETA’s 2016 ‘Cutest Rescued Cat Alive’ contest. Mustard is a rescued paraplegic cat under the care of avid animal and feline lover Nandini Baruva, a resident of Guwahati. The first runner-
GPLUS NEWS
Ocean, Shri, Skyharbor, Farhan Live, Prateek Kuhad and Nucleya lead the way. The Scotland of the East, beautiful hill town Shillong, once again kicks off the festival on October 21-22, before the festival heads for its maiden presentation at Hyderabad on November 5-6. For the seventh consecutive year, the festival will culminate at its home city, Pune on December 2-4, thus redefining the whole Weekender experience. Vijay Nair, CEO of Only Much
Louder speaks about the 2016 edition, “Keeping the line-up of the festival fresh every year is one of the most interesting challenges we have while putting together the BACARDI NH7 Weekender. The line-up is curated individually for every place that the festival visits, and this year, we’re bringing the fans some of our strongest line-ups yet. We know that music fans aren’t defined by their love for just one genre, which is why we design our line-ups with the hope that not only will they find something they love already, they’ll also discover new favourites for the next few years.” With fans creating a beeline for early-bird tickets, which were released on July 20, pre-sale tickets to Shillong, Pune and Hyderabad have already sold out. A limited number of Phase 1 tickets – Season and Under 21 – for all cities are now on sale on insider.in/nh7weekender.
up will receive a copy of Ingrid’s book, a second-place certificate, a “My Cat Is a Rescue” T-shirt and veggie-shaped cat toys. The second runner-up will receive Ingrid’s book, a third-place certificate and veggie-shaped cat toys. All three cats will appear in an upcoming
issue of Animal Times, PETA India’s magazine for members. Although in such cases, all the animals are winners because they found a home and a loving family that looks after them. PETA emphasizes that felines should be sterilized to prevent overpopulation. Spaying (sterilising) just one female cat can prevent 420,000 births in seven years, keeping more cats off the street and in safe, loving homes. The organization has also announced the Cutest Rescued Indian Dog Alive contest for all the dog lovers out there. Speaking to GPlus, Baruva said that she is against buying of pets and always has been. She is looking forward to working in the field of providing specialized medical care for animals such as Mustard who needs hydro-therapy and infrared therapy at regular intervals owing to his condition and has to go other states looking for better treatment. “I will use this opportunity to raise awareness and tell people to adopt strays because they also need a home,” said Baruva.
Janasanyog/742/16
Getting Rome abuzz
S
unita Khaund Bhuyan, a known name among musicians in the city and the country has been invited to attend the canonization ceremony of Mother Teresa at the Vatican as the ‘Joy of Giving’ Ambassador. She will also perform at Rome at the Don Bosco HQ and also deliver an exposition (a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory) on Joy of Giving. The title of Joy of Giving Ambassador was given to Sunita for her extensive work with children under Don Bosco Streetshelter project (Mumbai) as a musician. She reli-
giously gives 20% of her time to music as a form of therapy for the underprivileged. “I feel, the more you give, the more you get,” said Khaund to GPlus. Her work with children has been a constant endeavour and the ‘Child Friendly Guwahati Project’ under the banner of Don Bosco was also certified by the Pope two years ago. Sunita was also a part of a workshop where a fusion of Gaelic and Indian music was designed to be staged at the Glasgow Mela music festival last month who have been taught Bihu music by Khaund herself.
Let’s unite against Child Labour in the city. An evening of Tennis matches and a performance by Nahid Afrin (of Indian Idol fame) to help raise awareness against Child Labour at Racquet&Billiards Club, Gitanagar.
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Warning bells for Kamrup (M) with 378 cases of dengue
Juthika Baruah
Areas like Noonmati, Kahilipara, Lal Ganesh, 8th mile are vulnerable to the disease
What the
Tweet!?
Vinay Ruttala@ rvvvinay121993 “Best players are not born but coached effectively.” #ProudSindhu at Rio Olympics #Gopichand #India #Semifinals #Badminton
Most of the cases reported showed the Type 1 strain of dengue
srikantiahananth @ srikantiahkanti We were worried that India might end up with a blank in medals list of Rio Olympics We won a bronze,might win others, but they won hearts
The symptoms of dengue are fever, headache, vomiting, cough, rashes etc. Adib zamali/G Plus
K
Health
Winds Of Change at Rio 2016 #IndiaAtRio
378 positive cases of dengue reported in Kamrup (M)
amrup Metro has witnessed 378 positive cases of dengue till Thursday with one casualty reported from Noonmati earlier. The state has reported 458 positive cases of dengue this year of which 378 are from the Kamrup Metro and places like Noonmati, Kahilipara, Lal Ganesh and 8th mile are more vulnerable to this vector borne disease. “The season of epidemics will start from September and last till November. But this year it was even before the onset of the season that positive dengue cases are surfacing which will only increase during the season,” said Dr. PC Hazarika, IDSP, Health, Kamrup (M) while speaking to G Plus. The health department is closely monitoring the situation and have implemented preventive measures like fogging and awareness drives in the vulnerable areas in the city. Most of the cases reported showed the Type 1 strain of dengue. None of the cases have shown any haemorrhagic conditions. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are considered prone to vector-borne diseases, especially Japanese encephalitis, dengue and malaria. A comprehensive epidemiological study cited
13
The city witnesses the highest number of positive cases of dengue even before the onset of the season of epidemic diseases and the same is expected to rise during the season that the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are the primary container-breeding mosquitoes that contribute towards dengue outbreak. These insects breed on solid waste and containers like empty car batteries, drums and tyres where water can accumulate easily. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes opt for breeding in tyres while the Aedes albopictus prefers breeding in open battery boxes. Open dumping of solid waste material is common in the city and this contributes towards increased breeding of mosquitoes. Discarded earthenware, paper cups and glass bottles are other sources of mosquito’s larvae. Some of the common clinical features exhibited in dengue positive cases include fever, headache, cough, rashes, loose motion, itching, abdominal pain, irritability, nausea and vomiting. Hazarika said, “The people residing in the hills are mostly affected as
they preserve rain water and use it for household purpose as there is no water supply. If they are asked not to use the rain water they get angry as they do not get proper water. They do not even cover the preserved water in which the mosquitoes lay eggs which is harmful. A larva is formed and after seven days it turns into a full-fledged mosquito. We asked them to purify the water after seven days so that it cannot affect them.” Hazarika said that till now no death has been reported and the critical cases are being referred to Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH). “We have organised camps in the vulnerable areas and found the patients with cold, cough, fever which are the symptoms of viral fever. As dengue does not have any treatment we have given medicines of cold, cough and fever and asked them to have a healthy diet which is equally important. The vaccination of dengue has not yet been launched as it is still in trial process.
Medanta asks people to be careful of leg attack
T
GPLUS NEWS
he incidence of Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI) or leg attack is very high in India but everyone is more aware of brain attack and heart attack, which can be disastrous and even fatal, rather than leg attack. Medanta – The Medicity recently organised a press conference
Lynda Ibrahim @ lyndaibrahim Gymnast Dipa Karmakar didn’t win any #Rio2016 medal, but she could be a giant leap for India abhinandan @ abhinandanpal88 we should also appreciate to Athletes who played for India in Rio in spite of poor facilities
Unlike the JE treatment being made free, the government has not yet declared the treatment of dengue free,” said Hazarika. Hazarika said that they have been updating the daily report to Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and have asked them to carry out fogging in the areas. It has also been suggested to people to use mosquito nets even in the afternoons and wear full sleeved apparel. He also said that Assam is vulnerable to vector-borne diseases like dengue, Japanese encephalitis and malaria. It has also been suggested to the people that they should keep the areas clean and maintain hygienic and healthy environment. The mosquitoes breed on solid wastes lie car batteries, tyres, drums etc. as water accumulates in those objects easily. Such objects should be removed from the places or should be burnt away.
subhash bidve @sdbidve Our women/girls more stronger than men..mentally,physically and more determined. Proven in Rio Olympics. Hats off to them.. Go India go...
juthika.baruah@g-plus.in
dhanya balakrishna @ DhanyaBee Emotional n happiest! All u gorgeous women representing India in rio, THANK YOU! Girls, gold necklaces r out of fashion. Gold medals r in!
to inform the public that the problem occurs largely among the diabetic population in India. According to Dr. Rajiv Parakh, Chairman, Division of peripheral vascular and endovascular sciences, Medanta – The Medacity, 20% of all diabetic people suffer from critical limb ischemia or leg attack every year. The last recourse would be amputation of a toe, part of the foot or leg. Amputation occurs among many patients which is a result of devastating complication of misdiagnosed, delayed diagnosis or incompletely treated diabetic foot.
