Vol 5 issue 3 web (1) by G Plus

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G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Lead Story

Assam first state to begin AIDS intervention in women’s correctional homes

ssam recently became the first state in the country to begin intervention programmes for women living in correctional homes. Officials said that under this, they would conduct HIV screening of the population. Those found positive will be given antiretroviral therapy (ART) to keep the virus in suppression and they will also be provided counselling about different aspects of the disease including ways to combat AIDS. ASACS recently signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the state social welfare department and the prisons headquarters, for carrying out HIV interventions in women’s correctional homes and prisons respectively. According to officials, there is a continuous influx of women in the correctional homes which house inmates who are destitute, sex workers, those who have been abandoned by their families or who have been apprehended for their misdemeanours. “Assam has a low HIV prevalence at 0.06% as compared to the country average of 0.26%, but nevertheless this is a grave matter and we have to

ensure that we take all possible measures to further mitigate it,” said Deka. Officials informed that they are stressing on early detection, as the inmates are often engaged in certain activities outside the state which get them infected with HIV. After detection, ART is provided to those found HIV positive so that the quality of health is maintained. As per the state figures, there are currently 5,500 HIV positive people living in Guwahati and 13,368 people living with AIDS in the state, out of which 9,851 are enrolled under ART and 4,698 are alive under ART. The AIDS control society has planned to gradually roll out these intervention programmes to other sectors as well. Till now, it has screened around 32 lakh people for AIDS. Additionally, they have community-based organisations and NGOs under them, which work in high-risk groups, which mean people who are at a higher risk of getting infected with HIV. These include sex workers, migrants, men having sex with men (MSM) and injecting drug users (IDU). n

HIV positive people in Guwahati:

5,500 HIV positive people living in Assam:

13,368 out of which 9,851 are enrolled under ART and 4,698 are alive under ART

Assam has low HIV prevalence at

0.06% Country average of HIV prevalence:

0.26% Manipur has the highest estimated HIV prevalence at

1.15% It is followed by Mizoram (0.80%), Nagaland (0.78%) and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (0.66%).

Counterfeit notes as good as real

he counterfeit currency notes recovered by the police in Sijubari looked as genuine to the eye as the

real. A source in the Hatigaon police station said, “Counterfeit Indian currency notes of Rs 500, Rs 2000 and Rs 200 amounting to a face value of Rs 3 lakhs were recovered and it looked almost real.” The source revealed that the

recovered fake notes can be easily used in the markets of Guwahati unless the notes are touched and checked thoroughly to be identified as fake. Among the arrested accused Jainal Ahmed (45) and his two associates Azmal Haque (31) and Jiabuddin Lashkar (30), Jainal, the mastermind of the racket, had taken training on printing fake notes from Ajmal Hussain who is currently

serving time in a Mizoram jail. The police are planning to quiz Ajmal for more information on the episode. The police also recovered a laptop, scanner, printer, 17 colour cartridges, colours and other printing materials like tracing paper and screen printing stencil which were used for printing the fake notes. Investigations have so far revealed that the original currency note is first scanned after which it is printed on the tracing paper and then with the help of screen printing stencil, it is printed on the fake currency note paper. The source of the paper used for printing the fake notes is yet to be ascertained. Hence, the police will send the fake notes to forensic experts for obtaining further details. Joint Commissioner of Police, Diganta Barah said, “We will send the fake notes to Reserve Bank of India or the Forensic Science Laboratory for further examination.” n

State begins HIV intervention programmes in central jails

SACS has recently launched targeted intervention programme for prison inmates in order to combat the disease. According to experts, prisons remain a high risk zone for transmission of AIDS. In January this year, free medicines and counselling for HIV positive inmates was started as a pilot project in the Guwahati Central Jail. This was supported by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), and was funded by Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of Project Sunrise. This will now be replicated in all six central jails of the state. “Prisons have many injecting drug users which increases their chance of HIV transmission manifold. More than 50 IDUs were found in Guwahati Central Jail. Our many aim is sensitisation of inmates as well as prison officials,” said assistant director of targeted intervention at ASACS, Dipshikha Talukdar Haloi. She added that they send mobile Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) van, provided by NACO, to the jail premises for testing of inmates. “We will now provide Facility Integrated ICTC services (FICTC) in the prisons. Under this, AIDS testing kits will

be provided to all the prison hospitals so that care, support and treatment can be provided to inmates inside jail premises,” said Haloi. Inspector General (IG) of Prisons, Ranjan Sharma said, “This is definitely a good initiative which was started as a pilot project in Guwahati Central Jail, because the jail inmates are the most vulnerable sections of society.” n

Fake notes already in circulation in many markets

he Hatigaon police had busted the fake note printing factory on 6th November 2017 but many consignments of fake notes are already circulating in many markets of the state. A source in Hatigaon Police said that a month ago the arrested gang had delivered a consignment of Rs 50,000 fake Indian currency notes to a team in Barpeta and the

police will soon arrest that team. The gang had been running the factory since the last six months and they used to take contracts from several other gangs across the state for printing fake notes. Police sources said that the arrested accused have confessed that there are many gangs across the state that is pumping the fake n notes into the system.

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

In The News

GST Council revises tax slabs Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

n a major revision of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Council comprising 24 finance ministers of various state governments including Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma along with Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, which met in Guwahati on 10th November 2017, reduced the tax slab of around 178 items which were in the 28% GST slab category and put them into the 18% tax slab category. After the GST Council Meet, Jaitley said, “Out of 228 items in the 28% tax bracket, 178 have been put into the lower tax category of 18%.” There were 227 items in the 28% slab category. The fitment committee had recommended that it should be pruned to 62 items. But the GST Council has further pruned down more items. Now, all types of chewing gum, chocolates, preparation for women’s cosmetics, shaving and after-shave items, deodorants, washing powder detergents and granite and marble have been put

in the 18% slab. “Only 50 items to face 28% rate,” Finance Minister of Bihar Sushil Modi told reporters during the GST Council Meet. Similarly, tax rate on 13 items have been reduced from 18% to 12%; on 5 items it has been cut to 5% from 18%; rate on 6 items lowered to zero from 5% and on 8 items it has been lowered from 12% to 5%. The rates will come into effect from November 15. Paints and cement have been retained at 28%. Even luxury goods such as washing machines and air conditioners have been retained at 28%. Eating out has become cheaper. For restaurants and hotels, the Council has fixed the rate for restaurants at flat 5% on those that do not claim tax credit (including AC and non AC), while outdoor catering is at 18%. Rate for hotels that have room tariffs below Rs 7,500 room has been fixed at 5%. Tax rate on fire extinguishers, watches, blades, stoves and mattresses has been reduced to 18% from 28%. GST rate on fly ash and fly ash brick has been reduced to 5% from 18%. n

Return filing process made easier, claims GST council

he Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has claimed to have made the return filing process easier. According to a press release issued by the Council, all taxpayers would file return in FORM GSTR3B along with payment of tax by 20th of the succeeding (December)

month till March, 2018. For filling of GSTR-1 till March 2018 the Council has divided the tax payers into two categories. The 1st category is the taxpayers with annual aggregate turnover up to Rs 1.5 crores who will have to file GSTR-1 on quarterly basis. n

1st Category taxpayers (Annual aggregate turnover up to Rs 1.5 crores)

PERIOD

DATES

July to September October to December January to March

31st December 2017 15th February 2018 30th April 2018

The 2 nd category are the taxpayers with annual aggregate turnover of more

than Rs 1.5 crores and need to file GSTR – 1 on monthly basis.

2nd Category taxpayers (Annual aggregate turnover more than Rs 1.5 crores)

PERIOD

July to October November December January February March A large number of taxpayers where unable to file their returns in FORM GSTR-3B within due date for the months of July, August and September

DATES

31st December 2017 10th January 2018 10th February 2018 10th March 2018 10th April 2018 10th May 2018 2017. Late fee will be waived in all such cases and where such fee was paid, the press release stated that it will be re-credited to the account of the taxpayers.

Govt totally confused: Pradyut Bordoloi

aking pot-shots at the BJP government, state Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi said the BJP has learned from the Congress that the tax slabs should be lesser and hence the saffron party ruled government has reduced the tax slabs of some items after coming under pressure from the entire country. Bordoloi said, “The government is totally confused.” The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council might have thought that they have wooed the public by reducing the tax slabs of some items but many Guwahatians still hold the opinion that the government did not plan well before implementing the new tax regime. A city-based real estate practitioner, Ranel Kumar Das said, “The government should have planned well before implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) four months ago.” He added that the reasons for the new restructure are unexplained. n

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

In The News

CM to get Bullet Proof residence Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

ssam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will be the second politician in the country to live in a bullet proof residence. Sonowal seconds Telengana chief minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekhar Rao, who shifted to his 50 crore worth bullet proof house nestled in a nine acre land in November last year. The window panes of the Brahmaputra State Guesthouse at Kharguli, which was turned into the chief minister’s residence in May last year, will be replaced with bulletproof glasses to thwart any possibility of a sniper attack on him from the nearby buildings. “We had conducted a security assessment and found out that the nearby high-rise buildings around the guest house could be

CM Sarbananda Sonowal’s residence at Kharguli | File Photo used as vantage points for the sniper shooters. That is why, it was decided that those window panes, which could be an entry point for bullets from those buildings will be made bulletproof,” Pallab Bhattacharyya, additional director general of

Assam police, who also heads the special branch, told G Plus. Among the rooms that will be upgraded for security is also the chief minister’s bedroom located in the west end of the building facing the Brahmaputra River.

Third to get NSG, first to get Bullet-proofed

How grave is the threat perception?

he state is gearing up for law and order problems after the list of citizens in the NRC is declared, a police official said. He also underscored the three zones that have been recently identified by security agencies in the Northeast – Dhubri and Karimganj in Assam and Sonamura in Tripura – vulnerable to the influx of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh. “We have inputs that there has been a surge of divisive

Islamic forces in the state in the recent times and the Assam chief minister figures in their list,” the source said, but declined to disclose further details. There are also reports that some organisations based in faroff locations in the country have been trying to expand base among the migrant Muslims in the state which has raised the concerns of the security agencies. Police have not ruled out the possibility of “radical Islamist” ideas spreading among the disaffected sections in

the state. Recently, five members of an Assam minority organisation, Assam Sankhya Laghu Sangram Parishad, had visited a Rohingya camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar while, six Rohingyas migrants were apprehended last September along the Assam – Tripura border. “When similar threats are received in a particular state, as per the protocol, the threat perception of the chief minister automatically rises,” the source said. n

Is this a change of stance?

The decision to upgrade the security at the CM’s residence comes at a time when the update

of National Register of Citizen (NRC) is nearing completion. According to informed sources, the home ministry had recently reviewed the situation in the state and had discussed the steps to be put in place in the event of disturbances after publication of the final list of the register. Some officials explained that the fortification of the CM’s residence is part of “standard protocol” arrangements. But a police official revealed there were reports of a threat to the Chief Minister. Sonowal enjoys a Z-Plus security cover that includes the attachment of 36 personnel, including more National Security Guard (NSG) commandos and a bulletproof vehicle. n

hen Sarbananda Sonowal took oath as the Chief Minister on May 24 last year, he had proudly declared that his goal was “to lead Assam by being among the people”. The change of policy has evoked mixed reactions from the people. “First he shifted to the Kharghuli residence away from the people and now he is turning his already approachable guest house into a fortress. It is clearly an indication

that he is withdrawing away from the people here,” Biswajit Saika, a city based businessman said. Echoing Saikia, Debabrata Bhuyan, a teacher said that it was not just security arrangements, but other aspects too that made people ponder if the chief minister had changed his stance. “The CM had said that his vehicle will stop at all traffic signals like the common people. But there were several instances recently when the traffic movement was

halted to allow the CM’s convoy to pass,” Bhuyan said. A senior functionary of the BJP who did not wish to be named has however justified the decision to upgrade the CM’s security at his residence. He said that the state of security could not remain “constant” every day. “The threat perception undergoes a change and sometimes very rapidly. There is a change in the situation now as compared to n last year,” he said.

