Vol 5 Issue 44 by G Plus

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018 @guwahatiplus www.guwahatiplus.com

Inside

Volume 05 | Issue 44 Aug 25 - Aug 31, 2018 Price `10

City school buses flout safety norms

More than 800 persons from Assam affected by Kerala Flood; 500 returned

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PG 05

Over 80% Guwahatians feel city police is corrupt, reveals survey PG 11

Half the city does not receive sufficient water supply Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

our out of every ten houses in the city do not have a water connection, while half of those who have water connection do not receive sufficient water supply from different government agencies. This was revealed in a survey conducted by G Plus – Let’s Talk Guwahati – in which, more than 10,000 people from over 100 locations in the city were asked about the various issues they face in the city. While 40 per cent of the respondents said that they do not have a water connection, 48.3 per cent of the respondents said that they receive insufficient water supply from the various government agencies responsible for supplying water – Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), Guwahati Metropolitan Drinking Water and Sewage Board

(GMDW & SB) and Public health Engineering Department. “People don’t trust on the government water supply anymore as they supply very scanty amount of water. At times, we don’t even receive regular water. That’s why, most of the people of the city opt for deep tube wells in their compounds,” said Kailash Phukan a resident of Rupnagar, who has got both government connection and a deep tubewell. For the close to 12 lakh population of the city, these agencies can only supply 72.4 million litres daily (MLD) from its eight water treatment plants of which, GMC supplies the bulk of 41.25 MLD while GMD & SB provides 7.50 MLD and PHED provides the rest 23.65 MLD. If the per capita water consumption specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards of 200 litres per person daily were considered, the current supply is only meeting 30 per cent of the total requirement. Meanwhile, the announce-

ment by the Jal Board of commissioning at least two more water supply projects by 2019 brings hope to the city residents. “The city has endured a lot to see the water projects become a reality. They had dug up roads and put pipelines and the commissioning dates had been changed numerous times. But, finally, we think that the projects will be completed. Hopefully, the water crisis will be solved by next year,” said Prajukta Patowary, a resident of Uzan Bazar. Currently, three water projects are under construction – 1) Japan International Cooperation Agency-assisted 191 MLD South Central Guwahati 2) Asian Development Bank-funded 98 MLD South East Guwahati water supply project and 3) The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) 107 MLD South West water supply project – that on completion will supply 396 MLD water to the city. n

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Cover Story Snippets

Renowned singer Jitul Sonowal gets into a brawl in drunken state

op Assamese singer JitulSonowal has for the first time landed in a controversy which his followers say is not his fault. In a recent video which are doing the rounds on social media, the singer was seen arguing and pushing some people outside the Paltan Bazar Police Station. The video was first published by a regional TV channel and majority of the comments on the social media are supporting the singer. It is for the first time that something controversial has emerged about JitulSonowal. Sonowal allegedly was in an inebriated state while the heated argument was recorded. The local youths in the video could be seen provoking the artist with their comments. The singer who was furious at the remarks made by the youths, could be seen yelling back “I don’t care.” Interestingly, the police stood there helplessly and did not take any action against anyone. n

Hour long rainfall chokes Guwahati

two-hour-long heavy rainfall on Friday morning caused an unprecedented artificial flood across several parts of the city. Commuters were stuck in hour-long traffic jams and reports of knee-high water-logging have been reported from several parts of the city. The affected areas included GS Road, Zoo Road, Chandmari, MLAs’ Hostel, Beltola, Six Mile, Panjabari, Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, Ambari, Hatigaon,Bhangagarh and several others. The water-logging, triggered by the rains has caused serious traffic snarls on all the major roads in the city. This once again throws light on the poor drainage system in the city, the work for which has been pending for several months now. Tackling flash floods was one of the key goals in the funds sanctioned in the smart city project. However, no progress seems to have been recorded on the same. n

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

33 per cent decrease in water supply due to rickety water plants Continued from page » 1

he city’s water supply has decreased by 33 per cent from the original commissioned 107.85 MLD to 72.4 MLD which is being supplied now, due to the rickety condition of the water treatment plants (WTP). At least five out of the eight water treatment plants are not supplying water regularly. The oldest among these, GMC’s Satpukhuri WTP that was commissioned in 1930 and later renovated again in 1982, had a capacity of filtering 22.5 MLD that has decreased to 15.75 MLD now. While the largest, GMC’s Pan Bazar WTP, had a capacity of 45 MLD during its commissioning in 1963, supplies only 22.50 MLD now. Also, the GMC Kamakhya WTP capacity decreased from 4.50 MLD to 3 MLD, GMDW & SB Satpukhuri WTP capacity decreased from 12.60 MLD to 7.50 MLD, PHED Pandu WTP decreased from 4.50 MLD to 4 MLD. A source in the GMC said that the decrease in capacity in the WTP is because of the dilapidated condition of the filtering system and intake points. “The standard filtration of water goes through four stages namely aerated filtration, coliform filtration, filter beds and chlorination. The capacity of filtering depends mostly in the third stage when the water is being passed through different

PHE office at Panbazar, Guwahati | G Plus Photo filter beds to separate the impurities from water. With time, the pores of the filter beds shrink due to continued sedimentation resulting in increase of filtering time and decrease of filtered output,” an engineer who wished not to be named, said. The pump capacity at the intake points also decreases which reduce the quantity of supply water. The sedimentation at filters

not only hampers the water supply, but also leads to supply of impure water when parts of the sediment get dissolved to the supplied water. Recently, there were allegations that turbid water was supplied in some areas of Islampur, Lalmati and Gandhi Basti. Local residents of the area took out a protest with bottles of contaminated water in hand and blamed the GMC for their plight.

While demanding to their daily essential, the locals blocked the Islampur-Gandhi Basti road demanding pure drinking water. The residents have been receiving the unhealthy water for a while and are up in arms against the GMC and the local MLA. The people of the area receive water from the GMC Pan Bazar WTP. n

Assam among last four in water resource management index: NITI Aayog

ssam’s recent ranking of 21st position among the total 24 states in a study conducted by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) AAayog has brought glares on the state government. While Gujarat topped the list followed by Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, Assam is among the last four, followed by Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya. The Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) is based on various water resource management parameters involving ground, surface and rain water. The samples were divided based on non-Himalayan states and Himalayan states. Assam, along with Tripura, Himachal

Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand were the Himalayan states. Assam received only 31 CWMI points. The NITI study report stated that the states which achieved below 50 points in the water management index can be termed as “alarming”. As per the NITI AAayog study, the performance of Assam has alarmingly declined by 3.06 points from the financial year 2015-16 to 2016-17. On the other hand, Tripura and Sikkim have improved their performance considerably in the last two years, mentioned the report. The water index in Assam is also very alarming in terms of urban water management as it is second last before Goa in the list. n

A woman collecting drinking water from natural resource in Maligaon area | G Plus Photo

City

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

City school buses flout safety norms Supreme Court guidelines mandate all schools to ensure the presence of an attendant, there should be horizontal grills fitted on the windows of the buses, presence of fire extinguishers, cabs should be fitted with speed governors and the driver should possess valid license.

