VOL 01 | ISSUE 33 | MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
`10 ges 24 Pa
MODI
ANNIHILATES CONGRESS Bijoya Chakravarty bags Gauhati LS seat as the BJP wins seven in Assam
Bijoya retains Guwahati
Fernanda Uliana Catching Up, Pg 24
Ward watch @
Ward No 20 PG No
11
2
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Lead Story
MODI
ANNIHILATES CONGRESS In what was a roaring victory for BJP, the Lok Sabha poll results have proved what the country has been expecting – a change.
RAHUL CHANDA
N
arendra Modi led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) back to power after a decade in opposition, taking advantage of public anger at the Congress for uncontrolled high prices, corruption, scams and rising unemployment. Since the time the saffron party declared the Gujarat Chief Minister as the party’s prime ministerial candidate, Modi travelled across the country to woo the voters, who finally backed him to prove his mettle. From the Godhra riots to snoopgate, all types of issues were raised by the opponents to stop the BJP poster boy from reaching the top, but India expressed through the polls that they desired change. The triumph capped an amazing run for the 63-year-old Chief Minister of Gujarat, who ran a high-voltage campaign that rewrote the political rule books and caught his rivals napping. The Congress’ incumbency problems were compounded by a listless showing from Rahul, who failed to grab the public imagination. Congress conceded defeat, but carefully couched its comments to prevent blame falling on the Gandhi scion. The Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son and party Vice President Rahul Gandhi took responsibility for the party’s worst ever drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress president addressed the media and said, “As president I take responsibility for the defeat.” She also congratulated the new government without naming BJP leader Narendra Modi, who is set to become the new prime minister of India. A seemingly smiling Rahul Gandhi said he wanted to congratulate the new government. “We fought elections on principles but they have been given the mandate by the people; I want to wish them the best. The Congress has done pretty badly, and there is a lot to think about... I hold myself responsible.” The mother and the son left after addressing the media without taking any questions.
The strategy From September last year, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, addressed approximately 437 big rallies, participated in a total 5827 public interfacing events and travelled over three lakh kilometres across 25 states in his attempt to connect
himself to the people everywhere. This was the most comprehensive outreach programme undertaken by a single leader in any election in India’s history. “Friends in the party told me that I have addressed rallies and programmes in almost 5,800 locations, covering a distance of over 3 lakh kilometers. The number of rallies I addressed in this campaign season is 440, including the Bharat Vijay Rallies that I began with the blessings of Maa Vaishno Devi on March 26, 2014,” Modi said, as reported by a web portal. The media, social media and all the high-tech communication mediums where used to its maximum. Modi knew the importance of communication to reach the masses and made maximum usage of all media available.
The victory As the entire country was waiting for the results on May 16th, the day started with the saffron party leading everywhere. Even the Gandhi’s ancestral seat of Amethi was seeing Smriti Irani getting ahead, but after noon, Rahul Gandhi started leading and finally he won, but Irani gave him stiff competition. Later in the day the results shocked
CONGRESS
48
BJP
285
NDA 335
Source : Media reports
UPA
61
Others 147 the entire country as after independence, this is first time in the history of Indian elections that a party secured full majority on its own. Political pundits claim that in 1984 Rajiv Gandhi also managed a similar victory, but Modi in his first speech after routing Congress said in Vadodra, “This is the first time after independence that a party has secured absolute majority on its own and I thank the people of Gujarat for giving me 26 out of 26.” Similarly, BJP bagged all the 25 seats in Rajasthan too, but what shocked the result variation was the seat share received from Mulayam’s state. BJP won 73 seats in UP out of 80 which is outstanding. In Bihar too, Nitish’s efforts were all in vain as BJP won 30 seats there too. Totally, the BJP alone got 285 seats, which is more than enough to form the government at the centre. Congress managed only 48 seats, which is the poorest performance the party has showed after independence. As a whole, the NDA together bagged 335 seats while Congress with its allies managed 61 seats, which is not even enough to sit in the opposition. The others won 147 seats. The 2014 elections was one of the major political event that has ever happened in India, and Narendra Modi somehow managed to give a facelift to the saffron party proving all his claims. When a new government comes into power, it is but natural that people start expecting and hoping for a better future. We hope Modi delivers on his promises, but what shines through from these elections is the fact that Indian voters have evolved.
3
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Lead Story
CONGRESS THRASHED IN ASSAM
Managing to bag only three LS seats of the available fourteen, Congress watched wide-eyed as the BJP bagged seven wins backed by the powerful Modi wave that has taken the nation by storm. Mrinmoyee Hazarika
Gauhati LS
T
he outcome was quite evident by the noon on the 16th of May. Although, it had been predicted by various exit polls that the NDA would attain the necessary figures to form the government in centre, the situation remained dicey for the state of Assam until Friday noon. In contrary to the BJP’s confidence of gaining absolute majority in the state, the Congress was seen to be quite sure of their victory in Assam. But as the counting ended by late evening on Friday, with seven seats in its bag, BJP managed have the last smile in Assam. It was speculated earlier that the victory for Bijoya Chakravarty, the present national Vice-President of BJP and two times MP from the prestigious Gauhati LS seat would be tough against her Congress counterpart Manas Bora but as the day went on, it became clear that the Congress would have to lay its hands off from the Gauhati LS seat. With a spectacular number of 764985 votes, the 75-year-old seasoned politician of the BJP as well as the sitting MP of Gauhati LS seat defeated the 32-year-old new-comer with a margin of 3 lakh votes at 449201 votes. The Gauhati LS seat also witnessed a very poor performance from the AGP candidate Birendra Prasad Baishya (86546 votes) which was lower than AIUDF’s Gopinath Bordoloi’s tally of 137254 votes. Terming that it was a victory for a better tomorrow, the winning candidate Bijoya Chakravarty dedicated her victory to Narendra Modi. “The victory is not mine. It’s for the people and for a better tomorrow. Narendra Modi has been able to win the confidence of the people to ensure them good governance. I knew I will win but seeing the margin of victory, I’m overwhelmed by the response of the people. I’m feeling great today. I thank everybody for reposing the faith on me to serve you,” she said before the media. “I am sure after so much of dedication and hard work of each and every congress worker Guwahati will be regained and Congress will come out victorious. I also thank each and every one for continuous support,”
Candidate
Party
Votes
BIJOYA CHAKRAVARTY
Bharatiya Janata Party
764985
MANASH BORAH
Indian National Congress
449201
GOPI NATH DAS
All India United Democratic Front
137254
BIRENDRA PRASAD BAISHYA
Asom Gana Parishad
86546
Source: Election Commission of India at 9.10 PM on 16/5/2014
Health-Corner
Manas Bora posted on Facebook. Similarly, BJP had a landslide victory in the other LS seats of the state. Out of the 14 LS seats of the state, the saffron party gained victory in 7 seats, which includes Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Lakhimpur, Mangaldoi, Nagaon and Tezpur. Naba Sarania (Hira), an ex-ULFA leader who stood as an independent candidate from the Kokrajhar LS seat received a fabulous victory with more than 6 lakh votes, defeating his nearest competitor UG Brahma who got more than 2.5 lakh votes. In the meantime, the political arena of the state took a mysterious turn with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi offering his resignation to the party chief Sonia Gandhi, taking moral responsibility for the catastrophic defeat of the Congress party in Assam where he has been serving as a chief minister for three consecutive terms. “I take full responsibility. I have to take responsibility. If I get less than six, I will resign. This is a part of democracy but I was not expecting this result,” Gogoi told reporters here. By the end of the day, Congress won in only 3 seats (Kaliabor, Diphu, Silchar) in Assam with AIUDF too bagging 3 seats including of Dhubri, Karimganj and Barpeta.
Good news for your treatment
For more information contact
0361-2227700
info@gnrchospitals.com
www.gnrchospitals.com
4
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
G-View
217 SLUMS IN CITY NEED DEVELOPMENT The GMC has conducted surveys and are also waiting for a planned report on the development of slums, but a lot needs to be done if Guwahati is to become slum-free.
RAHUL CHANDA
A
Slum is a characteristic feature of present day third world cities, which influences the land cover, land use pattern and urban infrastructure to a great extent. A large number of people live in the slums and the number and size of these areas are growing continuously. Poor people being unable to afford a proper house encroach upon wetlands, flood ways and slopes, creating land use with negative impact on the urban environment. Guwahati as a growing city has many pockets inhabited by slum dwellers. But how does the slum area grow? What exactly is a slum area and who can live there? Can slum areas be developed and make Guwahati a slum free city?
Number of slum areas in Guwahati
217
Total slum population
1,39,296 Total slum households
26,090 According to a survey done by the urban local body of Guwahati, Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), there are 217 slum areas across the city. Approximately, around 1,39,296 underprivileged people from the slums live in these areas and occupy around 26,090 households. Among these 217 slum areas, some are notified and some are non-notified. There are two types of slum areas, notified and non-notified. Notified slum areas are the areas, which are recognised by the government as slum areas, whereas non-notified slum areas are not. One might wonder what exactly makes an area qualified to be declared a slum and question how the government decides that an area is occupied by slum dwellers. G Plus visited the office of the local urban body seeking some answers.
The recognition process According to the GMC officials, slum areas have existed in the city since a long time. The boundary demarcation of an area, inhabited by the slum dwellers is done after the area is notified as a slum area. But how exactly does the government decide which area is a slum area? People from the rural area migrate to the urban area due to two factors - push and pull. The push factor is the hope of availing better livelihood conditions, better earnings and a better life style. The pull factor is basically that, which bounds the people to migrate to urban areas when their per capita income decreases drastically. They don’t have any other option but to migrate to cities to seek out working opportunities to survive. The Government has vacant lands, water bodies, hills and forest areas and these migrants somehow manage to acquire un-organised and menial jobs and earn meagre amounts. The migrants are then not able to cope up with the urban lifestyle and search for a place cheaper to settle down. As the work is within the township, the migrants prefer to stay somewhere near and the vacant lands then becomes the destinations for the migrants. Once they start living in the vacant government lands, and manage to somehow survive, they invite their relatives from the rural areas to settle
down with them. The area than gradually becomes densely populated. The living conditions remain unhygienic and become a concern for the urban environment. Some areas get evicted by the authorities but not all. Living in slum areas is not legal as the dwellers do not have the legal status to live there, and time and again get evicted. However, the encroachment keeps happening and the government keeps recognising and notifying the areas as slum.
Development process
To address the problems of slums arising due to demographic and development-related factors in cities and towns, including Guwahati, the Government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) on 3rd December 2005. This was to assist cities and towns in taking up housing and infrastructural facilities for the urban poor and slum dwellers in the 65 select mission cities, including Guwahati under the Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) Programme. If you ask the authorities about the development activities, they might brag about doing a lot but you will see no such signs when you visit the slum areas. Schemes and missions like JNNURM come and go but whether the funds get utilised in proper manner or not is a big question. On enquiring about what exactly the GMC is doing
“
I have been staying here since the last five years and pay a rent of Rs 400 to Alim Ahmed who stays in Hatigaon”
at present to develop the slums, the sources at the GMC explained that presently, they are working under Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY). RAY was launched in the year 2011 and it came to GMC in 2012 after they received the notification from the Centre. The GMC received a budget of `76.34 lakhs for developing the urban slums in the city and according to the scheme, both notified and nonnotified slum areas are expected to be developed by the urban local body. After receiving the funds, GMC with the help of NGOs conducted a survey to find out about the slum areas. Other data was also collected and the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) was contacted to prepare a slum free city plan of action. The ASCI is working on it and the plan will be prepared within a couple of months. The detailed project report will be submitted to the government to carry on the development work. If the slum area is in a hazardous environment, the dwellers will be relo-
cated and if the area is not hazardous then the area will be developed with new well-constructed houses. The GMC at present is awaiting the plan of action from ASCI. The GMC in the meanwhile, have prepared a DPR (Detailed Project Report) on the Uzaan Bazaar Harizan Colony and has submitted it to the government.
The twist A slum dweller from the Lokhra slum area, which is notified by government and has a population of 415 people said, “I have been staying here since the last five years and pay a rent of `400 to Alim Ahmed who stays in Hatigaon. He comes here every month to collect rent from many small huts constructed by him, and says he owns the hut.” The dweller further described that the living condition there is pathetic as people cannot afford a decent lifestyle. He pulls rickshaw and earns around `150 every day. Similarly, there are other areas in the city too, where the poor people live but have to pay rent to someone else. According to the authorities, land in slum areas cannot be sold and hence, the inhabitants do not have legal rights and status to live there. The Rajiv Awas Yojana aims at providing legal status to the dwellers, but who will apprehend and take action on the people who claim they own the land and charge rent from poor people?
rahul.chanda@g-plus.in
5
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
City
E RICKSHAWS
NOT READY FOR ACTION YET? The battery operated rickshaws are in town but has not been able to create any impact at all. With the 3-wheeler being priced obnoxiously high, has it died even before it started living?