CM Sonowal and his security cover | File Photo

onowal is the third Chief Minister to get Z Plus security cover in the state after Tarun Gogoi and Prafulla Mahanta but he is the first get his official residence bullet-proofed. Sonowal’s Z Category security was upgraded to Z Plus with a bulletproof vehicle in May last year when he was the Union Minister for Sports (independent charges). The Home commissioner L.S. Changsan said the bulletproofing was a long pending move since Sonowal was approved NSG cover February this year. Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi security was upgraded from Z category to Z Plus after the Intelligence Bureau submitted a report indicating a threat to his

life from Islamist outfits in 2006. Gogoi however had a different take on Sonowal when contacted by G Plus. “It is a sign that the chief minister is distancing himself from the public. We never needed bullet-proofing of our residences despite getting numerous security threats throughout our stint,” he said. n

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Governance

More than 270 centres to be set up for Aadhar G Plus delves on how Assam is going to carry out the enrolment process for Aadhar Card and what it would imply to the state which is already going through NRC update process Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

he government has finalised a plan to set up at least 270 centres in Kamrup (Metro) out of a total of 8,500 centres across the state for issue of Aadhar Card; the process has remained stalled since the past several years. Aadhar is a 12-digit number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to all citizens. Enrolment agencies will collect biometric data like

thumb impression, eye scan and a photograph. The applicants will also have to submit proof of age, address and identity for an Aadhar number. The Guwahati Administration Department (GAD) secretary, Ranjan Chakraborty, said that the state has already begun identifying places to set up the centres and would select an enrolment agency through tendering. “We will issue the online tender within this month (November) and hope to select the enrolment agency by next month. We hope to complete the exercise by November next year,” Chakraborty said.

Assam to begin Aadhar process from next month

ssam, which is lagging behind in collection of biometric data for Aadhar card, will start the process from December 1. Assam and Jammu & Kashmir are the only two states in the country where the Aadhar enrolment process has not started yet. The delay in Assam was on account of the ongoing update of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The state government had earlier thought of linking the Aadhar card with the NRC to prevent illegal migrants from acquiring the Aadhar. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the Aadhar card enrolment should be completed

at the earliest as students from Assam are facing difficulties in getting admission in institutes in those states where Aadhar is mandatory. In 2004, the enrolment process was carried out in three districts - Golaghat, Nagaon and Sonitpur as a pilot project and an office was also set up in Guwahati. A total of 24,05,286 persons (7.1%) of the total 3,40,68,394 population were enrolled but further enrolment was halted. Assam falls at the bottom of the chart with regard to Aadhar in the Northeast. Meghalaya, with 14.3% completion lies immediately above Assam while, Tripura tops the list with 89.2% enrolment. n

Confusion over NRC and Aadhaar

he General Administration Department (GAD) is hoping that the final list of NRC would be completed before the process for the Aadhar Card is launched. According to an official, “For the time being, the Aadhar update and the NRC will run parallely. It is expected that the draft NRC list will be completed by December 31. The Aadhar enrolment will not be completed before November 2018. By that time, we hope that the NRC will be completed.” The department however, has no contingency plan if the NRC update is delayed. The Supreme Court had, in July this year, set December 31 as the final deadline

for releasing the draft NRC list. Civil society organisations have already raised their opposition to the issue of Aadhar card. “The Aadhar enrolment seems like a plan to give the illegal migrants citizenship in Assam. Even if we are to believe that the Aadhar enrolment data will be cross-checked with the NRC list, the extra work will still be a wastage of money and manpower,” Lurinjyoti Gogoi, general secretary of All Assam Students’ Union said. The same opinion was expressed by Aminul Islam, general secretary of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) who was of the view that the government’s decision to issue Aadhar card was only a source of n more confusion.

File photo of people applying for Aadhar card “The centres’ concentration, unlike the NRC Seva

Kendras, will be based on the concentration of the population

in that particular area. If a small area has higher density of population, then we will set up more than one centre there, while those areas having lesser population will have one or two. This way, the burden of enrolment will be equally distributed throughout the centres,” an official said. There are 2,500 NRC Seva Kendras of which, 78 are in Kamrup (Metro). Another official added that all the commercial banks in the state have also been authorised to act as service providers to complete the enrolment process and then issue Aadhar cards to their account holders. n

Harassment for students

documents,” Kongkon Saha, who works in a private firm in Bangalore, said. Saha’s refrain found an echo with Dhruba Borgohain who is a student studying at Jadavpur University in Kolkata. He said, “Now, with the enrolment starting again, we will have to travel all the way back to Assam to get enrolled. To get the card would be a relief of course, but, it would have been convenient if the update could have been done in the city where I was residing.” n

A man displaying his Aadhar card | File Photo

eople of Assam staying in other parts of the country have to face harassment regularly for not having Aadhar card. “I had thought that I will not get admission despite having the cut-off marks,” 20-year-old Bibhas Gogoi said recalling the harassment he went through for not having an Aadhar Card while trying to secure admission in a college under Delhi University last year. “I had to convince the officials in the college for quite some time and then had to show published articles of citizens of Assam being exempted from having to enter their Aadhar details to convince them,” Gogoi, who hails from the city’s Kalapahar area, said. Gogoi is not alone among

the large number of residents from the state facing a problem without the Aadhar. Last year, after much confusion and protests by the students, the Central Board of Secondary Education had exempted the students from Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu & Kashmir from providing Aadhar details during the allIndia engineering entrance exam – Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). “It is not only just in education. We have to face this problem at every step. We cannot apply for LPG cards, bank accounts and every other service for which identity cards are required. Because our voter ID card has our permanent address in Assam, often those weren’t accepted as valid

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

City

DTO cracks the whip on errant vehicle dealers

G Plus checks out the current scenario of delayed delivery of vehicles and the enforcement of high security registration plates on new vehicles Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

ealers in the city who keep postponing the delivery of vehicles to customers could soon face action by the government. District Transport Officer (DTO), Kamrup Metro, Prasenjit Kumar Ghosh said, “Once the vehicle is booked it should not take more than two days for delivery. Strict action will be taken against dealers who keep postponing the delivery dates.” Ghosh said that action has already been initiated against errant vehicle dealers. He explained that a new vehicle delivery mechanism has already been put in place since June 2017 which allows the dealers to avail vehicle registration numbers from the DTO, install them on the vehicles and deliver the vehicle at the shop itself. He added that he had received many complaints and had initiated action against such dealers.

Till June 2017, every vehicle had to be fixed with high security registration plates (HSRPs) only at the premises of the District Transport Office by Agros Impex India Pvt Ltd, a firm selected by the state government for the job in Assam in 2012 through a bidding process. HSRP is a standard registration license plate in the country and is mandatory for all vehicles. The high demand for vehicles has prompted the transport department to issue a notification that the firm will install the HSRP at the dealers’ premises to make the process faster. The DTO claimed that the registration request files are processed by the office in a day and on the next day the dealers should make and install the HSRPs on the vehicles ahead of the vehicle’s delivery. But even after such a process was initiated, many customers had complained that the dealers keep postponing the delivery date of a

new vehicle. A customer who had purchased a two-wheeler in October said, “I

booked a Bajaj Pulsar bike and was assured of delivery after a week. But I got the bike after three weeks.”

He said that the dealers keep citing excuses that the files are not processed by the DTO on time. n

Car buyers taking delivery of their new car at a city showroom | G Plus Photo

New vehicle delivery impossible HSRP enforcement not regular in two days, feel dealers

ehicle dealers are however of the opinion that delivery of a vehicle to a customer could take at least a week. A two-wheeler dealer, talking to G Plus in anonymity said, “It will take at least seven days to deliver a new vehicle because of the time taken to process the file in the

district transport office (DTO) and production of the high security registration plates (HSRPs).” As soon as the vehicle booking is done, the finance company verifies the details of the customer which consumes around two days. Subsequently, the file for the new vehicle is despatched to the DTO for processing and for obtaining

the registration number which takes another two days. There is further delay if any technical issue crops up in the process. A dealer who sells cars said that as soon as the registration number is received, the HSRP is made but an additional day is required for making and installing the HSRP. n

hough it is mandatory to install high security registration plates (HSRP) for all vehicles, many vehicles are still seen with fancy number plates because the enforcement efforts by the district transport office (DTO) and traffic police leaves much to be desired. A source in the DTO enforcement department said that inadequate manpower in the department has adversely affected strict enforcement of the norms on HSRP. He lamented the role of the traffic police who do

not check the installation of HSRPs on the new vehicles. According to a source in Agros Impex India Pvt Ltd (the company which is responsible for fitting HSRPs in the vehicles), approximately 16,858 vehicles were installed with HSRPs in 2013, 44,394 vehicles in 2014, 6,626 vehicles in 2015 and 74,542 vehicles in 2016. There are approximately 9.5 lakh vehicles registered in Kamrup Metro DTO and till 2016 only around 1.5 lakh vehicles were fitted with HSRPs. n

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Sunny

Mostly Sunny

30°/18° C

29°/17° C

28°/17° C

SATURDAY Sunny

29°/19° C

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

In The News

APSC scam: Four more officers to be arrested Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

our more Assam Civil Service (ACS) and Assam Police Service (APS) officials will be arrested soon after the crackdown on 8th, 9th and 10th November 2017 where Dibrugarh police arrested 18 APS and ACS officers. Three had already been arrested earlier. Director General of Police (DGP), Assam, Mukesh Sahay said on 9th November, “From the 2015 APS/ ACS batch, 25 officers were found to have secured jobs by bribing and 18 have been arrested. 7 more will be arrested soon.” Adding to this he said that for now the answer scripts and the question papers of the 2015 batch officers had only been analysed; the other batches will be scrutinised gradually hereafter. On 10th November 3 officers surrendered to the police. Talking about whether any politician will be arrested or not, the DGP said that for now they do not have any evidence against any politician but in future if they find any link, even the politicians will not be spared. 25 accused were put through a handwriting test, specimens of which were sent for forensic examination which eventually made a strong case for their arrest.

Some of the arrested ACS/APS officers being produced in court | G Plus Photos The answer scripts were sent to six forensic laboratories which confirmed that those were not originals. Talking about the modus operandi of Rakesh Paul and his team, a Crime Investigation Department (CID) source said that two teams used to work under APSC chairman Rakesh Paul to deal with Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) job seekers. The first modus operandi was dealing with aspirants who were very weak in studies and who, through contacts, used to approach the job scam team. Such aspirants used to be guided from day one by the gang,

‘Black Day’ observed to mark demonetization anniversary

the rate of bribe for such aspirants were very high - anything between Rs 30 lakhs to Rs 40 lakhs approximately. The dull aspirants used to be guided with books, questions and it was ensured that the aspirants cleared all the rounds of examination along with the interview. Talking about the second modus operandi, Paul had agents across the state and aspirants who were good students and had cleared the mains were targeted. The agents based in the district of the aspirant used to contact the candidate or a family member of the candidate giving ideas that the candidate will surely be selected if some amount is

he city, along with other parts of the country, witnessed a number of events organised by various parties and organisations on the first anniversary of demonetization on Wednesday. APCC President Ripun Bora, Leader of Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia and former minister Rakibul Hussain were also detained during the protest. While the Opposition marked the occasion as ‘Black Day’, the ruling BJP celebrated it as ‘AntiBlack Money Day’ and ‘AntiCorruption Day’. Addressing a meeting, former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said, “Today we are not only marking a black day, but also a day of betrayal. Common people have yet not been able to come over the shock of demonetization and stand on their own feet. The government looted the hard-earned money of the common people and their savings.” Debabrata Saikia, in the same vein, slammed the BJP Govt saying that demonetization was “antipoor, anti-small trader, and antibusiness.” Altogether 12 Left and

paid to the APSC officials. The candidate’s family, feeling the importance of the job, used to negotiate with the agent and accordingly the deal used to get finalised. These candidates used to pay a lesser amount which could be anything from Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 25 lakhs. The arrested officials are Pallabi Sarma Choudhury (37), Circle Officer, Darrang; Dipak Khanikar (26), Election Officer, Sivasagar; Debajit Bora (36), Election Officer, Hamren; Anirudha Roy (37), Circle Officer, Kadam (Lakhimpur); Himangshu Choudhury (30), Circle Officer, Agomoni; Sabbira Imran (31), Assistant Commandant, 12th

APBn; Jayanta Kumar Nath (36), Assistant Commandant, 7th APBn; Harshajyoti Bora (37), DSP (Border), Guwahati; Hemanta Hillol Saikia (36), DSP (DSB) Jorhat; Sudipta Goswami Bhattacharya, Assistant Employment Officer, Hailakandi; Amarjit Das (32), Employment Officer, Sonitpur; Jatindra Prasad Baruah (36), Assistant Commandant, 8th APBn; Raju Saha (37), Labour Inspector, Bhabanipur; Dwithun Borgoyari (34), Circle Officer, Dotoma, Kunal Das (28), Circle Officer, Banekuchi, Badrul Islam Choudhury (35), Algapur Circle Inspector, Geetali Doley, and Sunaina Aideau. n

democratic parties held a dharna on the bank of the Dighalipukhuri. On the other hand, the ruling BJP

commemorated the occasion as ‘Anti-Black Money Day’. A march was organised on GS Road. n

