Vol 5 Issue 24 by G Plus

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018 @guwahatiplus www.guwahatiplus.com

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Volume 05 | Issue 24 Apr 07 - Apr 13, 2018 Price `10

Chick PG 24

Cancer-causing mosquito coil continues to sell due to admin’s apathy

PG 02

GMC jacks up drain clean up budget from Rs 45 Cr in 2014-17, to Rs 75 Cr G Plus presents a detailed report on the premonsoon drain cleaning activity going on in the city, the pitfalls and hindrances faced by the contractors in executing the work Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

‘Hoax’ institute asked to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation to BBA student

s 45 crores was spent in de-silting and cleaning the city drains between the three years of 2014 to 2017. That project ended in December 2017. The Guwahati

Municipal Corporation (GMC) will now invest Rs 75 crores in desilting, cleaning and maintenance of the city drains and five river channels over the next three years. Additional Commissioner of GMC, Deba Kumar Mishra said, “The de-siltation work of the

Continued ON page » 8

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on the block

Ward survey and report Dengue to play crucial role in GMC elections at Ward No 11 PG 12-13

Over 35 ‘Irani’ gang members target Guwahatians Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

fter the recent arrest of some members of a socalled “Irani” gang by Bhangagarh police, it has come to light that the gang has huge strength in its numbers and is specifically targeting Guwahatians. Officer-in-charge of Bhangagarh police station, Bipin Medhi said, “Around 35 members of

this Irani gang have entered Assam and their main target is Guwahati.” Three Irani gang members – Shiva Dey, Rishi Goala and Amit Goala - were arrested by Bhangagarh police for snatching Rs 6 lakhs from a businessman who was coming out of a bank with the cash. Of the four persons involved in the crime, the police managed to nab these three. According to the police, these groups don’t belong here. They come from places like Cooch Behar, Bihar and Silguri. They commit their crime and flee.

According to Ponjit Dowerah, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Jalukbari, there is a village in North Bengal inhabited by these groups. Till their operation is complete they stay in city hotels. The gang targets to rake in at least Rs 40 lakhs in one operation. Interestingly, no one including the police have any clue as to why the gang is so named. n

Related story ON page » 2

Lead Story

SNIPPETS Manas Spring Festival: Experience the diverse culture of Assam

anas Spring Festival is being organised by the Swankar Mithinga Onsai Afat in association with Indian Weavers’ Alliance on April 7-8, 2018. The festival will be hosted at the villages situated in the fringes of Manas National Park, which is situated in the Baksa and Chirang districts of Assam. With the aim to promote the local food and culture by the fringe villagers near Manas National Park, the festival will provide a plethora of experience in food, nature, culture and overall rural life in Assam. With the main host of the event being the villagers themselves, one can be assured to get nothing but the best experience. The highlights of the two-day event are celebrity cooking and interactive sessions with internationally acclaimed chef Gautam Mehrishi and award-winning food and travel blogger Kalyan Karmakar, cultural evening with Joi Barua, a tour of the village, wildlife safari and tea plantation tour, amongst others. Apart from the main events, there will be a farmers’ market, handloom and handcraft spread and cooking opportunities with the local people. n

NFR to make use of drones to monitor railway tracks

he Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has announced to use drones to ensure safety of the trains and passengers, and also to carry out monitor train operations. There are also plans of carrying out drone projects in construction areas too. The NFR has started using drones for inspection of bridges through cameras mounted in the UAVs. Reportedly, the entire drone monitoring work shall be outsourced to an agency with expertise in drone operation and inspection. The drones are expected to help in monitoring the railway tracks in sensitive locations which are otherwise not accessible by human resources. n

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Irani gang keeps changing their modus operandi Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

rani gang members keep changing their modes of operation while targeting Guwahatians. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ponjit Dowerah said, “The gang employs various modes of operation and in Guwahati they mostly use three of these.” All modes involve distracting the victim or the target. As the first mode, the gang members target people withdrawing huge amounts of cash from a bank. One of the members enters the bank and targets the victim while the other members wait outside. One of the members waiting outside chews on biscuits consuming

the same with water. When the target comes out and on getting the signal from his colleague, the gang member spits out his mouthful on the target. As the victim tries to clean up his body, the other members snatch the bag with the money and flee from the spot. In another mode, one member of the group slings human excreta on the clothes of the target while another group member informs the victim about this. As soon as the victim tries to clean himself, the third member snatches the bag and vanishes from the spot. In a third mode, gang members put some itchy powder on the body of the target and when the victim gets distracted with his itches and starts to scratch, the bag is snatched. The modus operandi keeps changing even as the number of

Irani group members under Bhangagarh police custody | G Plus Photo members in the gang is increasing. The city police have carried out various drives against the

group and pictures of some members have been distributed in all the police stations. n

Cancer-causing mosquito coil continues to sell due to admin’s apathy Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

overnment departments are yet to take action against a Myanmar produced mosquito repellent coil called ‘Godzilla’ that has flooded the markets of Guwahati. These coils, that are declared “hazardous” under the Indian Insecticide Act, 1968, are being smuggled in through Manipur and Mizoram. At least six cases have been filed against Godzilla in the Kamrup (Metro) District Consumer Redressal Forum by consumers. “In the complaints the users have complained of experiencing respiratory complications after using this particular repellent. Though it is very effective against mosquitoes, the users said that children and those having asthma had trouble breathing when it was burnt. These cases have not been disposed off yet. Samples of the repellent have been sent to forensic lab for experimentation,” Ajoy Hazarika, a member of the forum, told G Plus. These repellents had entered the Guwahati market about three years ago and in a very short span of time practically became a household name. A packet contains 10 pieces of coils and costs Rs 50. All the information including ingredients and company names are written in Burmese language. A source in the Directorate of Forensic Science here said that the repellent contains chemicals which are not permissible in India. “The most common active in-

File photo of the Myanmar produced Godzilla mosquito coil gredients in the coils are various pyrethroids, such as allethrin, d-allethrin, pynamin forte and ETOC. Continuous exposure to these chemicals will also lead to respiratory hazards but these are not of high potent. But we have found that Godzilla contains an ingredient named Octachlorodipropylether (S-2) that increases the bis-chloromethyl ether (BCME) level of the body that leads to lung cancer. This chemical is banned in India,” the source said. According to the forensic source, Godzilla also contains meperfluthrin, a toxic chemical that can also cause lung cancer. According to a city-based pulmonary doctor, Arun Mahanta,

exposure to these chemicals poses more threat to health than passive smoking. “Mosquito coils burn for about four to five hours without flame. Although they are recommended for outdoor use or in semi-enclosed patios and porches, coils are often used overnight in sleeping quarters. Burning of one mosquito coil would release the same amount of particulate matter equivalent to burning 75-137 cigarettes. The emission of formaldehyde from burning one coil can be as high as that released from burning 51 cigarettes,” Mahanta said. Though the sale and purchase of this repellent is banned in India, it is permitted in Myanmar. The

company, Godzilla & Fighter Anti-Mosquito Coil, was established in 2001 at ShwePyiTha Industrial Estate near the Myanmar capital Yangon. It may be mentioned that certain consumable and non-consumable products coming from Myanmar containing such unregulated chemicals including canned fish, pickles and other coloured edible items are also available in the city. One of the major markets for these products is Manipur Basti of the city. Meanwhile, the customs department and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have conducted several raids in Manipur and Nagaland. n

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

City

SNIPPETS Assam Govt to erect National Flag worth Rs 2.58 cr in Guwahati

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

‘Hoax’ institute asked to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation to BBA student Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

I T

he Assam Government will spend Rs. 2.58 Crore to set up a high-mast National Flag in Guwahati as part of the Smart City project at Gandhi Mandap on Sarania Hilltop. It is touted to be one of the tallest National Flags in the country if measured from mean sea level. Guwahati Development Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, told the Assam Assembly that a total of 13 schemes and infrastructure development projects are being carried out to transform the state capital into a smart city. Sarma said that the sanctioned cost for completing 12 projects is Rs 2,303.50 crores. No amount has been fixed yet for the City Operation Centre. Out of this, Rs 2.58 crores has been earmarked for implementing the high-mast National Flag construction project in Guwahati. “The work has been allotted after completing the tender process,” he said, without giving any further detail. The highest amount of Rs. 826 crores will be spent for the overall development of Brahmaputra riverside along the city and the detailed project report (DPR) is being prepared for it, the minister said. For development of Mora Bharalu river bank and the Bharalu River, the state government has sanctioned Rs 488 crores and Rs 434 crores respectively, with DPRs for both under preparation, he said. DPR is also being prepared for another Rs 250-crore project to conserve the Deepor Beel lake in the city, while tender has been floated for interested parties to carry out development works worth Rs 212 crores at the Borsola Beel Lake, Sarma added. n

Direct Tax Collection in FY-18 at a record high of Rs 9.95 trillion

irect tax collection in the fiscal year 2017-18 has exceeded the targets with a record 68.4 million income tax returns being filed, officials said. Also, direct tax collections in 2017-18 at Rs 9.95 trillion, exceeded the revised budgetary target of Rs 9.8 trillion. n

n a recent case, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (DCDRF) ordered an individual running a BBA course in Guwahati, to pay close to Rs 1 lakh as compensation to a student who had passed out from his institute. “A private institute was operational in Guwahati which was imparting BBA study without obtaining permission or license from any controlling authority. On top of that, the institute also distributed certificates to the students,” said president of the DCDRF, Mohammad Sahadat Hussain. He said that the matter came to light after some of its students appeared for tests and interviews for placement in different companies. There they came to know about the non-recognition of the institute from the recruiters. The officials refused to divulge the name of the institute since the individual could appeal to the state consumer disputes rights commission. One of the students then filed a case with the DCDRF against the individual who owned the institute.

File photo of District Consumer Court, Guwahati “Then we directed the institution owner to pay an amount close to Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the student,” said Hussain. In another case, the DCDRF passed a judgement against “agents” of a deemed university of Rajasthan which had opened its study centre in Guwahati. Talking to G Plus, Hussain informed that the study centre was operational in Guwahati and had enrolled several students. “It, however, did not have the authority to open any outstation study centre in Guwahati. It

was further revealed that the university even did not have the permission by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to impart education and issue certificates in outstation centres,” said Hussain. He added that when the students found about the status of the Guwahati branch of the university, one of the students approached the DCDRF and filed a case against the agents who set up the study centre in the city. “They said that they are a part of Rajasthan University but that particular university has not been

authorised by the UGC to open centres outside the state,” said a member of the DCDRF. The president informed G Plus that after hearing the case, they passed the order directing the study centre agents under whom the study centres were functioning, to pay compensation. According to officials, apart from such cases, other categories of disputes at DCDRF include medical negligence cases, complaints against automobile and airline companies and e-commerce platforms for delivery of sub-standard or defective goods, courier companies for deficiency in services and against mobile service providers for lack of services. However, the maximum number of cases is filed against insurance firms which make up at least 30 to 40 per cent of total cases filed every month. The DCDRF deals with dispute cases whose value is up to Rs. 20 lakhs. State-level cases with a value of more than Rs 20 lakhs and up to Rs 1 crore are taken up by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC). The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission is the apex body which adjudicates on disputes where the total claim and compensation amount exceeds Rs 1 crore. n

Rupnagar inhabitants irked over GMC’s irregular mosquito control services Ria Chowdhury

esidents of Rupnagar Ward No 18 are fuming over GMC’s poor garbage management and improper pest control measures. “Rupnagar receives improper and irregular pest control services. Even after repeated requests the pest control vehicles rarely visit our area. They do not pay attention to our problems and have been more favourable towards the affluent families,” complained Bandana Devi, a resident of the area. Other residents of the area have also expressed similar dissatisfaction. Almost half the area in Rupnagar is

facing this problem. Improper garbage disposal, poor drainage system and stagnant water bodies in the area are primary reasons behind increased breeding of mosquitoes. “Even after regular tax payment we have been suffering this negligence for many months now. Neither have we been informed by our councillor nor by any GMC official as to where and how we can complain and avail the facilities on time. The councillor doesn’t pay regular visits to discuss and solve these issues. We feel cheated and are sad about this,” said Renu Huzuri, owner of a grocery shop and a resident of the area. Finding no respite a few households have started burning wastes by themselves and not

relying on the municipality’s irregular garbage collection facility. This has ultimately contributed to air pollution which again is not good for the environment. Dr Anindita Chanda, Senior Medical Officer at the GMC dismissed the residents’ complaints as bogus and unusual. She claimed that there was no such discrimination. Chanda explained, “Different schedules are prepared for summer season to ensure that each and every ward gets adequate amount of fogging to fight back harmful waterborne diseases like chikungunya, dengue, malaria etc. While in winter, fogging activity is done on complaint basis, i.e. if we receive complaint from any of the wards,

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the fogging vehicles are sent to those areas immediately. During summers, the doctors and the officials personally monitor all the areas.” She also added, “Guwahati is a high alert mosquito prone area. Every year, we come across several cases of patients being infected by one or the other kind of harmful mosquito breeds. Generally, mosquitoes are of two types - one that carry virus or pathogens with them like female Anopheles and Aedes causing deadly diseases like dengue, malaria etc and the other are nuisance mosquitoes (culex), which also feed on human blood and are available all around us but does not necessarily carry pathogens. These mosquitoes are mostly common in winter.” n

Concern

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Guwahati connection revealed in Manipur ‘World is Yours’ bust Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

he seizure of a consignment of the synthetic drug called “World Is Yours” (WY) in Manipur which was en route to different metropolises in the country has a link with Guwahati. “Though WY sells in Manipur like hot cakes, about 50,000 tablets were supposed to have been sent to Guwahati from where the consignment would have proceeded to Mumbai and Bangalore by train,” said an official of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), in a joint operation with Assam Rifles, seized 3,20,000 tablets of WY, weighing 36.5 kgs on April 2 at Tengnoupal, an Indo-Myanmar border town of Manipur. The consignment, which is estimated to be worth Rs 16 crores and was smuggled from Myanmar to Manipur through Moreh, was supposed destined for a hideout at Lilong in the border state.