SHUBHOJIT ROY
T
en months back, Guwahati saw the arrival of eco-friendly electronic rickshaws that would run on battery and would minimise the physical labour of the rickshaw pullers of the city. But contrary to it, the rickshaws have not rolled out much on the city streets and are yet to grab the market. So, what is the reason for which not many people know about the erickshaws in the city? May be because of the delay in issuing valid licence for the rickshaws or because of its high price. G Plus tried to find out the answers on how the rickshaw could have done better on ground level, after being unveiled by Akon Bora, the Assam Social Welfare Minister, last year.
The Price Tag
The e-rickshaw is currently priced at `99,000 which is very high as compared to the pedal rickshaws or even the auto rickshaws. A pedal rickshaw would cost anything between `5000 to `10,000. Moreover, Rana Bora of Ram Electronics and Equipment told G Plus that the price is expected to rise even more due to some changes, which the rickshaw will undergo in the future.
The Model
The e-rickshaw is a battery operated three wheeler vehicle that runs on the accelerator without any gear system. The front of the vehicle looks like that of a motorcycle and has a 5 person capacity along with the driver. The top speed of the vehicle is 22 km/h and it can run for around 80 km when fully charged for 6-7 hours. Bora informed us that a daily functioning e-rickshaw would consume electricity of `250 per month.
The Labour
Undoubtedly, the labour of the rickshaw puller is minimised to zero with the e-rickshaw as there is no physical labour for the rickshaw pullers. “The best part of this rickshaw is that it also comes with a reverse gear. The pullers do not require themselves to do any sort of physical labour that they have been doing for ages,” Rana Bora tells G Plus.
The Delay in Licencing
Even though the rickshaw was out 10 months back, but it still has not received any proper licence for running on roads. Deven Bezbaruah, Rickshaw Licencing Officer, GMC told G Plus that there were certain
“
Contrarily, pedal rickshaws only require physical labour and have minor maintenance issues that can be repaired manually. However, both the rickshaws have zero pollution and is totally eco-friendly.
The best part of this rickshaw is that it also comes Income to Rana Bora, an avwith a reverse gear. The pullers erageAccording rickshaw pullers earn `500 a do not require themselves to do day on an average, i.e. approximately `15,000 a month. “But with e-rickany sort of physical labour that shaws on road, the seating capacity physical labour is absolutely they have been doing for ages” iszeromore, and so the pullers will be able reasons for which the licencing has been delayed and it shall be released by the end of this month. “At first, officers from the District Transport Office studied the vehicle but declared that it did not fall under the Motor Vehicle Act. So, the report was forwarded to the Gauhati Municipal Corporation’s Licencing Department a couple of months back. Now, we are expecting that the licence permission shall be released by the end of this month as we were occupied with
election work right now,” Bezbaruah informed.
Maintenance
Even though the e-rickshaw has very low maintenance, but if you compare it to the pedal rickshaws, the maintenance for the pedaled ones are much lower than the battery operated ones. The e-rickshaw batteries need to be changed after a certain period of time and it also needs change of gear oil from time to time.
to earn more,” stated Bora proudly pointing towards his e-rickhaws in his showroom at Pathar quarry. E-rickshaws are definitely a nice concept for the city but the question arising is that with the vehicle being tagged at such a high price, is it a logical investment? Even so, can the average rickshaw pullers afford to buy the rickshaws with their earnings? It is worth a thought and may be if the price comes down, there might be a possibility for the rickshaws to grab the market.
shubhojit.roy@g-plus.in
6
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
City
MANMOHAN SINGH’S GHY HOUSE STANDS ABANDONED The house where Dr Manmohan Singh stayed in Guwahati has nobody staying in it right now.
Rahul Chanda & Shubhojit Roy
D
r. Manmohan Singh, who will be remembered as the finance minister who launched India’s economic reforms in 1991 and the Prime Minister who presided over 8.5% GDP growth for most of a decade, was finally bid farewell by colleagues and the nation as a PM. The nation will also remember him as a Sikh who was nominated for Prime Ministership by a Christian Congress President and sworn in by a Muslim President in a country that has 82% Hindus. As the Prime Minister is a sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Guwahati, Singh is also registered as a citizen of the state and votes at the Dispur constituency. But will he plan his future in the city again and stay here? In Guwahati, the house of former Assam Chief Minister Hiteshwar Saikia at Sarumataria at Dispur, which was rented by Manmohan Singh from the time before he was declared as a Rajya Sabha MP, now stands abandoned. G Plus makes a visit.
The condition
G Plus discovered that Dr. Singh is still paying his monthly rent of `5000 to Hemaprabha Saikia, wife of former state CM Late Hiteshwar Saikia through an SBI Account at the Dispur Branch. When we visited the house of the former CM, a security personnel of Assam Police was at the gates and on enquiring if there was anyone inside, he informed us that there were only cops inside the house as the family members of Hiteshwar Saikia are out of station. We enquired for the person incharge, but he was out to visit his family members. The security guard then called a constable from inside the house who was sleeping without any uniform on. When asked if we could speak to any of the landlords he answered, “I am just a constable and on duty here. There is no one from the family at present and I don’t have anyone’s phone number.” He showed us the room, which the PM rented. We took some photographs from outside as according to the security people, we cannot enter into and they did not even have the keys. He also informed us that he has been a security guard for a year and the PM had never visited during his tenure. According to the security guard, six cops are deputed to guard both PM’s and Hiteshwar Saikia’s house. While taking a stroll around the rented house of Manmohan Singh,
“
During his tenure as MP of Rajya Sabha, Dr. Singh along with my father restored the school at Abhyapur where I was a student too” we came across one of his neighbour who expressed that with Singh’s departure from his Prime Ministerial position, a golden opportunity was missed. “Dr. Singh could have done so much for the betterment of Assam as he belonged from the Dispur constituency, but he has definitely lost a golden opportunity,” said the neighbour on condition of anonymity. Shewali Bora, a resident living adjacent to Singh’s house said that the PM had only visited the house once or twice. “I recall him visiting the house once or twice and on one occasion, Gursharan Kaur, wife of Dr. Singh visited the house on her own,” said Shewali. On asking about her experience as a neighbour living around the house of Manmohan Singh, Shewali expressed that Singh’s visit was not very charming as the area was surrounded by the security personnel and vehicular traffic on the road was chaotic.
The commitment
Speaking to Gautam Kakoty, son of late Narayan Chandra Kakoti who was a very close aide of Dr. Manmohan Singh, G Plus found out that Singh helped in restoring the North Guwahati Public School days before becoming Prime Minister of India in the year 2004. “During his tenure as
MP of Rajya Sabha, Dr. Singh along with my father restored the school at Abhyapur where I was a student too,” narrated Kakoti. As a Rajya Sabha MP, Singh donated `14 lakhs to the school. During an event in the school, Narayan Chandra Kakoti told Singh that if he ever become a Prime Minister, he would like to come and visit him in Delhi and expected him to invite Kakoti in his residence. Something very memorable happened to Late Kakoti, that after Singh became the Prime Minister, he received a call from PM’s PA that he was invited by the Prime Minister. In the year 2006, Kakoty visited the PM’s residence in Delhi and treasured the memory until the last day till his death on 14th of July 2009.
Achievement
Remembering Dr. Manmohan Singh’s achievement prior his position as the Prime Minister, many awards and honours were conferred upon him in his public career, the most prominent are India’s second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan (1987); the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress (1995); the Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993 and 1994); the Euro Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993), the Adam Smith Prize of the University of Cambridge (1956); and the Wright’s Prize for Distinguished Performance at St. John’s College in Cambridge (1955). Dr. Singh has also been honoured by a number of other associations including the Japanese Nihon Keizai Shimbun and is also a recipient of
honorary degrees from many universities including the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. Dr. Singh has represented India at many international conferences and in several international organizations. He has led Indian Delegations to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Cyprus (1993) and to the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. In 1971, Dr. Singh joined the Government of India as Economic Advisor in the Commerce Ministry. This was soon followed by his appointment as Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance in 1972. Among the many Governmen-
tal positions that Dr. Singh has occupied are Secretary in the Ministry of Finance; Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission; Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; Advisor of the Prime Minister; and Chairman of the University Grants Commission. No matter how much the people criticise him as a Prime Minister and as a scapegoat for the Gandhis, Guwahatians at least had a PM appointed from their city. The city house is abandoned now but the prime minister will always be remembered for representing the city. Whether he do anything or not is an analytical question, but the house is still waiting for him.
7
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
City
366 CITY SITES VULNERABLE TO LANDSLIDES
With a number of sites in the city highly prone to landslides, the ASDMA is trying to ensure that measures are put in place to lessen the danger and possibility of disaster.
rahul chanda
T
he year 2013 witnessed many landslides across the city affecting properties as well as lives. Historically, the study area, which encompasses the entire hilly terrain of greater Guwahati, suffers from frequent landslides (soil creep, mudslides, debris flow, rock fall etc.). Every year, landslide related accidents cause not only substantial loss to property but have also claimed human lives. It is a challenging task to accurately define the position, type and activity of landslides for the purpose of creating landslide inventory records. So far, few attempts have been made to predict these landslides or prevent the damage caused by them. Through statistically based prediction models, future landslideprone areas could be identified through susceptibility and hazard mapping and therefore proper planning for the landscape could be designed by using those maps. However, a systematic and detailed geotechnical study of the geometrics of the Guwahati hill areas had not been carried out for entire Guwahati region till now and is is definitely an important step towards obtaining a useful landslide hazard map of the city. In the context of Guwahati, it is a painful truth that most, if not all, the areas susceptible to landslide hazards, are inhabited by the economically weaker section of the population who have neither the resources nor the expertise to organise rehabilitation measures out of their own. Therefore, administrative assistance is called for to organise remedial measures – both short term and long term. Recently, Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) carried out a survey with the help of the Assam Engineering College (AEC), to identify the most vulnerable areas in the city.
The survey
With various objectives as a target, ASDMA started the survey and the Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) for landslide in and around Guwahati was undertaken to identify landslide prone areas and delineate the comprehensive landslide vulnerable zones. In addition, to understand the causative factors and processes of various geo-environmental and manmade factors that finally triggers a slope failure. The survey was conducted to assess and evaluate landslide risk with respect to the potential loss of human lives, properties and infrastructures in greater Guwahati city. The survey also aimed to do landslide susceptibility mapping to identify critical zones of instability by analysing the
The findings Landslide vulnerable city sites identified from the survey • Fatasil – 5 • Garbhanga – 9 • Gotanagar – 6 • Hengerabari – 30 • Jalukbari/ Lankeswar - 2 • Kahilipara – 25 • Kalapahar – 7 • Kamakhya/ Nilachal - 5
• Khanapara – 33 • Kharguli – 37 • Koinadhora – 5 • Maligaon – 8 • Nabagraha – 6 • Narakasur – 14 • Narengi – 31 • Noonmati – 40 • Santipur – 20 • Sarania – 5 • Sukreswar – 1 • Sunsali – 77
TOTAL - 366 field data and soil samples and for assessment of risks in the hazard-prone areas. Two RVS teams comprising of 4 student volunteers each from Civil Engineering Department of Assam Engineering College under the guidance of Dr. Diganta Goswami, Associate Professor, were formed to locate all the sites in Guwahati where landslides have already proved to be a major threat or which are vulnerable to future slides and rock fall. It involved analysis of different hillocks in Guwahati city based on visual observation and eye estimation of the extent of various factors leading to future slides. Soil sample was collected from one landslide vulnerable site and sample slope stability analysis was carried out. Remedial measures are also suggested for the same. After studying and analysing various aspects like manmade causes and natural ones, slope inclination,
slope height, slope material and slope appearance, it was found that 366 sites are vulnerable to landslide. Slope stability analysis was conducted to gain a better understanding of the landslide problem and behaviour of the soil under varying conditions for a particular site. Laboratory analysis was done and the results obtained were used for the stability analysis. Altogether 366 sites have been identified as being vulnerable to landslides in Guwahati and 74% of these sites demand immediate attention to prevent loss of human lives and/or property. The prime contributing factors for the increase in the risk of landslide is anthropogenic (95% of the investigated sites). Unscientific cutting of hills forming steep hill slopes and weak structures very near to the unstable slopes has primarily increased the risk to human lives and property. Till now, although the landslide in Guwahati has been
observed to be at isolated places only, haphazard cutting of the hill slopes at more than one place of a hillock may lead to total instability of the entire hillock. This has increased the chance of catastrophic landslide covering a large area. The majority (93%) of the vulnerable slopes identified by the RVS conducted has slope inclination greater than 60 degrees, out of which 5% of the sites even has overhanging cliffs with negative slopes. All these sites are extremely vulnerable to landslides. • 95% of the sites have a slope height greater than 5.0m • 57% of the total vulnerable sites has a slope height of 5m to 10.0m • 20% has a slope height of 11m to 15m • 18% of the sites have a slope height of more than15m The higher the slope height, higher is the vulnerability to landslides. Almost 34% of these 366 vulnerable sites do not have any vegetation cover and this promotes erosion and rut formation leading to instability of the slope as well as eroded soil particles tend to block the natural streams and drains downstream. One important observation during the RVS was that Guwahati does not have a scientifically designed hill area drainage network, based on a total of 48 watershed management approach. This in turn increases the erosion of topsoil from city hills and at the same time leads to slope failure. It is also a reason of flood.
