Vol 5 Issue 28 by G Plus

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018 @guwahatiplus www.guwahatiplus.com

Inside

Volume 05 | Issue 28 May 05 - May 11, 2018 Price `10

GDD minister to take action against corrupt GMDA, GMC officials PG 02

No Ola, Uber for 72 hours Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

ith passengers alleging that services provided by the app-based cabs in the city drastically deteriorating, the drivers, on the other hand, have blamed the cab companies for the scenario. President of All Assam Cab Operators Association, Ismail Ali said, “Starting the protest the Ola and Uber taxis will remain off the roads on 7th, 8th and 9th May.” He said that the association has, many a time, written to Uber and Ola to resolve the grievances of the drivers but has never got a positive response. So a massive stir will start on 7th May. Another driver and member of the association, Ibrahim Ali, said that the protest will continue intensifying unless a solution is derived. The drivers do not get the kind of incentives they used to before and with other problems being added, they are not being able to provide proper services to the passengers. After the protest on 7th, 8th and 9th May, the association is mulling another protest where the association will take some tough decisions. The protest, which will be organised after 9th May might also be a “violent” one, said an Uber driver. n

2018 GMC polls: Ward level party politics begins PG 05

Rebati Phukan Where on earth is he? Rajeev Bhattacharyya

here is still no trace of peace negotiator Rebati Phukan two weeks after he disappeared from his residence at Ambika Nagar in Guwahati. The police swung into action after chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal voiced his concern over the incident. Days later, even drains were

searched and all districts alerted in the state for the missing person who is in his mid-sixties. Several theories have surfaced about his whereabouts, with senior functionaries of both the pro and anti-talks factions of ULFA articulating their opinions in a recent talk show. So what could have happened to him? Continued on page » 3

Maligaon, Kamakhya residents in Ward No 4 expect better performance from GMC PG 12-13

Lead Story

SNIPPETS District Admin bans earth cutting in the city from May 1

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

GDD minister to take action against corrupt GMDA, GMC officials G Plus reports on the swift review taken by the new GDD minister, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, on the two key departments of the city – the GMDA and GMC Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

eputy Commissioner, Kamrup (M), Virendra Mittal has directed all concerned departments, including enforcement agencies like revenue circle officers, city police, forest department, PWD, transport, soil conservation, planning and other regulatory bodies, not to permit any earth cutting and earth filling activity in the hilly terrains, water bodies and in low-lying areas of the district, with effect from May 1. A release from the administration said unscientific and haphazard earth cutting and earth filling destabilizes natural earth slopes and blocks natural as well as artificial drains. “It triggers severe landslides, artificial floods and persistent water logging during rainy days, resulting in substantial loss of human and cattle lives and destruction of property. Unscientific earth cutting also degrades the environment and overall ecological balance,” it said. To prevent any form of natural disasters in the monsoon season, the Kamrup (M) administration has strictly prohibited earth cutting and filling for unplanned constructions in the city’s hillocks and other low-lying areas. n

Pijush Hazarika officially takes charge of his office at Janata Bhawan

ijush Hazarika, newly appointed minister in the Sarbananda Sonowal led BJP government in Assam, has officially taken charge of his office at Janata Bhawan on Wednesday. The minister took charge of his office by performing holy rituals (NaamKirtan) at his office. His family members were also present during the ceremony. Pijush Hazarika has been allotted the ministry of urban development excluding T&CP (I), health & family welfare (assistant cabinet minister as MoS) Himanta Biswa Sarma conveyed his best wishes to Hazarika on officially taking charge of his office. n

fter just 5 days of taking oath as the new minister of Guwahati Development Department (GDD), Gauhati (East) MLA, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, made it amply clear to the officials of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) that he will not tolerate any kind of corruption in the two departments. Bhattacharya, while chairing a review meeting at GMDA on 3rd May said, “All kind of corruption has to stop and complaints need to be filed against corrupt officials.” A source in the GMDA who attended the meeting said that the GDD minister expressed concern regarding the building permission process as, according to him permissions are being given on priority to people who

bribe the officials. Bhattacharya said in the meeting that when a building is constructed illegally the officials act against the building owner and the building is demolished. But there is never any action taken against the officials who give permissions illegally after taking bribes. He said, “I will change the system.” It is alleged that there is a lobby in the GMDA which, with political backing, controls the entire building and planning permission process. The lobby also allegedly controls the tendering process for various projects carried out by GMDA. A source close to the GDD minister said, “The minister will minutely study all the existing projects and the process under which the agencies were hired. If anything smells fishy, a high level enquiry will be ordered.” After ending the review meeting at GMDA, the minister chaired another review meeting with the GMC officials at the circuit house.

GDD minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya during the review meeting with GMDA officials | G Plus Photo The minister expressed concern regarding corruption in the GMC too during the meeting. He said that long back when he had opened a restaurant, he had faced many difficulties from GMC for securing the trade license. The GMC collects Rs 20 from street vendors on a daily basis but

the minister expressed doubts whether all the money went into the GMC’s account. GMC too provides building permissions which also allegedly goes through a corrupt process. The minister warned the officials that anyone found taking bribes will have to face the music. n

Bhattacharya cracks the whip on Directions will be taken care of in GMDA officials for delay of projects stringent manner: Angamuthu

DD Minister, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, on Thursday chaired a review meeting with the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) officials for the first time after taking charge of his office and expressed his concern regarding delays in project completion. Bhattacharya said, “Development work in the city should progress fast.” The GMDA engineers briefed him about the progress of all ongoing projects like water supply, ropeway and construction of a bridge over the Brahmaputra. The minister, according to GMDA officials, was not happy with the pace of the works and has directed the officials to complete all the projects soon. Many engineers of the GMDA failed to state project plans when asked, which greatly irked the minister. Bhattacharya warned the chief engineer in-charge of GMDA, Debajit Das, to ensure that the projects are completed soon or else the engineer would be reverted back to the Public Works Department (PWD). Das had superseded many engineers in the PWD and had

got promotions. He was sent to GMDA on deputation and now is the acting chief engineer. The officials of the Jal Board were asked by the minister to complete the water supply projects in the city as soon as possible. The officials informed the minister that two ongoing water supply projects might get commissioned by the end of the year. Similarly, the ropeway project will also be completed by the end of the year. The minister asked the GMDA officials to discuss the Fancy Bazar old jail botanical garden project with him in detail before finalising the project. Many residents of Fancy Bazar and even the councillors are against the decision of converting the old jail into a botanical garden and favoured a parking lot instead. The minister also instructed the GMDA officials to stop digging of roads for laying pipes without informing the department which is responsible for repairing the roads. According to him Guwahatians have been suffering because of lack of coordination between GMDA and the other departments. n

File photo of GMDA office (L), Dr M Amgamuthu (R)

fter the serious review meeting held in Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) chaired by Guwahati Development Department (GDD) minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya, the senior officials of the department have vowed to improve the public delivery system. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GMDA, M Angamuthu said, “The minister’s direction will be taken care of in a stringent manner.” He claimed that the public delivery and complaint redressal systems will be improved and that he will monitor the progress of various schemes

and projects minutely. A source in the GMDA revealed that the senior officials of the department were upset after the meeting on the dissatisfaction expressed by the minister on various issues. The GMDA engineers have been asked to immediately prepare a status report of all the projects and the agencies carrying out the projects have been asked to submit explanations with regard to the delays of the projects. There is a situation of panic among the engineers in the GMDA. A lobby of engineers is in a state of shock because the lobby is unaware of how to tackle the new GDD minister, said the source. n

Lead Story

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Rebati Phukan - where on earth is he? Continued from page » 1

Theory 1: Abduction by ULFA Pro-Talks Group

The anti-talks faction of ULFA seems to point fingers at some members of the other group for their role in the disappearance of Phukan. But there is hardly any rationale in this argument since there is nothing to be gained from abducting Phukan. The peace talks, incidentally, have reached the final stage after many rounds of negotiations over the past seven years. The Centre is awaiting the verdict of the Supreme Court on some crucial issues regarding citizenship in Assam and especially the cut-off date and the update of the crucial National Register of Citizens (NRC) for fine-tuning the agreement. It is assumed that this accord will also incorporate vital safeguards for all indigenous communities in the state which were earlier envisaged in the Assam Accord but could never be implemented. Nor

security agencies of China and Pakistan. His long association with the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan and the Second Department (a military intelligence wing of China) has undoubtedly enabled him to have a peek into many secrets and policies of these neighbouring countries. China has even allowed him to stay in a remote corner of Yunnan bordering Myanmar. It could be difficult for Baruah to extricate himself from this network and land in India for talks. Also, the Manipuri separatist outfits like the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would also be opposed to Baruah smoking the peace pipe in the near future.

Theory 2: Government hand behind the disappearance

The second theory is that the government had a role in the disappearance of Phukan. Chief of staff Baruah was vocal in blaming the government in a recent discussion on Pratidin

Rebati Phukan (right of Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami) with other members of the PCG in 2005 | File Photo did Phukan have any enmity with any of the pro-talks leaders. According to some reports, Phukan had been putting in efforts to rope in chief of staff Baruah in the peace process. It is assumed that Baruah’s presence might drag the peace talks and also take the focus away from the current leaders who are now calling the shots. Therefore, all this could explain why the pro-talks faction would like to scuttle Phukan’s efforts to include Baruah in the peace parleys. Baruah may state his intention of participating in the dialogue to delay the agreement but he will never be present on the table for two reasons. First, he has been awarded capital punishment in Bangladesh for his involvement in the infamous Chittagong Arms Haul on 2nd April 2004. Already, several high profile politicians have been hanged in this case. So if Baruah was to make himself available in Assam or any part of India, it is but natural that Dhaka would demand his extradition. When Bangladesh has cracked the whip on northeast rebels staying in the country, can New Delhi turn down this request? So in all likelihood, the Centre would not prefer to include Baruah in the talks. Secondly, Paresh Baruah is deeply entangled with the

Times hosted by Mrinal Talukdar. Again, this theory too sounds farfetched because the government would not stand to gain anything by abducting him. None of the three intelligence agencies – Special Branch of Assam Police, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Military Intelligence (MI) – is likely to have picked him up since they are also aware about the unfeasibility of making Baruah sign the forthcoming agreement. Barring the MI, the other two agencies are informed about the latest developments in the peace talks which will reach a logical conclusion with or without Baruah’s signature in the agreement. The gang of secret killers in Assam that was active around two decades ago has all but withdrawn for a variety of reasons. While the architects have retired, the lower-level police personnel would not indulge in such acts since there is none to protect them now. Of course, there is still one senior IPS officer in Assam who would not have any qualms about carrying out such acts but he has already been sidelined and rendered ineffective.

Theory 3: Has Phukan gone to meet Baruah?

There are also rumours among some sections that Phu-

kan might have been sent by the government to meet Baruah. But why when the government knows that his involvement in the talks would be next to impossible? So this theory also doesn’t stand to reason. And yet there are some who are of the opinion that Phukan might have crossed the border on his own volition to the head-

quarters at Hukwang Valley in Myanmar’s Sagaing Division. He has recently undergone bypass surgery and it wouldn’t at all be easy for him to climb and cross the high mountains in the Naga inhabited areas ahead of the valley. But there are at least two shorter routes to reach Taga (where the camps are located nowadays) which mostly

entail travel by boat on the Chindwin River. But Baruah has vehemently denied such a possibility. Therefore, all the possibilities on Phukan’s disappearance lead to a dead end. While his family members and friends are hoping for his safe return, the police are searching for more clues to crack the case. n

Governance

SNIPPETS Tourist looted in Guwahati; two arrested

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Disappointment awaits 36,794 city applicants in PMAY housing scheme G Plus does a reality check on the possibilities and difficulties of the PMAY Urban Scheme taking off in Guwahati in its bid to provide housing for the economically weaker section Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

he Dispur Police on Saturday arrested a trekker driver and a handyman for allegedly looting a foreign tourist in city. The tourist has been identified as Kuhin Nir of Israel. The incident took place at Khanapara. Police recovered Rs 9,000, 200 dollars and 200 euros from the accused Dipankar Haloi and Buman Saikia. n

Renowned singer Padmanav Bordoloi’s car window broken; valuables stolen in broad daylight

enowned singer from Assam Padmanav Bordoloi’s car window was broken by miscreants in broad daylight at AT Road, on Tuesday. Reportedly, the incident occurred when the singer took his car to a certain car servicing centre at AT Road. The singer parked his car at a specified parking lot and went to the market. The artist returned to find the left window of his car completely broken. The singer’s mobile, an iPhone, wallet with cash amount of Rs 5,000 and several important documents worth Rs 25,000 were also stolen from the bag which he had left inside the car. The incident was immediately reported to Bharalumukh Police Station, but due to lack of proper CCTV arrangements nearby, the miscreants could not be spotted. Padmanav, while speaking to G Plus, said that the incident might have occurred somewhere between 2:40 PM and 3:30 PM. The singer, while raising concern about the whole issue, said, “If we are not safe in our own city, and if our car is not safe even after being parking specified parking locations, it is matter of huge concern. I am really disappointed with the safety and security measures in the city.” n

hough the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) was extremely tardy in starting the survey for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) Urban scheme, 36,794 people applied for the same last year. A source in the PMAY state mission said, “After the applicants applied and the verification was completed in March 2018, it is known that there are 36,794 beneficiaries for the PMAY scheme.” In Guwahati, the PMAY scheme is implemented under the supervision of the GMC. PMAY (Urban) is a mission with the aim of providing housing for all. It was flagged off on 21st June 2015 by the central government. The primary objective of the mission is to provide RCC houses to the economically weaker section (EWS) residing in urban areas. The survey conducted by the PMAY mission revealed that among the four verticals under the PMAY scheme, 1,467 applicants had applied under the In-situ slum redevelopment (ISSR) scheme. 1,068 applicants applied under credit linked subsidy scheme (CLSS). 26,981 applicants applied under affordable housing in partnership (AHP). 1,380 applicants having myadi patta land applied for beneficiary led construction (BLC) and 3,548 persons having eksoniya plots of land applied for the same scheme. Under ISSR, identifying the slum dweller is the responsibility of the state government and accordingly the urban local bodies

A slum area in the city | G Plus Photo (ULBs) identify the dwellers. A 30 square metre RCC house with all required amenities like bathroom and kitchen are made for the applicant. A family consisting of husband, wife and unmarried children with an income of Rs 25,000 per month is eligible to apply. A private party is expected to develop the area and provide shelter to the identified slum dwellers. The rest of the area will be again developed as commercial space such as malls, etc. Sources revealed that there are around 31 slums in Guwahati and according to the survey 1,467 people applied for a house under PMAY. There are many families from other districts working in Guwahati who do not have any plot of land of their own. And so, they do not have houses of their own and live in rented houses. Under affordable housing in partnership