WY is a customised variant of Methamphetamine which is manufactured by reacting with a common cold drug named Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride as precursor chemical.

The consignment was being transported from Myanmar in a bus hidden in a secret chamber under the driver’s seat. The driver, Mohammad Illiyas Khan, was booked under sections of the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985. Interrogation revealed

File photo of Manipur police seizing contraband drugs in Imphal that Khan was part of a bigger drug cartel that had linkmen throughout the country. “Earlier, the WY and other synthetic drugs were smuggled by the operatives of the defunct and less powerful insurgency organisations of Manipur and the consignments were mostly consumed in Manipur and other northeast states. But this time, the interrogation revealed that a separate cartel is involved. They have linkmen throughout the country. Their names are not revealed to any of the operatives. They address each other by the first two numbers of the PIN code of the city,” the source said. Earlier, G Plus had reported on the wide range of narcotics

available in Guwahati. The city’s location lends itself vulnerable to supply of drugs from different destinations including the mainland and neighbouring countries. Seizures have proved that Guwahati has emerged as the transit point for many gangs and cartels. The possibility of wide proliferation of synthetic drugs like WY cannot be ruled out since it is easier to produce in laboratories which are portable and not dependent on the supply of opium like Heroin. “There is no laboratory in the northeast that processes the potent methamphetamine in crystal form to these customised drugs. It is being done mostly

in the Golden triangle of South East Asia. Guwahati acts both as a transit point and a market for these pseudoephedrines. The potent methamphetamine comes from hubs in the Golden Crescent and in smaller quantities from Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana and via Guwahati, it goes to Manipur and Mizoram. From there it is smuggled to Myanmar where it is processed in illegal laboratories,” the source said. “A large section of methamphetamine is also produced in Laos and Vietnam area which are processed in Myanmar and then sold in India. Guwahati is at the receiving end for these drugs,” added the source. n

Slum kids lured into peddling drugs in the city

SNIPPETS HBS elected as the President of Badminton Association of India

ids between the ages of 14 and 17 years with petty-crime records are being recruited to peddle drugs by drug cartels operating in the city, police revealed. According to police sources, the primary targets of these cartels are the rag-pickers residing in the slums of the city. “These children mostly peddle the cheaper variant of drugs and psychedelic substances such as Brown Sugar (an adulterated version of Heroin), Number 4, Phensidyl cough syrup etc. The slums at

Adabari and Athgaon are the most prone areas,” the source said. The Number 4 that comes here is an adulterated form of heroin made in injectible form by mixing a solvent with it. Talking about the modus operandi, the police official said, “Laws are more liberal for the juveniles due to which kids below the age of 17 years are being targeted. Whenever, these kids get arrested on any crime related cases, the people from the cartels pay for the bail. Once the children feel that they indebted to these peddlers, they

are asked to peddle the cartel’s products.” Brown Sugar is being smuggled in small 10 gm plastic vials which are mostly used by homeopathic doctors. Each vial costs Rs 1,500- Rs 2,000. The Number 4, on the other hand, is being sold in loaded injections. “The cost of one syringe containing 3.5 ml of Number 4 costs Rs 300. One unit of it is called point. Five points, that contains 17.5 ml of Number 4 and 10 Mg of adulterated heroin, costs Rs 1,500,” juvenile peddlers, who are being rehabilitated in a city-based rehabilitation centre

after being caught for peddling Number-4, said. Miguel Das Queah, a citybased child rights activist said, “According to a survey by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) in 2014, there are at least 217 slums in the city that contain a total of minimum 26,000 households. Going by the UN standard replacement level fertility rate, if we assume that each household has 2 children, there are as many as 50,000 children residing in the slums in the city. It’s no surprise that they are falling prey to such rackets.” n

r Himanta Biswa Sarma has been elected as the President of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) during the federation’s annual general body meeting and election in Goa on Tuesday. Dr Sarma is a cabinet ranked minister in the government of Assam and convener of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). He took over as the interim president of BAI last year after the demise of former president, Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta, and was elected to the hot seat unopposed. He will now serve as the president of the association for a term of four years. Dr Sarma congratulated all the office-bearers and vowed to do everything in his power to take India to the pinnacle of world badminton. “I would like to congratulate all the elected members and I am sure that everyone will fulfil their responsibilities to the best of their capacities. Indian badminton has been on an all-time high and we as a federation will strive to take it forward and make Indian badminton to the top of the pedestal,” the president said after the election. “I would also like to bring it to everyone’s notice that I along with the entire office-bearers will be working in complete transparent manner and will work to make the Association (BAI) the most professional NSF in the country,” Dr Sarma added. n

Rs 47 Cr to set up cold storages and godowns across Assam

he state cabinet, on Wednesday, decided to set up cold storages and godowns across various places of As-

sam. According to sources, the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will fund an amount of Rs 47 crores for the establishment of the storages. The cabinet, in another major decision, allowed the Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences to carry out raids under the provisions of the Goods & Services Tax. n

Governance

SNIPPETS Relief for Bihu organizers; 10 times drop in ‘Bihu Gate’ charges

ith only days left for Rongali Bihu, GMC comes bearing gifts for the Bihu organisers. The GMC charges to hold Bihu functions have been reduced from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5000 for each ‘Gate.’ The Gate charge includes the several facilities that the GMC ensures to the Bihu committees such as security, cleanliness, water, fire and emergency arrangements etc. Talking to G Plus, GMC Mayor Mrigen Sarania said, “On being appraised by the Bihu organising committees for a concession in the ‘gate’ charges, the GMC has provided these concessions. They requested that the Bihu Gate charges earlier were exorbitant and often, hard to bear with all the expenses that they require to incur while organising a Bihu function. So, the charges have been brought down from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5,000.” “Bihu is the most important festival for the people of the region, and GMC wants the organisers to hold it in a grand manner. If the concession helps them while in doing so, then GMC is more than happy to help,” he added. The resultant surplus in the Bihu organising budget will bring a lot of financial relief, Kailash Sarma, a member of the Latasil Bihu Samiti, one of the most prominent Bihu organisers in the city, said. n

Guwahati girl selected for World Taekwondo Championship

uwahati girl, Manomati Dohutia, has been selected to represent India in the Junior World Taekwondo Championship 2018. The championship will be held in Tunisia, Africa from April 9. Manomati is a student of class X of Panbazar Girls’ High School. n

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Govt tables bill to regulate pvt school fees Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

he state government recently introduced a bill to regulate the fees of private schools. The bill, which has been condemned by private players, seeks to determine maximum fees by setting up fee regulatory committees Taking concrete steps to regulate the fees of private schools, the state government introduced the Assam Non-Government Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2018 in the state assembly on April 2. The bill seeks to make provisions for fixation of fees in all non-government educational institutes of the state. It also provides for penalties of up to Rs 10 lakhs and even withdrawal of registration for violators. In his statement, state education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “As there is pressing demand from various individual guardians of the students and associations for fixation of fees,

it has been decided to constitute a fee regulatory and fee revision committees to fix the maximum fees.” According to the bill, the government would constitute one or more fee regulatory committee which will be headed by a chairperson. The committees will be set up to determine the fee structure for any course or standard in a non-government school. They would also decide on the maximum fee which the private schools would be able to charge the students. The regulatory committee will consist of a chairperson who will be a retired district or sessions judge or an official of all India service or Indian police service. Other members would include a chartered accountant, civil engineer, an academician and a representative of the institute. Further, the secretaries of the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council and Board of Secondary Education will also be part of the committee. Director of elementary education, SK Bhuyan informed G Plus that the department will take

File photo of students of a city school further steps in this regard after instructions from higher officials. As penalty, the bill mentions for a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh for flouting the rules for the first time and up to Rs 10 lakhs for the second time. On the third violation, the affiliation or registration of the school would be cancelled.

While presenting the state budget on March 12, the education minister had mentioned that they often receive complaints about the “high-handed attitude of some private institutions about charging exorbitant fees and poor payment structure for their staff.” n

Bill draws condemnation from private owners

rivate school owners have strongly opposed the proposed legislation and have also decided to conduct protests across the state. Condemning the step by the government, president of All Assam Private Schools Association (AAPSA), Pankaj Das, told G Plus that there is a false perception among people that private schools charge huge amounts of money. Das said that AAPSA is also allied with the National Independent Schools Alliance (NISA)—a national-level body comprising several school associations from across the country. “As per the government data Universal District Information System for Education (UDICE) of 2014-15, the median fee charged by all the schools of Assam was close to Rs 10,000 for a year. So, it is a sheer misconception that private schools charge huge fees as the

percentage of schools charging high fees is very less,” informed Das. He added that the government has no reason to interfere in the workings of privately-owned schools and the authorities must allow the market to control the fees. “Fixing of maximum fees will kill private schools. People should be allowed to pay for quality education according to their paying capacity,” he said. Das further informed that the association will hold a state-wide meeting on April 28 to decide on the future course of action. A principal of a city-based school said on the condition of anonymity that the government must first focus on improving the quality of education and infrastructure in government schools so that more parents are motivated to enrol their children in these schools. “Children of a majority of

ministers are enrolled in private schools and it is ironical that the government is bringing about such a bill,” he said. On the other hand, Uttam Teron, an education activist from Guwahati, informed that a slight amount of regulation is required for some schools which charge excessive money. “However, running a private school is also a big challenge as the owners have to take several things into consideration like paying adequate salaries to the teachers, rent, maintenance and taxes apart from other costs.” Sushil Saikia, a parent of a class 7 student of a city-based private school, welcomed the government’s decision to regulate private school fees. “Schools have started charging money arbitrarily nowadays. The government must intervene when the fees keep increasing every year.” n

yy Government introduced a bill on April 2 to regulate the fees charged by private educational institutes yy It seeks to fix the fees in all non-government educational institutes of the state yy It also provides for penalties of up to Rs 10 lakhs and even withdrawal of registration for violators yy The government would constitute one or more fee regulatory committee for the same

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

Mostly Sunny

Sunny

31°/22° C

34°/21° C

32°/20° C

34°/22° C

33°/21° C

32°/22° C

SATURDAY Sunny

30°/20° C

Concern

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Unlit Sarania Hills facing onslaught of petty criminals Shreya Chakraborty

here has been a spurt in criminal activities in Guwahati this year. Regular instances of thefts and other pretty crimes in and around the Sarania Hills - popular for its tourist spot ‘Gandhi Mandap’ -- are giving sleepless nights to its residents. Instances include vehicle thefts, mobile snatching, chain snatching and duping people for money. Adding to the misery, the area faces infrastructure issues with broken roads and poor street lighting. The residents depend on illumination coming from their own premises and if any untoward incident occurs, people don’t venture out to help others due to the darkness and the apathy of not wanting to get

dragged into an unwanted situation. The locals are to be held responsible as they are not organised and criminals are using this for their benefit. Narrating his own tale a resident told this reporter, “I was talking with one of my colleagues over the phone when two young boys on a motorcycle suddenly slapped me in my ear. I could not believe it happened with me. Later, a woman shopkeeper told me that phone snatching and thefts have become common in Sarania Hills.” “From the past 3 years, there has been an increase in incidents of thefts in Guwahati. In 2015, overall 119 thefts took place and 56 thieves have been caught. In 2016, 142 cases had been registered and 94 persons were taken into

File photo of Sarania Hills locality custody. In 2017, 173 cases were filed and 107 persons had been apprehended,” revealed officials at Chandmari Police Station. “The thieves are mostly drug addicts and alcoholics who are always in need of money. There

is a law that one cannot drink in public areas, but there is no law that one cannot drink after the legal drinking age is reached. An alcoholic from the lower-income strata is not scared to commit petty crimes to meet his liquor needs,” added the officials. The vehicle thieves operate in gangs across the city. Their areas are marked and they function within those areas. The locals complained, “The security system is not appropriate, it needs to be stronger and more secure, as we worry about our well-being.” “We are giving our best. Obviously, it is not possible to patrol the entire area, get into every nook and corner. There is a shortage of police officers and we also need officers to look after the

pending cases and run the police station. Do you think a police personnel on foot patrol with a torch in his hand can find a culprit if the road is not well-lit?” an official said in defence. The worrying part in this whole development is that these criminals are outsiders. This makes it difficult for the police to keep track of them. “Of the thieves we have caught so far, 95% of them are outsiders (mostly from Dhubri and Barpeta). The interesting aspect is they find it good to get into police custody because of better facilities than at home,” said the official. “We cannot force the thieves to admit to their crimes as the law does not permit the same. Plus, the courts don’t give much importance to such theft cases which has resulted in rising criminal activities over the past three years,” lamented an official of Chandmari police station. n

City

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

GMC jacks up drain clean up budget... Continued from page » 1 drains and river channels will be completed by 15th April. Thereafter the maintenance work will start.” There are 330 drains in Guwahati and 5 major river channels (Bharalu, Bahini, Lakhimijan, Mora Bharalu and Basistha). The de-siltation and maintenance work of all the drains and river channels are divided into 59 packages. The budget for de-silting, cleaning and maintaining the 330 city drains for three years is Rs 55.9 crores, whereas the same for the five river channels is Rs 19.21 crores. Rs 5.21 crores has been sanctioned for Bharalu River, Rs 3.75 crores for Bahini, Rs 2.53 crores for Lakhimijan, Rs 4.54 crores for Mora Bharalu and Rs 3.19 crores for Basistha. In 2014, the de-silting work for the entire city drains was divided into 30 packages and work was