Measures
Along with the findings, the analysis also helped in coming up with
some long and short term measures. Long-term measures are thought and planned out by the authorities and as for the short term measures, they are as follows:• Require plantation in the exposed vulnerable soil slopes • Improve both surface and subsurface drainage in the city hillocks. • During rainy season, vulnerable soil slopes to be kept dry as far as possible by covering its surface by tarpaulin or any such material. • For important sites, install retaining wall or soil nails or micro piling in consultation with technically qualified personnel, preferably a geotechnical engineer. • If remedial measures cannot be adopted due to some reason, to evacuate people residing very near to a landslide prone area/ rock fall area, at least immediately after high rainfall for a prolonged period. • For a potential rock fall area, either break the huge boulder to smaller pieces or use geo-nets to contain the rock fragment which is likely to have a fall. All said and done, instead of blaming the government and the authorities, the questions that one should ask, is why are the major anthropogenic factors posing a threat to the people living on the hills. There is history of people encroaching hills and forestlands and staying illegally. The authorities might be educating the people to be safe, but if one does not want to be safe at all, crying after a calamity is useless.
Rahul.chanda@g-plus.in
8
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
In The News
GMCH ASSURES SECURITY TO AGITATING DOCTORS
Mrinmoyee Hazarika
A
The agitating doctors of the GMCH have been assured of enhanced security arrangements after concerns cropped up following the AMC murder.
sense of fear still pervades among the students even after the Dr Sarita Tashniwal murder case took a total U-turn after a fellow post-graduate doctor as well as senior of the deceased was arrested in connection with the murder. Demanding security and safety arrangements inside the hospital premises, the junior doctors and other working doctors and students studying at the AMCH (Assam Medical College and Hospital) and GMCH (Guwahati Medical College Hospital) have taken to the path of agitation. A day after Dr. Sarita was killed at the AMCH, another incident of an alleged misbehaviour by two youths with an on-duty doctor at the GMCH took place. The incident has added fuel to the already searing situation that happened at the AMCH following which the junior and working doctors decided to stage sit-in demonstration demanding adequate security measures in and around the GMCH. The agitating doctors of the GMCH have called for an indefinite strike that started from last Monday and later called it off by Wednesday after having a talk with the Senior Superintendent of Police (city) and the college authority. “We called off the strike after
receiving a written assurance from the senior superintendent of police and the Principal. We had a meeting with the SSP, Principal and senior officials of the hospital administration and they have assured us that our demands would be fulfilled. They have assured us that armed security personnel will be provided in the hospital,” said Hridoy Haloi, president of the Junior Doctors’ Association. Expressing dissatisfaction over the current security arrangements, Hriday stated, “There are mainly three entry and exits to GMCH and there are no arrangements to keep track of the visitors through those entry and exits. A lot of people visit the hospital and they can do whatever they want inside the premise and one such incident of misbehaving with a doctor on duty happened in GMCH, just a day after Sarita was killed in AMCH” “We demand to increase the number of security personnel (twenty five armed guards in a shift) in and around GMCH. It will be sufficient to provide unarmed guards who patrol inside the hospital but there should be armed guards at the entry and exit points,” he further added. The agitating doctors have also pointed out some vulnerable points
“
We demand to increase the number of security personnel in and around GMCH. It will be sufficient to provide unarmed guards who patrol inside the hospital but there should be armed guards at the entry and exit points”
in the hospital which include main gates, causality wards, labour rooms, emergency ward, ICU, neo-natal ICU and demanded for enhancement of security in those places. “There are two girls’ hostel and three boys hostels in the GMCH and out of the two girls hostel one (hostel number 3) is situated atop the hill. The road leading to the hostel and the surroundings remain dark during night, which is not at all safe for the girls. Earlier, there was a female constable deployed in that hostel, but now there are no armed personnel to guard the hostel, specially the girls hostel,” Ishita Das, a student of GMCH, who has joined the agitation told G Plus. Reacting to the student’s demands, Ramen Talukdar, superintendant, GMCH told G Plus, “If the students are feeling insecure, then we are ready to provide more security to them. The additional SP (security) has visited the hospital and verified the points where the security arrangements need to be strengthened. The SSP (city) too has assured us of providing adequate security and augmentation of the same in the hospital will be done as per requirement. In the meantime, the security arrangements in MMC situated in Panbazar, which comes under the purview of GMCH,
will be enhanced accordingly” Currently, there are 64 home guards being deployed at the GMCH round the clock. Besides, 54 CCTVs have been installed at different locations of the hospital. “A police station too is there inside the premises and whatever little bit of modification is required will be looked into,” SSP A P Tiwari said after meeting the agitating doctors of GMCH. Tiwari also said that an unarmed component has already been attached with the hospital and is doing its job quite efficiently. On the arrest of Dr Dipmoni Saikia, the medical students of AMC in connection with the murder of Dr Sarita Tashniwal, Hriday Haloi, president of the Junior Doctors’ Association told, “It is not the time to draw any conclusion on that. Let the judiciary do their job first, then the truth will come out automatically. But, one thing is for sure that if proper security arrangements were there, the number of such incidents would have been lessened because most of the incidents that happened inside GMCH were perpetrated by outsiders.”
mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in
9
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
In The News
STREET VENDORS NO CHANGE EVEN AFTER ACT
The street vendors act still has not been implemented with complete eagerness, which means the streets of Guwahati has to face congestion because the street vendors ply their trade all over the city without any regulations to govern them mrinmoyee hazarika
L
ack of enthusiasm to implement the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 in the state as well as the city, shown on part of the authorities has made the lives of the street vendors miserable. This was alleged by the All Assam Street Vendor’s Association (AASVA), an association of street vendors of the state. The act, which came into force from this year itself is trying to provide social security and livelihood rights to street vendors is yet to be implemented in the state. “We demand that the authority should implement the street vendor’s act in the state with immediate effect,
so that the rights of thousands of vendors making a living on the streets can be saved,” Naren Rajbongshi, President, AASVA said. The city of Guwahati alone houses roughly thirty five to forty thousand street vendors and with no such policies put in place, they have been harassed by the authority, displacing them from one place to another. “As per the mandates of the act, survey should be undertaken by the local authority, which is GMC (Guwahati Municipal Corporation) in this case, in order to keep record of the exact number of street vendors in Guwahati. As a result, all the street vendors working in the different localities of the city
will be registered under GMC and the livelihood rights of the vendors will be ensured by providing identity cards to the vendors. But, the authority has not started any process to register the street vendors of the city even after we have brought the matter into GMC’s notice,” Rajbongshi mentioned. The AASVA president also alleged that they have been paying `20 per day as ‘cleaning tax’ to the GMC, but getting no benefits in return. “Some people, who claim to be associated with GMC, come and collect `20 from us every day. However, even if they give a receipt against it, no names are mentioned on the receipt. Sometimes, they take more or lesser amount of money from us.
“
Because of the absence of business opportunities, the poor people with no other options left have chosen the road as a means of their livelihood. But, it is not that they want to harass the pedestrians”
They say that they have been taking a cleaning tax from us, but, we do all the cleanings in our respective business places on our own.” He also stated that the act also mandates to form town vending committees (TVC) in every city, which will look after the street vending of the cities. The committee will comprise of the commissioner of Municipal Corporation or his representative, representative of local body nominated by the government, representatives from the police and traffic police, representatives from various street vendor associations, representative from market committees, representatives from NGOs, social organisations and other interested individuals and organisations. “In order to form TVCs, the authority will have to quantify the street vendors first. However, so far, no surveys have been carried out in Guwahati by the authorities, so that the street vendors can be registered under GMC. We have started enumerating the street vendors vending in different locations of the city on our own and after completion we will
be submitting the findings to the GMC,” Simanta Sarma, Coordinator, SSTEP (Society for social transformation and environment protection), a state based NGO, associated with the cause of the street vendors, said. He also mentioned that due to nonavailability of a suitable place for the street vendors for business, the vendors have been facing problems as well as causing problem to the pedestrians. “Because of the absence of business opportunities, the poor people with no other options left have chosen the road as a means of their livelihood. But, it is not that they want to harass the pedestrians. Therefore, the authorities should look into the matter and implement the street vendors act, so that the poor people can have a place to live and the pedestrians can use the road without facing any trouble,” Sarma added. Quoting some important aspects from the act, he also said that after implementing the act the areas of the city would be divided into three zones – vending zone, restricted vending zone and no vending zone. But, now since there is no such demarcation available in the city, the vendors have been doing business at all roadsides which lie empty. “The GMC commissioner had a talk with the additional chief secretary and soon, necessary steps would be taken to implement the street vendors act in the city,” an official source at GMC told. Acknowledging the fact that the GMC has no record of the number of street vendors doing business in Guwahati, the GMC official further stated, “At present, we do not have any record of the number of street vendors in the city. We have been charging `20 per day as excavating charge from the vendors and we have not received any complaints of charging more than that by the GMC officials from the street vendors”
mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in
10
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
In The News
THE WEEK THAT WAS Ferry services suspended over Brahmaputra Demand to free Paltan Health website launched Bazaar wetland
A
fter it was found that the water level of the Brahmaputra River has risen suddenly over the last couple of days, the Inland Water Transport Department had temporarily suspended the ferry service over the river on May 12. The services were suspended between Rajadwar in North Guwahati and Madhyamkhanda in Guwahati. The Mazgaon port however remained opera-
tional during the day. As a result of this, large crowds of people gathered there as they were stalled at the other regular ports for their daily commute to Guwahati. No arrangement was made by the authorities to cater to this large population at the Mazgaon port and as a result havoc arose as people tried to board the ferry boats to Guwahati and the ferries were seen carrying people twice their capacity.
vealed was from the History paper where the original name of Kautilya has been wrongly given as Chanakya whereas the right answer is Vishnugupta. Again when we look at the Sociology paper, there is another example where it is asked that the world ‘famulus’ from which the word family is derived, belongs to which language? While the correct answer is Latin, the answer stated in the answer sheet is Roman. Now what has come out as a shock to everyone is the fact that it has been revealed that some students have indeed scored hundred marks in the optional paper. This has raised doubts that the answer sheets must have got leaked prior to the exams. It is not yet clear if the authorities would be initiating a probe into this.
niques in the martial arts form of judo. Talking on this occasion, the outfit’s President Munmi Dutta said that the rising incidents of crimes against women has exposed the failure of the police to provide them with security. In this scenario, she stated, it has become mandatory for young women to learn self defence
techniques to thwart any form of attack on them. She also said that the large number of girls who have come out to participate in the camp is a positive sign in this regard. Dutta also stated that the outfit is planning to conduct many more such camps at various other places in the near future.
Disarray marked in APSC Prelims
A
n RTI filed has revealed that in the just concluded Preliminary Papers of the APSC exams, most answers printed in the answer sheets for examiners checking the question papers have been printed wrong. The RTI which was filed by one of the candidates apparently exposed the truth that several answers in a range of four papers were printed wrong and hence it is practically impossible for anybody to be scoring a hundred this time in those papers. As per reports, the General Studies paper contains 14 wrong answers, the History paper contains six wrong answers, the Sociology paper contains about seven mistakes and the Commerce paper too contains seven wrong answers. One of the examples here re-
V
oluntary organisation Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG) has demanded immediate steps to free the Paltanbazar wetland from encroachment. This wetland was earlier a part of the Solabeel wetland system, but developmental activities have now snapped its link with the main wetland. SGBG president Dhiren Barua said that the area on which the Kali Mandir, Sankar Mandir, Sankar Kristi Bikash Kendra are located, was originally a wetland area. Encroachment has made this area vulnerable to inundation during rainy season. There is no proper drainage system to drain out the rainwater from this area. The areas which comes under the inundatiom problem during rainy season are Bhangagarh, Christian Basti, Srimantapur, Rupnagar, Birubari, Maligaon, Gotanagar, Pandu, Kumarpara, Santipur, Bharalumukh etc. In most of these areas, the drain is of no use now which has resulted in indescribable trouble for the residents of these areas. Residents of Kumarpara have alleged that the technical faults in the sluice gates of their areas are at the root of their miseries. SGBG president Dhiren Barua pleaded for an enquiry into the allegation.
A
ssamese health magazine Swasthya Aru Dhirgajeevan has launched a comprehensive health website to celebrate its 14th year of publication. The website www.swasthyamagazine.com is the first bilingual health website of the state where users can access information on over 24 health topics along with the magazine itself. Litterateur Dr Hiren Gohain launched the website in presence of, Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, Dr. Gunaram Khanikar and
Dr. Dhrubojyoti Das. A short documentary on the magazine’s inception and its growth, prepared by Sandeep Rajkhowa, was screened. Dr. Gohain in his speech expressed concern on the rising costs of healthcare in the country and emphasised the need for a better healthcare infrastructure. Writers, patrons and physicians of the state who have contributed to the content of the magazine over the years have also been felicitated during the ceremony.
