G plus volume 1 issue 25 by G Plus

VOL 01 | ISSUE 25 | MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

`10 ges 24 Pa

NO COUNTRY

FOR OLD MEN?

Anna Ivanovic Catching Up, Pg 23

TRP

RULING CITY

MEDIA?

The authorities have failed to implement the ‘Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007’ as per a recently filed PIL and moreover, statistics reveal that Assam is not a favourable place for the elderly.

with ‘Choles-terror’!

Ward watch @

PG04

Face to Face

ALL WOMEN PS SEES NO RISE IN MANPOWER

The city’s special police station for Women that had started functioning two decades back, deals with women related cases only. However, the manpower has remained the same since the beginning.

PG No

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Lead Story

NO COUNTRY

FOR OLD MEN?

Some salient features of senior citizens act, 2007

Mrinmoyee Hazarika

he consequences of life are always the same for everyone but, while living the lively and happy moments of life, people often tend to forget the old and cold age of their lives that follows. Every now and then, media highlights reports of children abusing or abandoning their old parents who are the part and parcel and assets of the society. Even, the authority does not pay much attention to the needs of the older people, more particularly widowed women, the population of the same is growing at an alarming rate. The Projections beyond 2016 made by the United Nations (1996 revision) has indicated that India will have 198 million people of 60+ age in 2030 and that 21% of the Indian population will be 60+ by 2050. In case of Assam, in most of the cases, poverty leads to the deprivation and neglect of the elderly persons by their families. A survey conducted by Helpage India, an NGO working to secure senior citizen’s rights, in 2012, reveals that Guwahati ranked second (60.55%) in terms of elder abuse. Bhopal (MP) ranked the highest in elder abuse with 77.12% among the 20 cities in which the survey was conducted. The same survey also revealed that other than Bhubaneswar (Odisha) with 23.31%, eastern India on an overall basis had a high percentage of elder abuse with Guwahati and Kolkata (WB) 40.93%.

Move for attention Even after adopting the ‘Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007’, the State Government has failed to implement it across the state with letter and spirit. Responding to a PIL filed by advocate Rajeev Kalita, a division bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising of Chief Justice A.M. Sapre and A.K. Goswami issued notices admitting a PIL No. 24/2014 to the Union of India, state government and Assam legal services authority and directed them to respond by March, 24, 2014. In his PIL, Rajeev Kalita sought a direction from the court to the state government to establish and maintain old age homes in each district for senior citizens who are indigent, as provided under section 19(1) of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 and to prescribe a scheme for management of such old age homes as per section

19(2) of the said act. “Assam has no old age home that is required to be established and maintained at accessible places, in terms of section 19 of the Senior Citizens Act, 2007. A refugee camp was set up in 1964 at Bamunigaon in Kamrup district. Later on the home was named as Permanent Liability Home and handed over to the social welfare department. The refugees entered India through the states bordering due to Social disorder and distance occurred in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The persons who are old aged, widows, and patients of terminal diseases, orphans and children were provided shelter in the camp at Bamunigaon i.e. the P.L. Home,” civil rights activist and lawyer Bhaskar Dev Konwar told G Plus. He further added that another home for destitute women and helpless widows was originally started at Jorhat in 1976 and was subsequently, shifted to Boko, Bamunigaon in August 1986. The purpose of the home was to maintain the aged people. Destitute women and helpless people of the age group of 45 years and above for female and 50 years and above for male, are admitted to the home where they are provided with basic facilities of life. “Despite rising incidents of elderly abuse in the state, not a single case has been officially registered at the social welfare department, which goes to show that maintenance tribunals formed in every civil subdivisions and appellate tribunals for every districts are not functioning in the state,” Konwar further added.

“

Every day, we receive 15 to 20 calls enquiring about the accommodation facilities for the elders. Out of those calls, one or two calls are related to the abuse faced by the elders”

Parents who are unable to maintain themselves through their own earnings or out of their own property may apply for maintenance from their adult children. This maintenance includes the provision of proper food, shelter, clothing and medical treatment. Parents include biological, adoptive and step mothers and fathers, whether senior citizens or not. A childless Senior Citizen who is sixty years and above, can also claim maintenance from relatives who are in possession of or are likely to inherit their property. This application for maintenance may be made by Senior Citizens themselves or they may authorize a person or voluntary organization to do so. The Tribunal may also take action on its own. Tribunals on receiving these applications may hold an enquiry or order the children/relatives to pay an interim monthly allowance for the maintenance of their Parents or Senior Citizen. If the Tribunal is satisfied that children or relatives have neglected or refused to take care of their parents or Senior Citizen, it shall order them to provide a monthly maintenance amount, up to a maximum of `10,000/- per month. The State Government is required to set up one or more tribunals in every sub-division. It shall also set up Appellate Tribunals in every district to hear the appeals of Senior Citizens against the decision of the Tribunals. No legal practitioner is required or permitted for this process. Erring persons are punishable with imprisonment up to three months or a fine of up to rupees five thousand or with both. State Government should set up at least one Old Age Home for every 150 beneficiaries in a district. These homes are to provide Senior Citizens with minimum facilities such as food, clothing and recreational activities. All Government hospitals or those funded by the Government must provide beds for Senior Citizens as far as possible. Also, special queues to access medical facilities should be arranged for them.

Rehabilitation homes for women/children Name of Homes

Intake Capacity

Present Inmates

State Home for Women, Jalukbari

100

Home for Destitute Women, Jalukbari

Home for Destitute Women and Helpless person Bamunigaon

Vagrant Home, Fatasil-Ambari, Guwahati

47 208

P.L. Home Bamunigaon

200

State Home for Women, Nagaon

100

Home for Destitute and Orphan Children, Nagaon

100

Central Destitute Home, Silchar

200

190

Home for Destitute Women, Dighaltari

Home for Destitute Children, Lakhimpur

Existent menace With the non-implementation of senior citizens act, 2007 coupled with lack of interest shown by some of the children towards their old parents have made the living condition of the elder people deplorable. “It is an ever increasing trend. The government too is not showing interest at all to the cause of elders. The government can make statements that the country or the state is free from elder abuse but in reality, the picture of abuse against the elders is different. Government should think of the interest of the fast growing population of elders,” Nilondra Tanya, state head, NE, Helpage India told G Plus. Mentioning about the ‘National Policy on Older Persons’ formulated by the ministry of social justice and empowerment, Government of India, Tanya stated, “Though the government has formed policies and keeps on passing acts, the measures to address the issues of elders are not sufficient enough. Every day, we receive 15 to 20 calls enquiring about the accommodation facilities for the elders. Out of those calls, one or two calls are related to the abuse faced by the elders.” A survey on elder abuse conducted by Helpage in 24 Indian cities last year revealed that more than one fifth of the elderly (23%) reportedly experienced abuse nationally. The district of Sibsagar was included in the survey and contrary to the result of the survey conducted by Helpage India in 2012 where Guwahati ranked 2nd in terms of elderly abuse, Sibsagar recorded zero elderly abuse. The same survey also highlights that nationally, the daughter-in-law has been reported as a primary perpetrator of abuse (39%) followed closely by the son (38%). “The few non government old age homes located in Guwahati do not provide quality and adequate facilities to its inmates. There is also a shortage of skilled caregivers to the beneficiaries of old age homes,” Nilondra Tanya said. Currently, there are four non government old age homes in the city with nominal seat capacities. On the other hand, as per the senior citizens act, 2007, the shelter homes should be big enough to house 150 people and should be given proper staff and health facilities for which the state government should make budgetary provisions.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

G-View

TRP

RULING CITY MEDIASCAPE? With numerous media reports covering the Holi celebrations in the city, there have been reactions that the reports, which were finally broadcast were not favourable. We spoke to a few of the leading media persons of the city to understand the minds behind the matter.

RAHUL CHANDA

e all remember the infamous GS Road molestation incident in Guwahati, the Mangalore case where girls in a pub were assaulted in 2009, the Bengaluru incident where women were attacked on the streets for wearing “Western clothes,” or Kolkata, or Delhi, or Mumbai or Gurgaon, all of which have seen similar incidents. It could have been anywhere in India. Such events, and the cycle of virtual outrage and amnesia that follow, are a familiar part of India’s recent history. But with some fundamentalists indulging in ‘moral policing’ openly, some sections of the society say media these days too, is indulging in it. Recently during the occasion of Holi, there were a few media reports showing people celebrating the festival dancing in the rain and various other activities, which also again according to media reports, were unethical and hurting the local cultural sentiments. After the media started reflecting the reports, some section of the public started commenting on social media platforms that media should not enter people’s personal lives and should stop moral policing.

The cultural aspect According to city based veteran journalist Manjit Mahanta, the media is expected to show what is happening in the society, whether positive or negative. He said, “There is no question of moral policing as whatever was reported, was not happening in a closed room. Media has to report if there is anything wrong happening in the society and moreover Assam has a culture which has to be preserved. The way the modern day youth celebrate festivities is concerning and also hurts the local sentiment. This is not at all the way to celebrate festivals in Assam.” Keeping the aspect of culture in mind, we spoke to the Commissioner and Secretary, Cultural Affairs department, Swapnanil Baruah, who said, “Media is looking at the social

The solution

A senior journalist who is at present editor of a daily and also a monthly magazine, V Mohanan feels that because of the TRP oriented media world, journalists exaggerate and sensationalise the story because of which the general public suffers. He said, “Media should not in any case harm the general public and should understand the responsibility towards the society. The solution can only be derived if the media has the capability of being self-regulated. Self-regulation is the only option which can help people understand their own responsibility and work ethically without violating people’s privacy.”

The viewers fabric with a very lower middle class, conservative view and values, which applies to your neighbour only. People should see the world with the widest possible view but should be sensitive to local cultures.” According to him, the cultural aspect and understanding of cultural values differ from person to person. Some may feel that media is not indulging into moral policing and is just doing its duty, whereas some might feel that media is looking at things in a very conservative way.

The competition A leading news channel’s joint editor Mrinal Talukdar expressed his view about journalism in electronic media, keeping print media aside. He said, “These days, there is a lot of competition between TV channels and what rules is the TRP. I have been doing ethical journalism for the last 25 years, but now a time has come where even after knowing that some of the stories brought in

by some journalists are unethical and relates to moral policing, I have to edit it and air it. This is not only in Guwahati and Northeast, but India as a whole. The TV channels across the world every Friday wait very eagerly, for the TRP results which decide the success of any given channel. The viewer’s gaze involves a lot of voyeurism and they too like watching sensationalised news stories. So, these days every news channel indulges and the meaning of journalism has changed due to the competition around.” He further added that there is hardly any solution to this in this competitive world. It is somewhat true that competition and the TRP factor has made journalists compelled to gather news, which may be unethical in nature, but sensationalising makes it easier to hook the audience and gain TRP, which again directly or indirectly helps the media market to gain profit. But, is it all TRP which should matter while reporting? Why are the journalistic students taught ethical classes then?

“

Media is looking at the social fabric with a very lower middle class, conservative view and values, which applies to your neighbour only. People should see the world with the widest possible view but should be sensitive to local cultures.

Rupam Das, a city based entrepreneur agrees that media is the fourth pillar of democracy and it has, since ages, been helping the society by reflecting the views and opinions of people. He said, “But over the time it is also a fact that TRP is pretty much important for the media because of which they do a report sensational stuff. Media should keep in mind that they should not enter people’s personal lives. Another Guwahatian who always keeps a track of media feels that media in Guwahati is becoming redundant with their message and because of lack of good news they air unnecessary stories exaggerating things and sensationalising it. Whatever may be the views, the fact is that the idea of moral policing is a bit outdated now but media getting involved with it is a concern because it is expected to be the watchdog of the society. On the other hand it is also true that media needs to survive in the competitive world. But when will journalists stop worrying about the TRP and work ethically to disseminate messages which will help the society without exaggerating the facts?

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

City

ALL WOMEN PS SEES NO RISE IN MANPOWER

The city’s special police station for Women that had started functioning two decades back, deals with women related cases only. However, the manpower has remained the same since the beginning.

RAHUL CHANDA

ast year, with the focus on women’s safety issues in the state and demands from various quarters for enhanced security for females, the state government had decided to expedite its project to set up women’s cells in all police stations of Assam. Though the government had earlier announced these cells would be established at all police stations by 2016, it is now trying to complete the project before the scheduled deadline. Even now, there is women’s cell in many of the city police stations, which would be extended to all soon. Women police officers are deputed in almost all the police stations to take care of the women related cases and deal with them accordingly. There is also an all women police station situated in the Pan Bazaar area of the city. Since it is only women who take care of all the cases, and cases too registered in the police station are women related, it is a special police station meant for all women.