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Concern

Without payments, press owners survive on loans to print free textbooks Saumya Mishra

s many as 62 press owners of Guwahati are surviving on loans for their day-to-day operations to continue printing textbooks for the government school students who receive free textbooks under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA). The printing press owners, who have been assigned the task of printing these books by the Assam State Textbook Production and Publication Corporation (ASTPPC) under the state government, alleged that they have not been paid their full dues for the last year, i.e., 2016-17. “We have only been paid 50% of the total amount for last year and have to execute this year’s work without getting the previous year’s payment. Almost all press owners had to take loans for working capital to carry out this year’s printing,” said secretary of All Assam Press

Owners’ Association and owner of Arunoday Press, Jayanta Sarma. According to members of ASTPPC, 62 printing presses in total, all based in Guwahati, have

n the other hand, the general manager of the ASTPPC, AK Khound, said that they are merely the implementing agency for this programme. “We get orders to print books from the SSA and we give out the work to different printing presses. We had only received a partial amount from the government for the previous year, which we have paid to the printing press owners,” said Khound. On the contrary, the executive director of the Assam Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan Mission, Dhrubajyoti Das, said that the entire textbook printing process is looked after by the ASTPPC. “We are not concerned about the outstanding amount of printing presses since we have paid the state textbook corporation in full for the previous year after receiving the money from the central government,” said Das. n

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textbooks are distributed among government school students of classes 1 to 8. Further, the state government’s directorate of secondary education also provides

File photo of students in a government school with their free textbooks

Officials pass the buck

been allotted the textbook printing work this year. A total of 3.4 crore textbooks need to be printed this year for classes 1 to 10. Under the central government’s SSA, free

free textbooks to students of classes 9 and 10. For printing of all textbooks from classes 1 to 10, the central government disburses 80% of the funds while the remaining 20% is provided by the state government. Another press owner engaged in textbook printing said on the condition of anonymity that in the absence of payments by the government, he had to take a loan of Rs 20 lakhs to keep his press going. “We have to make payments to our employees and also the mounting interest on loans by banks is making things very difficult for us,” he said, adding that till now they have only received half the payment for 201617 for only elementary education textbooks, which includes classes 1 to 8, and haven’t received any funds for secondary education books, comprising classes 9 and 10. He said that whenever they take up the matter with the officials, the ASTPPC only reassures them of payment in the near future. n

Press owners allege unfair work allotment by ASTPPC

ress owners have further alleged about irregularities in allotting the printing work to various printing presses who, they say, are not equipped to carry out this work. “There has been unfair allotment of work this year by the textbook corporation and proper norms have not been followed,” said Pankaj Kashyap, owner of HP Offset printers. He added that there is a verification process which needs to be followed before allotting the work to any press; officials inspect the number and types of machines available with a press, the amount of space available and the total manpower. They then allot the work on the basis of this inspection. “But this time, the corporation officials have flouted norms and have allotted work without considering the capacities of the presses,” said Kashyap. Members of the press owners’ association said if the corporation does not pay heed

File photo of the ASTPPC to their grievances, then they will take up the issue with the Chief Minister’s office and other higher officials. “We are concerned about the students’ future and are carrying out our work despite several constraints. The government should also spare a thought about us,” said Kashyap. An official from the Assam State Textbook Production

& Publication Corporation Limited (ASTPPC) said that a few printing presses had to be dropped this year because of their poor performance and a few new ones were hired in their place. Khound however declined to comment on the allegations made by the press owners and said that they have been conducting their work in a n fair manner.

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Snippets

Creative Club celebrates its inauguration

Mitra Phukan (L) and Samudragupta Kashyap deliver their addresses

n a solemn ceremony at Hotel Lily, Guwahati, a group of creative personalities from myriad fields such as writing, film-making, journalism, music, and photography came together to inaugurate a one of its kind club, Inkpot, with a view to give budding artists in the society a platform to showcase their talent. The club has been formed by a group of intellectuals from across the Northeast. The event was attended by Padma Shri Eli Ahmed, renowned writer Mitra Phukan and veteran Journalist Samudragupta Kashyap as Chief Guests. Other dignitaries who were present in the function were

Indrani Rai Medhi, Tinat Atifa Masood, Nurul Islam Laskar, Ranjit Bezbaruah, Hironmoyee Goswami, Kismat Bano, Siddartha P Dutta and other eminent personalities from the field of media and literature. The event began with a welcome speech by the President of organizing committee Rashida Tapadar. She expounded the goals of the club which included offering a platform for young artists of the Northeast who would be mentored by the founding members of Inkpot. She added, “Inkpot would work to find an aegis for the deserving artists who are engaged in the creative pursuit and connect them not only with mentors but

also with patrons”. The club would also work for the development and preservation of the local art and literature of the Northeast. It plans to publish not only nonacademic and fictional work, but also academic research associated with the Northeast. Appreciating the idea of having such a club, the chief guests expressed their gratitude towards the organizing team for their relentless effort to help upcoming writers and artists from various fields. They hoped that the inauguration of such a democratic platform would bring a positive change in the society and bring the intellectual section of the society together, allowing them to know each other better. At the same time, host and anchor Nabish Alam shared his opinion on how the Northeast lacked the opportunities that could allow the youth to build their career pursuing art, literature and music. The inauguration ceremony was marked by a reading session by the founding members of the club. The reading session began with the chief guests reading small excerpts from their work. The ceremony also had musical performances by upcoming musician Navajyoti Sarma and singer Sohenii Bhattacharjee. n

RBI asks banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to senior citizens and differently abled persons

enior citizens who are more than 70 years of age and the differently-abled can look forward to availing basic banking services right from the comfort of their home. The RBI today asked banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to senior citizens who are more than 70 years of age and differently-abled persons by December this year. Banks have been directed that senior citizens and specially-abled persons, including the visuallyimpaired, should be provided basic services like pick-up and delivery of cash, cheque books and demand drafts at their residence. Issuing a notification in this regard, the RBI has observed that there are occasions when banks discourage or turn away senior citizens and differently-abled persons from availing banking

facilities in branches. These facilities should include pick-up of cash and instruments against receipt, delivery of cash against withdrawal from accounts, delivery of demand drafts and submission of Know Your Customer (KYC) documents and Life Certificates at the premises or residence of such customers. The RBI noted that

notwithstanding the need to push digital transactions and use of ATMs, it is imperative to be sensitive to the requirements of senior citizens and the differently-abled. The RBI asked banks to provide a minimum of 25 cheque leaves every year for a savings bank account free of charge. They should not insist on physical presence of any customer, including senior citizens and differently-abled persons, for getting cheque books. Banks have also been advised that a fully KYC compliant account should automatically be converted into a ‘Senior Citizen Account’ based on the date of birth available in the bank’s records. According to the apex bank, banks should provide senior citizens and differently-abled persons Form 15G/H (related to tax deduction at source) once a year n (preferably in April).

Vigilance Awareness Week observed at NRL

Shri Pallav Bhattacharyya, IPS, Addl. DGP (SB), Assam (2nd from left) presides over the closing function of VAW at NRL

igilance Awareness Week, 2017 was observed at Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in a befitting manner with great enthusiasm from 30th October to 4th November, 2017 in line with directive from Central Vigilance Commission with the theme ‘My Vision - Corruption Free India.’ The observance of Vigilance Awareness Week in NRL commenced with the Integrity Pledge taking ceremony on 30th October 2017 at the Administrative Building of the Refinery. The pledge was taken in English, Hindi, and Assamese by the employees in the presence of Director (Finance) SK Barua and other senior officials along with employees of NRL. Similarly, pledge was also taken by employees posted at other offices of NRL located at Guwahati, Delhi, Siliguri and Kolkata. Director (Technical) BJ Phukan was present in the Delhi office. Activities like display of banners, distribution of pamphlets on vigilance activities, workshop on policies/procedures of the organization, slogan and essay writing competitions among NRL and CISF employees and their spouses on issues relating to vigilance were organized. Similar awareness programmes consisting of essay writing,

debate competition, extempore speech and group discussion competitions were organized in nearby schools and colleges and the winners of the various competitions were awarded with prizes during the week. The main function of the Vigilance Awareness Week was held on 3rd November 2017 in the refinery, which was presided over by AK Bhattacharya, Sr CGM (HR), D Choudhury, CGM (Commercial & Legal) and N Borthakur, CGM (TS). Pallav Bhattacharyya, IPS, Addl. DGP (SB), Assam was the Chief Guest. In his address, Pallav Bhattacharyya recalled his days in NRL as Chief Vigilance Officer and also deliberated on how the society can be liberated from corruption by the commitment of every individual and inculcating virtue such as honesty, dedication and integrity in children. Observance of the Vigilance Awareness week 2017 in NRL was concluded with a vigilance awareness session organized at CISF Unit, Numaligarh in presence of AC Bardalai, DGM (Vigilance), BB Buragohain, CM (Security), K Saikia, Manager (Vigilance) and the Deputy Commandant, CISF, wherein importance of vigilance was briefed to the CISF personnel and prizes were distributed to the winners of various competitions. n

DCP (Traffic) bans daytime movement of heavy vehicles on NH-37

CP (Traffic) Amanjeet Kaur has temporarily restricted the movement of all heavy commercial goods vehicles (trucks) and above 10-wheelers on the stretch of National Highway 37 between Khanapara and Jalukbari from 9 AM to 9 PM, until further order is issued. The order has been issued in

view of the traffic congestion led by the movement of heavy goods trucks that causes obstruction to the movement of emergency vehicles like ambulances, fire tenders etc. It has also been observed that the heavy vehicles adversely affect the school going children whose schools fall on that particular n stretch.

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

City

‘Forced ads’ irk mobile phone users Saumya Mishra

obile users in Guwahati are facing a newfound irritation of “forced advertisements” while making

their regular phone calls. For almost the past one month now, different telecom operators have been playing recorded promotions about

Telecom users irked by excessive ads at crucial times

obile users Bora. say that it can He added that he has get extremely been assured by the customer frustrating to care department that these have to be forced to listen advertisements would stop to these telecom ads within the next 24 hours. especially while making Another Guwahatian an emergency phone and homemaker, Kalyani call. Mazumdar of Noonmati, said “I was once trying that she has had to listen to to contact my family these promotional ads even recently when one of our after being registered with relatives was admitted the Do Not Disturb (DND) in the hospital, but I had service from her service Cell phone users in Guwahati | G Plus Photo to continuously listen provider. to these advertisements “Even when the number before finally getting to speak to already called the customer care is busy on the other side, we them,” said Krishna Talukdar, department of his mobile operator get to know this only after the a businessman and resident of company and has flagged the issue. advertisement stops playing,” said Chandmari Colony. “There has been a sudden rise Mazumdar. She added that such These ads often play for up to in these promotions over the past ads should not be forced by the 20 seconds before the person on few weeks. I have even asked the telecom companies at least before the other side even gets to hear the customer care executives to block a call, as time is of the essence in ringtone. such kind of ads on my number some situations when a person Another troubled resident, with immediate effect as they needs to reach someone as quickly Dilip Bora, said that he has create a lot of inconvenience,” said as possible. n

BBCI signs MoU for free treatment of underprivileged cancer-stricken children

r B Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Assam Gas Company Ltd. (AGCL), Duliajan, worth Rs 1.5 crores for a year to provide free treatment to

underprivileged cancerstricken children. BBCI Director Amal Kotoky and AGCL General Manager Surya Tamuli signed the MoU under Aparajeya, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of the company.

