Vol 5 Issue 35 by G Plus

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018 @guwahatiplus www.guwahatiplus.com

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Volume 05 | Issue 35 Jun 23 - Jun 29, 2018 Price `10

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DC creates history, bars pilgrim entry to Kamakhya

Poor maintenance, pathetic infrastructure leave Dispur Supermarket in a shambles

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Photo Feature Pics from the MELA

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Curse of the Goddess NRC updation process ousts Koch royalty embroiled in fake news from Kamakhya mess, speculations Temple affairs With the onset of the annual Ambubachi Mela, Assam’s largest tourism activity, G Plus traces an unknown part of ancient history, the ramifications of which continue to have its effects even today

CM formally inaugurating Ambubachi mela | G Plus Photo

Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

he annual Ambubachi Mela, the biggest religious congregation in the northeast of India at Kamakhya Temple here, that began this June 22 with the message of “unity and prosperity”, however, brings a sense of “exclusion” among the descendants of Naranarayan, the Koch king credited with renovating the temple, mainly due to two reasons – the curse of the Goddess and the apathy of the government. The Koch royal family, according to legend, was barred from entering the temple premises by the Goddess for a mischief done by Naranarayan and his brother Chilarai back in the 16th century. On the other hand, the descendants of the Koch royalty were again not invited to this year’s inaugural ceremony of Ambubachi at the Sonaram Field

on Thursday last. Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, along with ministers of his cabinet, had inaugurated the Mela sharing the stage with leaders of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), all the religious heads of the indigenous communities of Assam barring the Koch along with religious heads and heads of the akharas from all over the country. “We were barred from entering the temple premises, but not the Sonaram Field. We, after all, are the descendants of the king who renovated the temple twice out of rubbles,” Pranab Narayan Dev, the 16th generation descendant of the Koch royal family, told G Plus. Though according to archaeologists, the temple dates back to around the 7th-8th centuries, the first historical evidence of the temple was found in the 16th century when Koch king, Vishwa Singha, along with his brother Siva Singha, who

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Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

t’s not only fake news on xopadhora (child-lifters) or other hate/funny messages which are making the rounds on social media but serious issues like the National Register of Citizens (NRC) updation process is also getting affected by the fake news syndrome which are getting circulated on various social media channels. A few days ago, the NRC Secretariat had issued a scathing statement against a news item published on Al Jazeera channel. A senior journalist had reported NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela as saying that some 4.8 million people in Assam have failed to provide appropriate legacy data documents. Talking to G Plus, Hajela had said, “I have never given such a quote to any journalist. I don't even know about the media organisation publishing such news.” Recently, a piece of news saying that lakhs of Indians could be dropped from NRC is making the rounds. A blog written by a Guwahati-based

advocate titled “Fear Grips Assam as names of lakhs of Indians could be dropped from NRC” had provided an estimated mathematical calculation that around 5 lakh people will suffer. A paragraph in the advocate’s blog said, “Since 1985, around one lakh (1,00,000) people have been declared as foreigners. Approximately 20,000 orders of Tribunal (mostly ex parte, that was issued without hearing both sides) have been set aside by different judicial forums. However, there are still 80,000 declared ‘foreigners’. Let’s assume, on an average a so-called ‘foreigner’ has 4 siblings. That makes a total of three lakh twenty thousand (3,20,000) siblings. Along with the declared ‘foreigners’, this makes up a total of four lakh (4,00,000) people. The family members of those 4 lakh people will include their children and grandchildren. On an average at least 6 family members of each person (very liberal estimate considering higher fertility rate among poor and illiterate people who have been declared as ‘foreigners’) thus it makes over two million people!” The mathematical calculation is speculative in nature, but the blog created

legitimate fear among many applicants of NRC. However, the NRC authorities have claimed that the news was fake. Standing Counsel for NRC, Anita Verma said, “So much speculation has been created online by blogs, which do not appear to be true. Every verification done by the NRC authorities has been kept confidential and it is only on the publishing of the draft list that the actual figures will be out. Self assessment of such huge numbers is really astonishing, which is enough to create fear and unrest amongst the people.” The lawyer who wrote the blog had later asked the publishers of his article to delete the above mentioned paragraph. He later said, “I had mathematically calculated the numbers of people that could have been dropped from the NRC because of the letters dated 2nd and 25th May 2018 of the State Coordinator of the NRC. Subsequently, the State Coordinator has clarified that many declared foreigners have done a vanishing act and hence I believe that the number

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Is it possible to get Rs 100 crores from defamation cases? Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

tate cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Thursday, said that he has filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against a national Hindi news channel

which accused him of having links with self-styled political and power broker, Anuj Poddar. “I am outraged by a @ abpnewstv news report linking me to a person whom I have never met or known in my life. [The] @abpnewstv news report has defamed me in public light. I have filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against ABP News before the civil

judge, Sr division, Kamrup district, Guwahati,” Himanta tweeted. Himanta had earlier dragged former chief minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, to court for making baseless and untrue allegations against him that included accusing him of being involved

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Lead Story

SNIPPETS Abhi - Nil’s fathers meet CM; culprits to get maximum punishment, assures Sonowal

he fathers of mob lynching victims in Dokmoka, Karbi Anglong, Abhjieet Nath and Nilotpal Das, met chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal at his office at Janata Bhawan on Tuesday and put forward their suggestions and opinions for delivering maximum punishment to the culprits. Abhjieet’s father, Ajit Kumar Nath and Nilotpal’s father Gopal Chandra Das made a written submission to Sonowal for constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to expeditiously take up the case. Sonowal assured that all measures have been taken so that the culprits receive maximum punishment accorded for the crime and no loopholes would be left in the investigation for the perpetrators to escape as the SIT under a DSP has already been constituted for the case. Because of the swift action of Assam Police, almost all the accused are nabbed in a short period of time and subsequently, the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court would be requested to put the trial in fast track court for speedy justice delivery, Sonowal said. The chief minister stated that he is personally monitoring the progress of the case as the crime has tarnished the image of the state and he has also directed the police for consulting an expert criminal lawyer while preparing the charge-sheet of the case so that technical loopholes do not remain through which the criminals can escape. The fathers of the two slain youths requested that a competent and experienced police officer of higher rank must be in-charge of the SIT and they said that in the 21st century such barbaric incidents due to superstitions must not be allowed to take place. Saying that it is the government’s duty is to ensure that justice is not denied and exemplary punishment is meted out to the culprits, Sonowal said that the state’s guest friendly image has taken a beating in view of the incident and government is committed to taking all measures to redeem that image. Legal and media advisors to the chief minister Shantanu Bharali and Hrishikesh Goswami respectively, chief secretary TY Das, principal secretary of home LS Changson were also present during the meeting. n

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

NRC updation process embroiled... Continued from page » 1 will be very less. We have been campaigning for a free and fair NRC since the beginning. It has come to light that some vested interested parties could misuse the post and speculative numbers to derail the process of the NRC. Hence I request you to expunge the paragraph where I mathematically calculated the number. For your convenience I would like to quote the entire para which I want to withdraw from the post. Although the fears are genuine among people, I don’t want to give vested interest parties any opportunities to derail the process of the NRC. Hence I wish to withdraw the above para from the article.”

The lawyer had written the blog for the online portal, CJP. Actually the mathematical calculation in the blog was done on the assumed estimation of the siblings of the declared foreigners. Interestingly, the blog written by the lawyer was made according to two letters issued by the NRC authorities. Actually on 2nd May 2017, the Gauhati High Court had observed that once a person is declared to be a foreigner, it would be only the logical corollary to such declaration that his brothers and sisters and other family members would also be foreigners. The state coordinator for NRC informed the Registrar General of India (RGI) on 15th March 2018 who granted approval to comply

with the court’s order. Accordingly, the NRC authorities issued a letter on 2nd May 2018 to all deputy commissioners (DCs) of Assam regarding eligibility status of brothers, sisters and other family members (declared foreigners’ siblings) of persons declared as foreigners by the foreigner tribunals (FTs). It is after this letter was issued that the advocate had written the blog calculating the speculated figure. The NRC coordinator, on 25th May 2018, again issued a letter clarifying who should be put on hold. According to his letter to all the DCs, the persons whose references (cases referred to FTs) are made by the border police will be put on hold.

NRC final draft: Around 4 lakh applicants likely to be on hold

n the first draft list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), names of 1.9 crore people were listed out of the total of 3.9 crore applicants in Assam. The list was published on 31st December 2017 and the NRC authorities had then said that the verification process of the rest of the applicants is yet to be completed. The second list is expected to be published on 30th June 2018 and how many people will not make it to the list is the big question hanging in the air. State Coordinator for NRC, Prateek Hajela, talking to G Plus, had said that till the last moment it won’t be possible to reveal how many applicants will not be there in the list. He had said, “Passing percentage cannot be declared before the results of an examination are out.” G Plus acquired a document from sources in Dispur. The document contained the minutes of the meeting held on 5th June 2018 to review the progress of the development of common database of foreigners’ tribunal matters as per direction of Gauhati High

ccording to the minutes of the meeting, it was stated by the State Coordinator for NRC, Prateek Hajela that 1,26,520 doubtful (D) voters are present in Assam. The data, it seems, is according to the electoral rolls of 2018.

According to the NRC coordinator, around 4,238 declared foreigners have been identified and their names will not be listed in the NRC. Calculating their siblings, names of around 43,000 declared foreigners’ siblings were sent to the border police for investigation and for making references if required. So unless references are not made by the border police the NRC will not hold the names of the siblings of the declared foreigners. Whatever may be the calculation how many persons will be barred from being enlisted in the NRC remains a matter of speculation but fake news related to the calculation involving the NRC updating process that is continuing to emanate remains a matter of concern. n

Writ petition challenging NRC coordinator’s orders on siblings of DFs dismissed

T NRC Field Level Officers verifying documents for the updation of NRC | G Plus Photo Court which was ordered on 12th April 2018. Gauhati High Court ordered the meeting to find a solution after it was “shocked” knowing that a declared foreigner’s (Ali Ahmed) name appeared in the first draft list of NRC published on 31st December 2017. According to the minutes of the meeting, it was stated by the State Coordinator for NRC, Prateek Hajela that 1,26,520 doubtful (D) voters are present in Assam. The data, it seems, is according to the electoral rolls of 2018. Where declared foreigners are concerned, the document containing the minutes of the meeting said that the state coordinator for NRC received a list of 57,807 numbers of declared foreigners of post 1971 stream with the data available till December 2017. A list of 15,468 numbers of unregistered declared foreigners of 1966-1971 stream was also received by the state coordinator for NRC from the border police. According to border police sources, if a declared foreigner of the 1966-1971 stream is not

registered in the electoral roll, he/she does not have voting rights. But the same foreigner, if registered, can vote after living 10 years in the country after registration. The NRC authorities also received the list of registered declared foreigners of 1966-1971 steam (14365). The document containing the minutes of the meeting also stated that Hajela received a list of 1,99,659 numbers of persons from border police whose cases are currently pending at various foreigners’ tribunals across the state. The data available in the list is till December 2017. So totalling the numbers of D voters (126520), declared foreigners post 1971 (57807), unregistered declared foreigners of 1966 to 1971 stream (15468) and cases pending in foreigners’ tribunals (199657), the figure stands at around 3,99,453 persons who are under scanner and might not make it to the second or final draft NRC list. After the final draft is published people will get a chance to claim and object if their names don’t figure out in the list. n

he Gauhati High Court found no infirmity on error in the instructions issued by Prateek Hajela, the State Coordinator for National Register of Citizens (NRC) in his letters dated 2nd May 2018 and 25th May 2018, where he had instructed that names of siblings of declared foreigners (DFs) were to be kept on hold till decision is rendered from the foreigners’ tribunals. The orders were challenged and a writ petition was filed by one Azizul Haque. The writ petition was accordingly dismissed today by the Gauhati High Court. The Gauhati High Court on 2nd May 2017, observed that once a person is declared a foreigner, it would be only the logical corollary to such declaration that his brothers and sisters and other family members would also be foreigners. Complying to the court’s observations, the State Coordinator for NRC issued a letter on 2nd May 2018 to all deputy commissioners (DCs) of Assam regarding eligibility status of brothers, sisters and other family members (declared foreigners’ siblings) of persons declared as foreigners by the foreigners’ tribunals (FTs). The NRC coordinator, on 25th May 2018, again issued a letter clarifying who should be put on hold. According to his letter to all the DCs, the persons whose references (cases referred to FTs) are made by the border police will be put on hold. n

Lead Story

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Curse of the Goddess ousts... Continued from page » 1 ruled from Koch Behar, now Coochbehar in West Bengal, discovered the ruins of the temple in Nilachal Hill when they strayed from a battle with the Ahom Kingdom near Guwahati. He started the renovation work which was further carried out by his son Malladeva who assumed the name Naranarayan and his brother and trusted general Sukladhwaja who assumed the name Chilarai. Later, in 1553, after the Mughal general Kalapahar, who had attacked Assam, destroyed the Kamakhya Temple along

with other Hindu shrines, Naranarayan and Chilarai built the temple back from the rubbles and threw it open to public in 1565. “During renovation, there were inscriptions made on the walls inside the main temple in ancient Borjuli language narrating how it was rebuilt by Naranarayan and Chilarai after being demolished by Kalapahar. However, very few know about it as it is not well maintained and there were no lights put on the walls,” Dev said. The history is not very clear about the exact date, but it was between 1565 and 1584, when Naranarayan died, that the curse

was put on the family. About the curse, Arup Jyoti Das, director of Guwahati-based Centre for Koch Rajbonghsi Studies said that according to legend, Goddess Kamakhya used to dance inside the temple when Kendukoli, a priest during Naranarayan’s reign, performed puja with his eyes shut. Naranarayan and Chilarai convinced the priest to allow them to watch the Goddess’s dance. This act angered Her and She not only punished the priest but also cursed the duo and the Koch king’s descendants debarring from visiting Kamakhya Temple. After the death of Naranarayan, the Koch kingdom

was divided into Koch Behar and Koch Hajo. Koch Behar was ruled by Naranarayan’s son Lakshmi Narayan and Koch Hajo, which covers large parts of present-day Assam, was ruled by Chilarai’s son Raghu Narayan. This marked the demise of the Koch kingdom. “The descendants still abide by the curse and don’t enter the temple premises. They send their offerings through others. We, on the other hand, always start our first rituals of Ambubachi by paying our obeisance to the monuments of Narnarayan and Chilarai, which are there on the inside gate of the temple,” Mohit Sarma, the head priest of Kamakhya Temple said. n

