G plus volume 1 issue 32 by G Plus

VOL 01 | ISSUE 32 | MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

`10 ges 24 Pa

Multi entry-exits in Ghy RLY Station PG 07 poses danger

Hayden Panettiere Catching Up, Pg 24

Ward watch @

Ward No 14 PG No

CITY HOSPITALS NOT

DISASTER RESISTANT PG 02 Many city hospitals are not fully disaster resistant and have many factors, which need to be worked upon. In a recent study, ASDMA managed to point out certain faults which need to be worked on.

In Conversation

A DUTCH GURU

PG 14

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Lead Story

CITY HOSPITALS NOT

DISASTER RESISTANT

Rahul Chanda

very year, seismic observatories record about two hundred earthquakes of varying intensities with epicentres in or around the northeastern region, which falls in the most vulnerable seismic Zone V. Whenever any natural disaster happens, the most affected buildings are mostly the schools and the hospitals. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) with the help of Assam Engineering College (AEC) conducted a survey in the city hospitals to find out if the hospitals are vulnerable to earthquake, wind, flood and fire. G Plus exclusively explores their vulnerability status.

The survey There are more than 80 government and private hospitals in Guwahati, out of which 14 are government hospitals or dispensaries and there are 68 hospitals/day care centres in private sector. AEC started the survey initially with route mapping and location survey of the hospitals. The GPS locations were collected and verified with the locations made available by the health department. The location survey was followed by a detailed survey and assessment of the status through questionnaires. This survey was conducted in 43 hospitals and dispensaries. There are 13 day-care centres and 4 hospitals outside the city limits. Six private hospitals were either could not be located in the in the given location or they had closed down. All the government hospitals were issued questionnaires through the director of health services, Assam and the private hospitals were issued questionnaires directly.

Observations Based on the initial feedback and filed survey, it was derived that the majority of the private hospitals suffer from lack of open space and more than 50% of the hospitals have less than 20% open space. Overall the biggest concern which was raised after the survey is that the oxygen cylinders in all the hospitals are not secured. The oxygen cylinders are placed vulnerably and will topple in the event of shaking due to earthquake, causing disruption of critical lifesaving facility. Almost all the hospitals have not secured the medicine and the glass bottles in the almirah and instead they are kept on open shelves, which needs attention for uninterrupted supply of medicine during post-disaster situations. The survey questions in the questionnaire were designed to find out various levels of information. Some of the questions and there average findings are as follows

Many city hospitals are not fully disaster resistant and have many factors, which need to be worked upon. In a recent study, ASDMA managed to point out certain faults which need to be worked on.

Is there any disaster management plan in the hospitals? Yes 50% No 50%

Is there any space designated for the hospital emergency operation centre? Yes 56% No 44%

Are the staffs trained on disaster management? Yes 54% No 46%

Hospital structural drawing availability Yes 60% No

40%

Hospital layout drawing available Yes 78% No 22%

Number of beds versus % of hospitals 25 beds 43% 25 to 50 beds 35% 50 to 100 beds 17% 100 beds 5%

Occupancy in normal situation versus % of hospitals 50% occupancy 51% 50 to 75% occupancy 25% 75% occupancy 24%

Number of doctors versus % of hospitals

These were some of the findings of the survey conducted. The findings are interesting no doubt but at the same time a matter of major concerning - the number of doctors are not adequate; occupancy in normal situation is less, the ratio of the total number of beds in the hospital is not that impressive. The major concern in the finding is that very few hospitals have a disaster management plan in place. It is not only the hospitals, but even for apartments, schools or any other building, once made, the disaster management plan is pretty vital as you never know when nature lets her fury out. But the city hospitals do not seem to pay much attention to these warnings.

Some major concerns of the hospitals 1. Corridors obstructed with equipment 2. Monitors in ICU not secured against falling during earthquake shaking 3. Fire extinguishers not secured 4. Oxygen cylinders not secured in most of the hospitals 5. OT roof mounted lights requires anchorage audit 6. Glass bottles/medicines kept on Almirahs which is not secured

25 doctors – 71%

7. Generator, fuel and electrical panels close to each other which is a high fire hazard risk

25 to 50 doctors 19%

8. Very less open space

50 to 100 doctors 7%

9. Portable oxygen cylinders are not locked and can topple

100 doctors 3%

10. Wards are very congested

The major concern in the finding is that very few hospitals have a disaster management plan in place. It is not only the hospitals, but even for apartments, schools or any other building, once made, the disaster management plan is pretty vital as you never know when nature lets her fury out. The Good health hospital electrical equipments require anchorage audit as the survey says that the electrical equipment in the hospital is not fitted and maintained and is a highrisk threat for fire. Hospitals like GMCH, Dispur Polyclinic and Nursing Home, Good Health Hospital and International Hospital have inflexible oxygen lines and if there are natural calamities like earthquake, then these lines can crack and leak.

ASDMA views The Deputy Secretary and State Project Officer, Disaster Risk Reduction, ASDMA, Nandita Hazarika informed G Plus that after the survey, the AEC also provided some retrofitting solutions for the vulnerability findings. She said, “Basically there are two types of vulnerability - structural and non-structural. To tackle with structural vulnerability there are some technical requirements and even non-structural vulnerability require technical solutions, but if building occupants are aware and responsible, they can always keep a check on it and stay safe.” Citing an example, Hazarika mentioned about the AEC survey on the schools of the city discovered that there are around 200 schools vulnerable to earthquake. ASDMA asked the schools to work on the solutions for non-structural vulnerability, but the schools refused citing lack of funds. ASDMA then, with their own funds allotted in the budget, decided to at least tackle with some of the issues. ASDMA took the help of the Geo Hazard Society and planned to repair at least the laboratories and the principal’s room of these schools. The Society’s people repaired 10 schools and

in the process, the ASDMA people too received the training and skills for the repair work. After that, the ASDMA workers repaired 10 more schools, where the Society’s people helped the ASDMA workers. Nandita Hazarika also informed that around a nominal amount of `10,000 to 12,000 were spent for each school. Similarly, the survey conducted in the hospitals also proved that the city hospitals are vulnerable to earthquakes and notices have already been sent to the respective hospitals, which require solutions. The ASDMA will, after few days check if the hospitals have done the repairing required for non-structural vulnerability. Adding to the issue, Hazarika narrated how people are not proactive towards solving the problems. ASDMA conducted an awareness programme in some apartments, but the irony is that in spite of informing the residents before going there, people hardly took interest. In most of the apartments the fire extinguishers are not working and there was no plan of changing or refilling it. The non-structural requirements cover issues like placing the fan, almirah and other household goods in places where there is minimal risk. But then people do not show any initiative. The only thing people can do is after an incident happens, they raise question and point fingers at the government and departments like ASDMA. It is true that the authorities are responsible for everything but as citizens, aren’t we responsible for our safety? The oxygen lines in almost all the hospitals are not secured but how can the patients feel confident in a hospital where there is a disaster risk?

rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

G-View

HOW STRONG ARE THE STRONG ROOMS? As the country waits for the 16th of May to arrive, the EVMs and the destinies of the candidates and the political parties are locked away in the strong rooms, which for Guwahati is the Sarusajai Stadium. There are tight securities in place to ensure that access is watertight.

RAHUL CHANDA

long with the fate of the country, the fates of the 18 candidates in the fray for the Gauhati Lok Sabha seat will be discovered and disclosed on the 16th of May. Guwahati (M) has four Legislative Assembly Constituencies – Jalukbari, Dispur, East Guwahati and West Guwahati. The voter turnout percentage of these four constituencies were 81.38%, 73.72%, 69.05% and 75.48% respectively, in the last phase of state elections which took place on the 24th of April. Unlike in the past, the strong rooms (room or locations where the ballot boxes containing the votes is kept to be counted on the counting day) used to be in the schools and colleges, this time the strong room is in the Sarusajai Indoor Stadium and all possible effort is being made by the authorities to conduct a fair counting. G Plus reviews the arrangements and the security measures in place to keep the strong room secure.

The countdown The authorities are working overtime to ensure trouble free poll counting without any chaos or problem. According to the district administration, the poll counting will start from 8 o’ clock in the morning and will continue until the results are declared and the counting of the four Legislative Assembly Constituencies of Guwahati will take place at the Sarusajai Stadium. There are eight counting halls arranged for the counting purpose and two halls will be used for counting the votes of one constituency. The counting process will be simultaneous and continuous.

The Security scenario According to city SSP Anand Prakash Tewari, multi layered security cover is in place to guard the strong room and the security cover is tremendously tight. To give an idea about the watertight security arrangement, the SSP proclaimed that, “parinda bhi par nahi maar sakta” (even birds won’t be able to flap their wings). The SSP informed that there are three layers of security cover in place to guard the strong room. The outer layer consists of the main gate, barricades, traffic and access control which is being taken care of by the Guwahati city police. The middle layer deals with the checking and fencing, which is again been taken care of by the Assam Police. The main strong

“

To give an idea about the watertight security arrangement, the SSP proclaimed that, “parinda bhi par nahi maar sakta” (even birds won’t be able to flap their wings).”

room security cover layer is taken care of by the CRPF. One company of CRPF had been deployed to safeguard the strong room. The troop has 90 jawans, some JCOs, one Deputy Commandant and an Assistant Commandant. The police are pretty confident about the security of the strong room.

The 16th day of May The 16th of May is the day that the entire country is waiting for and again the security arrangements around the strong room for that day too is being planned to perfection and the police is strictly following the

Election Commission’s guidelines. On the counting day, there will be three covers of security at Sarusajai Stadium. The first cover will be taken care of by the CRPF with assistance from the Assam Police. The second cover of security will be taken care of by the police and both the police and the CRPF will deal with the third cover, which is dedicated to tackling of the law and order situation. In the counting hall, there will be representatives of the political parties, polling officials and cops in civil dress. There is a contingency management plan in order for the day. There will be two check gates between the inside and the outside of the strong

room. SP ranked officers, DSP ranked officers, SIs and inspector ranked officers will be deployed. A huge amount of armed and unarmed forces will be there on the day to take care of the situation. All these security measures have been put in place to ensure a trouble free counting day.

The EVM In the year 2010, a daily reported that scientists at the University of Michigan said that they have developed a technique to hack into Indian EVMs. After connecting a homemade device to a machine, the researchers were able to change results by send-

ing text messages from a mobile. Indian election officials were on record saying it would be very difficult even to get hold of a machine to tamper with their machines — as many as 1.4 million of which are used in each general election. In the same year, a unique case happened in Mumbai too, after an EVM went missing from the Mumbai Collector’s office, where the machines are stored. The Police claimed that it was Hari Prasad; a technical coordinator with VeTA (Verifiability, Transparency and Accountability) who had then recently co-authored a paper questioning claims that Indian electronic voting machines (EVMs) were fully secure. VeTA is a citizen’s forum that deals with election-related issues. In Assam, until date there was no case of EVMs being stolen, but there are other instances which put the efficiency of the polling machines in question. During the ongoing 2014 Lok Sabha elections, there were complaints of EVMs being faulty across the state and because of these faulty machines, re-polling happened in many polling centres. According to a voter in Badarpur, under the Karimganj district, as soon as he pressed the button to vote for BJP, he noticed that the light that went on was for the Congress symbol. He complained to the polling officer and the polling was stopped in that centre. Similarly, such incidents happened across the state in districts like Jorhat as well. There may be tight security arrangements and a planned security schedule instituted by the authorities until May 16th, but then how efficient and tamper-proof are the EVMs in reality. Can the EVMs be hacked? Can they be tampered with? After all, it is a man-made electronic machine. So is there a way to re-programme it too or even further, pre-programme it? The Election Commission is confident of fair polling and counting every election, but there are always cases of rigging, proxy voting and so on which pop up. The 2014 elections have been a must-watch in the history of Indian democracy and India has never witnessed such a national obsession with elections ever before. What does 16th May have in store for the country and its citizens? Who will win and who will lose? We have no answer yet, but one thing is for sure, the EVMs will never fade out of the spotlight!

rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

In The News

ADITYA GOGOI

iolence in the Bodoland Territorial Areas District is nothing new. Time and again, the people of the area have been witnessing violent incidents, which have affected both the common Bodo and non-Bodo people. Political parties will play the blame games while other organisations also try to take advantage from such incidents. The reality though is that the condition of a common villager remains the same over the years and if at all, it deteriorates. The carnage, which broke out on the 1st of May when armed miscreants gunned down three people at Narasingbari village area near Anandabazar, under the Gobardhan police station in Baksa. The district has so far witnessed the death of 40 innocent people. If police suspected it to be a handiwork of the militants loyal to the Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), the militant outfit’s denial has made it even more intriguing. However, the state cabinet ministers who have visited the places have directed their suspicions on the Bodoland People’s Party (BPF). Some have demanded the arrest of BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary and its senior leader Pramila Rani Brahma and thus, the blame game continues but the lives of the people at the villages remain the same. Their lives are surrounded by fear and uncertainty. “We are not in a mental state to say anything,” Samsul Ali told G Plus at the Narayanguri camp when asked if he was ready to go back to his village. Ali who hails from Khagrabari village has lost his 18-year-old son Rameej Ali and he is almost inconsolable now. “We don’t know what to do. If we have to lose somebody like him again, we don’t want to face that situation. We have been living peacefully but suddenly everything has been ruined,” Ali said, holding back his grief.