(AHP), they are also entitled for a 30 square metre house if any such family is earning less than Rs 25,000 per month. 26,981 applicants applied for a house in Guwahati under the scheme. Under CLSS 1,068 people applied. Families in this scheme can avail huge subsidy from banks to build or buy houses. Under this scheme EWS people having family income less than Rs 25,000 per month can get up to Rs 6 lakhs as loan from any bank with an interest subsidy of 6.5%. The loan has to be repaid within 20 years. People who earn between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000, considered as lower income group (LIG) are entitled for a 60 square metre house and under this scheme can avail loan up to Rs 6 lakhs in the similar 6.5% interest subsidy. The contention here is that this section of people will go for a flat which is around 60 square metres or more. But they

will get the subsidy on only Rs 6 lakhs because that is the money required to make a 30 square metre house which the EWS are entitled to. So whatever loan they take they will get an interest subsidy only on Rs 6 lakhs. Under BLC and BLE schemes 4,928 and 2,350 persons applied for the scheme. Only economically weaker sections (EWS) families are entitled for this vertical and according to a PMAY project source, if a family has a plot of land under the urban local body area, but there is a financial scarcity to construct a house, it can get Rs 2 lakhs in their account (Rs 1.5 lakhs from the Centre and Rs 50,000 from the state government) to construct a house. There is a condition that only myadi patta land owners could avail the scheme. There are more applicants from eksonia land owners under the scheme. n

The disappointment: Housing for all an impossible dream in Guwahati

he centre’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) Urban dream looks like impossible in Guwahati with most of the applicants being doubtful to qualify for the benefits on the one hand and with scarcity of appropriate land on the other. A source in PMAY project said, “Not even 15% of the applicants will get the houses now as lack of government identified land for development and myadi patta

land scarcity are the major issues.” According to the source for projects like affordable housing in partnership (AHP), government has to come up with building projects on government lands but the state government has failed to identify such lands in the city so far. After the survey, 26,981 beneficiaries should get such houses but that can happen only if lands are allotted for such projects. Also people who have

plots of land and do not have money can avail the scheme. But the subsidy can be provided only to the land owners who have myadi patta land. Similarly, the slums in the city have to be developed. 1,467 slum dwellers applied for houses from around 45 slums. Some slums are sitting on lands belonging to the railways, state government bodies like ASTC, revenue, ASEB, police, universities, ATDC and so on. To develop the slums and

provide housing to all, areawise departmental clearance is required. The source said, “None of the departments are giving the clearance and therefore the slums are not getting developed.” According to the survey conducted by PMAY officials, most of the applicants are people who have eksonia lands. Unless the scheme is reformed, housing for all in Guwahati remains a dream and PMAY looks like a gimmick. n

Politicking

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

2018 GMC polls: Ward level party politics begin Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

s the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) council elections are due towards the end of June or in early July, party workers of the various wards have started working to get their party tickets for the upcoming elections. A sitting councillor of a ward, talking to G Plus in anonymity said, “The aspirants of the tickets have already started pulling the strings.” The councillor said that the aspirants have started contacting the sitting members of legislating assembly (MLAs) and party

leaders for the tickets. There are 31 wards in the city and in every ward there is a councillor and 2 or three area sabha members. The ward councillors have started teaming up with people who are expecting area sabha member tickets and would back the councillor’s candidature. There are also other teams being formed by people who are not councillors or area sabha members but are politically active and have high profile links. The state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) office and Congress Party office are being thronged by the ward level party members with hopes to woo the senior party leaders for the tickets.

AGP President Atul Bora, Assam BJP President Ranjit Das and Assam Congress President Ripun Bora (L to R) | G Plus Photo Money will play an important role for tickets, opined a councillor. According to the councillor, even

Alliance a concern for councillors

GUWAHATI

Presents

hati (West) constituency and the councillors there are of the view that he might pitch for AGP workers rather than BJP workers for the councillor posts. In 2013, 19 wards were captured by the Congress, 11 wards by BJP and only 1 ward by the AGP.

Later, after Himanta Biswa Sarma joined BJP, many Congress councillors converted to BJP. Many BJP workers in Jalukbari constituency are also worried that people who are not old BJP workers but are close to Sarma might get the tickets. n

Draft electoral roll to be published today

he draft electoral rolls of all the 31 wards under Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) area will be published today in 31 designated locations in the 31 different wards. Assam Engineering College Area LP School will get the roll for ward number 1, Bani Vidyapeeth, Maligaon will get the roll for ward number 2, Vidya Mandir High School, Maligaon will display the role for ward number 3, Maharshi Vidya Mandir, Maligaon – ward number 4, Maligaon Railway High School – ward number 5, Paschim Boragaon LP School – ward number 6, Champawati High School, Dhirenpara – ward number 7, Sona Ram School,

Similarly, this time too people will use money power to get party tickets. n

Royal Global University

s the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) are together ruling the state through an alliance, many councillors are worried that if the same alliance is implemented during Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), a number of party workers will be left out. A BJP councillor in the Gauhati (West) constituency, talking to G Plus said, “I am a sitting BJP councillor but if there is an alliance there is the possibility that the AGP candidate might get the ticket instead of me.” Ramendra Narayan Kalita is the sitting AGP MLA from Gau-

earlier as well, many people had to pay huge amounts of money to secure a ticket.

Bharalumukh – ward number 8, Mahavir Bhawan, Fancy Bazar – ward number 9, PWD office, Fancy Bazar – ward number 10, T.C. Girls FI.S. School – ward number 11, Nizarapar L.P. School, Chandmari – ward number 12, PWD chief engineer’s office, Chandmari – ward number 13, Manipuri Basti LP School, Paltan Bazar – ward number 14, Arya Vidyapeeth School – ward number 15, Ambari Sishu Vidyalaya – ward number 16, Kahilipara High School – ward number 17, Ulubari High School – ward number 18, Gopal Boro School, Ganeshguri – ward number 19, Soil Conversation office, Zoo Road – ward number 20, AIDC office, Zoo Road – 21, Oil Refinery High School, Noonmati

– ward number 22, Guwahati College – ward number 23, Narengi High School – ward number 24, Khadi Board office, Hengrabari – ward number 25, Rajdhani School, Dispur – ward number 26, Sabitri Bharali School, Udalbakra – ward number 27, Beltola College – ward number 28, Hatigaon High School – ward number 29, Ganesh Mandir High School, Rukminigaon – ward number 30 and Khanapara LP School – ward number 31. A district administration source said that the voters could visit the designated locations and check their names. If there are any grievances, claims and objections can be registered at the designated locations before 14th May 2018. n

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Governance

SNIPPETS Govt to hand over Kaziranga National Park to private firm

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Women’s distress helpline registers 213 cases in a month Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

he central government has decided to hand over the Kaziranga National Park to a private firm. Along with the park, the government has also decided to hand over other historical monuments of the state to private firms under a scheme called ‘Monument Mitra.’ ‘Monument Mitra’ is the term coined for an entity partnering the government under the ‘Adopt A Heritage’ project. The idea of putting a heritage monument up for adoption is the brainchild of the ministry of tourism, along with the ministry of culture and the Archaeological Survey of India. It was launched on World Tourism Day last year by President Ram Nath Kovind. The project aims to develop monuments, heritage and tourist sites across India by inviting corporate entities, public sector companies or individuals to “adopt” them. The scheme has been prepared by the central government for handing over the important monuments and reserved forests/ wildlife sanctuaries etc to private/ public sector firms. The move has drawn sharp reactions from various organisations of the state since Tuesday last. The union tourism ministry has reportedly planned to hand over world heritage site Kaziranga National Park (KNP) and three Sivasagar based archaeological sites — Rang Ghar, Kareng Ghar and Shiva Dol — to Jungle Travels India (JTI) group under the central government’s Adopt a Heritage scheme to maintain them. The selected heritage sites and buildings were selected on the basis of their annual tourist footfalls and visibility, the report said. n

Priyanka Chopra shoots for 'Chaklang'

s part of the Awesome Assam campaign, Priyanka Chopra arrived in Assam on Saturday last to shoot for various short ad films. In an initiative to promote Assam as a wedding destination, she also did a shoot for the 'Chaklang' - traditional Ahom wedding. She acted in the promotional videos with Assamese actor Nayan Nilim. n

he 181 helpline for women has already registered 213 cases in the one month since its inception. Officials at the one stop centre (OSC) for women informed G Plus that they have received a wonderful response from the women of the city as well as the state, especially immediately after the inauguration of the helpline. “As soon as the helpline became operational, we started receiving a lot of calls every day. This would go up to even 20 calls per day made by women in distress. However, this has now declined to a steady three or four cases in a day,” informed Nilakshi Sarma, centre coordinator of the Kamrup (Metro) OSC. The helpline was launched on March 30 by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. It enables women to lodge complaints related to domestic violence, sexual harassment, eve-teasing, dowry cases and human trafficking among others. During the initial pilot period, the helpline will remain operational from 9.00 am to 5.30 pm, informed authorities. Further, while launching the helpline in March, the chief

minister expressed serious concern over the rising instances of crimes against women in the state. He added that the government is taking measures to take strict action against the perpetrators of these crimes. This tollfree helpline is meant to provide assistance to women with counselling, shelter, filing of FIR and other legal aid, help with social welfare schemes and emergency services including rescue. The centre officials said that they are planning to recruit three more call responders keeping in mind the increased number of calls received by them. Currently the centre operates with a staff strength of 12. “Once the new recruitments are completed, the helpline would be able to function 24 hours. We are hoping to complete the

CM Sarbananda Sonowal launching the 181 helpline for women | G Plus Photo recruitment process by the end of this month,” said an official. Additionally, the helpline has been integrated with the already existing Sakhi - one stop centre (OSC) for women. The OSC, which is a comprehensive care centre for women launched by the central ministry of women and child development, remains underutilised. Launched in January 2017, ‘Sakhi - one stop centre’ provides integrated support and assistance to women who face any form of violence including physical, mental or sexual abuse.

Under this centrallysponsored scheme, female victims of abuse and violence can avail medical, legal and counselling services provided by the government. There are a total of five one stop centres in Assam located at Nagaon, Jorhat, Kokrajhar and Cachar apart from Kamrup (Metro). It provides emergency and non-emergency services to survivors who have been victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and human trafficking among others. n

Helpline registers maximum cases on domestic violence, cyber crime

uthorities informed that complaints against domestic violence and cyber crime make up for the maximum calls received by the helpline. “Apart from domestic violence cases, we receive cases related to cyber crime which consists of online harassment and abuse. Further, women from across the state have also called the 181 helpline to complain about child marriage and human trafficking,” informed Sarma. Last year in Guwahati, the police registered maximum number of cases against cruelty by husband and relatives with 590 such cases being filed in the city till October 2017. This was the highest among all categories of cases under violence against women. According to the data provided by the Crime Branch, 2017 saw a slight increase in the number of cases of cruelty by husband and

relatives as compared to 2016. A total of 507 cases were registered under this category in 2016. Officials at the OSC informed that in almost all the domestic violence cases, extra marital affair was found to be the primary reason for discord. Sources said that at present, the one stop centre in Kamrup (Metro) remains underutilised as there is lack of awareness about the facility among the city’s women. They however hope that as the 181 helpline gains popularity, people will also become aware about the existence of the OSCs. As per the data made available by the officials, the Sakhi centre located in Kamrup (Metro) district has only handled 12 cases till now, a majority of which have been referral cases by different citybased NGOs. “Many people still do not know about the centre and the services it offers for women in distress.

There is a need to create largescale awareness about the same,” said an official of the one stop centre. The OSC, which is located at Hatigaon, is also equipped with five beds which function as a

temporary shelter for those in need of a place to stay for a few days. “OSC and 181 helpline are two sides of the same coin. We need to integrate both in a systematic way,” said Sarma. n

181 helpline registers 213 cases in one month since its inception Authorities informed that maximum cases are related to domestic violence and cyber crime The helpline received a wonderful response from the women of the state During the initial few days, the helpline recorded around 15 to 20 cases a day It has now come down to a steady 3 or 4 cases a day Apart from domestic violence and cyber crime, the helpline gets complaints related to child marriage, human trafficking and sexual abuse

City

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Grand Bihu celebration at Don Bosco G Plus News

on Bosco School, Panbazar celebrated its 13th Don Bosco Annual Rongali Bihu Utsav – 2018 on May 4 in a grand manner at the Don Bosco Bihutoli. In the morning, the Bihu

(Top) GDD Minister, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, at Don Bosco School during the Bihu programme. Children participating in the festivities Utsav was formally inaugurated by Pradip Baruah, Editor, Prantik, with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp, along with other guests like Pulak Mahanta, ADC, Kamrup, Fr. Vincent Xalxo, Parish Priest, Fr. Pradeep Ekka, Vice Principal and Fr. Joseph Teron. It was followed by an Inter House Bihu Nritya competition

and an Inter House exhibition of traditional Assamese paraphernalia. The afternoon cultural

programme was graced by state education minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya. The minister visited all the

exhibition stalls where students exhibited various Bihu related cultural products. The minister celebrated Bihu with the students and expressed that this is the way local culture could be preserved. The main highlights of the cultural programme included a performance by Ranjit Gogoi and his troupe as well as a performance by noted singer Tarali Sarma. Prior to this, the Bihu celebrations had started with a 10-day Bihu workshop under the guidance of renowned Bihu performer Ranjit Gogoi and his team. The 10-day workshop which had trained more than 130 young students in Dhol, Pepa, Bihu Nritya, had begun on April 23 and ended on May 2. On May 3, the students had enjoyed some mouth watering traditional Bihu delicacies with a shared Bihu jolpan. Principal of the school, Fr. Sebastian Mathew said, “This annual event that started in 2006, has been introduced to help imbibe our younger generation to inculcate the pristine Assamese cultural values.” The principal said that with the celebration the values and ethos of Assamese culture is disseminated to the students so that the culture could be preserved and promoted. n

SNIPPETS Indian Idol audition in city on May 5

fter the stupendous success of the previous seasons, Indian Idol is all set to make a comeback on Sony Entertainment Television with its 10th edition. The show, in the past, has unearthed unique singing talents and given the music industry some of the best singing sensations. This year too, the show will give an opportunity to millions of aspiring singers to showcase and groom their talent. With Neha Kakkar, Vishal Dadlani and Anu Malik taking the judges’ mantle, the show kick started its audition round in Jaipur, reached Lucknow and is now ready to hear some beautiful singers try their luck in Guwahati. The auditions will take place at Nerim Group of Institutes, Guwahati from 8 AM onwards. This year, the campaign message ‘Khabar Phaila Do’ is a call out to all the young, aspiring and talented singers to audition at centers across various cities in India including Jaipur, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Dehradun, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai. Khabar Phaila Do, to all voices in Guwahati that the platform of Indian Idol is back to hold auditions in your city on 5th May. n