The beginning The All Women Police Station (AWPS) started functioning from 2nd October 1993 and is working since then to deal with all women related cases. The women police deputed in the station are well trained to deal with the cases efficiently. City SSP AP Tiwari said, “It is easier for a woman complainant to narrate her story to a woman cop and especially in the case of sexual harassment cases. Woman accused are also handled in an environment where they can be comfortably questioned and they do not feel awkward as the questioner is also a woman. Particularly women have a sense of confidence when they approach the women police station with their complaint, and can open up comfortably in front of the women police officers. We have also seen many cases of family disputes not reaching divorce after proper counselling provided to the complainants. The women police officers are well sensitised and trained about the way to approach the woman complainants and the accused. Understanding woman requires a lot of psychology, and the cops at AWPS know how to deal with the women psychology as even they are women.” Enquiring if the city police is planning to increase the number of women police stations in the city, the SSP said, “We are increasing the women police force in every police station. Within last one year, 300 to 350 young police constables have

been deployed in various police stations across the city. There are 8 women patrolling units, 4 Veerangana patrol units and 4 Cobra patrol units.” With this, the city police seem to be geared up to increase the women muscle power in the city.

The cases Cases registered and disposed off in AWPS this year

Cases registered till date

Cases disposed off till date

Cases charge sheeted

Final report filed

People arrested

Since 1st January 2014, 45 cases have been registered in All Women Police Station out of which 5 cases have been disposed off till now. The disposal rate looks pretty less but the investigation procedure requires a lot of scrutiny and analysis. According to the Officer in Charge of the police station, cases like 498 A (torture by husband and his family members), 354 (outrage of modesty), 494 (illicit relationship in spite being married) and dowry tops the chart of cases registered. The OC said, “Whatever cases of family dispute come to us, we first try to provide counselling and solve the case before filing a complaint. If it still do not work than we register a case and follow the procedure.”

The procedure Whenever a case gets registered in the police station, the statement of the complainant is recorded and the place of occurrence is visited. The accused is then arrested and the questioning begins. On enquiring if accused males are also interrogated by the women police, the OC said, “Yes, all the accused, male or female, are interrogated by women police only.” There was also no issue of any male accused behaving offensively with the women police while being questioned. A constable who has been deputed at the police station since inception said, “All the accused

“

Whatever cases of family dispute come to us, we first try to provide counselling and solve the case before filing a complaint. If it still do not work than we register a case and follow the procedure” behave nicely with us and even we behave nicely with the accused irrespective of them being a female or a male. Some of the accused become so friendly with us that after coming out from jail, they invite us for various occasions. I have personally attended many marriage parties of the accused.” So, it seems that the all women police station treats the accused decently.

Muscle power It is strange that being a special police station dedicated only to the women, the manpower of the police station is the same as the day it was started. There are 19 police personnel deputed at the station since 2nd October 1993. The cops do get transferred to different police stations but the number power remains the same.

Sub Inspectors

Assistant Sub Inspectors

Town Head Constable

Constables

Home Guards

The AWPS was started in 1993 but the strength of the police station remains the same and in this condition the case disposal rate and speed remains a question. The city police might claim that it has vowed to increase the women police station strength in the city, but as a matter of fact, before increasing the strength of other police stations, AWPS strength should be increased for speedy results.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

City

DDMA sets garbage management example for GMC RAHUL CHANDA

With the help of an NGO, the DDMA has managed to initiate a small drive to manage garbage disposal and as a result, keep the city clean. Although the project is in its infancy, it can serve as a model for the entire city.

he Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) decided that Ramky would be the best firm to keep the city clean and handed over a Rs 55 crore project to the private player to manage the solid waste and transform it into energy. But Ramky was not able to stand up to the expectations and has already sent a termination letter of the agreement to the GMC, which was signed a few years back. Ramky claims that they have incurred huge loss in the project and the city too, still looks dirty as usual. However, is there no other option left to clean up the city? Will the GMC hand over the project to some other private player again so that some more money is pumped in without any result?

DDMA initiative

The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), as a pilot project has empanelled an NGO registered under DDMA (Pragati Sangha), to carry out a community cleanliness drive programme in ward numbers 18, 20 and 21 under integrated Gu-

We are going door to door to collect garbage from all the households and dumping the garbage in GMC dustbins which is again collected by GMC wahati flood management project, as requested by the NGO itself. DDMA has also directed the GMC to instruct the field level officers/staff of GMC to extend support to the NGO as and when required on approach by the concerned NGO. According to the sources in DDMA, the project was initiated as a pilot project but after the success of the project, the department is planning to extend the reach of the project to other areas of the city too. Until now, no fund has been allotted

of acquiring a bio gas plant which will again cost approximately Rs 2.5 lakhs.” The NGO started the project with areas like Srimantapur and Chilarai Nagar of ward number 18. The survey is on in other areas like Lachit Nagar and Bora Service and all the three wards will be entirely covered soon. The NGO seems confident enough and feels that the project is a success.

The residents

yet for the project but the department has submitted a proposal to the authorities for approximately 5 to 6 lakh rupees for the project. It seems that the project is so successful that the cops also got interested to help the

NGO and there is always a constable in the area to check if anyone is dumping garbage anywhere in the area outside the GMC dustbin.

The NGO

Pragati Sangha, an empanelled NGO of DDMA, Kamrup (M), which also took part actively in the Clean Guwahati initiative, has individually taken up the pilot project and until now, they have been working without any financial support from the government. Pragati Sangha president Babita Bora Deka said, “We are going door to door to collect garbage from all the households and dumping the garbage in GMC dustbins which is again collected by GMC. The households pay Rs 50 per month for the service and do not throw garbage anywhere else.” Enquiring how they manage the funds used for the project, she said, “As of now, we are using our membership money for the project. Initially we started with a budget of Rs 20,000 to pay the workers who collect the garbage. We also have a plan

A local resident of Srimantapur said that earlier, the Ramky people used to come to collect garbage, but it was not regular. But now, Pragati Sangha makes sure that the garbage is collected every day without fail. The local residents are instructed that garbage should not be thrown anywhere. It is also interesting to know that a police constable is always guarding the area by the NGO’s request to check that the area does not get dirty. People might criticise the government or the GMC for not doing enough to keep the city clean, but there are also examples being set by departments like DDMA, that garbage can be managed and the city can be kept clean by small initiatives instead of spending crores without any result. Will the GMC learn anything from such an initiative for a clean Guwahati?

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

In The News

Mid day meal malfunction The joint review mission on mid-day meal (MDM) has pointed out the need for immediate improvement of the implementation of the scheme in Kamrup district.

PRANJAL BORUAH

The report of the mission, which was published recently, further said, “There is a need for dedicated management structure for implementation of the scheme with clear roles and responsibilities, which will help in better monitoring of the scheme right from top to bottom. Flow of fund and food

The Centre constituted review missions in 2009 to review the implementation of the scheme in various States across the country. The objectives of the mission are to review the performance of the scheme in the selected state in the light of the guidelines of the MDM Scheme and to suggest policy measures for effective implementation of the scheme in the State.

Primary

1871

127520

Upper primary

595

65812

Total

4201

514859

Kamrup district at a glance Kamrup (rural) was formed by bifurcation of Kamrup district in 2003, named after Kamarupa, by which present Assam and its adjoining areas were known in ancient times. The district, along with Nalbari and Barpeta together formed the undivided Kamrup district of the 1980s.

Following graphs depicts the coverage against enrolment in the schools visited by the review mission (in 10 days)

4000 3500

Description

2011

2001

3000

Actual population

1,517,542

1,311,698

Area (in square kilometer)

3105

2500

Average Literacy

75.55

67.73

2000 1500

Total Child Population 2v00,061 (0-6 years)

204,843

Literate

995,319

9,267,515

Male Literates

550,219

5,088,530

500

Female Literates

445,100

4,178,984

Child Proportion (0-6 13.18% years)

15.62%

1000

av MD ail M ed

Four out of 28 schools were not having pucca kitchen sheds

Enrolment

Most of the schools were serving meal on regular basis

What is Joint Review Mission?

Number of institutions

In most of the schools, the food grains were delivered to the school doorstep

Type of school

In 12 out of 28 visited schools, there was a delay in payment of honorarium to cook cum helper.

Institutions serving MDM in Kamrup

At te

A delay of 13 days was observed in release of food grains from District to block level.

Implementation

Out of the visited schools 14 per cent schools were not getting cooking cost regularly.

The National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education popularly known as Mid Day Meal Scheme, is a flagship Scheme of Ministry of Human Resource Development. The programme was launched on August 15 in 1995 in government, government aided and local body schools to enhance enrolment, attendance and retention of primary class schoolchildren and to mitigate their class room hunger through nutritional support. The basic objectives of the scheme include prevention of malnutrition among children, achieve universalisation of elementary education by increasing enrolment, retention and attendance of students and thereby reducing dropout rate and improve the nutritional status of children.

There is an urgent need to strengthen the convergence with national Rural Health Mission for the effective implementation of School Health Program. Essential micronutrients were not provided in 54 per cent schools.

Background

“There is a need for dedicated management structure for implementation of the scheme with clear roles and responsibilities, which will help in better monitoring of the scheme right from top to bottom”

ro lm

Observations: Following are the few observations made by the review mission:

grains need to be strengthened further. Emphasis has to be laid on safety and hygiene, creation of awareness and preparation of nutritionally balanced meals. Convergence with department of health for school health programme requires strengthening.”

ased on state government’s recommendation, the mission carried out the review in Kamrup. Altogether 28 schools were chosen for the study. The team interacted with teachers, students, cook-cum-helpers, members of school management committees and local people to understand the reality of MDM implementation at the field level. The review mission followed a methodology to capture the intricacies involved in the implementation of the programme. Instead of selecting a large sample, it emphasised for a greater in-depth study in selected samples to see the details in their entirety. Sources in the education department said that the mission found that the district made a delay for around 83 in releasing funds to the blocks. “The mission was not happy with the delay as it is quite a long time considering the importance of the scheme,” said the source.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Assam still doesn’t have an active Govt. consumer helpline STATE LACKS AWARENSS ON CONSUMER RIGHTS

In The News

Guwahati faces traffic woes shubhojit roy

With states like Mizoram, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh having dedicated helpline numbers for consumers, Assam still doesn’t have any. In a recent meeting, it was highlighted that the authorities still have to take initiatives in making the consumer aware about their rights SHubhojit ROY

n a report assimilated from the Assam State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, it has been found out that a total of 2653 cases have been filed since 1991 to February 2014. An all total of 360 cases are pending with 2293 cases being already disposed off. However, it is strange that Assam doesn’t have an active governmental State Consumer helpline number yet whereas other NE States like Mizoram, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh are already having the facility for the consumers. In a meeting cum awareness camp observed on World Consumer Rights Day by Grahak Suraksha Sanstha and Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum, ‘Fix our Phone Rights’ theme for the year 2014 was addressed. The complaints on improper billing and cellular networking were emphasized upon by Dipanjali Chetia, The Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum’s administrator. The necessity for more public awareness was raised during the programme by the consumer rights activists in order to make the consumers understand their rights and interests. The programme was chaired by Grahak Suraksha Sanstha President along with Rupak Kumar Mazumdar, Director of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department. Mazumdar stressed on the availability of consumer courts in the district level to report complaints pertaining to consumer rights violations. He further added on the significance of Consumer Protection act, 1986. The other dignitaries present during the awareness camp were Bharat Saikia, Secretary, Grahak Suraksha Sanstha, Ajoy Hazarika, Chief Co-ordinator, Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum and Deba Kumar Goswami, Deputy Director of the Department among others. The questions and

views were exchanged between Rights activists and over 100 consumers. Questions’ regarding inadequate supplies at fair price shops and government’s perceived lack of control on the prices of vegetable and other food items were raised. Bharat Saikia, veteran consumer rights activist and secretary, Grahak Suraksha Sanstha, Guwahati, told how the common consumers are cheated by the business houses even today after the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 came into force 25 years ago. “The purpose of organizing the programme was to spread awareness among the people about consumer rights and laws already there to protect their rights,” chief coordinator of the Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum, advocate Ajoy Hazarika said. According to Hazarika, most of the complaints registered with consumer courts in the State were related to supply of LPG cylinders, mobile phone billing and violation of packaging norms. “Many have complained that shopping malls are inserting extra stickers on garments and charging more, which is illegal”, added Hazarika. While talking to Ajoy Hazarika post the awareness programme, Hazarika mentioned that the Assam government is seldom active towards the consumer awareness drive. “It is the NGOs and local bodies which are more active in spreading the awareness but funding is one aspect which hinders the NGOs”, said Hazarika. He further added that their NGO is planning for a district level All Assam Awareness Camp for consumers of the state. Meanwhile, consumers can use helpline number 9854639321 of Consumer for free legal aid on Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum rights and interests.