A school bus in the city | G Plus Photo

Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

he city has been witnessing an increasing number of cases of school buses flouting safety norms. Residents have complained that school buses often indulge in over-speeding and over loading, hence putting the lives of children in danger. Some of the vehicles which indulge in violating safety rules include vans, mini buses and even trucks which are used to ferry children to and from

schools in Guwahati. Rashmi Mazumdar, a city resident and parent of a class 5 student at a private school told G Plus, “I am often worried about the safety of children who go to schools cramped and over loaded in a small van or sometimes even autorickshaws. The authorities concerned should be more strict about such vehicle owners.” The Supreme Court has also laid out certain safety norms for school buses. However, school buses and other vehicles in the city are often found violating those norms. Some of these guidelines mandate all schools to ensure the

Lack of parking space in schools

ith regards to safety of children, Kaur also mentioned that a major issue in Guwahati which needs to be solved, is the lack of parking space in a majority of schools. “I have personally written to all the school authorities and principals to make sure that they make arrangements for parking of school buses in their campus,” she said. Further, the issue of schools lacking adequate parking facilities was also raised at the regional transport authority meeting and a circular was sent to all schools to make sure there is enough parking space at their premises. Officials said that in the

absence of a parking place, the children have to come out on the road in order to board the bus, posing all kinds of risks. Additionally, parents who come to pick up or drop their children, have to park on the road, leading to traffic congestion. Regarding the mini vans which are in use by certain schools, the traffic police has written to the district administration that these vans should follow proper colour codes as prescribed in the guidelines. A source in the district administration informed that a lot of small private schools have been coming up in the city, with several of them operating from rented houses, making it difficult for officials to keep a check on them. n

presence of an attendant, there should be horizontal grills fitted on the windows of the buses, presence of fire extinguishers, cabs should be fitted with speed governors and the driver should possess valid license. In a recent example, Hitesh

Kalita, convener IT, BJP Assam posted a video on his Twitter account drawing attention of the education minister towards the menace of private vehicle operators breaking rules. The video showed a large number of children being taken to a private school in the city in a small pick-up truck, which was modified to include a roof. He wrote: “There are 26 students inside this DI truck. Do we have some safety norms and regulations for a school bus.”

On the other hand, traffic police officials said that they conduct regular checks for violating drivers and take necessary action. “If we find school buses not following proper rules or any unregistered vehicles being used for school transport, we also take action and school authorities also become responsible,” informed DCP traffic, Amanjeet Kaur. She added that the traffic department works along with the transport authorities as well as the district administration in this regard. Kaur further said that they fine the drivers for indulging in over-speeding, for not wearing seatbelts, operating an old, poorquality vehicle. “In some cases we have also found the private owners using different vehicles to ferry children,” informed traffic police officials. Further, the district transport officer (DTO) Syed Rafiqul Mannan informed G Plus that they have been conducting survey and have recently inspected around 160 school buses belonging to different schools across the city. “We have given them some time to regulate all their documents and maintain the safety norms of the Supreme Court and five buses have also been seized,” he said. n

City Snippets

Guwahati to connect 6 international destinations through air connectivity

nder the UDAN Draft Scheme Document of International Air Connectivity, the Ministry of Civil Aviation of Government of India is planning to connect six international connectivity from Guwahati. The objective of the UDAN (International) scheme is to enhance international air connectivity between Indian states and select international destinations through the provision of financial support to airlines. As per this scheme, Guwahati is likely to get directly connected to Dhaka, Kathmandu, Yangon, Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. From Guwahati, the draft proposes a per seat subsidy of Rs 2,370 to Dhaka; Rs 2,710 to Kathmandu; Rs 4,400 to Bangkok; Rs 4,770 to Yangon; Rs 7,350 to Kuala Lumpur and Rs 7,880 to Singapore. Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Civil Aviation has tweeted the development and said that it was on the website of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India for wider consultation of the stakeholders. The scheme will involve a state government led effort wherein state govts will propose the list of routes to be connected. Presently, the state of Assam and Andhra Pradesh have come forward to participate under the scheme and have identified the routes. n

Kasturi restaurant in Ulubari shut down for 7 days

cting on a complaint the food safety department officials on Monday did a check on the Kasturi restaurant famous for serving Bengali cuisine. The officials found the kitchen of the restaurant kept in a very dirty condition missing hygiene standards. The Ulubari-based restaurant was served a 7 days kitchen closure notice. The food safety officials checked all the food items inside the deep freezer and other food items kept in the kitchen. They were not satisfied with the food preservation in the restaurant and had doubts about the condiments being used for food preparation. The officials questioned the kitchen staff as to why vegetarian and non-vegetarian items were loaded in the same compartment of the deep freezer. n

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Rs 31.25 cr allotted for road repair using German technology Nehal Jain jain.nehal@g-plus.in

he Assam government had recently introduced a new method – milling and recycling – of road repair and construction in the city. A pilot project was kicked off in July this year, under the guidance of Public Works Department (PWD) minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. For the pilot project, four key areas were identified with four contractors taking responsibility of each of their respective areas. New machineries for milling of Wirtgen make from Germany, costing around Rs 2 crore, were also brought to the city and a total budget plan of approximately Rs 31.25 crore was prepared for the repair works. The roads selected for the pilot projects are: City Division 1 that includes FC Road, MC Road, HB Road including Cotton Hostel Road and Town Club Road and part of Kahilipara Road; City Division 2 that includes Kalakshetra Road and Hatigaon Bhetapara Road; City Division 3 that includes Mother Teresa Road and part of Kahilipara Road and the AT Road under State Road Division. The combined length of the roads have been calculated at 14.633KM with City Division 3 covering the largest area of 4.5KM

Pilot project to recycle materials of road construction kicked off in city German machineries worth approx Rs 2 crore brought for the project Budget plan for Rs 31.25 crore prepared for the pilot project Four key areas identified to start with the work Work on-going at city division 1, expected to be completed within a month New technology of milling and recycling aims at reducing cost If successful, project to be implemented across the state

(1KM of Mother Teresa Road and 3.5KM of Kahilipara Road) and State Road Division covering the least area of 2.3KM. “Rapidly rising height of roads in Guwahati – that go up after every coat of resurfacing – has long been an issue. As a solution we introduced a new technology of milling and recycling on July 7, 2018 on Hem Baruah Road,” PWD minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The pilot project was inaugurated on July 7 using advanced German technology to repair and build the roads. The inaugural ceremony was held at Hem Baruah Road in front of the sessions court. Sarma was accompanied by education minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya and minister of state for power and PWD Topon Kumar Gogoi. To ensure layers of roads do not add up to their thickness, this new technique trims the upper part, recycles it and uses it in

20-30 per cent of the stone chips and bitumen can be recovered through milling and recycling process

and bitumen are separated. The recovered material is then carried to the road construction site, prepared to be used after mixing with fresh materials. “Laying a new layer of asphalt on top of an old and damaged one is only a temporary solution. Cracks migrate through the new materials and destroy them in a short time. They also add up to

neer of Guwahati City Division 1 informed G Plus. He added that in the process of milling and recycling, a broken area is removed using cold milling equipment and then the extracted material is recycled forming a part of the new asphalt. This new material is then used to pave the worn out part, creating a new layer. This way, the built up area of the road is leveled with the height at which houses are constructed. The aim of the project is to keep the road levels intact, while reducing the cost of construction and achieving longevity. Other advantages of using milling technology include smoothening of the road improved riding quality. Superintendent engineer of PWD, city circle, Dilip Hazarika said, “This process is being used by our department for the first time. However, if the pilot project becomes successful, the same