Pooja @ImPooja5 Heart breaking for India.#NarsinghYadav banned. Hope for a medal at rio doused. Athletes b vry cautious not just for Olympics For al events India@Sports @India_At_ Rio Thank you Sindhu for bringing a smile on our faces. Really needed that in what has been a dismal #Olympics so far for us Rich Lerner @RichLernerGC Impact of golf in The Olympics? 18 year old Aditi Ashok of India set Rio as a goal 5 years ago. Medals mean more than majors in her country.
Harsh Goenka@hvgoenka #Rio medals tally. India is placed alongside other superpowers like Moldova, Kyrghistan and Morocco. amrtsh @floydimus Goal of Team India at Rio: Win ALL the gold medals for a country that largely doesn’t give a f*** about them.
14
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Ward Watch
GAURAV PRATIM DEY
Rajgarh Road set to turn into 4-lane street WARD NO
20 &18
Concentrated area: Rajgarh Road Ward Number: 20 Councillor of Ward : Anima Deka Phone Number: 9864218585 Ward Number : 18 Councillor of Ward: Abir Patra Phone Number: 94351 48503 Population: 21,600 (Approx)
Issues: Poor roads, water logging
C
onnecting Bhangagarh with Chandmari, Rajgarh Road is one of the crucial connecting roads within the heart of Guwahati city – the proverbial shortcut. Starting from Big Bazaar on GS Road extending to the location of Maharishi Vidya Mandir Rajgarh right on the railway tracks of Chandmari, Rajgarh Road is a densely inhabited locality with a judicious mixture of residences and commercial establishments. It exudes a youth-centric ambience with Icon College located on it and having Gauhati Commerce College nearby. With musical showrooms, a bevy of restaurants and eateries, a slew of medical establishments and workshops of major electronics companies, Rajgarh Road bears its own importance in terms of commuters and footfall. In this situation, it is rather unfortunate that the road has been labelled as a curse for the residents, especially those on the Bhangagarh end of the road. Smart showers of 2-3 hours’ duration lead to severe water logging resulting in massive traffic congestion. Under current circumstances, the route begins with a bumpy ride from the Big Bazar (Bhangagarh) end and in front of Alcare Diagnostic Centre long existing potholes on the road create a rather excruciating riding experience for both two-wheelers and cars. The situation goes from bad to worse up to the railway tracks. A unique feature of Rajgarh Road is the constant raising of the road level during its reconstruction over the years that has resulted in the old settlements and residences going
Adib zamali/G Plus
below the existing road level leading to an ungainly sight besides jeopardizing these households during the rainy season.
Card Mahal or Campus Coaching Centre Point: 200 metres from Big Bazar is the Card Mahal Point which has earned notoriety for its worst situation of water logging and road condition. While the area has major establishments like coaching institutes, banks and eye clinics this area has been in a miserable state for a long time. The lesser said about the Lachit Nagar Lane the better. Poor and cosmetic touch up by PWD results in these kind of pathetic scenarios. “This is not the first time that we are seeing this. Things have turned chronic. Every year due to heavy rainfall, government and media lays all the emphasis on the Anil Nagar and Nabin Nagar rescue operations. They should also instruct PWD to construct the roads well. It was just 5 months before the elections that the stretch was constructed but after just one heavy rainfall season the condition of the road has become this miserable,” said Ramen Talukdar, resident of Neelam Apartment.
Bihutoli or Lachit Nagar linking road point: An important junction between Lachit Nagar and Rajgarh Point is Bihutoli. Water remains accumulated
in the potholes of the road all year round in the area. The poor condition of the road has always remained a reason for many accidents. “It’s useless to cover these problems by any media as our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. No action has actually been taken. We have been living with these conditions for years and we will continue living in such miserable conditions only. Councillors and politicians just arrive begging for votes and after that they never show up,” said A. Munna, owner of Munna Motor Works at Bihutoli.
Rajgarh Point: The Rajgarh Point is basically dominated by Assamese residents and is one of the oldest habitations of the city. The condition of the road on this stretch is not good. The iconic China Town restaurant is located here and while it continues to remain a favourite hangout place to many Guwahatians, the poor condition of the road in front of it makes for a sad state of affairs. “The PWD does construct roads, but the contractors do not use
good quality materials and severely compromise of the quality of the construction. The PWD men work at night; can’t help it. Once I even fell into an argument with the contractor as to why he was not using good quality materials. He replied saying that if he used good quality materials, he would have to pay from his own pocket,” said Bimal Gogoi, a local resident and owner of Car Washing Centre.
Icon Academy at Commerce College Link Road point: The route from Rajgarh Point to Icon College narrows down due to the current road construction activities. Recently the construction of drains has begun and the materials like sand, bricks and stone chips dumped on the road has further narrowed down the road making traffic movement more cumbersome than ever. Parking of 2 and 4 wheelers by college students and others compounds the problem even more. “Every morning I take a trekker from Big Baazar to Icon College Point
to go to my college but the condition of the road makes the ride very uncomfortable,” said Abu Malik, a student JB Law College and added, “I just have no idea how much longer the government will take to give Rajgarh Road a finished look.”
Councillor Say: “The road was constructed before the elections but due to its demographic conditions, water logging is a big issue which leads to the deterioration of the road. As per information I have received, the Government is planning to convert the Rajgarh Road into a 4-lane street and almost Rs. 8 crores has already been sanctioned for the project,” said Anima Deka, Councillor of Ward No. 20.
MLA’s say: When asked regarding the condition of Rajgarh Road on Twitter, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, MLA East Gauhati Constituency responded as follows: “Will meet the residents of that area to discuss about the problem” In 2016 the State Government had approved the 4-lane project of 1.2 kms from Bhangagarh’s Big Bazar Point to Chandmari Bus Stand. As a part of Guwahati Metro Rail Project, the government has already sanctioned Rs. 14 crores for the work. gauravpratim.dey@g-plus.in
15
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Campus
IIT Guwahati lays out red carpet for Techniche 2016 from engineering enthusiasts all over the country. Since its inception, it has always been one of the most sought after events. This year as Techniche harbors events like Robocalypse and rob soccer, the bars have been raised.
Lead, Learn and Discover - Corporate Module: Specially crafted for potential entrepreneurs, this module tests your business acumen through contests like Virtual Stock Market and Portfolio Pitching. If an insight into the corporate world is what you are looking for, this is the ideal module for you.
Knowledge goes to Practice – TechOlympics:
I
IT- Guwaati’s super annual festival, Techniche 2016 is set to take off on 1st September, 2016 and will continue over the next 3 days. In a press release, the organizers present:
10 Amazing Reasons to attend Techniche The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati presents to you with great éclat its annual techno-management extravaganza, Techniche. The festival, a marathon of three days has events ranging from keynotes by the masters of the industry to competitions that bring forward the best in you. Techniche gives you learning opportunities and life altering experiences and this year it shall dazzle its audience with its revamped 18th edition.
Get star-struck by a Spectacle of Luminaries - Lecture Series The module that brings to you a mélange of the world’s finest prodigies. Lecture Series aims at providing a generation of budding professionals an opportunity to interact with men and women who have set milestones and redefined the meaning development. This year the event will be graced by illustrious personalities like Ms. Ada Yonath, a Nobel Laureate and Mr. Carlo Palazzani, the lead designer of Ferrari.
Getting inspired by the Masters of the Industry: Industrial Conclave Extending over the span of three days, this exclusive event brings forward an opportunity for the students
to meet, learn and interact personally with the most dynamic and prolific personalities of the industry, who inspire and motivate the attendees by sharing their own success stories. This year the event is much awaited with keynotes from speakers such as, Amit Sethi(President, IT, Axis Bank), Vinod Sawhny(CEO, Reliance Communications) and many more.
Learn, Develop and Excel - Workshops: One of largest platform to learn
about the latest technologies are the workshops of Techniche. With a peek through of Android app development to the technicalities of home automation, the workshops give its participants an opportunity to learn and gain hands on experience in the fields of their interest.
Gear up for glory Robotics: No technical fest is complete without robots. The robotics module of Techniche attracts participation
TechOlympics is a module that offers a collection of specially designed competitions that provide one an opportunity to test their knowledge on a subject. TechOlympics gives you a chance to learn while you have fun and get practical knowledge on your specialization.
World Peace is a big mission, let’s take one step at a time - Model United Nations: Started with a vision to promote world peace and to groom leaders for a better tomorrow, Model United Nations has over the years become an integral part of Techniche. So suit up,
GPLUS NEWS
and be here at Techniche MUN to get a taste of the delegate life, and make connections that last a lifetime.