Security The state government has discussed about raising a special security force for deployment in the affected areas such as the BTAD and the two hill districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao. It has also decided to deploy a special force for the seizure and recovery of illegal weapons in the BTAD and other areas. Besides, to augment security deployment in the BTAD, the State has sought 50 additional companies of paramilitary forces from the Centre. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that details of the proposed special security force for the conflict-hit areas would be worked out soon. He said that people affected by recent violence in BTAD had urged the government to provide them firearms for self-protection.

AFTER THE STORM

The violence in the BTAD has been brought under some semblance of control, but for how long? With the government sitting on a potential powder keg of perpetual disturbance, the measures always seem to last only till the next volatile incident. The problem needs a definitive solution and needs it now.

We don’t know what to do. If we have to lose somebody like him again, we don’t want to face that situation. We have been living peacefully but suddenly everything has been ruined” Relief camps in Baksa distrct

Illegal Arms

Many say that it is the availability of illegal arms, is one of the main reasons of these killings. Even the Assam governor JB Patnaik has asked the state government to seize the illegal arms in the BTAD region. The governor said house-to-house search should be conducted to bring an end to this problem. A senior police official said more than 100 illegal arms have been seized in the BTAD during the time of elections. He added that since January this year, 42 militants of the NDFB(S) have laid down their arms, while 18 others have been killed in encounters with police and the Army. According to sources, there are around 200 active members of the NDFB(S) in the BTAD at present. “The arms which are available in BTAD have led to these killings. This is a very unfortunate incident and we condemn it. We have been appealing to the state government for the seizure of all the illegal arms at the earliest, but there has been no action from the authorities concerned,” said Aditya Khaklari, general secretary of the All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS). Media reports say that there are

1,309 licensed and 5,000 illegal arms in the BTAD that are often used in the massacre of common people which has been continuing since early 90s.

Investigation

The Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has also issued a notice to the state government to start an enquiry into the allegations against the six forest department personnel who are suspected to be involved in the BTAD carnage. AHRC has directed the state government to submit its report within 45 days of receipt of the

notice. “The commission has registered a suo motu case as there were allegations against the forest personnel, including a forest ranger, for being directly involved in the killing of innocent people using the department’s weapons. They have joined hands with some militant groups in the BTAD region,” an AHRC statement said. Assam police on Sunday had arrested six forest volunteers, including a forest ranger Amiya Brahma of the Manas National Park, following the FIRs lodged by the villagers. The locals stated that when the

villagers rushed to the forest beat office in Baksa district’s Khagrabari for safety on Friday, the forest personnel fired at them and set some of their houses on fire. A team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) has already arrived in the BTAD after the state government decided to hand over the investigation to the NIA to finalise the modalities of taking over the investigation of cases. As of now, a new aspect has come into play where some are mulling that the entire situation of violence might be a ploy to destabilise the Assam government. Although nothing has been proved on papers, the fact remains that the embers in the BTAD had always been burning and all it needs is a small spark to turn it into an engulfing inferno each time. The reason has always seen violence from time to time and each time, the measure have only helped to control it and not eradicate it completely. Whether these embers have been deliberately kept burning for unscrupulous means is still only speculation, but right now, concrete and decisive steps are the need of the hour and unless the situation is dealt with an iron hand, the region will always remain volatile and potentially violent incidents will keep occurring.

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

City

De-siltation could not stop flash floods MRINMOYEE HAZARIKA

pparently, it was all about preparedness and Guwahati was supposed to be ready for floods. But one heavy downpour and the flash flood scenario of the city seems to have been the same until now. Just an-hour long duration of rain on Thursday noon has awfully exposed the empty picture of the activities carried out by the local authorities to prevent the city roads from being submerged. Interestingly, the local authorities were seen to be showing a keen interest in dealing with the artificial flood situation of the city. Accordingly, the officials of GMC (Guwahati Municipal Corporation) have started the de-siltation of the drains of the city, the first phase of which was started from January and the work was expected to be complete by the month of March this year. The de-siltation of drains located on the GS road (from Ganeshguri to Bhangagarh), from Chanmari to Ulubari overbridge, Udalbakra (from Lalganesh to Powerhouse), from B. Barooah inner drain to Nandan hotel, Athgaon kabarsthan drain, Pakitola inner drain, from AT road to Sorusola beel, Juripara inner

drain was being done under the supervision of GMC workers. The GMC workers have done their part of the job and the sludge was seen on the roadsides for some days. Some of the deposits were taken away and the remaining was washed away by the rain ended up in the drains again. The heavy rain in the last few days inundated most of the busy areas of the city including Christanbasti, Paltan Bazar, Ambari, Pub Sarania, Ulubari, Lachit nagar, Zoo road, and Gandhibasti. The parking

area situated in front of the Guwahati railway station, the busiest railway station in the entire North east region was also submerged for more than one hour. The office of the deputy commissioner too has imposed a ban on cutting of hills in Guwahati. All the concerned circle officers and OCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of police stations were directed to do a strict vigilance in this regard and take immediate and necessary steps to prevent it. Violation of the order may lead to legal action as per DM Act 2005. It has also directed the GMC, PWD, Railway and ASEB to submit a contingency plan for the coming monsoon season for the year 2014. Though, no reports of illegal cutting of hill in and around the city was being reported, yet frequent rain in the last few days have left the lives of the people living near the hillside miserable. Landslide in areas like Kalapahar and Lokhra have made it impossible for the commuters to travel. Whatever the authority is doing or planning to solve the longstanding problem of water logging in the city, the people are still far away from getting any solutions out of it.

mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

In The News

NO THREAT TO CHANDMARI FLYOVER mrinmoyee hazarika

mid speculation of a possible threat to the Chandmari flyover, one of the busiest flyovers in Guwahati, officials of PWD departments have assured that no such risk exists at the foundation and structure of the same. The officials have mentioned that there is an expansion gap, which is around five-inch in length alongside the divider, placed in the middle of the bridge. Due to general wear and tear and rise in temperature, the gap has widened a little. The gap was always there and it keeps contracting and expanding because of the rise of the temperature and breakage at the edge. This though will cause no harm to the commuters and the structure of the bridge. “According to the rule, no pedestrians should cross the flyover over the dividers, but if someone chooses to break the rule, then he or she, especially kids might get trapped in that expansion gap of the divider. It is not true, as reported in some media, that crack has appeared in the flyover, which poses serious threat to it. All other flyovers and over-bridges located in the city are fully safe and no risk is there to the structure and foundation of the same,” official

A gap in the Chandmari Flyover

“

According to the rule, no pedestrians should cross the flyover over the dividers”

source at PWD (road) told G Plus. The source also stated that internationally renowned bridge expert V K Raina visited the flyover along with a group of PWD officials as part of a practical session of a training programme. He has been in the city for a three-month long training programme where he provides training to the field officials and engineers of the PWD department on matters of bridge designing. The programme has been funded by World Bank.

“It is a routine process of wear and tear. But since the gap at the divider threatens to cause some unwanted accident, we have barricaded the area temporarily and we will repair it accordingly. Last February, there was an expansion gap that appeared on one side of the footpath of the flyover after which it was fitted with two steel plates on both the sides. Such works keeps getting done at regular intervals,” the source added.

The official source further stated that the regular maintenance of the flyovers and over bridges located in the city has been looked after by the maintenance staff and repairing is done if and whenever needed. The Chandmari flyover is the oldest flyover, constructed in Guwahati in 1989. Currently, there are 11 flyovers and over-bridges in the city.

mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

In The News

Multi entry-exits in Ghy RLY Station poses danger

The recent blasts, in the Guwahati-Bangalore Express at the Chennai station, have once again raised fears and concerns about the security arrangements at railway stations. Similar questions on security have also come up about the Guwahati Railway Station. MRINMOYEE HAZARIKA

ack of basic security arrangements like single door entry and exit system at the Guwahati railway station poses a serious threat to the passengers in terms of safety and security while waiting at the platform as well as travelling by train. After the blast took place in the Guwahati-Bangalore express at the Chennai railway station a few days back, which left a young woman dead, it is high time to review the security arrangements in major railway stations across the country. The Guwahati Railway Station, being the busiest and one of the major stations in the entire North east region is still striving with some serious security issues.

“New technologies have been installed to enhance the surveillance system of the station in the recent time, but there are still some lacunas in the basic security arrangements of the Guwahati railway station. There are various entry and exit points in and around the station through which anyone can come and go. Availability of multi level entry and exit points has been causing difficulty in keeping a close watch at those points,” sources at the Guwahati Railway Station told G Plus. The station has 7 platforms and the current manpower in the security staff including the RPF (Railway Police Force) and GRP (Government Railway police) is not sufficient enough to

control any unwanted incidents that might occur in the Guwahati railway station. “Both the RPF and GRP are responsible for looking after the security scenario of a railway station. Without the help of GRP, RPF cannot take control of the entire security arrangements of a railway station, because it is the state government, which is responsible for controlling the law and order situation of a particular state. At present, 20 RPF personnel are in place on a 12-hour long duty and another 20 are in place to cover the rest of the day. It would be of great help if additional forces are provided. A group of 4 to 5 RPF escorts are provided in the night and other major trains like the Rajdhani express,” the source said. According to the information available with the RPF, the Guwahati railway station, there are five DFMDs (Door Frame Metal Detector) placed in the entrance, exit and platforms of the station. Two more DFMDs will be installed in the newly constructed escalator of the station. There are two luggage scanners in both the entry and exit points of the station and two sniffer dogs are there with the RPF to carry out routine checking in and around the station. Besides, in order to keep constant surveillance on the commuters, during the month of March this year, 22 CC TVs have been installed at various places of the station.

“

New technologies have been installed to enhance the surveillance system of the station in the recent time, but there are still some lacunas in the basic security arrangements of the Guwahati railway station”

“As of now, since January, 2014, altogether 114 cases have been registered with RPF, Guwahati and out of those cases, 134 have been arrested under different sections of Railway Act,” Inspector, RPF, Guwahati railway station, Ranjit Kumar Bezbaruah told G Plus. The station wears a new look after the Railways has worked on a series of new projects to boost passenger amenities and give a modern touch to the place as part of a major remodelling exercise. “A vintage MG steam engine has been set up in front of the station and an escalator, the construction of which has been completed recently, would be operated at the station. The

remodelling exercise also includes water fountains, a second entry gate from the Paltan bazaar side, a separate VIP entrance to platform number one, a rickshaw stand outside the main station gate, a food plaza, a 46x8 meter long waiting hall for general second class passengers and more. The construction of some of these have been completed,” PRO, NF railway, Nripen Bhattacharyya told G plus. Seeking cooperation from the public while crossing railway level crossings to avoid accidents, Bhattacharyya said, “Carelessness shown on part of the general public while crossing a railway track is one of the main reasons of accidents caused by a running train. Further, the passengers can ensure safety and security for themselves and their fellow passengers by following some minor safety norms. They should report to the RPF on duty immediately if they encounter any person with doubtful behaviour.” As on February 2, 2014, there are 731 railway level crossings under the NF railway, out of which 492 are manned and 239 are unmanned. Guwahti has 10 railway level crossings and all of them are manned all round the clock. Similarly, there are six overbridges in Maligaon, Panbazar, Athgaon, BK Kakoti road, Chandmari and Noonmati.

mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

In The News

THE WEEK THAT WAS

DBU students organise child rights exhibition

n their commitment towards a child friendly society, the students of Post Graduate Programme in Human Rights (Child Rights and Development), Don Bosco University, organized a Child Rights Exhibition at South Point School, Guwahati to sensitize school children about their rights and responsibilities. The Exhibition is the first of its kind in Assam. The exhibition showcased a collection of

posters, slogans and collage made by the students of South Point School providing an insight into their views on the rights and responsibilities of children. The students of Assam Don Bosco University set up a stall demonstrating cartoons on child labour, child marriage, right to education, child trafficking, child abuse, importance of child line, role of Child Welfare Committee and Juvenile Justice Board.

Blue Star launches new split ACs

ir-conditioning and commercial refrigeration major player, Blue Star limited, has announced the launch of a new range of highly intelligent and ecofriendly inverter split air condi-

tioners for the residential segment. These air conditioners, apart from contemporary features and sophisticated technology, offer high energy efficiency resulting in significant power savings.

Memorandum to GU VC over results Members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Kamrup City Committee, staged a demonstration at Gauhati University on May 7 and later submitted a memorandum to the GU Vice Chancellor, Mridul Hazarika demanding timely declaration of results of re-evaluation of answer-scripts. “The GU authorities have assured the SFI that the results of re-evaluation of answer-scripts would be declared by May 30, and students can call for re-evaluation of answer scripts till May 14. Another memorandum has been forwarded

by the AASU to GU which stated that the degree course’s final exams are scheduled to start from June 6 onwards which would collide with entrance exams for post graduation courses in several important universities of the country, like Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Banaras Hindu University, Jamia Millia Islamia, etc would also be holding their entrance exams around the same period. The AASU president Shankar Prasad Ray requested to the VC to work out a solution to avert the date clashes of the exams.