Health

SNIPPETS You can now browse internet and make calls while flying

he Government of India, on Tuesday, has approved a mechanism that will now allow one to make use of smartphones once the aircraft reaches a height of 3,000 metres. The services can be rolled out over a period of next 3-4 months, informed Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan to the media. The Telecom Commission, the highest decision-making body in the Department of Telecom, on Tuesday, also approved a mechanism to better address subscriber complaints and wider availability of broadband services through public WiFi hotspots. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s recommendations on encouraging telecom companies to offer WiFi based calling services were also approved. The new services will come at a far higher cost than on-ground rates, analysts said. Sundararajan said market forces will determine the prices for consumers. A per-minute call can range from Rs 125 to Rs 150 for domestic flights since airlines will have to invest millions of dollars to provide the services, depending on commercial factors, stated reports. However, the services will allow local airlines to compete with international rivals and will provide an additional revenue stream in an intensely competitive market, experts said. n

Assam Govt to provide financial assistance to UPSC aspirants

ewly appointed education minister of Assam, Siddhartha Bhattacharya on Wednesday, announced that all the UPSC aspirants belonging to economically backward families will receive financial assistance from the Assam Govt. The minister assured that all such UPSC aspirants in the state will get the best of assistance from the state government. Bhattacharya has also announced that pre-primary classes will be included in the curriculum of government schools across the state. n

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Health dept emphasises on safe abortions with focus on maternal health Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

n order to strengthen the safe abortion services in the city as well as the state, the health & family welfare department has recently conducted training of its personnel. They will be ensuring that all due medical procedures are followed during the abortion process at different district hospitals and health centres. Authorities informed that the primary objectives of these centres is to provide safe, high quality services including abortion, family planning as well as post abortion counselling. AC Baishya, executive director at the National Health Mission (NHM), informed G Plus that safe abortions were already taking place in all district hospitals; however, the department has now taken additional steps to strengthen the practice. “Now the nurses and medical professionals have been trained this time and our focus is on better implementation of the already existing programme,” he added. The Assam government has set up centres for safe abortion in different districts of Assam. Gynaecologists from different institutions are engaged in imparting training to the medical officers and nurses who will be working in these centres. The doctors of the centres will be given training for 12 days, whereas the nurses will be trained for 6 days, informed officials. According to sources, Ipas Development Foundation, a global organisation, is providing technical support to the state government in this initiative. The comprehensive abortion care is a programme that offers abortion services to women in a medical set up by trained personnel in a hygienic atmosphere.

A number of complications can be avoided if only the mothers deliver in a hospital with skilled staff. Even in home deliveries we are focussing on skilled birth attendants. Also after delivery, essential newborn care plays a vital role,” Dr Narayan Sharma, consultant child health at NHM

Representative picture Under the safe abortion programme, post abortion treatment guide and family planning advice shall also be imparted to the women. Some of the primary objectives of the abortion centres are to decentralise the services so that they are closer to women. The services are also meant to be affordable to women and reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions. Further, the abortion programme should identify and serve women with their respective reproductive needs and it should be sustainable to health systems. Experts maintain that early pregnancies pose a number of risks to the health of the mother as well as the child. Further, the maternal mortality rate (MMR) in Assam is 300 against the national average of 167 as per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) IV. MMR is the number of female deaths per 1 lakh live births in a year from any cause related to pregnancy or its management. The health & family welfare department has undertaken a slew of measures in order to improve these indicators. Dr Narayan Sharma, consultant, child health at NHM, informed that one of their major focus areas is to emphasise on the maximum number of institutional deliveries. “A number of complications can be avoided if only the mothers deliver in a hospital with skilled staff. Even in home deliveries we are focussing on skilled birth

Health and family welfare department conducted training of its personnel to conduct safe abortions across the state They will ensure that all due medical procedures are followed during the process Primary objectives of is to provide safe, high quality services including abortion, family planning as well as post abortion counselling Officials informed that safe abortions were already taking place hospitals but now additional steps were taken to strengthen the practise Gynaecologists from different institutions are engaged in imparting training to the medical officers and nurses who will be working in these centres. The doctors of the centres will be given training for 12 days, whereas the nurses will be trained for 6 days, informed officials Experts maintain that early pregnancies pose a number of risks to health of mother and the child Department has undertaken a slew of measures to improve maternal and child indicator

attendants. Also after delivery, essential newborn care plays a vital role,” said Sharma. He added that special newborn care units (SNCUs) in all district hospitals and medical colleges are playing a major role in newborn care. These are meant to provide intensive care to newborn babies. In addition to SNCUs, paediatric intensive care units have also been recently established in three medical colleges till now, said officials.

Further, in a new intervention to improve maternal and child health, Kangaroo mother care (KMC) units are being established in SNCUs. This concept bases itself on skin to skin contact of the baby with the mother, considered especially beneficial for babies born with low birth weight or for premature babies. Authorities said that six KMC units have been established till now and plans are firmed up to set up more such units across the state. n

Health

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

114 people found HIV positive under AIDS intervention programmes Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

nder various interventions conducted by the Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS), a total of 114 people belonging to the high-risk groups have been found to be HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) positive. This data was collected for the period between March 2017 and April 2018. According to officials, the ASACS had conducted targeted interventions with the help of empanelled NGOs for sex workers, injecting drug users (IDUs), men having sex with men (MSM), transgender people, migrant workers and truckers. These groups are highly vulnerable to AIDS. Under the interventions, 18,843 people in total from various groups were screened for HIV across the state. Those found positive will be given antiretroviral therapy (ART) to keep the virus in suppression and they will also be provided counselling about different aspects of the disease including ways to combat AIDS. Dipshikha Talukdar Haloi, assistant director of targeted intervention at ASACS informed G Plus that there are 50 targeted intervention programmes

SNIPPETS Zubeen Garg coming up with a new film! Guess who will play the lead role?

Office of the Assam State Aids Control Society | G Plus Photo currently operational in Assam. “Different NGOs have been entrusted with various responsibilities including HIV screening, management of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), condom promotion, referral services, awareness and linkages to various schemes,” she added. As per the state figures, there are currently 5,500 HIV positive people living in Guwahati and 13,368 people living with AIDS in the state, out of which 9,851 are

New programmes by ASACS this year he ASACS began HIV screening camps in jails at Cachar, Jorhat and Nagaon this year. ASACS has recently launched targeted intervention programme for prison inmates in order to combat the disease. According to experts, prisons remain a high-risk zone for transmission of AIDS. In January this year, free medicines and counselling for HIV positive inmates was started as a pilot project in the Guwahati Central Jail. This was supported by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and was funded by Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of Project Sunrise. Officials informed that till February 2018, in Guwahati Central Jail, HIV screening was done for 772 inmates out of a total of 1,169 inmates. Out of these, six were detected to be HIV positive.

Further, 75 inmates were screened in Jorhat Central Jail out of 448 inmates and no HIV positive cases were found. Similarly, with 9 inmates, the Silchar Central Jail recorded the maximum number of HIV positive inmates among all jails screened. A total of 76 inmates were tested here. The programme will now be replicated in all six central jails of the state. “Prisons have many injecting drug users which increases their chance of HIV transmission manifold. More than 50 IDUs were found in Guwahati Central Jail. Our main aim is sensitisation of inmates as well as prison officials,” said an ASACS official. He added that they send mobile Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) van, provided by NACO to the jail premises for testing of inmates. Apart from carrying out intervention programmes in jails,

enrolled under ART and 4,698 are alive under ART. Further, the biggest challenge faced by the intervention implementing agencies is increasing the reach of the programme and tackling a lack of information about the disease. Officials say that a number of highrisk groups remain underground. These include sex workers, IDUs and MSM transmission. These groups are at the highest risk of getting infected with the disease but have the lowest

reach in terms of awareness programmes. Moreover, the state is surrounded by Manipur and Mizoram which are states with high HIV prevalence. Migrants or other people entering Assam and Guwahati via these states also carry a high risk of HIV transmission. According to a NACO report, Manipur has the highest estimated HIV prevalence at 1.15% followed by Mizoram (0.80%), Nagaland (0.78%) and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (0.66%). n

Total of 114 people from high risk groups were found to be HIV positive in the last one year The groups include sex workers, injecting drug users (IDUs), men having sex with men (MSM), transgender people, migrant workers and truckers The screening was conducted by NGOs empanelled with ASACS These groups are considered to be highly vulnerable to AIDS Under the interventions, 18,843 people from various groups were screened for HIV in Assam Interventions were also conducted at jails and women’s correctional homes screening of inmates was also conducted by ASACS and NGOs at women’s correctional homes. Assam became the first state in the country to begin intervention programmes for women living in correctional homes a few months ago. Experts say that there is a continuous influx of women in the correctional homes which house inmates who are destitute, sex workers, those who have been abandoned by their families or

who have been apprehended for their misdemeanours. Under the programme, one HIV positive case was found at the correctional home for women in Guwahati. Here, 122 inmates were tested out of a total of 123 women. Health authorities state that Assam has a low HIV prevalence at 0.06% as compared to the country average of 0.26%, but this is a grave matter and all possible measures should be taken to further mitigate it. n

ubeen Garg, while performing at a Bihu function on Thursday, announced that he is soon coming up with a new film called 'Julu'. Interestingly, the lead role of the movie would be portrayed by a buffalo, which the artist has recently adopted. The artist has already named the buffalo Julu. Zubeen says that he and his team will train the buffalo for a year and then begin the shoot for the movie next year. The singer also said that he is the first artist in the entire state of Assam to adopt a buffalo. The story of the movie will be based on the very popular novel 'Julu' by Assamese writer Ranju Hazarika. Zubeen, from time to time, has won the hearts of the people of Assam with his noble deeds. During the performance, the artist also stressed on causes like adopting the animals of the region during hard times and helping them survive as they are the rich heritage of the state. n

Kuladhar Saikia takes charge as the new DGP of Assam

uladhar Saikia, on Monday, took charge as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Assam. Mukesh Sahay, who was serving as the DGP of Assam prior to Saikia, took retirement from his services. Saikia, while addressing the media after taking charge, said that ensuring the safety and security of the people of Assam will be his priority. He plans to cut down the cases of crime in the city by adopting proper research methodology. “Addressing the issue of human trafficking in the region will also be a major responsibility,” he added. Saikia further assured that strict investigation measures are being adopted by Assam Police to rescue Rebati Phukan. n

City

SNIPPETS National InterState Athletics Championship shifted from Kolkata to Guwahati’

he 58th National InterState Senior Athletics Championship, a qualifying event for the upcoming Asian Games, has been shifted to Guwahati from Kolkata. The dates have also been advanced by the National Federation to avoid a Gold Coast Commonwealth Games like situation. The capital city of Assam will host the event from June 26 to June 29 at the Sarusajai Sports Complex which had hosted the athletics events at the South Asian Games in 2016. The championship was earlier scheduled to be held in Kolkata from July 15th to July 18th. The decision to advance the dates came in the backdrop of a controversy surrounding the rejection of late entries of three track & field athletes by the Gold Coast CWG organisers as their names were sent after the closure of final entry. n

BJP President Amit Shah to visit Assam on May 20

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Drastic deterioration of Uber service affects Guwahatians Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

t has been two years that the app-based cab service, Uber, started its operations in Guwahati to the great convenience of the citizens. Today however, many feel that the service has deteriorated over the past few months. A regular cab user, Prabeen Thakuria said, “I have stopped booking Uber because of the pathetic service it provides these days.” Thakuria explained that many a time when he books an Uber cab, the driver does not reach the pickup point on time. When contact with him is established on phone, the driver asks him to cancel the request often with the excuse of being stuck in traffic and so being unable to reach the pickup point. The cab driver himself never cancels the ride though. When the passenger cancels the trip, an additional Rs 40 is charged the next time a passenger uses the Uber cab service. Another passenger, Chandrika Das said, “In Uber Pool (a cab sharing service) I hired a cab from Ulubari to go to Chandmari.

My estimated fare was Rs 30 for one seat but later I was charged Rs 110.” She explained that the higher charge was made as the driver informed her that she was the only passenger in the taxi. Another customer revealed that one driver had already started the trip before picking up the passenger. Later, the passenger was charged higher. In other cab services an OTP number is sent to the customer’s phone and the trip starts only after the OTP is provided to the driver. With Uber, trips can be started by the driver anytime they want and passengers have alleged that many drivers start the trip even before reaching the pickup point. Many taxi users, talking to G Plus, expressed that app-based taxi services in Guwahati like

An app-based cab operating in the city | G Plus Photo Uber increase their fares mostly during emergencies. Whenever it rains or it is a holiday, the fares are drastically increased. Even the offers provided by Uber are gimmicks, alleged a customer. When an offer of “50% off” is given, the actual fare is hiked and later a discount is given. Practically, the fare which a customer has to pay is the same

as he would have to pay normally without the offer. Moreover, Uber is the only app-based cab service in Guwahati which does not have any customer care service number. When a grievance has to be reported, it has to be done through the app and many customers have alleged that the grievance hardly ever gets addressed. n

15K drivers to protest against app-based cab services in Ghy

JP National President, Amit Shah, will visit Assam on May 20, stated BJP President of Assam Ranjit Das. During the visit, Shah will hold a meeting with the constituents of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) to discuss preparations for next year’s Lok Sabha elections. Shah will also take part in a meeting with the chief ministers of the north eastern states ruled by non-Congress parties. n

round 15,000 drivers working for app-based cab services in Guwahati have decided to conduct a massive stir against the app-based cab service providers in Guwahati. The president of All Assam Cab Operators’ Association, Ismail Ali said, “On 7th, 8th and 9th of May, the drivers of the app-based cab services will protest against the app-based cab service providers.” Ola and Uber services will not be available in Guwahati on these three days, he informed.

