G Plus Vol 4 Issue 14

Paul was introduced to APSC selection authority by prominent Barak Valley neta PG 03

VOLUME 04 | ISSUE 14 JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

PRICE `10

City scribe PG absconding 02 after lover commits suicide

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05 GS Road to lose its hoardings from April 1

Will the cabinet expansion issue cause any rift in the coalition alliance?

PG 07

G PLUS APR 23 - APR 29, 2016

New Chic on the Block Deepika Das PG 23

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Lead Story

City scribe absconding after lover commits suicide

Rahul Chanda

According to a case registered at Dispur police station a 37-year-old committed suicide; in the suicide note left behind she blamed city-based journo Surajit Khaund for the drastic step and Surajit has been absconding ever since

File Photo of Surajit Khaund

I

n a scandalous incident, a citybased journalist working for a prominent English daily has been reportedly missing for quite some time. As G Plus tried to find out details of why the journalist, Surajit Khaund, was missing, we were informed by the police that Khaund is actually absconding after the police received a complaint from a 37-year-old girl’s brother that his sister committed suicide because the journalist abandoned his sister after a long love affair. A case is registered at Dispur Police Station. G Plus explores the entire story and checks what exactly led to the girl’s suicide with her lover being on the run.

The story

According to some close friends of Surajit Khaund, the woman Parishikha Baruah, was very close to Khaund and he used to introduce her to his friends as his fiancée. According to the owner of the house where she stayed house, Ranjan Choudhury of Rukmanigaon, Parishikha was in a relationship with Khaund since the last seven years. But it seems Khaund always avoided getting married to her. Choudhury, talking to G Plus, said that Parishsikha had been renting his apartment in Rukmanigaon since the last 10 years and she was always in love with Surajit. Parishikha’s flat owner said that as she had been staying there since a long time, she was like family to them. She was a very serious and nice person who always harboured hopes that Surajit would marry her someday.

Choudhury said that Parishikha

had to complain to the police who reached the spot shortly. Both of them were brought to the police station and both the parties lodged complaints against each other. First Parishikha filed a complaint (case number – 9/27 under section 406/342/354/323 of IPC) and then Labanya Hazarika filed a complaint (case number – 10/17 under section 448/384/323/506 of IPC). The source said that according to Parishikha her court marriage with Surajit was fixed for 3rd January, but when she went with all the papers to Surajit’s house he again tried to stall the marriage.

Police said that according to Parishikha they were in a relationship for the last 7 to 8 years, and every time they planned their marriage, Surajit kept postponing the date.

This time she was very upset and after his refusal she started quarrelling with him and even broke many things in his house in her fit of anger. The police source said that Surajit’s aunt, who is related to AGP MLA Brindaban Goswaand Surajit often had conflicts am. The police said that the body mi, also filed a complaint saying because Surajit kept postponing was then sent for post mortem she caused destruction of propertheir marriage and this used to irk and the report is still awaited. The ties in her house. Later, police let her. The owner said that when she police said that the brother com- both of them go after issuing a committed suicide his entire fam- plained that she had left a suicide written notice. The next day Paily was in Goa. While they are still note wherein she blamed Surajit rishikha’s brother came with inuncertain about the exact reason for everything and it is because of formation about her suicide and it seems Parishikha had informed him that she had taken the dras- a case was accordingly registered Baruah that on 3rd January 2016 tic step. According to the police, (case number 35/17 under secthere was a likelihood of her and in the suicide note she said that tion 493/306/34 of IPC). The poSurajit getting married in court. she was depressed by the way he lice said that since then they have So what happened and why did behaved on 2nd January postpon- been searching for Surajit who is ing the marriage once again after absconding. she commit suicide? all the planning. Now, what happened on 2nd January?

Is he guilty?

The incident Surajit apparently stayed The police said that they are According to Dispur police, on in his aunt, Labanya Hazarika’s 3rd January 2017, they received a house which was also located in awaiting the post mortem recomplaint by Prasenjit Baruah Rukminigaon. According to a port which might throw light on many questions. In the meantime, Number of suicide cases in Ghy in last five years Surajit being on the run is a direct pointer to the fact that he is 20 somewhere worried or fearful of the consequences. Also Parishi18 kha’s brother Prasenjit, talking to G Plus, said that they will fight for 16 justice as her suicide note clearly 14 blamed Surajit for her taking the drastic step. Also when they 12 were in a relationship for the last 7 to 8 years why did Surajit keep 10 postponing the marriage every 8 time? Parishikha’s house owner, Ranjan Choudhury talking to G 6 Plus, raised a pertinent question thus, “Parishikha was 37 years old 4 and Surajit is around 45 years. If 2 he was not planning to marry her now then when would he marry?”

0 Parishikha’s brother said that 2016 2013 2015 2012 2014 Surajit has good links as one of his relatives is a politician and he (Parishikha’s brother) that Pa- source in Dispur police station, himself is a journalist in a promirishikha had committed suicide on 2nd January Parishikha had nent media house but Prasenjit and her brother found her body gone to Surajit’s house where both has full faith in the law and he, hanging in her rented apartment of them had a massive quarrel. for the time being, trusts the poin Rukmanigaon at around 11.30 Surajit’s aunt, Labanya Hazarika lice investigation totally. However,

the day he feels that the police are being manipulated he will think of some other alternatives to get justice.

Meanwhile Hemanta, a close aide of Surajit talking to G Plus, said that on 2nd January when Parishikha had gone to Surajit’s house she was absolutely livid behaving very rudely with Surajit.

She also broke a number of things in his house. Hemanta said that he is unaware where Surajit is at present.

Last year the city witnessed 9 suicide cases most of which were unsuccessful love stories.

rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

3

In The News

Paul was introduced to APSC selection authority by prominent Barak Valley neta

Rahul Chanda

More than 100 people have been quizzed till date including 4 APSC officers and 12 aspirants; some politicians might be summoned for questioning in the near future that there are new facts coming out every day and such cases have to be thoroughly investigated. But what was the exact modus operandi of the nexus?

T

he APSC scam is set to unearth many facts in the close future as the police have submitted just a part of the charge sheet in the special court which will initiate the trial. Further investigation is on which is expected to dig out a lot of other evidence that might include involvement of some politicians along with top level bureaucrats. Recently, the Assam Police submitted a 19-page part charge sheet in the court of Alokeswar Bhattacharyya, Special Judge, Assam. The charge sheet contained names of Assam Public Service Commission chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul, commission members Samedur Rahman and Basanta Doley, assistant controller of examinations Pabitra Kaibarta, commission staff Sayed Musharraf Hussain and Abbas Ali Ahmed, assistant engineer of town and country planning department Nabakanta Patir and Rahman’s personal security officer Mabud Ali Choudhury as the arrested accused. Rakesh Paul’s brother Rajiv and businessman Sudip Das, an aide of Paul, were also named in the charge sheet as absconding accused. Out of 10 accused, 8 have been arrested and 2 remain absconding. G Plus talked to some highly placed sources in the police to find out the modus operandi of the nexus and how many ACS and APS officers are likely to face the music in the future.

The involvement The highly placed source, talking to G Plus, said that over 100 people have been quizzed till date in the case out of which 12 were aspirants and 4 were APSC on job officers. The source said that it is tough to prove their involvement but the police have submitted a part charge sheet as it is important for the police to submit a charge sheet within 90 days. The source said that further investigation is on and many other arrests might also be made in the case. According to the source, till date no politician has been quizzed in the case but in the near future there is strong likelihood that some politicians might be summoned for questioning. The source also said

G Plus said, “Partha Sarathi Deb is source also said it is very difficult to known to be from a mediocre aca- prove the link but police is still invesdemic background. His father is a tigating. Paul originally hails from disciple of Anukul Thakur and is Tura but has been settled in Guwahaemployed with Oriental Insurance ti since a long time. He has acquired Company. Partha’s father, Prabir Deb, many properties here including a Modus operandi is a disciple of Anukul and has had house in Rupnagar. Paul along with good relations with Rakesh Paul his brother Rajib used to run various The source said that till date it since a long time.” Sarma further businesses besides already being the has come to light that there were two said that Partha was not bright aca- kingpin of the job scam. modes of operation through which demically but managed to crack the the APSC chairman and his gang APSC all of a sudden. He is a DSP The Latest used to deal with APSC job seekers. now. Sarma said that he had also apAccording to the first, the aspirant proached Prabir on behalf of a candiRecently a new case was regiswas usually very weak in studies but date and Prabir had said, “Let him sit tered in Dispur police station (case had some good contacts through for the written, and other things will number – 45/17 under section which he/she approached the job be taken care of.” Sarma said that the 420/406 of IPC read wth 7/13 (i)(b) scam gang. Such aspirants were volunteer group is doubtful about (d)/2 of PC Act). According to the guided from day one by the gang; police, one Anup Nath had comthe rate of bribe for such aspirants the merit of Partha’s appointment plained that he had applied for the and want investigation of the same. was very high - anything between post of Agriculture Divisional OfRs 30 lakhs and Rs 40 lakhs. Accord- The source added that no politician ficer and had secured 114 marks in ing to the source the dull aspirants has been quizzed so far but the same written and 75 marks in viva. He was used to be guided with books and cannot be ruled out in the future. informed by some Satsang members questions and it was ensured that that he could secure his job if he paid The history he/she cleared all the rounds of exRs 15 lakhs. But as he did not have aminations along with the interview.

Rakesh Paul was a notary prior enough money he paid Rs 3 lakhs The source said that such aspirants could only approach the gang if the to his appointment as member and to Rakesh Paul near Satsang Vihar aspirant had high profile links and thereafter, chairman of APSC. Ac- located at Bhangagarh. He did not accordingly Rakesh Paul or another cording to the source, Paul was in- get the job. The police also said that gang member used to be approached. troduced to one of the appointing Paul was taken into 5-day police cusThe second way in which bribes used authorities of APSC by a prominent tody but now he is back in judicial to be taken was that Paul had agents politician from Barak Valley. Ac- custody.

With new facts being thrown up across the state and if an aspirant was cordingly he was appointed as a a good student having cleared the member of APSC. Later, with his every day, involvement of politicians mains, the agents of that particular cunning ingenuity he became the surely cannot be ruled out. district used to contact the candidate chairman of APSC. During his tenrahul.chanda@g-plus.in or his/her family member with the ure he helped many relatives of the proposal that the candidate will sure- politicians who appointed him. The ly be selected if some amount is paid to the APSC officials. The candidate’s family, usually being desperate for the job, would then negotiate with the agent and accordingly, the deal would be finalised. These candidates paid a lesser amount which was anything between Rs 10 lakhs and Rs 25 lakhs. The source said this was how the scam got exposed and a case was registered in Dibrugarh. The source said it would be difficult to procure evidence against the people who are already in service but the forensic experts are studying the answer scripts of the suspected candidates to find out if any clue can be extracted.

According to the source, Rakesh Paul is a disciple of Anukul Thakur and he had also helped many Satsang Vihar followers. Many Satsang members across the state used to get in touch with Paul on various occasions and accordingly, relatives of many Satsang followers were helped; some Satsang members also became the part of the nexus. A voluntary organisation, Hitakalpa, has requested the investigation officers and the police to investigate the appointment of one Partha Sarathi Deb who was appointed through APSC and presently serving as a DSP under Assam Police. The president of the organisation, Bani Bikra Sarma, talking to

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Concern

ASCW struggling for funds, manpower to inculcate awareness on crimes against women

Juthika Baruah

Assam State Commission for Women (ASCW) states that crimes are increasing mainly because of lack of awareness; fund constraints are a big impediment towards conducting awareness programmes bition and Redressal) Act 2013 came into force on 22nd April, 2013. She said that there are even cases of molestation in workplace in Guwahati; such molestations are done in such a way that the intention of the molester remains vague. “Crimes like these are not confined to just the rural areas; in cities these are equally rampant. Cases of domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape etc. are always taking place and go unreported only because women do not come forward to raise their voice. Women feel insecure in exposing their problems. In most cases I even found that women tend to tolerate the torture and do not want to be separated from their husbands only because they are embarrassed or insecure about facing the society and family members,” informed Laskar.

Trafficking, dowry, child marriage etc. are other crimes which

Statement Showing Number Of Complaints Received And Disposed Off From The Year 2008 To 31st May 2016 By ASCW 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Year

Atrocities

Bigamy

Maintenance

Dowry

Rape

Kidnapping

Sexual harassment

Land

Misc.