SBI donates school bus to Snehalaya

tate Bank of India, the country’s largest Bank, donated a School Bus to Snehalaya (House of Love), a registered Charitable Trust to enable the organization to provide transport facility to the poor and underprivileged children for their school education. Shri Sanjay Kr. Magoo, Chief General Manager,

State Bank of India, North Eastern Circle handed over the key of the School Bus to Fr. Lukose Cheruvalel, Director of Snehalaya in presence of Shri Mahendra A. Sahu, General Manager, SBI, N.E. Circle and other senior functionaries of the Bank at a function held at the premises of Jyoti Snehalaya, Beltola.

Trafficked children brought SEBA’s proposed changes to back to Assam HSLC opposed

he All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) has opposed SEBA’s proposed move to bring certain changes into the High School Leaving Certificate exams patterns. The AIDSO’s state committee has stated that the SEBA is mulling over bringing a system whereby 30 percent of marks would be added from the half yearly exams that are conducted during the tenth standard and also 20 percent from the school projects. The students outfit has stated that such rules would render the mat-

ric exams to be useless. They said that undue power would be given in the hands of the school teachers who would be giving the 50% percent of marks that would be coming in under the new system. The students outfit also said that undue favouritism would be practiced by many teachers and also bribes can be demanded to give good marks to students. The AIDSO further stated that the SEBA should have consulted the proposals with the educationists, students and guardians instead of abruptly introducing the new system.

Audio CD on Lakshminath Bezbaruah’s best poems released “

ami Asomiya Nohou Dukhiya”, an audio CD containing the recitation of Lakshminath Bezbaruah’s famous poem was recently released by the All Assam Student’s Union (AASU) on May 4 at Swahid Niwas, Uzanbazar. The entire poem has been recited by Amarjyoti Choudhury and the CD was launched by Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Aggarwala’s daughter Gyanashree Pathak, Bishnu Rabha’s son

Prithviraj Rabha and Phani Sarma’s son Sujit Sarma. While speaking at the ceremony, Choudhury, who voiced the poem in the audio CD, said that this poem is perhaps the greatest work by Bezbaruah. He said that this poem contains all the glories and history of Assam which everybody should know. AASU’s advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya was also present at the ceremony which was also attended by a host of other people.

he Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Assam Police has managed to rescue 15 children including boys and a girl in age group of 9 to 16 years from Bengaluru. They have been brought back to the city on May 8 with the help of a web portal launched by the Union home ministry in February to check human trafficking. The children were rescued from different factories in Bangalore, following the investigation into complaints about nine missing children registered last month. The children were taken to Bangalore by “middlemen” with the promise of jobs as their poor parents could not afford food and education for them. All of them hail from Dibrugarh, Sonitpur, Golaghat, Nagaon, Baksa and Dhubri districts. But they were found working in garages, plywood factories and

as domestic help. Superintendent of police, CID, Violet Baruah said, “The children have faced harassment and are in trauma. We will try to speak to them during counselling at the shelter homes. They mostly belong to poor families who were targeted by a wellknit network of human traffickers. The CID had opened an anti-human trafficking unit in 2011. At present, there are 14 units across Assam which handles cases of human trafficking, including women and children. Sources said the problem is increasing because of lack of proper awareness in villages about human trafficking rackets. A recent study of Unicef and the state government on trafficking of women and children in Assam found Sonitpur district as a major source of women trafficking, followed by Kamrup and Kokrajhar.

HC revises marriage hall rules

division bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising Justice Brojendra Prasad Katakey and MR Pathak while hearing a PIL filed by Dr Bishnu Prasad Das directed the Superintendent of Police (Traffic), Guwahati as well as the Commissioner, GMC to ensure that no marriage hall can function within the territorial limit of the GMC without a trade licence and without compliance of the criteria fixed by the Corporation for that purpose

and also without obtaining the necessary permission from the Superintendent of Police (Traffic), Guwahati. It would be the responsibility of the State Government as well as the Commissioner, GMC to ensure closure of such marriage halls, if any. Civil rights activist and lawyer Bhaskar Dev Konwar who represented the petitioner says that in Guwahati, only 48 marriage halls or conference halls have trade licences issued by the GMC.

Amway vows to combat child malnutrition

ith a mission to help people live better lives and achieve their potential, Amway unveiled a global campaign named “Raise your hand, fight global child Malnutrition”. Under this initiative, Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF) launched “Power of Five” an advocacy program to build awareness on Child Malnutrition. Amway distributors and employees and NGO partners at 105 locations came forward to provide colourful handprints to a global mural. For every colourful handprint Amway will donate US$1 summing up to a total of US $ 400,000 to CARE International towards the support of underprivileged children and by doing so, AOF attempts to break the 30,000 hand print Guiness World record. Amway launched this global campaign to fight against child malnourishment on the occasion of its 16th anniversary celebrations in India and also marks the 80th anniversary celebration of its flagship brand Nutrilite.

World Red Cross Day observed

he World Red Cross Day was observed on May 8 to pay homage to the founder of the Red Cross movement, Nobel Laureate, Jean Henry Dunant. To be a part of the global movement and to make the day memorable, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) had selected a theme this year for the Red Corss Day as “My Red Cross.” While different activities were organized across the world to make the day, the Indian Red Cross Society, Assam State Branch, also organized a day long programme on the same day. The programme had started with the flag hoisting and floral tribute to Sir Dunant by Mrs Renuka Devi Barkakati, Chairman of the outfit’s state branch. After that a long procession was taken out across the main road of the city. Several students of the Red Cross Nurses Training Centre, Junior Red Cross Units of various schools took part in the procession.

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

In The News

A UNIQUE WAY TO PROTEST PIRACY India, which ranks among the top 10 countries affected by piracy, loses an astounding sum of nearly `450 Crores to pirated music.

g plus feature

here is a reason to smile for Rajjak and Rekib, two brothers who were in a mood to protest. The musician duo, who composed Assamese songs only to sell albums at `1 per copy in their unique way of protest against piracy, has been recognised by the Limca Book of Records for the year 2014. “It’s great that our effort has been recognised. It will give a boost to our mission to go against the piracy which is killing the music industry,” said Rekib, the elder one. Their music album Boroxa’s price was fixed at `1, which was released in 2012. “Piracy has already ruined the music industry here in the state and almost everywhere. Because of this, artists like us, the young ones, are the worst affected. The whole industry suffers but the youngsters are the worst victims. As artistes, we cannot keep quiet and need to raise our voices,” added Rekib. The album comprises of nine modern Assamese songs by the two singers and they have been assisted

by Manoj Baruah on violin, Jatin Chetia on Tabla and Dholak, Rakesh on Keyboards, Pradyut Mishra on the harmonium and Nirmal Das on guitar and mandolin. “We fixed the price at `1 but that does not mean it’s of poor quality.

We have tried to give the best possible performance in the album. By pricing it at `1, the only thing we wanted to say is that we are dying due to piracy, as people prefer to download songs instead of buying the original CD these days. So we

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have decided to hand over the CD at that cheap price,” he added. Piracy costs the music industry and the government crores of rupees each year. A music trade analyst said that the state loses around `5 to 10 crore due to piracy. India, which

ranks among the top 10 countries affected by piracy, loses an astounding sum of nearly `450 Crores to pirated music. Zubeen Garg, one of the most popular singers of the region of the present time, also appealed to the people to say no to piracy. “Piracy is a plague which has already killed the industry. It will be difficult for us to survive if it goes on like this. I appeal to all the people not to support the piracy but to buy genuine music CDs,” Zubeen implored.

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Society

CITY GURDWARA Celebrates CENTENARY

shubhojit roy

he yearlong centenary celebrations of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha, the third oldest Gurdwara in the entire Northeast is underway. It is the oldest Gurdwara in Guwahati and the only one that has completed 100 years. Guwahati currently has an all total of seven major Gurdwaras, in Ulubari, Ambari, Birubari, Fancy Bazar, Maligaon, Bhetapara and Kalitakuchi. However, Gurdwara Singh Sabha is one holy shrine in the city where people from all across the country are welcomed to stay while on their way to other parts of the northeast. While speaking to Kuldeep Singh, a Sevak of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha, G Plus found out that the Gurdwara was established in the year 1913. “During the 1962’s war between India and China, the langar was provided to the soldiers residing in the railway station and that was highly appreciable.” Kuldeep further added that the programmes are being conducted in the Gurdwara on a regular basis and these see people attending in huge numbers. “People of all religions are welcomed inside the Gurdwara for langars and services,” Singh said. Gurdwara Singh Sabha is located at the centre point of Fancy Bazar. The ground floor houses many commercial settlements and some of the most popular saree stores in the city like the ‘Dulhan’. The 1st floor of the Gurdwara comprises of the Gurdwara office. The 2nd floor has the main Gurdwara with Guru Granth Sahib, under a canopy, on a platform higher than the floor on which the devotees sit and a Sikh pennant hanging atop the canopy.

SIKH FACTS

P.P. Singh, the Convenor of the Sabha informed that the Gurdwara, which comprises of a large hall is open for visitors from different communities at a minimal price of `50 or 100. “The hall is being used by the different regiments of the Indian army for accommodation purposes for now,” said Singh. G Plus was made aware of the upcoming programmes during the yearlong centenary celebration like the Gurbani competition and many others. “We are also planning to do a public demonstration on Sikh martial arts in the month of December at the Nehru Stadium,” added Pushp Paul Singh. Speaking of the facilities available in the Gurudwara Singh Sabha, we were told that the Gurdwara is the only place in the fancy Bazar locality, which provides proper hygienic toilet facility for both men and women. Singh also stated that they have demanded the government to provide a piece of land to construct a bhawan under a certain scheme which allows any century old establishment to be equipped with land. “We have also been demanding for a land for the Gurudwara in Chaparmukh but the authorities have not taken our plea on a serious note. Sikh is the only community which had come to Assam 200 years back to fight for the state,” added Singh.

Sikhism and its History

The history of Sikhism is closely associated with the history of Punjab and the socio-political situation in medieval India. Sikh distinction was further enhanced by the establishment of the Khalsa, by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Sikhism was created by Guru Nanak, a religious leader and a social reformer during the fifteenth century in the Punjab region. The religious practice was formalised by Guru Gobind Singh on 30 March 1699. The latter baptised five persons from different social backgrounds to form Khalsa. The first five, Pure Ones, then baptised Gobind Singh into the Khalsa fold. This gives the Khalsa, as an organised grouping, a religious history of around 300 years.

“

During the 1962’s war between India and China, the langar was provided to the soldiers residing in the railway station and that was highly appreciable”

• In the two world wars, 83,005 Sikh soldiers were killed and 109,045 were wounded. • It is the world’s 5th largest religion • 26 million followers worldwide • of which 19 million in India • Originated in India, over 500 years old • Sikhs are living in America since 1897 • Sikhs in the British Indian Army totaled over 100,000; i.e. 20% of the British Indian Army. • In the years to 1945, 14 Victoria Crosses were awarded to the Sikhs, a per capita record given the size of the Sikh Regiments. The Sikh Symbol

The circles and the swords are symbols of weapons signifying selfdefense to protect Sikh and everyone else’s belief by stopping injustice. The symbols in front of the altar remind Sikhs to stand up for justice. Sikhs are known as spiritual and warriors. Sikhs were instructed by Guru Gobind Singh Ji to take up arms against tyranny. The fact that the weapons are lying lower than the Guru Granth Sahib shows that the weapons and the warrior part of Sikhs takes the secondary position. Sikhs are spiritual first and then, to defend their faith and the faith of others, Sikhs are warriors as well. The Sikhs have been an influential community during the fight for independence and have played major roles in the socio-economic development of the country from the longest known time. It is interesting to know that Sikhism is over 500 years old and their contribution towards the society and the nation has been extensive.

shubojit.roy@g-plus.in

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Ward Watch

PIYALI PHUKAN ROAD GOES FROM BAD TO WORSE Ward No 14

shubhojit roy

Sub Division 14A

/ 14B Concentrated Region Piyali Phukan Road Major Issues Dilapidated road conditions No. of Voters

20,000 (approx.)

s you take the right turn from near the corner of the police accountability commission office at B.K Kakoty Road in Ulubari, you enter the Piyali Phukan Road of the city. The road is in an extremely pathetic condition and after a light shower of rain, the area becomes horrid to say the least. At the centre point of the road, the ground is muddy, slippery and chocolaty in color. The GMDA has taken up the initiative of constructing drinking water pipelines in association with IVRCL (Iragavarapu Venkata Reddy Construction Limited) along the road. Even though the workers have assured that the land will be filled back to its original state after its completion within 3 days, G Plus found out that the road problem is nothing new and it has been like this since a long time now. Although, this problem is nothing new for roads in Guwahati, what stands out is the fact that the Piyali Phukan road is right next to the residence of Capt. Robin Bordoloi, the chairman of the GMDA.

Extremely bad roads Pawan Gupta, a tenant told G Plus that the condition of the road is extremely bad and it is going to be worse

as the rainy season sets in further. He also lambasted about the drainage system and said, “The drains are so narrow that the drain water can’t pass through freely and to make it worse, when people throw garbage in the drains, the drain completely gets blocked and starts over flowing.”

Water stagnancy “There is a junction point somewhere in the middle of the road which suffers from water stagnancy even when there is very little rainfall. There is also a problem of major traffic congestion in that specific junction point of Piyali Phukan road and one of its bye lanes,” said Prahlad Das, a selfemployed businessperson. Prahlad further informed us that the stagnancy of water in that junction has been persistent for over 20 years now.