Total drains in Guwahati

330 Budget for de-silting, cleaning and maintaining the drains for 3 years

Rs 55.09 cr

Bharalu river after de-siltation | G Plus Photo allotted accordingly. It is alleged that during the last de-siltation project, the work was carried out only in the first year (2014) and no activity was taken up in the next two years. Councillor of Ward No 9, Rajkumar Tewari said, “Last time

Will de-siltation be completed by 15th April?

he state government has asked the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) to complete the de-siltation work by 15th April and thereafter start the maintenance work of the drains and the river channels. Contractors however feel this would be an impossible deadline. A contractor involved in desiltation work for some city drains said under condition of anonymity, “The GMC has allotted the work late; it is impossible to complete the work by 15th April.” A source in the GMC said that with the 330 city drains and 5 major rivers divided into 59 packages, the tendering process started in January and first bids for 59 packages were submitted on 18th January. Sufficient bids for only 18 packages were received then. The rest of the packages were retendered in February out

De-siltation work of Bahini river in progress | G Plus Photo of which 36 sufficient bids were received. Five packages were again retendered; on 16th February sufficient bids for 4 packages were received. Tendering process for 1 package is yet to be complete. One reason for further delay is encroachment on some stretches of drains and rivers because of

Multi-level monitoring system to monitor work

fter it was alleged by many residents and ward councillors that between 2014 to 2017 not much de-siltation work was done, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has opted for a multi-level monitoring system of the work. Nagrik committees have been formed in every ward headed by the ward councillors

to monitor the de-siltation work. The committees comprise the councillor (as chairman), GMC sanitary inspector, other GMC officials and the prominent citizens of the ward. A source in the GMC said, “The name and phone number of the contractor and the divisional GMC engineer will be installed at the head of every drain and river in the city,” adding that the

the contractors were allotted work by the Congress government.” He claimed that this time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is monitoring the work closely and the desiltation work will continue for the next three years without any hassles. n which contractors are not being able to carry out the work. Bhaba Kanti Nath, a contractor who is de-silting the Bahini and Lakhimijan rivers said, “On some stretches we cannot take the dumper or poclain because there is no space. These stretches have to be evicted.” GMC divisional engineer, Dibakar Mali said, “In Bharalu there are many stretches where there is no road on both the sides of the river. Encroachment is a major issue we are facing.” The district administration has even asked the Northeast Frontier Railways to make necessary arrangements to allow the contractors to take heavy vehicles like excavators and poclains over the railway tracks to clean the drains adjacent to the railway tracks. GMC has written to the railways to make arrangements for the contractors, because movement of the trains also affects the de-siltation work. A particular timing in a day will be given to the contractors to de-silt drains adjacent to railway tracks. n move will ensure that people involved in the work become responsible for the de-siltation, cleaning and maintenance of the drains/rivers. Also a third party evaluation of the work will be conducted. Prominent engineering institutes like Assam Engineering College and Girls’ Polytechnic will be involved in the evaluation. The institutes will get 2% of the entire budget for the evaluation. The contractors will be paid the money only after the evaluation reveals that the work has been carried out satisfactorily. n

396.783 km Total length of river channels to be cleaned

35.83 km Bharalu

Budget for de-silting, cleaning and maintaining five major river channels for 3 years

6.25 km

Rs 19.21 cr

Bahini

Budget for Bharalu River

8.40 km

Rs 5.21 cr

Lakhimijan

Budget for Bahini

Rs 3.75 cr Budget for Lakhimijan

Rs 2.53 cr

5.08 km Mora Bharalu

6.50 km

Budget for Mora Bharalu

Basistha

Rs Rs 4.54 cr

9.60 km

Budget for Basistha

Rs 3.19 cr

Total length of drains to be cleaned

Total length including drains and rivers to be cleaned

432.613 km

Extracted silt to be removed after 24 hours of extraction

ity residents were seen trolling the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) on social networking sites for not removing the extracted silt from near the drains after de-siltation. Reacting to the trolls a senior official of GMC said, “When the silt is extracted it comes mixed with water. Transporting it right then will dirty the entire city roads.”

City residents can complain to the GMC if the silt is not removed after 24 hours.

The official explained that the extracted garbage should be transferred after 24 hours of extraction, when the silt becomes dry. A resident of Ulubari, Bhaskar Bist said, “The silt extracted from the drains was not removed for around four days creating a problem.” The GMC official clarified that previously the silt was expected to be removed after 48 hours of extraction, but now it has been revised to 24 hours and many contractors might not be aware of this. He said that the residents can complain to the GMC if the silt is not removed after 24 hours. n

Health

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Better accessibility, cost-effective treatment need of the hour: experts With World Health Day being observed on April 7, G Plus looks at health indicators of Assam while health experts point out the issues which need to be rectified by the government for holistically improving the health services in Assam Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

n order to improve the overall health scenario in the state, experts call for better accessibility to medical services, cost-effective treatment in the private sector and refinement of services provided by Anganwadi and ASHA workers in villages. As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) IV, Assam has around 29.8% underweight children below the age of 5 years while 35.7% children between the age group of 6-9 months are anaemic. Further, the National Sample Survey (NSSO) 2014 stated that Assam has the highest cost of hospitalization in urban India with average cost of one-time hospitalization in its urban areas being Rs 47,064. On the contrary, Assam also has one of the lowest costs of hospitalization in rural areas with Rs 6,966 being the average cost of

one-time hospitalization in rural Assam. Dr Rakesh Periwal, a citybased critical care medicine & sleep specialist informed G Plus that improvement of delivery system is of prime importance as the healthcare should reach down to the grassroots level. For this he said that technology should be used optimally and efforts should be taken to train the doctors and medical professionals in this regard. “People in the periphery should have access to good diagnostic services which is not very robust at present,” informed Dr Periwal adding that nodal laboratories should be set up in different areas to conduct all basic tests and these can be connected to medical colleges with advanced laboratories. Experts also feel that the government should assist the private sector for them to be able to provide cost effective treatment. “At present, people come to Guwahati from far flung areas for even the basic treatments.

This is a problem which needs immediate attention from the authorities,” informed another city-based doctor. He added that in order to make the village-level services robust, the workings of Anganwadi and Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers should be refined which is currently very restricted. Additionally, while child health indicators in the state have shown consistent improvement over the years, most of these figures still remain higher than the national average as shown by the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2016 survey conducted by the central government which was released a few months ago. As per the survey, there has been a slight decline in the infant mortality rate (IMR) in Assam. It went down from 47 deaths in 2015 to 44 in 2016. However, it is still much higher than the national average of 34. IMR is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1000 live births in a year. In the state, the neonatal mortality rate, which is the number of deaths within the first 28 days

per 1000 live births, also dropped marginally from 25 in 2015 to 23 in 2016. However, deaths in children under five years of age or the under-five mortality rate showed the most drastic decline of 10 points in 2016. The under-five mortality rate stood at 62 deaths in 2015 and went down to 52 in 2016. Further, the statistics also revealed that since 2013, the under-five mortality rate showed the most significant drop of 21 points. But this too remains considerably higher than the national figure of 39. Dr Narayan Sharma, consultant child health at National Health Mission (NHM), said that the department is taking various steps to bring down the IMR, the most important of which is institutional deliveries. “A number of complications can be avoided if only the mothers deliver in a hospital with skilled staff. Even in deliveries at home we are focussing on skilled birth attendants. Also after delivery, essential newborn care plays a vital role,” said Sharma. n

Needs of the differently abled highlighted on World Autism Awareness Day

s World Autism Awareness Day was observed on April 2 by the residents of Guwahati, experts feel that a lot needs to be done to improve the social stigma and accessibility to treatment for people with autism. Autism or autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a developmental disorder which is characterised by developmental delays, challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communication. Experts working in the field say that the government needs to lay emphasis on the employment of people with autism and other mental disabilities. “Some of these children are very good at data entry operations and in the use of other computer applications but unfortunately there are no job opportunities available for them,” informed director of the NGO Ashadeep, Anjana Goswami. Ashadeep has been working in the field of differently abled children for 22 years. She added that another factor is the absence of inclusive infrastructure in the city as a majority of buildings do not have ramps and other facilities required to become differently-

SNIPPETS Union sports minister extends help to ailing Guwahati footballer

nion sports minister, Rajyavardhan Singh, has promised to help one ailing footballer from Guwahati. Sumit Rabha (26), who has represented Assam besides playing for several city-based clubs, has been suffering from kidney related illness. Guwahati City FC officials, who first brought the matter to the attention of the sports minister, said that both the kidneys of Rabha have been damaged. “He needs a kidney transplantation which is highly expensive. Rabha belongs to a poor family and for his family it’s not possible to bear the costs. So we appealed the sports minister on Twitter. Thankfully he responded. We are glad that he did,” GCFC director, Kaustav Chakraborty, said in a statement. The matter was first tweeted by the GCFC which later reached Singh. Singh, on Sunday, asked the local SAI officials to get in touch with the young footballer and assured all support from the ministry of sports. Guwahati SAI director, Subhash Basumatary, has said that he will do his best to ensure all possible help for Rabha. n

Leading Retailer plans to set up food park and ‘desi’ flour mill in Assam

K Specially abled children and their parents during 11th World Autism Awareness Day celebrated in Guwahati | G Plus Photo abled friendly. Elaborating on other challenges Goawami told G Plus that social stigma and financial burden for autistic children and their parents can have an adverse impact on them. “Another impediment is that most of the government schemes

meant for their welfare are not functioning properly and they mostly do not receive the benefits in a number of cases.” The city observed World Autism Awareness Day on April 2 with awareness programmes being organised by several organisations.

This year’s theme for World Autism Awareness Day was ‘Empowering women and girls with Autism.’ Shishu Sarothi, a citybased organisation working to empower differently-abled children, organised a programme to mark the occasion at Dighalipukhuri. n

ishore Biyani led Future Group is in talks for setting a food park and flour mill in Assam. The group has announced that it will step up its retail presence across the northeast India. Biyani, CEO of Future Group, who was in Guwahati on Sunday for the launch of Central Mall laid emphasis on setting up a food park and a ‘desi’ flour mill. Reportedly, the group is currently scanning places where the food park can come up. The group is also studying the rice varieties available in the region. Speaking at the Central launch, Biyani said, “We are really excited to bring the best of fashion to one of the most fashionable cities in the country. " n

Campus

SNIPPETS Bill tabled in Assembly for Salary hike of CM, Ministers, and MLAs

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

IITG secures 7th, GU 39th in national ranking of institutes As per the NIRF ranking, GU has slipped a few places in its ranking as compared to the previous year while IIT Guwahati has maintained its 7th rank this year as well Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

tate Minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary, on Thursday, introduced 3 bills in the legislative assembly for revision of salaries and allowances of the chief minister, state ministers, MLAs, leader of opposition, and the speaker. The salary of the chief minister is proposed to be revised to Rs 1,30,000 per month from Rs 90,000. The bill also proposes Parliamentary Allowance to the CM of Rs 10,000 per month. The bill seeks to increase the salary for the cabinet ministers from Rs 80,000 to Rs 1,10,000. For the leader of opposition, the bill proposes to revise the monthly salary to Rs 1,10,000 per month. For the ministers of state, the bill seeks to revise their salary to Rs 1 lakh per month from Rs 75,000. The bill proposes to increase the salary of deputy ministers to Rs 95,000 per month from Rs 70,000, while enhancing their parliamentary assistance allowances to Rs 10,000 per month and the sumptuary allowance to Rs 16,000 per month. The Assam Speaker’s and Deputy Speaker’s Salaries, Allowances and Amenities Bill, 2018 proposes to revise the salary of the speaker to Rs 1,20,000 per month. n

Sonowal felicitates rickshaw puller

hief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday felicitated Ahmed Ali, a rickshaw puller from Patherkandi in Karimganj District, who single-handedly established nine schools in and around his village. Ali has dedicated his efforts to ensure that every child in his village has access to education. By selling his land and collecting donations from the villagers, Ali established the first school in 1978. Over the years, he established 9 schools - 3 lower primary schools, 5 middle schools, and a high school in his village. n

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati secured the 7th rank while Gauhati University (GU) was placed at the 39th rank in the recently released rankings of top colleges and universities across the country by the central ministry of human resource development. The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings list the top 100 universities in India dividing them on the basis of several criteria. GU has scored the 39th rank among universities and has been placed at the 61st rank in the overall category. However, this year its ranking dipped in comparison to last year when it scored the 27th rank in universities category and 43rd rank in the overall category. As per the NIRF, a category in which the university fared well was ‘teaching, learning and resources’ (TLR). Evaluation under this criterion takes into

account the student strength including PhD students, facultystudent ratio with emphasis on permanent faculty, total budget and its utilisation and combined metric for faculty with PhD and experience. Professor Amit Choudhary, director of GU’s Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) said that with the release of rankings, authorities have been able to identify the areas which need improvement. “One of the prime areas which we need to focus on at GU is faculty publications. Another important parameter at the all India level is peer perception in which we haven’t done very well,” informed Choudhary. He added that in the NIRF, universities are also judged on the basis of facilities provided for the differently-abled students. “We have the facilities in place in some places but we will make the campus more accessible for the differently-abled in the coming months,” said Choudhary. Head of the English department at GU, Dr Asha Kuthari Chaudhuri told G Plus