Total

Disposed

2008

45

8

15

22

10

8

18

43

169

57

2009

25

3

4

5

5

4

7

26

81

40

2010

25

3

3

6

4

5

22

68

30

2011

56

6

4

12

4

3

9

52

146

86

2012

57

11

9

12

9

4

2

6

34

144

62

2013

83

21

8

15

13

6

6

7

44

203

150

2014

88

10

15

14

5

9

4

7

40

192

140

2015

76

17

22

7

10

4

6

17

39

198

102

2016

72

16

9

8

6

2

8

5

39

165

75

C

rime against women is increasing by the day despite prevailing stringent laws and the Assam State Commission for Women (ASCW) has received various cases from well-to-do families as well.

Crimes like rape, sexual harassment, acid attacks are heinous and there are laws to prevent the same but most people of the

weaker section lack awareness of such laws leaving their girls vulnerable. “The crimes are increasing due to lack of awareness. We have received many cases and from most cases it clear that such crimes take place purely due to lack of awareness. We want to conduct district-wise seminars, awareness programmes, counselling sessions, etc. but fund is

the single biggest limiting factor. Manpower is also one of the problems for which we cannot conduct the programmes,” said Member Secretary of ASCW, Indrani Laskar, while speaking to G Plus.

Women are also harassed sexually at workplace, for which the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohi-

are increasing at an alarming rate and such cases are quite prevalent among educated people as well.

The people of Assam are most vulnerable to crimes because of the prevailing poverty and the main reasons for such crimes in the state are illiteracy, natural calamities like floods, poverty etc. As the state has become a big hub of trafficking with hundreds

of children going missing every year it has become very important to have an action plan with a definitive role, responsibility and accountability of government departments on trafficking.

The unorganized sector, which, according to the Act is the most vulnerable, has been brought under its purview. The Act has created a very wide net and thus the term workplace includes government bodies, private and public sector organisations, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, entertainment industry, hospitals and nursing homes, sports institutions and stadiums etc. Workplace also covers places visited by employees during the course of employment or for reasons arising out of employment including transportation provided by the employer for the purpose of commuting to and from the place of employment.

The Act envisions two types of Complaint Committees - Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and Local Complaint Committee (LCC). The ICC is to be constituted by the employer of a workplace having more than 10 workers and LCC is to be constituted by the District Officer for considering the cases of employees of a workplace with less than 10 workers or when the complaint is against the employer.

Prior to the amendment of the Indian Penal Code by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 the relevant penal offence for an acid violence was covered

by Sections 320, 324, 325 and 326 of the Indian Penal Code.

Section 320 of the India Penal Code defines grievous hurt to mean, amongst others, a hurt which causes permanent disfiguration of the head or face or a hurt which causes the sufferer to be in a severe bodily pain for 20 days or more. Section 325 prescribes a punishment of imprisonment up to 7 years and fine for voluntarily causing grievous hurt and Section 326 prescribes a punishment for imprisonment for life or imprisonment up to 10 years and fine for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by means of, amongst others any heated or corrosive substance. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

City

GS Road to lose its hoardings from April 1

Kalyan deb

A

drive down GS Road could portray a different picture April onwards as the stretch would be transformed into a hoarding-free zone. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), as per order of the state government, will soon serve notice to the outdoor advertising agencies to remove their hoardings after 31st March which is also the last valid date of permissions issued for the hoardings. It has been mentioned by GMC that the hoardings add to the clutter on one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares and robs the city of its beauty.

However, the step will come at a cost of Rs 1 crore to the GMC being the amount of revenue generated through hoardings on the GS Road stretch alone.

“The decision of removal of hoardings was taken by the government and the GMC council body last year. It was been taken in aid of beautification of the city as the erected hoardings deface the city’s skyline making it look cluttered. GS Road being one of the prominent areas of the city it is necessary to maintain its attractiveness,” said Sanjib Gohain Baruah, commissioner, Guwahati Municipal Corporation.

Meanwhile, Isfaqur Rahman, Additional Commissioner, GMC informed that the hoardings will be pulled down as soon as the permission date expires which is 31st March. “Since the permission for one year has already been given the agencies’ interests will be considered for the particular time frame after which the hoardings will be removed. The GMC has also engaged an agency - after a tendering process - that will dismantle the structures on top of the

buildings on which the hoardings are mounted,” Rahman said.

It also needs mention that the GMC, that has been experiencing cash crunch in the recent past, will have to suffer a loss of around Rs 1 crore in revenue collections from the hoardings on GS Road.

However, the commissioner mentioned that the government will compensate the loss suffered by GMC. The step taken by the government will also come at a steep cost to several outdoor advertising agencies which will incur losses and also put the jobs of their employees at risk. Thus, not everyone echo the same version of beautifying the city through the move, given the possibilities of a large number of people losing their jobs.

Some of the major outdoor advertising agencies disapproved of the move; this is not the first time such a decision has been taken. “Every time such a decision has been taken it has been rather unorganised. If the hoardings are removed the structures where the hoardings are mounted should also be dismantled. Moreover, before taking such major decisions the views of the agencies should be taken into consideration. Moreover there are many who earn their bread and butter though the same and the government should take initiatives to provide them with employment,” said the owner of a prominent outdoor advertising agency who added, “If the move is initiated it will hamper around 2000 families and we will take legal proceedings against the same.

Such a move cannot be justified and we will file a petition against the same. Moreover, it is the GMC itself that had provided permission to mount hoardings and the same agency saying that the hoardings are defacing the city is not justified at all.”

A representative of another major agency echoed similar views and said that there are several agencies whose source of income is only through the stretch of GS Road. “It is the most important stretch of Guwahati and along with the agencies there are several building owners who survive though the rent earned from hoardings. Although, according to the GMC clause, if permission is not renewed, then a hoarding becomes illegal but that will not be an ethical move. Moreover, the hoardings only add to the beautification of the city through its lights and the department should focus on improving that rather than removing the hoardings,” the repre-

822 hoardings dot the skyline of Guwahati 266 hoardings intersperse the stretch of GS Road 138 outdoor advertising agencies operate in Guwahati GMC earned revenues of Rs 3,52,33,349 in the financial year 2015-16 From the GS Road area alone the municipal corporation earned around Rs 1 crore as revenue sentative said.

Moreover, this is not the first time that the government has cracked down on hoardings. In 2008 Dispur had imposed a ban on putting up new ones within seven meters of a footpath and between footpaths and roads. Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was also the Guwahati Development Department (GDD) minister then, had said that the crackdown had become imperative as the city was gradually acquiring the image of a “hoarding city” given the unregulated setting up of hoardings and billboards by vested interests.

The department had pulled down hoardings that were put up on and near the flyovers, on the dividers and bus stoppages and “obstruct” the view of the city’s natural beauty. However, the move did not survive for long.

The outdoor advertising business also came onto the radar of the district administration in the initial months of 2016 when the Kamrup metropolitan adminis-

tration instructed all commercial, semi-commercial and private institutions in the city to use Assamese as primary language on their hoardings and signboards. It was ordered to be made the primary medium of communication in all institutions. “Both government and private – must be Assamese.

Moreover, all signboards, hoardings, banners etc. of all commercial, semi-commercial and private institutions must primarily be in Assamese,” an official order said.

While the move ‘might’ add to the beautification of the city a thorough proceeding including the monitoring of the dismantled hoardings and the structures where the hoardings are mounted will play a key role. Moreover, it has also been learnt that following the move of making GS Road a hoarding-free zone the AT Road stretch is next in the pipeline that could hamper the advertising business in a telling manner. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Concern

Stork carcasses bring ecological threat to Deepor Beel under scanner

Kalyan Deb

In a big blow to the conservation efforts of the endangered greater adjutant stork, 22 carcasses of the bird were recovered from Deepor Beel on 23rd January.

File Photo: Boragaon Dupming Site

D

eepor Beel normally makes fatalities. Emphasising on the for a great outing and bird- seriousness of the incident the ing experience. On 23rd Deputy Commissioner ordered January however, carcasses of 22 a multidisciplinary inquiry by a greater adjutant storks were found magistrate heading a team that on both sides of the railway track included members of Guwahati near the railway bridge towards Municipal Corporation (GMC), the east of the Deepor Beel Bird Guwahati Metropolitan DevelopSanctuary. While conservationists ment Agency (GMDA), Pollution and officials of the forest depart- Control Board Assam (PCBA), ment are clueless about the possi- Fishery Department, Veterinary ble reason of the large-scale fatali- Department, WWF-India and ties, it is suspected that the cause Vulture Rehabilitation Centre, of death of the birds is pollution Rani. The inquiry team visited of the Beel caused by the dumping Deepor Beel the following day and ground of Guwahati Municipal made an on-the-spot assessment.

Corporation (GMC).

The team inspected the wetland Officials of the Guwahati Wildlife and its sources and collected waDivision said that it is not possi- ter samples for laboratory analyble sis. The garbage dump site nearby

was also visited. to pinpoint reasons without a post-mortem of the carcasses. It Dumping ground was also suspected that the deaths could stem from food poisonas a threat ing; details will unfold only after the required tests are carried out.

It was initially suspected that The carcasses have been sent to the birds may have consumed toxthe North Eastern Regional Diagic substances from the Guwahati nostic Lab of the College of Veterinary Science, Khanapara, for Municipal Corporation’s garbage a thorough analysis. It was also dump, located near the sanctuinformed that no other affected ary. The greater adjutant stork, a aquatic bird or animal have been highly endangered stork species, is found. Meanwhile, Deputy Com- a scavenger. Thus it was suspected missioner, Kamrup Metro, Dr that the bird must have consumed M Angamuthu has ordered an something from the dumping inquiry into the adjutant stork ground that resulted in their de-

mise. Several environmentalists had also opined that the presence of the dumping ground posed a threat to the proper conservation of the Ramsar Site. However, this is not the first time that the dumping ground has come under the scanner. In 2015, the National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone) imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 each on the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary-cum-Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) of the state for failing to file an affidavit on the issue of an alternative site for dumping of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) of Guwahati from Boragaon. Following the same, GMC had proposed a Rs. 195 crore project to the government to shift the dumping site to Panikhaiti near Narengi as allotted by the District Commissioner, Kamrup (Metro). It was informed that unlike the present dumping site in Boragaon, the site in Panikhaiti would be a garbage processing

ing ground. The area allotted in Panikhaiti was merely 20 bighas against 120 bighas in Boragaon and even that was opposed by the locals of the area. Moreover, it is not possible to travel to a distant place carrying all the garbage of the city which will only add to the expenses. From Guwahati itself, around 5,000 metric tons garbage is collected and there is no space

Of the 20 stork species found worldwide, the greater adjutant is the rarest. Of the global population of the greater adjutant stork (1,200 - 1,800), Assam alone shelters some 600-800. that can capacitate such quantity of garbage,” said Sanjib Gohain Baruah, Commissioner, Guwahati Municipal Corporation.

Moreover, as per the preliminary investigation of the cause of death of the 22 greater adjutant

From Guwahati itself, around 5000 metric tons garbage is collected and there is no space that can capacitate such quantity of garbage (other than the Boragaon dumping site),” Sanjib Gohain Baruah, Commissioner, GMC. unit and three projects will be carried out viz. organic manure, waste to energy and RDF (Refusederived fuel) plants for better utilisation of the collected garbage.

However, not everything went well for GMC as the locals did not allow the dumping ground to be established and even damaged vehicles belonging to GMC. “There is no availability of land within the vicinity of city that can capacitate the amount of garbage as the Boragaon dump-

The move was made in order to prevent unruly picnickers from creating a ruckus and polluting the lone Ramsar Site of the state but the prohibition is being violated with impunity by noisy crowds of picnickers with their waste littering the wetland. Meanwhile, conservationists also echo a similar opinion as the bird sanctuary was emerging as a new nuisance

storks no trace of toxic substances in the birds’ stomachs were found as tests showed the stomachs of the birds to be empty.

Threat by picnickers It was not too long ago that the police and administration had imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in the area around the (4.14 sq km core area of Deepor Beel) water body with effect from January 1, 2017.

with long-term damaging consequences for the wetland’s ecology and fauna.

Acknowledging the threat from picnickers, Dr Angamuthu had said that the administration was planning to put a curb on growing anthropogenic pressures – including picnics – on the wetland.

The greater adjutant stork has a high tolerance level to toxic substances as it often scavenges garbage for food. The waste generated by picnickers, specifically plastic wastes, is a big threat to the birds.