“

The drains are so narrow that the drain water can’t pass through freely and to make it worse, when people throw garbage in the drains, the drain completely gets blocked and starts over flowing”

Drainage Status

Councilor Speak

We were also informed that the drain does not get cleaned at all and this creates blockage and unhygienic foul odour. “The GMC is not concerned about the cleaning of drains. The drains are already very narrow, and so, it should be cleaned on a regular basis. But there is no such thing that happens in this locality,” said Ashok Chandan, a retired government employee.

While speaking to the councilor Ashima Bordoloi of Ward No- 14, G Plus was made aware that the Borsola Beel, which is connected to the drainage system of the Piyali Phukan Road, was recently cleaned. “After the cleaning of the Borsola Beel for which the government funded an amount of `8 lakh, the drains are comparatively free-flowing now. However, the water weeds keep on growing at the beel and will require regular cleaning,” informed Ashima. She also said that fresh funds are being expected soon, after which the roads will be repaired completely. She also told us that the streetlights have already been installed at the Piyali Phukan Road and are functioning properly. In its visit to the Piyali Phukan Road, G Plus saw that the road problems were evident and it is also to be noted that the rainy season has just only started, and the fresh work taken up by the GMDA will face a lot of weather hindrances. This may force the laborers to stop work until the next season. Such a situation will surely only worsen the road condition and the problems do not look like they will be going away anytime soon.

Theft in the locality According to most of the residents in the locality, theft is also a major issue in the area. Interestingly, both Prahlad Das and Ashok Chandan individually mentioned about the chainsnatching problems in the area. G Plus was informed that around three months back there had been a theft from a house in the locality and jewellery along with other important valuables were stolen. Furthermore, R.P. Singh, a businessperson has lambasted the government stating that the politicians promise alluring developments prior to the elections, “but once the election is over, the promises are not fulfilled,” said Singh.

shubhojit.roy@g-plus.in

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Bazaar

MARBLE MAGIC

The city has numerous outlets that sell marble and the market has been moving steadily for that popular stone. Shobhojit Roy

hite marble has been prized for its use in sculptures since classical times. Construction marble is a stone which is composed of calcite, dolomite or serpentine which is capable of taking a polish. As the favourite medium for Greek and Roman sculptors and architects, marble has become a cultural symbol of tradition and refined taste. Its extremely varied and colorful patterns make it a favourite decorative material.

From Hills to Homes According to Subham Jain of Arihant Marbles in Guwahati, all of the marbles in the city arrive from Rajasthan. Rajasthan has long been known as the Indian Dimensional Stone Industry. After quarrying it from the foothills of the Aravali ranges, unique textures and colours of marbles are churned out. The raw blocks are dressed on wire-saws and mono-blade dressers before transporting from stockyard to the diamond gang-saws for processing. The processing is followed by polishing and packaging and is then transported all over the country.

Quality The quality of Indian marble is determined as per its whiteness, hardness, thickness and presence of fibre. Makrana, which is used for floorings in many houses and offices is also the source of the marble that was used in the Taj Mahal. It is situated at a distance of 60 kms from Kishangarh and falls in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan. The different types of Indian marble available in the Guwahati market are Makrana, Green marble and red marble. The design of a marble varies with the fibre design or marks present on the tiles.

Price Mr. Raj Kumar of PRP Buildmart told G Plus that the price list of different marbles are varied and it depends on the quality of the marble i.e. it’s hardness, whiteness and fibre detailing.

Imported Marble: Marble Name

Rate (in `)

Australian Marble

250 to 1500 per sqft

Italian Marble

250 to 1500 per sqft

Wholesale Distribution “We have customers who demand marbles at wholesale prices. The wholesale price is only set when the customer is demanding in bulk,” informed Shubham Jain of Arihant Marbles. Shubham also informed that the marbles are being distributed in other cities and towns of the northeast like Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Itanagar, Imphal, Mizoram and others. “We distribute in other parts of the northeast at wholesale rates,” said Shubham.

Usage As a construction material, marble fits in perfectly in modern building designs due to its clean pleasing architectonic style. It combines well with ceramics, wood and other common construction materials. Marble is very durable and can be used in high traffic

Indian Marble Marble Name

Rate (in `)

Makrana

50 to 250 per sqft

Jaisalmer

50 to 250 per sqft

Green Marble

80 to 250 per sqft

Red Marble

75 to 250 per sqft

“

We have customers who demand marbles at wholesale prices. The wholesale price is only set when the customer is demanding in bulk” areas like staircases and hallways. In fact, typically, marble products come with a 20 year guarantee. Marble is easy to use, clean and maintain and marble tiles can be applied over almost any surface. They can be cut to fit specific measurements and if well applied, are perfectly adaptable to humid environments. There are also other uses of marble like in making of sculptures of deities, house temples, showcase items and various others. The prices of these materials will vary from the amount of marble used, the intensity in designing and quality of marble.

Why is marble an expensive building material? Since marble is a natural item; its reserves are depleting and in many parts of the world it is already exhausted therefore it is expensive. It is also mined through blasting and this increases wastage. This also makes it expensive. Furthermore, it is very heavy and therefore transportation from one place to another makes it expensive.

Marble vs Granite GRANITE

MARBLE

Durability

Durable

Less Durable

Resistant to acidic foods

No. Vinegar, lemon, ammonia and other acids can stain and dull the surface

May be damaged by cleaning liquids

Yes

Porous

Yes

Usable outdoors

Yes

Stainable

Yes

Heat resistant

Yes

Scratch resistant

Yes

Low maintenance

Yes, other than basic care every 6-8 months

Granite is more durable and resistant to etching, staining and scratching compared with marble. So kitchen countertops use granite more often than marble. Marble works great for other areas like bathrooms. Marble is undoubtedly one of the important inclusions in the modern homes of any urban infrastructure. Besides giving an element of class, marble being a stone also helps in keeping the floor temperature of a room to its minimum during hot summers.

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Business

Rat-hole mining to be stopped What is expected to slow down the dumping of coal in Guwahati from Meghalaya, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered a stop to rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya.

“

shambhavi

The department of central excise often launches massive crackdown on coalminers from Meghalaya for allegedly evading payment of central excise duties”

uwahati has been a dumping ground for duty-evaded coals from Meghalaya and the city has a big market of illegal coal trade. All Dimasa Students’ Union (ADSU) and the Dima Hasao district committee has moved the NGT. They have submitted before the tribunal that this sort of rat hole mining operations have been in practice in the Jaintia Hills in the state of Meghalaya for many years without being regulated and that too in an unscientific manner. After going through the scientific study of OP Singh, professor (department of environment studies) in the North Eastern Hill University (Nehu), the Principal bench of Justice P. Jyothimani, judicial member, Justice M.S. Nambiar, another judicial member, and expert members G.K. Pandey, P.C. Mishra and Ranjan Chatterjee observed that neither the government nor the people were benefiting from “illegal mining” and only the “coal mafias” were gaining. Rat-hole mining is a primitive method that entails clearing of ground vegetation and digging pits

ranging from five to 100 square metres to reach the coal seam. Tunnels are made into the seam sideways to extract the coal, which is brought into the pit by using a conical basket or a wheelbarrow manually. Coal seams are reached by excavating the side edge of the hill slopes and then the coal is extracted through a horizontal tunnel. The coal from the tunnel or pit is taken out and dumped on nearby unmined area, from where it is carried to the larger dumping places near the highways for its trade and transportation.

Entire roadsides in and around the mining areas are used for piling of coal which is a major source of air, water and soil pollution. Off-road movements of trucks and other vehicles in the area cause further damage to the ecology of the area. Every year, new areas are brought under mining and the area under coal mining in Jaintia hills is increasing every day. It was also informed that there are umpteen numbers of cases where, by the virtue of rat hole mining during the rainy season, water floods into the mining areas resulting in the deaths of many number of individu-

als including employees and workers. The department of central excise often launches massive crackdown on coalminers from Meghalaya for allegedly evading payment of central excise duties. Coal is leviable to the central excise duty since March 2011. Sources in Central Excise added traders and dealers particularly from Meghalaya continue to evade the central excise duties by way of clandestine removal, without payment of the leviable duty from the mines and depots leading to a huge revenue loss to the government. The statement added that extensive persuasive efforts by the central

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excise authorities to bring about compliance have met with resistance and evasion continues with impunity. Sources added that in view of reluctance of the coal miners in Jaintia and West Khasi Hills in Meghalaya, the department launched anti evasion drive and has a result of 82 trucks containing around 1188.97 MT of coal valued around `5.69 Crore was seized. Similarly nine trucks containing 81 MT were detained near Badar pur in Assam last year. Rat hole mines are termed as small-scale coal mines, which operate beyond the purview of Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act. There has been talks for quite some time now for regulating the rat-hole mining sector in the absence of which several miners have lost their lives. In the past, militants have chosen labourers working in these mines as soft targets. There are 576 Million Tonnes of coal in Meghalaya. The sub bituminous coal is spread across in the South Garo Hills, West Khasi Hills, East Garo Hills, Jaintia Hills and East Khasi Hills. The annual export volume of three Land Custom Station at Meghalaya with Bangladesh is around `200 Crores. Majority of items traded is coal and limestone.

UNICEF-Woodland partnership for water sanitation and hygiene Harkirat Singh

o mark the third consecutive year of the Wo o d la ndUNICEF partnership, supporting the water and sanitation programme (WASH) in schools, officials from both the parties have visited rural primary schools in Assam. The group includes Harkirat Singh, Managing Director, Woodland, Tushar Rane, chief of field office, UNICEF, Murat Sahin, global advisor, WASH in schools, UNICEF and others. Interacting the media here in Guwahati, Harkirat Singh, MD, Woodland said, “We started with a collection of `10 or more voluntarily with every invoice and scaled this up with revenues from limited edition T-shirts, specially launched from the programme. With a national reach through over 480 exclusive stores, we have been able to reach out to the masses and garner their support for a sizeable funding over 12.5 million INR” The names of the schools visited by the team are Sajjanpur and Dahali primary school, situated in Kamrup (R).

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

In Conversation

CITY SWIMMER TO TRAIN CWG TROOP g plus feature

orn and brought up at Fatashil, Guwahati, Rajiv Dey is bringing laurels to the city and the state. He is the first swimmer from the northeast region who will lead the Indian Common Wealth Games Swimming team as a coach for the CWG 2014. The 31-years-old swimmer started swimming in 1995 and in 2002, he represented the country in the Zurich Marathon and received gold for the country. G Plus interacts with the coach.

What made you choose swimming as your career?

I started swimming in 1995 when I was 14. I received recognition in the national sports scene and won fame for the country in 2002. I also represented the state for many sporting events and won many medals. As everyone has to choose a career, I chose swimming and started my career as an instructor and joined Delhi Public School. I worked there till 2007.

How did you receive national recognition?

When I was working, I was simultaneously looking for options to get better at my work. In 2006, I went to Singapore to do a specialisation course in swimming. I did not have money so I took a bank loan to go there. In 2008 I joined IIT Guwahati as a swimming coach and in 2010, I went to the University of Miami for advanced training in swimming. This

“

The region has a lot of talent and there are examples of people earning fame in state and national level. But, until a sportsman reaches the national level, it is hard to get the training and backing which is required from the authorities”

trip was sponsored by the university as I applied for the course. In 2010, I got a FINA swimming coach certificate from Switzerland and in 2011, I went to the University of Southern California to work with David Salo and assisted him in training Olympians. Before the London 2012 Olympics, I trained the

Bangladeshi swimming team and one of the swimmers got selected for the final event. In 2013 I was invited by the United Nations to present a paper named Pond to Podium and now the Sports Authority of India has selected me to train the Indian swimmers for Common Wealth Games.

A DUTCH GURU g plus feature

What was your inspiration and motivation behind leaving your country and coming down to India? From very early on, I was interested in the Eastern world. When I was about to finish my high school, I was introduced to the Art of Living. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji had visited The Netherlands at that time for a programme and someone informed me that a spiritual master was coming from India and it got me quite excited. The thing that got me so interested was Ravi Shankar Ji’s speech and the the part where he mentioned, “stressing the need for reviving human values in society.”

Why do you think there is so much violence all around?

When I first met Ravi Shankar Ji, he gave a very good example, which really appealed to me. If you are a fan of Liverpool, you get upset when your team loses. It happens because you attach yourself to the team and it hurts your ego. If you say Jesus is bad, Jesus

How can people from this region aspire to be among the best?

The region has a lot of talent and there are examples of people earning fame in state and national level. But, until a sportsman reaches the national level, it is hard to get the training and

backing which is required from the authorities. So, there are people who are earning name and fame for both the city and the state, but to produce more of such talents, the authorities should plan and do something at the grass root level.

A Dutch by nationality, Swami Purnachaitanya was in the city where G Plus caught up with him for a tête-à-tête.

Swami Purnachaitanya grew up in Haarlem, a small city in The Netherlands and had a keen interest in the cultures and philosophies from the East from a very young age. At the age of 16, during a public program organised by The Art of Living, he met Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for the first time - a meeting that would give his life a whole new direction.

I follow Jesus, if Jesus is bad, it means I am bad.’ This is one of the reasons, which results in a lot of violence” won’t mind but the identity is so strong and you are so much attached that it will hurt your ego because you would think that ‘I follow Jesus, if Jesus is bad, it means I am bad.’ This is one of the reasons, which results in a lot of violence.