Area

Name of the Road

Road length (in KM)

Amount (in lakh)

City division 1

FC Road, MC Road, part of Kahilipara Road, HB Road including Cotton Hostel Road and Town Club Road

3.893

Rs. 783.43

City division 2

Kalakshetra Road, Hatigaon Bhetapara Road

3.940

Rs. 780.89

City division 3

MT Road, part of Kahilipara Road

780.89

Rs. 780.89

State Road division

AT Road

2.300

Rs. 780.62

laying the new layer. According to PWD officials, 20-30 per cent of the stone chips and bitumen can be recovered through milling and recycling process. Milling involves scraping of the road to a depth of 20mm to 90mm. The material is then transported to the recycling plant where stone chips

the thickness of the road, resulting in raising the pavement height while the houses constructed on either sides of the road remain at the same height that they were. This causes multiple problems especially that of water flowing towards the houses,” Bhupendra Chandra Sarma, executive engi-

technology will be used in other parts of the state too.” “I believe using this technology will bring a new revolution to road building and repairs in the entire state of Assam,” said Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Guwahati Development Department (GDD) minister. n

In The News

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

More than 800 persons from Assam affected by Kerala Flood; 500 returned tions have started raising funds to provide assistance to Kerala. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had on August 19 announced financial aid of Rs 3 crore for Kerala flood relief. A statement quoting Sonowal on Monday said, “Looking at the large scale devastation caused by the flood, our contribution might

Workers from Assam returning from Kerala

Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

or Ankur Phukan, who hails from Dibrugarh, and was working at Kerala for the last three years, the flood took more than just his belongings. It took his first and only source of income too. “After the horrors I have seen of the flood, I am not sure if I can ever return back there and assume my job,” said Phukan, who used to work in a granite processing company at Perumkulam, about 15 km from Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. Phukan wasn’t at home when the flood came. “I was informed by my friends who called me and said that the flood has reached my region also. By the time I reached, my entire house was flooded. I did not have much, but all my items were either washed away or was already damaged by the flood,” shared a seemingly distraught Phukan said. His workplace was also damaged due to the flood. Another, Mohammad Yasim Ali from Guwahati, who had been working in Kerala for the past 8 months, got injured when a wall fell on his leg. “I was at my workplace when suddenly a massive wave of flood water carrying eroded soil and trees hit the wall boundary of my work place. One of the walls fell on my leg and I was badly injured. My workplace has shut down for the time being,” Ali said. Ali and Phukan from Assam were not the only victims of the flood that had taken at least 231 lives, left 10.20 lakh people homeless and caused about Rs 20,000 crore-worth property damage (according to preliminary government estimate) since August 8. According to the Northeast Frontier Railway, more than 500 passengers have arrived so far to Assam from Thiruvananthapuram by two special trains on August 23 and 24, while according to government

estimates, 300 more are still stranded. Among the distressed victims in the train, most had gone to Kerala for work opportunities. According to officials, till Howrah, there were around 4500 people on board in the two trains and of the rest, around 600 disembarked at Bongaigaon junction. About 100150 were headed to Silchar, the last station for the Assam special trains for the victims. Meanwhile, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) had been elementary in providing guidance and assistances to those who were stranded in the floods. According to an official, families of at least 68 people from Assam have so far sought the help of ASDMA for information about their relatives stranded in the Kerala floods. “We are in constant touch with control rooms in Kerala and are forwarding the names and details to them. As soon as we get the information, we will share it with their families,” a source said. ASDMA had opened three 24x7 helpline numbers - 03612237219/2237460 and 94010-44617 - on Sunday following reports that many from the state are stuck in the floods in Kerala, where over 300 people have died so far and thousands are stranded. According to officials in Kerala, nearly 20 per cent of the three lakh migrant workers in their state are from Assam while 40 per cent are from Bengal. Most of the migrant labourers work in stone mining quarries, hotels and resorts and in construction projects. They however said that they had no information about the death of any migrant worker. “From the calls we have received, we reached out to the Kerala control room and have asked that if the concerned people were found, they should be sent to the Assam Bhawan there. They were boarded from Assam Bhawan on the train from Thiruvananthapuram,” the official said. Meanwhile, several organisa-

look meagre. However, we sincerely realise the intense sufferings caused to the people and the mammoth task of rehabilitation that the state faces. We can very well internalise the pain perpetrated by the flood to the people of Kerala as the people of Assam face such kind of fury every year.” Lauding the efforts of all sec-

tions in assisting rescue and relief operations in Kerala, Sonowal said, “If a calamity of such a magnitude hits any part of the country, people should reflect the sense of oneness to help the victims, like they are doing in Kerala. It gives an opportunity to strengthen the edifice of cooperative federalism and parliamentary democracy.” n

City Snippets

Assam Police takes on WhatsApp based Viral ‘Momo Challenge’ game

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Less than 100 pet dogs in city registered Nehal Jain jain.nehal@g-plus.in

ulging eyes out of their sockets, a distorted smile stretches out over a gaunt, pale face and underneath the black hair is a grotesque mixture of human and animal parts – this horrifying character is being referred to as ‘Momo’ and is a part of a disturbing viral challenge where kids are dared to message the character on popular chat application, WhatsApp. The ‘Momo Challenge’ is a viral game that has gained major attention after a 12-year-old girl was found dead in her backyard near Buenos Aires, Argentina, after allegedly having an online conversation with ‘Momo’. Reportedly, Momo replies with violent images and threatens the player if they refuse to follow the orders that follow. However, keeping up with the aggressive ‘The Think Campaign’, the Assam Police has launched yet another creative taking on the ‘Momo Challenge’ to sensitize the youth about WhatsApp forwards and rumours. The Momo Challenge reportedly started on Facebook where members were “challenged” to communicate with an unknown number. It allegedly involves challenges that encourage children to engage in a series of violent acts that end with suicide. It is to be mentioned that two such games – the Blue Whale challenge and the Legend of the Slenderman, drew attention and reported similar tragic outcomes. While Momo Challenge cases have not been reported in Assam as of yet, this is a preventive measure taken up by the Assam Police where youth sensitization is one of the key objectives. n