According to him, Uber and Ola have cheated the drivers and it is becoming a difficult situation for them now. According to him, around 8,000 taxis are plying in the city under Uber and 7,000 under Ola. He explained that when Uber came to Guwahati, huge incentives were offered to the drivers and accordingly many unemployed youths purchased vehicles and enrolled under Uber. The same happened for Ola as well. There are youths who purchased their vehicle after having

sold off their land, taking loans and so on. But now the companies like Ola and Uber have drastically reduced the incentives. The president explained that Uber passengers are most affected because Ola drivers are still getting some incentives. Uber drivers cancel the trip when they see that their payment has been made online. In online payments the company is expected to transfer the money to the vehicle owners’ accounts within 4 days. But most of the time it does not happen, said Ali. Also sometimes, the drivers

do not receive any cash from the passengers despite working for a whole day and it becomes difficult for them to even buy their fuel. Ali said that the association has written to Uber many times but has not got any solution from the company. The drivers are irked at the app-based companies and such protests will continue till the issues are resolved. G Plus tried contacting Uber but no officials were available for any comment from the company’s side. n

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Storm

30°/22° C

29°/22° C

30°/23° C

31°/23° C

31°/22° C

SATURDAY Shower

30°/21° C

Concern

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Encroachment prompting shift of 180-year-old graveyard from city Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

he Guwahati Baptist Church, oldest in the city, is mulling shifting its graveyard at Silpukhuri to outside the city as its land is being encroached. The Church is trying to get a 12 bigha (three acres) plot of land in Rani, about 33 kms from the city, to build a graveyard there. “We are faced with massive encroachments from the sides where there are new settlements popping up in the Navagraha graveyard. We are faced with only two options - either to shift or to opt for mass burial,” pastor of the church, Aziz Ul Haque, told G Plus. The graveyard near the Navagraha crematorium is older than the Guwahati Baptist Church, the then Baptist Church of Assam which was established in 1845. “About 5-6 bighas of land near Navagraha was designated as graveyard for the Baptists in this region with the arrival of the American missionaries in the year 1839,” Haque said. During the World War II, a part of the graveyard was converted

The Guwahati war symmetry at Silpukhuri into the Gauhati War Cemetery. “There are 500 graves of war martyrs from India, UK, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Though there was no war in and around Guwahati, the cemetery here was started during the war for burial from several military hospitals in the region,” Haque said. The Guwahati cemetery, that was the only one in India to accommodate Japanese soldiers’ graves till 2012 when their remains were taken back to their home country, is one among the 10 Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGM) cemeteries

in India of which five – two in Kohima, and one each in Imphal, Digboi and Guwahati – are in the northeast. With major portions of the graveyard allotted to CWGM cemetery and a major portion being encroached, the church is apprehensive that if the paper work for the new plot fails, mass grave is the only option left, Haque said. “Mass grave would be the last resort and it is not a good practice to bury someone in a space where there is already someone buried,” he added. According to Haque, there

are as many as 15,000 Baptist Christians in the city including the children. There are quite a few Baptist churches in the city such as Pilangkata, Kharghuli, Dispur and Adinggiri, but most of the worshippers are those who come here to study and get under the churches’ wings as long as they are here. The permanent residing Baptist population won’t be more than 15,000,” Haque said. However, the Church is apprehensive if this new cemetery would be popular among the masses because of the distance. “We don’t know how the people would react to it. But this is the only available place around. And it seems impossible to get rid of the encroachers,” Haque said. To thwart the encroachers, the church has constructed walls around the graveyard. But a massive chunk has already been encroached, Haque said. “We have not filed any case against anybody because it is probably our negligence due to which people have encroached. We have put up the walls to stop any further encroachment. But in the current situation, we are already facing space crunch,” Haque said. n

Inaccessible Maligaon ‘road’ gives medical emergency an extreme meaning Arpita Dey

he wait - for an ambulance that never came - was long and perilous for 60-yearold Mitali Das whose kidney almost gave up late in the night on April 20. Around 12.30 am, Das, a long ailing kidney patient complained of a pain in her lower abdomen. The 24-year-old son, suspecting kidney failure called the ambulance which, after a long wait, failed to come. “We then hired an e-rickshaw to take her to the Sanjeevani hospital. The doctors said that had we been a few minutes late, we might have had to lose her,” said her son, recalling the night when her mother had the close shave. Das is currently admitted in the hospital. The family members however, did not blame the hospitals but the road. Das apparently was victim, and not the only one according to neighbours, of the dilapidated narrow Kamakhya Road in Maligaon Gate no 3 where

ambulances and similar larger vehicles find it difficult to reach. “It isn’t the first time though. There are several instances ambulances not reaching here,” said Anurag Dasgupta, a resident here adding, “Earlier too, in several instances whenever such emergencies came up, we residents chipped in.” He said that the neighbours, instead of calling an ambulance, carry the victim to the nearest house which has a car and take the patient to the nearest hospital. But this becomes cumbersome for those who live in the upper hill tracts. “For those who live on the foot of the hills, we can do that. But it’s difficult for those who have to come down from the hills,” Dasgupta said. Roads are a major issue for ward elections. Their condition is largely affecting the residents of the wards. They want this problem to be solved at the earliest. Last time this particular road, which is a detour towards the hills falling on the right of the MG Road when one is travelling from Bharalumukh to Maligaon, saw

metalling works was back in 2007. “It was a year before the council got dissolved in 2008 when the roads were metaled. After that, there was no councillor for five years. The new councillor came to power with promises of building these roads. But five years have passed since then and there has been no construction,” another resident, Bibha Pal, said. “We are just asking to develop the roads such that these basic facilities are at least served,” Pal added. When asked, Councillor Shyamal Chakraborty expressed that he won’t be able to develop that area even if he wants to. “Most of those who live up in the hills hill have actually encroached forest lands. So, it is not very easy to just construct roads there. We have to find out which area is under GMC and which are encroached. That survey should be done by the forest department and only then we can go ahead with the construction. I have appealed to the concerned departments quite a few times, but it’s taking time. Also, after the forest ministry’s survey, there

will be a lot of eviction drives too,” Chakraborty said. The people’s perils however continue. Das’s son is now mulling on how to bring his mother back home, especially under this condition when she might have to be rushed to the hospital at any given hour if a similar situation arises. n

SNIPPETS Sonowal banks on connectivity for development in Act East Policy meeting

n an interactive session of the chief ministers of northeast states on Act East Policy chaired by Union External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj at New Delhi on Friday, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal stressed on improving connectivity in the northeast to help propel the region towards development. He stressed on the development of two transport routes – speedy completion of Asian Trilateral Highway, reopening of the Stillwell Road up to Kunming in China and developing the waterways of Barak, Brahmaputra and Kushiyara rivers with Chittagong and Mongla ports in Bangladesh through dredging. “Improved connectivity and infrastructure will lead to exponential growth in the tourism sector in the region in the days to come as North East India has a lot to offer on the tourism front. The region can also expect increased flow of patients from Southeast Asian countries to medical centres in Northeast like Guwahati and Imphal which will give fillip to employment as well as medical infrastructure in the region,” Sonowal said. He also elaborated on the positional advantage of the region to become the new growth hub of trade, tourism and cultural exchange taking advantage of over 4,500 kms of international boundary that it shares with neighbouring countries. n

Ward Survey

G PLUS | May 05 -

Maligaon, Kamakhya residents in Ward No 4 expect better performance from GMC G Plus checks out the living standard parameters in the Maligaon and Kamakhya Temple areas under Ward No 4 these 27, 12 of them (24 per cent) said that garbage collection is irregular and 15 others (30 per cent) said that they do not get this service in their ward. Regarding pest control too, only 2 persons (4 per cent) said that the GMC has taken adequate measures while 35 said there was no fogging or pest control activities in the ward. 13 others (26 per cent) are of the opinion that pest control measures are being

Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

File photo of Maligaon Chariali of clean drinking water, garbage collection, pest control, streetlights, public toilets and parking spaces, the residents expressed dissatisfaction. “In a way, we are blessed that we haven’t seen any water logging or flash floods yet. But water scarcity is a problem we face on a regular basis. It’s more difficult for those who live in the hills,” Pallav Sarma, a resident of Maligaon said.

4% Yes 70% No 26% Sometimes Pest Control Measures

36% Everyday 10% Twice a week 0% Once a week 0% Fortnightly 24% Irregular 30% Never Garbage Collection

18% Yes 68% No 14% Sometimes Water Supply

34 respondents (68 per cent) said that they don’t get any water supply while 9 others (18 per cent) said they receive water regularly; 7 families receive it sometimes. Regarding garbage collection too, the residents are not satisfied as only 18 respondents (36 per cent) said that their garbage is collected regularly, 5 families (10 per cent) said it was collected twice a week, while 27 others (54 per cent) are not satisfied. Of

28% 8% 4% 60% Street Lights

0% Yes 100% No Public Toilets

62% Smooth 14% Occassionally crowded 24% Pathetic 36% Yes 64% No Parking Spaces

While the Nilachal Hills, abode to Kamakhya Temple and nine other Shakti Temples - a major religious tourist spot - constitutes area 4A, the Maligaon area and the Kamakhya Railway Station constitute area 4B. Needless to say, along with the temple, area 4B has developed into one of the most populated localities of the city over the last seven decades.

Councillor Report

Negative Response

lthough several living standard parameters such as potable water supply, pest control and door-to-door garbage collection are not maintained, the residents of Ward No 4 of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) are not entirely dissatisfied with the performance of the corporation. While the Nilachal Hills, abode to Kamakhya Temple and nine other Shakti Temples - a major religious tourist spot - constitutes area 4A, the Maligaon area and the Kamakhya Railway Station constitute area 4B. Needless to say, along with the temple, area 4B has developed into one of the most populated localities of the city over the last seven decades. In a survey conducted by G Plus in which 50 families of the ward were asked questions on 14 parameters of living standards, the respondents expressed dissatisfaction in 6 parameters, satisfaction in 6 others and were divided in their opinion about the rest two. With regard to the supply

taken only occasionally. It may be mentioned here that this ward is one of the eight highdengue prevalent wards in the city as per the National Vector-Borne Diseases Control Programme of the National Health Mission. While the main road, i.e. MG Road is well lit, the lanes and by-lanes do not have enough streetlights, residents said. 30 respondents (60 per cent) said that there are no streetlights in their localities while 2 persons (four per cent) said it is insufficiently lit and 4 others (eight per cent) said that the roads are vaguely lit. 14 persons (28 per cent) said that the roads are well lit in their locality. All the respondents in the survey feel that there are no public toilets and the ward is in dire need of installation of the same. “Swacch Bharat cannot be a success if public toilets are not installed at the earliest,” Birendra Saha, a resident of Maligaon said. The residents are not satisfied with the parking facilities too as a majority of 32 respondents (64 per cent) said that the ward doesn’t have adequate parking space while the rest 18 (36 per cent) expressed satisfaction with the current parking facilities. n

Concentrated Area: Maligaon, Kam Temple (4A and 4B) Ward No: 4 Population of the Ward: 39,00 Voter Population: 28,700 Population of Maligaon, Kamakhya Temple: 17,000 Ward Councillor: Shyamal Chakraborty

38% Yes 42% No 20% Sometimes 0% Only during election Councillor Interaction

20% Always 48% Sometimes 32% Never Councillor in Community Works

0 36 64 0

78 22

Ward Survey

- May 11, 2018

Water logging, law & order among the few respites in Ward No 4

Councillor aspires to upgrade the GMC services

lash floods, a problem that plagues almost all the wards in the city, is among the respites in Ward No 4, the residents said. 31 respondents (62 per cent) said that there are no flash floods in their lanes while 18 others said it happens occasionally; 1 was of the opinion that flash floods happen only in a few lanes. “Unlike the rest of the city, we don't have any major unplanned drainage channel flowing here. The last point is the Bharalu point. The rest all are manmade drainage networks which are planned. Now, with the rise in population, these channels have swelled, but still the condition is much better than rest of the city,” Anindyajit Ghosh, a resident in Maligaon said. People also have a very mixed

Regarding the road condition, people are somewhat satisfied as 22 persons (44 per cent) said the roads are of average condition and 7 others (14 per cent) said they were in good condition. 19 others (38 per cent) however found the roads bad and 2 others said the roads were pathetic.

A woman collecting drinking water from natural resources under unhygienic conditions in Maligaon area | G Plus Photo opinion about the drainage maintenance in the ward. While 25 respondents (50 per cent) were satisfied with the drainage system and its maintenance in the ward, 19 others (38 percent) were not satisfied; 6 (12 per cent) said that the drainage system can be made better with a little maintenance. Another major let up in the ward is its law and order, the residents feel. 34 persons (68 per cent) said that the ward is secure while 1 said it was very secure. 12 others (24 per cent) said that it needs more security and 3 persons (6 per cent) said there was no security in

the ward. Regarding the road condition too, people are somewhat satisfied as 22 persons (44 per cent) said the roads are of average condition and 7 others (14 per cent) said they were in good condition. 19 others (38 per cent) however found the roads bad and 2 others said the roads were pathetic. The other high points are transport connectivity, availability of health care facilities and traffic congestion. “Traffic congestion is a problem in the nearby wards but here there isn’t much,” Pankaj Thakuria, a resident said. n

he councillor hopes to solve at least three of the six problems that the people of ward are suffering from before the ensuing ward elections. The Congress councillor, Shyamal Chakraborty, pointed out that the garbage collection, streetlights and the parking problems can be solved before the elections. “There isn’t much I can do but continue the monitoring of the NGOs involved in garbage collection. I would urge the people of my ward to let me know if they are not getting the services regularly. Only then, I can enforce them to work in that particular ward,” Chakraborty said. He further added that there is a communication gap between the residents and the councillor due to which the services are not delivered properly. “They (residents) complain to the NGO workers who collect the garbage. But their grievance does not reach me. I am the one who will take action. Now that I know, I will be stricter against the NGOs and regularise the service,” added Chakraborty. Regarding street lights, he said that he had asked the GMC regarding those and repair works will start soon. “Except for the far flung areas where people had newly settled by encroaching hill lands, in almost the entire ward, we have electric posts. These were installed back

Councillor Shyamal Chakraborty in 2014, a year after I was elected as councillor. Over the time, many of these have blown their fuse or needed replacement. The GMC has sanctioned installation of new bulbs worth Rs 4 lakhs which will be complete by the end of this month. Regarding the parking problem, Chakraborty said that the roads in his ward are wide and these can be used for parking if managed properly. “Roadsides and the roads towards the hills can be used for parking. I will have a talk with the traffic department to take care of the problem,” he said. Chackraborty was ranked Underperformer by 32 persons (64 per cent of the residents of his ward while the rest 18 persons (36 per cent) found his work satisfactory. n Survey conducted by Ria Chowdhury

0 l

0% Excellent 6% Satisfactory 4% Under performing 0% Poor

Councillor Performance

8% Yes 2% No

Do you know Councillor?