Awareness meet over blood donation held
T
he Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS) in association with the Assam Thalassemia Society observed the World Thalassemia Day 2014 at the auditorium of the State Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Khanapara. In this connection, a blood donation camp was organised on the premises of the office of the Director of Agriculture, Khanapara, where 31 units of blood were collected. Speaking on the significance of the day, Dr PN Talukdar, Additional Project Director, ASACS, said that since thalassemia patients would always require blood,
all blood banks must take initiative to conduct voluntary blood donation camps. Jatindra Nath Bora, President, Assam Thalassemia Society, while explaining the significance of the day said that in India there are around 3.5 percent thalassemia patients and all thalassemia patients are entitled to free blood. He however said that if there is a scarcity of a particular blood group, the hospital authorities become helpless. Bora also stressed on blood donation awareness so that maximum number of voluntary blood donation camps could be organised.
Self defence camp organised for young women NGO pleads for plantation
A
ten day long self defence camp was organised by the North East Girls Students Association for young women in the city on May 15. The camp was held at the Uparhali Girls High School in the city’s Palasbari locality. About 300 girls took part in the camp which taught them self defence tech-
SPLURGE URGE THIS SPACE CAN BE YOURS AT
`1000/-
Please Call 8486002303/4/5
T
he 23rd annual general meeting of Early Birds, an NGO engaged in wildlife protection, was held at Nizarapar Primary School, Chandmari on May 15. Moloy Baruah presided over the meeting, while Gautam Choudhury submitted the activity report and Mridu Pallav Sarma presented the annual accounts. They requested the forest department to carry out plantation to cover up the damage done by the construction of water storage tanks at different hills surrounding Guwahati. Along with road construction to the reservoirs, new encroachments had come up, whose eviction the meeting demanded. The meeting also elected a new committee of office-bearers for the session 2014-15.
11
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
MANIK NAGAR WOES TO CONTINUE
SHUBHOJIT ROY
Ward Watch
WARD NO
20
20A/ 20B/ 20C Concentrated Region Manik Nagar Major Isuues Theft/Burglary, Water Logging Sub Division
M
anik Nagar is a locality that lies in the heart of the city, some 100-200 metres away from the Ganeshguri point to the right hand side of the RG Baruah Road. While talking to the locals, G Plus found out that there are certain major issues in Manik Nagar like water logging and theft cases. Speaking of theft and burglary, we found out that Manik Nagar is very vulnerable to break-ins even under broad daylight.
Theft menace
According to Ekthika Mounglang, a tenant in the Manik Nagar area told us that there has been a recent robbery two months back in one of the bye lane near her house. “My house owner has barricaded the house completely with iron nails and barbed wire fences fearing the repeated burglaries,” said Ekthika pointing towards the high wall fencing with barbed wires over her house. In order to find out more about the theft menace concerning the locality, we went ahead in search of finding more about them. Dasharath
Kakoti, a businessman residing at Manik Nagar spoke about the reports of numerous missing motorcycles from the area. We met one such victim of one such burglary. Dhrubajyoti Kakaty, a small shop owner was looted a month back. “Many things were stolen from my shop like packets of cigarette, biscuits, and some cash from the cash box. It must have been after midnight as people are usually out until that time, strolling on the roads. My elder brother complained about the incident to the police but the culprit was not caught,” informed Dhrubajyoti.
Street water
Manik Nagar suffers a lot from water logging problems every year like many other localities of the city. However unfortunately, the area gets water logged by 2 to 2.5 feet of dirty and unhygienic water. This is a higher level of water in comparison to the rest of the city. Seeking the reason for the water logging in the streets, we came across Akhil Chowdhary, who has been residing in the area for the past 22
years. “Every rainy season for the past 15 years, we have been suffering from the problem. Fifteen years back, there were many empty plots lying in the area and so, the water used to pass on to the plots. But now, the new buildings have come up and so the water can’t go anywhere and stays on the streets. The drains are not big or free flowing enough to carry away all the water. One strong shower will result in the overflow of the drain,” said Akhil, a self-employed resident.
“My house owner has barricaded the house completely with iron nails and barbed wire fences fearing the repeated burglaries”
Councilor’s Incomplete drain remarks cleaning The Councilor of Ward No- 20, It was found out that though the drains are cleaned quite regularly in the area, it is not completed. After the cleaning up of drains, the garbage lies on the road side for days. Dasharath Kakoti informed that the GMC does the cleaning of the drain from time to time, “But they dispose the garbage on the street side and it lies in the same place for days,” said Kakoti. He also told that the garbage on the road emits foul smell and creates a lot of problem for the passers by.
Anima Deka, told G Plus that a survey has been conducted recently and the report was forwarded to the GMC. “The report is on the observation and reasoning for the concerning issues in the localities of the city, and water logging is a major one,” said Anima. She further added that the GMC has only provided one Bobcat tractor for one division (one division includes five wards) of the city. “It becomes difficult to collect all the garbage every day for the entire division through one single Bobcat
tractor,” informed Anima. Speaking of the frequent burglary in the Manik Nagar area, the councilor told us that she is not aware of the incidents and will take steps to repair the streetlights and will also co-ordinate with the local police at earliest. It is difficult to say how soon the problems of Manik Nagar will be solved, and if the survey as told by the councilor, will bear any fruit or not. But for this year, Manik Nagar residents can be sure that the water logging problems are not going to vanish and should keep themselves prepared for the days ahead.
shubhojit.roy@g-plus.in
12
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Society
THE GAUHATI GAUSHALA ALMOST HUNDRED YEARS OF SERVICE Being one of the most significant landmarks in the city map, the Gaushala has rendered significant service to the people apart from being a home to many cows, both healthy and old
shubhojit roy
A
s you enter the premises of the Gaushala situated in the Athgaon area of the Guwahati city, just opposite to the KC Das Commerce College, you are welcomed by the presence of flocks of pigeons feeding on grains. It is a scene of tranquility. The area is maintained well and looks clean and hygienic. The place was established in the year 1916 in a 25 bigha area stretch, which was donated by Late Hukmichandji Ramkrikhdasji Ajitsaria. In the later years, the Gaushala was further expanded and new plots were bought in Fatasil area and were also received in the Maligaon area through donation.
The History
Initially, the Shree Gauhati Gaushala was managed by a working committee and late Shri Nagarmal Kejriwal was appointed as Pradhan Sachiv, which he served for many years. Under his leadership, the Gaushala started functioning effectively and grew by leaps and bounds.To strengthen the financial position of Gauhati Gaushala, the local traders of Guwahati from all castes came forward and assured to contribute as Vitti Laag on the goods imported by them from outside the State. As a result, `8,500 was received as Vitti Laag and `16,500 was received as special donation in the very first year. During those days, 120 - 150 litres of milk was produced and distributed to the needy people on a daily basis and the total population of the cows during those days was 400.
The Cow Status
Prakash Goenka, Trustee of the Shree Gauhati Gaushala told G Plus that there is an average of 1300 cows including calves and bulls in Athgaon and Maligaon combined. “The Gaushala is basically a service provider organisation. Our main motto is to take care of the cows which are old and also the cows, which are considered to be invalid,” said Goenka. He further informed that the milk obtained from the milking cows are provided
“
I am not aware of the exact figures but approximately, our cows in the Gaushala require a truck full of hay per day for consumption”
to women whose family members are sick, “But the Gaushalas don’t provide any door to door service,” added Goenka. There are approximately 250 milking cows in the Gaushala at present.
Services
The distribution of milk is managed by Milk Production & Distribution Committee by issuing Milk Distribution Cards to the people. There are 2 Distribution Points which distribute milk in the morning & evening. The Milk Coupons are sold at a counter located in the main market for
the convenience of the public who can purchase these coupons by showing their Milk Cards on a monthly payment basis. The Shree Gauhati Gaushala also provides free service for the treatment of street cows and for reproduction. Prakash Goenka informed that there are also two Hanuman Temples and two Shiv Temples that are being maintained by Shree Gauhati Gaushala with the help of a Priest on its pay roll.
Cow Care
Goenka told G Plus that the Maligaon Gaushala has a land area of ap-
proximately 220 bighas at present out of which most area is used for growing grass to feed the cows. “I am not aware of the exact figures but approximately, our cows in the Gaushala require a truck full of hay per day for consumption,” says Goenka. He further adds that regular fogging is done in the cow sheds to keep the mosquitoes and insects away. A well-equipped Veterinary Hospital is located at Athgaon which is looked after by a veterinary doctor and three assistants round the clock at the Guwahati main office. In a recent incident, a pregnant cow in Maligaon was reported by a local resident named Devraj Chakraborty to the MaligaonGaushala in fear of its vulnerability as it was being attacked by stray dogs. Surprisingly, the staff over the phone from Gaushala rejected to help and asked for a bribe before taking any action. This incident though was heavily condemned by Prakash Goenka and he assured of no such mischiefs in future. It is understandable that every aspect has both positive and negative sides, and any wrong incident initiated by any staff reflects onto the institution. However, the service that has been provided by the Gaushalas over the years overshadows one such bad incident and as the Gaushala steps into its centenary in the year 2016, the Guwahati city would expect the concerned authorities representing the Gaushala to continue the good service.
shubhojit.roy@g-plus.in
13
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Space
THE FIGHT FOR LAND There is almost no land left in the city and the people are slowly looking to the outskirts. But here too, the unscrupulous land dealers have already laid siege and property prices are slowly going skywards shubhojit roy
W
ith every developed part of the Guwahati city being completely inhabited by commercial buildings and residential houses, finding a small plot of land to build your dream home in the city premise is like finding a needle in the proverbial heap of hay. So, does that mean that your dream of having a land of your own is completely gone, up in smoke? Well, maybe not!
Empty Plots
The only major empty plots available in the city currently are the areas alongside the National Highway 37. People from various sectors have started buying the plots after GMDA’s announcement to extend the city limits in a planned manner. People have started inhabiting the empty plots in places like Lokhra, Betkuchi, Sarusajai and Gorchuk rapidly in recent years. The areas adjacent to ISBT (Inter State Bus Terminus) and Balaji Temple have seen very fast growth of human settlements. A couple of decades back or so, those lands were mostly barren, dark and unfit for urban settlement. But with establishment of various colleges, hotels, markets and with proper roads, the area is fast becoming a hot spot for the city life aspirants.
Common man’s affordability
Now, that the government has set the boundary for the new city limits, it is understandable that more people can fulfill their dreams to find a place for themselves and build their dream house. But the question that stands
now is how affordable are the land rates? S.A. Barbhuyan, Govt. Land Valuer told G Plus, “The reason the common man finds it so difficult to buy a piece of land in the city is because of the business minded dealers. Once the government sets its rate for a specific piece of land in a specific area, the dealers buy them and then they sell it at sky high prices. The price of land is never going down because more the development in an area, the higher the source of income for property dealers.” He further talked about how the problem of land dealings in the city has long caused major issues for the people, which was also covered by the mainstream media.
Land rates
Most of the highway land rates of different areas in the city is around Rs1 crore per bigha as per the government value. However, there is no specific rate for any land as set by the dealers or real estate businessmen as “they charge whatever price they wish,” as told by Mr. Barbhuyan.
Area
Govt. Rates within 200 m from NH 37 (in `)
Rates beyond 200 m from NH 37 (in `)
Betkuchi
1.25 Crore per Bigha
1 Crore per Bigha
Sarusajai
1.50 Crore per Bigha
60 Lakh per Bigha
Borsojai
1.0 to 1.5 Crore per Bigha
60 Lakh per Bigha
Borsojai NC
1.0 Crore per Bigha
60 Lakh per Bigha
Basistha to Bhetapara
1.75 Crore per Bigha
80 Lakh per Bigha
NH 37 to Basistha
1.5 Crore per Bigha
1 Crore per Bigha
For example, if a piece of land is in a very isolated area, the bank won’t be willing to give a very high loan” Factors that decide land rates
There are various aspects that decides the price of a land. Most people won’t buy a land that has no road connectivity, no nearby market places or any other places of interest, unless that person wants to live in complete isolation or be surrounded completely by nature.
Barbhuyan told us about how the price of a land is determined by the government. “Before setting a price for a land, we consider various factors like the road connectivity of the location, distance from schools/colleges and commercial market potentiality of the specific area,” says Barbhuyan. He further adds that the price is also determined by how much loan a bank shall be willing to give for a piece of land. “For example, if a piece of land is in a very isolated area, the bank won’t be willing to give a very high loan. The bank will consider the fact that if the owner is not able to return the loan in future, the bank shall be able to sell the piece of land after seizing the property. So, the land value is also very much dependent on salability for a bank,” explained Barbhuyan. The fight for land, the fight for a home has always indulged men in raging wars since the beginning of time and with increasing population, the search for a land will only be harder. How will the government fulfill every man’s need? How will some men find a space for themselves to survive, to build a home among the concrete jungle mostly owned by the rich? These are some of the unanswered questions that require attentive thought.
shubhojit.roy@g-plus.in
14
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Bazaar
GO GREEN
Having plants and trees around one’s dwelling place is as vital as any life support system and people in Guwahati need to pay importance to that as well
shubhojit roy
P
lant, flowering or non-flowering, not only helps in enhancing beauty of any specific location but it also plays a very important role in sustaining earth’s life. The Ulubari Nursery of Assam Seeds Corporation Limited in Guwahati sees the arrival and dispatch of hundreds of seeds and plants every year. In order to reduce the summer heat, it is the important to have plants and trees around your backyard and G Plus finds out about the market in the city.