New initiatives at GU aimed at improving ranking

“We are satisfied but not elated uthorities informed that with the outcome of the NIRF the GU is undertaking a rankings. There is still a lot to be slew of new initiatives to done. The vice-chancellor is also improve the university positive and is focussing on the holistically. long-term goals,” he said. This includes a scheme which Another new initiative by has been introduced to promote the university is a consultancy research among young faculty policy for the faculty members. members in their respective fields. Authorities “The university added that this has begun is an important the scheme component of from its own ranking the funding to universities. encourage Under this, young faculty consultancy to pursue groups will research for be formed publication. comprising We are hopeful faculty of seeing members the benefits which will of these provide measures from consultancy the next round Gauhati University solutions onwards,” to private informed an agencies against a fee. official. “During the process, the faculty Prof Amit Choudhary, will also get a practical insight however, attributed the and will get a direct exposure to university’s comparatively low the field which, in turn, would ranking this year to the change in improve their teaching,” informed a few parameters for evaluation in an official. the survey by the HRD ministry. n

IIT, Guwahati that GU has a sound and forwardlooking academic fraternity. “But to come at par with other top universities in the country, we need to connect development in our discipline with the larger academic world and this requires a fair amount of funding. Since it is a state university, we depend heavily on the government for

funding,” she said adding that if the government helps GU with the funding to better the infrastructure, it is bound to do better. She further said that there are still a number of posts which currently lie vacant and the faculty strength needs to be improved. n

IIT Guwahati retains 7th position

IT Guwahati has retained the 7th position among the top engineering institutions of the country in the NIRF rankings. In the overall ranking, the institute was placed at the 12th position. Sharing his thoughts about the ranking, Gautam Biswas, Director, IIT Guwahati said, “Our performances in engineering and sciences are good. In order to move forward we need to work more on the interdisciplinary emerging areas. We need to minimise the gap between science and engineering. We need to improve in the overall category too.” He added that this can be done by paying more attention to some of the related areas pertaining to management sciences. He feels that culture of management and soft skills enhance employment and entrepreneurial scope for the students and such parameters help in advancing the overall rank of the Institute. In NIRF-India ranking 2018 institutions were ranked in nine disciplines namely universities, engineering, colleges,

management, pharmacy, medical, architecture, law, including the overall rankings of the institutions. The parameters for assessment broadly include ‘teaching, learning and resources’, ‘research and professional practices’, ‘graduation outcomes’, ‘outreach and inclusivity’ and ‘perception’. n

Our performances in engineering and sciences are good. In order to move forward we need to work more on the interdisciplinary emerging areas. We need to minimise the gap between science and engineering. We need to improve in the overall category too.” Gautam Biswas, Director, IIT-G

City

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Dist Admin to prepare flood contingency plan for monsoon G Plus checks out the comprehensive contingency plans being undertaken by the district administration to tackle the forthcoming flood-baiting monsoon season

SNIPPETS Assamese sound designer conferred Maharashtra Govt State Award for Best Sound Design

Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

he Kamrup (Metro) district administration has begun preparing a contingency plan to tackle flood ahead of the monsoon. Kamrup (Metro) deputy commissioner, Virendra Mittal said, “All the officials have to work responsibly to tackle artificial floods in Guwahati.” The deputy commissioner (DC) met all the stake holders of the city recently and has directed them to complete all the flood control work on a war footing. The circle officers have been directed to constitute circle level disaster management committees and prepare contingency plans for the flood season in the respective circles. The ward councillors, area sabha members and nagrik committees have been directed to meet on a weekly basis and raise the issues of the wards at the concerned offices. The DC has also decided to create a control room where there will be roaster duties allotted to the officials of police, Assam Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (APDCL), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), water resource department, Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority

File photo of an artificially flooded Guwahati street (GMDA) and the forest department. The health department has been directed to maintain adequate stock of medicines for affected people during floods and teams including doctors, nurses and paramedics for all the revenue circles. This apart, the forest department has been asked to prune over-hanging branches of trees to avoid accidents. The inland water

transport department will prepare resource inventory of boats and ferries and their locations list will be submitted to the administration. The social welfare department has been asked to train the anganwadi workers so that they can conduct awareness programmes on sanitation among the people of flood affected areas before the

monsoon season. The social welfare department has been asked to conduct a survey on probable requirements of baby foods during flood and submit a report to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) at the earliest. The veterinary department will identify highlands for shifting of cattle during floods. n

Artificial flood to be tackled on war footing

amrup (Metro) deputy commissioner, Virendra Mittal, said that artificial flood in Guwahati will be tackled on war footing through coordination among all the departments. Government departments will identify vulnerable floodprone areas in the city for better handling of the situation during the monsoon. The water resources department will identify all vulnerable points of the embankments in

Artificial flood in Guwahati will be tackled on war footing through coordination among all the departments” Virendra Mittal, DC. Kamrup (M)

Water pump in Anil Nagar that is ready to be pressed into service | G Plus Photo Guwahati and begin repair work wherever necessary. All materials needed for such schemes would be stocked in advance to meet all exigencies. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) will submit the

list of dewatering pumps with locations in different flood-prone areas with the details of name and contact numbers of pump operators to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). The Assam Power Distribu-

tion Corporation Limited (APDCL) will identify all transformers, high tension and low tension wires located in vulnerable areas and take necessary measures to restore them to prevent accidents. The Public Works Department (PWD) and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are expected to repair and restore all vulnerable damaged roads, bridges and culverts and submit a detailed action taken report to the deputy commissioner. Both the departments have been instructed to prepare plans for repairing flood damaged roads before the monsoon season. The inspector of schools will identify all the schools and educational institutes vulnerable to flood and storm. The inspector will also prepare a detailed plan of action for the vulnerable institutions for the security of the students as well for uninterrupted study of students. n

runav Dutta from Jorhat, Assam has been conferred the Maharashtra Govt State Award for Best Sound Design along with Oscar Winner Resul Pookutty for the Marathi Film, Kshitij - A Horizon. The award ceremony will be held on April 30 in Mumbai. After finishing his sound engineering from Jyoti Chitraban Film and Television Institute, Arunav began his career under the guidance of National Award and MPSE Golden Reel Award winner Amrit Pritam and Resul Pookutty at his studio. Arunav has worked in more than 60 films including Ra One, ROBOT, Ghajini and English Vinglish among several others. He has experience of nearly 10 years. Arunav Dutta became the second Assamese to have won Maharashtra Govt State Award after Amrit Pritam, who won this prestigious Award in 2015 for the Marathi Film “A Rainy Day.” n

Assamese girl develops navigation of fighter jets

aking the entire state proud, Priyanka Das from Dhemaji, Assam has made her name as one of the few to work for the development of the satellite navigation wing of Rafale fighter jets, which will be used for Indian Air Force in 2019. Priyanka is a PhD student at ISAE-SUPAERO working on satellite navigation systems in cooperation with Safran Electronics and Defense. She has been recently honoured with French Nationality by the French government for her immense contribution towards the navigation system of Great ‘Rafale’ Aircrafts. Priyanka is passionate about the space and started her academic career with Bachelor’s Degree in Physics (Honors) from St. Stephens College, University of Delhi. She then joined Ecole Polytechnique for its 4-year Ingénieur Polytechnicien program (promotion X2013), specializing her third year in Data Science. n

Ward Survey

G PLUS | APR

Dengue to play crucial role in GMC elections at Ward No 11 Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

n Ward Watch this week, G Plus checks out the performance of Councillor of Ward No 11, Dipa Hazarika. Uzan Bazar is reeling under dengue menace with no immediate solutions in sight Lack of proper pest control measures in the highest dengue prevalence area of the city, Uzan Bazar in Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Ward No 11, has become a major concern for the residents. This was revealed by 50 random resident families in a survey conducted by G Plus on the

different living parameters such as pest control, drainage, road condition, parking spaces, water supply, streetlights etc, to find the performance of GMC in that particular ward. Off the three choices in pest control viz regular, occasional and nil, all the respondents chose the third. As reported earlier by G Plus, Uzan Bazar area (11 A) has the highest concentration of dengue incidences with 243 cases while, Bamunimaidam, Noonmati, Geeta Nagar and Narengi follow with over 100 cases each. The study conducted by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program (NVBDCP), the vector-borne disease monitoring department under Integrated

0 100%

several pockets where water drains down from the fish market and gets stagnant. We found dengue mosquitoes breeding in those areas.” Of 14 questions asked in the survey regarding various living parameters, the residents expressed dissatisfaction over six of those. The lack of public toilets is another issue that the residents of Uzan Bazar unanimously think need to be addressed. Water logging during the rainy season and traffic congestion comes next on the list of woes of Uzan Bazar’s residents. From 47 respondents (94 per cent), seven persons (14 per cent) said it is a regular affair during monsoons and 40 persons

(80 per cent) said it happens in some lanes. 43 respondents (86 per cent) said that there is occasional traffic congestion. On the quality of street lights in the ward, 41 (82 per cent) said that their lanes are not well lit. While 39 (78 per cent) voted for vaguely lit, 2 persons (4 per cent) voted for insufficient light. Only nine persons (18 per cent) said that their lanes are well lit at night. Regarding the drainage system, six persons (12 per cent) said that it is in very bad shape, while 30 persons (60 per cent) said that with some improvement, it can be made better. n

Yes

82%

18% Do you know your

Sometimes

Pest control measures

18%

Well lit

78%

vaguely lit

Insufficient light

No street light

Street lights

Yes

36%

28%

64%

12%

No public toilets

60%

Needs improvement

Public toilets

14% 6% 80%

Proper drainage system Yes

14%

Smooth

86%

Ocassionally Crowded

In some lanes

Water logging during rainy season

Pathetic

Traffic Congestion

Councillor Report

Negative Response

Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP), of National Health Mission (NHM) revealed that Kamrup (Metro) recorded 3,857 cases last year – highest among all the districts in Assam. Uzan Bazar, along with eight other high prevalence zones in the city, contributed more than 70 per cent of those cases. “We haven’t seen any fogging activity here. We suspect that the stagnant water that is left behind every day by the fish sellers in the fish market is the reason for the prevalence of this disease in this area. Dengue mosquitoes breed in such fresh water,” said Jagadish Kalita, a senior resident in Uzan Bazar. He added, “Also, along the sandbars of the Brahmaputra River in Uzan Bazar, there are

4% 68% 28%

Councillor interact

0% 62% 38% 0%

Councillor Perform

0% 96% 4%

Councillor involvm

Ward Survey

07 - APR 13, 2018

Brighter side of Ward 11: connectivity, health services and metalled road

Pest menace unavoidable until a permanent solution: Councillor

n the brighter side, the residents of Uzan Bazar had unanimously voted positively with regard to transport connectivity, ambulance and other health services and the condition of the roads. The Uzan Bazar area (11 A) is among the oldest localities of the city. While the city expanded around this region over time, this area remained the centre of social activity and hence is well connected to the rest of the city. “Connectivity has not been a problem here. It is connected to almost all parts of the city through different lanes. Public mode of conveyance is also better available as compared to several other parts of the city. Due to good linking roads, getting ambulance or medical facilities are also not much of an issue here,” Paragmoni Sarma, a resident there said. Regarding road conditions, 26

respondents (52 per cent) said that it is good and the rest 24 (48 per cent) said that it is average while none of the respondents voted for bad and pathetic condition. However, when G Plus did a ground reality check, it unravelled a much grimmer picture. Except the riverside road, there are furrows and broken patches in almost every lane in the ward. Another facility in which the ward, according to the residents, has excelled over other wards is supply of potable water. 46 families (92 per cent) voted that they get regular drinking water while only three persons said that they receive sometime and only one respondent complained of not receiving water at all. “Water supply is regular here except for the areas that are in the hill areas. Supplying water there is a problem, but tube-wells can be a solution here,” Smriti Saikia,

a housewife living in Uzan Bazar said. This is very unusual as the GMC only serves 25,000 households in the city and covers only 30 per cent of the city’s potable water needs. Regarding garbage collection too, the residents expressed satisfaction as 44 respondents (88 per cent) said that garbage is being collected daily from their doorsteps. While 6 (12 per cent) said that garbage is being collected twice a week, 2 said it’s being collected once a week and only 1 said that garbage collection is irregular. The residents also seem somewhat satisfied with the parking conveniences as 35 persons (70 per cent) said that there is adequate parking space while the rest felt otherwise. Regarding law and order, 43 persons (86 per cent) felt secured. n

he councillor for Ward No 11, Dipa Hazarika, said that more than ‘temporary’ anti-pest measures, the area needs a better drainage for the Uzan Bazar market to fight the various vector-borne diseases. “Fogging only covers a particular area for a certain period of time. Several cases of dengue were also reported from places which were fumigated. We need a proper drainage and an awareness drive among the citizens to battle the disease,” Hazarika, who represents the Congress in the council, said. “If the waste water from the market is channelized directly into the Brahmaputra and the water coming down from the hills flow through shut drains, we can bring down the number of dengue infections,” she added. She said that she had made the same requests several times in the council meeting but was paid

no heed. “If my party allows me to contest the ensuing ward elections, I will keep fighting for these demands. Fogging is not a solution here as due to its proximity to the Brahmaputra, the area is almost constantly windy. Even if we conduct fogging exercises, the wind will clear out any fogging activity within 12 hours,” said Hazarika. Regarding public toilets, she said, “It is being done under Swachh Bharat Mission. I don’t decide where the public toilets are to be set up. However, if the people of my ward feel the necessity, I will have a meeting with them to demarcate places where those can be set up and then apprise the council about the same.” Regarding Hazarika’s performance, 31 respondents (62 per cent) voted satisfactory while 19 other (38 per cent) voted her as an underperformer. n Survey conducted by Priyanka Baroi