Literary Module: Do you have a way with the pen? Are you eager to showcase your creativity? Techniche gives you a chance to test your literary skills in a plethora of engaging and engrossing competitions. A love for literature and a desire to take on challenges is all you need to make it out of this labyrinth of literary riddles as a champion.
Funniche: For all the exuberant witnesses of Techniche, we present to you Funniche, the event that pumps ones Techniche experience with unlimited fun. Find yourself in the midst of exciting games and numerous fun filled activities.
After the Sunset Nites: With every sunset that marks the end of another day at Techniche, we start with the next chapter, the Nites. Get ready to experience performances that leave you awestruck. Welcome to the Proshows at Techniche, the place to rejuvenate with a spectrum of technical performances, visual shows, standup comedians, and bands, that are sure to leave you wanting for more. For details of the events, please visit www.techniche.org
Swapnil Bhara
16
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
G Talk
E
D
I
T
O
R
I
A
L
Pace of development
A
raging debate on Facebook currently is the Indian contingent’s pathetic performance at the Olympic Games in Rio. Some are sympathetic to the players given the poor infrastructure they are provided by the country to practice their sport and so the subperformance is quite understandable. Others have questioned the necessity of it all to send such a large contingent on tax-payers’ money for what has turned out to be a selfie party to all practical purposes. All things considered, the point that holds pertinence is that Indians are not ready to be better than the rest of the world; the reasons need to be found out and the faults rectified. That’s at the global stage. At the local stage, Guwahati is struggling to be a smart city or a city that is at par with its supposed peers. While its landscape makes it potentially one of the best located cities in the world, it is dogged by serious problems and paucity of space disallows a check list of the same in this column. While the smart city buzz is in the air currently and will hopefully remain until most objectives are achieved, what comes as a huge bother is the distinct smell of apathy in the government circles starting with the Himanta Biswa Sarma’s “tough” call to raise funds through the PPP model. Trickling down one level to the bureaucracy, there is a distinct lack of
interest or courage in the officers to take bold decisions that would cement the welfare of the city and put in on the fast track of development. The mute response to any decent proposal of development from the private sector to an officer with the requisite authority seems to be, “Why should I ...? It might jeopardize my career with the huge public scrutiny that I have to handle all the time.” The officers are not empowered enough to take their own decisions and the constant interference of ministers are not helping matters. This effectively is the story of the whole country and in every sphere of life, be it sports, culture, business or social happiness. The point here is not just development but the pace of development. Given the sluggishness of the general government mindset the Olympic story is as much set to be repeated in its next edition as the Guwahati development story is set to unfold at its own slow pace. Be that as it may, and because we are used to it, the fact remains that business enthusiasm in this regard is huge and the government would do well to at least proffer an enthusiastic response to the interesting and well-researched proposals that they receive. Selecting or rejecting is of course their prerogative and we cannot help that. Swapnil Bharali Editor
Lessons from a not so UBER Guwahati
T
he whippersnappers of Guwahati once again proved why we as a society have a long way to go in terms of being an uber society. The altercation that ensued between college students and cab drivers took a turn for the worst when they received heat from the entire city and the student fraternity. It was surprising to see that everyone was quick to jump the gun and start name calling and labelling. In an era where we pride on being informed and evolved, we tarnished 100 years of glory with a few 1000 comments. Our society unabashedly makes sure that someone takes the fall for it all because some people just like to sit on the sidelines and be entertained. Recalling yesterday’s incident, people labelled an entire college as the rotten lot because of a few spoilt fishes in the sea. I’m sure most of us have experienced life in a hostel and this is how it works. If you attack my neighbour, you’ve attacked me. Similarly, if you’ve attacked my city, you’ve attacked me. People should’ve seen this coming. It is only the directionless youthful energy that they had the situation bent out of shape. Out of all hate that erupted against yesterday’s incident, the most appropriate idea was ordering community service to those involved, a much better use of the
strength and energy. This comes to us like a reflex, because we needed someone to judge. The entire city came together to vent out their frustration on an institution that has produced several alumni who’ve brought laurels to the state. The entire incident was an exercise for people’s thumbs. There was a time when you’d point fingers, but now we’ve gone digital and we are in the thumb era. Might we recall the most clichéd phrase to use in such situations? ‘You can’t clap with one hand’. Bending things out of shape is just our forte. But the one institution that has to be answerable is the security in the city. The security of the aam aadmi, the hostel dwellers, the service providers and the public. What no one has the answer to is how 48 hours before the I-Day, this altercation could have erupted in an area which has the Railway Station, RBI, DC Office and college premises? It is not just bomb threats that need to be tackled but security of people is essential more so now than ever. We ourselves are responsible for driving development away from the city and the State, because we house every extremist idea that could disrupt the society. We don’t need an ULFA (I) or an ISIS. SIDHARTH BEDI VARMA
“Uniform” clothing code: Will a uniform remind the wayward Cottonian of his holy duty of studying? Point
S
o it is uniform time for Cottonians huh? Not a bad idea at all Himanta Sirjee. If wearing uniforms is a law in other colleges, Cottonians should be no exceptions. And going by the recent unsavoury incidents, some discipline and penal action should be imposed on those hooligans who have been identified as the culprits. Seems seven of them have been identified by the inquiry committee of Cotton College that is probing the fracas. I would have loved to call them the Magnificent Seven given their destructive abilities. Unfortunately, there are another four students mentioned in the committee’s report who apparently are from the Cotton College State University (CCSU); they are senior fellows who should have shed their combative tendencies by now. Again apparently another student has managed to remain unidentified so far. I am not saying this, the committee report is. And so, the total number of culprits comes to 12 and this allows me to confer them with an even more endearing and appropriate title: The Dirty Dozen! Now these Cottonians have done a tremendous job. In a matter of mere 10 days this small dirty dozen has smashed 40 cabs, broken media equipment, bashed up a journalist to the point that he had to be hospitalized, injured a police woman and perpetrated a level of mayhem in the city where the honourable minister has sent instructions to tailor uniforms as a first step towards clothing the whole fraternity with discipline. Just this small dirty dozen, mind you. What capacity they have! The rest of the lot, particularly from the MNDP hostel which has been in the news, remain angels – innocent of any guilt, perhaps just born. Yes, for once it will be good to see these Cottonians clothed in uniforms with the hope that they aren’t doing anything else but studying and becoming exceptional students of the state.
Swapnil Bharali
Counter Point:
S
omehow it is fashionable nowadays to blame the media for every bad exposé. The Cotton College fracas was no different and its student fraternity, having been driven to a corner over a piece of mindless street violence that apparently instigated their intoxicated instincts late in the night by some jealous autowalas, snowballed into shame, dishonour and sullying the fair name of a most honourable temple of education. This has prompted the education minister who is an alumnus of the same college - having remained its student body’s general secretary four times over - to issue a diktat which makes uniforms compulsory. Well, for one it is perhaps a step in the right direction. But what is it with different batches of Cottonians that allows them to be so brazen as to commit heinous mistakes and then sport an attitude of nonchalance that distinctly veils a superiority complex over other institutions? Over much of social media, defiant Cottonians this time have sought to blame the media of putting the glare on their shameful conduct with the half-baked consolatory thought that such incidents have occurred before but it is the media and digital technology that are putting them to shame this time. If my memory serves me right, media or no media, no other college in the city has indulged in this kind of goondagiri destroying property et al as have various batches of Cottonians time and again. Just because the media was technologically challenged at one point in time does not alter the fact that shameful acts have been conducted by various batches of Cottonians. It is the mindset, the mob mentality of a section of these otherwise intelligent students that perpetrates such incidents. While the uniform may remain just the first step towards ushering in discipline, it must be followed up with strict punitive action as per law against the mobsters and the example should be set with the current incident.
Koushik Hazarika
Preserving the legend of Cotton College
Letter to the Editor
Sir, As is most popularly quoted, “What a Cottonian thinks today the rest of Assam thinks tomorrow.” We can’t deny the fact that Cottonians have tried to maintain this saying quite well. Indeed, it’s an enthralling experience to step into this college which just can’t be elucidated with words but it’s a feeling worth experiencing. But over the last two or three decades, the number of allegations against Cotton College has been quite striking - be it the graph of academic performance falling down, as perceived by a bevy of people, or the number of unethical incidents that have risen up at an alarming frequency. A few Cottonians are quite often found involved in many acts of delinquency which have indeed put a question mark on the morality they possess. Of course, the general people believe what has been shown to them over electronic media or what they read in print media. But, for every mishap, Cottonians have a completely different view as compared to the media. And I feel somehow the real story remains completely hidden. Yes, it might be a fact, that there are certain vexatious students in the college but the way the media blames the entire Cotton College fraternity indirectly hits each and every Cottonian badly. However, we of course realise that it’s because of the sea of emotions people have for Cotton College, that they slam it when bad incidents occur and eulogize it when something praiseworthy comes up. Cotton College is the property of every individual of Assam who has seen its ups and downs. It’s obvious, in every society there prevails some evil, and likewise Cotton College too possesses it which is a threat to its legendary history. So instead of blaming Cotton College all the way I feel the people of Assam, the media and the Cottonians should be united in order to terminate those evils. We also know how pivotal Cotton College is for Assam hence it is the onus of every individual to help it to preserve its legendary history and furnish its glory to the zenith. Indeed this remains our major fidelity towards our beloved Cotton College. Bishaldeep Kakati Via emain
ali G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
17
In Focus
Is Guwahatian society breeding a mob mentality and the administration turning a blind eye?