You have been travelling for quite some time now, what is your objective behind it?

Art of Living has two aspects -one is service project, which is wide in range. It covers conflict resolution, women empowerment and rural development. Another aspect is self-devel-

opment where we teach people how to manage their minds, how to live stress free, be happier and lead a responsible life. So, in order to see these aspects, I have to travel from place to place. I am mainly looking after our activities in Arunachal Pradesh currently. In Assam we have 20 schools now and in Tripura, we have 45.

Recently, we have seen some spiritual leaders supporting specific political parties. Do you think this is right?

No, it is not right. Every individual has the right to vote for the right person. As a spiritual leader, you can only make people aware that there is corruption or some wrong doings going on in the society. You have to choose the right person instead of falling for someone blindly by taking some money or some materialistic things. But whatever it is, no one can tell a person who to choose or who to vote for. There have been religious leaders who have openly preached which party to vote for, which I feel is very wrong. We should not deprive people of their rights and their freedom.

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Life

ritu gupta

INNER PEACE

nner peace (or peace of mind) refers to a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress. As put beautifully by Gautama Buddha, “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” Many of us look for that inner contentment here and there but everything is within us. If we think we are happy then we feel we are happy. Happiness comes from within us and our thought process plays a very important part in it. We can be at peace if we stop comparing ourselves with others and start accepting how we are. Acceptance simply means recognising your ego’s voice and rejecting it. Knowing that the only person we can change is ourselves, enables us to do this. The moment that feeling of acceptance comes, we start making our lives simpler. How many times have we stopped to admire nature? I guess it is very rarely we do that because things, which are easily available are taken for granted

and we don’t even value its worth. However, peace of mind is largely a matter of attention. If we keep the flashlight of our attention on our negative circumstances, if we constantly attend to the “gloom and doom” voices in our heads, then we will surely be overcome by stress. Repeating ‘anchor’ words or phrases, such as ‘peace like a river’ or ‘everything is as it should be’ or ‘I am strong; I am calm’ help redirect the mind to more peaceful and positive thoughts. Find an affirmation that feels right to you and experience how it can elicit a feeling of calm.

“PEACE OF MIND IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF CONFLICT FROM OUR LIFE BUT THE ABILITY TO COPE WITH IT.”

By noticing and appreciating other people’s kindness, we become aware how much it really matters in daily living. In dealing with difficult telephone calls, perhaps an angry person on the other end of the line, we can choose to be kind. If someone asks for a donation for the umpteenth time, we can deal with the request kindly. Obviously,

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.

Pristine Waters! J ust a couple of hours away from the city of Guwahati and I never thought this would be the right place to write and compose. A place, which whispered rare secrets were visible only if you allowed your heart to take over your mind. And, I did just that! For the first time in my life, I just let me be myself! Time seemed to stand still and I just allowed my heart to do whatever it wanted to do, without reprimanding it. My heart teased me to no end and made me write lines, which were magical! Chandubi, a place which is most often populated during winters, more so because people like to laze around the huge placid lake, dream endlessly, while they ate oranges. But deciding to go during a time when there was just us and no one else, was heaven. There were moments when we could almost hear ourselves breathing as we sat in the Assam Tourism lodge, which was very close to the Chandubi Lake. An hour after we arrived at the guesthouse, it rained heavily and the electricity went dead for a fairly long time. Soon, an hour later, when the sky cleared and the full moon came through, the place was transformed into a fairyland, with glow-worms performing for us as we sat glued to the scene. As Kalita, the care-taker lit a candle for us, I sang endlessly and a while later, I just couldn’t help but compose, as usual, a poem, the lines of which came straight from the heart. Dinner was sumptuous and Kalita divulged the secret of the tasty meal of lentils, rice and vegetables to being cooked over firewood. I remember greedily helping myself to four servings of lentils, with a dash of fresh lemon and green chillies. Everyone decided to hit the hay early, but not me. I stayed up to write.

Maybe I would get a second place like this, but I wanted to make the most of the present situation. It was well past midnight when I slept. I woke up to Tirus’ sharp shout, “Mom, wake up or we are going to leave you!” I jumped out of bed, brushed and got into something before Tirus decided to leave me. We drove down to the Chandubi ghat, where a boat approached us. Sanjay and Vijay, with friendly smiles writ across their faces, took us across the Lake, which left us awestruck. There was just this bounteous, breath-taking, scenic landscape all around us. And apart from the gentle resonance of the oar on the water, there was a stillness and comforting calm, which involuntarily made us whisper to each other. The other bank had this relaxed, lazy Karbi village through which we walked and saw things, which left us richer than we expected. Having grown up in a concrete jungle, Tirus would squeal with delight seeing his natural surroundings. As he walked past fields of rice he kept asking questions to Sanjay, who walked ahead of us and kept answering his queries, never for once thinking that they were strange or queer. At the end of one turn in a field, we were in for a lovely surprise. Right in front us, flowing from a huge rocky crevice was a waterfall; the Anne Falls. Tirus, after much coaxing and cajoling decided to have a taste of the ‘natural shower’, which the Sanjay-Vijay duo made in a fraction of a second as they stuck a bamboo split in half in one of the cracks in the waterfall. The water smoothly flowed through it and fell into the small lagoon, where by the time Tirus was expectantly waiting for the icy cold water to hit him. As it did, he jumped and

there are times we cannot give whatever is being asked of us; when we do not have the means or desire to agree to a certain request. In these circumstances, saying no with kindness is the best choice. Sometimes kindly refusing to provide assistance is important in helping promote personal growth in others and it allows them to learn some important life lessons. If someone is gossiping about someone we know, we can be silently kind, refusing to be drawn into the conversation. By choosing kindness, we allow positive energy to flow from us to others and prevent negative energy from reaching us or infusing situations. In this way, we create and maintain a connection to our higher selves. And, realize just how good it feels to be kind. There is a lot of negative energy and craziness in this world, but we can all learn to live with inner peace. If your intention is strong and comes from the deepest part of you, it will happen. Outwardly, nothing changes; peace comes from making changes inside you.

gritu21@yahoo.com

screamed in joy! How could a village tour be complete without meeting the oldest man who actually started the settlement and also without watching what was being weaved at the loom? As we took the walk back and then the ride this time in a covered boat across the lake, I realised to my contentment what wonderful guides we found in Sanjay and Vijay, untrained in tourism management but who would put most trained guides to shame. Their soft, unassuming nature blended so well with the placid lake we crossed and ‘uncrossed’. We went back to the lodge happy as happy could be and after lunch, slept for hours, without a care in the world. Another evening when the moon rose red and large and the fire-flies danced even crazier than ever. Again, another evening of my feverish writing. Oh, I wished I could stay here forever! I could probably come up with endless chronicles. However, this night I decided to sleep early and wake up late! I was the first to wake up. As I tiptoed to the veranda of the lodge, a crisp morning greeted me. I meditated, prayed, read, sang, wrote and in no time, Tirus was up and playing cricket. Lunch was again a delectable spread. We told Kalita how we are going to miss his food. As we drove back through dense green foliage, tea gardens, rice fields, markets, then the city to reach home, we felt our spirits soar. We were ready to take on the world with a new found energy. Two days of a holiday; timeless and priceless!

tinat ATIFA MASOOD

Surrender Is Very Powerful

ou know, the word Surrender has two aspects. One is the eastern aspect of surrender, and the other is from the western perspective. When you are defeated then you surrender, isn’t it? This is one type of surrender, i.e., slavery. Slaves surrender themselves. It is not really surrender from the heart, but it is just out of physical, mental and emotional weaknesses. You subjugate because of weakness. This is one type of surrender. Now, in a spiritual sense, it is completely the other way around. In a spiritual sense, you are bothered by your negative emotions and negative qualities. And carrying it is a big botheration for you. Dropping all that negativity, which you do not want to carry, which you cannot handle is called ‘Surrender’, in the spiritual sense. It is completely different and opposite to the western type of surrender, which means defeat. Here this type of surrender is winning over. You have won over yourself, your mind, and your negativity by dropping it and giving it away. So, in a spiritual sense, surrender means strength, not slavery. That is why when you go to a vaishnava temple, they say ‘Sharanagati’, which means ‘Surrender to God’, and when you do sharanagati, they crown you. They take a silver crown and put it on your head. The meaning behind this in the spiritual sense is, if you have surrendered your negativity, you have become so strong that you become a king. In Kannada it is said, ‘Sharana Sharanarthhi’, which means, ‘I surrender to the surrendered one’. Here, the saints are called surrendered ones. And the saints are the most powerful and most respected, because they have given up all their negativity and surrendered to the Divinity. When negativity is given away, we remain very positive and that is the sainthood. Sainthood cannot come without surrender, and sainthood is not slavery! Sainthood means being very powerful. Sainthood and slavery, both use the word surrender. One surrenders their negative qualities, and the other accept their weaknesses. This is the difference between two sides of surrender. When you surrender your negative qualities, and all that you don’t want to have, you become powerful. The spiritual type of surrender makes you very powerful, while the western type, makes you weak. Now I want to take you one step further. What is there to surrender? There is nothing to surrender! Just relax. Know everything, anyways belongs to the big mind, to the universe. Anyway, everything belongs to God. Don’t struggle to surrender, thinking, ‘Oh, I am not able to surrender a hundred percent’, or, ‘I am able to surrender hundred percent’. All this is just mental gymnastics. I tell you, drop all this, just relax and be simple. Purity in thought, clarity in mind and sincerity in action. His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Health

Weigh your risks down Health Risks Linked to Obesity Dr.Bikash Rai Das, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon

High blood pressure Extra weight makes one more likely to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Both of those conditions make heart disease or stroke more likely. Obesity has a direct correlation with blood pressure. In the three US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), high blood pressure was found to be associated with obesity or overweight. The good news is that losing a small amount of weight can reduce one’s chances of developing heart disease or a stroke. Losing 5%10% of your weight is proven to lower your chance of developing heart disease.

he term “obesity” is used to describe the health condition of anyone who is significantly above his or her ideal healthy weight. Don’t be discouraged by the term. It simply means you are 20% or more above your ideal weight, and you are not alone. Obesity is defined simply as too much body fat. Our body is made up of water, fat, protein, carbohydrate and various vitamins and minerals. Obesity is a major public health problem. Obesity and overweight epidemic is closely linked to the rise in the incidence of heart disease and stroke (Cardiovascular disorders). Cardiovascular disorders are one of the largest health problems in almost all of the developed and developing nations of the world. Cardiovascular disease kills more people than any other disease and account for the largest share in health expenditure. Obesity makes the person more likely to develop conditions including Heart disease and stroke, High blood pressure, Diabetes, Some cancers, Gallbladder disease and gallstones, Osteoarthritis, Gout, Breathing problems, such as sleep apnea (when a person stops breathing for short episodes during sleep) and asthma. Not everyone who is obese has all of those problems. The risk rises if anyone has a family history of one of those conditions. Also, If the weight is mostly around someone’s stomach (the “apple” shape), that may be riskier than if the person has a “pear” shape, meaning that the person’s extra weight is mostly around the hips and buttocks. Here’s a closer look at seven conditions that are linked to being obese or overweight. Heart Disease and Stroke Atherosclerosis is the process that gradually hardens the walls of the arteries making them lose their elasticity and finally blocks them up or narrows them down to impair blood flow. The blockage is caused by fatty and fibre-like deposits. Atherosclerosis is the main underlying cause of cardiovascular disease. When it affects the heart, it may lead to coronary artery disease and heart attacks. When this affects the brain it causes strokes and when it affects the peripheral blood vessels, it leads to peripheral artery disease. Obesity is inexorably related to atherosclerosis. Furthermore the association between excess body weight and atherosclerosis may be stronger in men than in women who have not yet achieved menopause.

Health Tip

Type 2 Diabetes Most people who have type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. One can cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by losing weight, eating a balanced diet, getting adequate sleep, and exercising more. If someone has type 2 diabetes, losing weight and becoming more physically active can help control your blood sugar levels. Becoming more active may also help you need less diabetes medication Cancer Cancers of the intestine, breast (after menopause), endometrium (the lining of the uterus), kidney, and oesophagus (food pipe) are linked to obesity. Some studies have also reported links between obesity and cancers of the gallbladder, ovaries, and pancreas.

“

Obesity is causing a broad range of health problems among children today, that previously weren’t seen until adulthood. These include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and elevated blood cholesterol levels.”

Do not bath immediately after a workout to prevent catching a cold. Wait for 5-10 mins and then cool off with a shower.