“Around 2.4 lakh children are diagnosed with cancer every year globally. Children belonging to underdeveloped and developing countries have the highest rate of cancer. Only 20% of such children get treatment in India. At BBCI, we can provide treatment to 35% of such children as they cannot afford to continue the treatment because of financial constraints. If more companies like the AGCL come forward, we can treat up to 80% of the cancer-stricken children like the developed countries,” Kotoky said. “This is the highest funding made by the AGCL under its various CSR initiatives. I hope this contribution makes a difference in the lives of the cancer-stricken children,” Tamuli said. According to BBCI records, the total number of cancer patients in Assam is 4,443. n

various offers whenever people try to make phone calls, much to the annoyance of the users. Poor network connectivity and call drops have already

been a persistent problem for many mobile users here in the city. Now, they say that these advertisements have made matters worse. n

Surge in ads after Reliance’s shutdown plans

n the other hand, some have alleged that this is a tactic which is being used by the telecom companies after it surfaced that Reliance Communications (RCom) was shutting down its operations in Guwahati and Assam. These ads are attempts to lure as many Reliance customers towards the existing operators as possible. Further, since many Reliance customers are considering mobile number portability (MNP) during this time, this is the perfect opportunity to increase the other operators’ customer base. Recently, Reliance decided to terminate its services in Guwahati and Assam. This left as many as two lakh customers in Guwahati and 12 lakh customers in Assam, stranded. RCom will most likely shut its mobile services from the end of November, according to officials. Further, Reliance customers have also been facing

network congestion for the past several weeks. Ranjit Das from Aircel said that almost all telecom operators including Vodafone, Airtel and Aircel, have started planning aggressive promotional campaigns for the past one month. “Since Reliance is considering completely shutting down its operations in Guwahati and rest of Assam, all the telecom operators are eyeing Reliance customers using these promotional methods,” he said adding that he is aware that it does get irritating for the mobile users but it is the company’s decision and they don’t have much say in this. On the other hand, Public Relations Officer of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Giriraj Roy Choudhury, said that BSNL has not been playing any such advertisements currently and does not plan to play them in the future as well.

Golden Needles tea breaks national record at Tea Auction Centre

olden

Needles, a highgrade Chinese black variety tea produced by Donyi Polo garden of Arunachal Pradesh, fetched the highest price of Rs 18,801 per kg in auctions at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre. The tea was offered for the first time in a tea auction in the country and was bought by Guwahatibased Vincent Enterprises LLP for its buyer M/S Prem International, owned by Anju Sarda. The earlier record was of Rs 18,000 in 2003 by Makaibari garden for its Silver Tips (Imperial) tea at Calcutta auctions. M/S Prem International is

into corporate supplies of speciality teas. The total quantity sold was 2.5 kgs at Sale 45 by Contemporary Brokers. The golden needles tea originates from Yunnan province of China. It shines like gold, is hand-rolled and allowed to oxidise for two to three hours and then dried in a tray. It has a sweet, fruity note and caramelised taste, denoting rich autumnal character. Priyanuj Dutta, the secretary of the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre, said this is a new national record. “This is a great day for the GTAC and we will encourage producers to send their best teas here,” he said to media personnel. n

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Ward Watch

Twin dangers - insecurity and encroachment - at Mathgharia The residents complain of living in constant insecurity due to lack of street lights and drunken truckers flocking around the parked trucks Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

afety at night has become a major issue for the residents of Mathgharia where danger lurks due to lack of street lights and hooliganism of drunken truck drivers. Ward No 24 A – Mathgharia the largest Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) zone in the city, is one of the busiest routes for vehicles carrying goods into the city. This area, which is one of the oldest inhabited regions in the city, had all the scope to develop into an ideal residential area with lush greenery all around and the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden located nearby. After travelling for about 2.5 kms from Zoo Road Tiniali along the Mother Teresa Road, Mathgharia falls on the right. With a view of the

Trucks parked at Mathgharia during day time | G Plus Photo plush green hills of the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden, on its right, and due to its proximity to Guwahati Refinery in Noonmati, this area has developed into an ideal residential area. The hills of the zoo, however,

have turned into a bane for the residents with the passage of time. They complained that owing to widespread encroachment on the hills and rampant hill cutting, there are landslides every rainy season. Besides goods carrying

Massive erosions due to unplanned hill cutting

athgharia is an apt example of

we, who live at the foothills feel insecure. They don’t even cut the Concentrated Area: Mathgharia (24 A) hill scientifically and encroachment that the have made the base of Ward No: 24 city has been battling to the hill weak. It is just stop for years. Located a matter of days when Population of the Ward: 78,000 near the hills behind the land beneath these Voter Population: 36,700 the Zoo, Mathgharia houses cave in and fall has been experiencing upon us,” Sumit Saikia Population of Bagharbari: 11,750 soil erosion during the said. rainy season, triggered The drains get Ward Councillor: Paresh Kalita by unplanned hill clogged with eroded cutting and widespread land coming down from encroachment. the hills with the rains. “In the late 1970s, Chaudhury, an elderly resident of The excess water spills people started settling here from the area, said. over which renders the street different parts of the state. Soon, Other residents claimed that unfit and dangerous for walking. the patta lands were all sold out most of the encroachers were “Land erosion is a perennial and they started cutting the hills either economic migrants or problem in all the wards, but to build new houses. Those lands flood affected people from lower here the land belongs to the Zoo. belong to the zoo actually but no Assam. The government can easily step steps were taken so far to check “They have encroached so in and evict the settlers,” Saikia n the illicit activities,” Bhagadutta much of the hill’s land that now, added.

vehicles that enter the eastern part of the city from the National Highway through VIP Road and Mother Teresa Road, several oil tankers of the refinery also remain parked in the Mathgharia area. Residents complained that a perennial problem is the pollution emanating from unloading of goods from the vehicles. Eve teasing has been a common phenomenon in the area although other criminal activities have not yet been reported. “The only activity is among the truck drivers here at night. People from this area go to other parts of the city to work and return at night between 9 and 10 pm. While returning, the women especially feel insecure due to the presence of these trucks and the drivers. We have instructed our wives and daughters to come back home before 8 pm,” a resident named Gautam Baishya said. Another resident Simanta Hazarika alleged that the

trucker drivers have converted the road into a “roadside bar.” “Every night, under a lamp post that is unlit, the truck drivers sit together and start drinking. Earlier, the police interceptors used to take rounds in this area and these drivers would disappear. But now, they have managed to dodge them too, and thus, it has become a roadside bar for them,” he said. The solution to the problem, claimed Hazarika and Baishya, are street lights at the right places. Karabi Das, a housewife who lives in the same area, added that youths were getting hooked to different kinds of addictions in the narrow and dark corners of the street. “After 9:30 pm, youths would get together and indulge in several kinds of addictions. And why not? When they see people drinking every day, they also feel like doing it and thanks to darkness around, there is nothing to stop them,” she said. n

Councillor confident of remedy within 2 months

ouncillor Paresh Kalita is hopeful of putting an end to all the woes of his ward within a couple of months. He is of the view that the government had been putting in efforts to resolve the lingering problems of the locality. Kalita claimed that the residents had refused to approve the GMC’s plan to install street lights under a scheme named Project Jyoti some time ago. “We had approached the residents several times and held meetings to make them understand about the benefits, but they did not opt for it,” he said adding, “By the time, the residents understood the project, all the street lights were being set up in other parts of the city.” He added that Guwahati Development Department Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, had also assured that the problem would be resolved in the next two weeks. The councillor has also taken up the issue about the trucks with the

transport and traffic departments. “But they said that these trucks bring goods to the rest of the city and it is essential for them to avail parking in this area. I had suggested that the trucks be parked in our area only after 12 midnight and they replied saying that they would examine the matter,” said the councillor. Kalita has a different take on the encroachments that the residents have alleged. He was of the opinion that not all the constructions were inside the zoo property. “Most of the houses are built near the zoo, but they are not on the zoo property. The problem however is the unscientific hill cutting. They should have cut the hill sides in the form of steps to avoid erosion. We have held several meetings with the Kamrup (Metro) District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) to make the people aware about the dangers but they don’t seem to pay any heed at n all,” Kalita claimed.

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Theatre Special

Jim Sarbh

Mansi Multani (L)

Among the audience

What’s done is done during their performance

(L-R) Jaideep Mazumdar, P Sarathi Maha Indrani Mahan

Preetom Saikia, Commissioner Culture, Govt of Assam

Justice Hrishikesh Roy with his wife

Shanab Alam (L) with Zerifa Wahid (R)

(L-R) Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak & Rajat Kapoor pose at the after party

Curtains come down on Guwahati Theatre Festival, 2017 The second season of G Plus Guwahati Theatre Festival concluded with Rajat Kapoor’s “What’s Done is Done” on November 4 and Atul Kumar’s “Piya Behrupiya” on the final day of November 5. The festival managed to create a huge buzz in the city as Guwahatians witnessed some world class theatre at Pragjyoti ITA, Machkhowa. On the concluding night of the festival, the Life in the Theatre Award 2017 was conferred posthumously on Padma Shri Arun Sarma, one of the most celebrated playwrights of Assam. The festival saw a turnout of over 5,000 people in a span of five days that included the crème de la crème of Guwahati’s society.

Achintya Sharma (2nd L) and Arati Sharma (3

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Theatre Special

Partha anta and nta Bhavna Pani (L) with Muskkaan Jaferi (R)

Highlights & Sidelights Piya Behrupiya in progress

The handcart wagon that formed the main stage property of Mother Courage was freighted in a lorry all the way from Bangaluru On the way to LGBI airport to catch her early morning flight, Shabana Azmi insisted to her cast coordinator that she be taken to a roadside dhaba where she would sip some tea. She got her way All in all, 83 artists visited the GTF flying in from Bangaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata to perform Vinay Pathak and Rajat Kapoor “disappeared” during lunch time. Apparently, they had found a cosy roadside eatery close to the hotel that served them delicious ethnic cuisine Atul Kumar parked himself at the sound and light console of ITA during the staging of Piya Behrupiya while Rajat Kapoor parked himself among the audience during What’s Done is Done A 13-member delegation of Young Indians visited from Siliguri to watch What’s Done is Done Shabana Azmi’s performance recorded virtually house-full attendance with almost all seats occupied Ranvir Shorey’s staple diet in Guwahati The main after-party was held at Vivanta by Taj of What’s Done is Done and Piya Behrupiya in

was Pork Roast on Saturday with the cast and crew attendance

Chief Secy VK Pipersenia at the auditorium

3rd L) receiving the Life in the Theatre Award

Anoop Khanna (L) with family

Faizur Rahman (L) with Trikaal Rabha (R)

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

G Talk E

GST & Guwahati’s real estate

ven as I write this, the 23rd GST Council Meeting is in progress in the city. 24 finance ministers from various states along with the Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, all gathered to bring down tax slabs that would make life easier for us beleaguered Indians. They are all very welcome. I have a concerning thought about one important sector of the economy which has not been completely subsumed under GST – the real estate industry. Understandable, because a piece of real estate - be it land or a building - with its immovable characteristics, is neither goods nor services. However, a building under construction, say an apartment complex being built by a builder, is purported to be a service and such service has been taxed since the earlier regime under the head of Service Tax centrally and the completed sale attracted a state tax under Sales Tax. By the current standards of GST, such earlier taxes might be construed to be marginal with the Service Tax being around 5% and Sales Tax being 1%. What continues to exist by way of payments to the government while

acquiring real estate are the stamp duties and registration costs at the end of the purchase. These do not fall under any tax regime and go to the state exchequer. The GST tax regime changed the 5% Service Tax to 12% GST thereby inflating the burden on the buyer manifold – a move that was wholly unexpected and hit the real estate industry right under its belt. Even as talks are currently abounding at the Council Meeting of bringing real estate under the GST regime, my observations are two-fold: 1) If the vision of Housing for All by 2022 is being taken seriously, such phenomenal taxing stands at odds with the same. 2) If at all real estate is brought under GST, the Guwahati real estate scenario needs to be given a special consideration. Guwahati is a need-based market of real estate and not speculative like the bigger metros. People buy flats here because they need them. Equating Guwahati with the pan-India market will defeat the very vision that is the swansong of the central government. Housing in Guwahati should be minimally taxed. SWAPNIL BHARALI EDITOR

Good etiquette doesn’t cost a penny

he recent video that circulated where an IndiGo employee physically assaulted a certain passenger has taken the internet by storm. The cause of the fight, whatever it may be, has made one thing clear; India does not believe in ‘Dignity of Labour’. A paying customer somehow today considers himself entitled to exuding a certain type of behaviour, one that gives him the right to behave incorrigibly. You would think that someone with spending power is educated, smart and ‘literate’ (read: knows basic etiquettes), but this is clearly the opposite in this country. Why you ask? Firstly, because wealth in India is inequally distributed. There are the Ambanis & Mittals, then the regular rich, then the middle class and then LIG, which in itself is further segregated. Because of lower literacy levels, there was a time when people would do as they are told because ‘bade babu ne bola hai’. But this privileged class must come to terms with the fact that they pay for a service, not a person, atleast not anymore. The attitude of servitude is fading fast, because people are now aware of their rights, more literate, they have more exposure. I’m not siding with either of the parties, but when I see people beckon ‘ch-ch’ to a waiter; you know that access to money has nothing to do with basic etiquettes. At some level, you ill-treat people who serve you, whether it is your steward, driver, garbage man or the customer care representative who called you before your 10:00 AM meeting. What I’m saying is this inequal distribution of wealth will continue to increase conflict. Addressing this is in our hands. Sometimes a simple ‘thank you’ can take you a long way. Most often it SIDHARTH BEDI VARMA suffices.