The Importance
Biren Das at the Gotanagar nursery says that there is an urgent need for awareness to make people understand the importance of having garden and trees inside every housing campus. “People buy land, build their house and feel proud of owning a piece of their own land in the heart of the city. But they forget the important aspect of growing trees in their premises. Every summer, many people come to buy saplings. They complain that they are not able to bear the heat and want to buy tree saplings. I always try to explain them that the trees are not only important in summers, but in every season. If all the trees vanish during winters, do you think we will survive till the spring?” questions Das. On asking about how to take care of a plant, Das replies “like a mother that would take care of a child. They too need care and attention.”
The Market
The seed market in Guwahati is vast and there are many nurseries in the city like the Rajdhani Nursery, Kamakhya Gate Nursery, Gotanagar nursery besides the Assam Seeds Corporation Limited, which is a government undertaking. However, the owners at the Gotanagar Nursery and Kamakha Gate Nursery says that they are not in a competition with each other, but the demand for better hybrid seeds in each nursery exists very much. According to Gajen Malakar, Manager, Assam Seeds Corporation Limited, the demands for the saplings are very high during October-November as it is the season time. “You will hardly find any saplings in the nursery after December,” said Gajen. He further stated that every year 7001000 hybrid seeds come from various parts of the globe to the nursery.
Price
The price of any seed or sapling varies based on different aspects like the quality, its breed, availability and demand. Also, there are different types of seasonal plants like the summer plants, the winter plants, the flowering, non- flowering, low rise and high rise trees, density of tree leaves and various other aspects.
Summer Flowers Flower Name
Approx. Price per dozen local saplings (in `)
Guinea
100 (Hybrid)
Balsam
30
Portulaca
40
Gaillardia
50
Salvia
50
40 (Local)
Winter Flowers (Hybrid) Flower Name
Approx. Price per dozen saplings (in `)
Inca
40
Petunia
50-100
Phlox
40-50
Pansy
50
Verbena
50
Leafy Trees Tree Name
Approx. Price (in `)
Bakul
15
‘Bisnusura’
15
‘Radhasura’
15
‘Xilika’
15
‘Jamberry’
15
Fruit Trees Tree Name
Approx. Price (in `)
Apple
100
Assam Lemon
20
Guava
25
Nashpati
50
Plum
65
“
The gardeners are readily available in Guwahati but they have no fixed rates or training. Anyone with a little experience can become a gardener” The Fertilizers
“In order to keep the plant from getting affected by insects or pests, choosing the right fertilizer is also important. However, we don’t deal much with the fertilizers but yes they are important too,” said Malakar of Assam Seeds Corporation Limited. He also informed us that something like
Rogor, an insecticide would cost anything around `50 per 100 ml whereas Malathion dust would cost anything around `40 per kilogram.
The Gardeners
However, there is no registered gardener available in Guwahati but while speaking to Gajen Malakar, G Plus found out that the government pays `130 per day for the gardeners at the Assam Seeds Corporation Limited. Malakar further says, “The gardeners are readily available in Guwahati but they have no fixed rates or training. Anyone with a little experience can become a gardener.” The presence of greenery in the surroundings not only cools the air and atmosphere but also helps in sustaining beauty of a place. With deforestation happening around all across the globe, the necessity to plant trees in every neighbourhood should be mandatory.
shubhojit.roy@g-plus.in
15
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Career
iLEAD: Shaping Lives Through Skills
ranjan k. baruah
W
henever we talk about career, we usually mean medical, engineering, humanities, law, management, banking and all those standard options. These are career options for people who have been to schools and colleges. Have we ever wondered what happens to the millions of young people who drop out or do not continue their formal education? There were institutes like ITIs or Industrial Training Institute which trains young people in various trades. Over the years it has been seen that they have not been doing well and
now the focus is more on skill development. The Assam government has an Employment Generation Mission and likewise there are corporations like National Skill Development Corporation, which deals with skill training directly or indirectly. There are many companies and organisations associated with skill development training programme in many parts of the state. One such project dealing with skill development for economically poor, marginalised and drop outs is managed by Aide et Action International
(AeAI) and is named as iLEAD (Initiative for Livelihood Education and Development. AeAI has been implementing livelihood education projects for youth through its flagship program called iLEAD. This project aims at building the lives of school dropouts in the age group of 18-30 years from marginalised communities by imparting life skills coupled with technical training for four months on trades such as Electrical House wiring, Hospitality Services, Auto Mobile Technology, Customer Relation and retailing and
are assisted for placements. At present, 88 iLEAD centers are functional across India, Sri Lanka as well as in Nepal. Till now, more than 1,65,000 youths have been trained at an 80% job placement rate. One centre of iLEAd is based in the Narengi area of the city where youths from different parts of the city come for training. The iLEAD Guwahati centre was started in 2009 and initially it had its office in Gopinath Nagar before being shifted to Urmi Nagar, Narengi. The Guwahati Centre was started with an attempt to address
the issue of school drop-out youth and engaging them with employable skill training. So far more than 1000 candidates in ten batches have successfully graduated from iLEAD and most of them are placed successfully. Many of them have become self employed as well as entrepreneurs, generating livelihood for themselves and for others as well. People who are reading this piece may not need skill training because we are comfortable in English but what we need is to pass on this information to young people around us who might need training. There is a nominal fee of `500 for the entire course in the iLEAD Guwahati Centre and these courses are certified by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). This centre has four trades namely Automobile Technology (Two Wheeler), Electrical House Wiring and Repairing of Home Appliances, Hospitality Services and Customer Relation and Retailing. Lets encourage the young population of the city to take advantage from this centre in order to establish themselves in building their careers.
16
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Events
INTER-SCHOOL
QUIZ CONTEST Date: 11th May, Venue: GMC Auditorium
The Great Guwahati Inter-School Quiz Contest was organised on the 11th of May, 2014 at the GMCH Auditorium by J.M.Entertainment & Services for the aide of Dr.B.Borooah Cancer Institute by creating awareness amongst school children with almost 450 participants from across 100 schools of Guwahati. Chief Guest ,Mr.Prafulla Kumar Mahanta gave away to the trophy to the winners MVM School Barsajai (Rishab Gogoi & Arnab Das), with the 1st Runner up Trophy being given away by the Guest of honour Shri Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary to Faculty high School (Abhinav Sarma & Aryaman Sarmah). The 2nd Runner up Trophy was given away the Guest of honour Dr.Amal Chandra Kataki to Hindustani Kendriya Vidyalaya ( Archana Kumari & Nixtha Das).
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji
DATE
7days VENUE
EVENT
16th - 18th May
Nehru Stadium
FREE workshop on LAUGHTER YOGA with MADHURI KATARIA
17th May
Dighalipukhuri
Candle March for Dr. Sarita Toshniwal
17th May
Terra Mayaa
Sonic Entity (IONO Music) (Serbia)
18th May
Ozone
Fire & Ice
18 May
Crest, Shoppers Point
Splash Pool Party - 2
18th May
District Library
Classical Voice of India – Guwahati Audition
18th May
Brahmaputra Jungle Resort, Sonapur
WET Republic – Pool Party #1
18th May
Terra Mayaa
SuidAkrA India Tour 2014 Wacken Metal Battle Guwahati Leg
23rd May
Terra Mayaa
SuidAkrA India Tour 2014 Wacken Metal Battle Guwahati Leg
Next
th
Date: 13th May, Venue: Pandu Ashram
Want your event to be featured on this page? Just mail us at info@g-plus.in
Dr. Mridul Hazarika, Vice Chancellor, Guwahati University lighting the lamp in the presence of Dr. P K Mishra, President of the North Eastern Knowledge Foundation, promoters of Kaziranga University during the launch of the Knowledge Hub in Guwahati.
17
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Still Recurring? Start
Money
SIPping
ROHIT SARAWGI Independent Financial Advisor
I
f you are someone who is looking to invest small amount of funds at regular intervals and eventually gather a larger corpus, you have a few options. Recurring deposits and systemic investment plans in mutual funds (MFs) for instance. But, how would you decide which one works for you? But, before that let’s understand what they are in short.
also seek capital appreciation by selling instruments when prices rally. This is one reason why their return potential is enhanced when compared with traditional debt products. Income funds are also highly liquid, unlike RDs. They allow you to withdraw money any time you seek to. Income Funds are market linked. That means their returns are not guaranteed or fixed, the way your recurring deposit interest is. It also means that their risk profile is higher than RDs.
What’s RD?
Recurring Deposits (RD) allows an investment of a minimum of `500 every month and thereafter multiples of `100. These accounts can be opened for a minimum tenure of six months which can be extended up to a maximum period of 10 years. Once the payment date, amount and tenure is fixed, the same cannot be changed till the end date. If at all it is required to withdrawn the amount, premature penalty cost gets attracted which varies from bank to bank. As far as interest rates go, the range is 6.50 percent to 8.50 percent based on the tenure and bank you choose. Also, senior citizens get an additional 50 basis points as interest rate. As far as tax issues go, the interests accrued on RDs are taxable at a marginal tax rate.
What’s SIP?
Systematic Investment Plan or SIP of mutual funds pretty much work like an RD. Every month on a specific date, a fixed amount of as low as `500 is invested as per the objective of the scheme chosen - debt, equity or debt-equity heavy scheme. SIPs work well for long and medium terms. Moreover, market volatility is being protected with SIPs which captures both the highs and lows of the market and hence it helps in negate the effects of an unpredictable market cycle. Unlike RD, there is no fixed rate of return on investments. As far as tax goes, one need not pay tax on dividends. However, capital gain tax is required to be paid.
Which works
Any day SIP is better than an RD. First, RDs give lower returns. SIPs earn better tax adjusted returns, offer better liquidity and works well for short and long term. Of course, in RD there is no risk and its return is granted. But, if you had a minimum of 7-10 years investment time frame and intend to invest small sums regularly, it may not be so lucrative option as last decade average inflation was at 6.5 per cent and it effectively meant that the returns fail
Balance in portfolio to beat the inflation and moreover, its interest is very much taxable could be proved an unattractive option. But here’s a good substitute that not only generates better returns over the long term but is far more tax efficient Both Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) in Mutual Funds and Recurring Deposits in banks are used to create a large corpus over a long period of time and are useful and important to meet various financial targets. The effect of compounding helps both deliver handsome returns. One may argue that, it won’t be fair to compare the two as they belong to different asset classes, namely Equity and Debt. But in times of intense volatility in stock markets and high returns offered by banks on deposits, the comparison is inevitable as to which investment option may help investors better to reach their financial targets. When someone opts to invest in an equity mutual fund through SIP mode, the impact of market volatility gets substantially reduced due to average purchase cost per unit of investment. Units of mutual funds are bought at different NAVs or Rates over a period of time and thus more units are bought when markets are at lower levels. Hence, units are accumulated at various rates. When markets are falling, one should use that as an opportunity to garner more units, which can be sold later when the markets go up. While market volatility may impact shortterm returns, cost averaging helps one earn better return over a long period of time.
For long term goals
Since, RD is not the best to use to meet long term goals such as education or marriage expenses and final goal of retirement corpus, it would be better to opt for SIPs in some good equity mutual funds. While market volatility may impact short-term return, cost averaging helps one earn
If you had a minimum of 2-3 year investment time frame and wish to invest small sums regularly, SIP in Income Funds would be a good option.
better return over a long period of time. Under systematic investment plan, one optimizes the returns rather than maximizing them. In case of SIPs in equity funds, there will be no long-term capital gain tax if units are sold after one year from the date of investment. From return as well as tax perspective, it pays well to stay invested in equities for longer duration. Over the last 10 years, diversified equity funds have returned more than 20 per cent on an average, much more than any fixed-income instruments could have offered. Even if one chose to invest in passively managed funds like Index Funds, the return stood at on an average 15 per cent over the same period. However, for shorter periods like one-year, three-year and five-year, the returns of average diversified equity funds stood at much lower than interest rates offered by banks or post offices.
For short-term goals
Investments in recurring deposits help one achieve short-term financial goals, especially when the money
is needed within five years. Interest rates offered by different banks are still hovering at higher levels and it would be a good idea to start a recurring deposit to capitalise on higher rates. For example, if one deposits `5,000 per month in a recurring deposit for five years that yields 9.25 per cent interest, he will get `3,81,817 at the end of the maturity. Thus easily achieving short-term goals like buying a car, house renovation etc. Some banks are even offering 10 per cent rate on short-term deposits. In case of recurring deposits, the interest rate offered by the bank remains the same throughout the tenure of the investment, thus cushioning investors from interest rate volatility. Moreover, banks also allow investors to take loan against the deposit account. However, it has to be kept in mind that although one can be sure of the maturity value of a recurring deposit, he/she needs to factor in post-tax returns also. Though, the interest income from an RD account exceeds `10,000 in a given financial year, it will not attract any TDS, the onus of paying taxes is on the investor, as the interest earned is taxable at the applicable income tax slab for each individual If you had a minimum of 2-3 year investment time frame and wish to invest small sums regularly, SIP in Income Funds would be a good option. Income funds invest in a diverse basket of debt instruments that include Certificates of Deposits of banks, Treasury Bills, Commercial Papers, Bonds and Debentures of top-rated companies as well as Government Securities (called Gilts). That means they provide exposure to myriad debt instruments with varying risk-return profile and maturity. Income funds try to get the best of the underlying instruments by shifting their portfolios in line with interest rate cycles. Even as they generate accrual income (which comes from holding the instrument till its maturity), they
The choice between SIP in equity funds and recurring deposits should be made based on one’s investment horizon, risk appetite and structure of the portfolio. Since the two instruments belong to different asset classes, a mix of the same helps one maintain proper balance. While the equity portion will help boost growth, the debt portion will ensure necessary stability and assured return.