92% Yes

Sometimes Only during elections

tion with residents

Excellent Satisfactory Under performing Poor

mance Always Sometimes Never

ment in community work

Positive Response

Everyday

Twice a week

Sometimes

Once a week

Supply Water

councillor

88%

2% No

Yes

52%

Good

48%

Average

Bad

Pathetic

Condition of roads

100%

Sometimes

Half an hour daily

An hour daily

More than an hour

No load shedding

Load shedding

100%

Fortnightly

Irregular

Never

Garbage Collection

Very secured

86%

Secured

14%

Needs more security

No security

Law and order

100%

Yes

Needs improvement

Proper ambulance, health service

Yes

70%

Yes

Could be better

30%

Proper transport connectivity

Adequate Parking Space

G Talk

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Justice delayed, justice delivered

alman Khan has always remained too big an enigma for me to easily classify him as a brat. Today, because of him, I find myself saddled with this unique predicament of having to decide which of the two mutually contradicting clichés is right: “Justice delayed is justice denied” and “Better late than never.” I guess both are right in their own way. While the lineage of the two dead black bucks shot by Salman has no inkling of the way human law courts function, it is in the interest of society’s balance that the justice, delivered so late, is better than having never been delivered. Salman, as an inmate at Jodhpur Central Jail, will be in the company of rape accused godman Asaram, Rajsamand’s hate-murder accused Shambhu Lal Raigar and the hoodlums of notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi who had once threatened to kill him. Not savoury at all! Poachers are a criminal lot after all. But the way the Indian judiciary has worked towards convicting Salman is slightly beyond the comprehension of lay people like us. 19 years for a conviction in what has turned out to be an openand-shut case is a bit too long

by any standards. But to be fair to the Indian judiciary, there are examples of faster conviction of poachers closer home: the rhino poachers of Kaziranga. In 2015, the Sonitpur additional sessions judge had sentenced three poachers to 7 years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed fines of Rs 50,000 on each. The verdict came within 14 months of their arrest, making it one of the fastest conviction cases against poachers. The conviction of the three came a week after the sessions court in Darrang had sentenced two poachers who had attempted to kill a rhino at the Orang National Park in 2011 – within 4 years of committing the crime and so, fast enough compared to the Salman conviction. When all the brouhaha and TV debates over the “harshness” of Salman’s punishment abate, the mainland Indian judiciary might do well to take a leaf out of our Darrangs and Sonitpurs when it comes to dealing with poachers simply because these no do-gooders need to be told as quickly as possible that balanced society has no place for their ilk. They belong in jail! Swapnil Bharali Editor

GMC and GMDA: glorified scavengers

MDA (Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority) and Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) are currently working on ‘Mission Flood Free Guwahati’ – a project that focuses on expansion of the city’s drainage network, de-siltation and solid waste management. The GMDA this year has an ambitious budget spend of Rs. 4,833.56 lakhs (approx), according to the data published on their website. This in no way is a small amount. Year after year, these civic bodies are sanctioned huge budgets to do almost the same things – planning, cleaning, de-siltation and expansion. After the massive city floods in 2014, GMC was sanctioned a three year package of Rs 45 crores (approx) and they woke up from their slumber. However, it is only in the first year that GMC seemed to be doing some work – the rest just ‘went down the drain.’ To put a perspective, GMDA has been planning and designing ‘alternate storm water drains’ since the past 7-8 years. Budgets were sanctioned but no progress has been made. Every year, there is a plan for a ‘new drainage system’, but this plan and its outcome continues to be a mystery. The GMC is incapable of picking up after itself too. All the muck collected from the de-siltation of the city drains is left on the roadside to rot. For once, they need to get their s@#! together, literally! And our all-supreme GMDA has failed to deliver a single comprehensive solution to urban flooding in the past decade. If these civic bodies do not get their act together, this so called smart city is going to the dogs and they will come only with their last minute contingency plans and continue to feed off of it like scavengers. Sidharth Bedi Varma

Assam’s tea Industry: the Saviour

hile the tea industry has itself to blame for the negative perceptions which the general public have about it, the fact remains that it has turned out to be a saviour for Assam, albeit coincidentally. Let me acquaint readers about some of the benefits which the tea industry has brought and still brings to Assam. 1. Tea is the least polluting among all major industries. There are millions of tea bushes and shade trees which reduce considerable quantity of CO2 and helps to slow down the global warming process. 2. Tea is grown in rural areas making it a very important driver of the rural economy. It is estimated that 60% of the cost of tea production is taken up by the wage and salary bill of the workers. Assuming that the cost is half, i.e. 30%, with Assam producing 629 million kgs at a production cost of Rs 135 per kg, the wages and salary payout per year would amount to Rs 2,547.45 crores. As almost all of the tea is sold outside the state it means that funds of this magnitude coming from other places are being pumped directly into the rural economy of Assam year after year. Unlike in states like Punjab where agricultural workers are mainly migratory, e.g. from Bihar and Eastern UP and the wages earned are remitted back to their home states, in Assam the tea workers are resident; the money earned stays and circulates within the state. 3. Tea industry employs approximately 50% women in its workforce paying equal remuneration as men which

rSorry figure

is guaranteed under Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. 4. Tea earns considerable foreign exchange but consumes none or negligible. 5. The welfare of the tea workers is looked after by the employer from “cradle to grave” as required under the provisions of Plantations Labour Act, 1951. In fact, a tea garden is a “mini welfare state.” Contrary to the popular perception that the whole industry is flouting provisions of the Act, the fact remains that majority of well-run tea estates abide by them as per their capabilities. This has relieved the government off its responsibility of looking after a large segment of the state’s population. A few

The author, one of the most respected tea planters of Assam, puts into perspective the historically pivotal role played by the tea industry that has ensured the sovereignty and integrity of the state employers who cannot or do not look after their workers properly need not give the whole industry a bad name. 6. It has provided the opportunity to lakhs of unemployed youth and other people residing all over the state to become first generation entrepreneurs by planting tea in their own lands and becoming Small Tea Growers (STG). This movement, though only about four decades old, has become so successful that STGs now contribute approximately 45% of the state’s tea production. Now let me explain how the tea industry was the saviour. My pet theory is that after the Burmese incursions in Assam the local population got decimated and scattered. Assam went into British possession after the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826. Shortly thereafter, tea plantations

O p i n i o n Ranjit Chaliha were started by companies and individuals all over the state. The local people, having enough of their own for their needs felt no necessity and rather considered it below their dignity to work for wages in these tea gardens. So, indentured labour had to be brought in through agents from Bihar, Chhota Nagpur, Orissa, Telengana etc to work in the tea plantations. The workers were made to sign agreements; they would work in Assam for three or five years and then be sent back home. These people were known by the word “Girmitiya” - a corruption of the word “agreement” which they signed. In due course many workers did not go back to their home states at the end of their tenures and permanently stayed on in Assam. They bought land or cleared forests and lived in settlements termed as “busties.” This happened close to tea plantations all over middle and upper Assam and the north bank; these people came to be known as “ex- tea garden labour” and were classified with those working in the tea plantations under the heading “Tea tribes.” So, wherever there were tea plantations the nearby vacant lands were mostly occupied by emigrant tea garden workers or their descendants. Now consider the situation if the tea industry had not come to Assam. There would have been no emigrant labour, no “busties” and no tea plantations occupying large areas. As a result there would have been vast areas of vacant land in these parts. As everyone knows nature abhors a vacuum. To cut a long story short, land hungry Muslim peasants from East Bengal would have made a bee line for these lands and occupied them like they have done in lower Assam where there are not many tea plantations. Assam would have surely become a Muslim majority state and during Partition, together with Sylhet, would have gone to Pakistan. (Ranjit Chaliha is a senior tea planter of Assam and is the chairman-cum-managing director of Korangoni Tea Co.) n

Letter to the Editor

he one and only women’s university, situated at Jorhat, is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The news of downgrading the university by the present government has forced the students’ community to resort to protest rallies. The target of the students is definitely our education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. But on 29th March, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma spoke on the controversy surrounding the status of the university in front of the camera. He not only spoke with facts and figures but also refuted all the allegations levelled by his friend from his erstwhile party. It appears that our one and only hat-trick performing chief minister, Tarun Gogoi, is entirely to be blamed for the current position of the university. Tarun Gogoi has again cut a sorry figure before the public. People are not fools as perceived by Tarun Gogoi and company. Lanu Dutta Chowdhury, GNB Road, Guwahati

In Focus

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Anupam Nath Photo-Journalist

n award-winning photojournalist, Anupam Nath captures the varied emotions of the surroundings expertly in the frame of his lenses. His photographs do not need words. They do the talking themselves and express appropriately. Born in Guwahati, Anupam grew up in Boko with his family where he studied at Boko High School till the 10th standard. Belonging to a highly educated family with his father being the founder principal of Boko JN College, Anupam was always expected to be good at studies. But he had other plans for himself. He wasn’t as academically brilliant as his siblings and his heart belonged to the woods. So instead of concentrating on studies and making parents happy, he decided to take the road less travelled. Anupam spent his days surrounded by nature. He got involved in sports like cricket and karate, played the guitar, and took up mountaineering. He also successfully climbed Himalayan Mountains which were higher than 20,000 feet. Anupam shifted back to Guwahati to pursue higher

education. Here, he completed graduation from Arya Vidyapeeth College and joined the Assam Institute of Photography for a one-year course in 1995. After completing the course, he immediately started his journey in photography. “Ever since I was a child, I got amazed by photographs of natural sceneries and flowers printed on greeting cards. They raised questions in my mind about the photographer, about the composition of the picture and much more. I wanted to copy them and capture same images but didn’t have a camera. Luckily, when I was studying in Class 7, a close friend of mine brought a simple Kodak 110 camera which I borrowed to capture various objects. But I used to get disappointed by the results – they were ugly and unfocussed. So I decided to give up but carried the dream in my heart and finally decided to get some formal training,” recalled Anupam, speaking about his introduction to the world of photography. Soon after the completion of his course in photography, Anupam joined Neelachal, an Assamese weekly newspaper and

thus began his journey as a photojournalist. During the same time, he got an opportunity to work for Outlook, a national magazine, as a stringer. Since then, there has been no looking back for this incredible photographer. He has worked with many renowned local as well as national media houses, including Amar Asom, The Telegraph and The Hindustan Times. He’s presently working with the Associated Press, an international news gathering agency, which he joined in the year 2000. Speaking to G Plus about his biggest achievements, Anupam said, “I never work for recognition or achievements, but it does come by time to time. I was recently bestowed with the first prize in Environment Section by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) for a photograph which is very dear to my heart. I feel humbled and honoured to be the recipient of such a prestigious award.” Anupam bagged two awards in the same section of NPPA in 2017 as well and also got featured in TIME magazine’s top 100 photographs of 2017. While Anupam has taken

up many projects in his career as a critically acclaimed photojournalist, he considers the photostory on the Greater Adjutant Stork (locally known as Hargilla) as one of the most significant projects in his career. The story on the endangered bird got published widely, not just in India but globally. Other significant projects revolve around the onehorned rhinos, elephants, wildlife of India and much more. From starting off as a stringer to working with the Associated Press, Anupam has had a very difficult journey, full of challenges and obstacles. In the initial years, money/ fund posed as a problem. There were times when he had to travel by hand-wagons (thelas) to reach his destination during floods and faced dilemmas on whether to capture the moment or save the people suffering during serial bomb blasts in Guwahati. But he always moved past these problems. Anupam considers Pulitzer award winning photographer Kevin Carter as his biggest inspiration. And while Anupam doesn’t follow any photographer’s style or copy their compositions, he does take inspiration from their art work. “I feel that if I follow a photographer diligently, their art style will begin to influence me and my photography. As an artist, I wish to show my own creativity through my composition,” he says.

While Anupam’s go-to place for photography in Guwahati is the Brahmaputra, he feels that sunrise and sunset are the best times of the day to capture that perfect image. His advice to all the aspiring photographers is to think of the camera as a medium and not a machine. “Feel the object in front of you and try to bring out the same emotions in your photograph.”

Assam Govt is set to erect National Flag at an expense of Rs 2.58 Cr in Guwahati. It is touted to be one of the tallest National Flags in the country if measured from mean sea level. The piece of news has elicited a number of comments for and against the development. Manna Barbhuiya With every flood Guwahati turns into river. Do use these funds to make an efficient drainage system. There are record numbers of beggars in Guwahati. Do something for them so that they can earn their bread with respect. There are very less public toilets at Guwahati. Install CCTV in the entire city which will help to curb crime. Government schools, colleges are in worst condition, so invest in education sector. When people will avail facilities provided by government they will automatically respect the government ruling by the county. Phybus Orvielle Use the money where it’s needed. The government should check the roads, drainage, electricity. The roads are broken down. Electricity works are in process 24x7 and never complete. Check the garbage boxes overflowing 365 days, never empty and clean. Streetlights are more important that should be taken care of frequently. But none of the above mentioned happens. No good implementation and firm decision and suddenly this flag thing comes up which has nothing to do with the life of the public. Suraj Kr Singha Patriotism doesn’t come by spending crores of rupees on a flag. It lies in the heart of every Indian. Instead of spending money on a flag why doesn’t the government resolve the common problems of the state? There are lots of issues which are still to be resolved. Kindly look at them. Feed the poor, provide them with shelter. Many youths are unemployed; provide them jobs. Once our city is fully developed then we can think of erecting our National Flag at Gandhi Mandap.