The Vulture is an IMPORTANT person

es! For the title of this article, I beg to differ from James Hadley Chase who titled one novelette of his as “The Vulture is a Patient Bird.” And I have good reasons especially in the context of those adorned VIPs of the city who indulge in a variety of scavenging (read bulldozing) in their attempts at wrenching out invitations to a free meal. Take the case of the recently concluded G Plus Guwahati Theatre Festival (GTF), 2017. It needs no rocket science knowledge to understand the amount of toil and sweat, surmounting huge logistical challenges and indeed taking a massive monetary gamble for a cause that is driven only by passion and nothing else. That passion is to change Guwahati for the better by erecting such cultural edifices as the Guwahati Theatre Festival makes the city a destination to reckon with, nationally. The attempt to bring in top class theatre to Guwahati is a gamble in crores, embarked on the several months preceding the event, whereby in the process, we bear the troupes’ (some are big with 21 members) remuneration, lodging and air travel expenses, food and local transportation. The Shabana Azmis command their prices, you know. “Mother Courage and her Children” had a truck rolling in from Bengaluru carrying its stage sets. Nothing comes for free. Nothing! All of that necessitated proper marketing of the event and we at G Plus are good at it. We know our work and we worked accordingly with the singular hope of just recovering our costs. This was no business for us because as a business proposition, it hardly made sense. We often wondered if we

were mad only to realize that no, we were just truly passionate about our cause. And now, in this scenario leading up to the festival, came phone calls from those particular VIPs – highly placed government officials – who wanted their tryst with great theatre, free of cost. Not all the phone calls strangely came to me directly but to those members of my team whose numbers were listed on our advertisements. Strangely again, in most cases, it was not the theatre-loving VIP who called directly. Rather, these

This is a rant on the VIP culture of demanding free passes at events that are meant for public consumption where sale of tickets provides a vital avenue for revenue generation to the organizers.” - Author

were routed through agencies like bank managers etc over whom perhaps these VIPs held such unfathomable sway that that one of them even asked if a special sofa could be arranged so that the VIP-giri could be wellestablished in front of the world. This call came directly to me and, “Are you kidding me?” was all I could offer. The sofa was something I wouldn’t. With deep respect and gratitude to those government officials who had the decency to support our cause by purchasing their tickets and those respectfully invited officials who responded to our invitation

O p i n i o n SWAPNIL BHARALI

despite having just marginal interest in theatre, and with equal contempt to those VIPs who tried to impersonate the vanishing vultures of the region by trickily scavenging for free tickets, it is humbling for me to hold that the hard work of putting up the GTF over its two annual editions has paid off indeed. It is delightfully overwhelming that the announcement of GTF itself creates a stir in Mumbai’s theatre circles; the desire of these fabulous actors to visit Guwahati and perform here sends them into a scurry to revise their dates and schedules, even if it means that they have to leave behind pregnant wives who might go into labour any moment. It is also humbling that the country’s premier print and AV media get activated to cover the festival; the iconic Mumbai Mirror tabloid placed the festival on a high pedestal among the nationally acclaimed theatre fests. This is also a shout-out to the true fans of good theatre and to their curiosity, interest, enthusiasm and generosity in purchasing their tickets and watching the plays with such commitment. The GTF is for people like these, and their passion keeps our passion running high. And yet, more than anything else, this piece is nothing but a big thumbsdown to the freeloaders of the world who, despite knowing the stakes involved and having the money to afford their tickets, have no compunctions about brazenly displaying their high positions in life. I hope they understand that trying to throw their weights around does not elicit any respect from G Plus and I hope that such attempts are not repeated with our future n editions.

Letter to the Editor

R Overshadowing other sports

t has always been observed that cricket covers the front pages of sports column in India. Though there are some commendable performances by sports stars of other disciplines, those are not highlighted as any minor to major achievements of a cricketer does. Any on or off field development of the Indian cricket team hits the headlines but athletes of other disciplines, even if they win in Asian, Commonwealth or the world stage, hardly gets any mention. The recent success in Badminton, of the Men’s and Women’s Hockey team or those of the pugilists in the Asian Championship are marvellous achievements as these sports are out and out global sports with worldwide reach. Sadly the women’s hockey triumph at Japan was not even telecast in India. Cricket has eclipsed such achievements due to glamour and money. Dr Ashim Chowdhury, Ambari, Guwahati.

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

In Focus

Tête-à-tête at Guwahati Theatre Festival In what can only be described as a treat for Guwahati, G Plus hosted the second edition of Guwahati Theatre Festival. Much like the first edition, a stellar cast waltzed into the city and shook it up. To bring to you the best of both, we spoke to veteran actor, director, producer and filmmaker, Rajat Kapoor on his second visit to the Guwahati Theatre Festival. To balance it, we also spoke to actor, director, producer, TV personality, Radio Jockey, Video Jockey and a first time visitor to the Guwahati Theatre Festival, Puranjit Dasgupta or as you would know him, Mantra.

In Conversation with

As a director, is it difficult or challenging to ask your actors to perform ‘dark’ characters and plays?

Rajat Kapoor

ajat Kapoor is the director of ‘What’s Done Is Done’, a clown adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth performed on the fourth day of Guwahati Theatre Festival. Rajat Kapoor is now running 4 Shakespeare Clown plays which are Hamlet, As you like it, Lear and Macbeth.

Rajat: I don’t think actors or directors consider ‘dark’ as a bigger challenge or a funny play as a bigger challenge. I think everything is a challenge. I can say that as a filmmaker also, because I’ve been writing for more than 20 years. I think my craft has gotten better. Every script, every play, comes with its own unique challenges and every one of it comes with its own puzzle which you have to solve all over again. Everything is a challenge and you take it up only because you like challenges.

This is your second Guwahati Theatre Festival experience. Tell us about it?

Your experience with the team of ‘What’s Done Is Done’?

Rajat: I think it’s becoming one of the nicest festivals in the country. I’m very excited and intrigued by how an individual’s passion can actually start making a difference. It always starts with one man saying, ‘I want to start’ and then you bring other people around and start making an effort to build it. I think it’s in that phase where it will have a very long term impact.

In Conversation with

Puranjit Dasgupta aka Mantra

antra performed two Shakespeare plays in the second edition of Guwahati Theatre Festival. ‘What’s Done Is Done’ is a clown play, based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and ‘Piya Behrupiya’ is based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

You have had the experience of several different professions. How different is Radio, Theatre, TV and Films?

theatre, radio or any other medium for that matter, but I am telling you a story. For me, only the mediums change, but my approach towards it has always been that of a storyteller.

Mantra: I personally believe Radio is the theatre of the mind. It is exactly what we do on stage but without the visuals. Radio is a blind man’s theatre. It’s where you create pictures and visuals by the medium of sound, and sound has a great impact on people’s mind. If I tell you of a pink elephant, you will think of one, and if I ask you not to, you’ll still think of a pink elephant. That’s how radio works. I am a storyteller. It could be

On stage, do you take an expectation about the audience? Mantra: Well, of course I do! People who say that they’re not bothered about the audience are lying. People who say they’re performing just for themselves are lying. Every actor wants appreciation and that’s why we become actors. Every actor needs applause and when

Rajat: I’m very lucky that a lot of good actors are willing to work with me and some of them are also very close friends. Vinay (Pathak) has done Lear, Hamlet, As You Like it among others and so we’ve done about 5-6 plays together. Obviously there’s a lot of understanding between us. There are also some I’ve not worked with before. This was my first time working with Jim Sarbh and the energy they bring with them is phenomenal.

that happens from an audience, we connect immediately. There have been times we performed in auditoriums with full capacity, but it felt like a graveyard, as if everybody was dead. With this, the show automatically dies too. An actor or a play is just one part. It is the audience that completes the show.

Your expectations from the Guwahati audience? Mantra: I’ve heard Guwahati is a cultural capital. There have been great artists from Assam and Guwahati and I know that they’re art lovers. So I know that they will appreciate what we bring for them on stage and hopefully, we entertain them. For one, it is a great thing to be a part of a festival with two different approaches.

Your experience on working with two different teams and directors for two different plays? Mantra: Atul Kumar has been an invisible mentor

My process is of ‘not knowing’. I never tell my actors to do ‘this or that’. I start with them and let them improvise. And every day they would improvise and we would slowly build the play on that. We don’t know anything about a bouquet until we see a nice flower and then decide to add another flower and more such elements until we make a beautiful bouquet of out of it. That is how it works.

After a play is done, you go backstage and give your team a feedback. How does that go? Everyday there’s a new observation. I’m one of the few directors who watches every show of his plays. It is my job to see that the play keeps getting better every time. We have to keep tightening something and improving something. And of course, there are actors who might have missed something on stage. So you keep giving them a feedback about what could be better or what could have been done differently. I think I’m kind and encouraging, but you have to point out the flaws because that’s how you get better. Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_casm

for me even before I joined him. I’ve

been watching Atul and Rajat do clown shows for many years and I always dreamt of doing a clown show with them which happened with Macbeth, when Rajat cast me. But Piya Behrupiya happened earlier. The experience of Piya Behrupiya

for me in my theatre career has absolutely been on top, the best thing that could’ve happened to me in theatre.

Mantra’s Guwahati connection? Mantra’s mother is an alumnus of St. Mary’s Convent, Guwahati which he describes as coming to ‘Mum’s Land’.

Sidharth Bedi Varma

@sid_casm

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Snippets

Guwahati IT Department’s Cancer Awareness camp by Lymphoma Support Group India (LSGI) Mission to combat black money

ymphoma Support Group India organized a Cancer awareness camp in association with N.F. Railway Employees’ Union at Rangbhawan, Maligaon on 5th Nov. The group consists of Cancer survivors,

caregivers and the doctors from Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Research Institute. A free Complete Blood Count (CBC) was also conducted for the patients. Around 100 people were present for the free blood test, awareness

Singapore agency to build park connector networks in Ghy

n a bid to tap into Singapore’s expertise in urban management, the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) recently inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE), an agency of the government of Singapore, to build park connector networks in Guwahati. A source in the GMDA said, “The Singapore agency is studying the green areas of Guwahati and have agreed to provide project consultancy to develop green areas of Guwahati and build a park connector network between all the green areas of the city.” The Singapore based agency is

also studying the old jail campus at Fancy Bazar where a botanical park will be constructed. Later the botanical park will be connected with the other green areas of the city like the parks located at the banks of Brahmaputra River. The final agreement is yet to be signed which will decide the financial requirements but the source said approximately Rs 7 crores will be required to make the park connector networks. GMDA, with the help of the Singapore agency, will develop the Fancy Bazar Botanical Park whereas other city green areas like Lachit Park, Tarun Ram Phookan Park, Mahavir Park etc will be developed under Smart City Project. n

Visitors can now cycle inside Zoo

he Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden is introducing cycling for visitors inside the facility from November 11. The new initiative will be launched by Forest Minister Pramila Rani Brahma. Visitors will have two options – they can either hire cycles at the Zoo at Rs 30 per hour or can bring their own cycles and pay an entry fee of Rs 30, Zoo DFO Tejas Mariswamy said. “It should be a new experience for the visitors. We also intend to promote cycling. The terrain of

the Zoo is good. We hope visitors will be able to enjoy the Zoo in a better way and exercise at the same time,” he added. The move to allow cyclists inside the zoo came as a great joy for many in the city. A group of individuals from different walks of lives, who had already submitted a petition to the chief minister seeking for a safe cycling route in the city to control carbon emission and to encourage sustainable growth, expressed their excitement at the n development.

program and consultation with the doctors. The doctors held an interactive session with the audience. The Cancer patients came from different parts of Assam for personal consultation with the doctors. Mrs. Minati Borthakur, retired professor of Cotton College also shared her fight with Cancer which motivated lot of patients present there. The members and caregivers of LSGI gave emotional support to all the patients and boosted their morale. The event was graced by Mumnin Saikia, Debashish Mukherjee (GS and AGS of NFREU respectively), among various other member of NFREU. n

he Income Tax Department, Guwahati is organizing a run on 12th November, 2017 to popularize Operation Clean Money and to create awareness among the citizens and taxpayers to pay their taxes honestly and promptly. The event will consist of two runs: The first will be a 100 km run from Guwahati to Umiam Lake, starting at 5 am from Aayakar Bhawan, GS Road and will culminate at 5 pm. The second run will commence at 6.30 am from Aayakar Bhawan, GS Road and

will conclude after an 8 km stretch at Assam Public Service Commission, Khanapara. The Income Tax Department is looking at participation from citizens of all walks of life including taxpayers, students, government servants, entrepreneurs and professionals to participate and be a part of this important national mission. There is no participation fee for the run and the participants will have to take a pledge before the run. Operation Clean Money aims to create a tax compliant society through a fair, transparent and non-intrusive tax administration. n