uwahati is undergoing enormous infrastructural makeovers and with upgradation and upliftment, traffic management is becoming very difficult for the city authorities. More jobs, larger dreams and bigger aspirations are only making Guwahati traffic more congested by the day. The problems are intense and this demands for thorough study and planning. The traffic problems of the city are very much interlinked and one problem leads to another. Lack of parking facility is a major problem in Guwahati which results in roadside parking. Haphazard parking makes the road narrower for the vehicles to pass creating huge traffic congestion and thus, results in slow movement of the vehicles. While talking to Pranab J Goswami, SP Traffic of Guwahati, G Plus found out that an amount of `90 lakh in fines has been collected by the police authorities since the start

With the arrival of the interceptor vehicles, `12 lakh in fines has been collected since January this year and over 2000 cases has already been registered through interceptions. of the year. With the arrival of the interceptor vehicles, `12 lakh in fines has been collected since January this year and over 2000 cases have already been registered through interceptions. “With four interceptor cars being functional in the city, we have got a good control over speeding vehicles. The Interceptor car uses laser radar to detect speed. Also, the video recorder and breath analyser enables us to detect the registration of any suspicious vehicle and drivers under the influence of alcohol respectively”, says Goswami. The major problems that Guwahati suffers are in the bottle neck areas like Lachit Nagar, MG Road and Maligaon. For example, the Lachit Nagar area suffers from the 4-way traffic coming from B. Barua Road, Bishnuram Medhi flyover, BK Kakati Road and Ashram Road. According to Traffic SP P.J. Goswami, lack of man power makes it more difficult for the traffic personnel to manage traffic. Enforcement of law is a very important aspect to the four E’s of traffic regulation which is engineering, education, law enforcement and emergency care. What’s important is the incorporation of civic sense among the citizens from grassroots level as well. With a growing number of vehicles in the city, awareness among people about the traffic laws and regulations is a must.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

In The News

ENFORCEMENT DRIVE INTENSIFIED IN THE CITY Mrinmoyee Hazarika

THE BEACON USERS

The entire month of March will see an intensified drive by enforcement officials to punish errant vehicles so as to ensure better road safety.

I W

ith a view to ensure safety for the road users, the office of the district transport has intensified its enforcement drive against all the commercial vehicles including city buses, trekkers, autorickshaws, trucks and dumpers plying on the city roads. The drive, started this month, has been carried out in different localities of the city under the vehicle registration and enforcement branch of district transport office, Kamrup (M). “We have started surprise special enforcement drives against all the commercial vehicles plying on the roads of the city. We have been doing these kinds of drives in the city since December last year. But, during this month, we have intensified the drive because we have to generate the targeted revenue at the end of the financial year,” DTO (registration and licensing), Kamrup (M), Gautam Das told G Plus. In the last three days of the drive, altogether 22 cases have been registered against faulty vehicles under the motor vehicle (MV) act. Besides, 18 numbers of city buses, 25 numbers of trucks and 3 trekkers were seized by the DTO for flouting the norms of MV act and failure to produce legal and sufficient documents by the vehicles. During the last three days, `43,100 of spot fine has been realised by the transport officials. “We have checked the documents and imposed fine on the vehicles which have not paid the motor vehicle tax and violated the norms of MV act. Besides, fines have been imposed on the drivers and conductors of the city buses who do not wear uniforms, non issuance of fare tickets to the passengers, non display of vehicle numbers, owners name and phone number on the body of the bus,” Gautam Das said.

“

We have started surprise special enforcement drives against all the commercial vehicles plying on the roads of the city. We have been doing these kinds of drives in the city since December last year”

f you were still wondering who can use the VIP beacons on their cars, this should help you to figure out the haves and the have-nots. After the direction of the Supreme Court, the ministry of road transport and highways in pursuance of powers under Clause 1 (iii) of provision to rule 108 of the central motor vehicles rules, 1989 has issued notice to the state government mentioning the officials who are allowed to use red and blue light with or without flasher. Following which, the deputy secretary to the government of Assam, transport department had issued a notice to the concerned district authorities on 10th of March of this year, which is being implemented in the state with immediate effect.

LIST A

Officials allowed using red light with flasher anywhere in the state of Assam while on duty • Governor Of Assam • Chief Minister Of Assam • Chief Justice Of Gauhati High Court • Judges Of Gauhati High Court • Speaker, Assam Legislative Assembly • Cabinet Ministers Of Assam • Leader Of The Opposition In Assam Legislative Assembly • Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal • Deputy Speaker Of Assam Legislative Assembly • Ministers Of State, Assam • Parliamentary Secretaries, Assam • Lokayukta, Assam • Upalokayukta, Assam • Chief Secretary, Assam • Director General Of Police, Assam • Chief Executive Members Of The 6Th Schedule Autonomous Council • Advocate General Of Assam • State Election Commissioner • Chief Information Commissioner

LIST B

• State Information Commissioner

Officials allowed to use blue flasher anywhere in the state of Assam while on duty • Vice chancellor of a university

He further mentioned that autorickshaws refused to run on the fare meters were also being punished. During this financial year till the month of February, the DTO (enforcement), Kamrup (M) has realised more than one and a half crore (Rs 1,56,74,924) of fine and tax. During the same period, a total number of 3515 number of motor vehicle cases have been registered, out of which 639 numbers of cases have remained indisposed. “This drive will continue till 31st of March and after that we will be continuing the regular enforcement drive in the city,” Gautam Das stated.

• Additional chief secretaries, Assam • Principal secretaries to the government of Assam • Divisional commissioners, district and session judges and deputy commissioners will use blue light with flasher within their jurisdiction while on duty • All police officers from additional DGP to SP will use blue light with flasher in their respective jurisdictions while on duty • Additional deputy commissioners/ sub-divisional officer (civil) will use blue light without flasher within their jurisdiction while on duty • Ambulances, transport officials on enforcement duty, police escorts, patrol cars, fire tenders can use multi coloured lights with flasher while on duty. They can use siren also while discharging their responsibilities

The list of passengers, officers and agencies have been identified in view of their status, responsibilities on the field, operational requirements, maintenance of law and order and all activities in public interest. The light on the vehicles of all the personages/ officers/ agencies mentioned in the notification shall be covered with a black cover when they are not occupying the vehicle or are not on duty.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

In The News

THE WEEK THAT WAS

District Admin set to solve Guwahati high court grants bail to Akhil the suicide case

he Kamrup Metro district administration has called for an enquiry into the sensational death of Barun Kalita, his wife and their 10-month old daughter due to an enigmatic suicide by jumping into the river Brahmaputra on October 21, 2013. The District Magistrate, Kamrup Metro, has consigned Kajori Rajkhowa, Executive Magistrate, Kamrup Metro district, to make an enquiry into the death of the three. According to the official statement, Barun Kalita and his wife could not afford

Awards introduced to encourage individuals

hile the government is mulling over the trimming of rhino horns in Assam and also seeking the public opinion on the issue, the Prabhakar Barua Rhino Conservation Trust has introduced an unique idea to encourage the people in the field of conservation. The trust has instituted two awards to honour brave-hearts and community leaders in recognition of their exemplary acts in the field of conservation. The trust has been established with the aim of recognising outstanding service provided by individuals in the field of protection and conservation of the Great One Horned Rhinoceros of Assam. The Prabhakar Barua ‘Gor Surakhya Veer Puraskar’ will be awarded to an individual for the protection and conservation of rhinoceros going beyond the scope of their official duty and the Prabhakar Barua ‘Gor Surakhya Sachetak Puraskar’ will be awarded to an individual of the communities residing in the vicinity of the rhino-bearing areas for their leadership role in the protection of rhinoceros and for providing any information about the activities of poachers. The awards would be confined to activities in the four rhino habitats of the State, i.e., Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Orang National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. The awards will be presented to the winners on the last day of Wildlife Week on October 7.

the treatment of their daughter and were also refused by the GMCH authorities to register their daughter’s name in the ‘State Government Special Medical Scheme for Treatment of the Children below 14 years suffering from CHD’ for not having a BPL card. All individuals, members of the public association, organisation or any interested person can appear for hearing in the office chamber of Rajkhowa, at the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup Metro, Guwahati, between 11 am and 3 pm on March 24.

and also imposed certain restrictions. The accused have been directed not to leave the jurisdiction of the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate without prior permission. The accused shall also not interfere with the investigation or induce any person or witness. Meanwhile, the anticipatory bail petition of Kamal Medhi, the general secretary of the KMSS, has been rejected by the court, while the interim bail of Dhorjya Hazarika has been made absolute. The next date of production of Akhil and his associates in court is March 28.

he Gauhati High Court has granted bail to Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) president Akhil Gogoi along with five of his associates in connection with the Pranab Boro self-immolation case despite the prosecution’s vehement opposition on March 19. The accused KMSS functionaries will have to wait for some time to secure release from the jail as they are yet to be granted bail in other cases in which they were arrested under Dispur Police Station. The court granted the accused with bail against a surety of Rs 25,000 each

Election training for master trainers

n view of the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, training programme of the master trainers was started by the administration of Kamrup (Metropolitan) district from March 18. The administration has selected 104 officials for this purpose. They will be further trained in a phased manner. The training programme was inaugurated by Ashutosh Agnihotri, district election officer and Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metropolitan) district. In his speech, he appealed to the master trainers to discharge

their duties sincerely so that the polling officials get adequate training to conduct the elections in a free and fair manner. Fakharuddin Ahmed,

Additional DC and Bharat Bhushan Dev Choudhury, ADC imparted the training to the master trainers. The first phase level EVM randomisation, as per guidelines of the EC was also organised on March 19 at the conference hall of DC’s office in the presence of the representatives of political parties, which was later on handed over to them. The first phase training will start from March 29 at different locations like Cotton Collegiate HS School, TC Girls’ HS School, Cotton College and others.

Apollo to establish its branch in Ghy

n order to fulfil the needs of the patients of the North eastern region, Indraprastha Apollo hospital, Delhi one of the country’s oldest hospitals is planning to open its branch in Guwahati. The Apollo hospital, Delhi, which has recently completed 30 years of existent, has become one of the busiest solid organ transplant centres in the world by performing 1456 transplants (390 liver and 1066 kidney) in 2013. Addressing the media on Thursday, Dr Sushil Kumar Jain, senior consultant general, anocrectal, laparoscopy and gastroenterology surgery,

Indraprastha hospital said, “The number of patients visit the hospital from the region has been increasing over the years. The hospital authority is planning to establish its branch in the region, likely in Guwahati. Currently, there is an information centre and clinic in Guwahati to serve the purpose of the people

of the North East,” Since its first successful paediatric and adult liver transplants in India, over 13,000 kidney and 1684 liver transplants have been performed. “The availability of the latest imaging, laser radiation equipment and expertise has enabled us to deliver minimally invasive treatment with excellent outcomes and early return to work, making treatment extremely cost effective for a wide variety of urological problems,” Dr N Subramanian, senior consultant urology, Apollo hospitals said who was also present in the event.

Plant Protection Code to boost tea industry’s future

n order to enhance sustainable plant protection practices, the Tea Board of India has launched the “Plant Protection Code” (PPC). The code is a best practice guide to tea production. Its objective is to minimise pesticide use, ensure the sustainability of tea production, while continuing to improve the quality of tea for consumers. The code has been developed by a technical committee consisting of members from the Indian tea industry, the Tea Research Institute of UPASI, the Tea Research Foundation, the Tea Research Association, international certification bodies and a few other organisations. The code serves as a guideline of best practices for crop protection across Indian tea plantations. Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainably produced higher quality products with reduced environmental impact. Its development actively engaged stakeholders across value chain in India’s tea industry.