Of the 20 stork species found worldwide, the greater adjutant is the rarest. Of the global population of the greater adjutant stork (1,200 - 1,800), Assam alone shelters some 600-800. It is said to be the most endangered among the stork species. A major chunk of the population is found in the Brahmaputra Valley, and Kamrup District alone houses almost 50% of the total greater adjutant stork population in the state. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN JAN 29

MON JAN 30

TUE JAN 31

WED FEB 01

THU FEB 02

FRI FEB 03

Turning cloudy

Plenty of sunshine

Plenty of sunshine

Turning cloudy

Plenty of sunshine

Very warm

25° / 10° C

26° / 10° C

27° / 12° C

25° / 8° C

SATURDAY

28 January Hazy sunshine

21° / 10°C

26 / 09 °C juthika.baruah@g-plus.in 27° / 11° C

G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

7

Politicking

Will the cabinet expansion issue cause any rift in the coalition alliance?

Rahul Chanda

Sources said in order to conciliate party legislators seeking ministries, Sarbananda Sonowal is planning to induct six more BJP members in the cabinet, and give one berth each to AGP and BPF, but AGP and BPF are seeking two more berths each in the cabinet Will Siddhartha Bhattacharya get ministry?

Chandan Brahma, Angoorlata Deka, Hitendra Nath Goswami, Pijush Haarika (L-R)

O

n 24th May, 11 ministers took oath in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many other prominent politicians from across the country. Eight more MLAs will be inducted into the cabinet soon taking the ministry strength to 19 inclusive of the chief minister.

BJP’s alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodo People’s Front (BPF) are expecting a larger share in the expected expansion of Assam cabinet, increasing the BJP’s fear of wooing all. Who will be the speaker as, since long, Siddhartha Bhattacharya has been rumoured to be the most suitable candidate. And if he is asked, will he take the post? Who all are on the list of names who might be inducted into the ministry? G Plus talks to some sources and weighs the chances.

When and how big?

A senior journalist who is also a political observer, talking to G Plus, said in anonymity that there are usually several departments allotted to one minister which increases his work load and at the end of the day, the minister is not able to perform. The observer also said that if someone is a tribal he/ she gets a department related to tribal development. If someone is a doctor he gets the health ministry; the chief minister in Assam always keeps important departments like home with him. It is as if no other MLA can handle such a department. The observer said the system needs to be changed as it is all

about the power game. Everyone requires power and the new chief minister had also tactfully inducted ministers representing people from across Assam. Meanwhile, he kept important departments with him while placating the man of the match in BJP’s victory, Himanta Biswa Sarma, by giving him finance and other portfolios which were held by him in the past. Pondering on that ground, G Plus talked to former chief secretary HN Das who said that eight more ministers will be inducted as according to the Act of the Parliament there are fixed number of ministers who can be there in a state government. According to that Act, Assam can have 18 ministers and one chief minister. Das also said that it would have been better if one person handled one department but the Act makes it impossible. So, eight more ministers will be included. Now, who are they? A source in the BJP said that previously it was assumed that the cabinet reshuffle had been planned during Magh Bihu but as the budget session is around the corner, the source said that the reshuffle will be announced after the budget session as, if new ministers are inducted before the budget session, they would not be able to answer the questions during the assembly session.

The names A highly placed source in the BJP, talking to G Plus in anonymity, said that till now it is difficult to say who all will be inducted in

the new ministry but added that some names are doing the rounds.

He denied the popular assumption of Siddhartha Bhattacharya becoming the speaker as his name is on the list probable ministers.

Regarding the speaker, the source said that Jorhat MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami has a fair chance as, according to many party leaders, he is a good speaker and can take assembly decisions in an unbiased manner. The source said that the top names of the candidates who are there on the list of people who will be inducted in the new ministry are Batadroba MLA Angoorlota Deka, Raha MLA Pijush Hazarika, Sonari MLA Tapan Gogoi, Bongaigaon MLA Phani Bhusan Choudhury, Sidli MLA Chandan Brahma, Jonai MLA Dr Ronoj Pegu, Hojai MLA Shiladitya Dev and Gauhati East MLA Siddhartha Bhattacharya. According to the source, between Shiladitya and Pijush, either one might be inducted. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is caught in a deep predicament over the cabinet expansion as the coalition partners are expecting more ministerial berths. Coalition partners BPF and AGP have been demanding more berths in the soon to be expanded cabinet while his state party chief Ranjit Das is believed to have asked the chief minister not to proceed right now. Meanwhile, the president is in discussion with the party high command as also with other organisations which help BJP to take decisions. But will Siddhartha Bhattacharya get a ministry?

A highly placed source in the BJP talking to G Plus said that Siddhartha was asked to become the speaker but he declined the offer.

The source said that the Gauhati East MLA feels that he has around 10 to 15 more years of active political career and he feels that the post of a speaker is for someone who has gained enough political experience. The source said that Siddhartha is not ambitious enough to dream of becoming a chief minister but he wants to at least handle some ministries. The source said that because he declined the offer of speaker, the BJP high command is considering allotting some ministry to him as he is one of the senior BJP politicians of the state and is the man behind weaning Himanta away from the Congress which turned out to be the game-changing move for the saffron party in the 2016 assembly elections. Bhattacharya did not go to the oath taking ceremony on 24th May 2016 thereby raising many eyebrows. According to sources in the BJP it was entirely Sonowal’s decision and he inducted ministers representing all the areas of Assam. As Himanta is from Guwahati, Sonowal did not want to induct Siddhartha who is also from Guwahati. Some even say that both are Brahmins which again might be a reason. It is also said that the first time MLAs were decided not to be given any cabinet berths.

AGP, with 14 MLAs, has two ministers and BPF, with 12 legislators, has the same number of representatives in the cabinet.

BJP, which has 60 MLAs in the 126-member assembly, has seven ministers including Sonowal.

Sources say in order to conciliate party legislators seeking ministries, Sonowal is planning to induct six more BJP members in the cabinet, and give one berth each to AGP and BPF. According to media reports, taking a dig at the government’s reported desire to expand the cabinet at ‘an auspicious time,’ Rajya Sabha MP from BPF, Biswajit Daimary, recently said that BJP should wait for the opportune date, “but induct BPF and AGP MLAs soon.” He had earlier said that ministers have several portfolios each, affecting their performance. “The cabinet should be expanded soon to make it more effective.”

rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Snippets

Demonetisation will not end corruption/black money: P. Chidambaram

G Plus News

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he concept of demonetisation is completely nonsensical and will not end corruption and black money,” are the words of former

News excerpts from the Anjan Dutta Foundation Commemorative Lecture

Union Minister P. Chidambaram.

In his inaugural speech of the Anjan Dutta Foundation during the commemorative lecture on the topic ‘The 2016 Indian Demoneti-

sation and its effects on the common people and Indian Economy’ here in Guwahati, Chidambaram said that it is a complete hoax.

Giving a brief description about demonetisation Chidambaram said, “It means to withdraw and crash the currency and declare it illegal which does not have value thereafter which is said to be note bandi in Hindi but Modi Government has done note badli as he advised the people of the country to exchange the 500 and 1000 rupee notes. The word of the year 2016 was demonetisation and nine out of ten people has uttered the word demonetisation. The only countries which have demonetised their currencies were Zimbabwe, Libya and North Korea in the last 40-50 years and it is a shame that now India has demonetised its cur-

rency.”

He further added, “The capacity of four printing presses in India is only Rs 300 crore rupees per month which means it will need eight months to circulate the new currency but Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it will only need few days to overcome the problem. It is now three months but still there are scarcities of notes,” said Chidambaram.

He said that three officials should be concerned about demonetisation- the Finance Secretary, The Banking Secretary and the Chief Economic Adviser but since demonetisation has been declared these three officers have not even shown their face for the last 70 days. “Demonetisation has closed all the small and medium industries which is almost 80%. The car manufacturers have a decline

of 40% in sales and lakhs of jobs have been lost and the Prime Minister said that demonetisation will help the Indian economy. 11 crore people stand in queue everyday for 25-30 days only to draw their own money. It will take two years for the economy to get back,” said Chidambaram.

He also stated that black money arrives because of demand, where there is demand there is supply. Modi said about cashless transaction but the countries like Germany which is a developed country which is completely digitised runs in 80% cash, Austria which is completely digitised runs in 80% cash, Australia 60% cash, Canada 56% cash, United States of America 46% cash and in India today 97% runs in cash and the Government said that it will be completely cashless.

Dr B. Barooah Cancer Institute to be an affiliate of Tata Memorial Hospital Janasanyog/761/16

G Plus News

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ollowing a landmark decision, Guwahati’s Borooah Cancer Institute will hereafter be an affiliate of the Tata Memorial Centre for Cancer, Mumbai.

Announcing this on Wednesday, in his capacity as Chairman, Board of Directors of Dr B. Borooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh disclosed that, with

the new arrangement coming into force from Wednesday, the Guwahati Cancer Centre will be an Aided Institute of the Department of Atomic Energy.

Considering high prevalence of cancer, particularly the cancer of head and neck and naso-pharynx in this part of the country, he said, this will prove to be a great boon for the entire region, thus offering cost-effective management and absolute cure for many of the cancers without having to go elsewhere to distant places for treatment.

Two from Assam conferred with Padma Shri

G Plus News

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li Ahmed and Jitendra Nath Goswami of Assam have been conferred the prestigious Padma Shri Award for the year 2017. The award has been conferred to them in recognition of their lifetime contributions in the fields of literature, education,

science and engineering. Congratulating them on the achievement, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “Assam is proud of the honour bestowed on Eli and Goswami. The awards will delve a major boost to literature and science and engineering in the state.”

G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Presents

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Buzz

The Brahmaputra Literary Festival What’s on the cards

Drishti Sharma

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n ingenious effort to foster literary taste whilst promoting writing and reading, the 3-day Brahmaputra Literary Festival (BLF) cites itself as a harbinger of culture, literary diversification, languages and traditional performance practices while aligning itself to its roots in the northeast. This social affair won’t just empower new thoughts but will likewise make a climate of energy and offer a stage for scholarly trades. Following the name, the festival is taking place in the capital city of Guwahati at Srimanta Shankardev Kalakshetra. The venue in itself is a powerful indicator of northeast’s major artistic experience and cultural conglomeration.

Given the fact that scale of literary events in this part of the country is steeply rising, BLF comes as a welcome surprise.

With promising authors, activities and agendas, they aim to create an event of massive exposure in an exponential environment and make them available to one and all. The essential parts of the celebration will incorporate panel dialogs on issues concerning books, writing and dialect, In-Conversation sessions with essayists, reading sessions and additionally social projects displaying indigenous societies. The festival foregrounds activities like manuscript pitching and Poetry Reading on a cruise.

Promoted by bodies like National Book Trust and Publication Board, Assam, the State has ensured maximum participation and reach in tandem with their

agendas. Both these bodies have significantly contributed to enhancing our language, our writing and our way of life.

The BLF boasts as many as over 60 sessions, 150+ authors supported by a community of 20+ languages. Featuring writers such as Achala Moulik who is also a renowned former bureaucrat and Carlo Pizzati, a Swiss-born fiction and non-fiction writer and award winning journalist the festival has managed to create a niche in contributing to the north-eastern literary tradition in a rich and elaborate manner.

There are six stages of the BLF situated at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra. The scenes which have been named after a portion of the stalwarts of Indian writing and culture are as per the following: Tagore Hall, Pandita Ramambai Hall, Premchand Hall, Subramania Bharati Hall, Nalinibala Devi Hall, and Bezbarua Hall.

Parallel sessions at all six settings are being directed at the BLF. Since it is not an insignificant rundown, here is our pick - Top 5 sessions to watch out for (in no particular order) 1. At Peace With War and Conflict Literature Linda Christanty, Madhu Gurung, Utpal Borpujari, Francois Gautier, Reeta ChowdhuryModerated by Rajeev Wijesinha 2. Poetry, Art and Theatre: Search for Common Grounds

Kanaka Ha Ma, Vivek Minezez (Mod.), Rafiqul Hussain, Baharul Islam, Rabijita Gogoi 3. The Long and Short of it: Changing Narratives in Indian Cinema Haobam Paban Kumar, Manju Borah, Ugyen Tsering, Rohit Khilnani, Utpal Borpujari (Mod), Khalid Mohammad, Pankaj Subir.

literary enthusiasts to sprawl the place. The Brahmaputra Literary Festival also has a special event that delivers a selective stage for maturing creators, where they get an opportunity to pitch their original copy to distributers and authorizing editors at an open gathering. A jury containing distributers and editors, around 5 to 7, nearby and from somewhere else in the nation effectively take part at the fest.

LitMart@BLF 2017 The Brahmaputra Literary Festival is upbeat to welcome creators to introduce their unpublished work to a famous jury. The details and further information about the same can be accessed at http://brahmaputraliteraryfestival.com/activities/ The BLF is also set to host a Poetry Reading Session on a Cruise- with Mamang Dai and Desmond to Moderate the Readings. The experience is one of a kind and enthralling in its prospective execution. As a city which is also a major connois-

Word (I, II,III) in the Bezbarua Hall. By combining this initiative with real time programs like Demystifying Publishing, BLF succeeds in amalgamating the practical with the magic of literature.