Patient allegedly molested by hospital ward boy

n yet another incident of molestation in the city, a ward boy of the GNRC Hospital was arrested on Monday night for allegedly molesting a female patient in the hospital. The arrested ward boy has been identified as HemenDeka. According to the patient’s attendants, Deka molested the patient when she was alone in the cabin. Following the incident, the patient’s family lodged an FIR at the Dispur Police Station. n

he Guwahati Municipal Corporation’s (GMC) drive to prod residents of the city to get their pet dogs registered is yet to pick up pace. A highly-placed source at the veterinary branch of GMC informed G Plus that the number of registered pet dogs during the period 2017-18 was 89 and it has now increased to 75 by August 21 this year. The GMC had recently increased the registration fee from Rs 110 to Rs 210. A discussion on dog registration and animal birth control took place in presence of GMC Mayor Mrigen Sarania on January 6, 2018 following which the decision was taken. Posters were also put up in various parts of the city with the aim to raise awareness regarding pet registration and its amount. During the meeting held in January, the veterinary officer of GMC apprised that there was an absence of proper registration system of the pet dogs within the GMC area and proposed a sum of Rs 200 per dog to be levied as registration fees along with application fees of Rs 10 per dog from the pet owners. He further proposed that these rates will apply if an applicant directly approaches the GMC office for registration. However, if GMC franchises with pet clinics, NGOs or other clinics, they are allowed to levy an additional amount of Rs 50 per dog as service charge, totaling it up to Rs 260 per dog. Thereby, after discussion, meeting approved the proposal for dog registration and authorized the commissioner to take necessary steps in this regard. “With the introduction and proper implementation of the system, GMC will be able to identify the total number of pet dogs in the area,” claimed Dr Pradip Medhi, veterinary officer of GMC. It is to be noted that presently, not a single NGO is associated with GMC for pet registration. But, some of the 25 veterinary clinics functioning in the city are. This, along with the lack of manpower in GMC, has been cited as the foremost reason behind the substantially low number of pets registered. While pet dog registration is compulsory under the GMC Act and denying/failing to do so is punishable, it’s interesting that the organization has not issued a single challan against the violation so far. The law came into force several years ago. However,

in the absence of a regular drive, GMC has failed to get pet dogs registered. According to the official website of GMC, an amount of Rs 110 per dog is to be collected from the owner (Rs 100 as registration fees and Rs 10 as application fees). The difference in the amount published on the website and that being charged from the pet owners in reality has created discrepancy, chaos and confusion

animals is just not ethical. This move will certainly not go well and may generate a negative attitude of the mass towards the indigenous homeless animal adoption drives,” Azam Siddique, a certified master trainer in animal welfare associated with the AWDI told G Plus. Siddique had earlier written to the veterinary officer regarding the discrepancy in the amount and asking for an explanation for

that the website had been edited the previous day itself; however, nobody cared enough to change the rates for pet animal’s registration. Speaking to G Plus about the difference prevailing in the rates and its consequences, a pet lover from the city anonymously said, “I love dogs, so whenever I see a stray dog that’s hurt, I take him/her home, take care of them and nurture them. At present, I

Online rate among the owners. “The GMC and the district administration have failed miserably in addressing issues such as garbage disposal and animal welfare schemes resulting not just in an increase in the population of homeless/ scavenging animals but also on their

Ofline rate

health. It is the handful of NGOs and concerned citizens who have instead been tirelessly extending a helping hand to solve the situation by their actions such as adopting homeless animals or rescuing / treating them. Now for the GMC to come out with a blanket fee of 260 both for pedigreed pets and homeless

the same. He hasn’t yet received a reply to the e-mail dated August 8, 2018. When asked about the same, Dr Medhi seemed unaware of the information published on the website, adding that the website might not have been updated recently. G Plus further emphasized with screenshots

have 6 dogs at my house. So if someday an official asks me to pay Rs 260 per dog, I wouldn’t just pay the money without crosschecking. But, after seeing in GMC’s website that the amount for registration has been quoted at Rs 110, I’d definitely not pay the official. I might even think them to be fraud.” She further added that the present government keeps putting emphasis on Digital India but they themselves do not have the proper systems and mechanisms in place to facilitate the transition from India to Digital India. The attitude of the government is more careless when the issues prevail to animals, especially stray animals. n

Concern

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

GMC fails to take initiative on air action plan A

Snippets

UGC asks colleges to ban sale of junk food on campuses ll the colleges and higher education institutions affiliated to the University Grants Commission (UGC) have been asked to take measures to avoid junk food on their campuses and to sensitise students against consumption of the same.

Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

he Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has failed to take any action on the formation of air action plan to improve the air quality index in the city. The ministry of environment had released a draft of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in April this year. In the draft, Guwahati had featured among the ‘non-attainment cities’ along with Nagaon, Nalbari, Sibsagar and Silchar from Assam. A total of 94 cities had earlier been identified as non-attainment cities. The NCAP is a national programme to tackle the increasing air pollution across the country. It suggests several measures to reduce air pollution levels in a collaborative approach. Non-attainment cities are those cities in which the prescribed Ambient Air Quality Standards as set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) are violated. Accordingly, Guwahati was mandated to make the air action plan to better its air quality. For this, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) had collaborated with Clean Air Asia (CAA) – an international non-profit organisation in order to bring down the levels of air pollution in the city. The NGO works in the field of bettering the air quality in Asian cities and began its operations in India two years ago.

Air pollution being caused by a city bus | G Plus Photo CAA had also prepared a detailed action plan for the same and suggested a slew of measures to improve the air quality of Guwahati. However, CAA officials have informed that GMC has not shown any interest in the air action plan after the initial interactions. “We did not receive any response from them after that and we don’t want to independently work without involving the government authorities,” CAA’s India director Prarthana Borah told G Plus. She added that they had suggested installing some sensors in the city which would help in mon-

itoring data related to air pollution levels. However, a senior official in the GMC said that the collaboration plans with CAA did not move further after February since the concerned official who was overseeing the project, was transferred. The NGO had also offered to set up a low-cost system to monitor air pollution in Guwahati and make the data accessible to all, according to officials. This was done with a view to encourage public engagement with respect to air pollution data. This monitoring system would have enabled city residents

Environmental concerns

xperts working in this field are of the opinion that even though Guwahati’s pollution levels have not reached an alarming stage yet, it is imperative to take measures to maintain a good air quality index especially keeping in mind the fragile ecology of the place. According to a report by the Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC), air quality monitoring station at Bamunimaidam revealed the presence of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) well above the prescribe limit since 2008. The presence of sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen was, however, within the permissible limits at all the monitoring stations. The report goes on to say that

Guwahati has one of the highest black carbon pollution levels in the country which is due to rapid urbanization and poor environment quality control. In the draft NCAP list, Maharashtra has the maximum number of 17 non-attainment cities. Further, from the Northeast apart from five cities from Assam, there are two cities from Nagaland, and one from Meghalaya. Clean Air Asia officials informed that they are already working with different cities such as Dehradun and Bhubaneswar to develop their air action plan. Further, officials informed that the non-availability of data regarding air pollution is a major impediment for the authorities in Guwahati. Currently, there is only one continuous monitoring station for PM 2.5 which is why people do not have access to data

related to air quality index. Currently, only the head office of Pollution Control Board of Assam at Bamunimaidam has installed the meter to measure PM 2.5 particles. The other five National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMO) stations in the city measure PM 10 particles. PM 2.5 are fine particulate matters suspended in the air measuring two and a half microns or less. Presence of high levels of PM 2.5 in the air reduces visibility and causes the air to appear hazy and can pose serious health-related risks among people including respiratory issues. Officials informed that since there is only one meter to record PM 2.5 particles in the city, mobile apps on air quality index don’t have data related to Guwahati as there is no continuous data being uploaded. n

to get information on the quality of air on a day to day basis and would have provided data about poor air quality index. Earlier, the GMC officials had also emphasised on the need to make people more aware with regards to the air quality index in the city. n