Positive Response

makhya

36% Yes 62% No 2% In some lanes Water Logging issues

2% Very secured 68% Secured 24% Needs more security 6% No security Law and Order

100% Yes 0% No 0% Needs improvement Transport Connectivity

38% Sometimes 8% Half an hour daily 16% An hour daily 30% More than an hour 8% No load shedding Load shedding

62% Smooth 14% Occassionally crowded 24% Pathetic

50% Yes 38% No 12% Could be better Drainage system

90% Yes 8% No 2% Needs improvement Ambulance, Health Services

14% Good 44% Average 38% Bad 4% Pathetic Road Condition

14 E

G Talk D

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Irrelevant ULFA’s relevant issues

emories come rushing back when any news related to Assam’s famed militancy pops up. Such news today however, is peacefully different from the violent news that we were used to as impressionable young adults. Take the Rebati Phukan missing case for example. An interlocutor named as part of the 10man People’s Consultative Group constituted by the unfractured ULFA way back in 2005, Phukan had been a resident of Guwahati for a long time with nothing significant to show for his existence – read this as his failure to get his football colleague, ULFA (I) chief Paresh Baruah, to the negotiating table. It is Phukan’s disappearance rather than his existence and efforts as a peace interlocutor that has made news, more so because of the interest that the chief minister himself has taken towards verifying his fate. What does this mean in the backdrop of the peace talks between the central government and the ULFA (Pro-talks) that have supposedly reached an “advanced stage” – a stage that the public and the media have no inkling of? More than anything else, this means that the ULFA, by itself, has lost its relevance

in the greater Assamese society. If anything, the protalks gentry, for the sheer goodness of the forgiving Assamese society, feel that they remain relevant because of the peace talks they are engaged in with the government in a situation where Assam can be practically declared to be militancy-free, and so already peaceful, as on date. To be truthful, the ULFA (I)’s presence has been reduced to the occasional media bytes that Paresh Baruah tends to proffer and which the media carry for no big reason as such. But to be fair to this irrelevant ULFA, their issues, other than the sovereignty factor, have always remained relevant to Assam. Given that the discussions between the Arabinda Rajkhowas/Anup Chetias and the government have reached an advanced stage, we have reason to believe that the loopholes in the Assam Accord are set to be plugged. I mean, what else could they be discussing? Not sovereignty definitely! That being the case, Assam is indeed heading towards long-lasting peace – a picture in which Paresh Baruah just does not fit. And about Rebati Phukan, let’s wait and watch. Swapnil Bharali Editor

Raasta khodo, Tender nikalo

he condition of the city’s roads which are currently in shambles begets the attention of everyone. The PWD’s calendar for fixing roads needs to be the first thing that the new minister needs to address. Certain construction works related to roads seem to be on a loop of sorts. Here is the cycle – the PWD sets up building blocks and fixes a road. Within a couple of weeks, there is always a JICA, ASEB or a BSNL signboard next to a dug up road, wherein the concerned authorities are perpetually fixing damaged connections, installing underground cables or installing pipelines. These projects seem to be done independently with the highest levels of miscommunication. Instead of digging up the road just once and getting three agencies coordinated the government will take out the tender three times for three departments – because that is how they get their wallets loaded. The timeline for this is in a 1:3 ratio (1 week of good roads, 3 weeks of dug up roads). So maybe, the new PWD minster should start with the streamlining of inter-department communications. This way he saves the recurring costs and strengthens up the public coffers which always seem to be running low. Just for an on-ground check, both the newly appointed GDD and PWD Ministers should go for a drive on the RupnagarKalapahar route and the Kharguli stretch. The bumps in their relationship are nothing compared to the bumpy ride that awaits them. In any case, the ministers need to address the “raasta khodo, tender nikalo” attitude before they’re harassed by a series of RTIs and explanations.

Sidharth Bedi Varma

When Rocket Man got ‘Trumped’

ll was hunky dory when the North Korean Leader Kim Jung-un aka ‘Rocket Man’ met with his southern counterpart Moon Jae-in in the dreaded demilitarized zone of Korea (DMZ). The DMZ created after the Korean War is a sign of hostility and long term violence between the two nations fuelled by the presence of the US. One of Donald Trump’s many achievements includes brokering peace in the Korean peninsula but, has anyone given him credit for the same? Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has gone on to say that the US was not involved in anyway. The real question to be asked here is - has the US ever been not involved in the matters of Korea? When Kim Jung-un announced that all nuclear weapon development programs would be stopped in his country, it almost seemed like a dream too good to be true for the world. But the real icing on the cake was when the two leaders met on 27th April 2018, shaking hands and exchanging smiles. What really goes behind that wide smile of Jung-un really determines the fate of the world. Why would a dictator who has spent most of his life following his family’s footsteps of being a spoke in the wheel at every step for the US, give up everything that actually makes DPRK a threat to reckon with? What secret negotiations have taken place that made the impossible happen? Has the US given up world peace in order to fulfil its own agenda or has it made a stride towards a safer world? All the answers we seek are mere possibilities and probabilities and one can’t be sure of the real thing until Trump meets Kim later on in

rTrojan horse?

May, possibly in Singapore. One such dreadful outcome in case things go south could be that US removes its troops from South Korea along with all the heavy sanctions which could lead to the rise of North Korea in a way no one imagined. As the closest US ally, Japan present there didn’t even know when a missile flew over their country. So who would keep track of North Korea’s activities? As it can be seen, with such heavy sanctions on the DPRK from the

The author writes about the seemingly impossible reconciliation of the two Koreas, the role of the US in the same and how Donald Trump has not been given his due credit in this peace process

United Nations (UN) and mainly from the US, Kim still manages to get on the nerves of the US president; this shows the real fear that Uncle Sam of the world is afraid of. On the other hand, the bait in this matter is the South Koreans. Trump has played his cards quite properly and it could just be possible that all the childish banter on Twitter between Jungun and Trump were really a part

O p i n i o n Riddhiman Borooah

of a bigger plan - global peace. Obviously with Assad’s regime on shaky grounds, a possible Korean re-unification would lead to the world’s attention back to the Middle East, a place where the US has miserably failed. It’s almost a fairytale run for Trump’s administration with ISIS quiet, Syria bombed left, right and centre and DPRK on a leash. Some would even suggest the best feat a US president has ever achieved, considering the fact that the US

economy is quite strong at the moment. Has the US been credited enough for the recent developments? Definitely not, with all the media pointing to foul play at work and the US gambling global security for personal achievements, it could also work out the way it seems; Korean Peninsula denuclearised and re-unified, no more nuclear weapon programs, a safe Korea with a possibly booming economy without any sanctions. A win-win situation for all, or is it a catch-22 situation? Only time will tell what price the world will have to pay for peace. n Riddhiman Borooah is a class XII student of Sarala Birla Gyan Jyoti. His interest are debating and quizzing, winning many best delegates in Model United Nations in India. Also the reigning champion of The Hindu Quiz, his first love is always Debating. He takes special interest in the Policies of USA and DPRK.

Letter to the Editor

he recent confession of veteran Congress leader, Salman Khurshid, regarding his party’s role in past communal riots has no doubt, once and for all, exposed the Congress Party’s hypocrisy as a secular party. But his confession has not gone down well with a few diehard supporters of Rahul Gandhi. Leaders like Kapil Sibal in particular, who is a well established legal practitioner by profession, tried to downplay Salman Khurshid’s statement insinuating his colleague as a Trojan Horse. One should not be surprised if by tomorrow Salman Khurshid is branded as traitor by his party men. Anything is possible in today’s Indian politics. It is quite justified if one calls politics as the last resort of scoundrels. Dr Ashim Chowdhury, Ambari, Guwahati

In Focus

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Krishan Kant Aggarwal

General Manager, Vivanta by Taj, Guwahati

rishan Kant Aggarwal is the general manager at Vivanta by Taj, Guwahati. With a hospitality background that spans over two decades, he kicked off his career with Taj in 1996. Starting as a management trainee, he hopped up the ranks through F&B and has overseen several properties in India. Before finally reaching the position of a general manager, he has served various profiles, including that of a kitchen steward, assistant restaurant manager, restaurant manager, banquet manager and so on. An experienced hotelier, Krishan will soon take charge as the Vice President – Hotel Openings of Vivanta by Taj. Originally hailing from Mathura, Krishan was born in Delhi to a family of officers working in the armed forces. Having travelled to many places in India due to the transferable nature of his father’s job, he completed his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Tughlaqabad, New Delhi. He then went on to study hotel management from the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Ahmedabad. Krishan also pursued Masters in Business Administration from Symbiosis Institute of Management, Pune before stepping into the corporate world. But his education did not stop there and he’s currently pursuing executive education from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. Describing his journey as a beautiful one, Krishan told G

Plus, “The fact that you work for the Tata organisation is a matter of pride and the essence of Taj is such that you feel connected to the organisation. Knowing that the amount of work we do is eventually serving for the betterment of the society is a very satisfying feeling.” What makes Vivanta by Taj, Guwahati distinctly superior when compared to other similar hotels in the city is the personal attention given by the general manager of the hotel even to minor details. Krishan is present all over the hotel, whether it is when important guests check in or when a party is being hosted. A fitness freak and a travel enthusiast, Krishan loves adventure. He’s passionate about swimming and running and loves to explore new places and meet new people. Krishan loves his food cooked to perfection. His favourite cuisine is Japanese - one of the most elite cuisines from around the globe. “Making conversations with people always inspired me and the life of a hotelier always fascinated me. So, I decided that the hotel industry is one such industry where I can follow my passion, exercising my business acumen,” said Krishan. He further added that being a hotelier is much more intelligent work than the fancies of a 5 star hotel. Krishan is an easily approachable person. For his colleagues and employees, he is always available. He has a very simple approach to management

– treat humans like humans and do not complicate the equation by being empathetic. He says that everything else falls into place when you start to respect other people’s thought process. To run a hotel, one requires special skills. According to Krishan, the most important skill is to know your subjects well. He says that the basics always remain same and they can be co-related with the practical aspects to make the hotel reach the top. G Plus asked Krishan about the challenges he faces as a hotel manager. He said, “The greatest challenge is to find the right balance between ensuring that your employees grow, seeing that your guests are being taken care of and, at the same time, ensuring that you’re profitable. It all has to be done in a very transparent and honest manner. Another major challenge is to keep up pace with your competition and constantly deliver something new, changing and evolving with time.” Krishan’s advice to prospective hoteliers: do what you’re currently doing in the most earnest manner, learn the rights things, do your job sincerely and get yourself well equipped with the basics. Because, once you step foot in the workplace, you can’t go back to learning those things. If you have the combination of ability, leadership and aspiration, you’re a winner! Speaking about the tourism industry in Assam, Krishan says, “The tourism industry of Assam is definitely evolving.

There’s an active interest from the government in pushing the industry further and with the growth of infrastructure, I’m sure it’s only going to rise further. I do feel that marketing is something that needs to be improved further and we, as the custodian of Indian hospitality, wish to contribute to Assam tourism and bring the right clientele to explore the beautiful state of Assam.”

He further said that there has been a positive change in the tourism trend in Guwahati. Earlier, Guwahati used to serve mostly as a transit point while travelling to other places like Shillong and Kaziranga, rather than serving as a play to stay. But nowadays, people are changing their itinerary to make Guwahati a onenight destination because the city now has places to stay for pleasure and leisure.

Exorbitant parking, entry fee charges at LGBI airport sparks visitors’ ire; Visitors feel that the entry fee is exorbitant especially because it does not include any facilities Subham Singhania Really! The earlier entry gate did not yield much income to the Airport Authority so now with the same time limit they have taken the gate a fair distance from the terminal to earn more money. It is an indiscriminate way of looting money from the public. And the trouble people are facing is the cherry on top. The concerned authority should look into the matter. Recently, I went to the airport to receive one of my relatives and had to face the same problem. I was shocked when I first got to know that they are charging so much in the name of fees. Gargi Saikia This is a harassment meted out to the passengers especially as there are no extraordinary facilities available unlike the other airports in the country. Why so much fees? They are simply looting us. Proper investigation should be done to see if the money charged is really worth it. Recently we heard a lot of complaints on this issue and seriously something needs to be done at the earliest. I don’t understand why in India it’s only the public which has to suffer from all sides.

Sagar Samrat Kaushik They should issue entry challan and exit challan and based on the time, calculate the parking fees. It is a kind of harassment for simple pick and drop situations, where the vehicle doesn’t stop for more than a couple of minutes and still are required to cough up such high fees. This is seriously not all acceptable. G Plus please try to highlight this issue more so that it reaches the respective authorities and action is taken. Abu Zakaria Visitors are charged but they do not have access to the basic amenities inside the terminal. Then what they are charged for? Basic facilities are not there for the people and all they want is money. People should protest against this. Only then something will happen. Today morning, one of the LFD was showing today’s date as 17th April 2018 whereas it is 3rd May 2018. It is still there near Gate No 6. So if we have to see such things at the airport and no action is taken from the airport authority’s side then for what are they charging so much money as entry and exit fees.