This massification and the separating of the partition between high-temples and tasteless abstract culture with a lit fest has been joined by two marvels.

Lit fests in India have intentionally tried to standardize-sometimes sported by their own scholars - a total separation amongst writing and governmental issues imagined as a moral duty.

Also, writing celebrations have filled in as apparatuses to incorporate writing and artistic work into the instrumental rationale of the neo-liberal economy. A lit fest, debatable or not, is sure an experience for one to judge their own selves. That being said, artistic imagination and market-cognizant innovativeness join hands to welcome you.

The Panelist

4. Divergences and Convergences: Style and Content in Indian English Poetry and Language Poetry Makarand Paranjape, (Mod) Mamang Dai, Desmond Kharmawphlang, Aniz Uz Zaman, Nilim Kumar, Kanaka Ha Ma, Nanda Kumar Dev Barman, Sanjay Chakraborty, Jwishri Boro 5. Soliloquies: New Writings from languages K R Meera, Charu Nivedita, Monikuntala Bhattacharjya, Bibhash Choudhury (Mod) The BLF team commits to bring under one rooftop a portion of the best essayists, authors, VIP speakers, neighborhood dialect authors, writers, literaturesignificant others, columnists, socialites, the literati - to outline one of the most terrific jamborees that the abstract world energetically turns up to.

After having gained significant traction and coverage in publications and media alike, the event is convincing many

Carlo Pizzati

Achala Moulik

Jahnavi Borah seur of written and spoken word in its own culturally expansive traditions, Guwahati stands tall shoulder to shoulder with modern dynamics which seem to have influenced a vast sectional difference between talks such as East and the North-East of India: Dynamics of Neighborhood Contemporary Literature and involving foreign writing dignitaries like Neal Hall under the segment of a foreign perspective of India.

The festival has also targeted its propaganda in the form of cultural programs like Song of the

Selina Hossain

Tenzing Tsundue This January, Guwahati City is set to change into one bubbling pot of social cracklers with the excellent Kalakshetra seeing three days of unabated exchanges, readings and civil arguments.

The Brahmaputra Literature Festival is a certain shot social impetus, presenting gatherings of people to intelligent workshops and cultural sessions. Has it got all the necessary ingredients for a successful social event is a collective probability - or ratheronly time will tell.

G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

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Concern

2,753 girl children go missing from Assam in 2015-16

Juthika Baruah

National Girl Child Day, celebrated in the city on 24th January, was initiated by the Women and Child Development Ministry to celebrate as national observance

Representative Image. Source Deccan Chronicle

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ender roles are conceived, taught and enacted in a complex set of relationships within the family and society at large and girls grow up with a notion of temporary membership in her natal home to be disposed off with assets and dowry.

The nation celebrated National Girl Child Day on 24th January but girls remain most vulnerable to crimes. In 2015-16, 2,753 girl children went missing from the state of Assam and in 2014 alone at least 129 girls were reported to have been forced into prostitution by traffickers who took them to metros in other states with the promise of lucrative jobs.

UTSAH Child Rights Agency, in collaboration with State Child Protection Society, Social Welfare Department, Government of Assam and UNICEF ASSAM celebrated National Girl Child Day and launched “KONYA SOBOLIKORONOR GOLPO”- an educative comic strip for children.

The girl child is breast-fed for a shorter time and drawn out of school to take care of siblings. The

cycle of deprivation and disadvantage is further compounded by early marriage, premature pregnancies and expected risks. According to the Annual Health Survey report of 2010-11, 10 districts in Assam have underage marriage rates higher than the state and national averages, which stand at 21 and 22 per cent respectively. Besides, among the married women in the age group of 20-24, the state average of those who were married before 18 is as high as 39.4 per cent. In tea gardens and char areas, the cases are much higher.

Child marriage is also high in the Muslim communities.

Women face higher risks of malnutrition, disease, disability, retardation of growth and development. The findings of a report prepared by National Foundation of India (NFI), a Delhi-based non-profit, in collaboration with an Assam-based NGO, revealed that in four districts—Darrang, Sonitpur, Dibrugarh and Chirang 53 per cent of all children in 2-5 year age group, were stunted (low height for age). In the same age

group, 21.8 per cent were severely stunted, applying WHO definitions for both.

According to Assam Human Development Report, 2014, 32.09 per cent of children in the age group of 6-16 are ‘out of school’ and they are being engaged in work for the earning of livelihood.

31.50 per cent children leave school as they are not interested in studies and Assam’s dropout rate is much higher than that of the national average of 4.67, 3.13 and 14.54 respectively.

A study conducted by “Pratham” shows that enrolment of girl children in both government and private schools is lower than that of boys. A large number of girls, especially in rural areas, don’t even attend school and among those who attend schools the drop-out rate is very high. This is because the girls have to engage in domestic and child care activities when parents are at work. The girl child needs to be empowered to enter the mainstream of economic and social activity. The ultimate goal is to have an active,

You can now get your passport done at Head Post Offices too

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ost offices will soon start issuing passports, with the ministry of external affairs working jointly with the department of posts to simplify the delivery of the important document to travel abroad and cover people on a larger scale. Head post offices across the country will now dou-

G plus News

ble as Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK).

The ministry explained that the government’s objective was to reach out to the people located far away from passport offices. It said the latest initiative would enable the government to deliver passport related services “in a timely,

transparent, more accessible, and reliable manner.” The service will be rolled out at all head post offices in a phased manner. The new rules also simplified the process for single parents, divorced or separated people and adopted children.

healthy and confident female child unfettered by socio-cultural patterns and traditional roles with equal access to knowledge information and opportunities. The position of the girl child cannot be looked at in isolation. Her status is a product of the general societal attitudes towards women at large. They have no access of control over resources. Their work is invisible and hence undervalued.

All their disabilities are powerfully reinforced through our culture, media, education and socialization process.

Girl children are entitled to equal access of all resources. This entitlement is frequently denied.

Discrimination that begins at the girl’s birth has a cumulative effect on inequality, producing despair and powerlessness. The beginnings must be made with the girl child herself. Unless the girl internalizes the concept and experience of equity, as an adult she may tolerate and even perpetuate gender disparity. At present the girl child is denied the very acquisition of an identity. The right to personhood is a primary right and must be extended to the girl child. Also her rights to dignity, health, education are not visibly supported by the family or society.

There must be concrete action on this count.

Dr. Tushar Rane, Chief of Field, UNICEF Assam, while delivering his speech on the occasion of National Girl Child Day, elaborated on the relevance of the celebration of National Girl Child Day. He touched upon the crucial aspect of child health, wherein girl children are deprived of adequate healthcare, when compared to boy children. Also, that it is important for children to have proper nutritious food. “In our State anaemia is a common health problem and girl children often suffer for this.

Fatigue and lack of concentration

are symptoms associated with anaemia. Health care should be able to accessible for girl and boy children alike”, he said. He urged upon the boy children to play a proactive role in ensuring that girl children in their families have the first.

M Barman, In-charge ICPS, Social Welfare Department, Government of Assam, spoke about the commitment of the Government of Assam about the empowerment of girl children across the State. He talked about the variety of initiatives undertaken by the State Child Protection Society.

Touching upon the social issues faced by girl children in the State, like child marriage, malnutrition etc., he said it was important to celebrate the National Girl Child Day to remind us about our goal of achieving a just society for every girl child.

Founder of UTSAH, Miguel Das Queah said that it is important to break from traditional gender stereotypes, if we were to empower our girl children. juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Snippets

Rotaract Club of Guwahati Luit Grand Republic Day celebrations at city school G Plus News gets Chartered G Plus News

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otaract Club of Guwahati Luit got chartered under Rotary Club of Tezpur & Guwahati Luit. Tushar Jalan took oath as the Charter President & Saurav Jhunjhunwala as Secretary along with 25 other members.

PDG.Prabhat Kedia, was the Chief guest on the occasion. During his address to the gathering he encouraged the members to organize as many activities under the aegis of the Rotaract Club.

The Guest of Honor, Rtn. Karthik Kittu, Rotary International Rotaract & Interact Committee Member & Founder President Rotaract South Asia in his address briefly explained the importance of Youth Involvement in Rotary and told them to join Rotary in serving Humanity and congratulated the new office bearers and members.

Rotaract Club of Guwahati Luit will focus on serving the so-

ciety. Theme is “Empower Youth.

Make Difference. They would be focusing on projects such as ambulance awareness, making people literate etc. 25 members have joined the club & will work hard on various project helping the needy ones. ‘The club will also focus on developing professional skills of its members as well as building international relations all over the globe’ said Tushar Jalan, Charter President.

Rotaract is Rotary Club Partner which is celebrating the 100th Year of Rotary Foundation.

Founded in Chicago, USA on February 23, 1905 - Rotary is a global network of volunteers who share a passion for enhancing communities and improving lives around the world. Rotary’s top priority is the global eradication of polio - a paralyzing yet vaccine-preventable disease that is now 99.9 percent eliminated from the world.

‘Assam’s rice wine qualifies for GI registration’ G Plus News

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he “Judima” traditional rice wine, a popular alcoholic beverage of Assam’s Dimasa tribe and an integral part of the community’s social and cultural life is a fit candidate for geographical indication (GI) registration, a don at New Delhi’s Indian Law Institute said.

Under the international agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the GI tag is assigned to a product that has a specific

geographical origin and possesses qualities or a reputation that are unique to that place. The GI recognition gives local producers exclusive brand protection.

The taste of Judima is a result of the plant Thembra and various other ingredients used in a particular manner known exclusively to the Dimasa community. So, without doubt, Judima is a traditional knowledge of the Dimasa community and is a strong case for getting GI registration.

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he Royal Global School (RGS) fraternity celebrated the 68th Republic Day of India amidst an august gathering of dignitaries, management, staff members, parents and students.

Honorable Uttarakhand Justice, Mr VK Bist graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The event com-

menced with a welcome address by two young anchor persons, Aman Bhuyan and Tanuj Barooh who appraised the gathering about the significance of this fortuitous day in the history of India. The National Flag was then hoisted by the chief guest followed by an impressive parade demonstrated by the

RGS NCC students. The Principal of RGS, Mrs Anubha Goyal, then took over the podium to greet the gathering. She encouraged the students to uphold the true spirit of independent India and uproot corruption from our midst. She urged the youth to take pride in their rich cultural heritage and work towards building a progressive and prosperous nation. The school choir then mesmerized the audience with a soul-stirring song venerating our motherland.

In his address, the chief guest, Honorable Chief Justice Mr VK Bist appealed to the students to undertake a pledge on this Republic Day towards creating a future wherein every citizen is entitled to one of the basic needs for survival - food. The event then witnessed a resplendent dance recital showcasing the integrity and diversity that binds this nation together.

The program concluded with the release of tri-coloured balloons.

G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

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Special

Republic Day Celebrations 2017

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Lifestyle

Painting from life

VAASTU SHASTRA

A Healthier & Happier Mind

• A workshop with artists drawing from a live model ainting from a live setting model’s pose? What would be the where the painting is completed in turns out the most effective surroundings? How much light or one go, the work involves almost 8 artworks. Most artists start shade? These are very pertinent to 10 hours. Again, in case of other from life and then many move on things to consider. Once these styles, the painting takes longer to do more imaginary or abstract are set, the actual painting starts. but that means the model and work later. To set one’s style, un- Every twenty minutes or so, the the artist have to be careful about derstand perspective and colour, model has to be given a break as striking the same pose in the same one must start from life. it is not possible to sit in a pose position without any change!

I have already spoken about for long. The challenge is to come I have subjected many to my the outdoor painting work, which back to the same pose after the experiments with live painting!

I will continue in later columns. short break! Unlike the typical My daughter has been my most Let me today speak about the models that we see in the media, favourite subject. It is another other form of live painting – por- a model here doesn’t have to be matter that she never sees a likelitraiture or figurative. It is easier to good looking. The anatomy, pos- hood of her face to what I draw! draw from life when one is out- ture, light and shade are the things One woman I drew has cut all ties doors or do a still life work. One that are studied in such artworks. with me after seeing my painting Though challenging, a paint- of her! needs to adjust with the object or scene to paint. Period. However, ing from a live model is excruKasturi Borkotoki.

Kasturi is a palette knife artist and when it comes to portraits or fig- ciating for the artist. It involves paints impressionist floral designs a great deal of concentration, ures, it is a more complicated job. in oils. She hails from Guwahati. For More visit: http://kasturiscanvas.