We don’t identify the “saffronised” Ambubachi Mela: CKRF

he inaugural ceremony of this year’s Ambubachi Mela that was held at Sonaram Field on Thursday last saw the RSS and all the other religious indigenous communities of Assam on the same platform for the second time after the RSS organised the Luitporiya Hindu Samavesh last January; a move termed by the Consortium of Koch Royal Family (CKRF) as “saffronising the mela.” The consortium urged that Kamakhya Temple, besides being one of the 51 Shakti Peeths, is also closely imbued with the Assamese culture which is taking a major hit due to Hindu idealism making its ingress from mainland India. “We don’t identify with what the Ambubachi Mela has converted into now. To invite more tourists, it has been molded into a mela, like the Kumbha or Shravan Mela of mainland India. We have no problem promoting the mela to garner more sadhus, but the government should also make efforts to promote the Assamese history, traditions, beliefs, prayers and rituals associated with Ambubachi Mela,” Pranab Narayan Dev, the general secretary of the consortium, said. The consortium had a long pending demand of building a statue of Naranarayan and Chilarai along with a plaque describing the history of the temple, which has been ignored by the current government over the last three times that the mela was organised after it took over the helm of affairs in Assam. “After BJP came to power, they started the mela in a big way and we thought of asking the government to include or associate the contributions of our forefathers along too. The government initially assured us of taking necessary

measures but that has not been done even for this third time,” Dev said. The opposition Congress’s spokesperson, Pradyut Bordoloi, drubbed the BJP saying it brought the Namami Brahmaputra last year as a tribute to the Brahmaputra River to ensure inwards of “saffron elements” in Assamese affairs. “They have very less regard for the indigenous people and their culPranab Narayan Dev, General Secretary, Consortium of Koch Royal Family (CKRF) ture and tradition. The head (meditation). Ambubachi Mela is har and Siliguri of West Bengal, butting of the RSS and promoting an occasion to pay obeisance to the areas that were once part of their perception of Hindutva was the Goddess’s annual menstrual the Koch Dynasty. They are the evident during the Namami Brahcycle of three days. devotees of Maa Kamakhya while maputra when they had brought “Accordingly, the people of Asfor others, this is just one of the 51 priests from north India instead sam, considering the yoni as the Shakti Peeths of India,” Dev added. of allowing the indigenous Brahsource of all creation, respecting According to the Puranas, the mins and Pujaris to do the rituals. her menstrual cycle, do not do origin of the temple is associated The non-inclusion of the Koch royfarming, pluck fruits, chew betel with King Daksha and his son-inal family is another such instance,” nuts or paan during the three days law, Shiva. Daksha, angered by Bordoloi said. of the Ambubachi mela. Those trahis daughter Sati’s marriage with Further, the tourism departditions are getting lost with the Shiva against his will, organised ment’s attempt to bring more pilcurrent moves to saffronise the a yagna with all the Gods except grims from mainland India has festival. It is losing its sanctity,” Shiva. Angered by her father’s act, been remarkable over the last Dev added. Sati plunged onto the yagna fire. three years as is evident from the According to Yogini Tantra, Shiva, holding his wife’s charred road shows and direct trains to when Sati was reborn as Parvati, body broke into the tandava nritya Vaishno Devi that were arranged. and with the help of Kaam Deva - the dance of destruction. To save “This has however hindered breaks Shiva from his tapasya to the world, Vishnu, the Supreme the dedicated devotees of Maa reunite again, Nilachal Hill, where God, used his sudarshana chakra Kamakhya who had been coming her Yoni fell, was built by Lord to cut Sati’s body into pieces. Her here since the temple was built Bishwakarma as the Kamakhya yoni (genitals) fell on Nilachal Hill, in its modern avatar in 1965. The Temple, a place where the duo turning it blue, while Shiva went temple still attracts a lot of devowould retire in leisure. to Kailasha for a deep tapasya tees from lower Assam, Coochben

SNIPPETS Broken, muddy, slippery, stretch in AK Azad Road makes life miserable for West Guwahati residents

he condition of the road from Dhupolia to Jyotikuchi Tiniali in AK Azad Road can be described in one word pathetic. The Dhupolia-Jyotikuchi road within Guwahati ward number 27 is used extensively by school children and office goers on a daily basis. The road was dug out or rather destroyed by the Jal Board two years ago and much to the dismay of the residents, the department did not come back to repair the road. This has resulted in a broken, water-filled, pot-holed stretch - a nightmare for the residents, who have to traverse on it every day. Located in Guwahati West constituency no work has been done for the development of the road in the last five years according to the locals. “The road comes under PWD and there is no proper drainage system in the road. Unless proper drainage system is constructed clearing the drain area, the road cannot be repaired,” said Councillor Jona Rabha. “The drain areas are encroached by many scrap yards located in the area. Also, there are many factories and other business establishments in the area operating without trade licences. These illegal business establishments are operating in connivance with the local police (Fatasil Ambari),” informed the councillor. Speaking to this reporter the councillor requested help to improve the condition of the area with awareness and better reporting. n

Training programme on terror crime investigation held

three-day training programme on Terror Crime Investigation organized by NIA in association with Assam Police for police personnel of northeastern states was held at Assam Police Headquarters under the guidance of the ministry of home affairs. In the inaugural session of the programme Kuladhar Saikia, DGP, Assam, Pallav Bhattacharya, Spl DGP (SB), Mukesh Agrawal, ADGP (L&O), Hiren Nath, Commissioner of Police, Mukesh Singh, IGP (NIA) and other senior police officials were also present.

In The News

SNIPPETS Man arrested for showing porn videos to minors

ne 40-year-old Suresh Mali of Solapara was arrested by police for showing porn videos to minors of Solapara area. A source in Paltan Bazar police said, "The parents of three children filed a complaint with us yesterday." Police also seized a mobile phone from Mali. According to the police, "His phone is full of porn videos." Suresh used to threaten the children not to inform anyone about the videos. Police have registered a case under POCSO Act and also under Section 506 of IPC for threatening the kids. Mali was forwarded to the court on Sunday and is currently in judicial custody. Suresh hails from Gujarat and used to live in Solapara in a rented house. n

Water Transport woes in flood-hit Assam

he Assam Inland Water Transport (IWT) department on Monday cancelled ferry services from Madhyam Khanda Ghat in North Guwahati and Pandu Ghat as the water level of the Brahmaputra is on a continuous rise. In Guwahati, nearly 30,000 passengers use the inland water transport every day. IWT sources said the Brahmaputra was rising and if such a situation persists, all ghats will have to stop operating. However, due of the lack of proper rules, private boats continue to ply in rising water levels of the Brahmaputra. n

Nishanta Bordoloi appointed as faculty member of National Cricket Academy

ishanta Bordoloi from Guwahati has been appointed as one of the faculty members for National Cricket Academy (NCA), Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Nishanta is the only person from Assam to be among the faculty of this prestigious academy. Nishanta has earlier trained the India A, India under-23, India under-19, North Zone and the Delhi Ranji Trophy teams. n

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Is it possible to get Rs 100 crores... Continued from page » 1 in the Saradha and Louis Berger bribery scams. There are many other Rs 100 crore defamation cases filed in the country but the question remains: do the winners get Rs 100 crores? A senior advocate of Gauhati High Court said, “No one till date has got Rs 100 crores after filing a defamation case.” In most of the cases, both the parties compromise on the issue and mostly the defendant apologises to the complainant, said the lawyer. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

and Arvind Kejriwal moved joint petitions before a Delhi court in April 2018 to settle a two-yearold defamation suit after the Delhi chief minister submitted a written apology to Jaitley for calling him corrupt. “Though we belong to two different political parties, I believe that we should end the unsavoury litigations between us..." wrote Kejriwal, who had gone on an apology spree to extricate himself from a slew of defamation suits. In the case between Himanta and Tarun Gogoi, an order of injunction was passed with a prayer to the former chief minister restraining him from making further statements in

Arun Jaitley

Some major Rs 100 crore defamation cases in India

Himanta Biswa Sarma

Complainant

Defendant

Issue

STATUS

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP Chief Amit Shah, its chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa and BJP

For making baseless, false and untrue remarks such as accusing Karnataka for initiating the culture of “ease of committing murder”

Case ongoing

Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

ABP News TV

Defaming the minister in public light by connecting him to Delhi based power broker Anuj Poddar

Suit recently filed

Journalist Rohini Singh

The Supreme Court asked BJP President’s son accused ‘The 'The Wire' and its scribes, to Wire’ journalist for alleging financial try to amicably settle the irregularities involved in his business criminal defamation case transactions lodged by the former against the news portal and others

Ex-Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi

Baseless and untrue allegations against the GDD Minister such as him being involved in the Saradha and the Louis Berger bribery scams

An order of injunction was passed with a prayer to the former minister refraining him to make further statements in the future

Moneywise Media Pvt Ltd

Accused for the publication of a whistle-blower’s letter in Moneylife’s web portal that laid bare how certain NSE officials were giving undue advantage to specific brokers in their co-location facility set up for highfrequency trading

NSE withdrew their case

BJP President Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah

Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

The National Stock Exchange (NSE)

Mumbai-based journalist Jawahar Nadar

Makers of the movie ‘Kaala’

Jawahar Nadar's lawyer accused Rajnikanth of portraying his late father S Thiraviam Nadar in bad light

The Madras High Court dismissed the petition filed against actor Rajnikanth starrer “Kaala” after observing that an affidavit filed along with the petition was bereft of particulars to substantiate the litigant’s claim that the movie was based on the life of Dhiraviya Nadar alias Kuduvala Sait and that it projects the latter in wrong light

Minister of Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitley

For remarks made by AAP leaders' ex-lawyer Ram Jethmalani accusing Delhi Chief Minister, Jaitley of irregularities and financial Arvind Kejriwal bungling during his 13-year tenure as president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association

The Delhi High Court disposed off the defamation suit after Kejriwal offered a written apology to Jaitley

Tarun Gogoi

t requires non-judicial stamp papers worth Rs 11,000 to file a defamation case and one can seek monetary compensation as per one’s status in the society the future. The advocate of Gauhati High Court said, “It is very tough to prove defamation cases, especially if the case is related to media reports.” In India, defamation is both a civil and criminal offence. The remedy for a civil defamation is covered under the Law of Torts. In a civil defamation case, a person who is defamed can move either the High Court or subordinate courts and seek damages in the form of monetary compensation from the accused. Also, under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, a person guilty of criminal defamation can be sent to jail for two years. The lawyer said that mostly complainants file civil defamation suits and later the complainants withdraw their cases after receiving an apology or some out-of-court settlement, the lawyer said. The city-based advocate said that the cases take long to deliver verdicts and so, in maximum cases, out-of-court settlements are common. Sometimes the complainant withdraws the case after the defendant gives a written apology. The lawyer asserted, “No one till date has got Rs 100 crores.” It requires non-judicial stamp papers worth Rs 11,000 to file a defamation case and one can seek monetary compensation as per one’s status in the society, another lawyer of Gauhati High Court said. Another lawyer said that defamation cases are mostly a tactic people opt for to keep their reputation clean in the society. n

Governance

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

NSS to conduct 76th survey round on living conditions, disabled persons Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

he National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) is set to conduct its panIndia 76th survey round on drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing condition and a second survey of persons with disabilities in Assam. Officials from the NSS’s office in Guwahati conducted a twoday regional training programme to impart training to the field officers for data collection at the ground level. The data collected from this survey will be used by the central as well as the state government for planning, development and to take policy decisions. The NSS officials also requested the public to cooperate with the data collection process and provide the field officers with correct information as any wrong information will result in an incorrect database and will, in

turn, lead to faulty planning by the government. The NSSO’s Field Office Division (FOD) is the primary data collection wing of the central ministry of statistics and programme implementation. Speaking during the training session, additional director general, NSSO FOD, Harbinder Singh said, “The survey is of six months’ duration. It will start from June 1 and will continue till December 31. The data will be utilised by the ministry of health and family welfare, Niti Ayog and the Registrar General of India.” Officials said that the collection will go on for six months after which it will be published after one year. Talking about a new feature in data collection, Singh said that this time the data will be collected on electronic schedule. “This time the officers will carry a tablet with them for data collection and the respondents will enter their responses on the machine itself. So the data entry time will be reduced when earlier

NSS officials at regional training programme | G Plus Photo the field officers would have to manually record the data and then transfer it online,” said Singh. The survey is being conducted to assess the facilities which are available to the masses,

informed officials. NSSO authorities said that the last survey on disability was conducted during the 58th round of NSS between June and December 2002. During this,

data was collected on the nature of disability of the household member in which mental disabilities were also included. Further, some of the objectives of survey on drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing condition are to ascertain the facilities of drinking water, sanitation along with housing facilities available to the households. The micro environments surrounding the houses are important determinants of living conditions of the people. Further, the main objective of the survey of persons with disabilities in Assam is to estimate indicators of incidents and prevalence of disability, cause of disability, age at onset of disability, facilities available to the person with disability, difficulties faced by them in accessing public buildings and transport. It will also look into the arrangement of regular caregivers and out of pocket expenses of persons with disabilities. n

One fake news can cost many lives. Stop sharing and believing in fake news. an initiative by

In The News

SNIPPETS Drug peddler apprehended at Kamakhya

ocals intervened into a suspected on-going drug deal near Kamakhya Temple and handed over two persons to the Jalukbari Police Station, in connection with it on Tuesday. Sushil Das, the alleged drug peddler, was caught redhanded by the locals while he was attempting to sell brown sugar to one Pradip Terong at Durgasarobar, about 300 metres from the Kamakhya Temple on Nilachal Hill. “He was under our radar for a long time and according to our sources, he had sold drugs to a lot of people in the vicinity,” police said. About 110 grams of brown sugar and some cash were recovered from him, police said. With Ambubachi Mela, one of the greatest religious congregations in northeast India, round the corner, pilgrims have already started making inbounds here. Kamakhya area, too has started registering a surge of crimes in the vicinity of Kamakhya Temple where the event will be held from June 22-25. n