ICSI makes CS exam format easier for students

n a press conference organized by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) held at Hotel Nandan in Guwahati, the major initiatives of the institute were outlined. President of the ICSI CS R. Sridharan informed on the institute’s

plan to introduce the ICSI computer based examination for its foundation-level course which is offered to XII standard pass students/ appearing students, and an open book examination system in elective subjects in module III of the CS Professional Programme

from June 1st this year. Last year, out of 300 candidates who appeared for CS examination from the northeast region, only 16 students cleared the exam. With the new module coming in, more students will have the opportunity to clear the exam successfully.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

In-conversation

‘GHY RESEMBLES A METRO’ - S. Naren

A leading voice on the Indian economy markets across investment and financial services fraternity, S. Naren, Chief Investment Officer, ICICI Prudential recently visited Guwahati to discuss about the importance of investing in equities for the growth of country’s economy. G Plus exclusively talks to him about the Guwahati market. What do you like about Guwahati?

It is a vibrant city from whatever I can see. Especially the locality of GS Road where I am staying at, it resembles more of a metro. There are supermarkets, shops, traffic jams like Mumbai. I thought Guwahati would have the least amount of traffic, but GS road has fair amount of traffic, which was not expected by me.

How do you see Guwahati as a market? What do you think of the reason for which people are not very participatory towards market like stock exchange and others?

Post 2012, I think real estate has been more or less stagnant. So, now there is a scope for people to consider other assets like equities.

Equities have a lot of risk factors which makes people doubtful about their commitment of approach. How do people come out of that fear factor?

If a person chooses not to invest in equities, it does not mean he is not taking a risk. There is risk in all asset classes, whether it is real estate, equities or gold. In other assets, there is more chance of low return due to higher inflation.

Guwahati stock market is not growing, what is the reason according to you?

Nothing has grown between 2007-2012 phase, similar to the phase of 1995-2002. But both the phases were different and had different problems. However, the thing that worries me is that people wake up late. At present, equity is an attractive asset class and people need to realize now, not later.

Everyone is aware that elections are approaching. But how are elections and market related to one another. Can you explain?

Basically, any election result creates a government. Now, whether the government is able to push up growth and keep inflation under check determines whether equity markets do well or not. So, it is important to have a government that creates growth for the equity market and employment.

How do scams like 2G scam, chit fund scam and so on affect the market and the common people?

If you are a mutual fund investor, you don’t look at it on a two or three day basis. You invest it with your perspective. Normally, any problem which happens in the short run, it becomes a very big positive aspect for the mutual fund

“

investor as one gets opportunity of time to think on where to invest. But, such scams affect the stock traders who are directly related to the market.

Does change of government affect the dealing of market? Government should not deal so much with the market,

Government they should rather deal with the economy. Market is should not just a derived version of the economy. As long as the government is focused with the economy by creating deal so growth, lowering inflation and providing employment, much with I think it’s good enough as market will take care of the market, itself. they should rather deal What is the major problem you see here? The problem in Guwahati or most other cities in India with the is that people have not invested in equities for the past economy” 6 years. How do the average regular men understand about equity and get involved in the market? I think they should just invest in mutual funds and choose products which are defensive. It is not possible for everyone to be a direct equity investor. It’s just not practical.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Ward Watch

Ajanta path

link road in dilapidated condition shubhojit roy

Major Issue

WARD NO

Road condition

ave you been searching for a proper place to stay lately? Well, Ajanta Path looks quite promising; and there are lots of To-let signboards too hanging outside those beautiful houses. The Ajanta Path in the Survey area of Guwahati is one of the well-developed residential zones in the city. The area is well balanced between residential plots and commercial spots. Survey is situated in the centre point of the Beltola Chariali, Ganeshguri and Hatigaon making it one of the prime residential localities in the city. However, the main road of Ajanta path is in a dilapidated condition and attracts negative attention. G Plus went ahead and talked to some of the locals in the area to figure out the inside story.

Better roads please!

The only noticeable scar on the face of the beautiful Ajanta Path’s residential area is its road. As soon as you enter the Ajanta Path from the Survey route, you see the man-hole covers popping out on the centre of the road. “I have seen the condition of the road unchanged from the time I got married and shifted to my husband’s place. However, I can see some construction taking place now but I am not sure if it’s just any pre- election show-off or some real productive initiative,” says Mitali Gogoi, who is a housewife and has been a resident of the locality for quite some time now.

Sub Division

28A/ 28B

No of NA voters

Concentrated Ajanta path & its Region bye-lanes, Survey Better roads for me too! Well, when there is one major problem in the locality, it is obvious that all other minor issues become negligible and people start focusing on the issue, which is visible. The road condition and the blocked drains are a serious reason for worry. While taking a stroll on By-lane No 1 (Gopal Phukan Path) of the Ajanta Path, which is also known as the CM’s road by the locals, we met Mrs. Krishna Phukan who is the President and Secretary of Nagarik Sanstha and Pubali Sangha respectively. Mrs. Phukan told us that their bye-lane is fine but the main road as everyone can see, is deteriorated and needs much attention. Mrs. Phukan also added that the chain snatching menace, according to her, is very high in the locality.

Positive Aspect

Developed residential zone

Live life as it comes

Very seldom do you find people who do not complain about anything and are happy with the things that they acquire themselves. One such jovial person is Amar Kalita of the locality that G Plus came across. “Tell me about a place where there is no problem at all. You are only happy the way you define happiness. I have seen my ups and downs in life and yes, there are problems, but I am not going to complain about it. If there is something I can fix, I would like to fix it myself but I won’t complain”, says Kalita, a businessman by profession. It is to be seen how the road issues will be solved in the near future or if the Ajanta Path continues to be in the dilapidated condition for long. Meanwhile, the re-construction work of the road has already started and one can only hope that the work is not abandoned mid-way.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Space

GUWAHATI ON RENTAL Rented housing covers a large portion of Guwahati’s property scenario and provides an important modes of living to the population.

Mrinmoyee Hazarika

ented housing constitutes a significant proportion of housing in many cities.It is particularly crucial in fulfilling the needs of the urban poor for whom thereare limited shelter options in the city. Guwahati has a high level of rental housing, with 46 percent (recent GMC report) of all dwelling units in the city being of rental tenure. Although existing data does not reveal what proportion of this is inhabited by the urban poor and low-income groups, the extensive field visits in the city indicate that it is quite high. This rental housing has developed a diversity of housing submarkets. A submarket is one where there are certain common characteristics, with regards to components of housing. In a recent survey conducted by G Plus, it was found out that modern living now-a-days costs a fortune. Moreover, if you are going to find a house for rent through housing agencies in the heart of the city, be prepared to pay a certain added amount to the agen-

Area AIDC Dispur (Supermarket) Ganeshguri

Rent Rate* (in )

No. of Rooms

Society Charges (in )

Parking Availability

Security Deposit (in )

Agency Name

Agency Commission (% of 1st month’s rent rate)

DH Properties

60%

DH Properties

60%

DH Properties

60%

14,000

3 bhk

1,500

Yes

28,000

9,000

2 bhk

1,200

Yes

18,000

12,000

3 bhk

1,200

Yes

24,000

14,000

2 bhk

1,000

Yes

28,000

Downtown

9,000

2 bhk

Yes

18,000

Quikservice

35%

ABC

11,000

2 bhk

1,000

Yes

22,000

Quikservice

35%

Noonmati

9,000

2 bhk

1,200

Yes

18,000

Quikservice

35%

Adabari

12,000

2 bhk

Yes

24,000

Tolet Guwahati

50%

*Electricity charges extra Note: All rates are approximate and subject to change

Guwahati has a high level of rental housing, with 46 percent (recent GMC report) of all dwelling units in the city being of rental tenure. Although existing data does not reveal what proportion of this is inhabited by the urban poor and low-income groups, the extensive field visits in the city indicate that it is quite high.

cies prior to renting your habitat. An average of 300 is also charged by certain housing agencies as a registration fee. Many scholars and policymakers have repeatedly emphasised that ignoring rental housing policy does not make it disappear, and that instead this simply deepens the inadequate quality of housing and basic services for, and thereby vulnerability of, urban poor tenants. It is promising that Rajiv Awaas Yojana (RAY), the Central Government’s latest housing policy for the urban poor, has recognised the importance of rental housing in Indian cities.Rajiv Awas Yojana (2013-22), is a scheme of the Government of

India for the benefit of the poor in Urban areas. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the launch of the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), to be implemented in mission mode during 2013-2022. The scheme aims to make India slum-free by 2022 by providing people with shelter or housing free of cost. It is currently running as a pilot scheme and will be launched shortly in mission mode. The government has earmarked Rs. 32,230 crore for the implementation of this scheme during 12th Five Year Plan. One million beneficiaries are proposed to be covered under Rajiv Awas Yojana.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Tea Brand Gets Unexpected Push With the fights in the upcoming elections reaching a fever pitch, there is literally a storm in a tea cup

shambhavi

hat the tea board intended to do for promotion of tea but could not, in this season of election, politicians are doing it for the brand tea. Industry however is cheering the publicity, which tea is generating without spending much on this venture. BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi’s campaign “NaMo chai” and “Chai pe Charcha” and opposition leaders jibe at Modi and his tea brand is helping tea in branding activity, which is facing stiff competition from coffee. Sensing this, top tea retailers have gone through publicity blitzkrieg with election and tea as the theme. In the election season, Wagh Bakri Tea Group, the largest privately held brand, kick started their TV campaign recently on Tea. Similarly, Tata Tea also started the campaign focusing on 49 percent women’s vote. Renton D’Sousa, CEO and National Creative Director, Triton Communications said, “Discussing politics is our national pastime and tea is the perfect catalyst. We leveraged the core strengths of Wagh Bakri Tea i.e. flavour, taste and colour to bring alive the nation’s expectation of the political establishment whilst maintaining the humour and more importantly the brand promise. All of us bond over a

cup of tea and Wagh Bakri Tea is the perfect relationship enabler.” Even local tea brands in Assam are pushing up sales during this election time. The Industry is hopeful that the debate on tea is helping the branding of tea at a time when the brew is facing stiff competition from the coffee especially from the younger generation. In India, about 800 million kgs of tea are consumed annually and consumption is increasing annually at the rate of 3.3%. Around 85% of households in India consume tea. But tea was not attracting youths while coffee in its different formats was able to attract generation next. Captains of the industry who did

not want to be named told Gplus, ”See, we are getting generic promotion. Modi recalls his association with tea and praises Assam tea. Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi tries to distance Modi from Assam tea and positions it as a unique brand. This is helping in the brand campaign for the state tea.” The Chief Minister said that he had questioned the Gujarati tea exporters if Modi tea was exportable. “The exporters informed that Modi tea is Masala (spice) tea and is adulterated. However, Assam produce pure tea which is known across the world for its strong blend and flavour.” He said that exporters informed that Assam tea has the export market

across the world. Industry captains argued that this election is all about youths who are also voters and what best time could it be than to have a debate on the cuppa that cheers. Last year, the Tea board launched a generic campaign for tea - “Aur Ek cup chai pio, mast jio”- drink one more cup of tea and live healthy; aimed at attracting the rural populace to drink tea with Rs 5 Crore failed to revoke much response. However the debate of tea, Modi’s humble beginnings as a tea seller, Election commission’s intervention to stop the campaign and Gogoi’s competition for unique Assam tea, is engaging the voters who are also consumers. This campaign inadvertently has been sponsored by the politicians.

Assam has around 800 big tea estates around. One lakh small tea growers produce roughly

618 million kilos annually.