Gallbladder Disease Gallbladder disease and gallstones are more common in overweight or obese persons. Ironically, weight loss itself, particularly rapid weight loss or loss of a large amount of weight, can make one more likely to get gallstones. Losing weight at a rate of about 450 gram a week is less likely to cause gallstones. Osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a common joint condition that most often affects the knee, hip, or back. Carrying extra weight places extra pressure on these joints and wears away the cartilage (tissue cushioning the joints) that normally protects them. Weight loss can ease stress on the knees, hips, and lower back and may improve the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Gout Gout is a disease that affects the joints. It happens when someone has too much uric acid in the blood. The extra uric acid can form crystals that deposit in the joints. Gout is more common in overweight people. The

more one weighs, the more likely the person is to get gout. Over the short term, sudden weight changes may lead to a flare-up of gout. If someone has a history of gout, check with your doctor for the best way to lose weight. Sleep Apnea Sleep apnea is a breathing condition that’s linked to being overweight. Sleep apnea can cause a person to snore heavily and to briefly stop breathing during sleep. Sleep apnea may cause daytime sleepiness and make heart disease and stroke more likely. Weight loss often improves sleep apnea. Healthiest weight Everyone needs a goal and positive reasons to achieve that goal. Even losing a few kilos can provide you with cardiovascular benefits, so every step in the right direction is a step toward healthier living. When your weight is in a healthy range, your body more efficiently circulates blood and your fluid levels are more easily managed. What is childhood obesity? Childhood Obesity is under magnifying glass today. Obesity is causing a broad range of health problems among children today, that previously weren’t seen until adulthood. These include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and elevated blood cholesterol levels. There are also psychological effects, obese children are more prone to low self-esteem, negative body image and depression. And excess weight at young ages has been linked to higher and earlier death rates in adulthood. Work with your doctor to lose weight Every adult should have his or her BMI (Body Mass Index) calculated at least once a year. The American Heart Association offers an online BMI calculator for adults. Patients with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered obese and need treatment. The American Heart Association recommends obese patients participate in a medically supervised weight loss program two or three times a month for at least six months. The treatment plan for weight loss involves eating fewer calories than your body needs, getting aerobic exercise for 30 minutes most days of the week and learning the skills to change unhealthy behaviours. Weight loss surgery may be considered for severely obese patients who have one or more obesity-related health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or sleep apnea. You can talk with your doctor about obesity screening and your best treatment options for weight loss.

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Food Sanjukta Das | food enthusiast

rilling a piece of protein or vegetable can be so therapeutic that at times I resort to grilling an entire meal for the day. Yes, my folks love it and that makes me very happy. But since its Mother’s Day coming up this week on Sunday, how about surprising your mom and grill a dish for her and make her feel special. My mother’s day special are the following

grilled delight

Grilled fish with grilled tomatoes and Garlic dip HOW TO GO ABOUT IT? 1. Fish (any of your choice), cleaned, washed and dried 2. For the marination I have used 30 ml king chilly infused vodka, classic all herbs mixed-about 2 teaspoons, 1 tea spoon of chilli flakes, garlic and onion juice-3 tablespoon, lemon juice-2 tablespoon, lemon rinds grated-2 teaspoon, salt and pepper. 3. Rub all the above mentioned ingredients properly all over the fish and also inside the cut stomach walls. Set the fish aside for over 3 hours to marinate.

HOW TO GRILL?, It’s very simple!! 1. Brush some olive oil over the coiled grill rack and place the marinated fish in it. Grill it in the microwave for 12 minutes. Once done, carefully hold the fish and place it upside down for grilling the other half part of the body. Grill it again for good 12 minutes. 2. Once done, carefully remove the fish out of the grill rack and place it in a flat tray. Be careful to handle the fish or it may break

For the Grilled Tomatoes-Garlic Dip: 1. Place 2 tomatoes and one garlic whole into the grill rack and grill them for 15 minutes. You can keep rolling the tomatoes and the garlic for equal and perfect grilling. 2. Once done, carefully place the onions in the mixing bowl. 3. Remove the garlic peel and once again roast the garlic pods in a flat tawa for about 3-5 minutes. As they are grilled, we put them in the mixing bowl along with the tomatoes. Now mash them together. Add some salt and pepper for seasoning and about 2 teaspoon of olive oil into it. Your tomato-garlic is ready to be served.

Finally the plating:

Place the fish and the tomato-garlic dip along with grilled vegetables in a skewer and this can be served with variety of bread and a glass of good wine could make this grilled fish perfect to surprise your mom and show your culinary skills.

We have often heard of alcoholic beverages and going out to a pub or a club and buying yourself and your friends a drink unquestionably will leave a huge hole in your pocket. So how about making ‘Whiskey Ice Tea’ for family and friends this IPL season and enjoy cricket in style? The Making of

WHISKEY ICE TEA (very simple and hassle free) 1. In a mixer, take about 3 tablespoon of good whiskey and about a cup of ice tea (here I have used the Lipton ice tea packet, (readily available in the markets). 2. Mix both of them thoroughly shaking the mixer. In a tall glass, fill half of it with ice cubes and slowly pour the ice tea-whiskey mixture into it. Now garnish with some crushed fresh basil leaves (or mint leaves too) and a few lemon wedges. Your refreshing drink is all ready to be sipped over a few crunchy snacks. HAPPY COOKING AND HAPPY EATING.

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

G-Talk

Is the BTAD violence a tactic to destabilise government? Ajoy Dutta

Pramod Boro President, ABSU

Social activist and ex MLA

POINT

have been a witness to violence since the 1960s and this has been going on in Assam until now. In the violence that has happened in the state during 2008, 2012 and now in 2014, the clashes have always taken place between the Bodos and some minorities of the state. The government announced a CBI enquiry when the clash spurted in 2008 in Udalguri, the report of which has not been published until now. From the government’s action in handling the violence, it is clear that a section of the people have been made scapegoats of political power games where innocent lives have been lost including women and children. It does not matter which religion or which caste they belong to, what matters is that innocent lives have been lost and this proves the killing of humanity. The situation has gone to such an extent that some political parties and minority organisations have tried to spread the clash to other parts of the country. Everybody should be aware of the fact that what is happening in Assam is not a riot but an act of mass killing and this is happening with the patronage of political parties. I do not know who is involved in the violence. The enquiry report will bring it to the fore. But the inner party clashes going on inside the Congress party might be a reason to be believed behind the recent violence that occurred in the BTAD, situated in the western part of Assam. Everybody seems to be after the CM’s chair and the people involved in the conspiracy have been successful in destabilising the government. The comments that were made by Pramila Rani Brahma of BPF before the violence in BTAD and other politicians like Siddique Ahmed of Congress after the violence are very unfortunate. The duty and responsibility of an MLA is to think about his or her constituency, participate in discussions on the floor

COUNTERPOINT Everybody seems to be after the CM’s chair and the people involved in the conspiracy have been successful in destabilising the government” of assembly. However, instead of doing that, some of the politicians including the one from Barak valley (Siddique Ahmed) have been seen trying to woo the victims of the BTAD clash; particularly those belonging to the Muslim community. They are just trying to establish their own identities. The politicians are playing a dangerous game of capturing power by keeping the gun on the soldiers of innocent and poor people. It is very sad that politicians are indulging in politics on the dead bodies of innocent people. The dead have no religion and as a conscious citizen of this country, we condemn such activities. The very concept of Bodo, nonBodo, Rabha etc is very bad and this should not corrupt the minds of the people of Assam. From the line of incidents happening in Assam, it can be stated that a section of the politicians are taking violence as a means to destroy peace and integration of the state.

n Assam, especially in the tribal areas like BTAD, Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong and many more, most of the killings and the violent incidents have been perpetrated either by the extremists or the political elements. In the recent BTAD violence, we can consider both the angles. I am looking at the problem in a very serious way as only a proper inquiry without the involvement of political elements, can expose the truth. There are many angles to these recent killings and one of the major perspectives, which can be brought into play, is the political conspiracy by the political elements to disturb the peaceful BTAD arrangements.

“Consequently, there might be another angle to the entire situation - the possibility that the extremists might be doing this to make their presence felt. We have been demanding to the government since a long time to resolve the extremists issue.

There is space to think that it may be a desperate policy of the politicians to totally destroy the BTAD setup. I don’t think I can exemplify the truth and comment that it is a strategy to destabilise the government, but there is a chance that it is a conspiracy to remove the Gogoi government. But more than that, I feel it is a major conspiracy to disturb the Bodoland movement. People already know that there is a Pillai Committee, which is working on the proposal to find the options of making a separate Bodoland state, so, there might be a conspiracy to disturb the movement of the separate state. We condemn all kinds of killings and violence, which happened recently and demand that the guilty should be arrested and punished. We condemn the government for not being able to protect the lives of the innocent citizens. Consequently, there might be another angle to the entire situation - the possibility that the extremists might be doing this to make their presence felt. We have been demanding to the government since a long time to resolve the extremists issue. The rebels have been pressing their demands since the last thirty years and the government has not been able to find a solution to that. Therefore, if the violence this time too, is the act of the extremists, then again the government is to be blamed as they have failed to address the issue for a long time now. All the tribal areas in Assam have extremist problems and the government should have been able to resolve the problem until now. The authorities have always taken things easily and they only pretend to act when there is an incident. For their negligence, many innocent citizens keep losing their lives. Many families are suffering and it is only because the authorities have not come to a solution.

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Events

ESPLENDIDEZ 2014 Date: 2nd - 4th May, Venue: RIST Campus, 9 Mile

DATE

7days

Next VENUE

IIT Guwahati

Last Defence

10th May

State Art Gallery

Aakriti – A visual art cum photography exhibition

10th May

Terra Mayaa

DJ Caro

11 May

Rani Reserve Forest

DCP Weekend Photo Walk

11th May

Shankardev Kalakshetra

4th Wonder Kids’2014

11th May

Ozone

Fire and Ice

15 May

Trinant Dance Academy, AT Road

Janet Reed’s special contemporary class

EVENT

9th May

Summer Glasses Party Date: 4 May, Venue: Club Ozone

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

DJ Varun with a party goer

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Web Watch

Rovio launches Flappy Bird inspired game ‘Retry’

3 billion people to be online by end of 2014: UN report

Facebook reveals anonymous app login

W R

ovio has soft launched a clone of the popular ‘Flappy Bird’ game called ‘Retry’ in Canada, Finland and Poland. Retry is available for iOS from the country specific Apple app store. No information is available about whether the game will be launched for Android or if it will also be launched globally. Retry is similar to the addictive game ‘Flappy Bird’, it has a high level of difficulty and keeps urging the user to ‘Retry’. The game features side-scrolling navigation of a flying object through a series of vertical obstacles as Flappy Bird, in an 8-bit design style. The new game comes from Rovio’s new LVL11 division. “From the guys sitting in the room next to the guys who made Angry Birds, comes Retry – a game so hard, so addictive, so old school that you’ll think you’ve stepped into an 8-bit time machine and gone back

to 1986. Totally rad!” the game’s description reads. The game requires players to tap on the screen to control the plane’s altitude. However, users can also control how fast the plane flies, make it move backwards and forwards to collect coins, land it at bases, and can unlock checkpoints at bases with the coins. It is yet to be seen if Rovio also integrates the global leader board that contributed to Flappy Bird’s success. Flappy Bird was taken down by its developer for being too addictive after a few days of its launch. After that numerous Flappy Bird clones popped up on Google Play Store as well as the Apple app store. Do you think Flappy Bird’s formula plus Rovio’s own tweaks are sufficient enough to make the game a bestseller? Let us know your views in the comments section below.

ith Internet coverage rapidly expanding across the globe, especially in the developing nations, the world is set to have about 3 billion netizens (Internet users) by end of this year. The report further says 44% of the global households will have internet access by end of 2014. About 31 percent of households in developing nations will be having internet access. The figures shoots up to 78 percent in developed countries. The ICT report further points out households internet access in reaching a saturation level in developed countries. For mobile cellular subscriptions, the number is expected to hit 7 billion by 2014-end, while 3.6 billion will be in the Asia-Pacific region. Developing nations are expected to account about 78% of the world’s total. According to the report, one-fifth of population in Africa will have access to the Internet, while two-thirds of population in Americas will have the access by end of this year. Europe has the highest internet penetration rate of 75%, while the Asia-Pacific region has the largest population of internet users.

Sony recreates Watch live video stream of Earth cassette tape

acebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that in the future FB users will be able to log in to third party apps anonymously using their Facebook login. He also launched a mobile ad network, branded the ‘Facebook Audience Network’, that will help brands serve ads on third-party apps using user data collected by Facebook. Both announcements were made at Facebook’s F8 conference which took place after a two year gap in San Francisco, early today morning. With respect to anonymous login, Zuckerberg explained that many users did not feel comfortable sharing their details with an app that allowed Facebook login, without trying the app first. By selecting the “Log In Anonymously” option, users will now be able to log in to apps and services and ascertain whether the app is worth using and if it can be trusted with their details. If users are afraid that logging into a certain app will result in their friends being spammed with requests, then they can opt for the anonymous login.

Doing so will ensure that the app developers do not get to see your identity or details and will only be able to do so once you choose to sign in to the app in a regular manner. Zuckerberg revealed that the anonymous login option was being tested out by a few developers (like Flipboard) and that it would be opened up to other developers in the future. Another announcement that highlights Facebook’s attempts at improving user privacy also dealt with app logins. The social network will now allow users to see and control all data that an app requires when you’re logging in. The new login screen will allow users to uncheck any part of their data they don’t want the app to receive before actually logging in. The granularity of this means that users can (as an example) choose to let an app see their likes and email address but not their friends list and birthday. Users will also get a newly designed app control panel that gives them a better view of the apps they use and control their permissions.