The whole story starts from crouching and bending to get the blogspot.com/ the composition. What will be the details right. Certain techniques

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Sleep with your head in the south facing north.

Get up in the morning and step out of bed by placing your right foot on the ground. Do Surya Namaskar or bow to the morning sun.

Keep the north eastern part of your house light and without any heavy furniture. Keep the north eastern corner always clean and tidy.

Place heavy furniture in the south western corner of the house.

Master of the house should occupy the south west room of the house.

Never rent out the southwestern room.

Never blow out the lamp at puja while leaving your house.

Do not throw rubbish or garbage on the northern or eastern part of the house.

Defects in the East and Surya Yantra Vaastu defects in the east can affect the children in terms of growth and progress, besides health and finances. Common defects in the east are cluttered, windowless, blocked East or presence of a toilet at east. Surya or Sun is the Ruler of the East.

The sun is responsible for selfconfidence, the soul, ego, identity and the divine self. Installing a Surya Yantra at the position of the defect at east will strengthen the subtle powers of the sun in the house.

Surya Yantra appeases the planet Sun which stands for power and authority. During times of trouble at job or business or suffering from diseases etc, worship of Lord Sun through Surya Namaskar is advised. Difficulties can be overcome and diseases can be cured with good health through pooja of this yantra. After pooja, this yantra can be kept on the body or worshipped in the home temple.

The seed Mantra for this yantra is “Om Hreem Suryay Namah.”

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

G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Eating Out of the Box

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he city of Guwahati has people flocking in from different parts of Assam and from neighboring States looking for better opportunities in career, education and health and of-

ten staying away from home and homecooked food. Today, working couples and students are putting extra time at work and studies respectively. This are left them with either of having street food or

Lifestyle ready to eat packages. Street food ing the man behind The Foodbox or fast food has a share of advan- has made me see his sheer passion tages i.e. speed and cost. After a and every challenge that comes long day at work or college, one up is just small detour to be overwould prefer to eat a meal which come. His positive attitude shines is served on the platter than make through and it makes you believe one from scratch. The same goes that an idea is only that is required to be become an with ready to Entrepreneur eat meals that and do good comes in various EATING DIFFERENT work. packets. HowTheFoodBox ever street food or fast food comes with warnings is now providing meals to students that keep screaming every time and stay alone career persons at we grab a bite. They are cooked in competitive price and ensuring unhygienic conditions, with un- that you do not miss your Mum’s washed vegetables and utensils on cooking. Although, at the moment which food is served. Occasional the delivery is just concentrated in meal or having outside food in central Guwahati, plans are afoot moderation won’t hurt our health, to cover the whole city. Hygiene is but eating on a regular basis is paramount and delivery of food is not a favourable option. This gap always on time. Shankar is scaling faced especially by working cou- up organically and is a young leadples and students is what needs to er with a vision, his only concern being that food must not taste like be addressed.

Shanker Chetri has made it his restaurant meals, and it should mission to provide healthy food remind one of home. They have on a budget through his company a choice of both vegetarian and “The Foodbox.” Starting with a non vegetarian option and will dream and with limited resources, soon also be launching a Premium he has built a strong loyal clien- Menu along with newer options in tele and it is only growing. Meet- the regular menu.

How to Create A Life Of True Fulfillment

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he seed becomes a tree and then the tree becomes a seed. So the fulfillment of the seed is in becoming a seed again. Unless the seed becomes a tree, and tree bears fruit, the seed is not complete and the cycle is not complete. From a seed to a seed is the whole journey. It starts with one and becomes many seeds. In the same way, the human life finds its fulfillment when it realizes the vast nature of its being; when it realizes that ‘I am not just the body, I am more than the body. I am not just an individual, I am much more than that’. This alone can bring fulfillment. Till this awareness comes, there is restless inside.

The way to get this fulfillment is through three things: 1. Awareness (Bodh) 2. Unity (Yog) 3. Love (Prem) These are the three ways for the seed to realize its total potential.

Awareness means being aware that everything is a dream. Wake up and see the dream nature of everything. ‘I am nothing’, ‘I don’t need anything’, ‘I belong to everyone’, ‘I am everybody’ that is Bodh.

Union (Yog) is that which cannot be expressed in words. It is only realized in the experience. Realizing that everything is one and I am That is Yog. Love again cannot be tied to words. It is our true form. It is not a feeling. We often think that love is a feeling, this is wrong. This is why people always get entangled in it.

Look back in your own life, do you have an experience of your own birth?

Do you remember? No! At the age of two or three you suddenly started realizing some things in this world, I won’t say everything. Then by the age of four

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years, you start realizing your identity.

But if you are asked, “Were you really born?” You don’t know! We were there, that we all know. It’s a really abstract thing but it’s really very concrete.

Let me give you an example. You make a pot out of a ball of mud. When you make the pot, the space inside the pot is born. But can you say that the space was born? Can you say that space inside the pot was created? What was created? The boundary of the pot was created, but was the space created? No! Now what has value? The mud has value or the space inside the pot has the value? Nobody buys space and neither does anyone buy a ball of mud ball. What you buy is the space within the mud.

That has some value.

Now, the same is with human life. It has ability to expresses the infinity. The infinity is anyways there, but it has no value. Life is also there on earth but it has not same as human life. It is human life which expresses infinity that brings total satisfaction.

How to do you express infinity which is anyways there? Through Awareness, unconditional love and union. When the small mind realizes I am united with infinity, that is called Yoga. Not just doing exercises. When the small mind realizes that ‘I am no longer the small mind, I am part of the big mind ‘.

You know in uniting also it appears that there are two things that you are trying to unite. This is a recognition that I am part of the something big. This is a step towards Aham Brahmasmi. One step before that is ‘I am part of it’. shri shri ravi shankar Founder- Art of Living Foundation

Shankar Chetri, a graduate from the Indian Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata and has done an Entrepreneurial program with IIM- Shillong, which has broadened his ideas to take the bold step of being an Entrepreneur.

The target audiences are office goers, working women, students to whom we can provide healthy and homely food at location convenient to them, may that be office or home or educational institutions. The Tiffin business is thriving and is unorganized in nature.

With the plush of working professionals in India, food is an undying business. With innovation in terms of variety in meals catering to the vegetarians and non-vegetarians and packaging of food, we wish to change the Tiffin industry and provide a service which will help many.

Kashmiri Nath Foodie, owner at XOXO cupcakes, food blogger, recipe developer and expert on Assamese cuisine

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Terrorism trade

ombs! It costs money to make them, you know!

Blasting six of them must have cost something in millions to the ULFA. And then of course is the chosen day and timing: Republic Day. Just so, the peace that we had come to take for granted, lies shattered. But let’s all take heart. There hasn’t been a single casualty. So what do we make of this? Have the blasts been a failure that not a single person was killed? Has all that money gone down the drain? Or is it such that even in these demonetized times, purportedly initiated to counter terrorism, is the ULFA still so cash-rich that it can afford to trigger blasts so perfectly as not to kill anyone but just to make an illguided statement once more?

For oft I have pondered about the business aspect of terrorism ever since those dreadful times when bomb blasts were part of daily newspaper headlines. I particularly fondly recall the series of blasts that took place towards late 2006 leading up to the National Games scheduled for February, 2007; a scary proposition was placed by the dreaded outfit that the Games be either called the Axom Games or not be held at all. The blasts continued unabated until a sudden change of heart by the ULFA virtually shoved peace down our throats. The Games were an unqualified success and ULFA refused to make its presence felt – not one round-of-fire bit, forget bombs. Now, the most formidable journalist of those times (and she owned a TV news channel to boot) smelt a rat and, post the games, she released that salacious piece of news that big money had exchanged hands through some

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agency in Kolkata. Yes, money to the tune of crores. A badly stung ULFA, fearing a total loss of credibility I suppose, issued a chilling ultimatum to the lady to pack up her TV channel and leave the state within a specified time frame. What she did however, was create an addition to her TV channel by gifting the people of Guwahati with an FM Radio channel that very Rongali Bihu. For all her forthrightness, she is today in jail as part of the Saradha scam – a recipient of tainted money. Business it was all, big business!

As a layman pondering, I am entitled to my fancy thoughts; wishful they might be but not without reason. And yet I find myself totally inadequate in unravelling the money making mechanism that our local terrorism allows or thrives on. The Republic Day bomb blasts by the ULFA have made as much noise as a small whimper and yet there was money spent on making them. There was money spent on hoodwinking the state police’s intelligence in as much as the bombs were snuck in and placed at the safest possible spots across several towns.

Again perhaps, there was money spent on other miscellaneous accounts that we lay people are unaware of. What galls me is where and how is the money earned? Lots to learn about this terrorism trade I guess.

Swapnil Bharali Editor

Upsetting the Raj

One of the most trivial profiles of the Government, one that is known mostly to attend state functions and represent the events as a dignitary has sure been the talk of the town in several states in the BJP tenure. The tenure for the Governor in the BJP government has been one of the most sensitive topics. And for everyone who said that BJP and RSS are two very different bodies, they share quite the chemistry with each other.

It has become difficult to assess whether the problem is in the RSS or the BJP, but the point of the matter is that the state mechanism is suffering.

Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan has resigned after nearly 100 members of his staff alleged in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he had “compromised the dignity” of the Governor’s House and turned it into a “young ladies’ club.”

Although the RSS veteran has refuted the allegations, he has tendered his resignation.

This has come as a shocker in Meghalaya after MLA Julius Dorphang was also involved in the rape of a minor. Meghalaya is not as clean as Mawlynnong (Asia’s cleanest Village) claims it to be. The BJP appointed Governors have not only been tainted with molestation charges but also, for saying “Hindustan is for Hindus” (PB Acharya, Assam), calling a certain section of people “potential terrorists” (Tathagata Roy, Tripura) and for being over involved with ‘love-jihad.’

However, the question that arises is not of Meghalaya or a state, but the Governors that have been “strategically placed” by the central government across the states that it was looking to ‘control.’

Going by the records over the past year, the Governors have been extremely callous with their words (I’m not sure if it is the RSS factor in them that makes them think that they are immune to everything). And unfortunately, the Centre’s solution to it has been to give control of multiple states to one Governor which makes these state heads over worked and over powered to a certain extent.

What exactly are the criteria that the Central Government looks for when appointing these Governors? Is it just the RSS factor, or does it require an additional taint? Finally, why need Governors at all?

SIDHARTH BEDI VARMA

The grand success of demonetization Sandeep Khaitan

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he year 2016 was the year of Black Swans, the biggest one being Donald Trump trumping Hillary Clinton, leaving the credibility of American media that never saw it coming, in total shambles. Closer home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook the game-changing demonetisation exercise in an exemplary show of courage and foresight.

Naysayers have been quick to dismiss the demonetisation initiative, citing the fact that a large part of the demonetised currency has found its way back into the coffers of banks. Even without the noteban, the Modi Government has unearthed more than a whopping Rs 1.44 lakh crores by way of unaccounted wealth in the last two and a half years, of which more than Rs 66,000 crores is money declared under IDS (Income Disclosure Scheme), Rs 53,000 crores is amount evaded via indirect taxes and Rs 25,000 crores is undisclosed income, including money laundered into some foreign banks — now under scrutiny by the Income Tax department.

Now, coming back to demonetisation, what most economists have either due to sheer ignorance or wilfully ignored, is the fact that, of the total demonetised currency that found its way into the banking system, approximately Rs 7.34 lakh crores are bulk deposits. Of this, almost a good 4 lakh crore rupees have merited attention from Income Tax authorities and the Enforcement Directorate because of good reasons, including one of Rs 25,000 crores that suddenly appeared in dormant accounts, Rs 80,000 crores that is money repaid in cash for prior period loans taken, Rs 10,700 crores in bank accounts in north-eastern states, Rs 16,000 crores in a few co-operative banks, and so on.

Thus, those dismissing the demonetisation drive as a futile measure are indulging in wishful thinking. If indeed 4 lakh crore rupees of the total scrapped currency that came back into the banking system was unaccounted

Opinion

for, then Modi vice tax numbers for the period would have April-December 2016 are even achieved more better — at 43% and 24% respecthan what he set tively. The icing on the cake has out to do on that certainly been the IIP number for evening of No- November 2016, that surged to a vember 8, 2016.