NOTICE Applications are invited from NGO, Voluntary organization and Trusts for Financial grants under the scheme “Promotion of Tribal Culture.”Applicants will apply in the proper prescribed format for the same along with all relevant documents to the Director Welfare of Mains Tribes & Backward Classes, Assam within 20th Nov/2017 positively if it fulfil the following1. NGO/Trusts/Voluntary organization must be registered under Societies Registration Act of 1980 or any registered Trusts/Foundations. 2. NGO/Trusts/Voluntary organization must have background of working in the Pied of Promotion of tribal culture. All the applications received by the Director, WPT & BC, Assam have to apply in proper prescribed format before the Selection Committee which will scrutinize the same and approve the list of beneficiaries under the scheme. Priority will be given to organizations consisting of ST members. The Selection Committee reserves the right to reject any applications without assigning any reason thereof if the application is not found satisfactory. APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL INCENTIVE UNDER PROMOTION OF TRIBAL CULTURE FOR 2017-18. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Name of the NGO/voluntary Organisation and Trusts. : Registration No./Renewed till : Address/Phone No/E-mail ID : Total members of the organization : No. of ST members : Brief introduction of the organization along : with background of initiatives taken in the past for promotion of Tribal Culture(enclose Separately if space provided is inadequate) 7. Proposed area of initiative(with brief explanation : on the relevance of the initiative with the promotion of Tribal culture)(Enclose separately if space provided is inadequate).

Enclosed:- 1. Organisation registration document 2. Background of organization duly certified by Deputy Commissioners of relevant Distts. I declare that the statements in the application are true to the best of my knowledge.

Signature of the applicant, Janasanyog 1976-A/17

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Trotter

‘We raise our hands’: Air India trolls IndiGo

hile low-cost airline IndiGo continues to face flak over last month’s assault incident, the video of which surfaced recently, rival Air India took a subtle dig at the private airline on Twitter. In two tweets, now deleted, the national carrier trolled IndiGo after a video of one of its staffers

assaulting a passenger went viral. In one of the ads, Air India promised “Unbeatable Service” with the letters ‘beat’ highlighted in blue - the theme colour of IndiGo. The second ad depicts Air India’s mascot ‘Maharaja’ in his trademark style with a tag line - “We raise our hands only to say Namaste.” Also seen on Twitter was

a parody ad for Jet Airways that said, “We beat our competition, not you.” The private airline later clarified that they had nothing to do with the ad and it wasn’t created by them. Yet, it continued to be shared on Twitter. Meanwhile, on Twitter many called for a boycott of IndiGo for the assault video. Civil Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, has sought an independent inquiry into the incident from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. IndiGo has also written to the ministry apologising for the incident and admitting that it was at fault. But the employee seen in the viral video was not sacked by the company. Defending him, the company said, “He was doing his work” and trying to ensure the safety of the passenger. (Source: ndtv)

Miss Bumbum Brazil contestants wear ‘beef-kinis’ to protest sexual harassment

ome contestants in a Brazilian beauty pageant dedicated to finding the nation’s best behind are protesting sexual harassment. And they’re doing it with a photo of straight out of Lady Gaga’s handbook. The infamous Miss Bumbum Brazil pageant took place in Sao Paulo. As part of the hype, five of the women whose keisters are competing decided to pose in “beef-kinis” reminiscent of the all-meat dress Gaga wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. The photos were being used for the official invites to the posterior

pageant, now in its seventh year. The women spent eight hours on the shoot and are collectively wearing about 110 pounds of beef. Organizers insist there’s a message behind the meaty swimwear: “Women are not just a piece of meat.” Anything that calls attention to sexual assault and harassment is a good thing, but you’re forgiven if you suspect the “beef-kinis” are actually just part of a publicity stunt. Miss Bumbum organizers have been known for pushing any and all buttons to raise attention for the event. (Source: huffingtonpost)

a VIP trip up the Eiffel Tower and 381.84 pounds on theme park tickets and the Disneyland Express train due to depart the next day.

t Vietnam’s Old Flames market, curious customers peruse love letters and pick through perfumes, candles and clothes relics from failed relationships put on sale by forlorn lovers. Entrepreneurial exes meet once a month, bringing their baggage - emotional and literal to a converted cottage on a leafy Hanoi street to find a new home for items they can no longer bear to look at. It’s also a means of moving on. The market has steadily grown since it opened in February, especially among Vietnam’s socialmedia obsessed youth, unabashed about sharing intimate details of their everyday lives. “Young people are more openminded and they want to share deeply and widely to overcome

pain, without suffering alone,” said founder Dinh Thang, as a visitor strummed love songs on a guitar nearby. He started the market after a few bitter breakups left him with unwanted paraphernalia from a now extinguished passion. He proudly displays love letters, heart-strewn birthday cards and sentimental scrapbooks from his ex as a reminder that such memorabilia need not be painful forever. Thang hopes the market will make the topic of breakups less taboo in Vietnam, a conservative communist nation of 93 million where just a generation ago arranged marriages were more common. (Source: ndtv)

Doctor in Joker makeup delivers baby in Tennessee

Girl books trip to Disneyland Paris after guessing dad’s PayPal password

dad was stunned to discover that his nine-yearold daughter had booked herself on a holiday to Disneyland Paris for a cool 1,000 pounds (approximately Rs. 85,000) after guessing his PayPal password. Ian Wilson of Immingham, UK, was fast asleep when his daughter Susan went on an extravagant midnight spending spree. The schoolgirl planned the whole thing down to the last detail, spending 400 pounds on flights and a hotel gift card, 214.08 pounds on

At this market, ex-lovers sell memories from failed relationships

Fortunately for her dad, who noticed the transaction after three days, PayPal eventually refunded the money after first refusing to do so. “I don’t think Susan really realises the enormity of what she had done,” says Mr Wilson. “She’s said sorry and promised 10 pence to help pay it back,” he adds. Reportedly, Mr Wilson is now urging other parents to ensure their devices are pin-protected and kept away from kids. (Source: mirror.co)

Tennessee baby was ushered into the world by a doctor wearing an unusual uniform - his Halloween costume as Batman villain The Joker. Brittany Selph, 32, and her husband of six years, Justin, 33, arrived at Henry County Medical Center in Paris when Brittany went into labour five days before her expected due date. The parents said they were surprised and amused to find out their obstetrician, Dr Paul Locus, was in full costume as the Health Ledger version of The Joker from 2008 film The Dark Knight. “We couldn’t help but laugh when he walked into the room,” Justin Selph told. Locus told the couple the labour would take a while, so he planned to go home and hand out candy before returning to the hospital in his normal medical attire. The Selphs said they told Locus, who

had delivered their two previous children, that they wouldn’t mind if he was still in costume when he returned. Baby Oaklyn Selph was born about 8:20 pm with Locus, still in his Joker makeup, guiding the delivery. “The next morning, he came in to check on Brittany, and he said ‘Sorry I couldn’t make it in last night, glad to see the delivery went well,’ joking of course,” Justin Selph said. “He also gave her a card of congratulations, and he signed it ‘Dr. Joker.’” (Source: Telegraph.co.uk)

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Reviews Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Kriti Kharbanda Director: Ratnaa Sinha

VIE MO VIEW RE Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana

atnaa Sinha’s Shaadi Mein Zarur Aana ticks all Bollywood boxes -romance, drama, revenge, songs et al. But beyond the song and dance routine, the Rajkummar Rao-Kirti Kharbanda-starrer also shines light on gender inequality, dowry and corruption, holding a mirror up to us as a people. The film opens as a love story. Two Kanpur families are busy finding a match for their children and force Satyendra Mishra (Rajkummar Rao) and Aarti Shukla (Kriti Kharbanda) to meet. But after some twists, Shaadi Mein Zarur Aana turns into a revenge saga but goes back to being a love story when the curtain comes

down. The narrative is not jerky, no sudden jumps and an undertone of the love story is carried throughout. Ratnaa’s story gives us an insider’s view of the practice of dowry that continues to thrive though it is illegal. The groom’s family, riding high on its ancestral property, makes the most of the fact that the groom is a single child and the sole inheritor to step up the demand for dowry. The film, however, leans too much on clichés. Songs are abrupt and obstruct the narrative. The filmmakers have also relied heavily on melodrama but despite these minor hiccups, this is an invitation you must not miss. n

everybody around her. Through the lead characters, Tanuja takes us on a journey from Mumbai to Dehdradun, Roorkee, Jaipur and Gangtok. The movie offers a sneak peek of the scenic beauty that these places have to offer, but doesn’t begin meandering either. Even when the characters undertake a luxury train journey or a road trip to Gangtok, the focus remains on their personal journeys through it all. The interactions between the lead couple are a novel and realistic way of depicting romance in Bollywood. They are devoid of flowers, hearts and chocolates, and even make light of cinematic clichés. n

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Cast: Irrfan Khan, Parvathy, Neha Dhupia, Luke Kenny Director: Tanuja Chandra

anuja Chandra returns to films after a gap of nine years with Irrfan KhanParvathy-starrer Qarib Qarib Singlle, bringing with her a refreshingly sweet but mature love story. The movie tells the story of two adults who embark upon a journey and discover themselves in the process. It begins with Jaya (Parvathy), a work-obsessed 35-year-old widow who carries her understated personality in pastel dresses. While she rules her workplace, Jaya lacks confidence when it comes to her personal life. She shies away from meeting people, dedicates her Sundays to baby-sitting, and tries to please

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Gadget Review

Flipkart launches Billion Capture Plus Smartphone

lipkart on Friday unveiled its first Billion branded smartphone, the Capture+, in India. The Billion selfbrand was announced in July this year, and is India-focused private label from Flipkart. The company says that the Billion+ has been developed keeping in mind consumer needs of Indian customers, and is ‘Made in India’.

be available in Mystic Black and Desert Gold colours. Flipkart has also announced launch offers where consumers can get finance options such as No Cost EMI, and discounts on select debit/credit cards and more. The e-commerce retailer has confirmed the launch of its Billion Capture+ smartphone in India on November 15.

Pricing and offers

Specifications

The Billion Capture+ has been launched in India with a starting price of Rs. 10,999 for 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. There is another variant, priced at Rs. 12,999 for 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The Capture+ will

The all-new Billion Capture+ will sport metallic body and come with rounded corners for easy grip. The smartphone runs stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat with a promise of no bloatware and an upgrade to Android Oreo.

It features a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) display with 2.5D Dragontrail glass on top and a 401ppi pixel density. Under the hood, the handset is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 625 SoC coupled with 3GB and 4GB RAM. The smartphone supports expandable storage via microSD

card (up to 128GB). It packs a 3500mAh battery and is claimed to offer two-days of battery life.