Feature

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Treasured Wheels, Treasured Dreams Gaurav Gautam Saha

pproximately 15 kilometres from Guwahati is the Tepesia Road, Sonapur; the destination for curious and exploratory minds as it is the location where one can find vintage collections of decadesold clocks, cameras, telephones, gramophones, coins, along with dozens of old cars, motorbikes, bicycles, etc. Taken care of by Piklu Deka, a junior engineer of the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB), the name of this museum is – Treasured Wheels, The Northeast Heritage Foundation. “Ever since my school days I’ve had deep fascination for vintage items. I used to collect clocks, cameras, etc from my friends and neighbours back in those days; sometimes in exchange of a small amount of money or mostly without that. Certain instruments

thrown away by people as trash are precious collection for me. They give me immense happiness and mental pleasure along with extreme amount of personal satisfaction,” says Deka. A very amiable and down to earth man, Piklu Deka hails from Dibrugarh, Assam. It was in 2013 that the dream of this junior engi-

neer turned into a reality with the inception of the museum, which has already attracted hundreds of visitors from across northeast India. Besides old cars, bicycles and clocks, Treasured Wheels stores safes from the time of World War II, gas masks and parachutes. The destination, alongside

serving as a museum, provides an opportunity for the visitors to hold picnics, hangouts, stay over on tree houses, etc. They even rent out mobile kitchens. The proprietor has arranged the vintage cars in a circular pattern at the top of the hillock under a tin shed. Many vehicles in the remote areas of Assam are rusting. Deka requests the owners of such vehicles to take care of their respective vehicles instead of letting them rust due to lack of attention. Reportedly, Deka has around 50 cars and 25 bikes. His collections range from a 1921 Chevrolet to 1922 Austin-7 and the 1936 Fiat Topolino to 1944 Volkswagen. Jeep, Morris, convertible Sunbeam, 1945 model Buick, Fords from the 1930s and 1940s and Volkswagen Beetle are some of the other cars in his collection. His bike collection includes seven wonders from the World War II era, Norton 650 of 1932, BSA 500 of 1938, 1940 Royal Enfield, Sunbeam 500 of 1942, Triumph 350 of 1934 and a US made Paradrop Scooter from

1933 which weighs only about 20 kg, among other exhibits. Deka utilises a major chunk of his salary in maintaining the museum. He says, “I feel proud that this is a one of its kind museum in the entire northeast. I dedicate a major part of my salary to this museum and often take loans from the bank. I received a one-time aid of Rs 2 lakhs from the state government to uplift the museum and take care of it.” Among Deka’s most prized possessions are a copy of The Statesman dated 15th August, 1947, the car in which former Prime Minister of India, Late Rajiv Gandhi visited Shillong along with wife Sonia Gandhi, a selfstarter scooter from Royal Enfield from the 1940s and antique clocks from 1800-1970 AD. Deka wishes to gift the museum to the future generations and so he refuses to sell his entities. “Once, I received an offer of Rs 18 crores for a particular entity but I rejected it because when I get old and unable to dedicate myself to the museum,

it’s not the money that’ll provide me the strength and energy to help fight diseases, but the beauty of Treasured Wheels and the green environment that’ll come as help,” informed Deka. Treasured Wheels is surrounded by 22,000 trees that provide fresh oxygen and make the entrance unique. Deka urges the youth of the country to be his visitors and explore the growth of mankind in the last two centuries. His message to the youth is, “Conserve Heritage.” n

Tête-à-tête with the city’s UPSC rank holders I want to remain true to my ideals and serve the society: Siddhant Das, UPSC rank holder from Guwahati

he results of the prestigious UPSC examination 2017 was declared on April 27, and a total of 16 candidates from different parts of Assam have brought glory to the state. Guwahati's Siddhant Das cracked the examination in his first attempt and secured All India rank 267. His family could not express their joy in words on his achievement; his mom said, "We needed time to accept that the news was true." The 26 year old is the first in his entire family to make his mark in the civil services. Unlike several candidates who nourish the dream of being in the civil services since childhood, for Siddhant, the interest grew over the years. He is a musician and has been associated with several bands for many years. But gradually as the years rolled by, he grew an interest in serving the people of the society. Siddhant did his schooling from Assam Valley School and pursued his HS from Army School, Guwahati. He completed his graduation from Cotton College and masters from Indian Institute of Forest Management. He was working with Axis Bank, Kolkata, which he had quit to prepare for the UPSC. His achievement is the result of his 13 months of rigorous hard work. His targets were divided into daily and weekly basis.

Speaking about the examination, he said, "The examination is not hard per se, it's that you need to work hard. I think IITJEE is a hard exam, because to crack the examination you require a certain level of intellect and in-depth academic knowledge. You have to be naturally gifted in science. But UPSC is a very common exam; it's about society, politics and things that revolve around us daily." "Anyone willing to do hard work and is willing to be disciplined, can appear and clear this examination," he added. Siddhant thoroughly followed The Hindu for his contemporary studies and relied on internet research for the rest of his preparations. According to him, the Prelims are the hardest stage. Out of 10 lakh candidates who apply, only 13,700 get selected for the Mains. In his words, “The Mains stage is all about how you present your thoughts, but the competition in the first round is beyond imagination.” He considers 'luck' to be another key player in the whole achievement. He is very thankful to his family for their incessant support. "After I get my profile, I want to honestly serve the society, remain true to my ideals, and help whoever and whichever way I can," shared Siddhant. n

Aranyak Saikia, son of Assam DGP, wants to serve the people of the state

4 year old Aranyak Saikia has won the heart of entire Assam with his brilliant performance in the UPSC 2017. The young boy secured All Indian ranking 148 in the examination. Aranyak is the son of the newly appointed DGP of Assam, Kuladhar Saikia. What makes his achievement even more commendable is the fact that he cracked the examination at the first attempt without any coaching assistance. Aranyak comes from a family where both the parents are in the civil services. His father is in the Indian Police Service and his mother works with the Indian Railway Traffic Service. Aranyak is a student of Economics background. Having studied Economics, he realised the problems prevailing in the country and the contribution that a civil servant can make to rectify them. What motivated him was the fact that the services provide ample opportunities to establish regular contacts with people from diverse backgrounds. He continued his academics while preparing for the examination. For Aranyak, the examination was a 'tough' one. According to the rank holder, one does not only have to know about the current affairs but also needs to have a thorough understanding of History, Politics, Geography, International Relations, Economics etc simultaneously. Having said that, he also feels that aspirants from any background can clear the examination. He sug-

gests that aspirants can have a good preparation for the examination with the help of the resources that are available on the internet. "I personally don't think coaching is a must. I did not take any coaching and relied on the study materials which were available online," he added. Speaking about the examination, he said that the exam is designed for candidates of all backgrounds. However, he finds that the examination is more favourable to candidates belonging to the social science and humanities background, given the extensive focus of the syllabus on various subjects. Although every stage is difficult, he considers the Prelims to be the most uncertain stage. One has to make several intelligent guesses and this is also the stage where nearly 97% of the candidates are eliminated. The interview stage is relatively subjective. But even in this stage, the subjectivity is fairly limited as the interview board consists of experts who are very conversant in these matters. He considers his parents, teachers, and friends to be his biggest inspirations. For him, hard work, perseverance and dedication were the keys to the achievement. When asked about his future goals and the contribution he'd like to make for the people of Assam, he said, "I would love to work in Assam and for the people here. With time, I will want to learn about the people and their problems and try my best to solve them." n

Trotter

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

85-year-old Chinese puts himself up for adoption; doesn’t want to die alone

an Zicheng survived the Japanese invasion, the Chinese civil war and the cultural revolution. But he knew he could not endure the sorrow of living alone. On a chilly day last December, the 85-year-old Chinese grandfather gathered some scraps of white paper and wrote out a pitch in blue ink: "Looking for someone to adopt me." "Lonely old man in his 80s, Strong-bodied, Can shop, cook and take care of himself. No chronic illness. I retired from a scientific research institute in Tianjin, with a monthly pension of 6,000 RMB ($950) a month," he wrote."I won't go to a nursing home. My hope is that a kind-hearted person or family will adopt me, nourish me through old age and bury my body when I'm dead." He taped a copy to a bus shelter in his busy neighbourhood. Then he went home to wait. Han was desperate for company. He said his wife had died. His sons were out of touch. His neighbours had kids to raise and elderly parents of

their own. Han had tried and failed to find caregivers. This time, a woman saw him taping a note to a store window, snapped a picture and posted it on social media with a plea: "I hope warm-hearted people can help." A television crew from an online site called Pear Video came to tell the story of the lonely Tianjin grandpa. Han's phone started ringing. And through his last three months, it did not stop. He had been trying for years to get people to listen to him, stopping neighbours to tell them

he was lonely, that he was scared of dying, that he didn't want to die alone. Now people were reaching out, showing concern. A local restaurant offered food. A journalist from Hebei province promised to visit. He struck up a telephone friendship with a 20-year-old law student in the south. Han said he fell out with one son and that the other emigrated to Canada in 2003 and didn't call him enough. But he declined to provide their contact numbers he didn't want to embarrass them, he said. The last weeks of Han's life are a mystery, an ending obscured by stubborn silence and missed calls. What is clear is that the system failed him - and will likely fail others. In Tianjin, Han's death on March 17 went unnoticed. Han's son, Han Chang, flew in from Canada to handle his affairs. He was angry at his father for posting an adoption notice and angry at reporters for covering it. (Source: ndtv)

4-year-old Pune boy’s paintings sell for thousands of dollars

dvait Kolarkar is just 4, but this prodigy already has the art world abuzz. The pre-schooler from Pune, who moved with his family to New Brunswick, Canada in 2016, is the youngest artist in the history of the Canadian city's Saint John Arts Centre to have his own solo exhibition. Advait's paintings, inspired by galaxies, dinosaurs and dragons, are now selling for thousands of dollars. Last month they were displayed at the Art Expo in New York - the world's largest fine art trade show. According to the Vancouver Sun, Advait's mother Shruti

Kolarkar, a commercial artist, said that he first picked up the brush when he was only a year old. "He was creating something,

not just playing with colours," she said. "He had a sense of composition and colour." Advait held his first solo exhibition at the Saint John Arts Centre in New Brunswick in January this year. Titled 'Colour Blizzard', the exhibition saw his paintings fetching as much as $2,000 (over Rs 1.3 lakhs). His mother says that she's proud that her son's work is gaining recognition. "His happiness is very important to us," she said. "We want him to enjoy art the way he's enjoying now throughout his life." (Source: storypick)

Banned from football stadium, fan hires crane to watch his favourite team

ootball teams across the world have the most dedicated and loyal fans. But nothing comes close to the fandom displayed by one football lover in Turkey. A supporter of Turkish football club Denizlispor, banned from entering the stadium, went to great heights to watch an important game. He hired a crane and enjoyed the match from outside and you have to admit the view was pretty great. The supporter identified as Ali Demirkaya, according to local media, currently has a 12-month

stadium ban. Recently, when he couldn't watch his team play an important home game at Turkey's Denizli Ataturk Stadium, the fan had to get creative. "That match was very important for our team (Denizlispor). I had to go to the police station to sign a paper to show that I am not watching the match in the stadium. Then I quickly went to rent the crane," the fan was quoted as saying. According to local reports, the man paid 354 liras (approximately 70 euros) for the crane. The superfan's stunt atop the

crane and waving at the players has been all over social media. The fan, dubbed "Amigo Ali," started watching the game from the 75th minute but his match fun was interrupted when cops asked him to come down and removed the crane from the stadium premises, reported Turkishfootball.com. The man may have missed the final score but his team won the match 5-0. It's not clear why the man was banned from the stadium in the first place but clearly there is no stopping him. (Source: indianexpress)

“Only Cats For CAT Exam”: Twitter ‘Says it like Biplab’ after Tripura CM’s gaffe

ripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb has been a regular in the news for the last few days. He has made his opinion known on a range of subjects from his remarks against Diana Hayden to comparing his government with a lauki (bottle gourd). Perhaps the most bizarre of his comments, however, came on Friday when he said that civil engineers are better suited for civil services as compared to mechanical engineers. “Those who are from a mechanical engineering

background should not opt for civil services. Society has to be built up. Civil engineers have this knowledge. Because those in the administration have to build society,” he said at an event in Agartala. Since then, Twitter has been using the hashtag ‘Say it like Biplab’ to draw equally bizarre analogies. The chief minister presented his views at an event to mark civil services day in state capital Agartala. His comments were widely derided on social media. (Source: ndtv)

Japan rollercoaster gets stuck, riders left hanging upside down for hours

n what many will cite as their excuse for not sitting on scary rides at amusement parks, a rollercoaster at Universal Studios in Japan suddenly stopped mid-ride. The rollercoaster’s sudden halt left over 60 people hanging upside down for up to two hours as theme park workers began rescue efforts. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. As many as 64 people were riding on the Jurassic Parkinspired “Flying Dinosaur” rollercoaster when it suddenly stopped. According to a local daily, two separate carriages stopped

- one during its upward climb and another before reaching the terminal. Detecting these issues, the rollercoaster’s safety device was activated. A video posted on YouTube by a Japanese newspaper shows just how high the riders were stuck. The footage, filmed from a helicopter, captures the tense rescue operations. The amusement park’s staff worked to help people unbuckle and get off the ride safely. The ride was restarted about two hours later and despite the snags, several people at the park lined up to try the ride. (Source: standard.co.uk)

Review

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Jimit Trivedi Director: Umesh Shukla

B vie w Mo vie Re

102 Not Out

ased on Saumya Joshi’s Gujarati play, ‘102 Not Out’ is a lesson on life skills and how to rise above the bitter memories and cherish the sweet ones. 102-year-old Dattatray Vakharia, Amitabh Bachchan and his 75-year-old son Babulal, Rishi Kapoor don’t have much in common. While the father’s zeal for a fulfilling life knows no boundary, the son is trapped in his past. One day, out of the blue, the father announces that he is going to send the son to an old-age home. The son protests and the father names his terms. He asks the son to fulfil his five conditions over a period of six months. But it is more than just a game for them.

‘102 Not Out’ begins with a few hiccups. The actors take time in adjusting to the script, which relies more on dialogues than actions. Remaining true to the play, every character is introduced by a fellow actor, and wherever they feel restricted, Vijay Raaz’s voiceover comes to the rescue. The film’s heart is firmly in the right place. It knows its territory and the emotions it wants to evoke. It’s just that a few important characters don’t get enough play and they are sacrificed to make space to Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor. The two veterans form the soul of ‘102 Not Out’ and its youthful exuberance. Rishi Kapoor has an upper hand though. It's a joy to watch two fantastic actors working in tandem in a performanceoriented film! n

Design and build

The Huawei P20 Pro has a 6.1inch OLED screen. Huawei has gone with the current notch trend, but the notch is smaller than the one on the Apple iPhone X, and as a result, you get larger sections of the display area on either side of it. The screen has thin borders at the top and sides but there's a thicker chin at the bottom. This is primarily because of Huawei’s decision to put the fingerprint sensor on the front. Huawei has gone with a highly

Hindi, 3D 06:25 PM

06:30 PM, 09:00 PM

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vie w Mo vie Re

Omerta

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03:05 PM, 06:10 PM, 09:15 PM Avengers: Infinity War, Hindi, 2D 11:00 AM 102 Not Out 02:15 PM,

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polished metal mid-frame, with antenna lines visible at the top and the bottom. The power and volume buttons are positioned on the right of the device, and are also made of metal. The power button has a bright orange highlight in the centre.

Specifications

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Gadget Review

uawei has launched the first phone with a triple camera system on the rear, and has partnered with Leica to achieve this. The Huawei P20 Pro sports powerful camera hardware and never seen on an Android smartphone before. The phone comes in a gorgeous Twilight gradient finish, which is one of the coolest colour options seen in a smartphone. Sadly, this option isn’t available in India at the moment, and Huawei has launched the phone only in Midnight Blue. The phone is priced at Rs 64,999.