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Business

NRL goes to Nepal

he Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and Birat Petroleum Private Limited (BPPL), a private oil company of Nepal underwent an agreement in Guwahati wherein NRL is expanding its supply of petroleum products across international borders. Indian Oil Corporation was the only supplier of petroleum products in Nepal prior to this agreement. Under the agreement signed, NRL is going to supply 100kl of motor spirit and 5000kl of highspeed diesel to BPPL on daily basis. While speaking to NRL Manager (Corporate Communications) Madhuchanda Adhikari, Gplus found out that the main objective behind stepping into the venture is to explore new market geographically. NRL will be supplying the agreed petroleum products to Siliguri marketing terminal from where it will be transported across the border to Nepal. “We are also exploring other markets in neighboring countries like Myanmar. NRL is already setting up pipelines to Bangladesh and have received the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from both governments and have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)”, said Adhikari. The NRL aims to achieve capacity of 9 million metric tons from its current capacity of 3 million metric ton in its aspiring venture. The agreement between NRL and BPPL was signed by NRL’s Managing director Dipak Chakravarty, A.K. Bhattacharya, General Manager (Marketing, business development and corporate planning) and Birat Petroleum Private Limited’s Chairman Arjun Chhetri and Neeraj Chhetri, Director. The agreement is to be effective from June, once the completion of all formalities by BPPL in Nepal takes place. NRL has already received permit from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to sell petroleum products besides Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). NRL had explored the market in Nepal for some time now and is set to take the step forward. The venture was only possible after the end of decade long state domination of Nepal Oil Corporation monopoly and privatization of the sector in Nepal.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Life

ANGER MANAGEMENT

Everyone gets angry and most of the time, it ends in pain and frustration. Anger is an emotion best kept in control and under wraps.

ritu gupta

oday, we are facing the burning issue of corruption which, having reached all fields, requires immediate attention. If we can accept corruption as our way of life and carry on, we are cheating ourselves and millions of people in this country. If we do not give the coming generations a society better than ours, we fail to fulfil our responsibility.

t is strange when people keep complaining, ‘Oh gosh! Better stay away from him... he’s very short tempered...’ or ‘He gets angry very easily.’ We have to understand that anger is an emotion, which is there in all of us and cannot be evaded from our lives but yes, we can learn to manage it. As put very beautifully, “Make your anger so expensive that no one can afford it and make your happiness so cheap that people can almost get it.” It takes seconds to burst out in anger but it takes years to build up on what we lose. You should give yourself that permission to get angry and then let it go. As told by Buddha, “You will not be punished for your anger but you will be punished by your anger.” Try to remain calm during heated situations. When we get angry, we are prone to get irritated. Feeling of displeasure and frustration arises and it could even be a cause for our sadness and loneliness, which we are not able to express. Many a times, when we feel helpless and cannot find a solution, then too we tend to get very angry. Getting angry is totally normal since it is part of human emotion. We will never hear anyone saying that he does not get angry. The beauty of it is to overcome it by learning to handle anger. Anger is not just a mental state of mind. It triggers an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and levels of adrenaline. Anger has survival benefits, and forms part of our fight or flight brain response to a perceived threat or harm.

COMMON FACTORS THAT MAKES A MAN ANGRY:

• Grief - losing a loved one • Sexual frustration • Rudeness • Tiredness • Hunger • Pain • Withdrawal from drugs or some medications • Some physical conditions, such as pre-menstrual syndrome • Physical /mental illness • Alcohol, some drugs, alcohol abuse, drug abuse • Being teased or bullied • Humiliation • Embarrassment • Deadlines • Traffic jams • Disappointment • Sloppy service • Failure • Infidelity • Financial problems • Being told you have a serious illness

Countering CORRUPTION

We can counter the big ‘C’ of corruption by bringing 5 more ‘C’s. 1. Connectedness: Corruption begins where a sense of belonging ends. Nobody can be corrupt with their own family or people with whom they have a sense of belonging. So we have to extend the belongingness.

“

Make your anger so expensive that no one can afford it and make your happiness so cheap that people can almost get it. HOW TO MANAGE ANGER

• The easiest way to manage anger is to control. Rather than throwing up on that person, it’s better to move away from him or that particular situation. When you cool down reconsider the whole situation and then take your action. • Counting 1 to 10 is the easiest way to manage anger, and it works. • When you are very angry drink few glasses of water. • Go for brisk walking and shed as much of sweat you can... It will help you to calm down. • Think before you speak. In the heat of the moment, it’s easy to say something you’ll later regret. Take a few moments to collect your thoughts before saying anything — and allow others involved in the situation to do the same. • Try to look beyond and don’t feel you are a loser. Don’t be over sensitive and try to look at the situation from others view point as well. May be they have a valid justification.

• When you feel that you will not be able to hold on with the anger for too long, just excuse yourself find a quiet place and scream out loud. • Writing down your negative thought also helps you to cool down. • Don’t be harsh on yourself. Just because you are angry and helpless don’t misbehave with your own self • Usually our entire anger comes out on our near and dear ones. When such situation arises it’s better to tell them to stay away from you since you are in a bad mood and tell them you will join them once you cool down. Harsh words once spoken is never forgotten and when we are angry we have no control over our speech. Prevention is better than cure. Rather than hurting them and bursting out on them, it’s better to stay away from them. • Many a times shedding tears also gives you a lot of strength to overcome anger. If you feel helpless and want to cry it’s always a good idea to go for it. We have to understand that initially, we need to make an effort to manage anger. But once we have mastered the art, it becomes easier for us to manage. Life becomes easy and we are able to handle situations in a matured way. Don’t let anger control you. Getting angry is like punishing yourself for the mistakes others have made. As put by Buddha, “Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” The best thing is to stay calm and divert your energy to doing something positive and not getting too affected by anger. Learning to control anger is like transforming it to personal power. In the end, I would like to put in that “Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.”

2. Courage: Fear or insecurity makes one corrupt and then one tries to find security through money, which doesn’t really happen. We have to create courage and confidence in one’s ability and the laws of nature. 3. Cosmology: Everything in creation, the air, every cell in our body and every atom is old and recycled, and this will continue. Seeing life from a perspective of extended space and time will deepen the vision and enrich the heart. 4. Compassion: It can bring back dedication in society and destroy corruption. 5. Commitment to contribution.: If we think ‘How can I be useful to people?’, rather than ‘what can I gain?’ then corruption can be rooted out. The young generation, who have inherited this great country, must resolve to take responsibility for society. Each and every youth has enormous power and the qualities of enthusiasm, fun, and readiness to create something new. At the same time there is a big responsibility on all the spiritual and religious leaders to bring up human values among people. Spirituality can create a sense of responsibility, belongingness and bring about a social change. It was this same power that Mahatma Gandhi used to help us secure freedom. Human values take you from a state of dependency to a state of total responsibility. And when you take on responsibility or dedicate your life for a social cause, then you don’t have to sit and worry for your little needs. They will be met automatically. This is a law in nature. See how we can reduce our needs and increase our responsibilities. This is absolutely essential in today’s world. Everyone should speak out against corruption. Many times you cannot do it alone, but together, we can achieve a lot. Fight against injustice, but without anger or violence. The spiritual values of Ahimsa and Ttruth transcend time and work everywhere, even today.

mail us at: life@g-plus.in Ritu Gupta is a psychological counsellor dealing with people having individual, marital, job related and child related issues. She also assists Dr. Deepak Goenka with infertility counselling.

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Health

Face to Face with ‘Choles-terror’! Dr.Bikash Rai Das, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon

igh cholesterol is one of those health problems that can creep up on you. You can’t feel it and you can’t always see it while being overweight is certainly a risk factor for the condition, being skinny is no insurance against it. In fact, you could be going about your business, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight, until one day you go to the doctor, and - BAM! find out your unexpected high cholesterol diagnosis is caused by your diet. Thankfully you can easily decrease your cholesterol level by making a few not-so-painful diet adjustments.

What is cholesterol?

It may be surprising to know that cholesterol itself isn’t bad. In fact, cholesterol is just one of the many substances created and used by our bodies to keep us healthy. Some of the cholesterol we need is produced naturally (and can be affected by our family health history); while some of it comes from the food we eat. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that’s found in all cells of the body. Cholesterol comes from two sources: our body and food. Our liver and other cells in our body make about 75 percent of blood cholesterol. The other 25 percent comes from the foods we eat. Cholesterol is only found in animal products. Your body needs some cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help you digest foods. Your body makes all the cholesterol it needs. Cholesterol travels through your bloodstream in small packages called lipoproteins. These packages are made of fat (lipid) on the inside and proteins on the outside. Two kinds of lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout your body: low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Having healthy levels of both types of lipoproteins is important. So, there are two types of cholesterol: “good” and “bad.” It’s important to understand the difference, and to know the levels of “good” and “bad” cholesterol in our blood. Too much of one type — or not enough of another — can put you at risk for heart disease- heart attack. HDL is the “good” cholesterol which helps keep the LDL (bad) cholesterol from getting lodged into our artery walls. A healthy level of HDL may also protect against heart attack, while low levels of HDL (less than 40

mg/dL for men and less than 50 mg/ dL for women) have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease. Regular physical activity can help our body produce more HDLs. Reducing trans-fats and eating a balanced, nutritious diet is another way to increase HDL. If these measures are not enough to increase your HDL to goal, your healthcare practitioner may prescribe a medication specifically to increase your HDLs. LDL cholesterol is the “bad” cholesterol. When too much of it circulates in the blood, it can clog arteries, increasing our risk of heart attack and stroke. LDL cholesterol is produced naturally by the body, but many people inherit genes from their mother, father or even grandparents that cause them to make too much. Eating saturated fat, trans fats and dietary cholesterol also increases how much you have.

What Can Cholesterol Do?

When too much LDL (bad) cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart. Together with other substances, it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrowed artery, a heart attack or stroke can result. High cholesterol is one of the major controllable risk factors for coronary heart disease and heart attack. A heart attack occurs if the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of heart muscle is cut off. If blood flow isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle begins to die. Without quick treatment, a heart attack can lead to serious problems or death. As your blood cholesterol rises, so does your risk of coronary heart disease. If you have other risk factors (such as high blood pressure or diabetes) as well as high cholesterol, this risk increases even more. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing coronary heart disease. Also, the greater the level of each risk factor, the more that factor affects your overall risk.

Symptoms, Diagnosis & Monitoring of High Cholesterol

Even though high cholesterol may lead to serious heart disease, most of the time there are no symptoms. This is why it is important to

Health Tip

have your cholesterol levels checked by your doctor. To reduce our risk of heart disease cholesterol levels are to be monitored regularly and a healthy lifestyle should be maintained. Even if your cholesterol levels are good now, it’s not too early to develop healthy habits that can help keep your numbers in check.

Prevention and Treatment of High Cholesterol

The good news is, we can lower our cholesterol and reduce our risk of heart disease. Take responsibility for managing your cholesterol levels. Whether you’ve been prescribed medication or advised to make diet and lifestyle changes to help manage your cholesterol, carefully follow your doctor’s recommendations.

Lifestyle Changes

Your diet, weight, physical activity and exposure to tobacco smoke all affect your cholesterol level — and these factors may be controlled by: -eating a heart-healthy diet, -enjoying regular physical activity, and -avoiding tobacco smoke.

Know Your Fats

Knowing which fats raise LDL cholesterol and which ones don’t is the first step in lowering your risk of heart disease.

Cooking for Lower Cholesterol

It’s not hard to whip up recipes that fit with the low-saturated-fat,

“High cholesterol is one of the major controllable risk factors for coronary heart disease and heart attack” low-cholesterol eating plan recommended by scientists to help you manage your blood cholesterol level and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. For some people, lifestyle changes alone aren’t enough to reach healthy cholesterol levels. Your doctor may prescribe medication. Somebody of your family has been diagnosed with high cholesterol and has been advised to follow a diet low in cholesterol and saturated fats. Now, comes the challenge for the lady of the house – to serve healthy and tasty foods. This is as hard a task as changing the eating habits acquired over the past years. It is a wrong notion that the

more oil you use in cooking, the tastier the food. If you can follow some small changes to your meals, the meals can be satisfying and healthy too! And believe me it is worth the change. It is also time to change the habits of everyone in the house and teach the younger generation about eating healthy.

Foods to restrict/avoid

Rich pastries, deep fried snacks and sweets, cream, butter, ghee, mayonnaise, red meats, full cream milk and yogurt, kheer, condensed milk, evaporated milk, all full fat cheeses, fast foods and any cooking oil.

Foods allowed and some tips in lowering fats in diets: • • • • • • • •

All kinds of vegetables, in any amount. Choose chicken (skinned), and all kinds of fish prepared in any way but not deep fried. Fat free milk and yogurt and low fat cheeses Fruits – at least 3 in a day. Eat any citrus fruit when you feel the need for a sweet. Not more than 2 cups coffee per day. If you insist on using eggs, use one whole egg and the other only the egg white. De-skin poultry and remove all visible fat before cooking. If you need to cook red meat, then cook in sufficient water, chill and skim the fat layer that forms on top. Then continue with the preparation.