Man knives 12 in Hengrabari, arrested

n a gory incident, one Sanatan Boro terrorised people in Hengrabari area of Guwahati by knifing passersby. The incident happened near the Directorate of Health Services when Sanatan Boro started assaulting people randomly with a sharp knife. People were terrified and started running for safety. The assaulter was later caught by the locals and thrashed before being handed over to Dispur Police. Those injured in the attack were taken to hospital by the police. The police managed to recover the assault weapon from Boro. The attacker has a history of terrorising the people in this locality. n

Illegal Chinese apples seized in Guwahati

he customs department, on Saturday, seized 350 cartons of illegal Chinese apples weighing 6,300 kgs at ISBT, Guwahati. The value of the seized apples is estimated to be approximately Rs 1,26,000. The apples were brought from Imphal by buses. n

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

DC creates history, bars pilgrim entry to Kamakhya for 5 hrs during Ambubachi Rahul Chanda rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

or the first time in the history of Ambubachi observance in Guwahati, the district administration has decided that the pilgrims will not be allowed to enter Nilachal Hills from 12 am to 5 am every night of the Ambubachi festival. A source in Kamrup (Metro) district administration said, “It is for the first time that the administration, after due discussion with city police, Kamakhya Devalaya Committee, tourism department and other state government agencies, have decided to restrict devotees from entering Nilachal Hills from 12 am to 5 am during Ambubachi.” The decision, according to the deputy commissioner of Kamrup (Metro), Virendra Mittal, will be a win-win situation for all. During a press conference he said that the Devalaya Committee will get the opportunity to clean the temple during this time, the officials will get time to change shifts and even the pilgrims will know at what time they should not be going to the temple. The decision, that has no precedents, has not gone down well with many Guwahatians. A resident of Jyotikuchi, Ke-

dar Nath said, “Every year during Ambubachi, our family goes to Kamakhya at night and this year, with this decision, we are not sure at what time we can go there.” A source in Kamakhya Devalaya Committee said, “This decision has been taken for the first time and people will be affected. On 25th June however, people will DC Virendra Mittal addressing the media regarding Ambubachi Mela | G Plus Photo be allowed at night as well There will be 21 bhandaras area. It will be the largest pilgrim because the gates of Kamakhya providing food to the pilgrims camp in Guwahati. Temple will be opened early in and the food safety department There are five camps for the the morning on 26th June and will monitor the quality of all the pilgrims – Kamakhya Railway there will be a huge rush from food stuff prepared and delivered Station, Maligaon old railway the previous night.” to the pilgrims. station at Pandu, Fancy Bazar old The doors of Kamakhya Officials from the adminjail campus, Naharbari field Near Temple this year will be closed istration will be deployed at all Kamakhya Temple Campus and on the night of 21st June till the the camps and there will be help Boripara School field. night of 25th June, the source desks on all the routes of KamThe pilgrims can take three said. akhya Temple. routes to reach Kamakhya Temple The administration has also DC Mittal has request– Main Road from Kamakhya taken some other decisions this ed support from the public to Rotary, Mekhela Ujowa Path and year that are “new.” The Sonarmake the festival peaceful and Pachim Duwar Path from Aruna am field camp has been shifted free of chaos. Cinema Hall. to Fancy Bazar old jail campus n

Detailed security plan Don’t believe in fake chalked out by police news: Hiren Chandra Nath

uwahati city police has chalked out a detailed security plan for the four-day Ambubachi celebration in Guwahati. Commissioner of Police, Hiren Chandra Nath said, “The security plan is divided into 14 sectors.” There are 14 sectors including the camps, the Kamakhya Temple, the routes and the surroundings. In 6 of these sectors superintendent of police (SP) level officers will be heading the security and in the rest of the sectors, additional superintendent of police (ASP) or deputy superintendent of police (DSP) level officers will be deployed. Around 200 security personnel including CRPF, commandos, Assam Police battalion personnel

will be deployed. Police personnel will also be deployed in civil dress. All the railway stations are under strict police scanner and all the pilgrims coming to the city will be monitored so that no undesirable elements enter the city. Around 700 volunteers will be helping the police to control the crowd. 1,200 people including NCC cadets, scouts & guides, nagrik committee members will also be backing the police in overall crowd management. Lady police personnel will be deployed in all the camps, at the entry routes to Kamakhya Temple and at all the help desks. Nath said, “Strict action will be taken against eve teasers and people involved in crimes against women.” n

lerting the public not to get trapped by fake news the commissioner of police has requested the public not to believe in fake news. Commissioner of Police, Hiren

Chandra Nath said, “There will be three police control rooms and many help desks in and around Kamakhya Temple,” adding that people can inform the police about any suspicious activities instead of panicking if any rumours or fake news arise. There will be 400 CCTV cameras installed in and around Kamakhya Temple and at all the camps. Vehicles will not be allowed to enter the Nilachal Hills from Kamakhya Rotary and the commissioner has requested not to request for vehicle passes. Even VIPs will not be allowed to take vehicles to the Hills, he said. Nath reiterated that the public should not fall prey to fake news and any kinds of rumours during the festival. n

Concern

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Primary teachers unhappy with new pay scale Government primary teachers are protesting against the state government’s decision to revise their pay scale according to the new recommendations of the Anomaly Committee Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

ower primary government teachers in Guwahati as well as Assam are unhappy with the government’s decision to revise their pay

scale. The state education department had set up a committee called the Anomaly Committee on May 18 last year under the chairmanship of retired IAS officer PK Datta which recently submitted

its recommendations to the government. It was constituted to check for anomalies in the recommendations of the 7th Assam Pay and Productivity Pay Committee and suggest the government with the required measures, informed authorities. State finance minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, recently informed that the government had accepted the recommendations of the committee and has decided to implement them from this year onwards. Mentioning its recommenda-

Opposition to the new pay scale

embers of the All Assam Lower Primary Teachers’ Association (AALPTA) recently held state-wide protests against the government’s decision to accept the committee’s recommendations. They say that the new pay scale is significantly lower than Rs 8,700 which is the remuneration that the lower primary teachers are currently receiving according to the 7th Pay Committee’s recommendations. Talking to G Plus, general secretary of the AALPTA, Ratul Chandra Goswami, said that the decision to adopt the new pay scale as per the recommendations will be unfair to the teachers who are currently receiving a higher remuneration. “The cabinet had decided on the current pay scale and the

Lower primary govt teachers in Guwahati and Assam are unhappy with the govt’s decision to revise their pay scale Govt recently accepted the recommendations of the Anomaly Committee on pay scale It suggested Rs 7400 for graduate trained teacher, Rs 6800 for trained and undergraduates or graduate teachers who are untrained Rs 6200 will be given to undergraduate and untrained teachers

governor had signed off on it, but now the government has suddenly decided to change it. This will affect thousands of teachers across the state,” said Goswami. He added that the teachers have been receiving Rs 8,700 as salary for the past 17 months. Lower primary teachers have submitted a memorandum of their demands to the education department and are planning a wide-spread agitation if their demands remain unfulfilled, they informed. They had also locked down all district-level government education offices on June 18 in protest of the same. Another member of the teachers’ association informed that they held a meeting with the education minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya and requesting him to look into the matter. “He asked us to give him some time and said that he will consult the chief minister as well as the finance minister on the matter,” said another member of AALPT. However, the teachers have planned to go on an indefinite strike if a favourable decision is not taken by the government with respect to their pay scale. “We respect the government’s decision and hope that they will keep our interests in mind,” said Goswami. There are close to 1,200 schools and 5,000 teachers in the Guwahati sub-division who will be affected by the government’s decision. Teachers informed that apart from their demands regarding the pay scale, they have also requested the government to provide more number of books for technical evaluation. “At present, there are not enough books when compared to the total number of students,” said a primary teacher. n

tion for the pay scale of lower primary teachers, the Anomaly Committee suggested that trained graduate teachers should be paid Rs 7,400. On the other hand, the teachers who are trained but undergraduates or graduate teachers who are untrained would receive Rs 6,800. Additionally, undergraduate teachers who are untrained will receive a monthly remuneration of Rs 6,200, said officials. This change in pay scale did not go down well with government teachers across the state and

they started their protests after the finance minister announced the government’s decision to accept the recommendations made by the Committee. Sarma announced during a press conference that apart from the suggestions on teachers’ pay scale, the government had also accepted the Committee’s suggestion to pay government employees posted in Guwahati a house rent allowance (HRA) of 10 per cent of their pay. Further, employees posted in district or sub-divisional head-

quarters would receive HRA at the rate of eight per cent of their pay while employees who are posted in other places will get an HRA at the rate of seven per cent of their pay. “A fixed special allowance has been introduced for people working in hill areas and remote areas,” announced Sarma. This apart, now teachers who are involved in teaching differently-abled students who are hearing and speech impaired, will be eligible to receive special teaching allowances. n

City

SNIPPETS Sewing machines of Social Welfare Department worth Rs 80 lakhs seized

team of investigators of the Directorate of Vigilance & Anti-Corruption, Assam, conducted a search at a godown in Chandmari area and recovered 1,055 numbers of sewing machines. Based on the questioning of the accused Pawan Kumar Agarwala, now on bail as granted by Gauhati High Court, he said that the sewing machines were purchased for supply to the Social Welfare Department under IGMSY Scheme in the year 2015-16. This refers to the investigation of ACB PS case no. 19/2016, regarding misappropriation of government funds in the Social Welfare Department. However, Agarwala mentioned that Social Welfare Department has asked him to keep the sewing machines in the godown and for which Rs. 30,000 per month was paid as rent by the department. The aforesaid sewing machines were purchased at a rate of Rs. 8,919 (per piece) by the department and full payment has been made to the firm Global India, run by the accused Pawan Kumar Agarwala. n

13 arrested for APSC exam scam removed from services

n the latest developments, Assam government dismissed 13 arrested Assam Police Service (APS) and Assam Civil Service (ACS) officers in connection with the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) cashfor-job scam. The dismissed officers are: Nishamoni Deka, Rumi Saikia, Rajarshi Sen Deka, Geetali Doley, Dipak Khanikar, Dwithun Borgoyary, Pallabi Sarma Choudhury, Debajit Bora, Anirudha Roy, Himangshu Choudhury, Kunal Das, Kamal Debnath and Badrul Islam Choudhury. All these officers are accused of bribing APSC Chairman Rakesh Paul to successfully crack the entrance exam or using unfair means to complete the exam and become eligible for government jobs. Till now, more than 35 ACS/ APS officers have been arrested in the scam along with Chairman Rakesh Paul for his involvement in APSC Exam Scam. n

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Poor maintenance, pathetic infrastructure leave Dispur Supermarket in a shambles Nehal Jain

stone’s throw from the Dispur Secretariat in GS Road, the 45-year-old Dispur Supermarket lies in deplorable condition. The shopkeepers complain of pathetic road conditions, unhygienic public amenities, unmanaged traffic, artificial flood, water leakage and poor maintenance. The supermarket area is resident to various places of interest including the GNRC Hospital, the North East Tennis Foundation (NETF) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Further, residential houses of numerous state ministers are also located near the supermarket. Yet, the shopping alley depicts a sad state of neglect and apathy. An overwhelming stench greets one inside the market with a garbage bin placed right in the beginning of the alley. Neither is the market cleaned on a regular basis nor is the garbage collected on time. “Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) workers do not visit the market regularly or ensure cleanliness and hygiene,” expressed Sanjib Choudhury, secretary, Dispur Supermarket Business Association (DSBA). Speaking to G Plus about the major problems faced by the shopkeepers of the area, Pabitra Sarma, President, DSBA informed, “The market was established in 1973 but it hasn’t undergone any repairing or renovation ever since. This road connects to important points of the city and yet it’s always congested. People park in no parking zones, and there are no authorised personnel to manage anything – be it illegal

Overflowing garbage | G Plus Photo

Bad roads, shanty shops | G Plus Photo

Photo speaks for itself | G Plus Photo parking or regulation of traffic.” Right beside the market is a paddy field that has been converted into a parking lot. But due to improper regulation, the public continues to park on both sides of the main road, posing as a major reason for traffic

congestion in the area. The condition of the road in the supermarket area has been in an unfortunate state for a very long time, the road remains dilapidated and in need of immediate attention. The negligence on the part of the GMC and the

Public Works Department (PWD) in working towards the development of the road and sewage is leading to regular traffic jams, floods during rain making it prone to accidents. “The roads are in an appalling condition which get even worse during the rains. All it takes is half an hour of heavy rain to flood the roads because of its poor drainage. Had the roads been in better state, more customers would visit and the market would flourish,” said Hargovinda Baishya, who is a shop owner at the market. In the same vein, another shopkeeper informed, “I have been running a shop here for the past 35 years and I have seen a tremendous decline in the number of customers. People have blocked shops and kept them locked due to which the customers also do not come to the interior alleys.” He further added that the GMC needs to regulate the shops operating in the market to ensure no unfair trade practices are being carried out. n

GMC views contradict Market Association’s

he Dispur Supermarket was established right next to the Secretariat when Dispur became the State capital, in order to make the market easily accessible for the government officials. While it was opened up by the General Administration Department (GAD), it was soon handed over to the GMC. The DSBA claims that the market hasn’t undergone any renovation or repair ever since its inception. Tasdiqur Rahman, Chief

Engineer, GMC informed G Plus that the woes of the shopkeepers will be resolved with the upcoming market complex (which is expected to be up and running by the end of the year). On the contrary, the market association claims that the complex being constructed is a GMC office, instead of being a market space. Speaking about other developmental plans for the market, Rahman said, “Once the construction of the market complex is complete, we shall

develop the roads and other infrastructures as well.” While the president of the DSBA, along with the locals, complained of irregular cleaning of the market and nonmaintenance of public toilets by the GMC, Rahman on the other hand put the blame on the market association. Surprisingly, Rahman told G Plus that he was unaware of a parking lot functioning in the area while according to the market association, the parking lot was allotted via a legal tender process.

The paddy field that has been converted into a parking lot poses as a problem for the residents of the area as the field was earlier used by children as playground. Various events like Bihu Sanmilan and cultural programs were also organised in the field. The market association said they have approached the GMC on multiple occasions with a proposal to make one side of the road ‘No parking zone’ and allow parallel parking on the other side, but no steps have been taken by the government so far. n

Health

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Foundation stone laid for Rs 1910 Cr, three-tier cancer centre

Assam government has set up a non-profit foundation for cancer research and treatment in collaboration with Tata Trusts. It will be known as Assam Cancer Care Foundation. The foundation will provide three-tier cancer treatment in the state, informed authorities.