Tax perspective
However, it has to be kept in mind that although one can be sure of the maturity value of a recurring deposit, he/she needs to factor in post-tax returns also. Though there is no TDS in the case of recurring deposit maturity, the interest amount earned will be added to one’s annual income. In case of SIPs in equity funds, there will be no long-term capital gain tax if units are sold after one year from the date of investment. From return as well as tax perspective, it pays well to stay invested in equities for longer duration. Post-tax returns of recurring deposits (RD interest is very much taxable, in case you thought otherwise) can be quite unattractive.
Conclusion
If you are someone who is looking to invest small amount of funds at regular intervals and eventually gathers a larger corpus, should be made based on your investment horizon, risk appetite and structure of the portfolio. Hence, the choice between SIP in equity funds and recurring deposits would depend upon your financial targets. But, RD is a good starting point for young investors who have just started out and want assured returns. Liquidity, tax efficiency and superior returns make SIP in equity funds a good supplement to RDs. If you are simply a RD investor, take a third of your monthly surplus kept aside for RD and start an SIP in equity fund. That way you will have a good mix of a guaranteed fixed return product like RD and at the same time, a better yielding product called equity funds.
18
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Life
STRESS MANAGEMENT ritu gupta gritu21@yahoo.com
S
tress is a normal part of life. Little stress is always required for us to move on in life. All that is happening around you, things that you are doing puts a lot of stress in your body. It has been surveyed that 43% of all adults suffer adverse effects of stress. 70% to 80% of all doctors office visits are for stress related ailments and complaints. Two stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline takes over the body when we get too stressed resulting in physical problems like palpitation, high blood pressure, chest pain, sleeping problems and many more.
TYPES OF STRESS
Acute Stress- It deals with the pressure of the near future or recent past. Acute stress is required to move on in life.
Chronic Stress- This is very different from acute stress. As the name suggests it can be very serious if not treated well leading to a lot of major health issues. The simple realisation that you are in control of your life is the foundation of stress management. “Managing stress is all about taking charge of your emotions, thoughts, emotions, schedule and the way you deal with problems.”
HOW TO IDENTIFY STRESS?
To identify stress look closely at your habits, attitudes and excuses. Find out if it’s a temporary phase for you. Is it an integral part of your work or home life. Do you blame your stress on other people.
THINGS TO BE ALTERED IN LIFE • • • • • •
Attempting to do many things at one time. Not able to manage time. Poor listening skill. Unable to say NO. Impulsive decision making. The blame game.
WAYS BY WHICH YOU CAN REDUCE STRESS •
Being grateful for all the little and big things life has offered you. • Start your day with a SMILE. • Appreciating people’s hard work. • Managing time. • Write a daily journal. Don’t start your day or end your day by watching anything which is negative like any heavy daily soap or news for that matter. Everyday before going off to sleep, thank God for all the good things that has happened with you throughout the day. Connecting yourself with some religious or spiritual organisation. Express your feelings to your near and dear ones. Last, but not the least LAUGH as much as you can. This is one of the biggest stress buster. We can conclude by saying that much of your experiences of stress has to do with your attitude and the way you perceive life’s events. As quoted by Abrahim Lincoln “MOST PEOPLE ARE ABOUT HAPPY AS THEY MAKE UP THEIR MIND TO BE.”
“Managing stress is all about taking charge of your thoughts, emotions schedule and the way you deal with problems.....” A two hours workshop on “STRESS MANAGEMENT “ to be held at the Institute of Human Reproduction conference hall. Date: 1st June Time: 10:30 to 12:30 Speakers:Dr. Dipesh Bhagabati (Consultant Psychiatrist) Ritu Gupta (Psychological Counsellor)
For registration and details contact
The Hills Have Eyes! A young damsel wearing a fly-away material ensemble to ‘unmatch’ her obnoxiously garbed beau and to somewhat match the exotic location, gyrates to the thumping beat of a western remake of a bangla song. Impressive, I presumed but maybe the movie has been made keeping the young people in mind, not really caring about a generation who had decades of nostalgic reminisces and who had probably grown up dreaming to someday direct like The Satyajit Ray. No evidences of Ray’s artistry in this movie though, nor in the next song, which was No.3 of a countdown show on S Bangla. So far so good! I mean we have to accept the changes and carry on. The music faded and the VJ, a podgy 20 something in glasses and wearing a tee-shirt which literally merged with the white background, twanged a false note on the guitar before he started talking. This time, I stopped what I was doing ‘cause the VJ was actually talking of something very interesting. Soon, I realised as he continued with his rhythmic monologue in Bengali that he was mentioning of someone closer home; Zubin Garg. I quote his translated version, “Ok people, so I am sure you know Zubin, Zubin Garg? I met him the other day and I asked him to sing a song. Zubin said that to listen to my song, you will have to come to Assam, to my studio. I said, bapre, Assam? It’s a jungle out there. I cannot move around that place alone.” Jungle? Hmm. I wonder what you meant when you said that. You have hit the wrong chord in my heart, Mr. VJ. I really don’t appreciate unwarranted information being told about my state and especially not on television. Looks like a lot of people are taking the opportunity to put Assam in the news for the wrong reasons. But ofcourse, coming to the word ‘jungle’, several years back, much before you and I were born, Assam was a jungle; even better than most rain forests of the world. But not anymore! Around 1651, when Mirzumla invaded Assam, he also brought with him a historian, who recorded all the happenings of their tour. Sihabuddin Tahlish followed Mirzumla to upper Assam and stayed for three months in Gargaon. He wrote extensively about the rich and diverse vegetation
found in the state. His wide travel through Assam gave him an insight of the agricultural trend the people followed. In “The Chronicles of Sihabuddin Tahlish,” the historian wrote in detail about the jungles of Assam. “There are just dense forests all around. It rains for all the nine months of the year and the three months of winter also has drizzles of rain. A lot of medicinal plants are also found in these foliage. And these dense forest covers are infested with venomous reptiles, insects and wild animals.” All this sounds like some bizarre scene of a movie, set in an Amazonian jungle. Well, sadly, we are no longer in the box-office era of the past where Assam could be proud of such a dense forest cover. The hills are bereft of trees and soon enough, if predictions prove right, we will be transformed into a desert, maybe a second Kalahari, where the women would have to walk miles for an urn of water. I just hope not ‘cause I shudder to even imagine the consequences thereof. With the rampant and insensitive cutting down of trees, the day is not far when we will be looking towards the sky for a drop of rain for days on end and maybe even sing the very distressing song from the yore, “Allah megh de, pani de.....” (Oh God, give us clouds, give us rain....). Incidentally, the original inhabitants of Assam had always learnt to live with nature. They were mostly hunters and gatherers. It would be twigs and broken branches they gathered from the forests for their hearth to cook their food. They would never cut down a tree for any reason. However, the first felling of trees in the state started during the British Colonial regime, when they noticed that the forests in Assam were dense with precious trees which could very well be utilized for endless purposes. So they conspired to start plywood factories, wherein they cut down hundreds and thousands of valuable trees in turn to export the wood to Britain. Today, we wouldn’t even know the different varieties of trees that might have disappeared in the process of this incessant and insensitive felling when the English businessmen started a plywood factory both for export and for building sleepers for trains. The colonial plywood factories might have closed down but today, the trend continues unabated, noticed
09854089279
yet least bothered. It pains me to see huge patches of hills bereft of trees, clearings in the forest, which might have had huge tall green foliage in the past, now barren. Will we have any more trees left in another couple of decades? Recently, my logical argument fell on deaf ears when a couple of my friends hit back at me blaming the government vociferously for the city being transformed to Venice with only a ‘small shower’. Well, friends, I wish you would have heard me out and understood that Arunachal Pradesh is actually the catchment area. Since, the state has no other means of earning revenues, they fell trees for commercial purposes. And now, the hills are slowly crumbling, leading to major landslides. Initially, when the rains came, they would first hit the trees, then seep down slowly. Now, with three-tier forest vegetation in the hills of Arunachal a thing of the past, the rain water rushes down to the valley to flood the Brahmaputra, which is gradually becoming shallow with excessive siltation. So, a ‘small shower’ disturbs the Luit, causing it to overflow its basin, flooding the city and making it totally difficult for anyone to commute. A couple of decades back, when it rained, even before the water rushed in to the plains from the hills, the water in the valley would have drained out. But these days, with no more trees in the hills, the water rushes down at the speed of light, eroding everything in its stead, to create a swirling river when it merges with the already stagnant water in the city. Now, all of us are in a Catch 22 situation, blaming each other, especially the government. But to get a clearer picture of the present day situation, we do have to go back into history. This ‘quagmirical’ situation was not created in one day. So, Mr. VJ, you can be sure to be safe in Assam and in whatever ‘little’ jungle we have as of now but it would be prudent for you to read our history that we are so proud of before you jump to any conclusion.
tinat ATIFA MASOOD
What is the Purpose? There are four kinds of people: • Some people have desires, and they desire & desire but nothing gets manifested. • There are others who desire and work so hard for it, and then after a long time, it gets manifested. • And the third one are those who desire, and immediately it gets done, without much hard work. • And the fourth one are those who don’t even have to desire, even before the desire arises, things are already there.
time?’ I asked them one question, ‘Suppose you see a very nice movie, what do you do? Do you just sit quiet in your room? Or do you pick up the phone, call your friends and tell them, ‘Oh, it is a great movie, you must go and see this movie.’ Now what do you get by doing that? Do the movie producers give you some commission? Or the actors give your some money? What do you get for making all those phone calls? You do it because the nature of joy is to share.’
So which category do you want to be in? Fourth one? Yes, that is the luckiest. It is just like, you have not even felt thirst and already there is water. There is a proverb in India which says, ‘When you had teeth, you didn’t get peanuts, and when you got peanuts, you didn’t have teeth.’ Many people are in this situation. They work so hard all their life, make all the money, put it all in the bank and they die. And then the children fight over the money of the parents. In the world, about 70% of the court cases are about inheritance. Now, see nobody fights over the money they have earned. So what you have done is, you have made money, put it in the bank and then made your children fight with each other for the money. Is this an intelligent thing to do? We spend half of our health in earning money, and then we spend half of our wealth to get the health back. Not so smart! Not so economical. See, when the mind is bitter, you can’t find happiness anywhere in the world. When the mind is sweet, then you find sweetness everywhere. So meditation is all about finding sweetness deep inside. That something, doing which, your vibrations become very joyful, positive and peaceful, is Meditation.
The nature of joy is sharing. There are two types of joy, one is the joy of grabbing. As kids we were born with this tendency. If you leave a child here, it will go and grab this flower, grab this sheet, pull that chair, turn everything around upside down, and hold on to things. It will hold on to anything, even a knife. Without knowing it is going to hurt its hand, the child with grab a knife. But mothers are very clever, they will give the child something else to loosen the child’s grip from the knife. Isn’t that so? When children catch on to something that is not good, you give them something else. So this is one type of joy, the joy of getting, having. This is a childish joy; childish happiness. There is another type of happiness, joy, that comes from giving. Many ladies here, when guests are coming home, or children are coming home, what do you do? You make many different types of food and decorate it and put it on the table. Your joy as a mother is in giving, isn’t it! Look at grandparents, they love to give gifts to the children, isn’t it?! There is a joy in giving, and this is a mature joy. We cannot live life by just having the joy of getting without understanding the joy in giving. Once you have a little taste of the joy that comes from giving, you will find that life is worth living, life is fulfilling.
We need to find where life is going? There is a story of a wise fool! A wise fool was sitting on a donkey, and the donkey was running. It went round and round the same streets many times. So someone asked this gentleman, ‘I see you going up and down several times, where are you going?’ He says, ‘I don’t know, ask the donkey!’ Most of the time, our lives are that way. We keep working and we keep on doing things without knowing - What is the Purpose! Without even enjoying all that this nature has provided us. See, when the mind is bitter you can’t find happiness anywhere in the world. When the mind is sweet, then you find sweetness everywhere. So meditation is all about finding sweetness deep inside us. And when you find it, do you know what you want to do? You want to give it to everybody. People ask me, ‘What is your motivation? What do you get? Why are you running around to all these places around the world all the
So, smile more! You know a baby smiles 400 times a day, a adolescent smiles only 17 times and an adult rarely smiles. And if you become an officer or a politician, then forget about it. Your smile disappears, flies away. A smile is not something artificial, it should come from within. That can only happen when the stress is gone, when we go deep in meditation. If someone says, ‘I am meditating’, that means that they smile more; there is serenity, sensitivity and sensibility, and this is spirituality. Spirituality means sensibility, sensitivity, sweetness, smile; all these put together.