Avoid heavy meals at night, because the body does not require more calories while sleeping as the metabolism slows down. This helps to sleep better.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Web Watch

Sony unveils prototype virtual reality headset for Playstation

ony Corp unveiled a prototype for a new virtual reality headset accessory for its Playstation 4 games console on Tuesday at the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, as it bids to further acceptance of the concept. The headset, still in development under the name “Project Morpheus”, is designed to provide an immersive experience for gamers by projecting a virtual reality image in front of their eyes that shifts as it tracks the movement of their head. Sony has been eager to popularise virtual reality goggles, releasing its first “personal 3D viewer” for watching movies in August 2011, but the concept has been slow to catch on among users that rejected it as clunky and gimmicky. However, Project Morpheus marks the first specialist gaming headset from Sony Computer Entertainment, which has been experimenting with the format since 2010. The president of the division, Shuhei Yoshida, said the company was “encouraged by the enthusiastic response” to similar products from start-ups like Oculus VR and

Valve in recent months. “This is the culmination of our work for three-plus years and realizes our vision of VR for games,” said Yoshida at an event at the conference organised by Sony, as he showed off a prototype at a surprise announcement attended by over 350 developers, journalists and game enthusiasts. The prototype is a black and white headset with a thin strip of blue light on the rim. The headset will be integrated with the PlayStation 4’s camera, controller and Move motion sensors, and has stereoscopic sound to immerse users in the games they are playing. Sony said it would make the headset available to game developers soon. It has not set a date for its release. Sony had sold 6 million units of its Playstation 4 as of March 2, speeding ahead of its target of 5 million for the fiscal year to the end of this month. The console went on sale on November 29 in the United States, Western Europe and Latin America, around the same time that rival Microsoft Corp’s Xbox One was released. That console topped 3 million units at the end of last year.

Firefox 28 released with UI changes and multiple bug fixes

ozilla has released the latest general release build of the Firefox browser, specifically, Firefox 28 for Android, Linux, Mac and Windows. Existing Firefox users will be upgraded to Firefox 28 automatically (or can check for updates via the About Firefox dialog in the Help menu), while new users can download the latest version from Firefox.com. The Firefox 28 for Android, on the other hand, is being rolled out to the Google Play store and will be available in all regions in coming days. Mozilla says Firefox 28 for Android features improved text selection, cut, and copy; awesomebar entries now trigger predictive lookup; new multiple quick share buttons; added support for OpenSearch;

VP9 video decoding; horizontal HTML5 audio/video volume control; support for Opus in WebM; added settings switch to toggle dynamic toolbar mode and various security fixes. Mozilla has also listed some of the unresolved issues like text rendering issues on Windows 7 for desktop, while for mobile some devices running Android 4.3 or Android 4.4 might experience playback problems with embedded h.264 video, and crashes interacting with the back button on x86 tablets (Galaxy Tab 3 10.1). In February, Mozilla rolled out Firefox 27, which majorly brought updates for the Firefox Social API. It included support for Web 2.0 social bookmarking tool Delicious and the Indian music service Saavn.

Flappy Bird is coming back to the App Store

fter the game’s rapid media rise, seemingly out of nowhere, last month, Dong Nguyen, the game’s 28-year-old developer, abruptly pulled the title from the iOS App and Google Play stores. The Vietnam-based developer apparently took the game down because he’d been hounded by the press and had been uneasy about what the game was doing to its players. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he mentioned people who had lost their jobs, a mother who had stopped speaking with her children, and school children who had smashed their phones. “At first I thought they were just joking,” he told the magazine. “But I realize they really hurt themselves.”

Facebook announces 15-second auto play video ads If you were already fed up with advertisements and sponsored content on your Facebook news feed, then brace yourself for some more. In a move that’s likely to draw sharp criticism from users, Facebook has formally announced launching 15-second auto play video ads, which will start playing without sound as they appear on screen. The ad will stop as soon you scroll past. To watch the video, you need to tap the video, which then expands into full screen. According to Facebook, users will start to see these new ads “over the next few months”. Facebook has been long rumoured to be working on “video ads”. According to reports, the social networking giant has already tied up with several brands including the likes of Coca Cola, Ford, and American Express for auto-play video ads. The new video ads are part of Facebook’s consistent efforts to explore more options to generate revenue. Facebook says it will ensure video ads that appear on the website “are as good as other content people see in their News Feeds.” Facebook has also tied up with Ace Metrix. “Ace Metrix will allow us to objectively measure the creative quality of the video in the Facebook environment, and highlight performance indicators for advertisers such as watchability, meaningfulness and emotional resonance. We’re taking this step in order to maintain high-quality ads on Facebook and help advertisers understand what’s working to maximize their return on investment,” says Facebook in a post.

Still, he left the door open for the game’s return, saying he was “considering” it. Wednesday’s tweet gives us a definitive answer. In its absence, a host of Flappy Bird clones have popped up. They range from Sesame Street’s Flappy Bert to one of the stranger incarnations, Bird Jesus -- a mashup of the game with another bizarre Internet phenomenon, Twitch Plays Pokemon. But folks who missed out on downloading the game while it was originally available will have to wait awhile before they can get their thumbs on the real thing. While Nguyen confirmed the game is coming back, he said the timing would be “not soon.”

Google Maps hack turns any Street View into an urban jungle

f you want to see New York as a wilderness area, you can watch the CGI makeover in “I Am Legend,” or turn to the Urban Jungle Street View site. Urban Jungle takes advantage of a little-known part of Street View called depth data. This allows the positioning of objects in the correct 3D space, so it really looks like a tree is growing out of the middle of Times Square. It can be hard to navigate around once you’re in the Urban Jungle map because the usual Street View directional cues are absent. Also, everything that might look familiar is

covered in vegetation. This is really more about the novelty of slathering Street View locations with greenery. It works best in locations with tall buildings, but feel free try it out on your own house. The Urban Jungle experiment may not be around for long. Einar Öberg, the site’s creator, confesses on Twitter that he’s “breaking terms of use like it’s no tomorrow.” That’s mean you had better get in on the jungle-making fun while you still can. I tried to use the Urban Jungle Street View to navigate into special Street View locations like the Large Hadron Collider and the Earl’s Court Tardis, but wasn’t able to get it to work. This would be a nifty feature if there is way to enable it. If there is, and I just missed it, then set me right in the comments. I really want to see the Tardis console draped with vines.

Know The Web Better In this section we dig the whole internet to show you rare yet useful sites that are worth visiting.

Frequency.com

There’s so much video content floating around the Internet that it’s really easy to miss a heck of a lot of good stuff! Frequency is the solution. Frequency gathers the latest videos just for you from Facebook and Twitter, CNN and from thousands of other websites and blogs and lets you watch everything in one place.

Getpocket.com

Pocket brings you the joy of saving anything you want to read or look at for later, on any device: images, videos and articles on your iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone or Kindle Fire.

coursera.org

Coursera gives you the opportunity to access the world class education without leaving your

home. It provides the technology to participate in a global community of students with interactive online courses, led by some of the World’s top professors.

Appear.in

Appear.in is a slick, visually beautiful, free video conference website. The user does not need to register an account or download anything. One can easily create chat room and send the link to their friends to join.

Textastrophe.com

This website is a reminder of why one shouldn’t post their cell phone number publicly on the web. The creator starts a text conversation with random numbers found on Craigslist ads and publishes the transcript on the internet.

Indrajeet Bhuyan is a 16 year old tech blogger and security researcher. He is passionate about computers and believes in sharing knowledge and information . He uses his spare time helping people and companies secure themselves. fb.me/indrajeet.bhuyan

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Review Director: Bhushan Patel Cast: Sunny Leone, Sandhya Mridul, Parvin Dabas

T Director: Rajat Kapoor Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Rajat Kapoor, Namit Das

R Director: Nagesh Kukunoor Cast: Monali Thakur, Shefali Shah, Ram Kapoor, Nagesh Kukunoor, Satish Kaushik

akshmi (Monali Thakur) is sold off into prostitution by her father. Acquired by her pimp Chinna (Nagesh Kukunoor) and his brother Reddy Garoo (Satish Kaushik), the girl is faced with living as a sex worker at a brothel. After two failed attempts to escape from the hell and a near fatal experience, the girl is rescued by a local NGO. She then decides to retaliate by filing a case against Reddy and Chinna. A 13 year old is kidnapped and sold into prostitution. Smoothly socialized and trained into the art of selling herself every night, Lakshmi‘s spirit doesn’t suffer a beating despite drowning regularly in bottles of rum and living in haze of cigarette smoke. The transition of the innocent girl converting into a woman who must survive to satiate the lust of many men is spellbindingly done. There are too many points in the film where the story seems to lose steam mainly in the second half. A lot of it coming off as unwarranted or unvalidated. But none of it matters when Kukunoor manages to enthuse a spirited narrative from a story that is heartbreakingly true and still not an isolated incident even today. Why Reddy Garoo’s helping hand decides to help Lakshmi in her case against her pimps and why his personal physician testifies in court against him are confusing loopholes, but we are so busy feeling a part of Lakshmi‘s success that these points are inevitably forgotten. The story takes a while to fall in place with its initial hold being merely portraying the trauma of the protagonist. But when it gathers steam, it is nearly undefeated. Tertiary characters are etched with

acute detailing. Lakshmi‘s caring roommate who protects her and still teaches her the art of seduction or her caring boss who slaps her and cares for her with equal ease too manage to make a mark in course of narrative. They aren’t just their to support the lead but have the dilemmas of their own life. And in the end, the script wins for being able to evolve Lakshmi into an awe-striking character from the timid 14 year old. When she files a case against her offenders, she has the raw brutality in her wrath which manages to not allow her to lose focus on getting them convicted even when everything else goes against her. It is perhaps that audacious heroism that formed the crux of the film’s theme and what it attempts to preach. Nagesh Kukunoor is afterall the one who walks in with maximum accolades for being able to show the valor in making a film which is absolutely unlike him. Usually known for the tenderness of delicate stories like Dor and Iqbal, he shows his true tenacity with Lakshmi. Toppling himself into an unsurpassable league he has conjured up the courage to make something so gutsy and marvelous that will get you so disturbed and yet you can’t back out from hearing what he has to tell. Lakshmi is in one word a heroic film. Not only for the story that Kukunoor has decided to tell but also the crude manner in which he tells us that makes a far reaching impact. This is a film that will penetrate into your psyche and horrify you to wits for being a vehemently powerful and intense story. I am going with a 3.5/5. More of such heart in your mouth stories are needed to bring about changes.

ajat Kapoor’s Ankhon Dekhi might just end up being a dark horse in the race of Bollywood releases this Friday. The actor who worked in small budget films that earned good reviews and made decent box office collections like Bheja Fry and Phas Gaye Re Obama, might just have another hit under his belt. And despite Sunny Leone and her horrex film Ragini MMS 2 grabbing all the limelight, our reviewer Prateek Sur decided to catch Kapoor’s less promoted and not so sexy Ankhon Dekhi and here’s what he had to say, “Cinematically ecstatic..made beautifully on a very low budget.. high on performances..very believable concept of believing only what you see.”

he film begins from where its prequel ‘Ragini MMS’ ended. ‘Ragini MMS’ revolved around a young couple Ragini and Uday who went to an isolated house for a dirty weekend and the creepy and paranormal happenings that took place with them there. In this movie, Ragini has been sent to a mental asylum and her boyfriend Uday is missing. The incident garners attention of a filmmaker Rock played by Parvin Dabas who wants to make a film on this incident. He signs an actress named Sunny played by Sunny Leone to play the lead role of Ragini. In order to make the film more realistic, he decides to shoot the film in the haunted bungalow where the incident had taken place. As the shooting begins, spine chilling horrific incidents start taking place. These paranormal incidents leave the cast and crew shaken and surprised. Everyone wants to get rid of the place but Rock’s passion and the consequences do not permit them to leave the haunted bungalow before finishing the shooting. Is the place really haunted, why Rock doesn’t want to leave the place? The film has already garnered public attention with its hot promo and trailer. The film’s trailer witnessed millions of hits on Youtube within a short span of time. The kiss-

ing scene between Sunny Leone and Sandhya Mridul in this film also stirred a controversy. If the plot of the story is so exciting and Balaji honcho Ekta Kapoor is the producer, it would be better if you take a final call on whether to watch this flick or not because it all depends on your choice and preference. Ekta Kapoor’s motive to sign Sunny Leone is fulfilled. In the name of acting, this former porn-star has only oozed oomph factor. If she would have done a little more than this, Ragini MMS 2 might be called an adult movie. Despite the censor board’s intervention, there are a few scenes which will leave you in sweat. It seems that director Bhushan Patel had not much to say throughout the shoot except saying ‘cut’ on time.