Amit Shah and Ratan Tata during the ground breaking ceremony of the cancer hospital | G Plus Photo crores in which Tata Trusts will provide Rs 830 crores and Assam government will give Rs 1080 crores as grant. Speaking during the ceremony held at Khanapara Veterinary playground on June 18, Amit Shah said, “The threelevel cancer treatment in the state which will help in identification of cases for operation and post operative care is a commendable step taken by the state government.” He added that the threetier system was designed very scientifically and minutely by experts.

“Earlier around 30,000 cancer patients from Assam had to go to Kolkata and Delhi for treatment every year. I'm sure that these 19 cancer centres will be a lifeline for cancer patients,” said Shah. Officials informed that cancer treatment will be divided into three layers consisting of L1, L2 and L3 hospitals. L1 hospitals will be at the grassroots level and will have facilities of radiation, diagnosis and chemotherapy, while L2 hospitals will have facility to conduct surgeries apart from providing radiation. Further, the L1 hospitals will function as the apex body and

will be the referral unit. He added that rail, road and IT connectivity are the three pillars of development for Assam and the northeast. He lauded the efforts of Ratan Tata, Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma in improving the cancer treatment scenario in Assam. Shah also requested state health & family welfare minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Ratan Tata to jointly consider opening level 2 and level 3 hospitals in all states of the northeast which can be linked to level 1 hospitals. n

Cancer is a silent killer: Ratan Tata

atan Tata termed cancer as a “silent killer” and said that the northeast has the highest incidences of cancer in India. “Our trust is committed to leading this effort of providing cancer treatment facilities and I greatly appreciate the vision of the state government as well as the centre,” he informed. In his speech during the occasion, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal claimed that 240 MoUs were inked during Advantage Assam global investors’ summit and thanked Rata Tata for fulfilling his promise. He added that investment worth Rs 79,000 crores is expected to come to Assam as a result of the Advantage Assam summit. “Assam government is committed to providing quality

SNIPPETS DC Kamrup goes into ‘Mission Flood Free Guwahati’ mode

Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in he three-layer cancer care grid will provide comprehensive cancer treatment in the state from identification, treatment to post-operative care BJP national president Amit Shah and chairman of Tata Trusts, Ratan Tata, on Monday laid the foundation stone of 19 cancer centres to be opened across the state. Assam government has set up a non-profit foundation for cancer research and treatment in collaboration with Tata Trusts. It will be known as Assam Cancer Care Foundation. The foundation will provide three-tier cancer treatment in the state, informed authorities. The foundation will be set up with a 50-50 partnership between government of Assam and Tata Trust. It will be set up with an initial capital of Rs 1910

treatment to cancer patients in the state,” said Sonowal. On the other hand, the state health & family welfare minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, informed that the project will be completed within two years. “These 19 cancer care units will be in touch with all the major cancer units in the country and will provide holistic facilities to all the cancer patients of the state,” said Sarma. He asked other states of the northeast to follow suit and think of establishing similar cancer care centres in their respective states. Speaking about new government initiatives, the minister announced that the government has also begun the work for establishing four new medical colleges in Assam this year in Kokrajhar, Tinsukia,

Nalbari and Karimganj. Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, who was also present during the ground breaking ceremony, said that out of the 19 centres, around six centres are near the border of Arunachal Pradesh. “This will greatly benefit the patients of Arunachal Pradesh too,” said Khandu. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), every year 31,825 new cancer cases are detected in Assam. Further, around 70% patients face mortality because of lack of treatment or late diagnosis, said health authorities. The Assam cancer care foundation will have six trustees comprising three each from Assam government and Tata Trusts, informed officials. n

L1 hospital: Dibrugarh cancer centre L2 centres to be set up in: Barpeta, Dhubri, Diphu, Jorhat, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Silchar, Tezpur, Tinsukia L3 centres to be set up in: Darrang, Goalpara, Golaghat, Haflong, Sivasagar

eputy Commissioner Kamrup (M), Virendra Mittal, presided over a “Mission Flood Free Guwahati” meeting at the Circuit House recently where preparations and work done by various departments on flood mitigation were analysed and discussed. The objective of the meeting was to keep Guwahati flood free. Issues discussed in the meeting: • The DC stressed on the early exit of rainwater through the drains. Steps taken by PWD and GMC to unclog areas like Raghunath Chaudhury Path and Hatigaon Dargah Path were analysed. • Maintenance of VIP road and removing sand from Udalbakra roads were discussed. • The DC instructed APDCL to raise the post heights at places where electricity wires were dangerously hanging. • Steps taken to control LGBI airport water clogging issue were analysed by Virendra Mittal. • Mittal instructed the forest department to trim low hanging branches of trees near roads. • The Rajgarh Road extension work was evaluated by the DC from PWD officials. Mittal also discussed about long-term measures to stop artificial flooding in various parts of Guwahati. The meeting was attended by Monalisa Goswami, Commissioner, Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Joint Commissioner Dwijen Singh, Pulok Mahanta, ADC Kamrup Metro and other officials.

Mobile-based app introduced to check vehicles speed at Kaziranga

aziranga National Park (KNP) will be using mobile-based apps to check the speed of vehicles passing along NH-37 to avoid animal casualties especially during floods. KNP officials said that the National Informatics Centre in Golaghat has developed mobile-based apps which will eliminate the manual process of monitoring vehicle speed when animals cross the highway for highlands during floods. The app will be put on trial before the intensity of floods increases. During high floods, KNP imposes a speed limit of 40 km/hr on vehicles plying on the 60-km stretch of the highway. n

City

SNIPPETS Bank of India’s Guwahati Branch under CBI scanner

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Prolonged poor road conditions make life miserable for Khargulians Vanshika Sharma

R T

he Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against a multi-crore loan scam which allegedly took place between 2012 and 2014 at the main branch of the Bank of India (BoI), Guwahati. The alleged fraud relates to the sanctioning and disbursal of loans by violating the procedures and guidelines of the bank, thereby causing wrongful loss of more than Rs 8.5 crores. The CBI has named the then chief manager of the bank, Ran Vijay Kumar as one of the accused after FIRs were filed at the CBI/Anti-Corruption Branch, Guwahati. The cases were registered under the Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for cheating) and 471 (using a forged document as a genuine one) of the IPC and Sections 13(2), 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Kumar had allegedly misused his official position and sanctioned loans amounting to Rs 3.27 crores under the Small Road Transport Operator (SRTO) Scheme without adhering to the bank’s guidelines and disbursed the loans without any due diligence and this led to the wrongful loss to the bank. Further, he sanctioned loans for purchasing of machinery/ excavators/civil contracts leading to the wrongful loss to the bank to the tune of Rs 2.68 crores and 2.69 crores respectively. The CBI alleged that all the persons involved in acquiring the loan have submitted false/forged documents and certificates to the bank and Kumar deliberately did not conduct proper verification to ensure end use of the fund. n

eplete with deep pits and potholes, the road running from Sector 1 through Kharguli ending in Uzan Bazaar has led to many vehicle mishaps. Similar is the condition of the hills in Joypur which is connected through Kharguli. The condition of the roads further deteriorates during the monsoons. Radha Sahani, a resident of the area, who is rather frustrated with the condition of the roads in her locality said, “The rains are back and so are the worries of the residents in Kharguli. Not only is the condition bad enough during summers but the monsoons witness the horror of the motorists.” Sahani tutors poor students of the area. She explained that due to the conditions of the roads especially in monsoons, students are unable to come to her residence as they travel the distance either on foot or by a two-wheeler, both of which are risky modes of travel during the season. “They prefer to stay at home after a rainy day as the potholes fill up with dirty water, the muddied roads are slippery and the risk of accidents further increase.” Flying dust, water stagnation and potholes on the roads are making it tough for motorists to drive in such poor conditions. Recently, an auto-rickshaw got stuck in a wide pothole that was filled with rainwater near the auto stand on the Kharguli main road,

A portion of Kharguli road | G Plus Photo said Sanjay Sahani, a resident. He also added that due to such reasons the auto-drivers refuse to take passengers. The season has caused a decrease in the mode of public transport which is yet another setback for the residents. Another resident, Munni, shared a similar experience she had with Ola and Uber drivers. “The Ola and Uber drivers refuse to take pickups or even drop offs at Kharguli. It is hard to find either of the services here. There are no

drivers to be found anywhere near Kharguli.” A resident, Raju, whose mode of travel is a two-wheeler also said that strewn with up to one foot deep ditches, if the bad condition of the road here is resulting in driving discomfort to the four-wheeler drivers, the risk of two-wheelers toppling in these ditches runs even higher. The bad road conditions are a result of the delay in re-carpeting them after having dug them up

for laying pipelines and cables; the civic bodies are taking their own time to re-carpet the roads. “Since the last one year authorities are laying pipelines on these stretches and yet the work remains incomplete. At a few locations, they took up minor repair works but still a majority of road is yet to be re-carpeted and as a result residents are forced to take detours” said Biswajit Das, a resident of the area who frequents the locality for work. n

Work delayed in Kharguli due to tough terrain, say authorities

he condition of the roads started to deteriorate when Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) started laying pipes their water supply project. This project required the construction workers to install pipelines under the roads starting from Maligaon and ending in Kharguli. When

JICA started their project last year the condition of the roads went from perfectly fine to perfectly disastrous. Talking to S Venkateshwar, water supply director of JICA, Assam, about the poor conditions of the road and why the roads had been damaged to such an extent, he said, “The water supply

project has been started so that the citizens do not experience a shortage of water ever again. As for why it is taking so much time for the project to be completed in Kharguli specifically, Kharguli lies in a hilly area which is filled with hard sedimentary rocks within. It is taking us quite some time to break down the rocks.

Much of Kharguli has already been covered, and once the entire pipeline laying is completed, we will then mend the roads.” The Kharguli roads are to be mended by December and not earlier than that. “The entire project should be completed by December if no other problems come our way.” said Venkateshwar. n

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Storm

33°/25° C

31°/25° C

30°/25° C

SATURDAY Storm

33°/25° C

Photo Feature

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

P i c s fr o m t h e M E L A

Puffs of salvation...Nirvana...

Decked up... the main gate

Temple in all its Ambubachi glory

Devotees and their myriad â&#x20AC;&#x153;avatarsâ&#x20AC;?

Some yoga...some penance

Naga!

Ward Survey

G PLUS | JUN

No end in sight to parking woes of ‘self-sufficient’ Athgaon in Ward 8 G Plus checks out the Athgaon area which has set an example of the adage, “God helps those who help themselves” Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

Positive Response

ith potable water being delivered daily to the homes – a service very rarely available throughout the city - the residents of Athgaon in Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Ward No 8 feel more or less satisfied with the performance of the GMC. In a survey conducted by G Plus, 50 families of the ward were asked questions on 14 parameters of living standards, of which, all the respondents unanimously said that they receive regular water at their homes. “At times, the quantity of water is lesser than normal, but at least we receive water here. I have friends who stay in Ganeshguri and Ulubari areas and they complain of not receiving GMC water at their homes at all. All of them have resorted to groundwater or buy it from outside,” Meena Jain, a resident here, said. Jain is not the only beneficiary as Akash Maheshwari, who lives in a residential complex here said, “I have noticed that most of the

residential complexes in the city get its water from underground tube-wells. Ours, however, is mainly dependent on the water that is supplied by GMC. We also have a deep tube well, but 70 per cent of the water comes from GMC.” The residents of Athgaon are among the fortunate 30 per cent of the city who receive water in their locality while the rest of the city is still waiting for the three water projects – South Central Guwahati, East Guwahati and West Guwahati – to be completed. This apart, in 10 other categories too, either the majority of the respondents or at least half the residents expressed satisfaction on the services they receive. (See chart) These include a few of the major services provided by the GMC such as garbage collection, streetlight, thwarting water logging, maintaining roads etc. In the survey, except one, all the respondents expressed satisfaction with the door-todoor garbage collection services of which, 29 respondents (58 per cent) said that it is done daily while 20 others (40 per cent) said that garbage is collected at least twice a week. A big help to the municipal

100% Yes 0% No 0% Sometimes Water Supply

File photo of door to door garbage collection at Athgaon corporation, however, is the proactive NGO, Athgaon Development and Welfare Association (ADWA), that has been working in the ward since 1994. The association today has six carts manned by around 25 workers and caters to more than 200 shops and residential establishments disposing garbage in two shifts - day and evening. The move succeeded in converting Athgaon into one of

42% Yes 0% No 8% In some lanes Water Logging issues

50% Yes 50% No 0% Sometimes

2% Good 96% Average 2% Bad 0% Pathetic

Pest Control Measures

72% Sometimes 0% Half an hour daily 10% An hour daily 10% More than an hour 8% No load shedding Load shedding

Road Condition

2% 72% 26% 0% Street Lights

the most self-sufficient wards under GMC so much so that the incumbent mayor, Mrigen Sarania, after taking charge of GMC last year, had lauded the efforts of the association and extended every help to the ward, one of the largest in the city. Besides garbage collection, the NGO also mends the roads, a move that has been appreciated by the residents here, as is evident from the survey. 48 respondents said that road

conditions are average while one said they were very good while only one said they were bad. None responded with “pathetic” road condition. Regarding water logging, a problem that plagues almost all the wards of the city, 42 respondents (84 per cent) said that water logging is not a problem here while the rest 8 respondents (16 per cent) were of the opinion that the problem is confined to a few particular lanes only. n

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

14% Yes 0% No 86% Could be better Drainage system

50% Yes 0% No 50% Needs improvement Ambulance, Health Services

58% Everyday 40% Twice a week 2% Once a week 0% Fortnightly 0% Irregular 0% Never Garbage Collection