English, 3D 10:00 AM, 12:45 102 Not Out 10:15 AM,

Naa Peru Surya Naa

cause of the narrative, but because you are keen to know more about its protagonist. Rajkummar Rao nails the part as the dreaded terrorist Omar Sheikh. From switching his stiff British upper lipped enunciations to a desi accent, or wearing a nonchalant smile while being arrested – Rajkummar has given a nuanced performance catching every beat of Omar’s chilling demeanour. Although there is not much scope for other actors to shine beside him, Timothy Ryan Hickernell as Daniel Pearl matches Rajkummar’s intensity in a few scenes. This film had the potential to shake you to your core with the thought that people like Omar exist in the world. Instead, Hansal Mehta focuses on just the ideological aspects of the character and ‘Omerta’ fails to stir you emotionally. n

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12:00 PM, 04:45 PM

Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Rajesh Tailang, Blake Allan, Keval Arora Director: Hansal Mehta merta is a biographical drama on Omar Saeed Sheikh – a British-born terrorist of Pakistani origin, who was responsible for the kidnapping of foreign tourists in India, including the abduction and execution of American journalist Daniel Pearl. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who is known for making films with emotional depth like ‘Shahid’, ‘City Lights’ and ‘Aligarh’, has undoubtedly found an interesting subject that can make for a compelling story. Mehta keeps ‘Omerta’ realistic by including documentary-style footage, but the scope of the film is relegated to just that – watching bone-chilling crimes without much of an emotional connection. His latest is like a three-act play; each act elaborates upon one of Omar’s terrorist missions to accomplish his nefarious goals. The film is gripping, not be-

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cores clocked at 2.36GHz and the other four clocked at 1.8GHz. Huawei has matched this with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, with no option to expand. The OLED screen on the P20 Pro has a resolution of 1080x2240 pixels which translates to 408 PPI. This seems low considering the price of this phone, and the fact that other flagships use QHD panels. However, the screen is vivid and has good viewing angles. In terms of connectivity, the P20 Pro has Bluetooth 4.2, and dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac. It is a dual-SIM device with two NanoSIM slots and supports 4G and VoLTE. The device has an IP67 rating which means that it can be submerged up to 1m deep in fresh water for up to 30 minutes. On the scale, it weighs 180g which is within acceptable limits for a smartphone. It isn’t too thick either, at 7.8mm, which is good considering that there's a 4000mAh battery inside. The P20 Pro ships with a Huawei-branded fast charger in the box along with

Type-C in-ear headphones and a Type-C-to-3.5mm adapter. This phone misses out on wireless charging, which is becoming standard in this segment.

Camera

There's a shortcut that helps you take shots very quickly by double-tapping the volume button when the display is off. There's also a focus tracking function that Huawei calls 4D Predictive Focus, which locks on to a moving object to ensure a sharp image. Huawei has also tweaked the software and has added Artificial Intelligence to improve photo quality. The camera app has a dedicated portrait mode, an aperture mode, slow-mo, timelapse, light painting mode, and a few filters to choose from. There's also a monochrome mode that only uses the 20-megapixel monochrome sensor. Photos taken with the Huawei P20 Pro are impressive, and the phone makes the most of its hardware. n

Entertainment

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Priyanka Chopra visits Assam to shoot for Awesome Assam campaign

ollywood actress and the brand ambassador of Assam Tourism, Priyanka Chopra, visited Jorhat, Assam for a 3-day shoot of several ad films of the Awesome Assam campaign. As part of the Awesome Assam campaign, Priyanka Chopra arrived in Assam on April 28. After reaching Jorhat, Priyanka headed for Thengal Manor, the ancestral residence of renowned tea planter Late Hamendra Prasad Barooah, located on the outskirts of the town. On the way to Thengal Manor, she visited the Subarna Prabha Bordoloi Girls’ School where the students put up a wonderful show for her. Priyanka too joined the girls in their Bihu performance and danced with them. Priyanka did her shooting at the Thengal Manor Heritage House, the tea gardens of Upper Assam, the mighty

Brahmaputra and the Kaziranga National Park, during the first day of her campaign. A musical evening was also arranged for her where Assam based band ‘Mo & The Shooting Stars’ performed. In an initiative to promote Assam as a wedding destination, she also shot for ‘Chaklang’ – the traditional Ahom wedding. She acted in the promotional videos opposite Assamese actor Nayan Nilim. The Assam Tourism department is also making efforts to develop Assam as a major tourist destination of the country. Priyanka Chopra shot with elephants at Kaziranga for the Awesome Assam campaign. While shooting in the tea gardens of Jorhat, she interacted with the tea tribe women and gave them her autograph on traditional Gamosa. Priyanka shared her experience over a series of photos on Instagram. She uploaded pictures of the Assamese Thali, tea gardens, Bihu dance and the 7 year old girl who taught her how to wear the traditional mekhela chador. She wrote, “Once you visit Assam, it stays with you forever.”

Cultural evening held in city in memory of Late Ruleswar Das

n April 28, ‘Triveni Cultural Academy’ organised a cultural evening in the fond memory of Late Ruleswar Das at District Library, Guwahati. Eminent personalities from different fields like actor/ Rtd. AIR Station Director Dinesh Das, Padmashri Jatin Goswami, eminent journalist Joykanta Sarma, Superintendent of Police, Dr Nanda Singh, international Kathak exponent, Hemanta Kalita, Mrs Northeast & Mrs India Universe

Most Beautiful Skin Awardee, Arundhati Bora Das Gupta graced the occasion and turned it into an epoch-making event.

Assamese sci-fi movie ‘Advitya’ on the cards

rindam Sharma, a 22-yearold youth who graduated from Kaziranga University and a certified filmmaker from Mumbai Film Academy, is all set to make the first Assamese science fiction superhero film “Advitya.” The film will star Nipon Goswami, Jetaban Baruah, Chiranjib Dutta, Vivek Bora, Anamika Barman, Priyam Pallavi and Niha Rani Das, amongst others. Announcing the film’s details at a press meet held at the Jorhat Press Club, Arindam stated that the story of the movie, its direction, screenplay, dialogues would be done by Sharma himself. He further said that the financier of the film is Brojendra Nath Sharma and the production company is Krrishna Kraft Productions of Jorhat. The film would also be released in Bengali. “Advitya will have special effects of the latest VFX and animation technology and the film is expected to be released

in 2020 or early 2021,” informed Arindam. Arindam has earlier acted in a VCD film called “UFO Returns” in 2012 which was a science fiction film produced by Brojendra Nath Sharma. Arindam, in 2016, also directed a short film titled, “Love: It’s Complicated.” Later, in 2017, he left for Mumbai to learn filmmaking and in 2018 he has come back with his new project “Advitya.” “A project like this where VFX and animation technology still remains unexplored, especially in the area of regional cinema, Advitya promises to be the first of its kind with a new perspective,” said Arindam. Arindam informed that the film would be an independent production, boasting of stateof-the-art VFX technology, CG characters and 3D animation. The film, being the first regional sci-fi superhero movie from Assam, is expected to pave the way for directors of the region to explore the genre.

Bihu fusion ‘Haahe Hoi Sorim’ winning hearts across Assam

Singer Ruma Choudhury, Sangeeta Bora and Abhinob Borah performed songs as a tribute to Late Das.

The audience was in total awe viewing the fusion performance of one of Late Das’s poem ‘PADUM’ with Kathak Dance, choreographed by Vijay Srivastava, BOL PORHON by Pranati Goswami. Pranati Goswami, founder secretary of Triveni Cultural Academy was the main person behind organising the event. Musicians like Shantanu Baruah, Dip Rajbongshi, Tapan Deka, Paban Rabha, Jatin Chetia and Umesh Nath added vibrancy to the evening. A souvenir named ‘SANGOM’ was also released during the event in the fond memory of Late Das.

oung talent from the music industry of Assam, Stutima Basistha, has released her first YouTube solo Bihu fusion track ‘Haahe Hoi Sorim’. Haahe Hoi Sorim is a traditional Assamese fusion Bihu track, which depicts the essence of love, togetherness and festivity during the spring season. The song also celebrates the solidarity of Assamese people during this time of the year. The idea was to give the people of Assam a soulful Assamese track that carries a taste of fusion, since it is the most trending concept in the recent times. The track is one with original Assamese flavour with a

tint of modernism. Stutima is a singer by passion. As the years rolled by, she tried her best to turn her passion into a profession and took flight with the solo ‘Haahe Hoi Sorim.’ The music has been composed by Diganta Bharati and arranged by Chandan Das. The mixing has been done by Ibson Lal Barua. The video direction is done by Samujjal Kashyap, cinematography by Nagen Baishya and Samujjal Kashyap. Stutima Basistha and Anabil Mahanta form the cast of the music video. This is Stutima’s debut YouTube release and the track has already become a huge sensation among the people of the state. “I did not expect too many views. But after the release, there were phone calls and messages of appreciation coming to me regularly. Words won’t be enough to express my happiness. I am grateful to each and everyone for showering so much love,” said Stutima.

Fun

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Horoscope of the week With delightful Venus now moving more deeply into your personal sector, the desire to make new friends could increase. You might be more inclined to compromise and seek solutions that are a win/win for everyone involved.

With the sun in your social sector, this can be a good time to enjoy the support of friends. However, with a major focus on your sector of relating, it seems that your associations are going through some major changes now and in the months to come. With both cautious Saturn and radical Pluto now retrograde in this zone, you could be seeing certain bonds in a new light, which is a good thing.

Feelings about work issues could be very potent this week, and this could be due to a strong and assertive blend of energies. You might be eager to overcome an obstacle or see a certain result. With expansive Jupiter involved, you might even feel exhilarated at the thought of it. However, if you’re trying too hard, you may be preventing things from flowing as they naturally should.

With the sun in the topmost sector of your chart, this is your chance to make progress in your career or business. Taking every opportunity to show off your skills and let others know about you can help you advance in the way you desire and deserve. If you get a chance to give a presentation or talk informally with movers and shakers, taking it can give you more exposure.

With the sun now moving through a deeper sector of your chart, you could be looking at ways to address emotional issues that have been going on for some time. This could be echoed on the home front with prudent Saturn and dynamic Pluto both retrograde and encouraging you to delve into past experiences and locate any emotional blockages.

With jovial Jupiter in your sign linking to potent Pluto in your sector of mind and communication, your thoughts may still be on a project that is important to you. However, this can be a time of research and consolidation. By making sure the foundation is secure, future success is almost guaranteed. Don’t neglect the details.

Your social life could be a lot of fun. It’s also necessary for your health and well-being. The chance to relax in good company may be just what you need to counteract all the hard work you’re doing. In addition, sensuous Venus in your lifestyle sector encourages you to nurture your body by giving it enough rest, good food, and exercise.

The presence of Venus in your leisure sector can give you opportunities to enjoy exhibitions, concerts, movies, or anything else that inspires you and touches your heart. This is also the ideal time to indulge in your favorite hobbies or go on outings with family. The more time you make for your inner child to have fun, the happier you will be.

You continue to be busy with your social life, community plans, and various groups and clubs. Nevertheless, delectable Venus in your home zone could draw your attention to domestic chores that need to be done, especially those that help keep your place happy and harmonious.

Why does the film Bansi Birju (1972) hold much importance in the life of Amitabh Bachchan?

Chorus Repertory Theatre was set up by which famous theatre personality from the North East, one of the pioneers of ‘ Theatre of Roots” in 1976?

Fenway Sports Group is the parent organisation of which Record breaking Club?

“Badshahi Angti” (Badshah’s Ring) is the debut detective novel of which popular Bengali detective?

Which Sri Lankan Cricketer with 154 wickets holds the record for taking the most number of wickets at the IPL?

Identify this popular savoury treat consisting of pastry crust filled with eggs, milk or cream, cheese, meat, seafood or vegetables. It can be served both hot or cold and is a part of French Cuisine, though available worldwide. Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Garfield by Jim Davis

curio-city

5 8 2 1 4 4 5 24 3 8 9 5 3 5 9 1 6 8 4 31 5 2 7 9 63 3 1 2 8 Daily Sudoku: Fri 4-May-20182 9

9 6 5 6 3 47 73 6 3 9 6 75 8 1 very hard 2

Daily Sudoku: Wed 25-Apr-2018

very hard

2 last 6 4week 3 9 solution 1 7 5 8 9 7 5 8 6 2 4 1 3 4 9 12 83 31 5 4 87 62 79 56 2 3 76 45 24 1 3 78 15 96 89 9 7 8 6 5 3 5 6 4 2 19 31 28 47 8 4 85 99 13 6 7 25 73 64 12 8 1 6 9 7 4 3 9 7 5 56 48 32 21 3 1 54 22 87 9 1 63 56 87 94 1 8 63 16 72 2 8 44 99 53 75 7 Sudoku: 4 Fri94-May-2018 5 2 3 8 1 very6hard Daily 1 8 5 7 6 9 2 4 3 Daily Sudoku: Wed 25-Apr-2018

very hard

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

1. It was the first movie where Amitabh Bachchan played a Romantic lead opposite Jaya Bachchan 2. Ratan Thiyam 3. Liverpool Football Club 4. Satyajit Ray’s Feluda 5. Lasith Malinga 6. Quiche

curio-city

Sudoku

Any plans you’ve launched recently may already be bearing fruit. With a powerful focus on your adventure sector, the present alignment actively encourages you to grab any new opportunities. With cautious Saturn and fervent Pluto now retrograde in this sector, you could have deeper reasons for wanting aspects of your life to change.

Whatever drama took place last week seems to be largely resolved this week. The overall focus in your chart is quite grounded and earthy, with a powerful dose of ambition. With upbeat Jupiter continuing to link to powerful Pluto, you might continue to pursue an idea or project that promises great results over the long term.

Word of the week Vagility noun [vuh-jil-i-tee] the ability of an organism to move about freely and migrate.