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

he medium may be “dead” when it comes to daily consumer storage tech, Sony has gone ahead and developed a new way of revitalizing the magnetic tape technology. Sony presented the new cassette tape format at International Magnetics Conference (Intermag) in Europe last week. The tape comes with much more storage capacity than the tapes we once knew. It is capable of holding 148GB per square inch which is a new record holder for the highest storage density in the magnetic tape medium. Magnetic tapes have been the most preferred way of backing up large amounts of data since the 90s. Even though, hard drives have replaced magnetic tape as the preferred way of storage for consumers. But the reality is that the magnetic tapes are still used by companies for mass data backup.

www.Feedient.com – Feedient connects seamlessly with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and your YouTube subscriptions. you dont need to refresh or click on an update button – it will automatically send you the new posts as they arrive. The universal notification center gathers all the notifications for your accounts in one single place.

he National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has started an experiment called High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) which shows the station’s view of our planet via an internet stream. The project has been developed and run by NASA together with some high school students. The students have helped with the design of some of the HDEV components through the High School United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) program. The experiment includes both multiple 720p camera feeds and the ISS crew’s radio chatter. The stream from HDEV is not stable and occasionally loses contact. The project includes testing the quality of Earth-facing cameras as well as their ability to survive high

doses of radiation while in orbit. The project is supposed to run till October 2015 and NASA will use the results from the experiment to decide what cameras to use on future missions. The HDEV experiment was aboard the ISS and was activated on April 30, 2014. It is mounted on the External Payload Facility of the European Space Agency’s Columbus module. It includes several commercial HD video cameras aimed at Earth which are enclosed in a pressurized and temperature controlled housing. Video from these cameras is transmitted back to Earth streamed live on the channel below. If you don’t see anything, it is most likely that space station is hovering over the dark side of the planet Earth.

www.SleepSoundsHQ.com – Instantly relax , and fall asleep in minutes with over 500 soothing sounds from around the world.. SleepSounds HQ gives you immediate access to a massive catalog of highquality, naturally recorded sounds. www.HabitList.com – It includes everything you need to reach your goals, wrapped in a beautiful and intuitive interface. It motivates you, helps you stay focused, and keeps you on track. www.FitsMeapp.com – Create flexible meal plans. To start, create a food personality profile to show your preferences. Using your profile, discover recipes for foods you like. As you discover recipes, you can “Forks Up” or “Forks Down” each one. Over time, it’ll learn about what you enjoy most. www.Tackk.com – MAke quick and easy webpages for free using tackk. The template is already prepared and ready. All you need to do is enter the text, the colors, and the images. 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 MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Reviews

SHINE ON

YOU LD SHOUTEN LIS

Artist: Sarah McLachlan

hine On captures Sarah McLachlan at a period of transition, switching labels (she’s signed with Verve after decades at Arista) and experiencing the death of her father and divorce from her husband. Some of this turbulence can be heard underneath the surface of Shine On -- explicitly so on “Song for My Father” and “Broken Heart,” whose titles give their game away -- but the defining characteristic of this seventh McLachlan studio album is not despair but rather hope. Certainly,

there is melancholy here -- a feeling that surfaces in the slower, gentler moments, the kind of sound that is heavily associated with McLachlan’s mid-’90s hits -- but there’s also a surprising, resilient buoyancy here, manifesting itself in big, ringing adult alternative pop tunes that pepper the album. Surrounding these songs -- the best of which are “In Your Shoes” and “Monsters” -- are those signature McLachlan swoons, the surprisingly soulful “Love Beside Me” and an effective, swinging coda

called “The Sound That Love Makes” that’s built on a simple ukulele but soon expands. Shine On, as a whole, has a similar trajectory; it starts from simple, sad emotions, then builds out into an embrace of love and life.

THE ACCIDENTAL PRIME MINISTER Author: Sanjaya Baru

he Accidental Prime Minister is Baru’s account of what it was like to ‘manage’ public opinion for Singh while giving us a riveting look at Indian politics as it happened behind the scenes. As Singh’s spin doctor and trusted aide for four years, Baru observed up close Singh’s often troubled relations with his ministers, his cautious equation with Sonia Gandhi and how he handled the big crises from man-

Director: Janaki Vishwanathan Cast: Anshuman Jha, Asif Basra, Suruchi Aulakh, Yaushika Varma

esiding in a distant village, the Qureshi family struggles to make ends meet. Hounded by debt collectors, they decide to sell off their pet goat ‘Shahrukh’ as the last resort. However, the goat means the world to the little boy in the family. Shahrukh is after all his best friend and constant companion. Helpless and heartbroken, he finds solace in cool city barber Jaffer’s (Anshuman Jha) clever solution to his dilemma. Their idea turns things around for the Qureshis and the goat, who ends up becoming an overnight sensation. But then begins the politics of religion, horrors of blind faith and lust for money. Janaki Vishwanathan’s concept that highlights the little ironies of life and fickleness of human nature is a sure-shot winner. The slice-of-life tale is convincing and thus believable. The village has been beautifully captured on camera and the actors’ genuine performances lend authenticity to the setting. Anshuman Jha

in particular is impressive. Suruchi Aulakh stands out too but the actress is a tad too theatrical and highpitched for cinema. Overall, the film works for its quirky premise. However, while one expects Janaki to make the most of ‘Shahrukh’ (pun intended), that track holds no relevance to the story at all. Any name could have sufficed. Also, after delving into issues like religion and superstition, the director plays it safe by offering no conclusion or take on either. This dilutes the motive and makes the story seem halfbaked. Editing is a major flaw. A few scenes end abruptly while the rest go on forever, making you wonder if the director forgot to say ‘cut’. A slow build-up and a comparatively hurried climax are spoilers too. Even the dialogues are not as funny as they should ideally be. To sum it up, the film is as unique as superstar Shah Rukh Khan, but it lacks his charisma.

aging the Left to pushing through the nuclear deal. In this book he tells all and draws for the first time a revelatory picture of what it was like for Singh to work in a government that had two centres of power. Insightful, acute and packed with political gossip, The Accidental Prime Minister is one of the great insider accounts of Indian political life and a superb portrait of the Manmohan Singh era.

NOW SHOWING Yeh Hai Bakrapur

Abhadra (Assamese)

Hawa Hawai

Daily at 8 PM

Daily at 11Am and 5 PM

Daily at 2PM (H-2D)

Anuradha Cineplex

Daily at 2 & 8 PM

Daily at 11AM & 5 PM (H-3D)

Fun Cinemas

Daily at 10.15 AM & 3.15 PM

Apsara Cinema

2 States

Amazing Spiderman 2

Koyelanchal

Daily at 8.30 PM

Gold Cinema (Fancy Bazar)

Daily at 11.30 AM

Daily at 2 PM

Daily at 2.30 PM

Daily at 5.30 PM

Daily at 11AM, 5 & 8 PM

Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazar)

Daily at 8.30 PM

Daily at 2 PM

Daily at 2.30 PM

Daily at 5.30 PM

Daily at 11AM, 5& 8 PM

Daily at 8 PM

Daily at 5 PM

Daily at 2 PM

Daily at 11 AM

Gold Cinema (Narengi)

Kya Dilli Kya Lahore

ya Dilli? Kya Lahore? Kya ‘baat’! Yes, battle-banter over cross-border firing and a bombardment of dialogues forms the crux of this film, set at a time (1948) when the border lines between India and Pakistan reeked of fresh blood. In today’s context, those very boundaries have dulled, the battle-lines have hardened and the banter has changed. To a more contemporary barrage of dialogues. ‘KDKL’ deals out languid laughter and a dark humour-in-uniform. Yet, all of it stems from scarred memories and open wounds of partition that’ve

YOU LD SHOU READ

Manjunath

Daily at 12.30 PM & 5.30 PM

Daily at 11.30 AM

Director: Janaki Vishwanathan Cast: Vijay Raaz, Manu Rishi, Raj Zutshi, Vishwajeet Pradhan

painfully throbbed over generations. Narrated and presented by maestro writer/lyricist Gulzar, the story unfolds when a Pakistani soldier, Rehmat (Raaz); born in Delhi and now ‘displaced’ in newly-formed Pakistan, is confronted by an Indian soldier, Samarth (Rishi), who’s grown up in Lahore, now migrated to Delhi. The satirical conversations, candour, ‘crossness’, form a large part of the dialogue between two lost souls. What starts as a spiteful fury of words, punctuated with blood and bullets, warms up into a heart-rending tale. And somewhere,

the inbred bhaichara and binding nostalgia ties the two uprooted souls like an undeniable umbilical cord. Debutant director Vijay Raaz’s story stays firmly focused on his two subjects (Rehmat, Samarth), in the same location throughout; with brief inclusion of only two other characters. The plot, (reminiscent of Oscar-winning Bosnian film, ‘No Man’s Land’), is a rare attempt in Indian cinema. The essence of the story rests in its dialogues (Manu Rishi) - like rich, evocative poetry - which carries the emotional weight of the film. In that

also lies the problem, the shuddh Urdu-Punjabi-Hindi is often difficult to grasp amidst raging emotions. Hence, it might not appeal to all. Also, the film feels a tad long. Performances by Raaz and Rishi are brilliant and the background score (Sandesh Shandilya) adds tear-jerking heaviness. One of the finest things about ‘KDKL’ is Gulzar’s poetic prologue. Without the usual trappings of filmi fanfare, this story has its heart in the right place - pure and undivided. Like pre-partition brotherhood.

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Fun

Your weekly dose of HOROSCOPE

TAURUS Not a lot has changed. The only thing that separates Monday and Tuesday from last week is your attitude. But oh, what a difference that makes! Even the most boring aspects of your job seem like high adventure. Wednesday is super-weird, both from an emotional and a monetary perspective, and the weirdness takes on more weight and dimension on Thursday. Friday? Friday’s a party. Friday is the day when your social prowess comes to the fore and you ooze charm. Saturday and Sunday find you in a philosophical mode, challenging your assumptions and asking good questions.

GEMINI You may feel overwhelmed at the start of the week. You have a lot on your plate. Giving a small project to someone else could not only free up your energy for other tasks, but it could also communicate a certain level of trust in this other person’s skills. If they take the assignment as a compliment, everyone wins. Wednesday and Thursday are more about strategic moves than tactical ones — you’re thinking rather than doing — but Friday you’re a go-getter. You’re a deal maker, a ringleader, a star. Saturday and Sunday, to get what you want, use tact. Be circumspect. Preaching only makes things tense.

CANCER

SUDOKU

LIBRA

The truth is, Monday and Tuesday won’t be the smoothest days you’ve ever encountered. You’ll have some hills ahead of you, and for every up, there’s a commensurate down. The best you can do is throw your energy into the projects at hand. Wednesday and Thursday won’t be the right days for signing paperwork — as a matter of fact, they won’t be right for committing to anything binding. On Friday, as much as you think you’d like to kick up your heels, you’ll be happier taking off your shoes and resting on a pile of pillows. Play some music. Forget your obligations this weekend. Daydream.

Could Monday and Tuesday be any better? It’s unlikely. First of all, love is in the air. It’s in every step you take — you have a lift, a bounce, magic. Flirting figures strongly, and beauty abounds. The attention you receive from others is flattering, but it’s almost too much to handle. You may even find yourself turning inward on Wednesday or Thursday — or at least turning toward serious projects, such as a financial one — as a means of deflection. Rarely have you felt as idealistic as you do on Friday, and the more you discuss your ideas this weekend, the more inspired you feel.

SCORPIO

LEO You’re tidy in all things at the start of the week. You’re careful to make sure your new purchases are carefully unwrapped. You like your friends to agree with you, but don’t be afraid to spill your guts a little. Let your thoughts be in disarray. You feel good, and that feeling is going to last even through Wednesday, when you suspect that someone has impure motives. Thursday is admittedly a self-centered day, and on Friday and Saturday, an explosion of romance alters your emotional landscape. Whether it’s a temporary or permanent change is unclear. On Sunday, just enjoy the experience.

VIRGO Life is a swimming pool on Monday. Jump in. Make a lot of waves. Splash around. This feeling of immersion is utterly joyful. You may be so caught up in the fun of it that on Tuesday you buy something on impulse, something you don’t really need. But it’s the spirit of the acquisition that counts. On Wednesday and Thursday, your intellectual curiosity leads you to an unexpected place, or at the very least it leads to someone confessing a loaded secret. Friday brings more revelations. You have big plans for the weekend, but almost none of them are possible, what with your family obligations.

You’re weighing your options. If you sometimes have trouble making decisions, Monday and Tuesday you’re flat-out unable. Giving in to someone else is the best thing to do, even if that involves admitting a small amount of defeat. Don’t fret about how it may reflect on you, because Wednesday and Thursday you’re surrounded by a kind of magic halo and no one sees you in anything except the most flattering light. On Friday, or sometime this weekend, let a friend take you somewhere, whether it’s to the mall or on a road trip. Whatever the plan is, say yes.

SAGITTARIUS It’s okay that you’re not on the same pYou find yourself in large gatherings on Monday and Tuesday. You’re loved by the people you work with, and the people you socialize with and even people you barely know. Others are taking their cues from you, which gives you a unique social power. Use it toward the greater good. On Wednesday and Thursday, your mental energy is spent on trying to assemble the big picture, which is a task perhaps best done alone, with classical music in the background. On Friday, friendship and joviality are once again the order of the day. Your incredible confidence propels Saturday and Sunday.

CAPRICORN You have almost no time to ask for anything on Monday and Tuesday, what with all that everyone else is asking of you. You love to be needed, but too much work is simply too much work. If you’d like help, holler. On Wednesday, a trusted pal comes to the rescue. Thursday is a fine day to make a decision — trust your instincts, cross your fingers — and Friday the fates conspire to leave you feeling optimistic, idealistic and happy. Saturday and Sunday, your big plans may not seem plausible (for this or that small reason), but anything is possible. Keep going.