Director: Satish Kaushik Cast: Sharman Joshi, Mahi Gill, Anupam Kher, J. Brandon Hill, Saurabh Shukla, Rajpal Yadav, Jackie Shroff

ll in all its not a horror film, as it highlights the fact that due to increasing population, even ghosts are not left with any place to live moreover they are facing tough times in finding peaceful place to reside, because of which they usually settle down in jungles or old scanted bungalows. One such haunted bungalow is ‘Royal mansion’, where no one lives and the owner rarely rent’s it for shooting. And once during a shooting the actress faints after seeing the Ghost in the mirror where on the contrary the ghost did not wanted to scare her but was trying to escape from all the haste caused by the shooting which had killed the peace around. The owner of the house wants to sell it to build a shopping mall, because of which all the ghosts are tensed as the ‘royal mansion’ was the only place left in the city for them. This movie showcases the struggle ghosts have to go through for surviving. The gig is full of drama, entertainment and action. The movie is bit on the unusual side, so if you are bored of serious and traditional movies and willing to cater your taste buds with something new this movie might offer you a different platter. Satish Kaushik is known for his comic sense hence has done a decent job. Sharman Joshi has done a good job. Meera Chopra has raised the bar of expectations with her performance.

NOW SHOWING Ragini MMS 2

Gang of Ghosts

Queen

Apsara Cinema

Daily at 11AM, 2 & 8 PM

Daily at 5 PM

Anuradha Cineplex

Daily at 11.30 AM & 5 PM

Daily at 9 AM, 2 & 8 PM

Fun Cinemas

Daily at 10.30 AM, 6 & 8.30 PM

Daily at 12.45 PM

Daily at 3.10 PM

Gold Cinema (Fancy Bazar)

Daily at 11AM, 2, 2.30, 5 & 8 PM

Daily at 11.30 AM, 8.30 PM

Daily at 5.30 PM

Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazar)

Daily at 11AM, 2, 5 & 8 PM

Daily at 11.30 PM

Daily at 2.30 & 5.30 PM

Gold Cinema (Narengi)

Daily at 11AM, 2, 5 & 8 PM

Ankho Dekhi

Daily at 8.30 PM

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Food

SUMMER DELIGHT |

Sanjukta Dutta food enthusiast

SUMMER SALAD

his light salad is extremely good to keep your stomach filled and cool during the summer season (with the kind of heat we Guwahatians need to face every summer). Summer Salad Delight is my signature dish and is love by my family and friends. Infact the name of this salad was suggested by a fellow foodie friend Snehalata Saika’ from Delhi. Here I present to you a power packed salad that will give you the right energy to beat the summer heat of Guwahati.

INGREDIENTS for salad • • • • • •

Cucumber- 1 medium size Apple- 1 Penne Pasta - one cup boiled and drained Corns- boiled (about 1/2 bowl) Peppercorns- a few (optional) Green olives- a few ( I have used the non-pitted ones) • Salt, pepper and Chilli flakes (for seasoning)

METHOD IS SIMPLE

Cut the cucumber and apple into bite size pieces and keep them in a mixing bowl. Add the boiled penne pasta, corn and pepper corn, olives and keep them aside.

his pudding is close to my heart and takes me back to my childhood days which I spent in Tea Gardens of Upper Assam. This particular ‘Sweet Dish’ dominated the dessert section of parties that I attended. I take this opportunity to share with you today ‘the bread-butter caramel pudding’

The Salad Dressing I have used 3 tablespoon of yogurt, just a dash of mint chutney (can be replaced with crushed mint leaves), some salt and pepper with about a few drops of extra

INGREDIENTS

Virgin Olive Oil and mix them all together. Once mixed properly, the salad dressing is all ready to be mixed with the remaining salad. Pour the salad dressing over the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Now transfer this

• 2 eggs • 2 cups of milk • Sugar (for sweetening and caramelization of the base) • Bread slices (cut the sides) • Butter (generously spread over the bread slices) • 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

BREAD BUTTER CARAMEL PUDDING

into a salad tray or bowl and put in a few chilli flakes over it. Your salad is ready and serve it chilled with bread, wine etc. Relish it this summer to remain super cool.

HOW TO MAKE THIS 1) Whisk the eggs in a bowl with the help of a fork, keep whisking till frothy. Add about a tablespoon of sugar into it and whisk till the sugar is evenly dissolved.

2) Now add the milk into the egg mixture along with the vanilla essence. Whisk for a while and keep the bowl aside. 3) Take an aluminium pudding mould and add about 5 tablespoon of sugar into it and put it on gas stove in medium flame. As the sugar caramelizes, we bring the mould out of the flame. 4) Put in the bread slices in the mould in such a way that the base is not seen and the caramelized sugar is covered. 5) Now, add the egg and milk mixture over the mould. its ready to be steamed. 6) In a large deep pan, add water and put in the pudding mould into it. Cover with a tight lid. Steam it in a medium flame for about 20 good minutes. 7) Once done, take the mould out and put it in room temperature. Once it cools down, put a plate in the mouth of the mould and set the mould upside down and leave it like that. After sometime, the pudding will fall into the plate with the caramelized sugar base on the top.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Events

(L to R) Aniruddha Chaudhuri & S. Naren of ICICI Prudential with Pallav Bagaria of Brand New Day

MARKETS & ECONOMY An Investor Education Initiative by Brand New Day Date: 20th March, Venue: Vishwaratna Hotel

bounce forward with Sam Cawthorn by Young Indians, Guwahati

Shekhar Gupta (2nd from left) & S. Naren with investors

Date: 20th March, Venue: GMCH Auditorium

Mahila Mangal Exhibition Date: 20th March, Venue: Hotel Millennium

DATE

7days

Next VENUE

EVENT

21st, 22th, 23rd March

Cafe Hendrix

Live – Mihir Phukan “Wizard Crossing”

22nd - 24th March

Guwahati Medical College and Hospital

Medifest 2014 – Battle of DJS (an annual inter-institutional socio-cultural and literary fest of Gauhati Medical College)

22nd March

Terra Mayaa

Festival Promo Party with Mad Maxx (United Beats Records) - Live

22nd March

Club DMD

High Voltage Nite with Poison Mr. 909 and DJ Jupiter

26th March

Club Ozone

Rocka Rolla Pub Rock Fest ‘14 - Featuring - Lunatic Fringe (Progressive Black Metal), Maximal (Progressive Metal), Tyrrhenian (Progressive Metal), Unseen Elysium (Metalcore), Virgin Creep (Alternative Rock), Xontrax (Melodic Black Metal)

27th March

Shraddhanjali Kanan

Exams Gone, Life On – Exam Over.. So letz Party!!

Want your event to be featured on this page? Just mail us at info@g-plus.in

Holi Rain Dance Festival

Organised by Friends Club (Fancy Bazaar) Date: 20th March, Venue: GMCH Auditorium

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Your weekly dose of HOROSCOPE ARIES

If your life were a French film, Monday would be the part in the movie when you suddenly see what you need to do very clearly, and nothing can stand in the way of you doing it. Tuesday and Wednesday, you collect an Academy Award for your performance. People who pass you on the street pause and walk backwards a few yards just to explain what a role model you are to them. It’s funny, then, that Thursday and Friday should be so gloomy. An odd feeling follows your accomplishments on those days. The feeling is: What next? Saturday and Sunday, dive into your next big adventure without thinking hard about it.

TAURUS At some point on Monday, you tune everything else out and suddenly think: Aha! What pops into your head isn’t a panacea to global conflict, but it’s significant to you. It’s the kind of insight that throws light on a number of answers. On Tuesday and Wednesday, you’re thinking radically, and you may be a little too invested in what others say. Keep in mind that you’re just extra-sensitive right now. Thursday and Friday, the solution to a small problem comes to you as advice from a good friend. Saturday and Sunday, take it easy.

GEMINI Like a certain out-of-season mythical holiday figure, you’re drawing up lists and checking them twice on Monday. The problem is that nothing is clear at the moment, so try as you might to categorize and strategize, it just doesn’t work. Tuesday and Wednesday, look for other ways of organizing your life. Consider the ideas presented in the context of friendly debate. Remember that you stand to learn something. Thursday and Friday, deep thinking turns into intense dreaming. Make yourself heard on Saturday and Sunday.

CANCER

TIMEPASS

LIBRA

For some reason, the face you present to the world on Monday is not the face you think you’re presenting. Expect wild misreading of your mood. And cut yourself a wide swath: Maybe going out with friends isn’t the best idea. Tuesday and Wednesday, the challenges you face are largely money-related. The more flexible you are, the sooner everything will be squared away. On Thursday and Friday, your energy level is finally as high as you’d like it to be. You’ll be stopping to help old ladies carry groceries up the stairs. This weekend, too, you’re busy as a bee.

LEO With all the enthusiasm you have on Monday, you can’t go wrong. Convey your admiration to someone with an original jingle. Lay it on thick. Make a winning impression. Tuesday and Wednesday are entirely lacking in inspiration for original jingles, what with all the problems laid out before you — power struggles, other issues. But Thursday and Friday put you in an incredibly creative mood, and you want to do something meaningful. Listen and be open to anything. Follow your instincts. Saturday and Sunday, someone teaches you something interesting.

VIRGO The romance of Sunday extends into Monday and starts your week on what may be the best foot possible. It’s the foot you use to tango. It’s excellent when romance has a creative dimension to it, isn’t it? Tuesday and Wednesday, the urge to clean house overcomes you — it’s a happy, productive urge. If, while you’re cleaning, someone calls to ask for your advice on something, don’t take the opportunity to be critical. Be purely constructive. Thursday and Friday, others won’t be as organized as you (surprise, surprise), but don’t let it get to you. This weekend, your spirits are high.

You’re flooded with thoughts of the past on Monday. You may be thinking about world history or about personal history — whatever the case, you’re sentimental about it. Chalk up the bummer feeling to the emotional vicissitudes of everyday life. And chalk this up to the same: Tuesday and Wednesday are nothing but fun. Good times and great conversations. On Thursday and Friday, you’re inundated with work projects. Getting as much done as possible before the weekend is smart. Saturday and Sunday, you’ll want to spend all your time staring into someone’s eyes.

SCORPIO Where there’s a will, there’s a way — this is truer than ever on Monday. Let your determination make the naysayers step back. But be pleasant about it. As you initiate new projects in one realm of your life, another realm — your home life — seems to take a turn for the worse, especially on Wednesday. The problems are not as bad as they seem, though, and Thursday and Friday provide you with plenty of time for unadulterated pleasure. Music or theater figures prominently. Saturday and Sunday, as much as you’d like to stay in the art-appreciation mindset, fitness is crucial.

SAGITTARIUS Saving money can be a source of pleasure, a challenge, a game of sorts. Rather than buying wrapping paper and a card, write a message to someone on a piece of paper and wrap your present in the note. You know, that kind of thing. Tuesday and Wednesday, extend your creativity by communicating with perfect strangers — you never know with whom you might hit it off. Thursday and Friday, you won’t be hitting it off with many people, what with the bizarre waves of weariness crashing upon you. In the latter half of the week, Saturday and Sunday are your social days.

CAPRICORN You know that feeling when your favorite song comes on the radio? That enthusiastic, elated feeling? That’s what Monday is like, but on a bigger scale, obviously, because it doesn’t last only three minutes; it lasts all day. Tuesday and Wednesday, apply yourself to a project that has eluded you for a long time. The breakthrough won’t come until you’re already a few steps into it. Then, Thursday and Friday, be purely creative. If you’ve been writing songs, write more. Indulge your impulses. Get work done some other time. That said, on Saturday and Sunday, if your family needs you, be there.

AQUARIUS You’re a train conductor on Monday, and the most important thing is that you stay on the tracks. Keeping to your schedule is important, too. You’re a vital link in a much bigger system and there’s a lot riding on you, so be disciplined. Thankfully, Tuesday and Wednesday offer chances to have fun. Maybe you’ll meet an intelligent traveler who takes a liking to you. Romance could occur. Thursday and Friday, you’re constantly sidetracked — though in a dreamy, pleasant way. (Just make sure you’re not in anyone else’s way.) This weekend, you find yourself in bohemian environs. Cool.

PISCES By asking someone for a favor on Monday, you may be doing them a favor without knowing it. So, if they say yes, don’t feel guilty. As a way of expressing your thanks (to them and to the world at large), make your services available — for free — on Tuesday and Wednesday. Friends helping friends is a beautiful kind of economy. Then, Thursday and Friday, the time comes to do yourself a favor. Maybe this means splurging at a spa, or maybe it means something more modest, like buying a book you’ve had your eye on. This weekend is a perfect time for reading.