Meet
Anubha Goyal Educationist
Most of the accidents in Guwahati are happening and rising because of the rise in vehicular traffic with disregard for traffic rules. The traffic police needs to be stringent in enforcing traffic rules in the city but the only times they are strict is when they have to collect fines for a rule not followed or broken. Otherwise the traffic police don’t give a damn to how the vehicles are moving around the city unless and until there is a monetary gain.
Surjya Gogoi At Sixmile, VIP Road bazaar, there is simply no control of administration and police. There is always reckless driving of big trucks, erratic vehicular movements and traffic. Further, illegal shops and establishment adds to the problem. We urge administration and police to have proper and strict control system to monitor the issues. Proper speed breakers are also required in the market area.
Sharique Hussain This is the great disease of our Nation. Please don’t mind but I have to say to my own country citizens. Recently, about 3 weeks ago an accident occurred at Jalukbari Sathmile, a boy was crushed by a truck. We know it was an accident and we couldn’t do anything about it. But the gathering attacked the truck driver so badly that he lost his life at the hospital. The crowd didn’t think that he is also a son or dad or uncle or husband of someone on whom his family depends. They destroyed a family. No doubt another family was destroyed by the truck driver, but what would they do if their own dad or son or nephew would do that and he was killed at the spot? Believe it or not no hard constitution, no education, no leadership can change this type of mentality if they don’t change themselves.
Nabajit Ray Accidents do occur, but why strict rules are not implemented and followed? The buses and trucks do not follow any traffic rules, but still they are running their vehicles without any fear. If any vehicle breaks rule more than twice, their licences should be seized. If such strict rules are implemented then only this hooliganism can be controlled to an extent.
Sandeep Chakraborty Okay, understood that it must have been the mistake of the driver for instance. But why did the angry mob burn the truck? What was the truck owner’s fault? Seriously people... What’s wrong with you? Why are you venting out the anger on a machine? If it was the truck driver’s fault, why don’t you people work towards getting the driver caught if he’s fled or get him to the police? What was the necessity of burning the truck? Disgusting attitude... Rather mourn for the departed soul if you were so hurt! People are simply excited to make a fuss out of anything. No other work to do I guess.
Avinash Kaushik
Would Himanta’s uniform diktat make belligerent Cottonians fall in line? Uniforms should be made mandatory for ministers, party members, and bureaucrats and even for the visitors to the Assam secretariat.
Shabeena Yasmin Saikia Was uniform the issue and a factor for the happenings of 11th night & 12th daytime? Main defaulter was the college administration which wasn’t on its toes in respect of the security measures of the college. So finally if uniform becomes mandatory after 116 yrs, then it should even be implemented for the principal, professors & lecturers too.
Shiuli Purkayastha But (UBER) incident happened at night. And no one will wear uniform at night. Problem is all the hostels of Cotton College do not have boundary wall or any guards. This will happen again. Apart from this college authorities should be strict - especially the wardens and the principal.
Raja Kaman These morons from Cotton College have become so big that they will not even listen to the education minister. Start rusticating them, everyone will fall in line.
Raj Hatikakati Best thing! Uniform for others, so uniform for cotton, made from cotton!
Jayant Jalan It’s really good decision.
Kulen Nath
T
eachers guide students through each pivotal stage of development. With six to eight hours a day, five to six days a week, teachers often become one of the most influential people in a student’s life. Such an example is Anubha Goyal who has spent a better part of her life among children guiding them, handholding them on the right path, nurturing them and trying to develop them as good human beings. Originally from Dehradun, Anubha was born on 25th October to father RP Gupta who was a tea planter and mother Sulochana Gupta. She had spent a better part of her life in other parts of the country. It was in fifth grade that she was sent off to boarding school and from sixth grade she attended Welham Girls’ School in Dehradun. Anubha went on to join Loreto College in Darjeeling from where she attained a degree in History. She also attained degrees in B.Ed. and M.Ed. in English. Although being an educationist was not in her scheme of things, it was her love for children that sowed the seed to pursue a career in education. Anubha pursued her B.Ed. and M.Ed. degrees after the birth of her two children but once she started off, her affection for her profession grew much stronger. Through a career of over two decades she has influenced many lives for the better. She started her career at Mahbert High School in Siliguri in 1991. She later went on to join St. Joseph High School in Matigara, Siliguri, Lakshmipat Singhania Academy in Kolkata and Holy Innocents High School in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. All those years Anubha had been accompanying her husband Abir Goyal wherever his job took him but fate had something else planned for her. In 2003 her husband was transferred to Guwahati and this became the turning point in her life. “Initially I was not in favour of coming to Guwahati as I had always heard that Guwahati was a troubled area. I even told my parents that I would stay with them while he worked in Guwahati but fortunately it emerged as the turning point of my life,” Anubha said during a conversation with G Plus. “Soon I came across an advertisement where there was a requirement of a teacher and I applied. But when I was approached they identified me for the job of Headmistress. So in 2004, I joined Sarala
Birla Gyan Jyoti as founding Headmistress and there was no looking back,” the educationist mentioned. In 2008, she became the principal of the institution and served till 2014. In the same year she joined Royal Global School as Principal. Anubha describes her career so far as satisfying even as she has had two generations of students passing out with the education she has dispensed. “These days, students have more information than those from a decade ago and this factor has changed our role. We are more of a mentor and a facilitator and we need to communicate and connect with them continuously if we want happy children. I would advise parents not to expect their children to be the child they used to be because that is when things go wrong. We have to change with our children,” Anubha said adding, “Teenage being the most delicate phase of one’s life I would advise that at times it is the parents who need to back off in order to settle a disagreement.” Other than parents, it is the teacher who sees a child growing and observes its development and growth. A teacher is the one who sees a child in different situations. Thus, Anubha has initiated a point system in Royal Global School. “According to the system a child has to compete with himself. In a co-curriculum if a child takes part in a school event he or she gets a certain number of points. If one participates in inter-school events one gets more points. Along with this there is also a principle of discretion. I hold the discretion of awarding up to 20 points to a child if I notice a good deed from him or her which has otherwise gone unnoticed. The system is self motivating. Like the other day, a student came to me saying she wanted to cut off her hair and donate it to a cancer patient who has gone bald. So these are the ways how a school plays a very big role in inculcating values and shaping a human being,” the educationist shared with G Plus. Anubha has visions of taking Royal Global School on to the world platform with the idea ‘It is not good results but good human beings that should be produced’ and wishes Royal to be known for the same. Apart from teaching, Anubha is very fond of baking, gardening and obviously reading. She married Abir Goyal in 1982. Anubha feels blessed to have a happy life with two children - a son and a daughter.
18
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Lifestyle
VAASTU SHASTRA
SOME VAASTU REMEDIES
Xiaomi announced the Redmi 3S Prime the best smartphone to buy under Rs 15,000. At the bottom is the microUSB port which isn’t Type-C. It features the fingerprint sensor on the back panel which is a part of its ergonomic design. The handset runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow with the custom MIUI 7 and is powered by a mighty 4,100mAh battery which is a tiny bit larger than the Redmi Note 3. The abundant 3GB of RAM ensures that you can open 10-12 apps at the same time.
Taking the world by storm, the Chinese giant Xiaomi announced the Redmi 3S Prime. The smartphone runs on an octa-core Snapdragon 430 SoC from Qualcomm, which makes it the first device in the country to use this chip. It is clocked at 1.4GHz and is coupled with the new Adreno 505 GPU and it definitely a bang for your buck. However, before you get ahead of yourself, just know that games like Asphalt 8, Dead Trigger 2 and MC5 will see some frame drops thereby ruining the experience. it is arguably
Screen Size: 5.0 inches Screen Resolution: 1280 x 720 Processor: Snapdragon 430 SoC Speed: 1.4 GHz Internal Memory: 32GB, Extendable Memory: 128GB RAM: 3GB Camera: Sensor Resolution (Rear) 13MP, 5MP (Front).