AQUARIUS The person you connect with most deeply on Monday isn’t whom you expect it to be. Chemistry is a funny thing. On Tuesday, deepen this newfound friendship by confessing something personal, and see what kind of response you get. Wednesday and Thursday aren’t very noteworthy in the social realm because of pressing work matters — matters that may start to take their toll on you emotionally. That, in turn, may affect your social life. Everything is interrelated. Friday finds you taking an organizational role among your friends. Maybe there’s a party at your place this weekend?

PISCES The challenge that faces you at the start of the week is particularly tricky, because it involves someone who’s been at your side when you’ve dealt with challenges before. Somehow this person has become the challenge. Partnerships can be mercurial. Stand your ground. Insist on getting what’s owed to you. But, if possible, don’t make it personal. Wednesday and Thursday find you taking a stand with others as well — and, again, the more you keep it on the up-and-up, the easier it is. Whatever happens, give people the benefit of the doubt on Friday and through the weekend. Luck is on your side.

JUST FOR LAUGHs A pious man, who had reached the age of 105, suddenly stopped going to synagogue. Alarmed by the old fellow’s absence after so many years of faithful attendance, the Rabbi went to see him. He found him in excellent health, so the Rabbi asked, “How come after all these years we don’t see you at services

anymore?” The old man lowered his voice, “I’ll tell you, Rabbi,” he whispered. “When I got to be 90, I expected God to take me any day. But then I got to be 95, then 100, then 105. So, I figured that God is very busy and must’ve forgotten about me, and I don’t want to remind Him!”

Solutions (Last Issue)

ARIES

You’re not thinking about this the right way. At the start of the week, rather than viewing the situation from your perspective, consider how the other person sees things. A few confusing pieces of the puzzle will suddenly lock into place. If Wednesday and Thursday are a bit slower than you’d like, well, don’t let your ambitions get the best of you. Aggressiveness is great, but you won’t make significant progress until Friday. The good news is that the strides will last through the weekend, when you’ll be charting new terrain. People will discuss building statues in your honor. On Sunday, be the early bird.

TIMEPASS

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Furniture store G Plus will keep on publishing such relevant and useful information in this page in the coming issues.

Compiled by Mautapa Dhar

Rishab Industries Nr Railway Gate No 8, K R B Rd, Bharalumukh, Ghy-9, Ph- 9435101433, 9435044395 Manish Furniture Palace Meermukid Manzil, S.A Road, Kumarpara, Ghy-8 Ph- 8876510341 Shree Maruti Furniture old post office, Nr Axis Bank, G S Road, Ghy-5 Ph- 9864063505, 9864014123

Pooja Furniture Nr Gauhati Commerce College, R G Baruah Road, Ghy-3, Ph- 9706354380

Prakash Furniture A K Azad Road, Rehabari, Ghy-8 Ph- 9435011514

The Supreme Industries Ltd Epip Park, Amingaon Post, Ghy-31 Ph- 9706001947

New Nitu Furniture Above Barman Diabetes Specialities, Rukiminigaon, Ghy-22, Ph- 9954703492

Durian Imported Furniture- Khanapra, Ghy- 21 Ph-0361-2363213

R L Industrial Store Opp Super Point AC Market, Nr Uco Bank, H B Road, Fancy Bazar, Ghy-1 Ph-0361-2546358

Jajodia Engineering PVT A T Road, Baralumukh, Ghy-9 Ph- 0361-2544035 New Nitu Furniture Santipur, Ghy-9 Ph- 0361-2515801

Trimurti Enterpriaea Taji Commercial Complex, S. J. Rd, Athgaon, Ghy-1 Ph- 0361-2633414

Ghar- M N Road, Pan Bazar, Ghy-1 Ph- 0361-2517424

Yashin Furniture F A Road,Kumar Para Charali, Nr Rly Gate 6, Ghy-9 Ph- 9864407583

Silver Steel Samta Bhawan Mrkt, Nr Rail Gate No.5, A T Raod, Ghy-9 Ph- 9435040754

The Supreme Industries Limited Chatribari Ph- 8876561102

Manish Furniture Palace Nr Rail Gate No 6, F A Road, Guwahati Gpo, Ghy-1 Ph- 8876510341

Lavish Furniture Opp Sonaram Field, A T Road, Bharalumukh, Ghy-9 Ph- 8486024012

Jajodia Furniture Solution Dandi Tower, Dispur, G S Road, Assam Sachivalaya, Ghy-6, Ph- 9864092932

Syan & Company Nr. Apsara, Manipuribasti, G S Road, Ghy-7 Ph- 9864039644

Prakash Industries Fakaruddin Ali Ahmed Building, S S Road, Lakhtokia, Ghy-1, Ph- 9864521000

Style Spa World Furniture Ltd- Christian Basti, G S Road, Guwahati Gpo, Ghy-1 Ph- 9864307207

North Eastern Enterprise Zoo Road, Ghy-5 Ph- 0361-2454565

Global Marketing Group Bawri Building, Kamrup Chamber Rd, Fancy Bazar, Ghy-1, Ph- 0361-2542156

Zuari Quality Furniture Opp Bata, Nr Bharalu Culvert, Bhangagarh, Ghy-18 Ph- 9435043610

Vinayak Home Ulubari, G S Road, Lachit Nagar, Ghy-7 Ph- 9085078731 New Nitu Furniture Opp Sonaram High School, A T Road, Santipur, Ghy-9 Ph- 9864063134 Steel & Style Royal View, B K Kakoti, Ulubari, Ghy-7 Ph- 9435559032

Ravi Furniture Post Office, G S Road, Ghy-5 Ph- 0361-2347328

Shikha Furniture LAL Ganesh, Odalbakra, Ghy-34 Ph- 9864406958

Cane craft & Allied Industries Below Indian Overseas Bank, G S Road, Dispur, Ghy-5 Ph- 9864093172

Ghar Furniture Odalbakra Road, Ghy-34 Ph- 9859116440

Furniture First Nr Samsung Digital Plaza, Bhangagarh, G S Road, Ghy-5, Ph- 0361-2464198

Menu Udyog Santipur, A T Road, Ghy-9 Ph- 8811047887

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Citypedia

AMBULANCE

Ambulance 102 Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665 Downtown Hospital 9864101111, 9435012669 GLP Social Circle 2737373 GGUMTA (Mirza) 03623-227109 Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251

BLOOD BANK

Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665 Ganga Blood Bank 2454742, 2455029 Lion’s Club of Ghy Central 2546611 Marwari Yuva Manch 2546470, 2547251 Saharia’s Path Lab (24 hours) 2458594

HOSPITALS Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) B Baruah Cancer Institute (2472364/66) Brahmaputra Hospital Ltd (2451634/678) Chatribari Christian Hospital 0361-2600051, 9207044374 Downtown Hospital 2331003, 9864079366, 9435012669 Guwahati Medical College (2529457, 2529561) Guwahati Medical College Emergency (2263444)

International Hospital 0361-7135005 Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (2541477, 2543998) Marwari Hospital & Research Centre 0361-2602738/39 Marwari Maternity Hospital 0361-2541202/01 Nemcare Hospital 0361-2528587, 2455906, 2457344

Pratiksha Hospital 0361-2337260, 2337183/84 Basistha Military Hospital (2304617/0351) Railway Central Hospital Casuality (2671025) Redcross Hospital (2665114) Sri Sankardeva Netralaya 0361-2233444, 2228879, 2228921 TB Hospital (2540193) Wintrobe Hospital 0361-2519860, 98647-77986 GNRC Hospital 0361 2331003, , 9864079366 GNRC Life First Ambulance 9435012669

24-HOUR PHARMACIES Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) DEAD BODY CARRYING VAN GLP Social Circle 2737373, 9435047046 Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251 GGUMTA 98640-16740 ELECTRICITY SUPPLY Call Centre – 9678005171

OTHERS Fire Emergency 101 State Zoo 2201363 GMC Carcass Pickup 9435190720, 9864047222 LPG Emergency/Leakage 2385209, 2541118

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

Cinema Hall Anuradha Cineplex – 0361-2656968, 99545-44738 Fun Cinema (HUB)- 98648-00100, 98648-00200 Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazaar) – 98540-66166 Gold Cinema (Salasar) – 0361-2735367, 98540-77177 Gold Cinema (Narengi) – 88110-01898 police station SP, Kamrup District: Ph- 2540278 DGP Control Room: Ph- 2540242 SB Control Room: Ph-2261511 Police Control Room: Ph-2540138, 2540113 Azara PS: Ph2840287 Basista PS: Ph-2302158 Bharalumukh PS: Ph- 2540137, 2731199 Borjhar PS: Ph-2840351 Chandmari PS: Ph- 2660204 Chandrapur PS: Ph-2788237, 2785237 Dispur PS: Ph-2261510 Fancybazar PS: Ph- 2540285

Fatasil Ambari PS: Ph-2471412 Geetanagar PS: Ph-2417323 Hatigaon: Ph-2562383 Jalukbari PS: Ph-2570587 Jalukbari Out Post: Ph-2570522 Jorabat: Ph-2896853 Khanapara: Ph- 2281501 Khetri PS: Ph-2787699, 2787220 Latasil PS: Ph-2540136 Noonmati PS: Ph- 2550281 North Guwahati PS: Ph-2690255 Paltanbazar PS: Ph-2540126 Panbazar PS: Ph-2540106 Pragjyotishpur Ps: Ph-2785237 Women PS Panbazar: Ph-2524627

G PLUS MAY 10 - MAY 16, 2014

Catching Up

Headlining acts! Helena Costa became the first ever female manager in men’s professional football after taking over the reins at French Ligue 2 club Clermont Foot. Costa, who is 36-yearsold and Portuguese, started her coaching career at Benfica and has most recently been in charge of both the Qatar and Iran women’s national sides. She was appointed by Clermont and will take over sole charge of first-team affairs at the club from next season*

Costa becomes European football’s first female professional team manager

To subscribe type GPLUS and send it to 56677

Tom Morello WHO’S HE Thomas Baptiste Morello is an American guitarist best known for his tenure with the band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. His acoustic solo act is called The Nightwatchman, and his latest group Street Sweeper Social Club.

Hayden Panettiere WHO’S SHE Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress, model, singer, voice actress, and activist. She is known for her roles as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC series Heroes (2006–10) and as Juliette Barnes in the ABC musical drama series Nashville.

Scientists have created the first “semi-synthetic” microorganism with a radically different genetic code from the rest of life on Earth. The researchers believe the breakthrough is the first step towards creating new microbial life-forms with novel industrial or medical properties resulting from a potentially massive expansion of genetic information.

SO WHAT He is best known for his unique and creative guitar playing style, which incorporates feedback noise, unconventional picking and tapping as well as heavy use of guitar effects. Morello is also noted for his leftist political views and activism; his creation of his side project The Nightwatchman offered an outlet for his views while playing a political music with Audioslave. He was ranked number 40 in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

SO WHAT In November 2007, she was awarded the “Compassion in Action Award” from the animal rights group PETA for her efforts to stop the dolphin hunt in Japan. At a 2007 Greenpeace event in Anchorage, Alaska, Panettiere defended aboriginal whaling, saying that there is a difference between commercial whaling and the whaling practiced by aboriginal tribes in the United States.

New Life

Now what Hayden Panettiere’s wedding plans are currently on hold. Panettiere opened up about planning her nuptials and revealed things have stalled due to the crisis in Eastern Europe.”Everything that’s happening in Ukraine definitely put a hold on things,” the 24-year-old “Nashville” star told.

Now what Morello and Serj Tankian of System of a Down are the co-founders of Axis of Justice, a political group whose declared purpose is “to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grass roots political organizations to fight for social justice together.” They “aim to build a bridge between fans of music around the world and local political organizations to effectively organize around issues of peace, human rights, and economic justice.” The group has been working for such causes as immigrant rights and death-penalty abolition.

Scientists discover ‘weird trick’ used to build pyramids A group of physicists say that they’ve uncovered that “one weird trick” that helped ancient engineers drag the huge stones across the desert. The magic ingredient? A little water. Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter found that by wetting the ground in front of their sledges, ancient Egyptians would have been able to pull large blocks of stones and statues across the desert without the sand piling up in front of the vehicle.

pick of the week

What did I just hear?

Time to rejoice but pray too as The Netherlands-based non-profit organisation Mars One has shortlisted 44 Indians – including 17 women – among 705 aspirants for its planned one-way trip to Mars in 2024. The shortlisted astronaut candidates now advance to an interview round with Mars One’s selection committee. The organisation aims to establish a Red Planet settlement beginning in 2025.

Peruvian man survives 5,000-foot fall and doesn’t even break a bone after parachute mishap. Amasifuen Gamarra, 31, was surprisingly unscathed from the mile-high mishap after the lines from the parachute wrapped around his neck when he leaped from a military plane above Arequipa, in southern Peru. Gamarra, an eightyear veteran of the air force, was transferred to a military hospital for additional testing.

Kamur of the week Guwahati roads. A brief spell of downpour for an hour inundates the entire city. Traffic chaos was already a major problem for the commuters used to face, and a recent downpour for few days has made the city roads even more pathetic to ply on. All tall claims of de-siltation and drain cleaning exercises by the authorities are somehow washed away by the initial rain of the season.

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