13-month high at 5.7%, driven by Remember a 15%, 9.8%, 8.9% jump respecthat this sum is tively in capital goods production, roughly 4% of consumer durables and electricIndia’s GDP, and ity generation. Yes, these robust more impor- numbers benefit from a low ‘basetantly, it is 26% effect’, but 5.7%, even off a low of the currency base, is commendable. that was demonThe biggest beneficiary of etised! If 26% of demonetisation has unarguably the scrapped cur- been the poor man on the street, rency emerges thanks to retail inflation down to a as unaccounted three-year low at 3.4% in Decemwealth after fi- ber 2016, and food inflation even nal numbers are lower at 1.37%. Don’t forget that collated, then inflation is the most regressive detractors of the form of taxation, hitting the poor Modi Government would have the hardest. In November 2013, shredded their own credibility to retail inflation and food inflation embarrassing bits, because num- under a failed Congress-led UPA, bers don’t lie. stood at 11% and 15%.

The big takeaway is not what Moving away from the ecoportion of the scrapped currency nomics of demonetisation, where has returned as deposits into the the Modi Government has scored banking system. It cannot be a ba- massively is on the social impact. rometer of demonetisation’s suc- Be it Pakistan-sponsored terrorcess. What matters is what portion ism in Kashmir or hawala fundof the money that came back into ing or the Rs 400 crore counterfeit banks is wealth that had never currency (FICN) racket, there been accounted for but suddenly has been a 50-60% dip in each of found its way into formal banking these, not to mention the fact that channels.

Government presses in Quetta The fact that UPI, RuPay and and Karachi, infamous for abetmobile wallets saw a 1,342%, ting the FICN racket, have run out 446% and 210% jump respectiveof business, post-demonetisation. ly in the number of transactions between November 8 and De- True, Maoists and their battered cember 25, 2016, is a precursor of sympathisers have called demonthings to come. A big beneficiary etisation a “financial emergency,” of the entire note-ban exercise but no one expects any better has been the average middle class, from a bunch of Naxalites and salaried Indian what with lend- jihadis who have had their back ing rates (MCLR) by key banks broken, borne out of the fact that being slashed by almost 80-100 564 Maoists surrendered last Nobasis points, from 9% to about vember alone.

Some sections of our mis8% in many cases. This has led to informed media that are still to a fall in home loan rates.

Property prices, that were ar- come to terms with the resoundtificially kept elevated by nefari- ing mandate of the BJP-led NDA ous builders, have fallen by 30- Government in 2014, would do 40%, and rightfully so, given that well to read excerpts from the 919 million square feet of un- The Guardian, which says that, sold inventory exists in just four thanks to demonetisation, human metros of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, trafficking has virtually stopped Bangalore Hyderabad. True, car in places like Assam, Meghalaya, sales took a hit, but RC Bhargava, Manipur, Nepal and Bangladesh, chairman of Maruti Suzuki, has including at the notorious ‘Siliguri on record stated that the dip in corridor’ and Khalpara. Research car sales was primarily due to by global rescue groups says that inventory de-stocking by deal- demonetisation will eventually ers. Do note that between April help save the lives of at least 50,000 and December 2016, car sales Indian women and children every surged by a good 9.3% for Maruti. year who could otherwise fall prey Again, domestic air traffic growth to the notorious $20 trillion globin December 2016 came in at a al human trafficking industry.

Hence, for the self-masquersolid 22.3%, rising for 20 straight months in a row, topping global ading activists against poverty, for human rights, justice and equality, charts.

The 31.6% year-to-year jump and a divided and feeble opposiin excise tax collections in De- tion that has lost its mojo, there is cember 2016, coupled with a no place to hide. The guilty who 12.4% year-to-year jump in ser- have had a kosher existence under vice tax, is again a good reminder a diabolically corrupt and inept to naysayers of demonetisation Congress regime that ruined the that the economy is on the right socio-economic fabric of India, track. In fact, the excise and ser- cannot preach.

G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

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In Focus

Meet

Himangshu Prasad Das Is cruelty towards animals for the sake of entertainment like Jallikattu, Mohor Juuj or Bulbuli Fight justified in the name of upholding tradition?

Actor/Writer/Director/Playwright

Darshana Garg If this is the case, then burning mejis must be causing air pollution too.

But does that mean we should stop it? But we will not do that will we?

Even though I am extremely against animal cruelty, I believe tradition is something which has been carried out across generations. It might stop in the future, but I’m just speaking my mind.

Shanan Chakraborty All of us should go vegan! This will result in saving millions of animals everyday. All forms of cruelty should be banned whether it is from Jallikattu, Mohor Jooz, Boli Pratha or Kurbani at Bakri-Eid..

Parag Chamuah I feel it is high that that we Assamese follow the way shown by Tamilians and their effort to protect their culture. It’s a festive sport and not weekly event and it doesn’t kill the animals.

Kaushik Pathak This is utterly wrong. People have complicated the issue. It’s pretty simple as to how the festival functions. If you leave two male buffalos in the wild that’s what they exactly do, they fight! So where did cruelty come in this natural way of life? If humans are having a good time observing it, how can you curb those male buffalos from doing what nature taught them to do?

Nilutpal Timsina When you’re a non vegetarian, you can’t question anything. If you’re vegan, I feel it is only then that you get the right to talk about animal cruelty. But when you’re not, then people should not be discussing this.

The removal of local Assamese movies for the promotion of Bollywood Movies has been widely questioned by the people. Here are some reactions Abikal Borah In the wake of the recent events connected to Himanshu Prasad Das’ film, Shakira Ahibo Bokul Tolor Bihuloi, it is clear our industry is once again being meted out a step motherly treatment in our own state. At a time when our movement is gaining momentum and Assamese filmmakers are working diligently to make a difference, we will not support such injustice. A film running successfully cannot be taken off the theatres midweek!

We request the filmmaker to call for a press conference and we assure full support and participation from FFA. It is important that the appeal is directed towards the government to bring about a law or policy change because without that we will not be able to fight this battle. This is the time to stand up for our rights. Let us be united in this hour of crisis!

Bhargab Dutta To me his letter is an intelligent move but will not elicit a solution except for creating issues. The Maharashtra government has made it compulsory to have at least one show in prime time in every multiplex for Marathi movies. This is how solutions are arrived at. Everyone is in business to earn money. There is no point getting jealous of Hindi movies; we need to be smart to find a balanced approach. Not exhibiting Hindi movies would lead to closure. We have already seen that. And people will watch as per their choice. To me, this letter is just to bring back the attention, nothing else.

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hakira Aahibo Bokul Tolor Bihuloi!’ This is the name of a movie and as unconventional as it sounds the movie is not the first time that the script will be presented to an Assamese audience. Before being scoured, revised, sculpted and adapted for presentation on the silver screen, popular theatre director Himangshu Prasad Das’s brainchild “Shakira Aahibo Bokul Tolor Bihuloi” has been presented to the Assamese theatre audience several times. The cinematic adaptation of his popular drama of the same name and its transformation into a celluloid production has been mounted on a budget of Rs 30 lakhs; a fair part of the money has been obtained through crowd-funding. Even as this interview is being penned out, the movie is all set to release on 20th January.

The movie revolves around the intense rivalry among village folk during Rongali Bihu celebrations in the state. “There is always a competitive spirit when it comes to organising a Rongali Bihu event. Different groups focus on bringing in the biggest names of the industry to their event but in the process forgets about the more serious issues. Gradually the film culminates with the arrival of international pop star Shakira at a local Bihu event,” Himangshu said during a conversation with G Plus.

While the movie is the first cinematic venture of the much talked about and well loved actor/poet/playwright/director/producer, Himangshu has been actively contributing towards the cultural scenario from his days in lower primary school.

Born to Samudra Nath Das and Usha Rani Das in 1982 in Amranga village in South Kamrup (where incidentally the entire movie has been shot), the fascination for theatre has always been there in Himagshu. It was at a very tender age that Himangshu

made his directorial debut in theatre after he had written three plays that have been staged on several occasions. Himangshu went on to join Cotton College and eventually got to be known as a poet among friends, acquaintances and society at large.

An alumnus of National School of Drama, Delhi, Himangshu formed a theatre group named “Guernica” along with another NSD product Pranami Bora. The oeuvre of the group came into existence in 2007 which was even before Himangshu graduated from NSD when he started organising plays inside the city buses of Guwahati. However, it was in 2009 that Guernica actually came into physical and tangible existence.

“There has also been an inclination towards cinema that resulted in the making of ‘Shakira Aahibo Bokul Tolor Bihuloi.’ Moreover, while growing up we were very much influenced by the Jatra parties and I saw my parents and grandparents actively participating in the plays. Eventually the bug for theatre started growing. I got all the support I needed from my family members,” Himangshu said.

In January 2012, Himangshu started a forum called Artists’ Factory, a residential drama workshop that provides working space for artists such as actors, directors, playwrights, etc. along with accommodation. Since then Himangshu has been organising several workshops and conceptualised several plays on several social issues.

On being asked about the expectation from his maiden movie Himangshu said that the film has around 3,000 artists and he is confident that the movie will break several records. He also said, “We are thankful to everyone who has helped us make the film. Without the love and assistance of the people, I could not have made it.”

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Reviews

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Yami Gautam, Ronit Roy, Rohit Roy, Suresh Menon Director: Sanjay Gupta

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hen they get hitched, visually-impaired couple Rohan Bhatnagar (Hrithik) and Supriya Sharma (Yami) light up each other’s lives.

Unfortunately their dark world goes topsy-turvy when Supriya is raped and Rohan finds the policemen playing blind man’s bluff.

Leaving him with no choice, but to take the law into his own hands.

Review: Revenge is a dish best served blind is the message Kaabil serves up. Drawing inspiration from Hollywood’s Blind Fury (1989) with Rutger Hauer in the lead and even borrowing shades of the Korean super hit, Broken (2014), Sanjay Gupta gives you a Bollywood adaptation that is entertaining and effective.

For starters he lovingly sets up the beautiful world of a blind couple-Rohan, a proficient dubbing artiste

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and Supriya, a talented pianist--who despite their handicap have a positive disposition towards life. In just two scenes, you can feel their love.

So much so, when they get separated from each other for a few minutes at a mall, you start feeling anxious. Also, when this couple breaks into the Mon Amour dance, it’s so magical, you find yourself clapping gleefully. But whether it is life or a Bollywood thriller, life is definitely not all song and dance. When a cad, Amit Shellar (Rohit Roy) and his scum-buddy Wasim(Sahidur Rahman) rape Supriya, Rohan’s world is plunged into even more darkness than the one he is born into.

Predictably the rapist Amit is the brother of the local corporator, Madhavrao Shellar(Ronit Roy), so the corrupt police officers, played efficiently by Narendra Jha and Girish Kulkarni, drag their feet over the investigation. When the humiliation

gets too much to bear, Supriya caves in, leaving Rohan with vendetta on his mind. Here, the film shifts gears and though you know what’s next, the cat and mouse game still gives you an adrenaline rush. Every time the blind vigilante commits an atrocity, you whistle in the aisle.

The highlight of the film is Hrithik’s bravura performance. He is vulnerable as a lover and menacing as a killing-machine. Half a star in the movie-rating is reserved for his all-time best performance here.

Yami provides the perfect foil, subtle and super-effective.

Technically the film is adept, Thanks to masters like Sudeep Chatterjee (camera) and Resul Pookutty(sound). However Rajesh Roshan’s yesteryear hits—Saara Zamana and Dil Kya Karen in their remixed avatars are pale imitations of their original versions.

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Carrying that legacy forward, is Raees. Shah Rukh Khan plays the titular character of a spectacled goon who hates being called “battery”; he starts from harmless Ponzi schemes but graduates to pre-planned rackets and becomes the top bootlegger of his town.

When ACP Majmudar (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is posted in his area, he meets his equal. Raees forms a nexus with politicians who fuel his business, but he soon becomes the

thorn in their side.

The first half is well-paced; it draws you in and makes you root for the bootlegger; Majmudar’s one-liners and the music whet your appetite and the Laila Main Laila sequence ups the ante. But the second half plunges into a weird Robin Hood zone where the antihero’s morals are suddenly defibrillated and he becomes a messiah. The movie takes a rough path there on, and the long runtime makes the ride bumpier.

Shah Rukh Khan has never looked better; he’s full of fury and for once, isn’t spreading his arms, but breaking others’. The film lies entirely on his shoulders and he carries the weight most of the times.

When he doesn’t, the ever-so-reliable Nawazuddin Siddiqui steps in with his crackling performance.

In the trademark Nawaz style, he

Album Gods of Violence By Kreator

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n their fourteenth studio album, thrash legends Kreator give us more of the same jackhammer style they built the band’s name on—only without quite as much personality or edge.