Camera One of the biggest highlight of the smartphone is it packs dual rear cameras and an 8MP

front camera. There are two 13-megapixel sensors at the back with dual flash module. At the back, there are RGB and monochrome sensors offering features like bokeh shots offering depth of field effect. It comes with portrait mode shots offering blur background highlights. n

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Entertainment

Utpal Borpujari’s Ishu makes it to 23rd KIFF

shu, the feature film debut of critic-turned filmmaker Utpal Borpujari, has been selected for the Indian Languages Competition at the 23rd Kolkata International Film Festival. Ishu is a big screen adaptation of Manikuntala Bhattacharjya’s children’s novel with the same name. It addresses one the most disturbing social issues in the state - witchhunting. The film, which marks the screen debut of Kapil Garo from Sonapur Barosojiya village on the outskirts of Guwahati

in the title role, will compete with nine other Indian films in various languages for the top honours at the festival. Produced by Children’s Film Society, India (CFSI), the film also stars Bishnu Kharghoria and Manipuri actress Tonthoingambi Leishangthem Devi, along with veterans like Chetana Das and Pratibha Choudhury and young actors like Monuj Borkotoky, Dipika Deka and Nibedita Bharali. Others in the cast include Mahendra Das, Rajesh Bhuyan, Naba Kumar Baruah,

and Monuj Gogoi. Child actors in the film are Mahendra Rabha, Srabanta Rabha and Uday Rabha. The film uses sand animation by talented Diganta Madhab Goswami to depict two folk tales that are told to the protagonist by his aunt and grandmother. The film’s dialogue, with emphasis on how the Rabha people living near Goalpara area speak Assamese with a particular accent, has been written by Borpujari in collaboration with award-winning theatre director Sukracharjya Rabha of the famed Badungduppa Kala Kendra of Rampur, Agia. Several actors from the Badungduppa group, including Dhananjay Rabha and Basanta Rabha, have acted in pivotal roles in the film, which has been shot in pristine locations of several Rabha tribal villages near Agia in Goalpara, located on the south bank of the mighty Brahmaputra. The film has been edited by A Sreekar Prasad, while its sound design is by Amrit Pritam Dutta and music is by Anurag Saikia, while cinematographer is Sumon Dowerah. n

‘Akakhor Tora’ hits social media channels Kalyan Kumar Kalita

number of single Assamese music videos have been released on the internet as well as on private entertainment channels but due to lack of viewership, there are only some that reach out to the masses. It’s a good sign that although the audio CD market is currently dull, the new comers have not stopped releasing songs. The young generations’ involvement with the music industry will likely make a positive impact on the Assamese music industry. A recently discovered short cut to success has been the use of controversial words in lyrics and bad composition. Although these songs gain instant popularity among the viewers, they have caused irreparable damage to the Assamese music industry. Recently, a new audiovideo song was released on social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube and on private entertainment channels which was well received by the Assamese audience. The song is

‘Akakhor Tora’ from the album ‘Anurag Rocks.’ The song has been penned by journalist Kalyan Kumar Kalita, tuned by Hrituv Hazarika and musically arranged by Palash Gogoi. The song has been beautifully rendered by Tapan Borah and Nilakshi Neog. ‘Akakhor Tora’ is the debut song of promising singer Tapan Borah. The song’s video has been beautifully choreographed

by Krrishraj Gogoi and cinematography has been done by Bipul Das around some attractive locations of northeast. The drone operator was Priyam Ray. The key roles in the video have been played by Anurag Bitupan, Garima, Gourav and Angelika. Editing has been done by Moni Rajkonwar, costume designer is Angel Nayanika and makeup has been done by n Dipshikha Kalita.

III Smoking Barrels to premiere in German Film Fest

fter a very successful World Premiere at the 38 th Durban International Film Festival, South Africa, Sanjib Dey’s debut feature film “III SMOKING BARRELS” is set to have its European Premiere in the International Competition section at the 66 th International Film Festival MannheimHeidelberg, Germany on 12 th November, 2017. It is one of the biggest and oldest film festivals in the world that screens the works of first time filmmakers. Previously, the debut feature films of legendary directors such as Satyajit Ray, Francois Truffaut, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Lars von Trier, Fateh Akin, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Jim Jarmusch among others have been showcased at this prestigious festival. It is for the first time in 5 years that an Indian film has been selected for the festival. III SMOKING BARRELS is exclusively about North East India. It is an anthology of three stories, each exploring a different stage of human life. The first story is about a girl child, who, on escaping from a rebel camp, hijacks a car transpiring in a journey that unravels her plight and prods deep into traumatic issues of children involved in armed conflicts. The next story is about a boy, a drug peddler, and his journey into the drug world. It simultaneously explores the life of his grieving, widowed mother. The third story is about a migrant, an elephant poacher, who ends up killing 15 elephants to fend for himself and his young wife. It explores

his treacherous life and the murky powers that control this abhorrent business. The film is inspired by true events and in order to keep the narrative as realistic as possible, much like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Hollywood masterpiece Babel, it seamlessly uses multiple languages, viz. English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Nagamese and Manipuri. Produced by Amit Malpani’s Malpani Talkies, the film stars well known Bollywood and Tollywood actors like Indraneil Sengupta, Subrat Dutta, Amrita Chattopadhyay and Nalneesh Neel as well as gifted actors from the northeast like Mandakini Goswami, Rajni Basumatary, Bijou Thaangjam, Niloy Shankar Gupta, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Podmorag Saikia and Chetana Das among others. Young and exciting new comers like Shiny Gogoi, Siddharth Boro and Vikram Gogoi round up the stellar cast with powerful roles in the film. National Award winner Anurag Saikia, who has worked in Bollywood films like Dangal, Kick and Jagga Jasoos, has composed the background score in collaboration with Hollywood and Italian music composer Michele Josia. Also, renowned singer Papon has sung a Borgeet for the film. III SMOKING BARRELS has been picked by European distribution company Pantera Film for commercial release in theatres across Italy. Further, the film will have its Indian premiere in the International Film Festival of Kerala and later, a pan Indian theatrical n release in early 2018.

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Fun Horoscope of the week With chatty Mercury, your personal planet, newly in your relationship zone, you may feel more inclined to reach out and connect with new friends and old. This can also be an opportunity to carefully broach subjects that need discussion and perhaps find a solution. The focus on your lifestyle zone also intensifies. This can entice you to tailor your daily schedule so it allows you to explore new possibilities and aim high regarding key wellness and work goals.

With expansive Jupiter now in a more relaxed sector of your chart, hobbies and pastimes may become a way of channeling emotions. This could be very therapeutic and quite healing in many ways. As lovely Venus moves into this same zone on Tuesday, you may find certain relationships equally uplifting. Indeed, you could find yourself talking and relating on an intimate level very easily, and that could feel good to you. On another note, an innovative idea might revolutionize your work life.

Home is where the heart is, especially as lovely Venus sashays into your family zone on Tuesday, joining optimistic Jupiter and the cheery sun. The coming week can be fabulous for having people over and getting into the holiday spirit. With the sun aligning with potent Pluto on Thursday, this can indicate a desire to make key changes to your lifestyle and perhaps jettison habits that are holding you back. On another note, a bold idea you have been working on could conclude successfully.

The focus on networking and forging exciting new connections is enhanced this week as convivial Venus moves into your sector of communication. Adding a touch of charm to your interactions can help keep things running smoothly and allow you to make a positive impression. At the same time, one encounter could be more intense than usual, perhaps with an attraction that proves very tempting. On the home front, progress can be made regarding funding for a domestic project.

As delectable Venus, your guide planet, moves into your financial sector, you might be tempted to indulge in your favorite luxuries. And with the holiday season getting underway, buying yourself a few gifts can seem the natural way to go. But your generous nature might also incline you to splurge on other people to make them happy. This is why budgeting for this time of year can be so effective, especially when it comes to household expenses. Regarding relationships, someone’s company could prove invigorating.

Things are looking up for you this week as luscious Venus enters your sign to make you even more attractive than usual. This influence can support any recent changes, and it might encourage you to get a makeover. Your focus is on boldly going forward and seizing new opportunities. You might be especially drawn by one idea as the sun in your sign aspects potent Pluto in your sector of talk and thought. Planting a seed now could lead to big developments later.

Dreams of all kinds can fuel exciting endeavors and bring guidance that empowers you. The emphasis on your spiritual sector brings a golden opportunity to renew your relationship with yourself and uncover hidden talents. The sun’s tie to empowering Pluto could see you using such knowledge and fresh discoveries to earn extra cash and find ways to encourage more abundance in general. A tie between prudent Saturn and innovative Uranus could see you making huge progress with an exciting enterprise.

With the holiday season already beginning to liven up, your social life looks especially upbeat. For you, the party season may begin early, so make the most of it and enjoy yourself to the max. One encounter could be rather special, with passionate Pluto kindling a spark of attraction. This could lead to a strong friendship or something more romantic. It could even become a supportive business bond. On another note, a brainstorm might help a family project to progress.

You are likely already in the spotlight, with both lively Jupiter and the cheery sun in your sector of goals and ambition. However, delectable Venus also enters the sector on Tuesday, helping you progress by using a little charm and tact. Even the most difficult deals can be smoother and easier if you do so. On another note, a powerful tie between prudent Saturn and restless Uranus could see a collaboration progressing nicely and looking really good. Completion may not be far away.

Travel adventures could certainly appeal now, and you may be eager to invite a loved one or friends to accompany you, especially once sociable Venus enters your sector of exploration. This phase can also coincide with your decision to employ the services of a life coach or teacher who can help you live to your full potential. Nevertheless, progress with a career plan or business project looks very possible. Your income could begin to improve or show a sudden increase as a result.

1. Chelsea 2. Hyundai Elantra 3. Lagaan 4. Their aerial roots are hand-woven by local people to make the living root bridges. 5. Cheese

Which car, also known as Avante in South Korea, is the second highest selling car in the world after Toyota Corolla?

Why are Rubber Fig trees so important in Meghalaya?

What are gouda, bandel and parmesan types of?

Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Dilbert by Scott Adams

curio-city

Daily Sudoku: Thu 2-Nov-2017

last week solution

9 5 3 8 1 85 17 71 44 52 64 46 23 77 95 22 88 99 13 71 48 63 12 31 84 31 74 55 66 29 77 39 66 25 48 59 21 87 92 66 16 95 44 58 33 Daily 3Sudoku: 2 Fri810-Nov-2017 9 7

2 69 38 56 97 42 13 75 81 4

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

6 62 98 44

7 39 11 53

55 92 81 78 29 45 33 84 77 26 1 medium 6

Daily Sudoku: Thu 2-Nov-2017

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http://www.dailysudoku.com/

Word of the week

Which EPL club, quite popular in the North-East, is nicknamed ‘pensioners’?

Once upon a time in India is the tagline of which famous movie?

1 2 4 7 9 6 2 7 2 11 6 5 22 8 99 3 4 2 4 6 1 8 7 1 7 78 9 6 8 1 7 6 5 5 4 3 8 2 9 16 44 5 3 1 Daily Sudoku: Fri 10-Nov-2017 9 5 1

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

curio-city

SUDOKU

Venus, your ruling planet, moves into Scorpio and your sector of relating on Tuesday, where it joins upbeat Jupiter and the illuminating sun. As a result, a relationship could develop in warmth and passion. Over the coming days, you may draw especially close to this person. Your social life perks up, too, and could bring much satisfaction and be a lot of fun. Meanwhile, a potent influence suggests that powerful insights into a key situation could encourage a change of perspective.

While feisty Mars continues to move through Libra and your sector of relating, it can encourage you to water down your plans in order to fit in with others and compromise where necessary. But with a potent focus on your sector of transformation, there could be some issues on which you have no intention of compromising, as doing so wouldn’t be true to your deepest instincts. If this is the case, don’t feel guilty. On another note, a new idea could bear rich fruit.

Arete

noun [ahr-i-tey] The aggregate of qualities, as valor and virtue, making up good character.

Crossword Across

Down

5 Communal bedroom (9) 8 Lodgings — snide remarks (4) 9 Write carelessly (8) 10 Posterior (6) 11 Hunting expedition (6) 13 Serpents (6) 15 Deprived of something precious (6) 16 Oppressively hot and airless (8) 18 Canal between the Mediterranean and Red Seas (4) 19 Sold to the highest bidder (9)

1 Manual computer game gadget (8) 2 Tickled (6) 3 Looks fixedly (6) 4 Child’s bed — copy (4) 6 Pass the winter in a dormant state (9) 7 Elucidated (9) 12 Expected (8) 14 Adherent of one branch of Islam (6) 15 Circus tent (3,3) 17 Roman deity, in the form of a man with a goat’s horns, legs and tail (4)

Last week’s solution

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Lifestyle

o me, India is empowered when at least 80 per cent of its people are empowered. As most of India’s population live in rural areas, just a few urbanites being empowered will be unfortunate for this country. India will be truly empowered when people at the grassroots start feeling confident about themselves, their way of life, their tradition and their language. A Frenchman is proud of being French or speaking French, but here in India for a Kannadiga, Telugu, Maharashtrian or Tamilian, pride depends on how well versed he or she is in English or any other foreign language. Their pride is in eating pizzas, owning branded jeans and shoes, and the foreign trips they make. There is nothing wrong in adopting good things from other cultures. The problem is, creativity and entrepreneurship dies out completely when you don’t take pride in your own culture and lose self esteem. Wherever there is high self esteem, creativity has been proportionately high. You can see

India empowered to me is… this everywhere in the world. Empowerment means the courage to confront and willingness to co-operate. Activists resort to a confrontationist stance in most situations. Our youth must know how to cooperate and confront simultaneously. Getting stuck in predetermined positions will keep us from exploring newer possibilities. The most effective yardstick of empowerment is the willingness of people to take responsibility. We need to move away from the blame culture. Instead of blaming the elected government, religious leaders, police and even the weather, people need to take responsibility for creating not just a prosperous but a happy society as well. Many societies in the world are prosperous, but they are

miserable to the core. To me, India empowered means a crime-free, humane society. A renewed focus on the core areas of strength will make India realise its true potential. India has the best of tourism which needs to be exploited. From the snowclad Himalayas to the beaches and backwaters of Kerala and temples of Tamil Nadu, India offers a diverse array of destinations that can rarely be matched by any other place in the world. India has some of the best scientific minds, most of which is

Give your child a head start

youth power. In the field of science and technology, India can match the best in the world. The ancient Indian knowledge of yoga is a rage all over the world. In the US alone, yoga is a US $27-billion industry. We need to revive and take pride in the profound and vast knowledge of yoga and meditation practices. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, India is bestowed with a rich lore of spiritual literature and philosophy, be it the Kashmir Shaivism of Vigyan Bhairav, Shiv Sutras, Ras Hriday Tantras or the Tamil scriptures such as Thirukural. There are, in fact, several thousands of manuscripts and palm leaf scripts which have not even been decoded yet. Thanks to the endeavour of University of Tubingen and Hamburg in Germany, many rare and old manuscripts are being preserved

compounding’. If you are planning well in advance, with an investment horizon of five to ten years, a larger portion of investments for your child should be held in equity instruments. Over the short-term, equities could be volatile but over the longer term, equities have the potential to outperform other asset classes and deliver superior returns.