A letter regarding the same has been issued from the HRD ministry, asking the UGC to ban the sale of junk food on premises of higher education institutions. “Banning junk food in colleges will set new standards for healthy food, making the students live better, learn better and reduce obesity levels. This will prevent lifestyle diseases which have a direct link with excessive weight,” the UGC said in a communication to the universities. It is to be mentioned that a similar move was made earlier by the Central Board of Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) which had directed all affiliated schools to take junk food off their canteen menu. n

City Snippets

Assam Bikers extend help for Kerala flood victims

hile rest of Assam cribs about not getting enough attention during floods, a group of bikers from Assam are setting a great example by going out of their way to help the victims of Kerala flood. The initiative has been taken up by Guwahati based organisation, Assam Bikers, who have raised a total donation of Rs 28502 in two days – August 19 and 20. On the first day of the drive to collect relief fund, the bikers travelled to various places of Guwahati including Big Bazaar, Central Mall, Food Villa, Guwahati Central, ShraddhanjaliKanan and Nehru Park. A total of 597 people contributed for the cause on day one – while the highest amount donated by an individual was Rs 2000, the lowest was just Re 1. On the second day, the bikers visited Commerce Point, Zoo Road. Apart from the relief fund collected during the drive, fund was also directly deposited to the Assam Bikers bank account by few people. “The entire money that we’ve raised during the drive has been sent to a resident of Kerala, who is working towards the cause of flood relief there. He has been asked to get back to us in a day or two to inform us how the money has been utilisation,” MayurMahanta, the founder of Assam Bikers informed G Plus. Assam Bikers, in order to keep the process transparent, is also posting all updates on their Instagram page. For further contributions, people can get in touch with the team of Assam Bikers via their Instagram page or call 8403913099 for queries. n

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Govt may not organise Namami Brahmaputra anymore

Namami Brahmaputra may not be organised anymore as some ministers in the government are not happy with the festival. Source

File photo of Namami Brahmaputra

G Plus News

he Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Assam government had organised the Namami Brahmaputra festival in March 2017. As soon as the government came into power in 2016, transport department led by minister Chandra Mohan Patowary decided to organise the first-ever river festival in Guwahati claiming that the festival would pour investments to the state. He also claimed that the festival will be organised every year. But it seems the festival might not

be organised any further. A highly-placed source in Dispur talking to G Plus said, “Namami Brahmaputra may not be organised anymore as some ministers in the government are not happy with the festival.” The source revealed that some politicians in the ministry are totally against the festival as according to them the festival did not help Assam in any way but rather drew various controversies. People have questioned the budget spent in the festival and the critics keep questioning about the status of the promises made during the festival, the

source said. Union minister Nitin Gadkari had announced Rs 40000 crore for a 1300-km-long express highway in northeast along the banks of river Brahmaputra. The minister had asked the state government to start the land acquisition work. It was also announced that the sand and the soil would come by dredging Brahmaputra from Sadia to Dhubri. The source revealed that nothing has started till now regarding such promises. He also said that some prominent ministers in the state government have realised that some of the promises will be difficult to

meet and hence organising such festivals will only bring criticism. A source in Dispur revealed that the state government has not yet initiated any feasibility study or preparation for any detailed project report. The source also said that even the centre did not start any such study or initiative. Commissioner and Secretary, transport department, Ashutosh Agnihotri said that no discussion regarding organising of Namami Brahmaputra has yet been discussed. In 2017, during the launch of the theme song, transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowari had said that the Namami Brahmaputra festival was planned in such a way that people across the world would understand that Assam has such a powerful river which can be used for the benefit of the region. He had said that the state government was in talks with the central government to dredge the river from Sadiya to Dhubri and further it will be connected to the Chitagong port in Bangladesh. After which the waterways will be cleared and bilateral trade through waterways will be started as the cost of transportation through water will come down heavily. He had said that once the trade routes are opened Assam will become one of the major trading hubs in Asia and people will be interested to come to Assam to do business. In early 2018, the state government had also organised the Advantage Assam which again was about bringing investments to Assam. The state government is yet to reveal how much investment came to Assam from both Namami Brahmaputra and Advantage Assam. n

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Cloudy

Rain

33°/27° C

34°/26° C

32°/26° C

32°/24° C

SATURDAY Cloudy

31°/26° C

Survey Special

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

70% Guwahatians unhappy with choice of courses for higher education

Snippets Work for Guwahati – North Guwahati Bridge to commence from November

Is anyone in your family studying outside Guwahati for higher education? Yes 19.8% No 46.4% After Class 10 18.1% After Class 12 10.8% After Graduation 4.9%

Which school would you prefer to send your children to? College students in the city | G Plus Photo

Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

t least 70% Guwahatians feel that students do not have access to a broad range of courses at the college level in the city, hence depriving them of future opportunities. This was revealed in a survey conducted by G Plus called ‘Let’s Talk Guwahati’. Around 10000 people participated in this month-long survey from different localities of the city. According to the survey, merely 29.1% or around 3500 people feel that students have enough options of courses from different fields to choose from after passing

school if they choose to pursue their higher education in the city. On the contrary, in response to the question— “Are there enough educational courses in Guwahati at the college level?” 70.7% respondents or around 8500 participants answered in the negative. On the other hand, some participants of the survey also felt that the college authorities should introduce practical courses in both public as well as private institutions so that the students can gain some hands-on experience in their respective fields and are better equipped for the future. “While my university does offer a variety of courses on different subjects, it still does not justify the high fee charged by the university,” a city resident and a

Majority of students prefer studying outside Ghy after school

s per the results of the ‘Let’s Talk Guwahati’ survey, a little more than half of the students have left the city to pursue higher education. This indicates a dissatisfaction with the quality of higher education and the limited variety of courses offered in the city. A total of 53.6% respondents said that someone from their family is currently pursuing higher education from outside Guwahati. Further, out of the students studying outside Guwahati, a majority of them (18.1%) left the city after passing class 10. This was followed by students leaving after completing class 12 (10.8%). Additionally, 4.9% graduates have moved outside Guwahati in search of better educational opportunities. On the contrary, 46.4%

respondents said that no one from their family is currently studying outside Guwahati. Further, authorities at a few government colleges told G Plus that they were planning infrastructural development during this year. Principal of Arya Vidyapeeth College, P K Bhattacharya informed, “We are being sanctioned Rs 2.5 crore for the construction of new girls’ hostel and there is another Rs 1 crore infrastructural development plan which has been planned from our own budget.” Additionally, Dr Dharmendra Nath, principal of S B Deorah College said that they were in the midst of an expansion process. “We are planning to start a B.Sc course. Some professional and skill-oriented courses will also be started shortly. Post Graduate courses for a few departments have also been planned.” n

Private student of a private university in Guwahati told G Plus on the condition of anonymity. Further, respondents also raised a concern over the non-availability of technical courses at the post graduate level in the city due to which many students are forced to leave the state to pursue such courses. Anshul Tiwari, a 20-year-old student and resident of Chandmari said that government colleges in Guwahati lack proper infrastructural facility. “Several government-run colleges in the city lack good infrastructure. However, the quality of education offered in government colleges is good and therefore a large number of students take admissions in these colleges instead