Kreator’s 1985 debut Endless Pain arrived two years after Metallica fired thrash metal’s first shot with Kill ‘Em All—something of an eternity in the formative stages of a genre. Kreator immediately stood out, though, with their static-y guitars, frontman/guitarist Mille Petrozza’s inimitable bark, and drummer Jürgen “Ventor” Reil’s distinct combination of precision and primal savagery. So it didn’t take long for the German thrash outfit to gain ground on their elite predecessors with landmark albums like 1989’s Extreme Aggression, 1990’s Coma of Souls,

and 1992’s Renewal.

Of course, if you measure the energy level of those titles next to their new album Gods of Violence, there’s just no comparison.

By the same token, it would be too easy to dismiss the band’s latterday work as just an excuse to tour.

After a run of four experimental, industrial-tinged albums in the ’90s, Kreator re-dedicated themselves to straight thrash on 2001’s Violent Revolution—a move that might have signified a surrender to heritage-act status if the band hadn’t sounded so revitalized at the time.

It’s a rich premise—unfortunately, Petrozza doesn’t flesh it out very much in the actual songs.

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With one of the creepiest single settings since the Spencer Mansion and an enticingly bizarre mystery to unravel, this is the most fun I’ve had with a Resident Evil game in years.

The atmosphere in Resident Evil 7 is the strongest the series has seen in a long time, and that’s owed entirely to the eerie Dulvey plantation, to which the player character Ethan has been summoned by a cryptic email from his missing wife. If classic Resident Evil games were rooted in the zombie films of George A. Rome-

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Game Resident Evil 7 Platform PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

esident Evil 7 takes some big risks with the long-running horror series. But even as some succeed and others fall flat, this new first-person take on the formula wisely remembers that it’s survival-horror adventure — composed of tense exploration and careful item-hunting — and not solely its action that made its early predecessors memorable.

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delivers some comic relief while playing the Tom to Khan’s Jerry.

Mahirah is restricted to songs and a few emotional scenes, but doesn’t really add much. If her purpose was to soften the baddie, it’s lost on the viewer.

The movie can feel a bit long, but if you’re going for a great Shah Rukh performance and some good ol’ popcorn-entertainment, it might just ‘raees’ to the occasion.

While making a curry if all the masala or spices are in added in equal proportions, it makes the perfect dish. Raees is sort of the same thing. Cinematic spices like crime, thrill, romance, action, humor, is added in a perfect manner & makes Raees tasty and so delightful to watch. Also curry has to be baked properly which in the case of Raees was its perfect editing & direction.

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Cast: Sunny Leone, Shah Rukh Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mahira Khan Sheeba Chaddha Director: Rahul Dholakia ear up for a throwback to the great Salim-Javed blockbusters of the Seventies, where the hero grows up mid-action, every second line is meant to show off the character’s swagger, a Helen song (Sunny Leone here) breaks the tension and action sequences compel you to whistle.

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ro, this is Resident Evil in the tradition of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with all the gruesome imagery, dilapidated old shacks, and cannibalistic horrors that come with it.

Other times, Resident Evil 7’s roots in “hillbilly horror” relies too heavily on overplayed tropes about rural America and begins to border on the cartoonish. The Bakers are disgusting, dysfunctional, and at times pretty laughable, but most of this is at least explained later on, which — without spoilers — satisfactorily avoids putting the blame entirely on their rural upbringing. But even with its faults, Resident Evil 7’s change in style and setting never fails to deliver a strong sense of place that makes frequent exploration and backtracking through the dingy Dulvey property and its secret underground lairs work without wearing out its welcome.

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

19

Entertainment

Kangkan Deka’s ‘Beautiful Lives’ Padmanav’s Infamous to stir the audience Pundits to shine in Rising Star KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

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fter impressing cinephiles in a number of film festivals with his short film ‘Sita’, filmmaker Kangkan Deka’s upcoming ‘Beautiful Lives’ is the most anticipated one from the current crop of movies waiting to be released this year. Those who have had the privilege of seeing it have only paeans to sing for the film and Kangkan Deka. It’s heartening to know that at a time when creative cinema is getting scarce to come by, Deka has captured something that is realistic and true.

The film depicts a period when Assam was in a state of turmoil. It relates the story of a 28-year-old auto rickshaw driver

Ajay, a bomb blast victim, who is left bed-ridden with brachial plexus injuries, leaving his arms completely paralyzed. But his other bodily organs are working normally. People, whether disabled or not, have the same sexual or biological needs and urges. Despite all the pain and conflicting emotions – anger, fear, remorse, deep sadness, this once robust youth, still occasionally experiences a nocturnal emission which leaves his mother distraught and concerned. He was once deeply in love with a beautiful girl. But then she ditched him as a result of the injury after the bomb blast. Ajay’s mother Dashami, meanwhile has

been running from pillar to post to get the promised compensation as announced by the government.

She was having an agonizing time dealing with an apathetic bureaucracy.

And to add further wounds to injury, the mastermind behind the terrorist act that has ripped apart many innocent lives, is acquitted of every other crime, sparking off an outcry amongst many of the victims and their families, including Ajay’s mother Dashami. But despite his helplessness and isolation after the traumatic event, Ajay strengthens his will to lead a normal life.

The film is now scheduled to hit the screens on February 17.

It has been highly appreciated by the members of the censor board, awarding it with an ‘A’ certificate.

The horrific scenes of devastation wreaked by the bomb blast, its aftershock, and the terror are all conveyed here, and are true to memory. Besides directing, Kangkan Deka, who is an alumnus of ZEE Media Arts, has also produced and written its story, script and dialogues under the banner of Kernel Film Production.

The film’s artistes include Boloram Das, Ashrumoni Bora, Juri Dutta, Pakiza Begum, Navadeep Borgohain, Jayanta Bhagawati, Dharitri Jumi Barua, Nayan Saikia, Pratibha Choudhury, Rupam Barua, Prankrishna Mahanta, Pragati Devi, etc. Bhagwat Pritam, who has scored the music, appears in a special role. The title track ‘Heruwa Rongor Shubakh’ rendered by Zubeen Garg, is composed by Bhagwat Pritam and Bikash Barua. The film’s cinematography is done by Midhun Chandran. The film’s executive producers are Rajib Phukan and Bhaskar Lekharu. Besides Guwahati, ‘Beautiful Lives’ was shot in Mangaldoi, Majuli, Kaziranga, etc.

KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

P

admanav Bordoloi of Guwahati who rose to fame from the musical reality show, Indian Idol, is all set with his troop to make Assam proud in yet another national musical platform, Rising Star. Padmanav’s Infamous Pundits (P.I.P) is the only band from Guwahati who has been selected for the first of its kind reality show that is going to be aired on Colors from 4th February. The band members include, Padmanav Bordoloi (Lead Singer/ Band Leader), Surekha Chhetri (Co-female singer), Nayanabh Bordoloi (backing vocals), Sanjay Burman (Drummer), Hirutpal Das (Lead Guitarist), Writam Changkakoti (Keyboards), Jayanta Dutta (Bassist), Prasanta Kalita (Percussionist).

About the show: ‘Rising Star’ is a live singing reality show which is a quest for India’s next big Singing Star. Af-

ter delivering successful seasons across the globe in countries like Israel, USA, Russia, Indonesia, Argentina, and many more, the show will be finally be aired in India.

Rising Star is a unique format that promises to be the next level in TV programming, as for the first time ever, the audience will watch a show absolutely LIVE...as it Happens, when it Happens! This show marks the first real-time voting by the viewers via an innovative free app, and will determine if the singer will advance in the competition, as it happens LIVE. The show would be judged by Shankar Mahadevan, Monali Thakur, and Diljit Dosanjh.

To vote the contestants Live, download Colors Tv app from Google store or apple store and login the Rising Star and get a chance to be LIVE JUDGE and vote.

New Assamese Film ‘Mer’ to release soon

A

known name in the cultural field, Tridip Lahon is making his maiden film titled ‘Mer’ under the banner of Ashwini Mashe. The dawn of a new reality, the story talks about a youth who revaluates his life after coping with sudden, drastic changes, for better and for worse.

Based on a story by Ashim Bora, the film’s script has been written

by Tridip Lahon. The dialogues are written by Bishnujyoti Handique and director Lahon. The various roles have been played by newcomers Awakrita Koch and Priyam Pallabi, Saurav Hazarika, Bhranti Medhi, Sagarnil, Sukanya Barua, etc. The film’s cinematography is

KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

done by Krishna Shah. While Garima Saikia Garg designed the costumes, the makeup has been done

by Akash Gogoi and Amrit.

‘Mer’s music is scored by Zubeen Garg. The songs, written by Sasanka Samir, are rendered by Zubeen Garg, Neer Dipankar, Jublee Barua and Priyanka Bhorali.

As informed by director Lahon, the unit will head to Guwahati, Shillong and other parts of North East some time in April-May after completing the shoot across various scenic locations of upper Assam that commenced sometime in November 2016, before scheduling the film for a year-end release.

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Events

Next 28thJan To Jan 3rd

Sovan Das Executive Chef, Vivanta by Taj, Guwahati “Local Ingredients, Global Cuisine, Exotic Spices” Vivanta by Taj has a new captain of the ship – Executive Chef, Sovan Das. Tracing his roots from Siliguri, Chef Sovan Das has a 22 year long career till date and has worked across 4 continents which are about 25 countries! With a plan to make you crave for more, the Chef will revamp the menus at Umami, Seven and Octave. Introducing himself to the crowd with an assortment of Jolokia Shrimps, Butternut Squash Borscht (Chef’s Special), Trio of Chargrilled Kebab, Cornfed Chicken and Scampi Paella and ending on a sweet note with Misti Doi on a stick, he made sure that the impression he left on Guwahati, was nothing short of ‘Amazing’!

JAN 28 Rotavaganza TIME: 10:00 am Rotavaganza 2017, a 3-day District Conference and Assembly

JAN 28 New SAC, IIT Guwahati Campus TIME: 10:00 PM TASVEER’ 17 - THE ANNUAL PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION

Jan 28 Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary TIME: 11:00 am “POWER OF FITNESS, 2017” PRESENTED BY POBITORA ENCHANTED Jan 28 Nyx Lounge & Deck, Hotel Palacio TIME: 07:00 PM JAVIER PORTILLA INDIA TOUR (GUWAHATI LEG)

A Sizzling Trio of Chargrilled Kebab Misti Doi A’ Bar - Sweet Ending

Jan 28 Terra Mayaa Time: 08:00 pm VH1SUPERSONIC PRE PARTY : KOHRA

Jan 29 Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok TIME: 09:00 am SOTC’s Summer Holiday Bazaar - GUWAHATI

Jan 29 Nehru Park TIME: 10:00 am SATRANGI- THE POSTER MAKING EVENT

A Night with Salim - Sulaiman 21st Jan

An electrifing performance by the duo at the Season 3 of Imperial Blue Superhit Night Venue: Indira Gandhi Atheletic Stadium, Sarusajai

Feb 02 Rabindra Bhawan Auditorium TIME: 05:30 pm XUROR DORIYOLI - an evening of colourful cultural programme

Feb 03 IIT Guwahati TIME: 05:00 PM TRV PERFORMING AT IIT GUWAHATI Feb 03 Khanapara Veterinary Ground TIME: 11:00 am Rongali Good Vibes Music Stage With Nucleya, Zaeden, Teri Miko, Parikrama, Euphoria, Alobo Naga & The Band, Zubeen Garg And Many More

21

G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

Citypedia

What seems like a great idea may need hammering into shape to make it work. Making a start can allow you to learn as you go and benefit from firsthand experience. You’ll soon find out if it’s a practical plan or not. Later, Mars moves into your sector of travel and far horizons and could stir up a desire to get away from it all. With other influences also encouraging this, it might be time to simply book that flight.

As the Sun enters your lifestyle zone, you might want to reset some routines to get the new year off to a healthy start. And if you haven’t yet implemented any of your New Year’s resolutions, it isn’t too late to begin. The movement of Mars to a more intense sector of your chart could also encourage you to make changes at a much deeper level. Now is the time to let go of patterns or issues that may be holding you back.

With the Sun now in a more dynamic sector of your chart, this is your opportunity to showcase skills and talents that could get you noticed by the right people. It certainly isn’t the time to hide your light or be modest about anything you’re good at. Take every opportunity to showcase your goods or services so others can appreciate how amazing you are. Don’t forget to dress the part, too, as this can also influence others to engage with you.

Capricorn A lovely link at the start of the week suggests that you could be inspired to dream big dreams by a movie or novel. If aspects of your life have been difficult lately, reading about or watching someone else’s adventures and successes can encourage you to keep going.

On another note, Mars will move into your domestic sector later in the week, and this might be a call to clear out clutter and give yourself more space to think.