4% Very secured 96% Secured 0% Needs more security 0% No security Law and Order

Ward Survey

23 - JUN 29, 2018

Lack of parking space, the throbbing raw nerve of Athgaon

Councillor cites lack of space as reason behind congestion

S Double parking causes traffic jam at Athgaon area | G Plus Photo worse over the subsequent years. “We have been parking our vehicles on the road over the last few decades. This is mostly because most of the houses here are old and don’t have parking spaces. And now, so many shops and houses have been established here that there are hardly any parking spaces. People have to park their vehicles at as far as Paltan Bazar and Machkhowa to reach here,” Shubham Sharma, a resident said. Regarding the government’s lag, the residents pointed out the delay in the multi-level parking lot project in which the old jail in Fancy Bazar was to be converted into an open space

and a parking lot. “Had that project been completed, our parking problem would have been solved,” another resident, Vijay Soni, said. The infrastructural constraints are not just confined to parking problems, but are reflected in to the regular traffic congestions too. 20 respondents (40 per cent) said the roads are occasionally crowded while a majority of 30 respondents (60 per cent) said that the traffic condition is pathetic. The residents also expressed dissatisfaction unanimously regarding the number of public toilets in the area. n

faulty or double parking, the roads unita Bhilwaria, the have become narrower which leads councillor of Ward No 8, in to traffic congestion. Once that is tandem with the residents, solved, smoother commutation said that delayed projects will be possible,” Bhilwariya added. and unplanned expansion Even though, the GMC got good has made the place very congested. response regarding most of the “I had been urging the Guwahati services provided, the chances of Metropolitan Development winning the Authority GMC council to complete election that the parking are expected lot works to happen for a long this year, for time now. Bhilwaria, But there however, the are a few chances look very genuine a bit troubled. reasons why This was this project evident from has been the survey delayed. in which, Once the when asked project gets regarding the completed, performance we can of the finally have councillor, a holistic there was solution to a mixed the problem,” reaction Bhilwaria Councillor Sunita Bhilwaria by the said. respondents. 27 (54 per cent) expressed Regarding traffic, too, she was satisfaction while the rest 23 (46 of the opinion that it’s related to the per cent) said the councillor to be parking problem. under-performer. “Once we have a parking solution, Bhilwaria is one of the heavy we will urge the government to weight contendents from BJP in the turn this area into a no-parking GMC council. zone. Now, more than often due to n Survey conducted by Sonal Tayal

Concentrated Area: Athgaon (8B) Ward No: 8 Population of the Ward: 31,000 Voter Population: 19,700 Population of Athgaon: 18,000 Ward Councillor: Sunita Bhilwaria

0% Always 100% Sometimes 0% Never Councillor in Community Works

8% Yes 2% No 84% Sometimes 6% Only during election Councillor Interaction

68% Yes 32% No Do you know Councillor?

0% Excellent 54% Satisfactory 46% Under performing 0% Poor Councillor Performance

Negative Response

Councillor Report

ven though the residents of Athgaon have lauded the efforts of GMC in providing the basic living services, the lack of parking space remains a perennial problem in this heavily developed part of the city. Located at the heart of the city, Athgaon, that connects east and west Guwahati, with Paltan Bazar to its east and Bharalumukh to its west, has been one of the major commercial areas of the city and has developed over the years along with the Fancy Bazar. All the residents unanimously said that they don’t have parking space. The problem here are, however, two-pronged – a slack in the government functioning and disproportionate growth of the area. Back in 1960s-70s, when Fancy Bazar mostly housed grocery and clothes markets, Athgaon, being the connecting road to lower Assam from Paltan Bazar railway station, had developed in to a commercial joint providing every motor parts related requirement to the vehicles travelling through. This area also served as the most suitable residential area for the traders and as an area for having godowns of products as Fancy Bazar was already crowded. The pace of infrastructural development, however, could not match the area’s commercial development and by the mid 1990’s, it started getting crowded which has only become

0% Yes 100% No Parking Spaces

0% Smooth 40% Occassionally crowded 60% Pathetic 6% Yes 94% No Public Toilets

14 E

G Talk D

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Un’advise’able duo

hief Minister (CM) Sarbananda Sonowal needs to be wary or at least start getting worried about the advice he is getting from his two trusted advisors – media advisor Hrishikesh Goswami and legal advisor Santanu Bharali. Both somehow seem to be wielding massive extra-constitutional powers and have this unwarranted propensity to project themselves as dignitaries rather than as staff of the chief minister’s office. Both sit on the same platform and hog the same footage as the CM even as the impression that they portray of themselves makes us lesser mortals wonder what great virtuosity had they acquired in their lives to deserve this lofty slot. From the media’s perspective, it often leaves us wondering whether the stoic, unsmiling, mirthless countenance of the media advisor has at all worked towards making the chief minister more accessible to the media – the need of the hour on more occasions than one. I don’t think so. Official calls to him are received with a profound sense of indifference that borders on the offensive to the well-meaning caller. And sure enough, his apathetic response and urgency to disconnect leaves one

wondering what at all qualifies him for the role. Other than organizing press conferences and choosing photographs that should go on the media, I find precious little contribution from him towards bolstering the CM’s public image. The case is no different with the legal advisor and it is clear in the role that he is playing which disallows the CM from making the desired bold statements vis-à-vis the current burning topics of the state. Sarbananda Sonowal was never the non-committal person that he is slowly turning out to be. His latest stance on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is the clear case in point. He is being wrongly advised, take my words. Former CM, Tarun Gogoi, never ever had a legal advisor. Guess he never felt the need for one. Yes, he did have a media advisor in the form of the very affable Late Debo Kumar Bora; dealing with him was always a pleasure. The fine gentleman passed away while holding this office and was never replaced. And yet, Tarun Gogoi had always remained an accessible CM. Yes, Sarbananda Sonowal should really be worried about this doubtful duo because we mean him well. Swapnil Bharali Editor

Is the public at fault?

n our run up to the second week of the FakeMat movement, it has been amazing to see the response and support that the campaign has received. The campaign has helped us understand that – one, Guwahati is genuinely in the need of a crash course on spotting fake news. This is considering that several of our respondents actually failed to discern fake news from real. Second is that the campaign has been lauded and supported by government and civic officials. These are the same people who are trying to step up their game in an attempt to fight fake news on the internet. We always accuse the administration of being several steps behind when it comes to actual application and action on issues that pertain to social media. However, the arrests made for spreading ‘hate speech’ on social media have been particularly prompt and so, laudable. The campaign however continues to look for the public to galvanize and make the stand against fake news bolder and an actual “people’s movement.” It could be that the public has actually realized its mistake because in one of the social experiments, active users of the internet and people vocal about fake news on social media (who posed updates about the Karbi Anglong lynching case) continued to believe fake news that made headlines in 2016. This should definitely concern us all as a society. In the years to come, social media is going to be flooded with more content, information (verified and unverified both) and with this, our sense of responsibility must be stronger. Our campaign will come to an end in the coming week. However, our agenda of keeping the public informed won’t. The public must come together in the coming weeks to combat fake news as a serious threat because it holds the power to shatter the integrity.

Sidharth Bedi Varma

Opposition unity VS incumbency

he currently prevailing discourse amongst political parties counterpoised to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pertains to the prospects of building a coalitional unity. Efforts in this direction have been forthcoming ever since the BJP formed the government on its own. The effort was however crippled by dissensions from the beginning and was consequently short-lived. The recent streak of reversals for the BJP has once again reoriented the discourse towards Opposition unity. Over the last four years, this effort has been characterised by a variety of names like Grand Alliance, Mahagathbandhan, Rainbow Coalition and Secular Alliance among others. The typology of Opposition unity that is being contemporarily contemplated is qualitatively different from coalitions built around the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The anatomy of these coalitions was underpinned on a highly fragmented party system and party competition among respective national and state parties. The current aspiration has more similarity with composite formations like Sanyukta Vidhayak Dal (1967), Janata Party (1977) and Janata Dal (1988). This similarity is rooted in the nature of party competition prevailing during these preceding occasions as well as currently. All the periods under consideration saw the ascendancy of a party that was gradually entrenching itself in a position of dominance. This was accompanied by the absence of a similar formation and the existence of numerous intermediate and marginal formations. This structural arrangement compels the highly disparate intermediate and marginal formations to close ranks in order to pose a serious challenge to the incumbent. Coalitions of this nature thus represent a Unity against Dominance. It follows therefore that the typology of such coalitions embodies a Cross-Cutting Unity across ideological considerations. Due to the imperative of avoiding a fissure in the collective strength,

rStrange bed fellows

counterpoising parties undergo different levels of ideological dilution as demanded by the situation. Lohiaite Socialists and the Jana Sangh were coalitional partners in the Sanyukta Vidhayak Dal. Similarly, in the 1989 general elections, the Janata Dal was supported by both the BJP and Communist Party of India (Marxist). In the current phase, most of the proposed formulae and alliances for countering the BJP contain both attributes of unity. The by-election to the Kairana Lok Sabha could be treated as a veritable case in point that saw the legatee’s of Nehru, Ambedkar, Lohia and Charan Singh entering into a positive compromise. However, the extent of state level differentiation of

The author presents his observations at this time when discussions on opposition unity are in wide circulation and as a point of reference with regard to the vagaries of coalitional politics. the party system has become more pronounced now than thirty years back. Party competition in states have become not only more pronounced but multipolar in many cases. Considering this, the universality of unity could encounter significant impediments in the coming period. Such heterogeneity that undergirds the peculiar typology of unity concurrently transforms elections into reductionist referendums. This means that elections are contested not over concrete programmes but on the basis of a single overarching and melodramatic issue. The diverse and mutually conflicting positions could be workably reconciled only by superimposing a single general issue that commands maximum agreement. The programme of such composite formations therefore stands upon a Single Issue Unity. In the 1977 general elections, nearly the entire opposition rallied behind

O pi n io n

Abhinav Pankaj Borbora Jayprakash Narayan and Moraji Desai on the issue of restoring democracy. Similarly, the 1989 general elections brought a majority of the non-Congress opposition together on the singular plank of corruption. In the upcoming elections in 2019, the issue of secularism might become the fulcrum of oppositional unity. These coalitions build their viability by attempting to progressively reduce the split of votes among the counterpoising parties through the extension of unity and with seat sharing arrangement. Resultantly, this type of coalition fosters a Status Quoist Unity. This is so because firstly, it precludes the necessity of any of the constituents independently broadening their base. Secondly, the coordinated internal competition poses a serious impediment to the emergence of alternate formations unaffiliated to either poles of dominance. The decimation of the Janata Dal could be attributed largely to its reliance on such coalitions. Unity of this nature may yield short-term results for a party but impedes the development of an independent base over the longer term. Coordinated political action achieved through ideological dilutions and strategic adjustments render such coalitions electorally formidable. Indian politics has witnessed episodes where such coalitions have been successful. But electoral unity has been almost inevitably followed by a Government of Disunity. The reason for such inevitability could be explained as this. Political formations recede from their official ideological positions in order to coordinate within disparate formations of unity. Although ideology could be treated as a superstructural phenomenon, political formations cannot afford to alienate core constituencies upon which they existentially stand. Decisions of policy and allocation exercised by the incumbent coalition government carry contradictory implications for every constituent element. When these contradictions assume proportions that threaten to alienate the popular bases of particular constituents, the latter responds by either bargaining a lucrative settlement or breaking away from the unity. n

Letter to the Editor

he common saying of ‘strange bedfellows’ in English vocabulary is very much applicable in Indian politics. It is definitely not strange to find two political parties with ideologies that are poles apart become alliance partners just for the sake of power. Jammu & Kashmir and Karnataka are the latest examples. Though BJP pulled out of the PDF-led government in Jammu & Kashmir recently, it continued for three years. Similarly in Karnataka, post the election result, Janata Dal led by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda’s son HD Kumaraswamy partnered with Congress simply for the lustre of power. Both the parties were sworn enemies in the run up to the elections but when the results were not in favour of any of the parties they partnered to run the government. ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people’ as prescribed by the former USA President Abraham Lincoln seems to have lost its relevance in India. Dr Ashim Chowdhury, Ambari, Guwahati

In Focus

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Anita Verma Advocate, activist

n advocate at the Gauhati High Court, Anita Verma is presently engaged as the Standing Counsel for the National Register of Citizens (NRC). A fiercely independent lady of immense grit, Anita has been practicing law for over 15 years. Not only has she had the opportunity to appear for the Assam State government right from the beginning of her career, she has been associated with important matters relating to election, constitutional as well as civil departments. Born in Guwahati to Rama Rani and Bal Krishna Verma (a retired city based businessman), Anita studied at St Mary’s Convent School, Guwahati. She then shifted to Punjab to pursue Pre-University education from Punjab University (PU), due to the Assam Agitation. Anita returned to Guwahati to pursue graduation in English Honours from Gauhati University (GU). Mother to three children, Krit, Mrig and Tejal, she never let motherhood deter her dreams.

Although she has a lot of respect for all women – be it homemakers or professionals - she believes that striking a balance between family and work is very important as both are co-related. Talking to G Plus about her childhood, Anita recalls, “I have spent my entire life in Guwahati but the beautiful city of my childhood is now lost and a concrete jungle has taken its place. The Assam-type houses have been replaced by cemented buildings and playing spaces have been converted into shopping malls and multiplexes.” It was 10 years after her graduation that Anita decided to study law and joined the Government Law College in Guwahati. The determined and firm person that she is, she didn’t let anything come in the way of her studies. She said, “All women need to have a profession in life to be financially independent.”Anita further told G Plus that she is very passionate about photography and wanted to be a photojournalist but ended up studying

law due to situations prevailing back then. She believes that no matter what you plan to do, you’ll end up where God has planned for you to be. Soon after graduating from law college in 2001, Anita started her career with the present Senior Additional Advocate General, Devajit Lon Saikia, and handled path-breaking cases with him. In 2012, Anita branched out and started her practice independently. She has been the Standing Counsel for various state departments like health, finance, the National Health Mission (NHM) and also had a brief stint with the education department. She is also the Special Counsel for Panchayat & Rural Development and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL). Speaking to G Plus about her career so far, Anita says, “With every case, you get to learn something new and that’s what keeps me going. But this profession needs a lot of patience and in the initial two years of my career I was reluctant about

whether to carry on or not. So I took a break for a year and enrolled for Media Studies at Bangalore and joined the Art of Living. My time at the ashram changed me as a person. But then, I returned to Guwahati in 2005 due to compelling circumstances and continued with the profession.” For the past 7 months, Anita has been appearing as Standing Counsel for Prateek Hajela, the State Coordinator for National Register of Citizens (NRC). “Assam is like a free country for everyone – there’s nobody to keep a check on who is coming inside or going out of the state. I feel that the problem of illegal migrants could have been avoided had our government taken proactive steps right from the beginning,” Anita expressed. “There is so much indiscipline in our system which needs to be corrected and I hope that the new government will be able to systemise,” she further added. Anita is also a social activist, who loves to help the underprivileged. She’s been working closely with the Missionaries of Charity since her school days and goes to Kolkata every year to devote some time to the homes where old and mentally challenged people are taken care of by the sisters. The selfless work done by the sisters motivates her

and it is a very deep connect with the realities of life. She considers Mother Teresa as her biggest inspiration in life and looks up to her. Anita is also an active volunteer at the Art of Living since 2004 and was closely associated with SOS Village. Anita helps people who are interested in adopting children, adoption being the closest subject to her heart. “It breaks my heart to see babies abandoned by parents and left mercilessly helpless. Wish we had more people with compassion, that’s what the world needs today more than anything else,” she said.