Pick the right instrument

arents always want the best for their children- good education, grand wedding and secure future- but the best things in life come at a price. Today, getting into private schools, engineering colleges or doing MBA from a renowned business schools cost lakhs of rupees. So, if you don’t save for your child’s future in advance, either you would exhaust your retirement kitty or become knee-deep in debt. But the question that arises here is - is saving enough?

The hard truth is that unless you start investing for your children well in advance and in appropriate investment avenues, you are risking their future aspirations. However, if you are financially planning for the milestone events in your children’s life, you are taking the right step towards securing their dreams.

Start Early The first step is to find out how much your child’s education or marriage will cost. It is important

to have the financial goals aligned with the defined time frame. A rising inflation can chew into your portfolio returns; for example, if education in a renowned engineering college today costs Rs. 5 lakh per annum, it will not cost the same, maybe 10 years down the line. Therefore, you need to start investing keeping in mind the future value of financial goals for your children i.e. quantify your goals while accounting for inflation. Also, the earlier you start, the more time your money can benefit from ‘the power of

While it is true that to meet long-term financial goals, equity is necessary in the portfolio, jumping straight into the equity markets, without knowledge and expertise, may not be prudent. Therefore, investors may utilize the mutual fund route to derive benefits of professional management at a very low cost. This is where child care mutual fund schemes come into the picture. Child care schemes are mutual fund schemes, specifically designed to help you give your child a head start in life by leveraging the opportunities and dynamism of equity and debt markets. Such funds invest more than 65% of your money in equity and equity related securities to leverage growth opportunities, and the remaining is normally invested in debt securities to seek stability for your investments.

and digitalised. Ayurveda has the potential to make India a leader in holistic healthcare. The largest variety of flora and fauna are available here. With Ayurveda becoming increasingly popular, India needs to measure up to the global competition and use its inherent strengths before it’s too late. India should be proud of its diverse cuisines, dance and music, rich textiles, embroidery, jewellery and embellishments, which have been widely appreciated all over the world. Like the story of the beggar who spent all his life in poverty unaware of the precious treasure hidden beneath his hut, India is sitting on a huge pile of wealth, not knowing its worth. The real empowerment will happen when people of India realise that they have the power to change.

SHRI SHRI RAVI SHANKAR Founder- Art of Living Foundation.

Having more than 65% investment in equities apart from offering better returns also ensures taxation efficiency since investments made in such funds are exempt from capital gains tax provided investments are held for more than a year.

Get the asset allocation right These mutual fund plans come with aggressive as well as conservative variants; you can invest in either of them depending on your investment horizon. For example, if you are investing at a stage when your child is far away from a particular financial milestone, you may invest in aggressive child care schemes with higher asset allocation to equities. On the contrary, if you are closer to your child’s financial goal, you might want to have stability and therefore, it is better to opt for a conservative approach. In a nutshell, investing for children requires a systematic approach of high exposure to equity in the formative years of the child and increasing exposure to debt funds in the later part of the investment horizon. PALLAV BAGARIA CEO, Brand New Day – one of Northeast’s leading Mutual Funds Investment Consultancy and Portfolio Management Services pallav@salasarcapital.com

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Buzz

‘One for the donors’ road-show organised

ublee Foundation organized a roadshow named “#oneforthedonors” on 5th November, 2017 at the Assam

State Zoo cum Botanical Garden. The motive of the show was to pay salutation and tribute to all the organ donors and their families across the nation. It also aimed

to spread the message of organ donation among the general public. The show was organised for the first time and the artist for the event was the renowned singer Zublee Baruah along with her band. Zublee, who also happens to be the Chairperson of Zublee Foundation said, “For the past four years we at Zublee Foundation are creating awareness about organ donation. This road-show is first among the many to be held throughout Assam.” The show was very successful and witnessed a huge public gathering. Other singers like Ailita Kashyap and Dr Sudip Ranjan Medhi also joined the noble cause. n

19th North-East book fair under way

he 19th North East Book Fair, 2017 hosted by All Assam Publishers and Book Sellers’ Association (AAPBSA) is being organised from November 3 to 14 at Assam Engineering Institute (AEI) playground, Chandmari in the city. This edition of the book fair is dedicated to renowned drama personality Arun Sarma and veteran journalist Radhika Mohan Bhagawati. The temporary stage of the fair has been dedicated to eminent actor and ex-producer of Kohinoor Theatre Ratan Lahkar, and noted film personality Abdul Majid. Inaugurating the 19th North East Book Fair, 2017, Dr Nagen Saikia, eminent litterateur and former president of the Asam Sahitya Sabha, underscored the need to address the root causes pushing the Assamese language to the brink. “The younger generation is often blamed for not learning their native language and giving more importance to English language. But the fact is that if the younger generation doesn’t get practically useful materials in their local languages, they are sure to migrate to other languages. In Assam, like many other parts of the world, we

Rector Major of Don Bosco Int’l Society on 3-day city visit

Young Assamese writer’s novel released

n English novel titled Counting Stars written by city-based young writer Indrani Das Bora was released at the Guwahati Press Club on Saturday, the 4th of November in presence of renowned short story writer ‘Galpabhaskar’ Riju Hazarika. The novel focuses on the psychological problems often faced by teenagers. Noted writer Monalisa Saikia, Gauhati University professor Dr Asha Kuthari Chaudhuri and poet Dr Kailash Bhattacharya, who is also the HOD of Biochemistry, GMCH, took part in the book release function and praised the young writer for her work. Bora’s first novel titled New Dawn was published in 2014. The

novel focuses on school life and its fancies - from bad friends to boyfriends, and underdogs to cool dudes. n

Legendary bard Dr Bhupen Hazarika remembered

Members of AASU lighting 10,000 earthen lamps at Prasanti Uddyan, Dighalipukhuri to pay their tribute to legendary singer Dr Bhupen Hazrika on his 6th death anniversary on Sunday.

Visitors browsing through books at the ongoing 19th North East Book Fair on Sunday. have this challenge to preserve and promote our own language,” he said. Renowned actor Victor Bannerjee, speaking as a special guest on the occasion, said that though the era of colonialism is past, the new imperialism lies in changing the mindset. “We have a tendency to worship the ‘God’ of the marketplace, but need to make our younger generation understand the richness of our own language and culture. Our children should read and relish Srimanta Sankaradeva’s Gunamala, Birinchi Kumar Barua’s Jivanar Batot and many

ev Father Ángel Fernández Artime, the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) visited Don Bosco School, Panbazar on Thursday. The first Spaniard and third non-Italian to become Rector Major in Salesian history, the Rector Major arrived on a three-day visit to Guwahati on Wednesday. On his arrival, he was accorded a

other classical works of Assamese authors,” he added. The fair has witnessed participation of around 170 book sellers and publishers from different parts of the world including Bangladesh, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Guwahati and other parts of Assam. Cultural events and interactive sessions with dignitaries of the field including Durjoy Datta, Novoneel Chakraborty, Ratan Thiyam, Manoj Mitra, Binayak Bandyopadhyay, and Aung Zaw are also being organised at the fair. n

n the occasion of the 6th death anniversary of Sudhakantha Dr Bhupen Hazarika, the state paid homage to the cultural icon. Various memorial programmes across the state marked the occasion, as people remembered the Bard of the Brahmaputra and recollected and acknowledged his timeless contributions. The Bhupen Hazarika Samadhikshetra (memorial) at Jalukbari was a hub of activities on November 5 since morning hours, as thousands of people turned up at the site to pay tribute to the singer-lyricist-composer. The evergreen numbers of the maestro that were played on

ceremonial welcome at the Don Bosco Institute, Kharghuli, and was felicitated by Fr Thomas Vattathara, the Provincial of Guwahati. Some of the other dignitaries who escorted the Rector Major were Fr. VM Thomas, Salesian Provincial, Guwahati Province, Fr. Horacio Lopez, Secretary to the Rector Major, Fr. Maria Arokiam Kanaga SDB, the Regional Councillor for South Asia and school Principal Fr. Sebastian Mathew. In the brief function held in the school auditorium, all the dignitaries were welcomed by school Principal Fr. Sebastian Mathew, who also felicitated the Rector Major with a traditional gamocha, a bouquet of flowers and a memento of a rhino.

at the background made the ambience evocative. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal led the state in paying floral tributes to the portrait of the singer at Majuli. Along with him, Lakhimpur MP, Pradan Barua, Tingkhang MLA, Bimal Bora and a host of other dignitaries also paid their homage to the bard. Students of Gauhati University took out a procession from the main gate of the varsity to the memorial and rich tributes were paid to the legendary singer in a programme organised by the members of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) in Guwahati on Sunday by lighting ten thousand earthen lamps at Prasanti Uddyan, Dighalipukhuri. n

While addressing the colourful and enthusiastic audience, the Rector Major said that he is immensely happy to be in Guwahati and the Northeast, which is known for its rich and diverse culture, language and people. During the programme, violinist Sunita Bhuyan enthralled the audience with her scintillating performance. Fr Johnson Parackal, Executive Director, DBI, in his vote of thanks expressed his immense gratitude and deep appreciation to the Rector Major and all present on the occasion. The Rector Major’s three-day Guwahati visit is part of his all-India visit of three Salesian provinces of Bangalore, n Guwahati and Mumbai.

G PLUS | NOV 11- NOV 17, 2017

Catching Up Most shared story of the week

ANITA BORO

New

Chick on the block

About Me Greetings to the readers of G Plus. I am Anita Boro, a resident of Guwahati. I am currently pursuing my graduation in English from Karmashree Hiteswar Saikia College. My involvement with the fashion industry was out of sheer passion. I have only been associated with print shoots so far.

he officials of Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) Commissionerate, Guwahati took out a consumer awareness rally on Saturday, to make people aware of the advantages of GST.

518

KAMUR

facebook.com/guwahatiplus twitter.com/guwahatiplus

Mojo I believe in myself and consider myself to be my biggest challenge. However, I’d want to acknowledge all the effort my mother has put in to see me in this position.

OF THE WEEK

he Kamur of the week is probably the public rallies by different parties on November 8 causing traffic jams throughout the city. While the BJP celebrated the day as anti-black money day, the oppositions protested terming it a black day. Ironic, vehicular movements bandh (constricted) for Note bandhi (demonetisation).

WHAT DID I JUST

Route in Woods I am still pursuing my education and I’d like to complete that first. Having achieved that, I would like to put my best foot forward in the world of modelling and achieve something that brings a recognition to my state. Photography by - Unique Borah

HEAR?

“I

PIC OF THE

cannot give lectures like Modiji. It will take me years to do that,” Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said addressing a meeting of industry representatives. You talk about being blatantly honest.

WEEK

With hopes for a better nation | G Plus Photo Printed & Published by Sunit Jain on behalf of Insight Brandcom Pvt. Ltd. and Printed at Janambhumi Press (P) Ltd., Kalapahar, Guwahati and Published at 4A, Royale Arcade, Ulubari, Guwahati - 781007, Editor: Swapnil Bharali. Phone: 0361 2522444, Email: info@g-plus.in, RNI No: ASSENG/2013/52641