72.5%

Government 27.5%

Are there enough educational courses in Guwahati at college level? Yes 70.9% No 29.1%

of opting for private colleges. But the government should address the issue of staff shortage,” said Tiwari. He added that in order to compete with other states, colleges in Assam and Guwahati must introduce a host of new subjects and courses to suit every student’s need. n

72% people choose private schools over govt schools

hen asked which school they would prefer sending their children to, between government and private schools, a whopping 72% Guwahatians voted against government schools saying they would prefer private school education for their wards. In order to improve the the overall quality of education in primary schools, the state government had undertaken a major initiative called ‘Gunotsav’. Students between classes 2 to 8 of all primary schools of the district were assessed under the initiative. However, around 75 per cent primary schools in the Kamrup (Metro) district scored

low grades in the first phase of Gunotsav. According to data provided by the Assam Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Mission (ASSAM), a total of 708 elementary schools in the district were evaluated under the scheme, out of which 534 schools scored C and D grades. In Kamrup (Metro), only 18 schools were graded as A+, while 14 scored the A grade and 142 schools were given B grade. As many as 54,837 students were evaluated in the district on their academic as well as extra-curricular performance. District education officials said that this form of evaluation proved beneficial for them as they were now aware of the shortcomings and are already working towards improving them. n

he work for the new bridge over river Brahmaputra from Fancy Bazar has been slated to start from November this year. The proposed bridge will originate from Fancy Bazar and Bharalumukh side and then go 1.6 km over the river to the other side and then split into two sides again and go over North Guwahati side by another 5 km dodging the crowded area of College Nagar and Gauripur. Aimed to reduce the pressure on the Saraighat Bridge, this will be the third bridge over the Brahmaputra with the fourth one being constructed towards Chandrapur side, the date for which remains unannounced. The total length of the bridge is around 8.5 km of which 1.6 km will be over the river, a stretch of 1.8 km over Guwahati and 5.1 km over North Guwahati. The total cost of the project exceeds over Rs. 2000 Crores. n

Flash Floods and landslide claims life of three

ith heavy rainfall wrecking havoc in Guwahati in the last 24 hours, the torrential downpour on Thursday night claimed three lives in Jorabat. The area experienced heavy rainfall followed by massive landslides. The deceased have been identified as Indira Devi (70 y/o), Rakhi Subedi (26 y/o) and Ayush Subedi (2 and half y/o). The victims were all living in identified government land and had been previously served a notice by the officials to vacate the area. The government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 4,00,000/- to family members of the deceased. It is to be mentioned that several vehicles, houses in the greater Jorabat area were also damaged in the landslides. The heavy downpour on Friday afternoon also led to flash floods in Guwahati. n

Ward Watch

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Sporting destination of city Nalapara, in dire straits Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

he otherwise neglected Nalapara area of the city, plagued by lack of development and alleged immigrant intrusion comes to focus during sporting events at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium and then, forgotten soon after. Sandwiched between A.K. Azad Road or as popularly called, Lokhra road and Hatigaon, with the National Highway 37 to its south, this area in the Guwahati Municipal Corporation Ward 27, had its time under the sun during the National Games in 2007, South-Asian Games in 2015, 58th National Interstate Athletic Championship this year and the annual Indian Super league. The reason being, Nalapara, is located at the backside of Sarusajai Stadium and serves as one of the entry points to the venue during sport events. Also, the Maulana Md. Tayabullah Hockey Stadium is located in this area. This extreme south end of the city – about 1.8 km from the National Highway in south and 3.2 km from Hatigaon to its east – mostly inhabited by Rabha people

– one of the oldest indigenous people of Guwahati since the time the city was called Kamrupa – suddenly saw new wide roads built from Hatigaon to Lokhra road and installation of street lights and other basic facilities that this area (27 C) were lacking. “We thought that our miseries were over. Be it for the sake of promoting sports and to look presentable to the Central government, finally, this area saw development. But, it remained confined within the HatigaonLokhra road only while the rest of the area remained in darkness with muddy roads exposed with stones here and there,” Kushal Rabha, a resident there said. After 2007, the Sarusajai did not see many sporting events until 2013, when it was selected as one of the venues for the Indian Super League which made this the home ground for Northeast United Football Club. Since then, every year, during the league, the stadium lights up and with it, Nalapara too. It however attracted the bulk of the crowd when in 2015 the South Asian Games were played there. Along with the Sarusajai Stadium, the Hockey Stadium, that has a world-class synthetic turf, lit up and attracted a huge crowd when the India- Pakistan

Immigrants take away better opportunities

ven though the National Register of Citizen (NRC) update is underway to detect and deport immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh who came after 1971, the residents of Nalapara said that they have seen a surge of new Muslim families coming and settling there who they suspect to be “immigrants” “Even a decade back, this area was deserted, with one or two houses here and there and few new housing complexes thronging up. Most of the people here are middle-class Assamese people who settled here for cheaper land and the Rabhas who lived here for generations. But now, this area is crowded with Muslim people

who work as daily wage laborers, rickshaw pullers and construction workers for the housing complexes,” Debojit Borah, a shop owner in the area said. Borah’s view was echoed by another Titu Rabha who said, “In the late 2000s, a few of the families came. They lived by the roads setting up makeshift tents. The by-lanes used to have swamps there. They filled those swamps and set up slums there. These then became bamboo houses and then they put tin roofs and now, there are concrete houses here. We suspect that they are not Assamese.” “These people have taken all our opportunities,” Rabha added. n

Pathetic condition of a by-lane at Nalapara | G Plus Photo hockey match was held here. India lost the match, but the residents say, it was during this match that they felt for the first time how it is to be a “part of the city”. “We don’t see many activities

here except for few late night strollers looking for alcohol in the Dhabas around here. During the match, a lot of people came here. We earned a little bit by providing our land as parking spots and

by putting up small stalls. For the first time, the city came here. Otherwise, all our youths have to go to the city for work,” another resident, Krishnakanta Rabha said. n

Councillor asks for patience and time

hen contacted Jana Rabha, former Councilor of the ward, he said that he is aware of the issues, but the development will take some time. “I am aware of the people’s grievances, but we are at the extreme end of the city. There are so many issues in the wards which are more densely populated and are inside the city. It is a matter

of pride and great responsibility to have two world-class stadiums in the ward. I am aware of the problems caused to the people due to these events, but we should all chip in to make these events successful as it is a matter of national pride. GMC is doing as much as it can, but during events like these, we as citizens should also chip in,” Rabha said. Regarding the electricity problem, he said, “I have asked

the Assam Power Distribution Corporation Limited about the same. The street lights need some repair works. These will be done very soon.” When asked if he is aware of the encroachment in his ward, he said, “I can only inform the District Administration and that, I have done. But evicting them is the District Administration’s authority. Also, until the NRC is updated, our hands are tied.” n

Lack of street lights a major issue

he area might light up during the sporting activities as Guwahati hopes to make a statement as the “Sporting Capital of Northeast”, but otherwise, the residents complained that it remains dark. “The government has only built the Hatigaon - Lokhra road and put streetlights along it. The rest of the by-lanes are still shrouded in darkness. Only the area leading to the Stadiums

have been developed while, our other issues are neglected,” Kushal said. The residents complain that despite having functional street lights in the by-lanes, their lines remain cut throughout the year. They said this lead to breeding of crime in the area. “A lot of petty crimes take place here are in these by-lanes where the criminals take the advantage of darkness. The women in this area don’t feel safe after

dark either. These dark lanes also serve as an unsupervised spot for people for substance abuse,” a resident said. They said that the open fields of the Sports Authority of Assam have become a centre of criminal activities at night. “We hope that the government intervenes soon and installs lights in these areas and provides electricity in the by-lanes too,” Ranajit Talukdar, another resident said. n