On June 9th, Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated the newly installed lift at the Maligaon Foot Over Bridge, for public convenience. Exactly 10 days later, the area was splattered with garbage and paan spits. Some comments: Ananta Gogoi It’s really difficult to say that in India development is possible. It’s not a matter of either Guwahati or Gujrat. There is a fraction of the society for whom ethics or civic sense hardly matters. Destroying public property is a punishable offence. Administration should work on more surveillance and strict action. Culprit mentalities should be made examples of. People pay tax for infrastructure development, not for thieves and criminals. Administration is answerable for all damages. On the other hand, promoting paan masala, gutkha etc by public figures encourages the common people. There should be ban on production of tobacco items. Manga Ngamlai Biate Lachit Nagar foot over bridge is worse. Would like to share one instance. Last week I happened to cross the road using it and I could not take a proper breath until I climbed down the foot over bridge. Because of human stool. It looks like a toilet. All these problems must be taken very seriously. CCCTV should be installed and also if possible proper education should be given to people. Sumdan Basumatary Simon It’s not about gutkas or tamuls, it’s about one’s attitude towards life. If you can find a garbage box or spittoon but still don’t use it, the person is to be blamed for. You can find even bottles, chips packets etc everywhere. Horrible people! These people criticise the government but never correct themselves first. Actually it’s nothing new in our country. It was happening before, happening today and will continue to happen in future. Until and unless the people of our country are educated, sensible and treat every property of the city as their own, nothing can happen.

Pankaj Agarwal The government should ban tobacco in all its forms. Though this is not the only step but it will certainly be a step towards cleanliness. Human awareness is of utmost importance and people in our country lack that. I really pray people in our country acquire some sense in the coming times. We can never develop or turn into a smart city if these types of things continue to happen. Sanjib Sangma We don’t deserve even a bamboo bridge, but I would like to give a suggestion. The whole foot bridge should be fitted with tiles of idols of all religion and then no one will spit I guess. People of our country are too religious and this might help. If the mentality of our people can’t change then I feel this is the only solution. Rajat Singhania The only way this is going to stop is if there are strict provisions of penalty on whoever litters public place and government appoints volunteers who see that the rule is followed.

Sunny Bhuyan People of Guwahati should be ashamed. Government has given us such wonderful facilities but we people never understand it. Such a shame! We can never be smart city if such things still prevail.

Feature

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

The Tokyo Toilets Tridib Borah

t was our first visit to JapanThe Land of the Rising Sun. The British loved to call it as “The Britain of the East.” In this century it would be perhaps apt to reverse this adage in Geography books and call Britain as the “Japan of the West.” I fondly recollect the day, 4 years ago when we landed in the city of Fukuoka to admit our daughter into the School of Engineering in Kyushu University. After reaching the hotel I had an intense urge to evacuate my bowels. Unfortunately I was a victim of the bowel movement disorder which the medics call by a fancy name - IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The sumptuous meals at odd hours during the flight were largely responsible

for triggering this syndrome and rapidly building the bowel pressure. I hurriedly opened the bathroom door to be greeted by a cockpit like cubicle. I looked with relief at the western type sanitary ware and started preparing to sit on the seat. Suddenly my eyes fell on a side bar adjacent to the commode which had a console with about 5-6 press button switches. The Japanese alphabet beside every switch was of no help in understanding their use. From the symbols beside the Japanese alphabet, I could vaguely guess they were switches for different types of showers and blowers. My engineering curiosity momentarily sidelined the mounting bowel pressure and started pressing the switches to know their use. Other than blinking of the indicator lights, nothing happened despite pressing the buttons several times. To my dismay I further discovered that there is neither

toilet paper nor a hygiene faucet (another fancy name for the popular shower used after toilet). I was bewildered and pulled aside the shower curtain concealing the bath tub cum shower area. To my relief I found taps dispensing water in the conventional manner. That was pretty encouraging but no mugs were available to carry the water to where you needed. I finally succumbed to the mounting pressure and sat down on the seat without finding a solution to the finishing touches to be applied after the evacuation process. I found the seat was very pleasantly warm and the warmth added to the relief experienced in emptying the bowels. What followed next was an array of warm water jets hitting different parts of my bottom. Shocking as it was, I remained seated as the evacuation process had just started and the feeling of relief surpassed the need to explore the turmoil inside the Tokyo Toilet. The water jets gradually subsided and finally stopped. Before I could thank my stars, a gust of warm air began to blow into my bottom. Gradually the pressure and the temperature of the air began to rise. Not knowing how hot and forceful the gust of wind would be, I stood up, somehow terminating the defecation process. On standing up the air flow immediately stopped and the toilet flushed automatically taking away the downloaded content in a whiff. I peeped into the commode after the flushing stopped hoping

he author offers a humorous take on his first experience of using a high-tech Japanese toilet during his maiden trip to Japan and how he lives to survive the “ordeal”

to find the sources of water jets and the hot air. The gleaming toilet was utterly calm after the storm. I fiddled with a switch having a shower like symbol on the console once more to see if the water or air jets start. Except for blinking of the indicator lamp on the switch nothing happened. I could muster some courage to sit again on the seat. Immediately

the bottom after completing the download. The pressure and temperature of the water jets can be controlled with volume control like switches. After you are done with showering you can activate the warm air jet to dry the wet bottom. Later, we found toilets that even offer spraying of perfumed dusting powder. Once you have showered, dried and

a warm water jet hit my bottom prompting me to rise up momentarily. Surprisingly being back into the sitting position this time, it was all quiet in the bowl below. The blinking light on the panel also went off. The reduction of pressure on the bowels perhaps made my brain function on how to come to terms with this high tech Tokyo Toilet. The seat was the focal point. The weight of the user on the seat was required to perform the functions of the switches on the console panel. You need to be seated during the entire downloading process. Press the different buttons for showering

dusted your bottom by pressing the panel buttons, the flush come into action automatically on standing up, to give a clean and shining bowl for the next user. The warmth of the seat also could be controlled by a button to make a comfortable contact of the bare skin with the seat. Indeed the entire experience left me overawed at the use of technology for a simple activity of defecation (downloading). I looked forward to a dose of technology in uploading (eating). It was equally awesome as experienced at a Sushi Station later during our stay. But that is another story for some other day. n

Guwahati youth releases ‘Hometown’ – an Assamese Rap song

uwahati-based singer Sikdar has released a new track “Hometown” inspired by his lifestyle which also represents the districts of Chabua and Sivasagar. Four months after its release on YouTube, the song currently has close to 70k views. “Hometown is one of my closest projects from my mixed tape ‘Invisible Scars’ featuring Biggie Brown,” said Sikdar. The music for Hometown was produced by Guwahati based producer Basshole Music, the video was directed by Rajani Bora, shot by Young AK & Joe and edited by Avoid Visuals. “The video is available on my YouTube channel ‘Sikdar Official’ and I’m really glad that the people are connecting with the song and video,” said Sikdar. Born in a small town in upper

Assam called Chabua, Sikdar did his schooling from Little Angel School and Montfort School. He then shifted to Sainik School in Goalpara where his father wanted him to join the Indian army and serve the country. Due to health issues, Sikdar had to complete his high school from Kendriya Vidyalaya. He finally went on to complete his graduation as a bachelor of commerce with banking and insurance from North Eastern Regional Institute of Management (NERIM), Guwahati. Sikdar developed an interest in music starting with hard rock and heavy metal back when he was in class 5. But his love for rap music developed when his brother bought him a CD of ‘Me Against the World’ by

Tupac Amaru Shakur. Michael M Sail was another one of the rappers who inspired him in his journey. “Michael M Sailo was one of the greatest rappers in northeast and I wish I had the chance to collaborate with him too but life goes on and nobody

can stop fate.” He then started writing his own lyrics and rapping when he was in class 7. Apart from artists from the music industry, Sikdar claims that other people who contributed in inspiring him towards his journey are his family members who continue to support him to this day. On being asked about his take on the music scene of the

northeast he said, “Northeast is ever-growing when it comes to the genre of hip-hop.” His rap takes an inspiration from the people around him, the struggles they face such as pain, stress and poverty. He was also part of a hip-hop group called “Rain in Sahara.” The band consisted of Rocky Glock, Sikdar and Lain Heringman. Back in the days, they released a music video called “Black Water” which won a national as well as an international award. The band performed a couple of gigs and songs before they finally broke off. Apart from music, his interest lies in travelling and writing. “I travel to many places and each place has given me so much to learn. Wherever I go I seek to learn.” As of now, Sikdar plans to continue in the line of music for some years to come. n

Trotter

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Karnataka couple’s wedding procession features decked up JCB digger

orget horse-driven carriages and luxury cars. These newlyweds from Karnataka have the internet’s attention for the unusual set of wheels they picked for their wedding procession. The groom, a JCB operator, said he was keen to showcase the machine that helped him earn a decent living. And so, he took his

beautiful sari-clad wife for a spin around town in the bucket of a JCB digger. Pictures and videos of the incredible sight have gone viral across social media platforms and earned the newlyweds lots of love. Chetan and Mamta’s unique wedding procession was the talk of the town in Puttur, in Karnataka’s South Kannada District. Since the newlyweds tied the knot, photos

and video of the couple smiling shyly while seated on the bucket of a beautifully-decorated JCB machine have gone viral. One clip showed the newlyweds, headed home after the wedding ceremony, smiling as rows of enthusiastic drummers led the procession. Colourful flowers and balloons adorned the large machine. “I love my job and it’s my way of showing gratitude towards the vehicle during one of the biggest moments in my life,” a daily quoted the groom as saying. The groom was initially behind the wheel of the deckedup JCB digger. Later, he joined his wife while a friend drove them to their new home. The internet loved the quirky wedding procession. “Sweet and endearing,” wrote one person on Twitter. “Only in Karnataka,” joked another. “Lovely... wishing both very happy marriage life,” commented a third. (Source: ndtv)

Rats reportedly destroy Rs 12 lakhs at Assam ATM, Twitter can't keep calm

bizarre incident in Assam has caught at the attention of Twitter and left many shocked. According to several reports, a State Bank of India (SBI) branch ATM in Assam's Tinsukia district bore the wrath of rodents that left currency notes worth Rs 12 lakhs completely destroyed. Pictures of the shredded notes inside the ATM have left Twitter stunned. While many expressed their shock over the incident, several others tried to make sense of the weird incident. Following a technical failure, the SBI ATM in Laipuli area - still containing cash - had been out of order since May 20, reported The Indian Express. A day before, a private security firm had deposited Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes amounting Rs 29.48 lakhs, reported The Hindu. On June 11, when technicians arrived to fix the ATM, they found currency notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs

500 torn to pieces. The overall cash destroyed by the rats amounted to Rs 12,38,000, reported the newspaper. Undamaged currency notes amounting to Rs 17.10 lakhs were recovered from the ATM. Local journalist Nandan Pratim Sharma Bordoloi tweeted a video, believed to be from the same ATM. The video showed a dead rat lying in a pile of shredded notes.

The viral news forced HDFC Bank to tweet a clarification, saying the incident did not occur at one of their ATMs, as was suggested by some viral forwarded messages. Twitterati are both amused and stunned at the strange incident. "Looks like the mice are having a demonetisation of their own," said one Twitter user. "The money launderer's version of 'My dog ate my homework'," said another. Tinsukia district Superintendent of Police, Mugdhajyoti Mahanta said that the maintenance company had called its engineer from Kolkata to repair the ATM. "When the engineer and other officials opened the ATM on June 11, they found destroyed notes and also found a dead mouse inside the ATM," said Mahanta. A police complaint has been filed and the incident is currently under investigation, according to several reports. (Source: ndtv)

Baby born in train offered free rail travel until he's 25

woman gave birth on a Paris train, prompting the French capital's transport network to offer her newborn boy free rail travel until he turns 25. The train stopped at the Auber station in central Paris as the woman went into advanced labour and the baby was born at 11.40 am, helped by around 15 people including emergency workers, police and rail staff. Trains were halted in both directions on a particularly busy

section of the RER A commuter line for 45 minutes due to the "unexpected" incident, Paris transport operator RATP said.