Manash Pratim It seems to me that the government of our country wants to spend crores on our national flag to show their patriotism towards our country neglecting some of the main concerns which are still present in our society. They should rather work on things that bring outcomes to the society than just show off. Shiva LochanKalita Close to a decade ago precautionary measures were taken by the Soil Erosion Department of the state on one side of the hillock that houses the Gandhi Mandap due to serious threat of landslide. In such a delicate situation can the hillock take the weight of another big construction there? Add to that the power of the wind on such a structure. I am sure geologists and architects can throw light on this aspect. Let a disaster not occur in future once the structure comes up there. Debdeep Maitra Flying the National Flag is a good sign of patriotism but spending 2.5 crores? First try to prepare the drainage water system of Zoo Road and others. If not, again the city will witness the effect of artificial floods. Please note monsoon is near. Tonmoy Nanda While it seems like needless expenditure on the surface and indeed a drain on the taxpayers’ resources, the demand for roads, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and what not within Rs 2.8 crores by a section of people is laughable. Blind of the minds, these blind bats simply keep parroting social media language over FB and WhatsApp everytime of “why this and why not that?” As if the said amount is the panacea to all the developmental and infrastructural woes.

Feature

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Mahamaya Restaurant – Celebrating 100 Glorious Years It’s amazing how memories are built; sometimes, all it takes is a cup of tea, and you seamlessly time travel. Chandrika Das

n the corner of the main chowk of busy Panbazar stands an eatery called ‘Mahamaya Restaurant;’ it would hardly catch your attention. The eatery is devoid of any ornate decor and the shades of white and blue on the walls stand faded. But this place has seen the people grow, the city evolve and is unarguably a storehouse of some memorable moments for several people – young and old. The place has completed 100 glorious years of its existence. It all began in the year 1918... Mahamaya Restaurant was first established as an ordinary tea stall catering to a small portion of the mere 1500 people who lived in Guwahati. Naroram Barman and his two siblings undertook a bullock-cart ride from Chamata, Nalbari to North Guwahati and then a ferry ride to cross the Brahmaputra to seek his livelihood in the city. One side of the shop was for tea, biscuits, sweets, and paan-tamul whereas the other end cosmetics for the ladies. A few years later, the establishment was converted into a

thatched house, with sitting arrangements made for the customers to have tea and it survived many years in this avatar. The three storey building of the restaurant today was built in 1948. Keeping abreast of time, the eatery not only changed its look,

Knowing your kidneys

he kidneys are a pair of bean shaped organs which are present in our flanks. Around 180 L of blood is filtered through the kidneys daily and the waste is removed as around two litres of urine. As blood passes through the kidneys, there is both reabsorption and excretion which is handled by the individual units of the kidneys and these are known as Nephrons. The blood flows to the kidneys from the renal arteries and these large blood vessels then undergo several sequential divisions to finally become the Glomerolus, which is the ultimate vascular complex. These are in intimate connections with the tubules, which receive the filtered blood and they gradually join each other sequentially to end as the Ureter, one for each kidney. The kidney is very apt at maintaining water and salt balance despite variations in intake. The urine produced from the kidneys passes through the ureter and collects in a single urinary bladder. Ureters are tubular structures whereas the bladder is like a sac. The urinary bladder is the reservoir for the urine and whenever we make an urge to pass urine, our sphincters relax and allow the urine to be expelled to the exterior via the urethra. The structures are similar for both men and women up to the

urinary bladder but there is vast difference in the urethral system which leads to specific problems in men and women. The urethra in women is short and the opening is located close to the vaginal orifice, covered by the

labia. Due to this anatomy, women are predisposed to urinary infections all throughout their life. Weakness of the pelvic floor leads to disturbances in the spincteric system and is a concern in those who undergo pelvic operations

but also its menu. The 50s and 60s saw the addition of rasgullas, jalebis and samosas. The place flourished as a much sought after ‘adda’ zone. A cup of tea on the benches outside the stall with close friends became a customary scene. Naroram Barman passed away in 1964 – a generation came to an end but the legacy continued. Naroram’s son Arjun Barman took charge thereafter. In 1970, Arjun added rice platter, pulao, roti-sabji, paratha-sabji to the menu of the restaurant. “We wanted to expand the business. With time, we also realised that if we needed to grow, we needed to offer something more to the people,” said Barman. Mahamaya Restaurant went from strength to strength over the years. The place has been a goto destination for several significant personalities from different verticals and times such as Late Bhupen Hazarika, Dwipen Baruah, Lakhyadhar Choudhury, Chandra Mohan Patowary, Himanta Biswa Sarma and JP Das among others who were once regulars there. “Dwipen Baruah often came to our shop. He would come, sit on the bench by the roadside, have tea, share jokes or sometimes sing a

song or two. Pulao and egg curry happens to be the favourite of JP Das,” Barman shared while recollecting old memories. From the sitting arrangements to the vintage menu board on the wall, everything about the place evokes simplicity – the common man’s place as is believed by its owners. This probably is the only place in the city where one can afford to have a soulful platter of paratha-sabji for just Rs 20. “I don’t want to change a thing about the price of the food here. I want to keep it low, and for the common folk. I have often had customers who work in the government sector and had not got salaries for several months. I feel good when they visit my food joint and go back feeling happy and content without having to burn a hole in their pockets. This is what the place is all about,” shared Barman with a sense of pride. The place serves customers who come all the way from Maligaon to Panbazar to have a meal at Mahamaya. Achyut Kalita is one such customer who has been visiting the place since 1998. “This place is more than just a food joint. The food is tasty, filling and reasonable,” said Kalita. n

and the ones who are elderly. In men, the urethra is long and has different structures surrounding it throughout its course. There is a prostate sitting

carrying the semen and the urine. Urinary infections in young men is uncommon and most of the time, the urinary symptoms points a sexually transmitted disease. As men starts to age, the prostate starts to create problems. The majority of this is due to its increasing size leading to difficulty in voiding and in a small minority due to its propensity to develop cancer. This anatomical description of kidneys makes them look like an excretory system but they do much more than that. Salt and water management and excretion of toxic products is a major function but the kidney is also involved in synthesis and regulation of hormones and metabolic pathways. It plays a central role in Parathyroid hormone, calcium and Vitamin D metabolism. It produces Erythropoietin, which is needed for Haemoglobin synthesis. It is involved in metabolism of food and Insulin. It is also a principal route for metabolism and excretion of drugs. One should be careful when taking medicines in the presence of renal disease. Some drugs may require dose reduction, increasing dosing intervals and some needed to be completely avoided due to toxic potential. The most important in the list are Aminoglycoside antibiotics, Analgesics and Contrast agents used for imaging. n

just below the urinary bladder surrounding the urethra and is the route through which semen reaches the urethra. Then the urethra traverses the penis and finds a final opening. The male urethra is responsible for both

Dr Rakesh Periwal Critical Care Medicine and Sleep Specialist drperiwal@gmail.com

Trotter

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Woman forgets to put car in park mode, it rolls into pool with family inside

CCTV captures restaurant owner peeing in rival's soup

restaurant owner in Haikou, the capital of China's southernmost Hainan province, recently noticed that his soup had a strange smell to it. To find out what was wrong, he installed CCTV cameras in his noodle shop

a rival restaurant walking into the shop and dropping something into a pot of soup. He then proceeded to unzip his pants and pee in another container of soup. It turns out he dropped some excrement in the first container. According to a daily, local

Drunk man found sleeping on 29th floor building ledge

but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. The ranksmelling soup was the result of a jealous competitor peeing in it. CCTV footage of the restaurant showed the owner of

police said after investigation that the unnamed criminal was jealous of his competitor's success and therefore decided to take this foul step. (Source: indiatimes)

Love-sick UP student’s note in answer sheet stumps examiners

woman has managed to give ‘carpooling’ an allnew, more literal meaning. Viral pictures posted on Facebook show a blue sedan submerged in a swimming pool. What’s worse, the car had two people inside it when it landed into the water. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the incident. A woman driving the car had stepped out of it to run back into her apartment to grab some money. She thought she had put the vehicle in park but, as it turns out, she hadn’t. The car rolled into the pool with her husband and daughter still inside it. “All parties are ok,” said one of the police deputies who responded to this “car in pool” call on Okaloosa Island. Since being posted, the photos have gone viral with over 1,900 shares and more than 1,300 reac-

panicked phone call about a man believed to be suicidal led police in China to discover a drunk man taking a nap on the narrow ledge of a building roof - a staggering 29 floors off the ground. Photos of the man lying down precariously on the edge of the building were shared online by Chinese-language website, HSW.cn. Though the man was eventually carried to safety by rescue workers, it's horrifying to think what may have happened to him had he rolled over while sleeping. According to Shanghaiist, police in Xi'an, the capital of central China's Shaanxi Province, received a call about a man possibly suicidal - who was spotted on the roof of a 29-floor residential high-rise. When they

tions. The post has been inundated with comments, besides the obvious ones joking about carpooling. “Since no one got hurt I hope it’s OK to laugh. I can hear their insurance agent saying “ I’m coming out to take pictures. I don’t need to, I just want to,” said one Facebook user. “The water really

brings out the blue of the car! Glad nothing but pride was hurt,” said another. “The car was probably too hot and needed to cool down, so it decided to jump in the pool!” joked one commenter. “Maybe they can put it in rice and save the insurance claim?” quipped another. (Source: ndtv)

A arrived at the scene, however, the officers were stunned to find a man napping on a narrow ledge. The rescuers were able to approach the man, who was presumably passed out, from two separate angles and pulled him off the roof safely.

crudely-drawn heart with an arrow through it! The words “I love my Pooja” and an accompanying note: “Sir, iss love story ne padhai se door kardiya. Nahitoh maine high school tak khoob padhai ki,” (Sir, this love story distracted

from Rs. 20 up to Rs. 300 - as bribes stashed in answer sheets. In one answer sheet for a Class XII chemistry paper, instead of answers, examiners found a love note. “Yeh mohabbat bhi kya cheez hai, na jeene deti hai, na marne deti hai. Yeh dua karo ki who na mile toh

me from my studies. Otherwise, I used to study a lot until high school.) One Uttar Pradesh board student’s explanation for not studying has left examiners in Muzaffarnagar stumped. Examiners evaluating papers for UP board’s intermediate chemistry exam are saying that they are coming across all kinds of bizarre explanations and desperate pleas from students begging them not to fail them. Some have even reported finding actual notes of currency - ranging

mai mar hi jau” (Love is strange; it doesn’t let me live or die. Pray that if I don’t get her, I die), wrote a love-sick student in his answer sheet. His earnest explanation for his complete lack of exam prep: he was too distracted in love. The note even ended with an apology: “Isko likhne ke liye sir very, very sorry” (Sir, I’m very, very sorry for writing this). Interestingly, that is not the only such note that examiners in UP encountered. (Source: worldvibe)

Local media reports suggest that the man may have intended to jump from the top of the building. However, it is believed that he drank too much alcohol and ended up falling asleep instead. That nap probably saved his life. (Source: ndtv)

Woman plays flute while undergoing brain surgery

octors at a Houston hospital shared video of a woman playing the flute while on the operating table during a brain surgery procedure. The Texas Medical Center said Anna Henry, 63, was undergoing a procedure known as “deep brain stimulation” in the hopes of treating a condition known as essential tremor, which caused Henry’s hands to shake and prevented her from doing activities including eating soup with a spoon and playing her beloved instrument. Doctors said the procedure involves implanting tiny electrodes in the brain that deliver a constant electric current. They said the sci-

ence behind how the procedure works is still being studied, but it has been found to be effective for treating symptoms of conditions including essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. The surgeons had Henry bring

her flute, an instrument she has practiced since she was 11 but had to give up in recent years due to her shaking hands. They shared a video of her playing the instrument during the procedure to test if the electric current was helping. “(Deep brain stimulation) works amazingly well,” said Henry’s neurologist, Mya Schiess, M.D., of the Mischer Neuroscience Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and UTHealth. “If you have a tremor that is truly interfering with hand function, lifestyle, head or voice, honestly, there isn’t a medicine out there that’s going to really put you in a better state.” (Source: upi)

Review

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Arunoday Singh, Omi Vaidya, Kirti Kulhari Director: Abhinav Deo

A vie Mo view Re

Blackmail

bhinav Deo’s Blackmail offers several moments where misogyny and lack of consent are called out, even in an all-male zone. The Delhi Belly director is back with yet another black comedy and he has a novel story and some wonderful actors – Irrfan Khan, Divya Dutta Kirti Kulhari and Arunoday Singh - to support him in the endeavour. An average middle class man reaches home early one day to find the wife with another man in the bed. Instead of confronting them, he decides to blackmail them, triggering a chain of blackmailing scenarios and subsequent hilarious situations. Irrfan plays the protagonist Dev Kaushal while Kirti is his wife and Arunoday Singh essays her boyfriend’s role. Except for a few, most twists

in the plot of Blackmail are unexpected and keep up with the mood of suspense even as the characters tickle our funny bone with their situational comedy. Irrfan Khan effortlessly plays the role of a mean, wicked man who disguises himself as meek and average in front of everyone else.While Kirti and Arunoday are apt for their characters, it is Divya’s Adita - who plays Arunoday’s wife - who becomes a parallel pillar of performance to Irrfan’s Dev. If there is one thing that offers roadblocks in this otherwise fun ride, it is the slow pace with which Abhinav establishes his plot and characters. The initial hour seems stretched as the story hardly moves in this period. It is only towards the second half that Blackmail picks up pace. n