His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji
19
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Food
Back to the
roots SANJUKTA DUTTA | FOOD ENTHUSIAST
“O
ne cannot think well, love well, and sleep well, if one has not dined well.” -Virginia Woolf And very true to the following saying, we all love to have good food if not every day, then once a while does work for the mind and the soul. Our deep love for good food often takes us out to the new Restaurants, Bistros and Cafes every now and then. A friend of mine suggested ‘Heritage Khorika’, of Chef Atul Lahkar and we definitely had to go to check it. Well, Ethnic Food Joints have boomed enough in Guwahati and traditional food of Assamese, Naga, Karbi etc are easily available and Heritage Khorika came into the food eating scene might make people think that it’s just another ‘King Chilli, Khorika, Delicacy, Maihang, Paradise etc. We went with much speculation and inhibitions thinking it to be just another food eating place. The place is in a new building just behind Goswami Petrol Pump in Silpukhuri and can be easily located. The first thing that one will probably notice is the ambience. The place is well lit, clean and artistic and you will be welcomed with a smile. Families ate as they chatted with each other and I couldn’t stop but notice the
lovely photographs nicely framed in the walls of the restaurant depicting village life of Assam, our food, our culture etc. Definitely the chef has an eye for perfection and it shows in this new Restaurant of his. The Décor has been kept simple yet stylish and the icing on the cake is the way the chef himself takes orders from his patrons, serves them and chats with them. The Menu is very simple and the food served is delectable. Assamese food is simple and Chef Atul Lahkar has kept it the way it is without damaging the authenticity and that is commendable. The chef being a friend of my friend treated us with ‘pork cooked in tender bamboo shoot slices’ and the taste still lingers. He told us that it is his speciality and that he cooks it for his friends/guests. So the next time, you want to eat Assamese food, then undeniably we recommend ‘HERITAGE KHORIKA’. Brand ‘Chef Atul Lahkar’ works and he irrefutably makes the experience of Assamese Food eating experience a joyous and delightful one. We left the Restaurant with our tummy filled to the brim and our faces filled with delight. If you are the person who likes to eat Assamese Traditional Food outside your homes, then Heritage Khorika is the place to be.
AMBIENCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
CONVENIENCE
HYGIENE
photos - sanjukta dutta
20
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Reviews
GODZILLA
Director: Wilfred Lobo and Rajiv Ranjan Das Cast: Sanjay Kapoor, Aarya Babbar, Mahima Chaudhary, Om Puri
D
irected by Anant Mahadevan, who had earlier given us movies like ‘Dil Vil Pyar Vyar’ and ‘Dil Maange More!!!’, ‘The Xpose’ is a period musicalthriller set in the 60s and stars Himesh Reshammiya, Sonali Raut, Zoya Afroz, Honey Singh, Irrfan Khan and even Mahadevan himself in a cameo. Enough information - let’s lay down our cards on the table. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery - and there could have been no bigger tribute to Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 movie ‘The Great Gatsby’ than this - as far as the look and feel of the movie is concerned. From the posters to the poses, everything in this movie screamed ‘The Great Gatsby’ except the performances. Now that we have got that off our chest, we can move on to the plot. Essentially a whodunit set in the Bollywood industry of the 60s, ‘The Xpose’ explores the complex characters, the inner workings and the dark truths of a seemingly glamorous world. The film begins with the murder of a famous actress Zara (Sonali Raut), and follows the rivalry between actress Chandni (Zoya Afroz) and another starlet. Meanwhile Reshammiya’s character is inspired by Raj Kumar - and his performance never fails to fail. Apparently he lost 20 kilos for his
role in this movie - while we wish he had lost the role itself. The music of the movie makes you want to shoot yourself between your eyes - to put it mildly. With Himesh Reshammiya juggling between the scriptwriting, acting and looking constipated - the man probably could not concentrate on what is supposed to be his forte - music. Hence what you get are songs about a girl wanting to eat ice-cream and go to Kashmir because her heart burns like charcoals. Yes. Deal with that logic. Meanwhile, the performances are horrible. Just when you were getting used to poor acting skills from musicians-turning-bad-actors like Mr. Nasal Reshammiya, you are surprised that the bar can go any lower as Honey Singh makes his debut. With all due respect, five words of advice to the rapper - Abhi time hai, kat le. If you want to know whether to go for this movie or not, we say you should - the sets are extremely detailed in keeping with the 60s feel. Sorry, that’s about the only positive thing we could muster up. But hey, do go - with friends (so that you can make fun of the movie) or under the influence (so that you can make fun of the movie) or both! The possibilities of memes after this movie releases, is endless!
YOU LD U SHO TEN LIS Xscape Posthumous albums are always kinda weird, but Xscape is a strong case that reworking MJ’s discarded tracks is actually a great idea.
F
irst, the good news. Godzilla, in 2014, looks exactly the way it should. For this reboot of the legendary Japanese monster series, British director Gareth Edwards and his team of computer animators have done themselves proud, coming up with a creature design that’s both fearsome and true to the original: the ridges running down the back like a spiky mountain range, the pathetically grasping forearms and tiny bewildered eyes. His clanging roar, as if he had just swallowed a steam train, sounds both familiar and arrestingly new. The climax, which involves Godzilla and a couple of his rivals laying waste to San Francisco, is spectacular enough to send any monster fan home satisfied. This is fortunate, because otherwise the film is a bit of a mess.
Director: Gareth Edwards Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, CJ Adams, Ken Watanabe
Visually, Edwards has picked up a good deal from Steven Spielberg, especially the trick of making shadowy, receding spaces feel both solid and mysterious. But he has little knack for emotionally cohesive storytelling, and seems unable to decide whether he’s making a militaristic techno-thriller or a fairytale nightmare in the vein of Spielberg’s War of the Worlds. More jarring still, given the generally earnest tone, are the occasional moments of broad absurdity: the comic trashing of Las Vegas is straight out of Mars Attacks! The script, credited to Max Borenstein, is filled with clumsy exposition. While it’s to be expected that the human characters play second fiddle to the monsters, did they need to be quite so dull? As a naval bomb disposal specialist who travels to Japan to revisit the
site of a family tragedy, Aaron Taylor-Johnson supplies even less personality than Charlie Hunnam as a similar jock hero in Pacific Rim. In the wife and mother roles respectively, Elizabeth Olsen and Juliette Binoche are both wretchedly wasted. The only cast member who gets to put on a show of his own is Bryan Cranston as the hero’s nutty scientist father: essentially his role is to keep us entertained before the monsters turn up, by recycling his patented Breaking Bad expressions of grittedteeth anguish. A couple of shots hint that he might be seen as a kind of monster in his own right, and that Godzilla, in turn, is the ultimate Big Daddy. It’s too bad that Edwards never found a writer capable of working through the implications of this theme – or any other.
The Country Is Going To The Dogs Author: Anurag Mathur
S
itting by the window, watching the girls of All Saints College walk past, Radhey Radhey has nothing much to look forward to in his boring, retiree’s life until Miss Fifoo, ‘the sizzling sex siren of sin city’,goes missing. On this dangerously exciting mission, which takes him to gay bashes and wifeswapping parties, he encounters shady
NOW SHOWING Godzilla
The Xpose
Apsara Cinema
Daily at 11AM, 5 & 8 PM
Daily at 2PM
Anuradha Cineplex
Daily at 11.45AM & 5.15 PM (H-3D) Dailt at 8 PM
Daily at 9.30 AM & 2.45 PM
Fun Cinemas
Daily at 10 AM , 12.35,3.10 &5.45 PM
Daily at 8.30PM
YOU LD U H S OEAD R
characters such as the Poetic Pimp, who is fond of quoting English poetry; and the malicious Don, who owns every badass in town, as well as the Guru of the Hijras. In this boisterous thriller, The Country Is Going to the Dogs, join the oversexed retired accountant, RR, on a wild ride as he dives into the sexual underbelly of Delhi.
The Children of War: Nine months to freedom
Midsummer Midnight Mumbai
2 States
Gold Cinema (Fancy Bazar)
Daily at 2.30, 5.30 & 8.30 PM
Daily at 11.30 AM
Daily at 2 & 8 PM
Daily at 11AM & 5 PM
Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazar)
Daily at 2.30, 5.30 & 8.30 PM
Daily at 11.30 AM
Daily at 2 & 8 PM
Daily at 11 AM & 5 PM
Gold Cinema (Narengi)
Daily at 2 & 8 PM
Daily at 11 AM
Daily at 5 PM
21
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Ben Affleck’s Batman costume revealed
Y
esterday, Jack Schnider, the director, of the forthcoming Superman vs. Batman film and the recently confirmed JLA movie, teased that we would soon be seeing more of the vehicle, or as he put it: “Could be time to pull the tarp...Tomorrow?” Turns out the tarp was pulled back by none other than the Dark Knight himself. From the picture, it’s clearly Aff leck (look at the chin) in the redesigned batsuit, which, with smaller ears, looks reminiscent of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight costume. It also looks like he’s considerably bulked up for the role. Meanwhile, the Batmobile looks pitched somewhere between the power of Nolan’s tumbler and the sportier incarnations that ap-
peared in earlier films. The unofficially titled Batman vs. Superman film is set for release
on May 6, 2016, while the Justice League of America film is expected sometime in 2018.
MTS India’s free Wi-Fi service on Rapid Metro Gurgaon
Web Watch X-Men: Days of the future past new trailer launched where Wolverine travels back in time to reunite X-Men
B
ryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise with Days of Future Past, a time-travel yarn that sees Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) sent into the past to prevent an attack by the Sentinels, humanhunting robots who want the X-men dead. X-Men: Days of Future Past set to release by the end of May.
G Plus initiative on Mother’s Day
S
istema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL), which provides telecom services under the brand MTS, today announced its partnership with Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Limited (RMGL) to provide free Wi-Fi services on all trains running on the 5.1 Km long six station corridor. The new service covers all Rapid Metro trains and Sikanderpur, IndusInd Bank, Cyber City, Phase 2 and Micromax Moulsari Avenue metro stations. With the new initiative, 30,000 daily commuters of Rapid Metro will get to access Internet speeds up to 9.8 Mbps (based on MTS’ 3G Plus network) for free. As an introductory offer, MTS is offering its free Wi-Fi service for a period of six months. To get started with MTS’ free WiFi service on Rapid Metro, you need to visit an MTS kiosk on the Rapid Metro stations and take a free WiFi coupon – scratch the same to get the Activation PIN. There are 5 MTS kiosks on 4 Rapid Metro stations, two at Sikanderpur and one each at IndusInd Bank Cyber City, Phase 2 and Micromax Moulsari Avenue.
T
he whole world celebrates Mother’s Day with great joy but we should look back and think about the kids who do not have the privilege to do the same. This initiative is an effort to recognize these kids and make a commitment to them that this special day will never go in waste. They will always have us (the world) to share their happiness on this special day.
CW’s ‘Flash’ Teaser Trailer Debuts
OutRunner The World’s First Remote Control Running Robot
W
e have featured many different robot designs here on Geeky Gadgets over the years but the new OutRunner is definitely very unique in it’s styling and also extremely quick at running. Which is not something you normally hear about a robot. The OutRunner has been designed by Robotics Unlimited and is capable of running up to 20 miles an hour across various terrains for up to 2 hours on a single charge. Watch the video after the jump to see the OutRunner in action and learn more
and this very unique running robot. Part of the IHMC robotics team has been spending their time figuring out how to make a robotic system capable of running while maintaining stability. While research robots are very expensive machines dedicated to lab experiments, Robotics Unlimited’s founder wanted to have a robot easy to operate, relatively low cost to build but still providing amazing running capability. After several months of thinking, testing and prototyping, OutRunner was born.”
D
ebuting during the latter half of Arrow’s season-two finale, the promo was the first time viewers got to see Barry Allen (Glee’s Grant Gustin) after he fell into a coma at the end of a twoepisode appearance in November. It features Stephen Amell (as Green Arrow), passing the arrow to Gustin. As he fires off an arrow, The Flash catches it in the knick of time. “Showoff,” scoffs the Arrow as The Flash celebrates at a distance. And in case you missed it, here is what The CW and studio Warner Bros. TV had previously released: The Flash’s full costume and the first
profile shot back in February. The Flash is just one of two DC Comics-based series joining The CW slate for the 2014-15 season, the other being iZombie. The network unveils its fall schedule Thursday morning to ad buyers in New York. Joining Gustin, Panabaker and Valdes in the main cast are John Wesley Shipp (aka the original Barry Allen from the ‘90s series); Tom Cavanagh as physics “rock star” Harrison Wells; Jesse L. Martin as Detective West; Candice Patton as West’s daughter and Barry’s love interest, Iris; and Rick Cosnett as Detective Eddie Thawne.