JUST FOR LAUGHs A White Man visited Ozoro Community in Delta State and saw the people carrying blocks on their heads from a far distance to a building site, they were building a town hall. The White Man felt pity on them, donated a wheel barrow and travelled back.

SUDOKU

One month later, the white man came back. He was surprised to see that the work was still slow, even with a wheel barrow. He looked around and got shocked to see the on-coming wheel barrow with a guy pushing it, and another guy sitting inside it, smiling, with a block on his head.

Solutions (Last Issue)

Fun

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

ARCHITECTS & DESIGNERS G Plus will keep on publishing such relevant and useful information in this page in the coming issues.

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G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

G-Talk

Should the rhinos be dehorned to save them from poaching? Arwat Challam

Environmentalist

Manas Kumar Bhattacharjya Environmental activist

POINT

ehorning or trimming of rhino horns has proved effective according to statistics available from Namibia. The exercise was carried out in Namibia between 1989 and the early 1990s. At the same time it is important to note that the exercise was accompanied by heightened security and more funding for antipoaching activities. Success stories are also available from across Africa. Statistics show that the number of de-horned rhinos poached reduced after such dehorning exercises. But at the same time there are cases which point to the fact that such an exercise may not be very fruitful. Simply dehorning a rhino cannot be a foolproof way to ascertain its safety. Round-the-clock monitoring and a modernised forest security force are compulsory for the whole exercise to prove effective. Moreover, there are risks associated with the entire dehorning process. Care should be taken to ensure that the rhinos are not subjected to any harm during the process. But since the horns will grow back over time, the risk to the rhinos remains. Hence, the process of dehorning will have to be repeated again in order to save the rhinos from the poachers. Then again, there is also the need to establish what would be done with the rhino horns once they are dehorned. The idea of dehorning has been applied successfully in certain countries. There seems to be no harm in trying this exercise, but only after the various concerns stemming from the issue of dehorning of rhinos are resolved. The Assam government has sought opinion from the people on trimming rhino horns to save them from poachers. This year, poachers have already killed 11 rhinos in the state and chopped off their horns. But, the government, at least has not imposed any order and have just sought opinion from the people. The office of principal chief conservator of forests (Wildlife) will receive feedback on the issue till March 31st. The government also informed

COUNTERPOINT The Assam government has sought opinion from the people on trimming rhino horns to save them from poachers. This year, poachers have already killed 11 rhinos in the state and chopped off their horns. But, the government, at least has not imposed any order and have just sought opinion from the people.

that the committee consisting of forest officials, representatives of WWF and veterinarians will hold a hearing and discuss the feasibility of rhino horn trimming with the state government. The idea might irk many environmentalists, but it is an out of the box, well-planned initiative, which if found feasible, can be tried with all the security measures kept in place.

personally do not feel that dehorning the rhinos would save them from the poachers. It is not a solution to the rampant poaching going on in the state as suggested by the government. Yes, there are examples of such steps being taken in South Africa and some other countries as well to stop rhino poaching. However, the step has proved to be a total failure in the past, since it could not stop poaching of even the dehorned rhinos. Poachers have been continuing killing of the dehorned rhinos as well. Hence, the success rate of the process of dehorning rhinos in South Africa has been minimal. Even, the rate of rhino poaching in that country has been escalating. Another very important issue is that the dehorned mother rhinos cannot protect their calves. Besides, the authorities pay less attention to the dehorned rhinos, which eventually helps the poachers kill the rhinos including the dehorned ones. The horns of the rhinos grow again even after cutting them off. What the government of Assam is suggesting to save rhinos from poaching is similar to asking the women not to come out of their homes in fear of confronting eve teasing. Further, the government is asking for public opinion on the issue of dehorning the rhinos. But, what is questionable is the number of responses that it will generate and there is a possibility that the government will end up getting around 100-200 odd email. This does not represent the opinion of the entire concerned population of Assam. If some of them out of those 100 or 200 public supports dehorning of rhinos and if the government takes it as a public opinion based on that, then it would form an awful opinion. The Government should not take any such decisions based on the opinions of a few people. However, what the government is asking will not anyway solve the issue of rhino poaching in the state.

What the government of Assam is suggesting to save rhinos from poaching is similar to asking the women not to come out of their homes in fear of confronting eve teasing.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Travel

Exploring unbeatable adventure G Plus Feature

ew Zealand is an otherworldly, photogenic and friendly country offering visitors unbeatable changes for adventure and exploration. The rugged islands are home to dense native forests, mountains, beaches, glaciers, thermal regions and fiords that have been well-preserved by the environmentally-conscious government and culture. New Zealand is a place where traditional Maori culture mixes with modernity in cosmopolitan cities, charming villages and vast expanses of untouched wilderness. Pristine and heavenly, the island nation has something for everyone, including the following top tourist attractions in New Zealand. G Plus identifies some of the must watch destinations for Guwahatians.

Coromandel Peninsula

This north-eastern peninsula is famous for its white and golden sand beaches that frame magnificent coastal scenery, forests perfect for days of exploration and other natural wonders. Start your visit in Thames, a small but picturesque city with a rich history of gold mining. Don’t miss a stop at Hot Water Beach, where visi-

tors can dig their own hot pool from the springs under the sands.

Abel Tasman National Park

Located on the northern tip of the country’s South Island, this vast national park is a hiker’s dream. Closed to vehicles, one must enter by boat, foot or small plane, but the trip is well worth it. While traversing the mountainous terrain, blue penguins, wekas, oyster catchers, wood pigeons and other rare birds can all be seen.

Sky Tower

The Sky Tower is an observation and telecommunications tower located in New Zealand’s largest city. At a height of 328 meters (1,076 ft) it is the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere and the Sky Tower has become an iconic structure in Auckland’s skyline. The tower offers views of up to 80 km away and fine dining in the Orbit revolving restaurant.

Napier Art Deco

Napier, a small city in Hawke’s Bay on the North Island’s east coast, is famous for its eye-catching art deco architecture. Most of Napier was lev-

eled by an earthquake in 1931. The rebuilding period coincided with the short-lived Art Deco era and as a result Napier’s architecture is strikingly different from any other city in the world. Thousands of tourist visit Napier every February for the Art Deco Weekend, an event dedicated to the style, vintage cars, picnics and the soapbox derby.

Kaikoura

This small coastal town on the South Island is a haven for seafood lovers. You can spot fur seals, dolphins, sperm whales and albatrosses off the shore, then indulge in a feast of fresh crayfish, mussels, blue cod and more. Land lovers can take a wilderness walk through the untamed and dramatic Kaikoura forest.

Franz Josef Glacier

This glacier, located within Westland National Park in the southwest, is one of the world’s most accessible. Visitors can walk right up to the foot of the massive glacier or take a helicopter ride over the dazzling Ice Age remnant. Together with Fox Glacier it is one of South Westland’s major draw cards for tourists.

Rotorua

Rotorua is known as the thermal wonderland of New Zealand. There are numerous geysers and hot springs in and around the city. Many of these are in parks and reserves. Natural eruptions of steam, hot water and mud occasionally occur in new locations. Nearby Wai-O-Tapu is also a popular tourist attraction with many hot springs noted for their colorful appearance, in addition to the Lady Knox Geyser.

Tongariro National Park

The first national park of New Zealand, Tongariro is known for its surprises and extremes. The park’s diverse range of ecosystems includes tranquil lakes, active volcanoes, herb fields, untamed forests and desertlike plateaus. Start your trek at the Whakapapa Visitor Center, just a three hour hike from the stunning Taranaki Falls. The short hike will take you through scrubland and forest and across the lava line of volcanic eruptions from hundreds of years ago.

Bay of Islands

The Bay of Islands is one of the

most popular holiday destinations in New Zealand. The picturesque area contains 144 islands, many secluded bays and some great sandy beaches. This beautiful bay has an abundance of marine life including whales, penguins, dolphins and the big marlin. Not surprisingly, it is a popular tourist spot for sailing yachts on world cruises and international sport fishermen.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is among the most famous tourist attractions in New Zealand. Lying at the most northern and accessible end of Fiordland National Park, Milford sound offers some of the world’s most staggering coastal scenery with its dramatic peaks and dark blue waters. The area’s frequent downpours only enhance this South Island beauty, sending numerous waterfalls cascading down the cliffs. There are some more places to explore in the country which one can recognise only after entering New Zealand. For the time being make sure that you don’t miss exploring the above mentioned destinations. Plan your trip and have fun.

G PLUS MAR 22 - MAR 28, 2014

Catching Up

Headlining acts! Anna Ivanovic WHO’S SHE Ana Ivanovic is a Serbian tennis player ranked No. 1 in the world in 2008. As of January 27, 2014, she is no. 12 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings for singles. SO WHAT As of 2013, Ivanovic has career earnings of over 11 million US$. In June 2011, she was named one of the “30 Legends of Women’s Tennis: Past, Present and Future” and was also included on the list of Top 100 Greatest Players Ever (male and female combined). Now what Ivanovic started the Women’s Tennis Association season by winning the 2014 ASB Classic title in Auckland and plans to continue with her venture.

Maggie Q WHO’S SHE Margaret Denise Quigley (born May 22, 1979), professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American actress, animal rights activist and former fashion model. SO WHAT She achieved international fame starring as the title role on The CW’s action-thriller series Nikita that aired in 20102013. Now what In 2014, she will portray the role of Tori Wu in the film adaption of Veronica Roth’s bestselling novel Divergent and will star in the CBS untitled drama as Detective Beth Davis.

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Jennie Garth promotes her new book The drama on Beverly Hills pales in comparison to what goes down behind the scenes. Jennie Garth promoted her new book, Deep Thoughts From a Hollywood Blonde. While promoting, the actress opened up to Terrence J and Catt Sadler about her tenure on the teen soap, her former feud with co-star Shannen Doherty and her new show with Tori Spelling.

Oprah Chai: How she created her new tea with TeavanaAnd Starbucks Oprah shared a big announcement at the Starbucks shareholders’ meeting: She has collaborated with Starbucks and the tea experts at Teavana to create her own signature chai blend.Teavana Oprah Chai will be sold in Starbucks and Teavana stores across the U.S. and Canada beginning April 29, with a portion of the proceeds donated to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation to benefit educational opportunities for youth. The tea is described as a bold infusion of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves, blended with loose-leaf black tea and rooibos. Arriving at the perfect chai blend was a process -- one captured in the above behind-the-scenes videos of Oprah’s visit to Starbucks headquarters in Seattle.

Supporting Gay Equality Beer companies Sam Adams, Guinness, and Heineken were applauded by national gay rights group GLAAD, as well as other allies, for their decision to not participate in New York and Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parades which barred LGBT groups from marching in the parade. However, not all groups are quite so happy with their decision to pull their sponsorship. Controversial Catholic League president Bill Donohue has called for a boycott of Guinness, Sam Adams, and Heineken in response to what he sees as “bullying campaign” that goes against the First Amendment, which “guarantees the right of private parade organizers to determine its own rules for marching.”

pick of the week

What did I just hear?

According to University of California, Berkeley, and Chinese researchers, on July 23, 2012, a huge magnetic storm propelled by two nearly simultaneous coronal mass ejections on the sun ploughed through Earth’s orbit. Luckily, Earth was on the other side of the sun at the time. Had the outburst hit Earth, however, it would have rivalled the largest magnetic storm to strike Earth in recorded history, possibly wreaking havoc with the electrical grid, satellites and GPS.

In an interesting case, a 26-year-old, surnamed Feng, began a romantic relationship with 20-year-old Cai after meeting her through the social networking app WeChat in September 2012. Soon after, Feng asked Cai if he could borrow her iPhone4S. When she agreed he daisappeared with it. Feng later dated another woman, surnamed Guo, and used a similar trick to separate her from her iPhone4. When Feng was apprehended by police he confessed to stealing seven iPhones from seven women. The phones had a combined value of more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,610).

Kamur of the week

Mosquitoes: The authorities might claim that

they work overtime to keep the city clean and disease free, but the mosquito infested city makes you wonder if the administration only thinks about anti mosquito drive whenever diseases like dengue and malaria threaten the populace.

Printed & Published by Sunit Jain on behalf of Insight Brandcom Pvt. Ltd. and Printed at Arkashish Publications (P) Ltd., Katahbari, Garchuk, Guwahati and Published at H/No. 34, K. C. Choudhury Road, Chatribari, Guwahati - 781008, Editor: Koushik Hazarika. Phone: 0361 2737737, Email: info@g-plus.in, RNI No: ASSENG/2013/52641