Crossword Across

1 Device for taking and storing moving images (7) 8 Strive to match (7) 9 Sea dog (7) 10 Room — thicken (anag) (7) 11 Explosive projectile (5) 13 Suddenly (3,2,4) 15 Attractive (9) 18 Device used in aiming (5) 21 Public performance by a solo musician (7) 22 Beware! (4,3) 23 Dickens’s miser (7) 24 Small fish (7)

Down

1 Low spirits (5) 2 Make a pig of oneself (5) 3 Large destructive fire (13) 4 European political leader (6) 5 Slaughter (3,2,3,5) 6 German city, Charlemagne’s imperial capital (6) 7 Unkind person (informal) (6) 12 Food fish (4) 14 Bludgeon (4) 15 Coercion (6) 16 Incapable of being tampered with (6) 17 Classical dance (6) 19 Evil spirit (5) 20 Give individual instruction (5)

Last week’s solution

Lifestyle

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Mind your shoes interview, you should never wear footwear which is either torn or in trodden condition. It converts all your luck into misfortune. Torn footwear stops your success. In case you have nothing else, you can always borrow temporarily. It has been advised to take off shoes while eating. There are several acupressure points in the feet which are suppressed by shoes. Eating with shoes on may affect the digestive system.

e make several mistakes, sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly. They become the main reasons for clashes among family members. Some may even affect the health of residents. The shoes and sandals are used by us to tread all over the place and they can bring in lots of negative energy as well as germs. It is necessary to keep them at proper place so that their negative effects do not come inside the house. It is a matter of hygiene to leave shoes outside the house. A house also has a place of worship like a temple and so one should not enter the house with shoes on. There’s presence of fire and water elements along with food in the kitchen, which are worshipped by Hindus. So, one should not enter the kitchen wearing shoes. Goddess Annap-

urna is worshipped in the form of food. Shoes must be kept in order. Keeping them haphazardly invites poverty. The best direction to keep them is at west. Under no circumstances, shoes should be kept at northeast. Shoes must never be kept in hanging state inside a home. If done, it would bring in death, worst of misfortunes and critical health problems to family memHemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.

bers. After death, the deceased’s footwear must be either donated or buried and never be kept in home. One should never wear any footwear which is either stolen or received as a gift. Such footwear would always pull down your luck and career prospects. If you are going for an

There Is Something There is something in the back of my mind, Something I do not wish to know, It pricks and claws making noises of all kinds, But I feel I shouldn’t let it show. Sometimes when I close my eyes, I see memories of an unknown past, They feel like some beautiful lies, I fear I’ll be blind in the light they cast.

Shoes for different professions

Scholars are advised against wearing brown footwear or wood coloured footwear to the workplace. If things are already in bad shape, this could turn it into your worst nightmare. Brown shoes must be avoided at workplace at all cost. People associated with banking or education-related workplace must avoid wearing coffee or dark brown coloured footwear. Such shoes bring bad luck to the source of income. If you’re working in the field of medicine or any work related to iron, then you must never wear white shoes. Wearing white shoes could invoke bad luck and loss of wealth. Wear black shoes instead. If you are related with waterwork or Ayurvedic field, then avoid wearing blue coloured footwear and also be careful against footwear made of cloth. Blue is not suitable.

There is a reason in the back of my mind, Something that’s not yet meant to grow, Yet my heart screams in order to find This reason, don’t say “let it go”. Sometimes when the moon opens its eyes, I see magic cover the sky so vast, The clouds sing songs of a thousand goodbyes, I wish those moments would forever last. There are many things in the back of my mind. Still I feel the love and warmth that flows. Because I know that he loves me kind, The time will come when we’ll rise and glow. Sanjali Dixit

Renal Replacement Therapy - Dialysis and Transplant

here comes a stage in kidney disease when the medicines are not enough to correct the metabolic abnormalities produced by chronic kidney disease. Here, patient needs Renal Replacement Therapy, in the form of either Dialysis or Transplant. Dialysis is either Haemodialysis or Peritoneal Dialysis. In the former, the blood is passed through a semi permeable membrane which has an artificial solution on the other side called the Dialysate. During this process, fluid and electrolyte imbalance can be corrected to a great extent and a lot of kidney waste products can be excreted. In those with late disease, Dialysis is required on a regular basis. This is 9 to 12 hours a week spread over 2 to 4 sessions. The judgement is made based on the clinical picture and not just a particular level of creatinine. Malnutrition, sleep disturbances, weight loss, myalgia, nausea, lethargy, weakness, cognitive dysfunction, unresponsive anaemia, resistant hypertension may all be indicators for the need of dialysis. Haemodialysis requires

toneal Dialysis only substitute for the excretory function of the kidney and are unable to remove all the toxic products. Medicines are still required for these unattended issues. Even at the best centre, the annual mortality for those on Dialysis is 20-25% and Cardiovascular diseases and infections account for the majority of these. In our country, malnutrition is a strong associate. Dr Rakesh Periwal Critical Care Medicine and Sleep Specialist drperiwal@gmail.com

placement of catheters and needles but repeated cannulation can lead to damage of the blood vessels. Thus if catheters are needed for long duration, then tunnelled catheters which can be used for months are preferred. In other patients, an artificial communication between the artery and the vein is made, called an AV Fistula, which over a few weeks, may be used for access. The blood during the process of Haemodialysis circulates at a tremendous speed and may not be tolerated in those with heart

disease. In those with low BP as in critical illness, the patients may not tolerate the process. The other alternative is Peritoneal Dialysis. Here, a solution is inserted into the abdominal cavity, is allowed to remain for a few hours and then drained out. What should one choose? The fact is that both are comparable and are probably associated with equal survival. Therefore the patient should pick the modality, based on preferences and logistics. Both Haemodialysis and Peri-

Renal transplant provides all the functions which a kidney does but comes with the load of Immunosuppressive drugs which has to be taken life-long. The survival and quality of life is best with transplant. With newer drugs and better techniques, the survival of the graft may be as much as 15 to 20 years. The greatest risk is during the first year of transplant, but still the graft survival is 90-95%. A patient should be considered for transplant if he has more than 5 year life expectancy at the time of transplant.

Timing of the transplant is perhaps one of the most important factors having a bearing on the outcomes. The considerations should start early. You may have a long waiting if you apply for cadaveric donor and its best to plan it from before. Many are lucky to find a suitable live donor but it may still take a few months for the mental and medical preparation. The interest in this early or pre emptive transplant is due to the fact that CKD has tremendous impact on the body; especially the cardiovascular system and this may place the patient at a greater risk of mortality, even after transplant. Some unfortunate ones may develop cardiac complications or stroke prior to the transplant. Although the surgery itself is not very challenging, one needs meticulous care during the post transplant period, especially regarding the Immunosuppressive drugs. The idea is to minimise both the rejection of the graft and the adverse effects of the drugs. The future of renal transplant is only improving with advances in medical care.

Buzz

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

Handique Girls’ College English department hosts alumni meet

Assamese culture on the ascendancy, Says Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy

ssamese culture is vibrant, inclusive on the ascendancy, and there is no chance of it being submerged by any other culture, including Bengali culture. Stating this while delivering the 5th Professor Sarat Mahanta Memorial Lecture on ‘Recasting Assamese-Bengali Relationship:

A New Perspective’ at the Royal Global University on Tuesday, Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy underlined the need for Bengalis to learn about Assamese culture. Roy said that Assam is a “great land of many ethnicities, cultures and religions” and has to remain so. For that, the interests of the indigenous Assamese people have to be protected. He also highlighted the need to propagate Assamese culture beyond the borders of the state. “It is unfortunate that students outside Assam are not taught about the great sons of Assam like Lachit Borphukan, Tarun Ram Phookan and Lakshminath Bezbaroa,” he said. Roy, who started his keynote address in Assamese, dwelt on the need for “trans-provincial understanding of cultures.” Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi paid rich tributes to Professor Sarat Mahanta and dwelt on his work as an academic, a historian, a journalist and a Xatradhikar. Assam finance minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma stressed on the similarities between Assamese and Bengali cultures and they being integral parts of the greater Indian culture. He spoke of the convergence of teachings of Srimanta Sankardev and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the Vedic culture that binds all the cultures together. Sarma said that many eminent Assamese and Bengalis strove to cement ties

between the two cultures and had worked for greater understanding and unity between the two cultures and communities. The two cultures are also distinct and while maintaining their distinctiveness, should work for unity between the two communities that will strengthen the unity and integrity of the

series of workshops for the benefit of the English Major students with the participation of select alumni as resource persons. Accordingly, four workshops and talks are scheduled for the period between June 2018 and December 2018. Dr Asha Kuthari Chaudhuri gave her consent to participate as resource person for a drama workshop with the students.

Manika Devee, renowned Assamese short story writer and winner of Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2014, would conduct a workshop for students on creative writing. Pallavi Hazarika, jewellery designer and proprietor of Prajapati (an outlet of contemporary Assamese jewellery) agreed to address the students on entrepreneurship. Gitashree Konwar, a member of International Human Rights Council, will deliver a talk on human rights. A new executive committee was formed with Geeta Baruah as the president, Shalini Jain as Secretary, Rajashree Guha as Joint Secretary, and Dr Srutimala Duara, Dr Asha Kuthari Chaudhuri, Namrata Verma, Preetilekha Bhattacharya and Nandita Das as executive members. The event concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Dr Tasrina Iqbal. n

GTC players shine at Kurushetra Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament country as a whole. Agriculture minister Atul Bora spoke of his personal association with Professor Sarat Mahanta. “He (Professor Mahanta) was a courageous, straight-speaking and multi-faceted personality who was adept at finding solutions to even very complex problems,” said Bora. The minister also termed Professor Mahanta as a prominent exponent of Xatriya culture. The memorial lecture, organised by the Sarat Mahanta Foundation, in association with Royal Global University, was also attended by ministers, Pijush Hazarika and Bhabesh Kalita, Lok Sabha MP Pradan Barua, legislator Satyabrata Kalita, advisor to CM Hrishikesh Goswami, top bureaucrats and police officers, senior academics and prominent persons from various walks of life. The programme was moderated by renowned actress Zerifa Wahid while a brilliant dance recital depicting the ten avatars of Bhagwan Vishnu was presented by danseuse Mridusmita Das and her team with renowned singer Zublee Baruah rendering the background score. n

Assam girl bags gold in Abacus contest ssam’s Shreyashi Saikia bagged the gold medal in the G-5 category of the 35th National Abacus Competition held at Thyagraj Stadium, New Delhi. The winners were

he English department of Handique Girls’ College held an Alumni Meet on 28th April 2018. The programme began with a devotional song by Dr Mitali Goswami, followed by a welcome speech delivered by Dr Pori Hiloidari, head of the English department. Geeta Baruah, former Principal in-charge, spoke on “Relevance of Literature in the Contemporary World.” Dr Asha Kuthari Chaudhuri, head of the English department, Gauhati University and an alumnus of 1990 batch, while sharing memories of her years in the department, said that the department had played a very constructive role in her interest in dramatics. Dr Srutimala Duara, conducting the two-hour programme, placed the department proposal for holding a

declared on April Shreyashi is standard student Grammar Senior School, Guwahati. daughter of Rajib Niku Saikia.

29, Sunday. a 9th of Gurukul Secondary She is the Saikia and n

nternationally rated chess player, Nandan Buragohain, of Gauhati Town Club Chess Foundation clinched the championship title of the 5th Kurushetra Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament 2018 held at DHK College, Dibrugarh from 25th to 30th April 2018. Nandan remained undefeated in the tournament and scored 8 points out of 9 rounds with 7 wins and two draws. Nandan enjoyed a full point lead going into the 9th and final round and required just a draw to clinch the championship. Even a

loss in the last round would have placed him joint champion with three other players. However, not taking any chances Nandan went for a win in the game. On the 27th move, his opponent offered a draw and despite enjoying a favourable position Nandan agreed to the offer and secured the championship. Another player of GTC Chess Foundation, Dhrupad Kashyap, also put up an excellent performance in the tournament and secured the 18th position and increased his FIDE rating by 23 points in the tournament.

“I congratulate all the winners in the tournament and wish them success in the future,” Biswajit Bharadwaj, Director, GTC Chess Foundation said. n

Labour Day observed in Guwahati

abour Day was observed across Assam on May 1 by different trade unions with a general strike taking off commercial vehicles and workers off sites to mark the occasion. Several organisations, trade unions and federations observed the day in a befitting manner creating awareness among the working class and holding rallies, processions, meetings, etc. Workers of all sectors including tea gardens, oil, coal, bank, insurance, defence, transport, postal, construction, industry, railways and also the workers of unorganised sectors came out to observe the day. A programme was jointly organised by trade unions and confederation of workers at Dighali-

pukhuri. Trade union leader, Biren Kalita, hoisted the flag followed by the floral tribute at the Swahid Bedi by another prominent trade union leader, DK Debnath. The event was attended by several supporters of workers’ rights activists. May Day was also organised by several other trade unions and organisations across the state. The united workmen union organised a protest in Guwahati, raising demands for better pay and working conditions. Motor vehicle workers’ union organised a motorbike rally, raising demands for parity in pay and job security. The members of Leo Club of Gauhati Girls also marked the occasion and distributed snack boxes and t-shirts to the labourers in and around the Rehabari area in

Guwahati. Workers from various fields including vegetable vendors, rickshaw pullers and fruit vendors were informed about the significance of World Labour Day. Labour Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. It is celebrated every year on May 1 with a call to unite against the anti-labour legislations and to build a strong movement for safeguarding the interest of the working class. n

Events

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018

May 5, Saturday Big Bollywood Night ft. DJ Shivani Club XS Strela Thounaojam

8PM onwards

Sunaina Kamath

May 5, Saturday Musical Night ft. Blue Swapnonil & Pallab (Blueyes)

Wings Band Underdoggs Sports Bar ‘Paridhana – Confluence of Fashion’ was held at GMCH Auditorium on the occasion of Blitzkrieg 2018, the annual festival of Regional Dental College, Guwahati. The event was organised by the 29th Junior Doctor’s Association of GMCH.

Paridhana – Confluence of Fashion

8PM onwards May 5, Saturday Bollywood Night ft. DJ

Kamya The fashion show was directed by Chow Poran J. Gogoi. The first sequence of the fashion show showcased colourful and The Socialite glamorous ready to wear collections, opened by Nandini Borkakati, owner of Page 3 Boutique. The show stopper for the sequence was Sunaina Kamath, Fbb Femina Miss India Assam 8PM onwards 2018.

April 29, Sunday GMCH Auditorium

The second/closing sequence of the fashion show showcased ethnic fusion collections with hand-woven Arunachali fabrics and textiles, topped with gorgeous ornaments with intricate details. The costumes were designed and showcased by Tasso Lilly Kago, a fashion designer from Arunachal Pradesh. The show stopper for this sequence was Strela Thounaojam- Miss Manipur 2018.

May 5, Saturday Gennext Club Nights Terra Mayaa 7PM onwards May 5, Saturday Bollywood Beats ft. Supriyo Dunkin Oza 7PM onwards

Club Night ft. DJ NVN

April 28, Saturday Dunkin Oza

May 5, Saturday House Arrest ft. Erfan

Ladies Night

NYX, Hotel Palacio

April 25, Wednesday NYX, Hotel Palacio

8PM onwards May 6, Sunday Comedy Smack ft. Parvinder Singh The Socialite 8PM onwards

Bollywood Sufi Night ft. Shubham Saverni April 27, Friday Terra Mayaa

May 6, Sunday Comedy Special: Shadows by Daniel Fernandez Dine Way Platz 6PM onwards

Catching Up

G PLUS | May 05 - May 11, 2018