The train was evacuated during the birth, a spokesman said. "To our knowledge, everyone is doing well," he said of the mother and baby. "The RATP congratulates the mum and intends to offer the child free travel on its network until he is 25 years old. Valerie Pecresse, head of transport in the Paris region, also offered her congratulations, but added in a tweet: "Thoughts with the travellers too." (Source: bbcnews)

Karnataka cop rescues and adopts electrocuted monkey, wins hearts

ssistant sub-inspector Yashodha from Kalaburagi in Karnataka has won hearts on Twitter for saving the life of a feral monkey. The monkey was saved by ASI Yashodha after it got electrocuted and fell to the ground. The cop first took the monkey home to administer first

aid and then took it to a veterinary hospital, thereby saving its life. "I was on my way to Yellamma Temple when I saw a huge crowd gathered on the road," ASI Yashodha said adding, "When I peeked in, I saw a monkey who had fallen down after receiving a current shock. His eye was bleeding." Though others refused to pick the monkey up, scared that it would bite, ASI Yashodha stepped up and took the primate home first and then to a hospital. Though its condition was initially serious, the monkey is now much better. Today, the little monkey lives with ASI Yashodha and they are good friends. "He's become like a kid in the house now," said a smiling ASI Yashodha. "I request everyone to help animals; they are mute and can't ask for help," appealed the cop. (Source: expressnews)

Friends take man’s cut out to World Cup after wife denies permission to travel

bunch of football fans attending the FIFA World Cup 2018 have found the perfect way to troll their friend. And their method has attracted major attention on social media. Four friends from Mexico are posing all over Russia with a cardboard cut out of their friend who couldn't join them thanks to his wife. Internet is flooded with pictures of the men posing with the cut out that shows their friend dressed in a T-shirt that reportedly says “My wife didn't let me go.” The men run a special Facebook page and have been sharing posts about their escapades in Russia - almost all of them with their cut out friend in tow. The five friends had planned to travel to Russia together but one of them, Javier, at the last minute, told them he couldn't go. According to

reports, Javier's wife didn't let him go, after all. But the remaining four friends decided to bring him along anyway... well, almost. According to a daily, the friends from Durango, Mexico, had been planning a road-trip to Russia since the 2014 World Cup and had also been saving for it. They even purchased an old school bus, gave it a makeover and made necessary bookings on a ship that would take them there. The group of friends - including Javier's cut out - reached Moscow on June 13. They've been sharing the most amazing updates from their adventures. And the cardboard cut out of Javier has been included in almost all the fun activities - from drinking beer to attending concerts and posing with football fans from all over the world. (Source: dailymail)

Review

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Cast: T Nelson, Helen Hunt, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L Jackson, etc Director: Brad Bird

O e w Movi vie e R

Incredibles 2

ne of the high spots in the history of Pixar, and now the writer and director of this delectable movie, Brad Bird, has returned with a second part of ‘The Incredibles’. It begins pretty much where the last one left off, as if the characters had been barely staying put and holding their breath. Their voices, too, are almost the exact same: Holly Hunter is still the shrewd and resourceful Helen, Sarah Vowell, as their daughter Violet, still provides the pitch and yaw of an adolescent speech— now tetchy, now timid, but touched here and there with a determination that might just save the day – her specialty is to vanish at will, or to shield herself inside an invincible

bubble: every teen-ager’s dream. Craig T. Nelson is still Bob, with his lumbering sigh. Only the voice of the elder son, the high-speed Dash, has been updated; his lines are now spoken, which is ideal for Dash, whose permanent aim is to race around the river bend, and see what kind of adventures await. Writer and director Brad Bird believed in waiting for the right story to tell, and that decision certainly pays off in more ways than one as ‘Incredibles 2’ proves to be an incredible amount of fun! The fact that visual effects have developed so much over the past fourteen years only adds to the immersive experience, as each character and eye-popping action is brought to life in stunning animation. n

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, etc Director: Gary Ross

‘O

cean’s 8’ isn’t particularly striving, in either its objective or its execution. The writing has a few holes, and Gary Ross’s direction never rises above the level of “workmanlike” — and doesn’t come close to Steven Soderbergh’s stylish work on 2001’s Ocean Eleven. But if I’m being honest, what I’m looking for in an Ocean’s movie in 2018 isn’t great writing or eye-popping cinematography or experimental storytelling; I want to see some great actresses having the most fun. Ocean’s 8, at its most endearing, is a slick, glamorous romp that makes you yearn for three more hours with its impossibly charismatic crew. Story-wise, it fails to work not due to its all-female star cast but because of director Gary Ross’ lazy

Gadget Review

HTC Desire 12+

ne of the first to enter the smartphone race, this Taiwanese company has not had it easy over the years. Recently, parts of the company - including some of its top engineers - were acquired by Google to work on its Pixel smartphones. Even after this transition, we are seeing good devices such as the HTC U11+

storytelling, lack of imagination and the films glacial pace. Even after casting multiple Oscar winners like Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway and Cate Blanchett, or fan favourites such as Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter and Mindy Kaling, he fails to deliver a half decent heist movie. It’s not exactly a polemical film. But even as it plays by the rules, it nevertheless manages to score a political point or two. Eight of them, actually. To its credit, the movie never pretended to be anything more than what it was: a breezy summer movie with eight fun anti-heroines worth rooting for. We felt like assembling our own gang of quirky, attractive, implicitly homosexual thieves to rob luxury retail stores and ruin terrible men’s lives. They just made it look so fun and easy. n (Review). HTC has now launched a mid-range smartphone called the Desire 12+ in India, priced at Rs. 19,790. It follows the ongoing trend of 18:9 displays and has dual rear cameras.

Design

The Desire 12+ sports a 6-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, making the phone tall and narrow. It has a metallic earpiece, selfie camera, and notification LED above the display. The phone isn’t too thick and is comfortable to hold in the hand. It weighs 157g and is 8.4mm in thickness. The buttons are positioned on the right, but higher than where we would like them. HTC has two colour options for the Desire 12+ in India: Warm Silver and Cool Black. We got the Cool Black version for review, and it looks more blue than black depending on the light

Specifications

There is 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, of which you get 23GB for your data. You can expand

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Ocean’s 8 storage by using the microSD card slot, and this phone can handle cards of up to 2TB. The dual camera setup on the back consists of a 13-megapixel primary sensor with PDAF and an f/2.2 aperture, along with a 2-megapixel depth sensor. There is an 8-megapixel selfie camera with a selfie light as well. Powering the phone is a 2965mAh battery, and you get a standard 5V, 1.5A charger in the box.

Performance, cameras, and battery life

The Snapdragon 450 performs decently in the HTC Desire 12+. While navigation was smooth, we did have to deal with longer load times in a few apps. If your usage is limited to calls and using WhatsApp, you might not be bothered, but if you play games, the loading times can get a little annoying. The camera app on the HTC Desire 12+ is basic and fairly easy to use. It has quick toggles for mode selection, beautification,

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filters, and Bokeh mode. We did not like the two-step process to change flash settings, and would have preferred a quick toggle instead. The Desire 12+ is quick to focus and adjust exposure based on available lighting. It has a Ubifocus mode which takes five shots at one time, giving you the option to refocus afterwards. You also get HDR, Portrait, Sports, Landscape, and other modes to choose from. The supplied charger is rated at 7.5W and needs close to two hours to charge the device

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to 100 percent.

Verdict

HTC’s Desire 12 is the latest smartphone offering from the company in the mid-range segment, but we feel that its asking price is too high for what it offers. n

Entertainment

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Film on witch hunting screened to raise awareness

n an initiative taken up by NRL, the company has embarked upon a journey to create awareness against the deadly menace of witch hunting by collaborating with Angeekar Films in screening its feature film ‘Aei Maatite’ at different rural places in Golaghat and Bokakhat Districts from 5th to 9th June, 2018. During the five-day campaign launched by NRL and Numaligarh Sodhanagar Sakha Sahitya Sabha, special shows of Aei Maatite were organised at Mahuramukh, Bahikhowa village (Bokakhat), Betoni village (Sarupathar), Furkating and Numaligarh. In this drive to raise awareness amongst the rural folk against unscientific beliefs and superstitions, nearly 10,000 people were touched. Watching the film, many villagers came to the organisers and demanded more such screenings of the film in

other interior places where such practices are still going on. Speaking on the screenings organised by NRL, director of Aei

Maatite, Dr Sitanath Lahkar said, “As the film is based on witch hunting issue, which is affecting people in rural areas and smaller towns, we were particularly interested to take the film to as many places as we could. It is really encouraging to see that a big corporate entity like Numaligarh Refinery has come forward to screen the film in some remote parts of our state with the sole motive to aware people against superstition and create scientific temperament in the society. We wish that more such corporate houses will come forward in the coming days and that is surely going to make a difference on the ground.” Aei Maatite is the first Assamese feature film on the issue of witch hunting. The debut feature film of eminent theatre personality and independent filmmaker Dr Sitanath Lahkar, Aei Maatite mainly talks about the witch hunting problem in Assam and how a section of people are using witchcraft for their own interest. The film has a very strong message against witch hunting, upholding the value of scientific temperament and human life.

2nd ‘Udyaman Bhraymaman’ Mobile Theatre Awards presented

he second edition of Udyaman Bhraymaman, Mobile Theatre Awards was held at the ITA Pragjyoti Complex at Machkhowa on June 21. Speaking about the event, Sunil Aggarwal of Dalmia Bharat Cement said that the group is committed to recognising the effort and talent of people from various fields, including art and drama, but “a specific award ceremony for the huge mobile theatre industry of Assam is a must.” This year, the awards were presented for 29 different categories which included the late Aditi Sharma Life Time Achievement Award to writer and lyricist Hemanta Dutta. Also, a special Young Achievers Award on bravery was presented posthumously to Raul Kaushik Nath, which was received by his father. While the Best Popular Theatre Group award was bagged by Kohinoor Theatre, awards were also given to Jatin Bora (Best Popular Actor) of Surya, Prastuti

Parashar (Best Popular Actress) of Abahan Theatre, Siyor (Best Drama) of Kohinoor Theatre, Moye Maar Suwali (Best Popular Drama) of Abahan Theatre, Sankalpajit Hazarika (Best Director) for Boliya Droupadi of Hengool Theatre, Rajtilak (Best Theatre Team), Prastuti Parashar (Best Actress) for Samragee of Abahan Theatre and Jatin Bora (Best Actor) for Kaka Deuta Nati Aru Hati of Surya Theatre. Apart from recognising the contributions of all the people in the mobile theatre industry, rich tributes were paid to Kalaguru

Bishnu Prasad Rabha on the occasion of Rabha Divas and a minute’s condolence for Munin Baruah, Biju Phukan, Ratan Lahkar and Sukracharya Rabha was also observed. Sudarshan Theatre won the upcoming theatre award and Pragjyotish Theatre was presented an award for being one of the few theatre groups that originated from Guwahati and has been doing well since the past 34 years. The award ceremony saw a huge participation by the mobile theatre personalities, civil society members and many more.

Assam artists selected for Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards

hree artists from Assam have been selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2017. Xattriya dance artist Ramkrishna Talukdar from Guwahati, art and craft maestro Nuruddin Ahmed and Xattriya dance maestro Jagannath Bayan from Barpeta shall be conferred the award by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. Nuruddin Ahmed has been involved in the art direction of 52 films and 12 theatres, including 53 dramas while

Ramkrishna Talukdar has taught the Xattriya art to students from France, America and Japan among other nations. Jagannath Bayan was conferred with the title ‘Xatra Bhushan’ in 2015. Two artists from Manipur and one from Mizoram have also been selected for the prestigious award. Sangeet Natak Akademi Award is given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists.

Adil Hussain's Mukti Bhawan - Hotel Salvation released in Belgium

ukti Bhawan – Hotel Salvation was released in Belgium, Europe on 13th June 2018. Boasting of a stellar cast comprising names like Adil Hussain, Lalit Behl, Geetanjali Kulkarni and Palomi Ghosh, Mukti Bhawan, directed by 24-year-old Shubhashish Bhutiani, has been transcending borders and winning global acclaim from audience and critics alike since its release. Revolving around a father-son

relationship and a heartrending tale of life and death, the film that won two national awards and 10 international awards, has released in 50 countries (theatrically) and is continuing its winning streak at prestigious international festivals. Mukti Bhawan had its world premiere on September 2, 2016 at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival while in India its release date was April 7, 2017. So far, the film has bagged over 30 prestigious awards, including Best Narrative Feature Film, Best Film, Best Screenplay Award, Best Director, Best Actor Award for Adil Hussain and has been listed as one of the best Hindi cinemas. The film received four nominations at the 63rd Filmfare Awards, including Best Film (Critics), received Best Screenplay award at the 2018 Filmfare awards, won the Special Mention for Director Shubhashish Bhutiani, Producer Red Carpet moving Pictures and Actor Adil Hussain.

Fun

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Horoscope of the week Lovely Venus in your communication zone could pique your interest in getting out and doing something different. It’s a great week for a gathering of friends and enjoying fun times, especially if you’re willing to move in new circles. When it comes to your career and goals, ethereal Neptune turns retrograde on Monday, which could bring one or two realizations your way.

Ethereal Neptune turns retrograde at the start of the week, and its backward phase could coincide with certain realizations. These may not occur over the coming days but in the weeks and months ahead. You could realize that you’ve been misled by certain beliefs. Once you gain this understanding, it would be wise to do something about it.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way! This week certainly has a social aspect to it. You seem to be brimming with positive energy and happy thoughts on the inside and the outside. In addition, a relationship may grow stronger if you can communicate with total honesty. Be careful that you don’t ruffle someone’s feathers at work.

With expressive Mercury, your guide planet, making a harmonious alignment with upbeat Jupiter in your sector of communication, the start of the week could be quite uplifting. Opportunities to work more closely with someone might prove very rewarding and net you a new and supportive friend.

A chance to boost your income or take advantage of a golden opportunity could be yours early in the week. However, with lively Mercury also aligning with ethereal Neptune in your work zone, it might be a good idea to investigate this more deeply before you commit. With some discussion, this could work out very well for you.

If you’re offered an opportunity to travel, accepting it could work out very well. If you’ve been busy for some time and are now in need of a break, this could be the perfect chance to kick back and relax. In addition, with lively Mercury aligning with ethereal Neptune in your sector of romance and creativity, it’s possible that getting away from it all could result in a charming encounter.

The cosmos is encouraging you to trust your instincts, especially early in the week when they might lead you to an opportunity that you would otherwise miss. Your intuition can be a guide in other ways as well, so it would be worth paying attention to those subtle messages that come to you from within.

Ethereal Neptune turns retrograde in your sector of communication on Monday, so the coming weeks and months could bring insights into a situation that has eluded you. If you get a glimmer of understanding about what’s going on, this is the time to do something about it. Don’t leave it until it’s too late.

Chatty Mercury’s link with positive Jupiter on Tuesday could bring good news on the work front when either an offer or opportunity seems too amazing to pass up. With luscious Venus in your relationship sector moving to oppose feisty Mars in your sign on Thursday, an encounter could have quite an impact on you.

On Monday, nebulous Neptune turns retrograde in your sign and will remain so for some months, which can be a good thing. Neptune retrograde can bring powerful realizations and insights to key situations, and these could lead to a breakthrough. This may not happen right away, but things could begin to change over the weeks and months ahead.

Which future world figure was nicknamed ‘El Fuser’ in his teenage years for his furious style of playing Football?

Kitchen Confidential was the debut book of which bestselling author and chef?

curio-city

What does ‘ginga’ refer to in the history of World Cup Football?

Battle of the Tennis Court forms an integral part of which battle in the Second World War, which triggered the ultimate decimation of Japan in Asia?