Cast: Tabu, Manoj Bajpayee, Annu Kapoor Director: Mukul Abhyankar

wo strangers meet on a cruise and end up in each other’s arms. Clichéd, but twist in the tale comes when the woman’s daughter goes missing. Sushant Dubey (Manoj Bajpayee) and Aparna (Tabu) are on the mercy of the Mauritian police, its effort spearheaded by Ram Khilawan Budhu (Annu Kapoor), to find the missing girl but the list of their lies is never-ending. Missing begins on an off-note. Both Manoj Bajpayee and Tabu struggle to find their feet. Some of their acts begin to make sense as the film progresses but Missing lacks the overall sense of urgency. Idea is to probably give the audience a comic breather before turning the premise intense, but it gets too predictable. You start anticipating the character graphs

and movements. Cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee tries his best to attain a momentum, but silhouettes and hard-edged photography need subjects, preferably gripping ones. Missing is a story that takes place within a few hours. It begins at a dockyard and ends at a hotel. After a while, just two characters seem insufficient to hold our attention. A few more characters could have added more intrigue to the suspense. Thankfully, Annu Kapoor enters and stops it from becoming another ‘been there, done that’ kind of a film. Tabu’s restrained act keeps the focus on her, but Manoj Bajpayee falters. Too many mood changes in a limited time don’t let his character develop. As a well-mannered, soft spoken cop, Annu Kapoor carries the film forward. n

Baaghi 2 09:00 AM, 12:05 PM, 08:30 PM, 09:20 PM Peter Rabbit 09:10 AM, 03:45 PM

Baaghi 2 11:00 AM, 02:00

Blackmail 09:30 AM, 03:35

PM, 05:00 PM, 08:00 PM

PM 06:35 PM, 09:35 PM

Blackmail 11:15 AM,

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looks alright on the Diamond Black and Platinum Silver versions, but not so much on the Solar Red variant. On the front, there’s a 6.23inch in-cell IPS display with a resolution of 1080x2280 pixels, and Gorilla Glass 5. Due to the notch at the top of the screen, the Oppo F7 falls into the 19:9 aspect ratio category. The display doesn’t curve at

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03:30 PM, 06:05 PM

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Specifications

Instead of the usual metal back panel, Oppo is using an allplastic body for F7. On one hand, the phone is very light at just 158g, but on the other, it doesn’t feel very premium anymore. Oppo has tried to remedy this with a glossy coat of paint for the sides, which

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the sides, and there’s still a bit of a chin at the bottom. Within the notch, Oppo has made room for the earpiece, front camera, and a couple of sensors, but the notification LED has been dropped.

The Oppo F7 is also priced pretty aggressively, starting at Rs. 21,990.

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Gadget Review

ppo’s ‘selfie expert’ F-series smartphones have been relatively popular in India, so much so that over the years, the company has focused most of its marketing and promotional efforts on this feature alone. There’s also the A-series that’s often refreshed in India, but others like the R-series have been ignored. Internationally, the topend phone from Oppo right now is the R15, which doesn’t seem to be launching in India anytime soon. However, we have the next best thing here in the form of the Oppo F7. The latest selfie-centric model has a lot in common with the R15, such as the new MediaTek Helio P60 SoC, a high-resolution front camera, and of course, a notch.

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The Oppo F7 uses the new MediaTek Helio P60 octa-core SoC, which is the same one used in the Oppo R15. It’s based on ARM’s big. LITTLE architecture, marrying four high-performance ARM Cortex-A73 cores with four power-efficient Cortex-A53 cores. It is available in two variants - 4GB RAM with 64GB storage and 6GB RAM with 128GB storage. The new Oppo F7 ships with Android Oreo 8.1 out of the box, but it’s hard to recognise it with all the customisations that have been made. Other specifications include dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, USB-OTG, FM radio, and 4G VoLTE. The F7 also features an ambient light sensor, accelerometer, proximity sensor, Hall sensor,

and a gyroscope. There’s a non-removable 3400mAh battery. The fingerprint sensor works well and is quick at authentication. It can also be used for unlocking apps, and a secure space within your phone’s internal storage. The SIM tray is placed on the right, and can hold two NanoSIMs and a microSD card (up to 256GB). There’s a fingerprint sensor at the back, along with a single camera. In the Oppo F7 box, you get a 10W charger, a USB cable, a silicone case, and a headset.

Camera

Being an F-series phone, there’s a lot of focus on the front camera of the Oppo F7. Oppo has picked a 25-megapixel Sony sensor, with an f/2.0 aperture. The F7 also boasts of AI Beauty and Sensor HDR capabilities. The rear camera has a 16-megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, which manages to capture decent details in stills, provided there’s sufficient light. Focusing is quick during the day, but does dip a bit in low light. n

Entertainment

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Assam film ‘Ishu’ makes it to New York Indian Film Festival

shu, the feature film debut of critic-turned-filmmaker Utpal Borpujari, has been selected to be screened at the New York Indian Film Festival on May 12. 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, witch-hunting. The film, which marks the screen debut of Kapil Garo from Sonapur Barosojiya village on the outskirts of Guwahati in the title role, has travelled to several places and won many accolades in the past. The film produced by Children’s Film Society, India (CFSI) had won the Special Jury Award in Indian Competition section of the 10th Bengaluru International Film Festival earlier this year. It was selected in the competition sections for the Indian Languages Competition at the 23rd Kolkata International Film Festival and 11th International Children’s Film Festival, Bangladesh. Ishu has also been selected for the 6th Toulouse Indian Film Festival, France, to be held in April this year. The film stars two-time national award winning actors Bishnu Kharghoria and Tonthoingambi Leishangthem Devi, along with veterans like Chetana Das and Pratibha Choudhury and talented younger actors like

Mrinmoyee Goswami’s ‘Mukoli Mon’ released Kalyan Kumar Kalita

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 River. The film has been edited by A Sreekar Prasad, while its sound design is by Amrit Pritam Dutta. Music is by Anurag Saikia while the cinematographer is Sumon Dowerah.

Acoustic Singh among India’s ‘20 Young Achievers Under 20’ uwahati’s Jairaj Kabir Singh Manchanda a.k.a. Acoustic Singh has made it to the list of ‘20 Young Achievers Under 20’ 2018 for being one of the youngest singing sensations of the country. Among other young achievers in the list are Dangal actress Zaira Wasim, creator of first 3D printers in India Angad Daryani, young genius Kautilya Pandit, playback singer Maithili Thakur and captain of the Indian U-19 Cricket team Prithvi Shaw, among others. ‘Acoustic Singh, The Singh that Sings’ is a 17 year old from Guwahati studying at Don Bosco School, Panbazar. This young YouTube singing sensation has over 175000 subscribers, which he has acquired over a short span of just 2 years. With this huge and fast growing subscriber base, Kabir has got himself an audience that really loves him. Kabir started off sharing his covers on Instagram in 2016, before finally coming up with a YouTube channel. While he initially uploaded videos using a simple smartphone

which his cousin would shoot over lot of ambient noise. People observed that he should bring into my videos some of his cool cat

nature and some quality processing instead of just sitting on a chair with the guitar. So he learnt some editing and some post processing which got him lots of thumbs ups. “I think if I cannot give my audience

what they want, the entire process would be redundant,” says Kabir. At home, Kabir belongs to a regular family that eats together, stays together, fights together and yet, sticks together. At school, he is like any other kid. He is often chided for missing classes, or scoring less and the teachers expect a lot from him, academically, and from his talent. Since childhood, singing caught Kabir’s attention and his family has been ever supportive. Going to reality shows, being rejected, through thick and thin, Kabir’s determination has only increased with this push from his family. He was a semi-finalist at the Sa-Re-Ga-Ma-Pa Little Champs when he was only 10. Today, he and his covers on YouTube are adored by millions. He has more than 3.2 million views on his cover of Channa Mereya song and is the youngest person to have such huge fan base from the country. Kabir soon plans to shift to Mumbai to further his dreams because “Bollywood is Life”.

rinmoyee Goswami is the latest sensation in fusion and folk singing in Assam. With her earthy voice and a feel for the folk genre, she combines the experience of full throttle singing with a subtle sense of intimate expression. Mrinmoyee dares to charter into unknown paths. In her first CD album, Mrinmoyee has included a wide repertoire of different folk songs from Kamrupi and Goalparia, as well as modern contemporary compositions. These songs have been sung in mellow melody against the very earthy and rustic rendering of the popular folk songs. The album has been named ‘Mukoli Mon’ and released by Sony Music. The modern songs have been composed by Rajeswar Bordoloi, Prasenjit Lyton Chowdhury and Mrinmoyee herself. The specialty of the music and arranged by Prasenjit Lyton Chowdhury, Amborish Saikia, Kalyan Baruah and Ambar Das involving popular instrumentalists like Naveen, Kalyan Baruah, Amborish Saikia and other come out as a new style, bound to draw the listeners’ interest.

The music video to the song ‘Moromi Gulap’ from the album has been done by Prerana Creations and is based on the many battles a woman has to face to come out strong against all odds. The song has been directed by national award winning film director Prerana Barbarooah whereas it has been beautifully cinematographed by Suman Dowerah. ‘Moromi Gulap’ has been penned by Mrinmoyee’s grandmother Late Bimali Goswami and was originally sung by her mother Beli Goswami, hence involving two generations of music. Mrinmoyee has not trodden on the beaten path and has experimented with modern arrangements in the accompanying music, adding a different flavour to the album.

Ivanhoe Pictures, Easterly Entertainment to produce Jahnu Barua’s ‘Unread pages’

vanhoe Pictures and India’s Easterly Entertainment are joining forces to co-produce Jahnu Barua’s maiden international project “Unread Pages.” Los Angeles-based Ivanhoe Pictures’ global executive vice president, Kilian Kerwin, said that he wants the film to compete with the best films across the globe. Kerwin, who has earlier worked in some projects in India, is hopeful that this film will project Assam in the world cinema. The film follows a man returning to Assam after being

estranged from his land and culture. Set mostly in Assam and North America, the film will feature both Indian and international actors. Though the cast is yet to be decided the film is expected to be completed in the next 24 months. Around 30 per cent of the film will have dialogues in English and the rest will be in Assamese. Ivanhoe Pictures has already worked in some Hindi projects in Mumbai. On the other hand, Easterly Entertainment has been associated with some of the biggest hits of Hindi film industry including Dhoom. It was also the co-producer of Lunchbox. Barua has won several national film awards in India for films including Baandhon (2012) and Hkhagoroloi Bohu Door (1995). In 1988, he won a Silver Leopard at Locarno film festival for Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai. Unread Pages is the first project to be produced under the recently-launched Assam Film Tourism Policy, which aims to attract film projects to Assam to increase inward investment and stimulate tourism.

Fun

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Horoscope of the week The sun in your social zone allows you to feel upbeat and vital. However, a tie between feisty Mars and sober Saturn in an intense sector of your chart could bring frustrating issues into the mix. These might be tied to a money matter or perhaps a personal relationship. You could find that the more you try to sort things out, the more difficult it becomes.

Trying to make any headway this week could be hard. Others may be quite demanding, and their needs might take up a lot of your time and energy. You also have plans of your own to attend to, and even here the presence of Mercury retrograde can cause delays. If the pressure becomes too much, you’ll need to set some firm boundaries.

The pressure may be on at the start of the week as determined Mars links to prudent Saturn. This blend of energies takes place in your work and lifestyle sector, and it could see you tackling a project that is somewhat overwhelming. Although your focus and concentration may be good, it could be a great help to delegate aspects of this task.

Are you pushing yourself too hard? If a creative project seems to be taking a toll, don’t feel guilty about enjoying a respite. Taking time out is very important because it allows you to replenish your creative side. Over the week, a clash between chatty Mercury in its retrograde phase and sobering Saturn in your leisure zone could have you wondering if your efforts are really benefiting you.

A tie between fiery Mars and cautious Saturn in your home zone could inspire you to get organized at the start of the week. If your home and family sector hasn’t been as together as you’d like it to be, you could be moved to sort this out. Breaking it down into smaller chunks can be an easier way to go about this and still leave time for other things.

There is quite an intense focus on your communication zone, suggesting you could be very determined to move ahead with your present plans. Even so, with feisty Mars merging with prudent Saturn at the start of the week, you could hit a roadblock. This doesn’t mean that you should abandon your project but that you should consider stepping back.

At the start of the week, it might be helpful to cut back on spending because delays could cause a cash-flow issue. This may not be your fault but rather an issue with a payment process or something similar. It might be helpful to keep some spare cash handy. At the same time, you could feel moved to cut back on items you don’t really need.

You might be tempted to push yourself, particularly at the start of the week. If you’ve set a deadline, a tie between dynamic Mars and limiting Saturn could coincide with one or two obstacles. It might be better not to put too much pressure on yourself. The harder you try, the more difficult it could be to move ahead.

There could be one issue that makes you feel tense or uptight, and this might coincide with the merger of fiery Mars and practical Saturn. This could be linked to a past experience or something you’re going through now. However, it’s the way you deal with it that will make all the difference.

Your friends could be particularly demanding during the early part of the week, which could put unnecessary pressure on you. If this has been going on for some time, you might need to take action. A powerful focus on your social sector suggests that you may already be contributing a lot to your community, clubs, and other groups.

Alexander Nix is the CEO of which British Political Analytical Consulting Firm, recently in the news?

According to some sources, which Mughal Prince is credited with the invention of the dish, Roghan Josh?

3 4

Brisk and Malty with a bright colour: what am I describing thus?

What does the US Weather Service define as ‘clear and sunny weather with above normal temperatures occurring in between late September to mid November?

Which currently playing sporting legend has a 4 word name, has the 2nd name - Andres and 4th name Cuccittini?