22
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Your weekly dose of HOROSCOPE ARIES
What should you do on Monday and Tuesday? As little as possible. Lose yourself in your own thoughts. Ask for extra time with any paperwork that requires your signature. Take naps if you want. You’ll burn enough calories on Wednesday and Thursday — exciting days, both — for an entire week’s worth of adventure. Friday and Saturday (when patience and permanence are major themes) return you to a slower pace, but, again, not for long: Everything is in fast-forward on Sunday. This includes your love life; if you’re single, well, expect developments.
TAURUS Your friends are tremendous people, and they’d love to help. If something is getting you down, Monday and Tuesday offer you plenty of opportunities to do something about that. Get that weight off your shoulders; open up. Wednesday and Thursday you’ll be too busy rushing around — uncharacteristically so — to have heartfelt conversations with your pals. But Friday and Saturday, you find yourself effortlessly relating to your friends. Your love life is also effortless these days. Someone says something incredibly flattering to you on Sunday.
GEMINI The questions you have about your career aren’t going to go away — the current quandary is just the most recent manifestation of a very basic issue, so don’t stress the details. Focus on being creative (and enjoying yourself!) and pretty much everything else will click into place (eventually). Wednesday and Thursday, seek the advice of close friends — and the occasional acquaintance (why not?) — and then Friday and Saturday, show the world what you’re made of. Sunday isn’t a good day for getting things done, but you’ll meet a lot of people.
CANCER
TIMEPASS
LIBRA
Your mind wanders on Monday and Tuesday, and ends up in the funniest places. This is, believe it or not, productive. These daydreams make for swell anecdotes as well. You’re more in tune with others than you have been in a while, although Wednesday and Thursday, as social as you feel like being, you’re better off doing your own thing. (If you do end up being social, take care to think before speaking.) Friday and Saturday bring word of good news in the family realm, and as your mood brightens this weekend, you find yourself being more extroverted and impulsive than usual.
LEO Your instincts are in top form at the start of the week, and so are your listening skills. Combined, they’ll get you out of any tricky situation. As you gear up to make a big decision, count on your friends to bring to light aspects of your current circumstance you might not have considered before. You enjoy learning new things — even when they’re new (and potentially embarrassing) things about yourself. Friday and Saturday, a ton of attention comes your way for something you never expected to be a big deal, and you spend the rest of the weekend beaming.
Even while you’re juggling a million other things, you have your eye on the world around you. And when you see something beautiful, you point it out to your friends. You’re a pleasure to be around these days, which explains why, midweek, someone is all over you. It may not even be a romantic thing; it could be a business thing. You have the power to make Thursday either wonderful or terrible — it pretty much depends on you — but Friday and Saturday are going to be amazing no matter what you do. Magnetism, duets and kindness figure strongly. Sunday, your energy is through the roof.
SCORPIO Monday and Tuesday are dreamy and wonderful; the dream motif is especially apt — you merely have to wish for something to be true and suddenly it is. Romantically, you’ve never been better off. It’s rare for the fantasy realm to so perfectly impose on real life. Wednesday and Thursday constitute something of a reality check. Not that they’re bad days, but you will have to lift a finger, sadly. Friday and Saturday, all is not peaches and cream with regard to your love life, nor is all ruined. Deal with the issues at hand. Then, on Sunday, take it easy.
SAGITTARIUS
VIRGO Life is a swimming pool on Monday. You never know what’s going on in someone else’s life. If you have the impulse to criticize a friend on Monday or Tuesday, consider that you might not have the full story. Wednesday and Thursday, as happy as you may be, relations with coworkers are strained, and you may end your days in a state of frustration, but you don’t need to let work issues ruin your end-of-the-week plans. Friday and Saturday, you and you-know-who are more compatible than ever. Dinner Saturday night is the highlight of the weekend, although Sunday has the potential to be great, too.
Listening to someone tell a story from their past on Monday gets you thinking about your own emotionally rich history. Look how far you’ve come! The challenges you face right now are nothing compared with the challenges you’ve already surmounted. Wednesday and Thursday, nothing can get in the way of your unbelievable talents (plus, expect a romantic subplot to occupy your evenings) and Friday and Saturday’s demands on you are very doable. Flex your skills as a master communicator and all will be fine. Sunday is lots of talk but surprisingly little action.
CAPRICORN There are many ways to express yourself. Look into a new tactic on Monday and Tuesday. Writing a poem? Writing a song? Finding an original way to communicate with you-know-who will not only help you feel more connected to this person, it will flatter them. Wednesday and Thursday, your creativity won’t be much use in solving a career or family problem. But Friday and Saturday were made for creativity — as well as romance. After a sequence of entertaining activities on Saturday (a hike? a walk through town? a drive through the mountains?), spend Sunday telling this person what you really feel.
AQUARIUS You suddenly have little patience for other people’s values. Not that you don’t appreciate other opinions; it’s just that you’re long overdue for taking stock of what’s important to you. Something to consider Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday launches you into much more abstract terrain. Advanced ideas, humanitarianism at large, the discovery of world events you knew little about — this is what’s on your mind through Thursday. Friday and Saturday are more mundane and familyoriented (not that families aren’t beautiful and fascinating in their own right), and Sunday is unexpectedly romantic.
PISCES Treat yourself on Monday. Part of figuring out what you want is getting what you want and seeing if you like it. So, do some research. On Tuesday, you begin work on a new project that might transform your outlook on everything. Wednesday and Thursday are less clear days, relatively — camouflage and clouds figure metaphorically — but a home-cooked meal on Friday night returns you to solid footing. Saturday is a day of soft pillows, singing birds, handwritten letters and romance. Sunday, a perfect day for sleeping in, is more of the same.
JUST FOR LAUGHs Two small county judges both got arrested for speeding on the same day. Rather than call the state Supreme Court for a visiting judge, each agreed to hear the other’s case. The first judge took the bench while the second stood at the defendant’s table, and admitted his guilt. The sentencing judge immediately suspended both the fine and costs. They switched places. The second judge admitted that he was
SUDOKU
speeding, too. Thereupon the first judge immediately fined him $250 and ordered him to pay court costs. The second judge was furious. “I suspended your fine and costs, but you threw the book at me!” he fumed. The first judge looked at him and replied, “This is the second such case we’ve had in here today. Someone has to get tough about all this speeding!”
Solutions (Last Issue)
Fun
23
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
SPORTS GOODS DEALERS G Plus will keep on publishing such relevant and useful information in this page in the coming issues.
Compiled by Mautapa Dhar Adventure18 18, New Field Commercial Complex, 1st Floor, Opp Assam Finanacial Corporation Building, Paltanbazar, Ghy-8 Ph- 8011484522, 0361-2737874
Sanjay Sports Dr. B Baruah Road, Ulubari, Ghy- 7 Ph- 9864016335
Converse Dr.Baruah Road, Ulubari, Opp-B.Baruah Collage, Ulubari, Ghy-6, Ph- 9707052419, 0361-2461323
Anisha Sports Paltanbazar, M S Road, Ghy -8 Ph- 7896857102
Champion Sports Ulubari, Dr B Baruah Road, Ulubari, Ghy-7 Ph- 9864076411 Continental Sports R C Complex, Lakhtokia, Joli Road, Ghy -1 Ph- 0361-2631386 Verma Sports Panbazar, Ghy-1 Ph- 0361-2510028 Sports Station India Pvt Ltd- Lotto Store, Opp Ulubari Petrol Pump, G S Road, Ghy-7, Ph- 0361-2521939 Sports Center Purbi Complex, A T Road, Ghy-1 Ph- 0361-2631398 Sports India Dr B Baruah Road, Ulubari, Ghy-7 Ph- 0361-2523706 Khela Ghar Garima Palace, Hem Baruah Road, Fancy Bazar, Ghy-1 Ph- 0361-2601744 Pioneer Sports Panbazar, Jaswanta Road, Ghy-1 Ph- 9854725342, 9435148028 N B Sports Dr. B Baruah Road, Ulubari, Ghy -7 Ph- 9435119142
Asom Sports Ulubari, Ghy-7 Ph- 9854152503
Surja Jyoti Sports Centre Paltanbazar, M S Road, Ghy -8 Ph- 9707011698
Pioneer Sports J B Road, Panbazar, Ghy -1 Ph- 9935148028
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
Krishna Traders Saraswati Market, Panbazar, Jaswanta Road, Ghy -1 Ph- 9864338524 OutdoorTravelGear.com 2 UK Tower, Nr Silpukhri Bus Stand, Gnb Road, Ghy -3, Ph- 7896137055, 0361-2660184
S. K. Sports Lachit Nagar, Ulubari, Ghy-7 Ph- 9864091563
Verma Sons Dilip Commercial Complex, Opp Ananda Lodge, Panbazar, Ghy-1, Ph- 9435146722, 9435153982
Nisha Sports New Field Commercial Complex, Paltanbazar, Ghy- 8 Ph- 9435044966
Verma Brothers Opp Ghar Show Room, Panbazar, Ghy-1, Ph- 0361-2513366
Krishna Traders Kironhans Complex, Panbazar, S S Road, Ghy- 1 Ph- 0361-2514324
Sanjog Gopal Rd. Panbazar, Ghy-1 Ph- 0361-2515187
P B Trading Corporation Col J Ali Road, Lakhtokia, Ghy -1, Ph- 0361-2633561
Roopam Kamarpatty, Guwahati GPO, Ghy-1, Ph- 0361-2511407, 2608880
S P Sports R C Complex, Lakhtokia, Joli Road, Ghy -1 Ph- 9864155532
Sports Centre Purbi Complex, Nr Overbridge, A.T. Road, Ghy-1 Ph- 9435147137, 995718727
Sports Care S C Goswami , Lakhtokia, Panbazar, Ghy -1 Ph- 0361-2733201
Gopiram & Sons S.R.C.B.Road, Fancy Bazaar, Ghy-1, Ph- 9864070842, 9864024608
Edwine Sports Lakhtokia, S S Road, Panbazar, Ghy-1 Ph- 9864012276, 0361-2515750
Ankita Sports Dr. Baruah Road, Opp. B. Baruah College, Guwahati Gpo, Ghy-1, Ph- 9864103211
Sabri Sports King C K Road, Panbazar, Ghy-1 Ph- 9678457187
Anjali Enterprise Opp.T C School, GNB Road, Guwahati Club, Ghy -3 Ph- 9207142793
Silver Sports M N Road, Panbazar, Ghy-1 Ph- 9435019277
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
SK Enterprises 27, GNB Road, Paltanbazar, Ghy-8 Ph- 9707723127
Citypedia
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 2227702 GNRC Life First Ambulance 9401194011
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
24
G PLUS MAY 17 - MAY 23, 2014
Catching Up
Headlining acts!
Fernanda Uliana Tom Ford
WHO’S HE Thomas Carlyle “Tom” Ford is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of Gucci and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man. SO WHAT Ford’s role at Gucci expanded rapidly in 1990; he was designing menswear within six months, and shoes soon after that. When Richard Lambertson left as design director in 1992, Ford took over his position, heading the brand’s ready-to-wear, fragrances, image, advertising, and store design. In 1993, when he was in charge of designing eleven product lines, Ford worked eighteen-hour days. Now what Tom Ford opens his very first free-standing store for TOM FORD in South East Asia at the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore, occupying more than 2,000 square feet and offering a complete collection of the American designer’s Menswear and Womenswear collections, including shoes and accessories.
pick of the week NASA’s bold plan to park an asteroid near the moon may also test out a new way to protect Earth from dangerous space rocks. Last year, the agency announced that it intends to tow a near-Earth asteroid into a stable lunar orbit, where it could be visited repeatedly by astronauts for research and exploration purposes. NASA officials are still ironing out the details of the mission, which may bag up an entire small space rock or snag a boulder off the surface of a large asteroid.
WHO’S SHE Fernanda Colombo Uliana, a 25-year-old assistant referee, Fernanda Colombo Uliana, 25, has just been granted FIFA official status by the refereeing committee of the Brazilian Football Confederation and was seen running the sideline during the Brazilian championship football match between Atletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte. SO WHAT Uliana is part of a growing group of women making their mark in the male-dominated world of pro football. Uliana still has a day job, working as a personal trainer specialising in hydro-fitness at a gym in Florianopolis. Now what Uliana, whose day job is as a personal trainer, told that she’s excited to take her soccer officiating career to the next level. Her rise up the ranks will continue, when she’ll run the line for a Brazil Serie A showdown between Atletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro.
What did I just hear? Google has reportedly denied reports that it fixed the Lok Sabha elections. Computer Business Review appeared more certain with the “How Google search results are influencing elections” headline for its version of the story, the Guardian reported. However, the company vehemently denied the claims saying that providing relevant answers has been the cornerstone of Google’s approach to search from the very beginning.
Kamur of the week
After a stable period of one-and-a-half-months, onion rates are on an upward march once again. Having the power to make or break governments, the onion rate hike is always a concern. With the BJP already destroying Gogoi’s claims in Assam, will the onion price rise will be another Kamur for the CM as it is for the general public?
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