By what name is Vasant Kumar Shivshankar Padukone more famous to us?

Identify this late 19th century US pharmacist, very much in news these days. Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Garfield By Jim Davis

1 5 3 3 7 4 4 8 6 25 5 2 2 1 41 9 3 5 7 2 7 6 36 8 64 3 8 5 8 7 5 9 1 5 4 6 1 2 1 7 1

7 4 9 5 6 7

Daily Sudoku: Thu 21-Jun-2018

very hard

Daily Sudoku: Fri 15-Jun-2018

very hard

5 last 4 2week 1 7 solution 8 6 9 3 7 3 9 6 2 4 8 1 5 2 3 85 19 68 5 9 73 17 42 64 8 1 47 74 13 2 3 69 25 58 96 2 1 6 5 9 3 6 5 7 8 41 79 84 32 4 6 29 98 87 4 5 36 53 27 11 4 3 5 1 2 6 2 3 8 4 97 61 75 89 7 5 16 52 71 9 6 82 94 33 48 6 4 93 85 49 3 1 25 82 16 77 1 Sudoku: 7 Thu 4 21-Jun-2018 9 8 5 3 6 very2hard Daily 8 6 2 3 7 1 4 9 5 Daily Sudoku: Fri 15-Jun-2018

very hard

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

1. Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara 2. Anthony Michael Bourdain 3. It refers to the mesmerising style of football played by Pele and his compatriots while Brazil romped to victory in the 1958 world cup 4. Battle of Kohima 5. The actor and director Guru Dutt 6. John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca Cola

curio-city

Sudoku

Trust your intuition - your friends and colleagues appreciate your sensitivity. A brand-new idea or direction that inspires you could boost your mood. The cosmos suggests that you should be bold and not afraid to try something different. You could discover that good luck or the kindness of others gives you all the courage you need.

You start the week with a lighthearted and playful spirit as upbeat Mercury angles toward jovial Jupiter. And with lovely Venus opposing Mars and chatty Mercury linking to fervent Pluto, there should be plenty of options for discussing, conducting business, and making new and lucrative connections.

Across

Word of the week sennight noun [sen-ahyt, -it] a week

Crossword

1 With official authorisation (8) 5 Hairless (4) 9 Replica (5) 10 Word repeated to sim-ulate conversation on stage (7) 11 Newspaper full of gossip (7,5) 13 Preoccupy completely (6) 14 Kind of English woven carpet (6) 17 Street musician with a hurdy-gurdy (5-7) 20 Roaming freely (2,5) 21 ___ Baggins, a leading hobbit (5) 22 Hindu ascetic (4) 23 Tense (8)

Down

1 Renown (4) 2 Makes smaller (7) 3 Everyone (3,3,6) 4 Noosed rope used to catch animals (6) 6 On the ball? (5) 7 Someone making their first appearance (8) 8 Doubtful — possibly dishonest (12) 12 Heart attack (8) 15 Structure supporting climbing plants (7) 16 Burning with emotion (6) 18 Labour camp for political prisoners (5) 19 Said (4)

Last week’s solution

Lifestyle

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

The importance of Vaastu Puja

he earth is considered a sacred element in Hinduism and is revered as a Goddess. The Bhumi (earth) Puja is an important ritual devoted to the earth. It is necessary to worship the land before the start of construction work. In India, even farmers perform a Bhumi puja before tilling the land. Hindu calendar months of Shravan, Kartik, Margshirsh and Paush are the most favourable for the Bhumi puja. Several negative and positive factors are associated with the auspicious time of Bhumi puja. Avoid the Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday while Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are the most auspicious days for Bhumi puja. Also, Bhumi puja should not be conducted during the zero month, lunar month, Adhik month, Hadpaksha, Divaskarma, mourning time, and Shraadh Paksha. Bhumi puja should be performed in the northeast corner of the site. The puja helps in overcoming the obstacles that may occur during the time of construction. The auspicious Tithis or dates are the second, third, fifth, seventh, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth day of the ascending moon. The auspicious Nakshatras (Star) are Aswini, Punarbasu, Pusya, Hasta, Uttarfalguni, Uttarshada, Uttarbhadropada, Ro-

hini, Revati, Shravan, Dhanistha, Shatavisha, Swati, Anuradha and Magha. Scientific studies have identified 45 different types of geo-magnetic forces in a plot or house. Interestingly, Vaastu Shastra was aware of these forces and it has advocated the proper use of these forces. If any construction is done against these forces without following

Warrior Yes, my warrior You are brave But lay down your arms No need to be ashamed.

Cry, my warrior You have felt pain No need to fight the battle Where there is nothing to gain.

Even if the path does break the thumb rules, there are negative effects. These forces are worshipped by our ancestors as devata or deities for the land or house.

Possible ill effects if Vaastu Shanti is not done:

1. The owner may be burdened with loans and financial crisis. 2. The atmosphere at home is not conducive. There are quarrels and ten-

Defining Diabetes iabetes is perhaps the simplest disease to diagnose. Just a drop of blood and you know the level of blood glucose; the blood glucose level is all that is required for definition. It can be done with fair accuracy even at home. A fasting blood sugar of more than 125mg% and/or a post prandial (taken 2 hours after a meal) sugar of more than 200mg% is used as the cut off to diagnose Diabetes. This is irrespective of age, sex or the presence or absence of other diseases. This is perhaps an oversimplification; thus let us spend some time in learning the essence of the disease and these figures. Diabetes is essentially of two types - Type1 and Type2. Type1 is generally seen in children, happens due to immunologic destruction of the pancreas resulting in reduced levels of insulin and high circulating levels of blood glucose. Type2 is a more complex disorder, occurs

sions all the time. 3. Married life is not happy and peaceful 4. The members become sick all the time. Some of the diseases are chronic. 5. There are untimely deaths in the family. 6. Expenses are more than the income of the household. 7. There are unforeseen mishaps and accidents

in adults and resistance to the action of insulin is the predominant phenomenon in these patients, resulting in high blood glucose. But look at what defines both; the blood glucose levels. A lot of data has been extrapolated from type1 to type2 disease confusing the matters further. Type1 diabetes is a more predictable disease; there are no confounding factors in children and all outcomes in this disorder are mainly related to the blood glucose levels. Type2 has an unpredictable nature; age, the presence of other diseases especially hypertension, lipid disorders and obesity all affect the ultimate outcome. The treatment of Type1 is straightforward - Insulin. This appears logical as well. Since there is deficiency of Insulin, it should be supplemented. Type2 has more options, including Insulin. Treatment in type2 diabetes is aimed at reducing the resistance to Insulin (which appears to be

P.S. Vaastu effects are seen and tabulated after long studies over thousands of years. Scientific thinking may not approve some of its sayings. But it is an esoteric science based on geo-magnetic and cosmic forces.

There’s nothing to do but walk the way Sometimes giving up is not a chance So walk, my warrior, pick up your arms.

Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.

the perfect treatment) and/or increasing the circulating levels of Insulin (which appears counter intuitive!) How were these cut off levels for diabetes reached? How could we predict that a patient with blood sugar above a particular level would have long term complications? The research was mainly focussed on patients with Type1 Diabetes and how the blood sugar levels correlated with long term outcomes. The same values were applied by default to Type2 Diabetes also. I am not here to question the sanity or the validity of the definition of Diabetes but just one parameter to define Type2 Diabetes i.e. the blood sugar levels above a particular level appears an oversimplification. Thus a 40 year old obese, inactive, heavy smoker with a fasting blood sugar of 160mg% is similar to an active 60yr old well built elderly gentleman with similar blood sugar; both have Diabetes. The real essence of Type2 Diabetes is actually lost in the definition itself. Type2 Diabetes is much more than just about the blood sugar level. The Metabolic Syndrome

Sanjali Dixit

defines one such aspect about Diabetes. It looks at five parameters; the presence of any three of them defines the Metabolic Syndrome. These are BP, sugar, Triglyceride level, abdominal circumference and HDL cholesterol level. The presence of 3 or more of them defines Insulin Resistance. Obesity here is defined by the abdominal circumference, emphasising on the importance of the abdominal fat as a predictor for disease predilection. It is important how much you weigh, but equally or even more important is the shape you are in. Obesity is one of the most important modifiable factors in the management of Type 2 Diabetes. Exercise and dietary changes are central to weight control; they also are an integral part of Diabetes management. Thus there is a great overlap between Diabetes and Obesity. Triglyceride

and HDL cholesterol are two forms of circulating lipids in our body, the latter is so called good cholesterol and are markers for Insulin resistance. Both Hypertension and Diabetes are strong risk factors for the development of Cardiovascular disorders and optimal BP control is essential in Diabetes. What is to emphasise here is that amelioration of Insulin Resistance can help in the control of blood sugar. Dr Rakesh Periwal Critical Care Medicine and Sleep Specialist drperiwal@gmail.com

Buzz

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Sanskriti the Gurukul celebrates June as Poetry Month

oetry is an art form that has survived for thousands and thousands of years. It is a profound insight that enables a poet to idealize reality and to see the things or situations in a particular way, to express the feelings of his own accord and to represent them in such a way as to delight the readers. A poetry challenge was organized in Sanskriti the Gurukul for students of classes 1 to 5. The challenge was to compose a poem based on their eco-friendly invention. It was overwhelming to see their imaginative ideas and thought-provoking poetries. The students took up different activities to mark the occasion. The students of study centre

IV created some great eco-friendly inventions to make the world a better place. They created a car that runs on garbage as fuel, a smart garbage collector that runs on solar energy, an emotion reader that can read thoughts of every living being, wonder wings that can make us fly, just to name a few. The children of study centre V-D undertook an activity based on the theme “Environment.” The children composed poems on environment and the need to conserve it and wrote them on paper cut outs in the shape of leaves. They recited the poems in the class and pasted the leaves on a chart paper which was then put up in the classroom. This activity enabled children to spare time to think of their own unique ways

through which they could protect the environment and in the process save the most precious resource on earth - water. n

Children taking part in the Inter-School Art Competition, organized by The Little Flower School in loving memory of Nilutpal Das and Abhijeet Nath at the school premises on Sunday, June 17.

Shishu Sarothi organises sensitization program on Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Kalyan Kumar Das (2nd R) and Amlandeep Das (2nd L) receiving the winner trophy of Samsuddin Ahmed Memorial Veteran Tennis Tournament 2018 organised by India Club Guwahati from Sarwat Ahmed.

International Yoga Day celebrated in city

long with the rest of the country, the 4th International Day of Yoga was observed across Guwahati on June 21, Thursday. Young and old alike attended the mass exercise and meditation sessions which were organised by various organisations. National AYUSH Mission along with Kamrup Metropolitan District Administration observed the district level Yoga Day at Sonaram HS School in the city. Deputy Commissioner Kamrup (M) Virendra Mittal, addressing the event, said that the main objective of celebrating the Yoga Day is to create awareness about the benefits of yoga among the people. The function was also attended by Vijay Goel, union minister of state for statistics & programme implementation, Mrigen Saraniya, Guwahati mayor,

Ranjeet Dass, state president of Bharatiya Janata Party, KS Dhatwalia, director general, NE zone, ministry of information & broadcasting, Virendra Mittal, deputy commissioner, Kamrup (M) and many other dignitaries. A special session was organised at the Raj Bhawan which was participated by Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi and several noted personalities including members of the film fraternity. The Governor, while addressing the participants, said, “Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition to the world. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being.” Hundreds of saints and pilgrims, who have gathered at the Kamakhya Temple atop the

Nilachal Hills for the Ambubachi Mela, were also seen performing ‘asanas’ at the temple. Yoga sessions were also organised by different educational institutions across the city. The theme of this year’s International Yoga Day was “Promoting Health and Happiness through Yoga.” Along with the rest of the country and the state, the event was held to propagate the importance of healthy living and imbibe values of yoga for a spiritually, morally and physically strong society. n

sensitisation programme on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 was organised by the Assam State Legal Services Authority (ASLSA) in collaboration with Shishu Sarothi on 13th June, 2018. The programme was organised for members of the Juvenile Justice Board, Child Welfare Committee, Protection Officers (Institutional and Non-institutional Care), and secretaries of District Legal Services Authorities from five districts of Kamrup, Nalbari, Darrang, Morigaon and Nagaon. The programme was inaugurated by SN Sharma, Member Secretary, ASLSA with SS Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretary of Social Welfare Department as the chief guest. PR Gharphalia, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities also spoke on the occasion. Various issues and challenges faced by children with disabilities in the areas of protection, health, education and social and cultural

rights were discussed. In his inaugural speech, SN Sarma highlighted the importance of upholding the rights of persons with disabilities as envisaged under the law if one has to ensure that no one is left behind in the process of development. Further, Sundaram emphasised the importance of government functionaries being aware of the rights of persons with disabilities and the corresponding accountability of duty-bearers to ensure those rights. The introductory session was addressed by Arman Ali, executive director of Shishu Sarothi on 'Understanding Disability'. “In moving away from the welfare and charity approach to disability, we have to acknowledge that disability arises when a person with long-term impairment – physical, mental, sensory or intellectual – is faced with barriers in the environment which hinders his or her full participation on an equal basis with others,” Ali said. Inspectors of Police, CID Assam, Special Educator from NIPCCD and Counsellor from Child line, officials from ASLSA, Social Welfare Department and Assam State Child Protection Society also participated in the programme. n

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018

Events

June 23, Saturday Time Lapse ft. V Society NYX, Hotel Palacio 8PM onwards June 23, Saturday Big Bollywood Nite ft. DJ Tishya Dunkin Oza 7PM onwards June 23, Saturday Social Saturday ft. DJ Evan The Socialite 7:30PM onwards June 23, Saturday Ladies Night ft. DJ Atomaz Club V 7PM onwards June 23, Saturday Strictly Hip Hop Terra Mayaa 7PM onwards June 23, Saturday Bollywood Saturday ft. Amit Nayak Club XS 7PM onwards June 23, Saturday Ladies Night ft. DJ James Retro Town 6PM onwards June 23, Saturday Bollywood Night ft. DJ Avi and DJ Pre Madiza Ultra Lounge 7PM onwards June 24, Sunday Enchantment at work ft. Magician Torque Terra Mayaa 7PM onwards June 24, Sunday Unplugged Night ft. Parwaz The Socialite 8PM onwards

Catching Up

G PLUS | JUN 23 - JUN 29, 2018