The Redmi 3S Prime once again proves to be an excellent smartphone from Xiaomi and is also the best smartphone to buy under a budget of Rs. 10,000.
W
hen the south side of plot is lower or vacant, a negative flow of energy takes place. This can be rectified by loading the south. This is done by constructing a heavy structure at south, but if this not possible, then a higher and thicker boundary wall should be constructed at south to make the south heavy. The southern walls of the building can also be made thicker and heavier. Same procedure can be applied in case the west side of the plot is lower. Neem trees should be planted at south if there is more vacant space at south. Neem trees, besides being heavier, have a capacity to purify air which benefits the inmates. Astro-vaastu recommends installation of a Mangal yantra at south. If there is more vacant space at west, this vacancy should be filled
up by planting Eucalyptus trees. Eucalyptus trees have the capacity to absorb more water from the earth than other trees and so they eliminate water from west which itself is a vaastu correction. As the west is ruled by Saturn, a Shani Yantra at west will help. When it is inevitable to leave less space at east or unavoidable to keep the east lighter, some vaastu balance can be brought in by constructing the eastern portion of the building with lighter materials and lighter walls. More number of doors and windows should be kept in the east so that the weight is minimized. To neutralize the slope from east to west, the building floor should be constructed in such a way so that there is a slope from west to east. A Surya yantra at east nullifies certain vaastu defects at east.
Similar precautions can be taken if there is a higher north or lesser space at north. Since north is ruled by Lord Kubera, a Kuber yantra should be kept at north. Wells at south radiate negative energy like the ones at southeast. These should be capped. The cover should be painted with red colour. Pyramids are also found to be very useful in this regard. Defects at southwest like a well or septic tank or a depression is very detrimental for the owner, the spouse and the eldest child. Pyramids should be buried to protect the house. A panchmukhi Hanuman should be kept at southwest facing the depression. In case of a gate or door at southwest, swastikas should be fixed on both sides of the gate/door and a Pa Kua mirror should be placed to reflect the negative energy from the opening. An extension to southeast or a gate/main door at eastern southeast increases enemies, litigation and chances of theft or robbery. A well at southeast also gives similar effects. The door should be painted red and a Pa Kua mirror should be fixed outside. A shukra yantra should be kept as the southeast is ruled by Venus or Shukra. In case of a well, help of pyramids should be used besides covering it with a red top.
Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist
RANDOM RECIPES IN DREAM DESSERT How boring is bread You may ask? I say there are other ways You can take it to task. Decades ago when my Two boys were younger With their stomachs always Growling in hunger,
The easiest dessert I found you could make Was a bread pudding Which tasted like cake. 4 cups shredded bread 3 cups milk and a dollop of butter
4 eggs, 2 tspns Vanilla And 5 tblspns sugar
The ingredients need To be mixed together For variety you can also add 2 cups of coconut powder
Best served hot But you can eat it cold Just give it a shot The most sinful way however Is with whipped cream Which indeed will turn This humble pudding Into the dessert of your dream.
Pour into a casserole And bake for 20 minutes or so Until you see your creation Take on a golden glow This dessert is KULKUL RAHMAN Entrepreneur, mother and a passionate cook
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
19
Lifestyle A better
Let go of all distractions and FOCUS
A
re you distracted, or focussed? Apple shared a great statistic few months back. Their average user unlocks their phones 80 times a day. Other reports state people look at their phones upwards of 130 times a day. Children aged 2-11 watch over 24 hours of TV per week, while adults aged 35-49 watch more than 33 hours, according to data from Nielsen that suggests TV time increases the older we get. Recent studies suggest that we’ll spend around 70% of our waking life in front of digital media. That is a lot of time of not doing anything productive. Imagine, had this time been used in doing something productive, something creative, the results would have been much different. That is the difference between average people and legends. And in order to cross this line, one needs to understand what’s holding them back. On an average, humans get distracted every
11 minutes. That’s too soon to lose focus. That’s too short of a time to create masterpieces. The Sistine Chapel wouldn’t have been possible had Michelengalo been distracted so often. We wouldn’t have had amazing painting from Pablo Picasso, had he been busy playing candy crush most of his time. Here are a few things that will help you improve focus and be less distracted: 1. Switch off all notifications while you’re working. Since, your phone is connected to everything possible on the internet, it is quite obvious that it’ll beep every now and then.
LIFE
2. Schedule some time for watching TV. Stop watching it everytime you have nothing to do. Read a book instead. 3. Switch off your phone before you go to sleep. A nice sleep will ultimately help you improve focus. 4. Watching TV or fidgeting with the phone is considered relaxing for most of us but please understand, so much of data keeps our brain active and is not at all relaxing for the brain. 5. Doing nothing is better than watching tv or using the phone. So sit down, relax and exercise your brain’s super power of visualization.
Your Own High-Protein Energy Bars
Madhur Jain
Madhur Jain is a full time practicing Chartered Accountant, a blogger and a columnist. He loves to read, write and talk about personal development. For more visit his blog at www.maadhurjain.in
Cool Couture 6 PHOTO EDITING MOBILE APPS YOU NEED RIGHT NOW
I
nstagram has taken the world by storm & I wouldn’t deny that I am one of the victims. While their new update gives us ample amount of choice to edit, my trustworthy photo editing applications do need their welldeserved credit. Here’s a list of 6 photo editing apps you should be using for those insane selfies.
SNAPSEED
Even before Instagram introduced their new features, I always used to vouch for snapseed to fix the brightness & all that jazz. The “Ambience” setting is perfect to edit landscape photos. The interface of this application is modern, minimalistic & easy to use.
PIXLREXPRESS
Love making doodles? This app is perfect for you! One of my favourite features is called the “Focal” that lets you blur out the areas that you don’t want in focus and also boosts the colour of the area that’s in focus.
VSCO
Another very popular editing app is VSCO. While this app also functions as a camera app, it’s the rich collection of filters and editing tools that attracts iPhone photographers to this app.
PICSART PHOTO STUDIO
When you first open PicsArt Photo Studio, it feels like a social network with an editor attached. You’re bombarded with banners and photos, with the option to actually edit images tucked away on a small button in the middle of the screen. The app seems primarily focused on getting you to create your own network, follow other artists, and vote on the best work in various contests.
AIRBRUSH
AirBrush is a great photo editing app if you take a lot of selfies. It specializes in quick fixes and edits made to face and skin including a blemish remover, teeth whitening, a function to make eyes look brighter, reshaping tools, and, of course, plenty of filters to add some pizzazz. It’s quite easy to use and has managed an incredible 4.8 rating in the Google Play Store. Most of the tools are one-click which makes all of it exceptionally easy to use as well.
AFTERFOCUS
AfterFocus is another specialty app in that it really only does one key thing, but it does it very well. This app allows you to imitate the shallow depth of field effect that can typically only be achieved with a DSLR. Enjoy clicking! Sonika Ajmera Fashion Blogger
J
erky-energy bar hybrids are at the forerunners of the energy bar revolution. How about you try to make your own tender, high protein paced bars? Two ingredients in particular make these bars not taste like leftover meatloaf. First, cranberries offer up some of the sweetness you would expect in a bar. And you should use steak, probably the leanest cuts that can be found. This helps keep the fat levels low and help the mixture dry out in the oven. Too much fat will make the bars turn rancid more quickly. A longer cooking time at a low temperature will also help with the drying process. You can opt for grass-fed or organic beef, although coming across that in the city is rare. Grass-fed cattle are more nutrient-dense than those from their alternatives.
Beast Bars
Things you’ll need About 250 gms round steak (eye, top, or bottom cut) 1 cup dried cranberries ¼ cup soy sauce ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut 3 Tbsp sesame seeds 2 tsp orange zest ½ tsp salt
How to make it:
1. Trim excess fat from the meat
and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Place on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet and freeze until edges are stiff but not frozen all the way through, about 20 minutes. This will help the meat grind more uniformly. 2. Preheat your oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Place partially frozen meat and cranberries in a food processor and pulse until meat is coarsely ground. Pulse in remaining ingredients. 3. Line an 8 × 8-inch square baking pan with a piece of parchment paper large enough so there is a 1-inch overhang. Place the meat mixture in the pan and spread it out into an even layer. 4. Bake for 30 minutes, pour off any accumulated juices, and then bake for another 50 minutes. Let cool completely in pan before lifting out with parchment overhang and cutting into 9 bars. Keep chilled for up to 1 week.