Identify this cricketer of yore whose name would always be etched in the record books. Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Luann by Greg Evans

curio-city

6 7

9 8 3

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

8 44 5 3 2 1 3 6 8 2 5 9 very hard Daily Sudoku: Fri 6-Apr-2018 5 7 4 Daily Sudoku: Thu 29-Mar-2018

4last 6 7week 1 2 9 8 3 6 5 7 6 54 13 28 4 9 7 1 5 9 2 8 9 4 3 6 4 5 79 32 16 8 4 5 1 26 54 62 7 1 8 7 9 3 4 6 2 8 5 3 8 7 13 75 91 2 8 2 9 4 1 3 3 4 5 9 7 1 Sudoku: 6 Fri36-Apr-2018 2 8 Daily 5 8 7 6 9

medium

solution 8 9 3 5 7 13 82 35

1 98 35 12

2 56 47 89

99 83 74 24 67 11 66 44 25 71 56 68

4 27 61 76 38 59 93 82

5 7 9 very4hard 4 2 3 1

Daily Sudoku: Thu 29-Mar-2018

medium

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

1. Cambridge Analytica, the data mining firm behind Facebook users’ data leak scandal 2. Dara Shikoh 3. Assam Tea 4. Indian Summer 5. Lionel Messi 6. Charles Bannerman, the first Test centurion.

curio-city

Sudoku

As feisty Mars syncs with cautious Saturn in your sector of far horizons this week, you may feel a push to grab a golden opportunity. The one thing that might hold you back is that it could involve a lot of hard work. You might need to juggle various commitments if you are going to fit it in. And if you’re going to do a good job, there are likely no shortcuts.

One thing you could have difficulty with this week is someone telling you what to do. You might have to knuckle down and follow their instructions. This could be the way of things over this week as Mars, your guide planet, ties with prudent Saturn in your sector of goals and authority.

Word of the week Anecdata noun [an-ik-dey-tuh] anecdotal evidence based on personal observations or opinions, random investigations, etc., but presented as fact

Crossword Across

Down

1 White cotton fabric (6) 4 Charts (anag) — formality (6) 9 Result (7) 10 Just at the right moment (2,3) 11 Glossy (5) 12 Type of orange (7) 13 Number One hit record (5-6) 18 Upsetting (7) 20 Sing softly (5) 22 Get on — horse (5) 23 Conveniences (7) 24 Stinking (6) 25 Possibility — opportunity (6)

1 Fastidious (6) 2 Supple and graceful (5) 3 Disgusted (with something) (7) 5 Food fish (5) 6 Person living in solitude (7) 7 Dog-like nocturnal carrion feeders (6) 8 Skilfulness over a wide range (11) 14 Covered with hair (7) 15 Getting hungry (informal) (7) 16 The Isis at Oxford (6) 17 Single-piece full body garment (6) 19 Bringing ruin (5) 21 Large UK cinema chain (5)

Last week’s solution

Lifestyle

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

Curb expenses with Vaastu

urgeoning expenses have made life difficult for many. But faulty Vaastu also has a lot to do with it. With a few remedies, expenses can be checked. Leaking taps and pipes signify leakage of wealth. If there is any leakage in the pipes or faucet, get them repaired/ replaced immediately. The north is the place of Kubera, the Lord of wealth. Money and valuables should be kept in such a way that it faces the north when opened. If you keep cash in an almirah, keep it at south opening towards the north. You will never run short of cash. Broken utensils and cutlery breed negative energy and retard the growth of wealth. Dispose or sell off old and broken utensils. The direction of waste water and rainwater from the roof also has impact on the flow of money. It should never run off through west or south. It should always

drain off towards the north, east or northeast. Whenever this is not possible, direct it towards north or east at first and then let it run off along the eastern or northern border to south or west.

Vaastu and your car

The energy of the earth can affect machines also. It is quite important to follow Vaastu rules for your car too! It is best to park the car at southwest so that southwest area is occupied and kept heavy. The car should be parked facing north or east only. The vehicle should be parked along the

length of the house. A car should not be parked under a beam. Beams exert heavy energy arrows downwards. Keep the car clean. Throw away the dirty items and old parts from the car otherwise there will be negative energy breeding inside. Cover the car at night with newspaper, with a bit of salt on top. Throw the salt down the drain in the morning. This will dispel negative energy. It is a good habit to keep auspicious symbols or photo/statue of deities on the dashboard as they promote positive energy inside the car. Feng Shui experts advise keeping a dragon or rhino in the car. Do not purchase a new car on a Tuesday or Saturday! Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.

1. Mint + Lemon + Cucumber

While mint is a natural stimulant, lemon aids in detoxification and cucumber reduces body heat and

inflammation. Drinking this magical water helps reduce body heat and leaves a nice cooling effect from within all day.

2. Watermelon detox water

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing more refreshing than a watermelon on a hot day.

for its medicinal properties. While basil water aids in digestion, fights infection, relieves stress, detoxifies the body and improves immunity, strawberry adds taste to it.

4. Iced green tea

A green tea cleanse is very good for the body. Tea leaves are a great source of antioxidants that flush out all of the toxins from your body. You can also combine iced green tea with some other powerful ingredients like strawberry, mint and lemon to produce a super drink.

5. Ginger water

Watermelon contains lycopene, which is a strong antioxidant that helps decrease inflammation. There are also amino acids hidden in this juicy melon that help with blood flow and maintain the sugar level in the body.

3. Strawberry + Basil

Basil is a magical herb used to treat many common ailments

Failing Dreams I saw this once In my dream I killed two souls And did not scream

They helped me up And wanted to see What it was like To find the truth in me

But on this night I could not wake An evil spoke Came for souls to take

I watched them fight I watched them fall Maybe it was fear

Keeping hydrated this summer: 5 delicious detox water recipes ith summer just round the corner, staying hydrated has become absolutely essential for the healthy functioning of the body. This means, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to make the water bottle your new best friend! This summer, stay fit, feel fresh and beat the heat with more than just regular water. Infuse natural flavours to your water and enjoy healthy detox water all day long! The general idea behind detox water is that it helps flush your body toxins quicker than plain old water. You find healthy foods, toss them in water and drink. Not only does detox water taste yummy and refreshing, they also boost the immune system and energise the body. You can make delicious infused waters at home using fruits and spices. Here is a list of some detox or infused waters to stray hydrated and healthy this summer:

You can make ginger water the official summer drink for you. Water infused with ginger, mint and lime is perfect for the summer when you want to beat the heat but also flush out toxins from the body rapidly. This infusion has antioxidant properties, aids in digestion, reduces inflammation and pain in joints, fights common cold and has anti-carcinogenic properties. You can also add in a little honey!

Preventing me to their aid

The spite had won Its reward in blood But wanted me For a final touch

Alas the night had ended And I did wake Back into the world Where dreams were vain

I saw this once In my dreams Where two souls who loved Died in screams

Sanjali Dixit

Buzz

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

KC Das College city champions in Red Bull Campus Cricket

our college teams from Guwahati Gauhati Commerce College, West Guwahati Commerce College, KC Das Commerce College and B Baruah College participated in the Lucknow city qualifiers at IIT Guwahati ground. KC Das College won the final match against B Barooah College by 60 runs to become the Guwahati city champions in Red Bull Campus Cricket 2018. In the match between KC Das College and B Barooah College, KC Das College won the toss and chose to bat first. Siddharth from KC Das College received the man

of the match award for taking two wickets and scoring 36 runs off 19 balls. Final match scorecard was: KC Das Commerce College – 140/7 – 20 overs, B Barooah College –

68/3 – 13.3 overs (T20). KC Das College will now represent Guwahati and face off against six other cities in the regional/zonal finals in April. The top two teams from each zone will then compete in the national finals where the teams will play in the knockout rounds of quarter finals, semi finals and finals respectively. The national winner will then represent India in the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Series Championship 2018. A total of around 250 teams from across 28 cities are participating in the tournament. n

World Autism Awareness Day celebrated in Guwahati Nellie Ahmed Tanveer, Mahendra Nath Shil, Ritul Das, and Tutumoni Basumatary were felicitated for their services to the cause of autistic children. Similar program was organised by Shishu Sarothi on the occasion of 11th World Autism Awareness Day at at the Dighalipukhuri Park. The event was graced upon and addressed by Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (M) Virendra Mittal, along with Dr. Sumi Choudhury (Psychiatrist) and Dr Nithi Sharma (clinical psychologist) who were the

B Barooah College Youth Conclave concludes

outh conclave 2018 organised at B Barooah College concluded on Thursday, March 29. The meet was held across ten competitive and two non-competitive categories which were open to students from class VIII to PG level of any institution within India. The two-day conclave was organised in collaboration with the Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Government of Assam and Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata. The conclave began on March 28 with the competitive category

seminar paper presentation on the focal theme of ‘Act East Policy: Opportunities and Challenges.’ This was followed by various competitive events which were held simultaneously at multiple venues. A new event, ‘Ink Your Idea: Live Painting,’ was introduced in this year’s conclave in which the participants were required to paint while instrumental music was being played in the background. Thirty artists from across institutions participated in it. ‘Vocals: Solo Song Competition,’ with over 50 contestants from across institutions saw the maximum number of participation. These participants lent their voice to timeless Assamese, Hindi and English numbers. On the second day, the paintings of the first day were exhibited. Also, the photographs submitted as part of ‘Shutter: The Photography Competition’ were put on for public display. Another highlight of the programme was ‘Teaser: The Quiz.’ n

Children of Shishu Sarothi displaying placards on the occasion of World Autism awareness Day

lue lights represent autism and accordingly blue lamps were lighted to mark the inauguration of the World Autism Awareness Day 2018 function held at the NEDFi Convention Centre in Guwahati on Sunday. Welcoming the guests and guardians present on the occasion, Dr Shabina Ahmed, Managing Trustee, Assam Autism Foundation (AAF), gave a glimpse of the journey of AAF and its strive to provide children with autism and other developmental disabilities the best possible opportunities for functional support and training along with assistance in helping them reach their best potential. The chief guest of the occasion, Dr Bijoy Choudhury Dutta, OSD, Srimanta Sankardev University of Health Sciences, lauded the good work of AAF and exhorted upon the civil society to work for building a society that recognises and uses the potential abilities of the autistic person. Dr Chiranjib Kakoty, Director, NEYSPM, in his address as the guest of honour, stressed upon the need for state-of-

Folk Dance Workshop 2018

G Autistic children from Assam Autism Foundation participating in a talent show at the World Autism Awareness Day 2018 event held at NEDFi Convention Centre Guwahati on Sunday. the-art rehabilitation centres, respite homes, and vocational units for self-employment and independent living opportunities for the autistic person. mong others who deliberated on the occasion were Dr Khafiluz Zaman Ahmed, Trustee, AAF and Reshma NC Shah, Vice President, River Education Foundation. A few parents of autistic children also spoke and shared their experiences. An exhibition of products made by autistic children, a talentshow where autistic children participated, and a musical programme added glitter to the event.

speakers for the event. The chief guest and eminent speakers shared insights on dealing with autism with the gathering while the parents of children with autism shared their personal experience. The organisers hoped that increased awareness and access to appropriate support and services would lead to the creation of more understanding world for people with autism. The event concluded with a voluntary musical performance by Mr. Amitabh Barooah and Ms. Naaz Sultana who put up a great show for all the children present there. n

irls performing the traditional Laseri Nach (dance) of Sonowal Kachari Tribe during the conclusion day of a folk dance workshop at Silpagram in Guwahati on Tuesday. The folk dance workshop 2018 was organised by Sanskritic Mancha, Assam in collaboration

with Sangeet Natak Akademy, New Delhi (SNA) and North East Zone Cultrural Centre (NEZCC) of Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Organised ahead of the Rongali Bihu Festival, the workshop aims to bring out the traditions and cultures of Assam. n

Events

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018

n a glittering event, the latest album of singer Mrinmoyee Goswami was released at India Club, Guwahati. April 7-8 Manas Spring Festival

Date: March 30, Friday Event: Mukoli Mon Album Launch Venue: India Club

Manas National Park April 7, Saturday Anupam Roy Live in Concert Pragjyoti ITA Center, Machkhowa 6PM onwards

enowned Indian singer and composer Gajendra Verma enthralled Guwahati with his performance at Underdoggs this weekend. The audience swayed to the tunes of the singer, who rose to fame with his YouTube hit ‘Emptiness’. Gajendra Verma performed some of the most iconic Hindi songs, along with his chart topping numbers like ‘Mann Mera’, ‘Tera Hi Rahun’ and ‘Baarish’.

April 7, Saturday In the loop Terra Mayaa 8PM onwards April 7, Saturday What’s brewing

Date: March 31, Saturday Event: Gajendra Verma Live Venue: Underdoggs Sports Bar

Guwahati NYX, Hotel palacio 8PM onwards April 7, Saturday Social Saturday Socialite 7:30PM onwards April 7, Saturday Retro Saturdays

Date: March 30-31

Retro Town

Event: Moghai Ojah Srijan Award

6PM onwards

Venue: Moghai Ojah Srijan Award Date: April 4-8 Event: Silk Mark Expo Guwahati Venue: NEDFi

Dr Manjumala Das inaugurating the exhibition (top); wares on display (bottom)

Date: April 1 Event: Utsav - Exhibition cum fete Venue: India Club

April 7, Saturday Bollywood Beats Dunkin Oza 7PM onwards April 7, Saturday Acoustic Session with Greg Bulls and Beers

Date: March 31, Saturday Date: March 31, Saturday Event: Big Bollywood Night ft. DJ Ayush Venue: Dunkin Oza

Event: Ladies Night ft. DJ James Venue: Retro Town

8PM onwards April 8, Sunday Commercial Club Night Retro Town 7PM onwards

Catching Up

G PLUS | APR 07 - APR 13, 2018