While enjoying life and spending time with friends and family can still be a focus, you might also want to apply yourself to more practical tasks. With Mars now moving into Aries and your lifestyle sector, you may want to apply yourself with greater gusto. Avoid burning out, though, by pacing yourself from the start. In addition, the New Moon on Friday can be perfect for household projects or perhaps introducing a new pet to the home.

Aquarius You could feel pulled in different directions by various interests, your friends, or certain responsibilities you’re currently dealing with. But with the Sun now in Aquarius, it’s time to ask yourself what you want. What course of action could you take now that would reaffirm your core strengths? As Mars enters your sector of communication, the answers may come through engaging in those interests you’re most passionate about. A decision made this weekend could leave you feeling more at ease.

Sagittarius

If you’ve been busy doing DIY projects or giving your home a good spring cleaning, then give yourself a round of applause. You’ve done well! Venus continues in this same sector, which can be a helpful influence for decorating and adding a subtle ambience to your home, but you could also be feeling a bit restless. Mars enters your leisure sector on Friday, and this dynamic influence can coincide with a desire for new adventures and a chance to have some fun.

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

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

Going with friends to a movie or other cultural event could prove very interesting, especially if it encourages you to explore your creative urges. And with Venus currently in your sign, this can be a golden opportunity to experiment with a skill or talent that might prove very enriching in the future. Later, Mars shifts into your personal financial sector to encourage a more proactive stance to dealing with issues.

It could require some courage to sort out money matters.

GUWAHATI

24-HOUR PHARMACIES Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) D Modern Medicos, Maligaon (9864366763) Candid 24x7, Panbazar (2604422)

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Daily Sudoku: Wed 18-Jan-2017

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Daily Sudoku: Fri 27-Jan-2017

Scorpio

Libra

7 1

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police station

6 4 9 2 3 5 1 8 7 8 2 7 6 9 1 4 3 5

1 54 13 5 79 57 8 36 82

39 42 7 5 8 7 9 43 86 2 8 6 4 3

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3 47 78 84 19 5 6 9 5 2 26 13 2 21 94 55 38 6 3 4 6 7 71 98 4 13 35 66 71 8 9 2 2 5 84 79 Daily Sudoku: Wed 18-Jan-2017

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

If you’ve absorbed new experiences and information over recent weeks, the time has come to put them to good use. With Mars leaving your sector of study and exploration and moving into your career zone this week, you might want to use any knowledge and skills you’ve acquired recently to further your plans. The coming six weeks could see you becoming more competitive and determined than you have been, and this can contribute to greater success.

Virgo

Leo

5 8

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(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

Cancer

Your curiosity could be aroused by thoughts of faraway places or plans to take a class related to an interest of yours. At the same time, you may apply concerted effort to handling certain responsibilities or moving forward with goals and plans. Later this week, though, the focus shifts as Mars enters your social sector, encouraging you to be more proactive in this area. Also, the New Moon could be helpful for taking a step in a new direction.

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

As Venus continues its journey through your social sector, this first month of 2017 may be a leading one for making new friends and acquaintances. Whether you want to have more fun, find love, or network for other reasons, it’s likely been a very productive time.

Things could change from this Friday, though, as Mars enters a quieter sector of your chart. Here, it could stir up your psyche and empower you to let go of any issues holding you back.

last week solution

You may have felt somewhat lackluster in recent weeks, with your focus more inward than usual. This phase may also have coincided with opportunities to clear away emotional baggage and deal with complex issues that needed time and space to resolve. However, as Mars, your personal planet, strides into your sign on Friday, you may begin to feel much more energized and determined. The New Moon could bring a call to move in new circles, paving the way for fresh opportunities.

Sudoku

Gemini

Taurus

Aries

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

Horoscope of the week

very hard

9 8 1 7 5 2 3 4 6 7 2 6 8 3 4 1 http://www.dailysudoku.co 9 5

Fatasil Ambari PS: Ph-2471412 medium Comissioner of Police: 0361-2540278 Daily Sudoku: Fri 27-Jan-2017 Geetanagar PS: Ph-2417323 DCP, Traffic: 0361-2731847 Hatigaon: Ph-2562383 DCP, (Central): 94350-49599 Jalukbari PS: Ph-2570587 DCP, (East): - 94350-83103 http://www.dailysudoku.co Jalukbari Out Post: Ph-2570522 DCP, (West): - 94350-27744 Jorabat: Ph-2896853 Police Control Room: Ph-2540138, 2540113 Khanapara: Ph- 2281501 Azara PS: Ph2840287 Khetri PS: Ph-2787699, 2787220 Basista PS: Ph-2302158 Latasil PS: Ph-2540136 Bharalumukh PS: Ph- 2540137, 2731199 Noonmati PS: Ph- 2550281 Borjhar PS: Ph-2840351 North Guwahati PS: Ph-2690255 Chandmari PS: Ph- 2660204 Paltanbazar PS: Ph-2540126 Chandrapur PS: Ph-2788237, 2785237 Panbazar PS: Ph-2540106 Dispur PS: Ph-2261510 Pragjyotishpur Ps: Ph-2785237 Fancybazar PS: Ph- 2540285 Women PS Panbazar: Ph-2524627

Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) B Baruah Cancer Institute (2472364/66) Brahmaputra Hospital Ltd (2451634/678) Chatribari Christian Hospital 0361-2600051, 92070-44374 Downtown Hospital 2331003, 9864079366, 9435012669 Guwahati Medical College (2529457, 2529561) Guwahati Medical College Emergency (2263444) International Hospital 0361-7135005 Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (2541477, 2543998)

Marwari Hospital & Research Centre 0361-2602738/39 Marwari Maternity Hospital 0361-2541202/01 Nemcare Hospital 0361-2528587, 2455906, 2457344 Pratiksha Hospital 0361-2337260, 2337183/84 Basistha Military Hospital (2304617/0351) Railway Central Hospital Casuality (2671025) Redcross Hospital (2665114) Sri Sankardeva Netralaya 0361-2233444, 2228879, 2228921

GMC helpline number for garbage collection

8811007000

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

22

Trotter

G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

special

How does a top-less shoot get done in India for models & actresses?

Bill Gates could become world’s first trillionaire

Vanit Kashyap, Cinephile Some actresses (like Sunny Leone and Sherlyn Chopra) are mostly comfortable being uncovered in front of the crew, they get their pictures and videos shot in front of a small crew, partially nude with private parts covered in merkins or some other accessory.

Other actresses are not so comfortable being completely exposed. They shoot in skin colored clothing and sometimes in brassiere. Which are later removed from pictures during post production by editing these images.

Firefighters rescue man with genitals trapped inside water bottle

A

Malaysian man had to be rescued by firefighters after getting his penis trapped in the water bottle he was using to relieve himself because he couldn’t reach the bathroom in time.

In an act of insane desperation after a tug-of-war to dislodge the water bottle, the 21-year-old then tried to cut his penis free with a metal hacksaw, causing himself serious injury in the process.

After an hour of trying to free himself, the man eventually asked his father for help.

Rescuers from Port Klang and Andalas fire stations were dispatched to the scene and managed to free the man’s penis within 10 minutes. He was then taken to hospital for treatment.

This is at least the second time in less than a month that Malaysian rescuers have had to come to the aid of a man with an embarrassing penis problem. On New Year’s Eve, a staggering 12 firefighters spent 17 hours helping a man in Kuala Lumpur after he got a metal ring stuck around his todger.

M

icrosoft founder Bill Gates could become the first dollar trillionaire in 25 years, according to Oxfam, an international network of organizations collectively working to tackle global poverty.

Given the exponential growth of his wealth Gates would have earned his first $1 trillion by the time he is 86 in 2042.

When Bill Gates left Microsoft in 2006, his was worth $50 billion.

In the next decade his wealth has increased to $75 billion, “despite

his commendable attempts to give it away through his Foundation,” the report said, as quoted by CNBC. “In such an environment, if you are already rich, you have to try hard not to keep getting a lot richer,” Oxfam noted.

The organization recently published a report claiming the eight wealthiest billionaires (Gates, investor Warren Buffett, Inditex founder Amancio Ortega, Mexico’s Carlos Slim, Amazon chief executive Jeff

Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg) have as much money as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world’s population.

“In 2015 the world’s richest one percent retained their share of global wealth and still own more than the other 99 percent combined. This concentration of wealth at the top is holding back the fight to end global poverty,” according to the Oxfam report.

Facebook fights fake news with ‘Trending’ algorithm update

World’s most powerful’ laser

A

team of British and Czech scientists have developed a laser costing €44 million that they say is 10 times more powerful than any other on the planet and has the potential to revolutionize engineering in aeronautics, power and automotive industries.

The 20-ton so-called “Super Laser” has an average power output of 1,000 watts, in what is seen as a benchmark in sustained high energy pulses - far greater than the world’s other highpower beams in Osaka and Texas.

“It is a world record, which is important,” John Collier, director of the Central Laser Facility, told AFP. “It is good for putting things on the map, but the more important point is that the underlying technology that has been developed here is going to transform the application of these high power, high energy lasers.”

F

acebook has announced changes to its ‘Trending’ section, which it claims may help prevent the spread of fake news. Three changes are to be made to the section which shows users’ topics that are trending based on engagement.

The updates may “help prevent hoaxes and fake news from appearing in Trending,” Facebook’s Will Cathcart wrote in a blog post.

Previously a topic was iden-

tified with a basic array of keywords. Now, however, a headline from a publisher will be attached to each trending topic, in a move Facebook claim will add more context to the subject. The headline will be selected from a publisher based on engagement with the article, as well as if other news sites are linking to it.

“An improved system to determine what is trending” will see topics no longer derived from a

popular single post or article, instead the number of publishers that are publishing articles based around that topic and the level of engagement with those articles will be used to determine what is trending.

The latest update will also see users across the platform seeing the same trending topics, no longer being personalized to interest or location.

G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

23

Catching Up Most shared story of the week

G

588

8125 facebook.com/guwahatiplus

twitter.com/guwahatiplus

Plus posted a photo of Maa Saraswati, the Goddess of Education where an artist cast the Goddess in his own representation. The Goddess was on a two wheeler with the Swan as a pillion, which we can only assume to be a modern day representation of an empowered woman.

With Saraswati Puja just around the corner, Guwahati was amused, angry and loving the photo all at the same time!

WHAT DID I JUST HEAR?

Hello everyone this is Deepika.

I’m 20 years old. I’m pursuing my graduation and also working as a freelance model. I won the Northeast Diva (1st Runnesr Up) after which I got a chance to work for the worldwide magazine Cosmopolitan and with the famous celebrity photographer Rohan Shreshtha. I love traveling and taking up new challenges in life. I’m a very reserved person and I don’t talk much, but otherwise I’m very punctual and sincere. I’m stylish and I believe in my self putting the best of my efforts in every step of life.

New

Chic on the block

Deepika Das

Mojo I believe that the most important asset of an individual is his/her personality. A good personality reflects and always attracts people.

Route in the Woods

R

anjit Das, the president of the Assam unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was caught on the wrong foot on Thursday after he reportedly compared the tricolour with a vest. “The moment I noticed the mistake, I questioned the person who was responsible for arranging the flag for hoisting. He apologised and said it was an oversight similar to us wearing our vest inside out sometimes,” Das said to a national daily.

T

About Me

Irrespective of what I do in future, I wish to see myself as a well groomed lady, with a pleasant personality.

Photography - Deepak Das Wardrobe - Chao Poran J. Gogoi Make Up Artist - Manjit Chetri

Ka m u r of the week

he old trekkers might have been banned and the new Magic has been introduced for safe transportation but the authorities are still not able to regulate the fare. This week various quarrels were reported across the city between passengers and Tata Magic drivers as the fares are not fixed. If some Magic drivers ask for Rs 15 from Paltan Bazar to Lokhara, some demand Rs 25. So the unregulated fare of Tata Magic was a serious kamur this week.

Guwahati

GYAN

PIC OF THE

Did you know?

WEEK

Kukurmuta

K

ukurmuta area is unknown to many of the presentday Guwahatians. The place attained this name because of the abundantly available species of mushroom there. Located between the present Assam State Museum and the Silpukhuri

pond, which was earlier known as the Na-Koina Pukhuri, a good number of people of Bihari origin used to reside in the area during the pre-independence period.

At its southern boundary was the Company Bagan Road, presently known as Dr Surya Kumar Bhuyan Road. Its northern boundary was the presently extinct south-eastern part of Solabeel. Kukurmuta is now known as Dighalipukhuri East, Railway Colony, Ambari, Hedayatpur, Panchavati and Silpukhuri West.

Caught Distracted | Photo: Surajit Sharma

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G PLUS JAN 28 - FEB 03, 2017

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.

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