Bonus tips:
You can use dried cherries instead of cranberries and gluten-free soy sauce instead of regular soy sauce. You can also try replacing sesame seeds with hemp seeds; or swapping out the orange zest for lemon zest. (Recipe taken from Men’s Health)
20
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Reviews Cast: Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer... Director: Timur Bekmambetov
I
n every previous adaptation of General Lew Wallace’s wildly successful 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, the instigating event stems from Judah Ben-Hur, the Jewish nobleman, accidentally knocking some stray tiles on to the heads of Roman bigshots as they enter Jerusalem. In 1907 (the 15-minute version), 1926 (Fred Niblo’s luxe and still very watchable silent), 1959 (the enormous Charlton Heston classic), 2003 (an animated version featuring Heston’s voice) and 2010 (a TV miniseries) tiles rained from above, shattering the friendship between Judah and his boyhood chum, the striving Roman tribune Messala. It’s not a stretch to call the poorly manufactured shingles at the Casa de Hur a key prop in cinema history – if not quite Charles Foster Kane’s sled then at least on a par with Wilson the
vie Mo view Re
volleyball. Timur Bekmambetov, the Kazakh director whose previous work includes Night Watch, Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, is unafraid of implementing the sweeping changes that might make his Ben-Hur more palatable for current tastes. So out with the tiles, in with an arrow fired from an angry Zealot our hero Judah (Jack Huston) is reluctantly hiding in his compound. Surprisingly, many of Bekmambetov’s updates work well. Important characters are removed (so long Quintus Arrius) and “stakes are raised,” as they say in screenwriting textbooks. Judah marries the servant girl Esther (Nazanin Boniadi) at the beginning of the picture this time and Messala (Toby Kebbell) gets a whole new backstory. In this version Messala is
the grandson of a disgraced Roman (something to do with Julius Caesar’s assassination), taken in by the Hur family like a toga-wearing Tom Hagen. This new Ben-Hur is, as much as anything, a story about two brothers (slowly) learning how to love one another after jealousy and machismo get in the way. Bekmambetov shows us Messala’s war years Here he is fighting in the rain! Fighting in the snow! Fighting in the sand! – all for the betterment of Rome, but maybe just to prove to his old pal Judah that he can stand in his own two sandals. Messala returns to Jerusalem hoping Judah will help him quell the Zealots who are disrupting Roman rule. At first, both men see eye to eye as moderates, but Judah’s sister (Sofia Black D’Elia) accuses him of letting the family’s wealth make him complacent..
Cast: Diana Penty, Momal Shaikh, Abhay Deol, Ali Fazal and Jimmy Shergill Director: Mudassar Aziz
H
ow do you take people with names such as Happy, Guddu and Bagga seriously? Well, you don’t have to, if the film you are watching is Happy Bhaag Jayegi. The tale of a feisty bride (Diana Penty) and the three men that she has got wound around her slim fingers is what spurs this romantic comedy forward. Happy Bhaag Jayegi is a situational comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously. A Punjabi bride’s elopement plan that goes awry and takes her to Lahore is what sets the ball rolling. Director Mudassar Aziz has to be given credit for not adding jingoistic overtones to this comedy that travels between India and its long-time rival Pa-
kistan. Geographical conflicts aside, life on either side of the Wagah border separating India and Pakistan is essentially the same. Abhay Deol plays the reluctant politician Bilal Ahmed, who’s often reminded that he needs to take his family’s political dynasty forward. Ahmed agrees to help Happy find a fairy tale ending with her childhood sweetheart, played by Ali Fazal. They hatch a plan to bring Guddu, who is still in India, into Pakistan and marry the two lovebirds. But the unfortunate part is that it’s not easy to buy into Penty’s story. Her love for her childhood mate, essentially an unemployed musician, is unconvincing. She’s all heart and no logic. While she paints a
fetching picture, she isn’t compelling enough to nail the goofy act. And why do all the men in this film fall head over heels in love with her? Trust me, Happy’s personality isn’t that lush. There’s Guddu, Bagga (the vengeful groom played by Jimmy Shergill) and Bilal Ahmed all hoping to win over the spunky Happy. While the first half is promising, the second half derails with unnecessary cliched complications, which includes everyone turning up in the same town. Fortunately, the love angles were wrapped up in a sensible manner. There was no drama and that was a relief. This is no laugh riot, but Happy Bhaag Jayegi has its glorious moments. Reserve this for a onetime watch.
J
together, Farewell Aldebaran, and it’s one of Henske’s very best works, a showcase that’s as eclectic and audacious as she was. Farewell Aldebaran can be described as a fusion of folk music, psychedelia, and arty pop, though that only scrapes the surface of the LP’s stylistic complexity. The album leaps from the stomp-down primitivism of “Snowblind” and the playful pop of “Horses on a Stick” to the tongue in cheek religious satire of “St. Nicholas Hall,” the beauty of “Three Ravens,” and the grand scale sci-fi finale of the title cut -- every track on the album has a distinct person-
vie Mo view Re
PVR Cinemas
Dona Planet. GS Road 08800900009 Rustom 09:45 AM 03:25, 06:40 & 09:05 PM Suicide Squad 10:30 AM Happy Bhag Jayegi 12:50 PM 06:30 PM 09:45 PM Ben-Hur 01:00 PM Mohenjo Daro 03:30 PM
Rustom 12:10 PM 08:45 PM Happy Bhag Jayegi 09:45 AM 05:50 PM Mohenjo Daro 03:00 PM
Apsara Cinema Ulubari 0361 2541335
HAPPY BHAAG JAYEGI 11.00 AM & 8.00 PM RUSTOM 2.00PM & 5.00PM
GOLD Cinema ASTC Complex, Paltan Bazar 9854066166
Yogic Wealth
RUSTOM 11.00PM, 2.00PM, 5.00PM & 8.00PM MOHENJO DARO 2.30PM HAPPY BHAAG JAYEGI 11.30PM, 5.30PM & 8.30PM
Gaurav Mashruwala u Yo LD OU N SH ISTE L
ality of its own. What holds Farewell Aldebaran together is the strength of the songs and arrangements, where Yester brings together a striking range of sounds and moods, and makes imaginative use of mellotrons and early Moog synthesizers. Farewell Aldebaran died a quick death in the marketplace in 1969, and it’s not hard to see why -- as good as it is, this music was too eclectic and deliberately eccentric to find a place on radio, then or now.
HAPPY BHAAG JAYEGI 11.00 AM, 8.15 PM BEN HUR 2.00 PM RUSTOM 5.15 PM
HUB, GS Road 9864800100, 9864800200
Author:
udy Henske was a major talent who never quite broke through to major stardom, in part because no one seemed sure of what to do with her. Henske’s big, bold voice was a bit too strong for the pop charts in the mid’60s, and while she had a loyal following among folk music fans, her broad sense of humor and theatrical style set her apart from her very earnest counterparts. (In retrospect, it seems she would have been the perfect star for the right sort of Broadway musical comedy.) In 1969, Henske and her then-husband Jerry Yester (who had been a member of the Modern Folk Quartet and the Lovin’ Spoonful, and would go on to produce albums for Tom Waits and Tim Buckley) made an album
Noonmati 03612656968, 9954544738
Galleria Cinemas
Book:
Album:
Farewell Aldebaran
Anuradha Cineplex
u Yo LD OUad H S re About the Book Over the years, our levels of income have risen manifold. At the same time, opportunities to spend and splurge have increased too. Borrowing, in the form of formal loans for various purposes, is much more convenient than it used to be in the past and so also, there are a variety of investment avenues today. Effectively, the scope of all financial activities - income, expense, assets and liabilities - has been augmented. Unfortunately, lifestyle-related disorders, discord among couples
and families and emotional turbulence in the form of stress and hypertension has kept pace with this increase in financial activities. We are living a life wherein the pleasure we should get from our enhanced financial activities is either temporary or absent. In its lucid and engaging style, Yogic Wealth revives the wisdom contained in our scriptures, with regard to creating and enjoying wealth, and presents it in today’s perspective.
GOLD Cinema Salasar Building, Lakhtokia 9854077177
RUSTOM 11.00PM, 2.00PM, 5.00PM & 8.00PM MOHENJO DARO 2.30PM HAPPY BHAAG JAYEGI 2.30PM, 5.30PM & 8.30PM
GOLD Cinema
LG Towers, Narangi 8811001898 RUSTOM 11.00PM & 5.00PM HAPPY BHAAG JAYEGI 2.00PM & 8.00PM
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
21
Entertainment
Assamese Film ‘Doordarshan Ati Jantra’ ready for release
KALYAN KUMAR KALITA
AUDIO CD ‘TOI KUN BIRIKHOR PAKHI’ RELEASES KALYAN KUMAR KALITA
Jantra’ was also released on the occasion. During the press meet, the film’s distributor Rajiv Bora, music director Mausam Gogoi, artistes like Jatin Bora, Prastuti Parashar, Moonmi Phukan, Utpal Das, Rajiv Kro, Saurav Hazarika and others also made brief speeches. The songs in the film are rendered by Zubeen Garg, Priyanka Bharali and Chayanika Dutta.
A
fter a lot of delays and setbacks, the wait is finally over for the release of the Assamese film titled ‘Doordarshan Ati Jantra’ which has been directed by Rajesh Bhuyan. The movie has been slated for a release on September 2 across various theatres of Assam. This was announced at a press meet held at the Gateway Grandeur Hotel by the film’s producer Sanjive Naraine recently. “The script of this film based on Himangshu Prasad
R
Das’s play ‘Akhon Gaont TV Asil’ is written by Rajesh Bhuyan and Santanu Roumaria. The music has been scored by Mausam Gogoi”, said Naraine at the press meet. “This film features 62 artistes from the world of film and theatre. The late actor Lakshmi Borthakur also plays a part in the movie. It will be a complete entertainer”, said Bhuyan who has given a new life to one of the most popular stories written back in 1987. The music CDs of ‘Doordarshan Ati
ecently, a new audio CD containing six of Bonkonwar Anandiram Das’s evergreen bongeets was released to a warm reception from the market. Produced by Sanchita Saikia under the banner of CDS Creation, the main intention behind the making of this album, entitled ‘Toi Kun Birikhor Pakhi’, is to familiarize, promote and propagate the precious Assamese traditional songs and tunes
among the twenty-first century young generation. The bongeets by Anandiram Das have been a great source of influence among singers, musicians and enthusiasts in the state and even outside. The music in this album has the intrinsic feel of the indigenous traditional music of Assam. All the songs are tuned by noted singer Munindra Kumar Saikia, who renders four songs - ‘O Maramare Harina Puwali’, O Moina Ture Uraniya Sit’, ‘Kinu Bhab Gun’ and ‘Toi Kun Birikhor Pakhi’, while the other two songs - ‘Jubilee Botahor Aage Oi Faguni’ and ‘Keteki Binale’ have been rendered by Dr. Anamika Deka (Saikia). The singers have made their presence felt with some sincere and heartfelt renditions. An album that truly holds archival values, the music in ‘Toi Kun Birikhor Pakhi’ has been expertly arranged by noted musician Anup Kumar Sarma. Everyone associated with this album has made an effort to reach out to the public, especially the young generation.
New Assamese film Assamese film ‘Rodor Sithi’ – ‘The Curiosity selected for Lonavala Film Festival Shop’
KALYAN KUMAR KALITA
KALYAN KUMAR KALITA
A P
rincipal photography for a new Assamese film, The Curiosity Shop wrapped on July 15 this year. The cast includes Upamanyu Boruwa, Anupjyoti Choudhury, 9-year old Debasmita Borgohain, Stuti Choudhury, Krishna Sarma, Imtinaro T Longkumer, Anupam Borah, Ribhu Ranjan Baruah, Satya Doley, and Hrishikesh Baruah among others. ‘The Curiosity Shop’ is written and directed by Shankar Borua. Director Borua said: “The Curiosity Shop is an urban tale, both bright and bleak, set in contemporary Guwahati. It is an expansive narrative about the capacities of human beings
to be both brutally evil and sublimely kind. In the midst of naiveté and childhood innocence lurks dark deeds of deviousness and unspeakable brutality. A book store called ‘The Curiosity Shop’, where a lot of the drama unfolds, is the metaphorical theater where these two worlds collide.” The film’s credits include cinematography by Prayash Sharma Tamuly, sound design by Debajit Gayan, and background score by Madhulika Sharma. ‘The Curiosity Shop’ is presented by Mimir’s Spring in association with The Assam Motion Picture Company.
ssamese film ‘Rodor Sithi’ has been selected for screening in the competition category of Lonavala International Film Festival which is scheduled to take place from September 1 to 5, 2016 at Mumbai. The film, directed by Baharul Islam and produced by Ikramul Mazid under the banner of Alternative Cinematics, will be screened on Day 2 of the festival. ‘Rodor Sithi’ has been chosen from over 100 movies from various countries. Starring Zubeen Garg, Angarag Mahanta and Bhagirathi among other artistes, the film has already bagged the Excellence in Cinema Award at the Canada International Film Festival. Ikramul Mazid’s other film as a producer, ‘Barsharanya,’ has won the Golden Palm Award in the ‘Environmental’ category of the prestigious Mexico International Film Festival. Meanwhile, Baharul Islam was
honored with the Rashtriya Ras Rang Sanman by Ras Kala Mancha in a presentation ceremony held in Rohtok, Haryana in memory of renowned drama personality Habib Tanvir on 28th July last. Islam, already to his credit, has honors like Habib Tanvir Award (Bihar), Harisingh Pochhai Award (Jabbalpur), Manohar Singh Award (New Delhi) and Sarada Kanta Bordoloi Award (Assam). Baharaul Islam’s Seagull Theatre staged six plays on 27th and 28th May at Rabindra Bhawan, as part
of the group’s silver jubilee celebrations. On the first day, the group staged two plays, including one titled ‘The Seagull’ by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The play directed by Baharul Islam, dramatizes the romantic and artistic conflicts between four characters. Islam, who is the founder and artistic director of Seagull Theatre and his better half Bhagirathi, both alumni of the National School of Drama, headed the talented cast of artistes in ‘The Seagull’. Interestingly, the name of the theatre group has been named after the play. On the second day, Seagull staged four plays. The theatre group is also setting up a website which will be launched soon. It will include a data base of the group’s numerous achievements. “Under the banner of Seagull Theatre, we have organized more than twenty plays. We will share about them on our website,” informed Islam. Seagull intends to stage more plays this year. “We will keep on staging plays throughout the year as part of our silver jubilee celebrations,” Islam added.
22
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Citypedia Horoscope of the week
Taurus
This is a week of great chances and challenges for you. You are advised to end all your pending tasks and have fresh start at your workplace. You shall get ample chance to improve your knowledge . You shall get completely involved in family matters and pass happy time with your family members. Impulsiveness and overlooking of minor issues might create certain problems. Adjustment should be made to remain happy and contented. You are advised to make use of your natural abilities and common sense.
Your efforts will bear the preferred results. Even you may also get a golden possibility of foreign traveling. Your name and fame will increase during this week. You will able to come midst famous and powerful people. You will have adequate vigor to accomplish your creative pursuits successfully. Money would be flowing very easily. You will have lot of chances to increase your income. Good news on all fronts will make you much cheerful. You will find great amusement in the nitty-gritties of life. Make the most of this jovial time and enjoy the life to the hilt.
Leo
Cancer This week shall bring in a fine start in terms of work and profession. Success falls on your way through tough challenges and hard work. Take all your obstructions lightly and nonchalantly. Students will be reasonably practical to achieve their goals. Their burden is likely to increase. You are required to pace up now to keep the things on the right track. Laziness and self-indulgence should be avoided to progress ahead. If in business, you will find it hard to manage internal affairs or to push the work at secondary level.
Libra
You will be popular with everybody. Your will be able to overcome your enemies. A gift or inheritance money will come your way. You will also do well in your field of interest. Beware of speculation as it can prove damaging for you. You are likely to be involved in noble deeds. Some auspicious ceremony in your family is on the anvil. Your income will increase . Your proficiency will let you handle even difficult situation. There will be unseen expanses pinching your pocket. Beware of speculation as it can prove damaging for you.
Capricorn
This week is a great week of knock and bash. You will remain surrounded with your professional acquaintances. You shall have plenty of financial gains coming your way. It shall be a great week to give and take affection and warmth from all your family members and colleagues. Your love life shall blossom up now thus making you spend some romantic time with your spouse.It is necessary to control and turn into right direction. Otherwise, it may spoil understanding.
Your efforts will bear the preferred results. Even you may also get a golden possibility of foreign traveling. Your name and fame will increase during this week. You will able to come midst famous and powerful people. You will have adequate vigor to accomplish your creative pursuits successfully. Money would be flowing very easily. You will have lot of chances to increase your income. Good news on all fronts will make you much cheerful. You will find great amusement in the nitty-gritties of life. Make the most of this jovial time and enjoy the life to the hilt.
Scorpio
You may suffer a short term financial failure. Success will only come through excessive efforts. There are losses in business and fall in professional status. Domestic strife will also prevails, but get resolved soon. Due to your intelligence and hard work, you will earn handsome. Higher authorities will grant you favors. You will acquire name and fame and fulfill your desires. In examinations students will meet success and enjoy higher studies. Generally you will have comfort and remain calm.
Aquarius
Sudden and unexpected problems might erupt at end of the week thus spoiling your peace of mind. Try not to be stressful. Speculation and new investments should be controlled. Unemployed natives may have good chance of clearing all the interviews and getting good job. Therefore, be confidant and put your sincere efforts, success would be yours whatever you will undertake. Your relations with your life partner would be much better than ever. Share inner emotions and feelings without any hesitation.
Gemini
This week invites some optimistic and cheerful views for you from your near and dear ones only. You shall try your level best to be the best and shall get up to the understanding soon. While trying this you are likely to take some risk for that. The risk taken is more likely in funds and finance related matters. This will not be a good time for investment and speculations. You shall spend a lot of time for yourself as to perceive yourself in ideal circumstances. You will have good time with your family and relatives.
Virgo
There is possibility that your opponents may win. During this period, your confidence will make you unbeatable. You will also command much regard and respect. This is also a very good week for love and romance. Suddenunexpected gains are also possible. You will come into contact with higher officials and authorities. People in job will have strong chances of promotions and perks. You will feel strongly inclined towards religion and might visit sacred places.
Sagittarius It is indeed a good time to feel loved and respected by others. Affection and respect will welcome you with open heart. Your hard work and labor will fetch you dividends. Short distance travels will be fruitful. Good news from abroad is possible. Your brothers and sisters will also assist you. Your contact with new people will also increase by the dint of your social activity. Meeting with old friends is also indicated. If you are involved in any speculation, encouraging results are on the anvil. You will bask in the glory of the artistic expression and interpretation. This week much of your time shall be dedicated to your ongoing project and other ongoing ventures. You may need to devote lots of your time for meetings and social gatherings that will take place for different reasons ranging from personal matters to business or job. At work place your imagination will be strong and you will strive towards success. You will be inspired to go ahead and enjoy your work. Feel relaxed and tranquil while performing it.
GUWAHATI
EMERGENCY NUMBERS RADIO TAXI SERVICES Prime Cabs 0361- 2222233 Green Cabs 0361-7151515 My Taxi 0361-2228888 Cherry Cabs 8876222288
24-HOUR PHARMACIES Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) D Modern Medicos, Maligaon (9864366763) Candid 24x7, Panbazar (2604422) DEAD BODY CARRYING VAN GLP Social Circle 2737373, 9435047046 Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251 GGUMTA 98640-16740 OTHERS Fire Emergency 101 State Zoo 2201363 GMC Carcass Pickup 9435190720, 9864047222 LPG Emergency/Leakage 2385209, 2541118, LPG Booking (ivr System) 7670024365 Child line Guwahati 1098
ELECTRICITY SUPPLY Call Centre – 9678005171
BLOOD BANK
Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665 Ganga Blood Bank 2454742, 2455029 Lion’s Club of Ghy Central 2546611 Marwari Yuva Manch 2546470, 2547251 Saharia’s Path Lab (24 hours) 2458594
AMBULANCE
Ambulance 102 Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665 Downtown Hospital 9864101111, 9435012669 GLP Social Circle 2737373 GGUMTA (Mirza) 03623-227109 Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251 Free Ambulance to GNRC Hospitals Toll Free: 1800-345-0011
Pisces
police station
Sudoku
8811007000
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.
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
Marwari Hospital & Research Centre 0361-2602738/39 Marwari Maternity Hospital 0361-2541202/01 Nemcare Hospital 0361-2528587, 2455906, 2457344 Pratiksha Hospital 0361-2337260, 2337183/84 Basistha Military Hospital (2304617/0351) Railway Central Hospital Casuality (2671025) Redcross Hospital (2665114) Sri Sankardeva Netralaya 0361-2233444, 2228879, 2228921
GMC helpline number for garbage collection
Comissioner of Police: 0361-2540278 DCP, Traffic: 0361-2731847 DCP, (Central): 94350-49599 DCP, (East): - 94350-83103 DCP, (West): - 94350-27744 Police Control Room: Ph-2540138, 2540113 Azara PS: Ph2840287 Basista PS: Ph-2302158 Bharalumukh PS: Ph- 2540137, 2731199 Borjhar PS: Ph-2840351 Chandmari PS: Ph- 2660204 Chandrapur PS: Ph-2788237, 2785237 Dispur PS: Ph-2261510 Fancybazar PS: Ph- 2540285
Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) B Baruah Cancer Institute (2472364/66) Brahmaputra Hospital Ltd (2451634/678) Chatribari Christian Hospital 0361-2600051, 92070-44374 Downtown Hospital 2331003, 9864079366, 9435012669 Guwahati Medical College (2529457, 2529561) Guwahati Medical College Emergency (2263444) International Hospital 0361-7135005 Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (2541477, 2543998)
last week solution
Aries
Hospital
TB Hospital (2540193) Wintrobe Hospital 0361-2519860, 98647-77986 IHR-Institute of Human Reproduction 0361-2482619, 098641-03333 Dispur Hospital Reception 97070 20370 82539 99124 361-2235759 (Landline No. / Fax) Hayat Hospital 8011003110 GNRC Hospital 1800-345-0022 (Toll Free) GNRC Ambulance 1800-345-0011 (Toll Free)
Vigilance and anti corruption toll free number
1800-345-3767
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
7
23
Event
Days
Events
Aug 20th to Aug 26th
Axis delivered a power packed performance at Terra Mayaa last week. The band recently did a video of them performing Zara Si by KK in their own Rock version for their Facebook channel which got them a lot of attention
AUG 20
AUG 21 7pm Terra Mayaa
Terra Mayaa
One of the biggest parties of the year featured one of the biggest PSY Trance artists in the scene,”OUTSIDERS” (ISRAEL) at Topaz!
AUG 20 XS
AUG 20 TOPAZ
AUG 20 A children’s play being staged at Rabindra Bhawan
What’s happening at Rabindra Bhavan » 19th-21st August - Darpan Dance Academy (cultural program)
Cafe Copa
AUG 27 XS
24
G PLUS AUG 20 - AUG 26, 2016
Catching Up Most shared story of the week New
Chic on the block
Swastika Acharyya It seems like the city is eagerly waiting for the showroom of the beast - Harley Davidson Motors. With the city filled with bike enthusiasts Brahmaputra Harley Davidson is sure to have a bee line of customers as it completes its final touches. facebook.com/guwahatiplus
Guwahati
1.4K 170
twitter.com/guwahatiplus
GYAN
Did you know?
Lankeshwar Temple
T
he Lankeshwar Temple in Guwahati is not only popular with the religiously inclined people but also attracts large tourist footfall. The Shiva temple located atop a hill amidst a picturesque location near Gauhati University campus adds to the beauty of the temple built in the exotic environment of a moderately dense forest. The shrine is popular and much vis-
G
ited and so marble steps have been constructed for ensuring safe passage by the pilgrims. There are 452 steps in all. Lankeshwar is one of the many forms of Lord Shiva. The followers of Lord Shiva consider the temple as hallowed. Devotees all around the year visit this temple and seek divine blessings. Moreover, the temple is believed to be very sacred to the pilgrims who visit here.
About Me
“Hey! I’m Swastika Acharyya from Jorhat, Assam. I’m currently a resident of Guwahati. I’m pursuing my education and a career in modelling as of now. Over the past year, I have learnt several things from my mentors in this industry who guide me at every step to help achieve my goals and stand out like a bright like a diamond. I am a simple girl with a positive and a confident attitude which I think are my strong suits. In the future, I would like to be a successful model so that I can be a good example for the upcoming generation. Being a woman is a god’s gift that everyone should appreciate because there is a saying that behind every successful man there is a woman.
Ka m u r of the week
uwahati this year witnessed peaceful celebration of Independence Day. But some people in the city make it a point during such days to take an extended holiday. Many government officials of various offices had a three day off from second Saturday to Monday (Independence Day) but many extended the holiday till Tuesday and some even till Wednesday halting important works of the public. The senior officials should check that during such occasions if people are taking extended leaves the public should not be harassed because it becomes a kamur for many.
WHAT DID I JUST HEAR?
T
aking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remark that BJP faced more adversity in independent India compared to what Congress faced during British rule, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi recently tweeted a prayer for him. “Modiji a prayer for you: “Asatoma Sadgamaya Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya Mrityorma Amritam gamaya Om shanti shanti shanti,” Rahul tweeted.
PIC OF THE tribute to world photography day | 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: Swapnil Bharali. Phone: 0361 2737737, Email: info@g-plus.in, RNI No: ASSENG/2013/52641