Survey Special

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Over 80% Guwahatians feel city police is corrupt, reveals survey

Snippets Assam Govt spends Rs 2.40 cr to buy books on Deendayal Upadhyay

Nehal Jain jain.nehal@g-plus.in

espite Narendra Modi and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s anticorruption drive, at least 80% of city residents feel that the city police is corrupt. This was revealed during a month-long survey conducted by G Plus titled ‘Let’s Talk Guwahati’ in which over 10000 respondents took part using both online and offline mediums. When asked, “Do you think city police is corrupt?” 81.2% of the total sample said that the city police is corrupt, according to them. Among these 81.2%, a total of 15.6 percent of the respondents said that city police is completely corrupted. Further, 22.4 percent of the respondents said that most of the police is corrupt and the remaining 43.2% said that some of the city police officials are corrupt, not all of them. Merely 18.8% of Guwahatians feel that the city police is not corrupt, revealed the survey. Many of the respondents alleged that corruption is most prevalent in the sectors of traffic and passport. “I believe that to a certain extent corruption has come down but most of the city traffic cops are themselves unaware of the sections and rules under which fines should be charged so they end up demanding eye rolling fines,” Aditya Saraf, a resident of GS Road expressed. “Recently, when I got my bike from Delhi to Guwahati, I had to face a similar incident. Although the High Court has directed that any private vehicle can ply on the road without an NOC for 11 months, the city police demanded a fine of Rs 3000 which I refused to pay. Later, I had to collect my bike from the police station after producing all valid documents and also had to inform them of the High Court’s order, with proof. I’d say that this is nothing but an excuse to loot the citizens in any possible way,” he further informed G Plus. Residents are facing a tough time with the passport verification process in the city. They have alleged that bribes are being taken for police verification

File photo of Assam Police officials Further, regarding the alleged across different police stations in bribes being asked for by the the city. police officials, he said that he has A city resident, Yash Jain, instructed the personnel in his informed G Plus that after a police station not to take any bribe smooth verification process at from anyone. the regional passport office, the Recently, in the Corruption police verification process took a Perception Index (CPI) 2017 lot of time for him. He said that released by Transparency at the police verification stage, International, when he went India was to verify their ranked 81st documents most corrupt at the country in the Bharalumukh world. The police station, index, which the police ranks 180 officials countries and demanded a Do you think city territories by bribe. police is corrupt? their perceived “When I Yes 15.6% levels of went for police No 18.8% public sector verification, corruption they were Not all 43.2% according to asking for Rs Most of them 22.4% experts and 500 to Rs 1000 businesspeople, to verify the uses a scale of documents but 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt I did not pay them. I suspect that and 100 is very clean. The CPI because I refused to bribe the awarded India with a score of 40 police they delayed my passport,” for the 2017 index. said Jain. While India fell two places When approached, officer-inin the rankings compared to charge of Bharalumukh police last year, its score remained the station, Manikant Chamuah, same. Rather than demonstrating said that they will now conduct that the country’s corruption the passport verification online worsened over the past year, which would be a huge relief to this likely indicates that other the residents.

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countries improved their performance relative to India. These numbers reveal the harsh reality of the country as a whole. It not only questions the ethics and integrity of the police and other officials, but that of the citizens too. Further, close to 43 percent of city residents feel that the government authorities are not taking enough steps to ensure safety of women in the city. When asked, “What steps can be taken to make Guwahati safer for women?” 41.6% of the respondents feel that business establishments in the city should be mandated to provide drop facilities for women after 8 pm. The next most popular opinion of Guwahatians according to the poll was the requirement of more women police officials deployed across Guwahati and strict enforcement against moral policing of women - both the responses stood at 28.5%. Further, 19.9% participants feel that making self defence classes mandatory at school level would help girls feel self empowered to take on eve teasers and harassers in the city. While 17.3% residents said that special online vigilance should be mandated for tackling cyber crimes against women. n

ssam Government has spent Rs 2.40 crore to buy 4000 sets of complete works of RSS thinker and co-Founder of Jan SanghPanditDeendayalUpadhyay for the public libraries across the state. Each of the set, of DeenDayalUpadhay, consists of 15 volumes, which is in Hindi and published by a Delhi Publication House. The move has created controversy among the people of Assam. Several people have raised disappointment on the move. According to them, placing books related to DeendayalUpadhyay in public libraries is a futile attempt. “Assam Govt should have focussed more on the personalities from Assam. There are so many people who have made an extensive contribution to the state.” On the other hand, there are also people who think this move will not make any impact on the society. Kasturi Hazarika, a resident of Guwahati, speaking to G Plus said, “Personally I am not bothered about this. I’d have considered it wrong if the government would have included these as textbooks. But now that these books will only be placed in public libraries, it is completely up to the readers if they would want to read the books or not.” It is to be mentioned that JadavPayeng, the Forest Man of Assam, was recently mentioned an environment textbook of Maharashtra School Board whereas his contributions yet did not find any mention in any textbook of Assam. n

Maharashtra text book mentions ‘wrong information’ about Jadav Payeng

adavPayeng, the Forest Man of Assam has made it to the textbooks of Maharashtra School Board. The Class X Environmental Science textbook mentions Payeng in context of the environment. The mentioned content comprises of his life experiences and contribution under the heading ‘The big story of a small man.’ However, an error on the part of the publisher was that the environmentalist has been mentioned as a person belonging to a nomadic tribe, whereas he belongs to the Mishing tribe of Assam. n

Survey Special

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Water logging: Let the de-silting continue, opine Guwahatians Avishek Sengupta avishek.sengupta@g-plus.in

fter every smart pour, the city drains swell to engulf the roads and lowlying areas of the city, a predicament that the concerned departments could not solve over the past decade. While the hills inside the city and the encroachments there are the primary reasons behind the accumulation of rain water in the low-lying areas such as Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar etc, city residents also blame the government departments – Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), and Public Works Department (PWD) – involved in mitigating the flash flood problem. This was revealed in a survey

conducted by G Plus – Let’s Talk Guwahati – in which more than 10,000 citizens in more than 100 locations of the city were asked to provide suggestions on how to solve the water logging problem of the city. A majority 69.2 per cent of the total respondents suggested that the authorities should conduct more drives to de-silt the city drains, 56.4 per cent said that the city needs an underground sewerage system and 53.1 per cent respondents said that the district authority should evict those who have encroached the water bodies in and around the city. On the other hand, about 21 per cent of the total respondents opted for all the three suggested solutions and opined that the authorities should put an all out effort to mitigate this problem. “Guwahati can never be a Smart City unless it takes care of the flash flood troubles. It is

In 2013, a person had died of electrocution in the flash floods while in 2014, eight persons died of landslides and electrocution and one went missing. This continued till last year when three persons died of electrocution at inundated places.

true that city has a geographical disadvantage that makes it prone to flash floods, but with a comprehensive plan, that can be easily solved. Monsoons have become a nightmare for the residents of Guwahati. Flash floods here are not only cumbersome, but very dangerous, too,” said Nilakshi Sarma, a resident of Ulubari who opined that all the three steps should be taken. Sarma’s concerns hold true as over the past few years, apart from causing inconveniences, flash floods and water logging have also resulted in injuries and casualties. In 2013, a person had died of electrocution in the flash floods while in 2014, eight persons died of landslides and electrocution and one went missing. This continued till last year when three persons died of electrocution at inundated places.

Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi had formed a committee to address the problem and in 2015, though water logging occurred, the magnitude of the floods, according to the city residents, was not as severe until last year. This year, with the construction of a new drain and thanks to a low monsoon, there was no major water logging, but the city faced few short-lasting flash floods. While there were de-siltation drives in the major arteries of the city by the GMC and PWD, clogged drains remain a major reason behind the city’s water logging problem. In an earlier survey by G plus – in which 50 persons each from the 31 wards of the city were asked on 15 living parameters – it was revealed that in 26 wards, flash floods is a perennial problem. The survey also revealed that maintenance of the drains was irregular in all the 26 wards. n

How do you think can the problem of water logging be solved? Introducing underground sewerage system

56.4%

By continuing de-siltation of city drains

69.2%

By evicting all encroachments in the water bodies

53.1%

The stalled project and the installed drain lines

hile flash floods have been wreaking havoc, the city’s fate had long been hanging on two major drain projects by the GMDA – the Noonmati Drainage system that was commissioned this year and the Rs 115 crore worth drainage project through the Basistha River that has been in loggerheads since its inception. Currently, most of the city's flood water is channelled naturally through the Bharalu and the Bahini rivers. With a rise in the city’s load on those rivers due to the lack of a sewerage system, the rivers during monsoons get overloaded and to

mitigate which, GMDA uses water pumps. Although the system gives a momentary relief, heavy showers often bring misery to the residents. The Noonmati drainage system has taken off the load of water from the Soonsali and Chandmari hills and diverted it to the Brahmaputra through Bonda; thus, easing the flash flood spats in Nabin Nagar, Anil Nagar, R.G Baruah road etc. However, the delay in commissioning of the Basistha system has left the Khanapara, Six mile areas vulnerable to flash floods due to water coming down from the Meghalaya hills. This year itself, these areas

received two rounds of flash floods with the most recent being on August 24, when buses and cars needed to be evacuated. The detailed report of the project that is awaiting sanction from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the construction agency that is building it under the GMDA, was sanctioned by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal last year. “The plan was to make an alternative channel through which the water, coming down from the hills in Meghalaya, will be channelled into Basistha. GMDA had conducted a survey and assessed the amount of rain water that comes down from

Meghalaya hills during peak rain. A channel is being constructed within the Assam border to collect the rain water and channel it to the Basistha river," Dhiren Baruah, Chairman of GMDA said. "The first phase (project cost Rs 115 crore) has already been commissioned,” Baruah added. Sources in NHAI said that the delay in commissioning is due to encroachments near and around the Deepor Beel . “We have informed the district administration to clear the encroachment on the Deepor Beel. While most are small huts, there are few RCC buildings which also need to be evicted,” the source said. n

The detailed report of the project that is awaiting sanction from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the construction agency that is building it under the GMDA, was sanctioned by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal last year.

Survey Special

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Underground sewerage system, still a far cry

uwahati, unlike other cities, is still dependent on natural storm water drainage channels for its sewage disposal which gets clogged during monsoons and causes flash floods. The on-going Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA)-funded projects that is responsible for supplying water to North Guwahati and South-Central Guwahati is also responsible for constructing underground sewerage system along the water pipelines. However, the project has hit a logjam over acquisition of land for setting up of the sewage treatment plant. Talking about the functioning of the sewerage system when it will be completed, S. Venkatesan, managing director of Guwahati Metropolitan Water and Sewage Board under the Guwahati Jal Board that is looking over the completion of the project, said, “Along the water pipelines,

the underground sewerage lines have also been set up. These will carry the sewage from the houses to the treatment plant. There, the recyclable waste, the compost producing wastes and non-recyclable wastes will be segregated. Once, segregation is done, the water will be much purer and can be released in the Brahmaputra. The recyclable wastes on the other hand, will be handed over to the recycling plants, while with the composts, manures will be produced and the non-recyclable wastes will be dumped at the Bora Gaon dumping ground.” “Once this system is set up, it will considerably bring down the quantity of waste being dumped in the channels,” Venkatesan said. However, Venkatesan said, “There are not lands available to set up the sewage treatment plant as it requires at least 21 bighas of land at the outskirts of the city. We have allocated a large piece of land near the Deepor Beel, but

that has already been encroached upon. So, we are trying to set up small units near that area. We have sent the proposal and are waiting for a green signal from the state government,” he added. The Guwahati Jal Board had also prepared a detailed project report of sewage treatment plants in the city back in 2008, but it did not see its completion yet. According to the DPR, Guwahati was divided into three main sewage catchments: one on the north side of the Brahmaputra River and two on the south, the latter comprising roughly the water supply west zone and the central and east water supply zones. The Asian Development Bank-financed facility will augment the water supply and sewerage services in the southeastern zone extending to over 15 municipal wards. At present the two minor sewage treatment plants within the city belong to the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) at Noonmati and the Northeast

Frontier Railway at Maligaon. Guwahati does not have a sewage treatment plant or a proper sewerage system. Untreated sewage, currently finds its way into the Brahmaputra river and the water body Deepor Beel through the natural storm water channels such as Bharalu, Bahini, Basistha etc. “The sewerage and sanitation improvement subproject will address the incremental wastewater generated by channelling those through trunk sewers, treatment plant, sewer networks, pumping stations, and maintenance equipment,” a source in the Guwahati Jal Board said. The source informed that the project is under process and currently pipe laying works are on. “After laying the pipes, we will mull on setting up of the sewage treatment plant. It is a massive project and it’s linked with the important water projects that got delayed due to several reasons,” the source added. n

At present the two minor sewage treatment plants within the city belong to the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) at Noonmati and the Northeast Frontier Railway at Maligaon. Guwahati does not have a sewage treatment plant or a proper sewerage system. Untreated sewage, currently finds its way into the Brahmaputra river and the water body Deepor Beel through the natural storm water channels such as Bharalu, Bahini, Basistha etc.

G Talk

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Cr‘ease’s of Living

t seems in India, Pune is the best city to live in, while dear ol’ Guwahati is among the worst at a lowly 85th rank, according to the Ease of Living Index rankings published recently by the central government. While this is saddening from the perspective of a rabid Guwahati lover, I have good reasons to be sceptical and wonder how much these rankings truly reflect the reality of India’s urban life. While the index is arbitrary in its construction, the data used is rather questionable and often incomparable between two cities. The 79 indicators that the Ease of Living Index rankings are based on are essentially grouped under the heads: institutional, social, economic and physical which are called pillars. Housing, water supply and other such physical services are allotted the huge and lopsided weightage of 45% while economy and employment are together assigned a mere 5%. This lopsidedness in assigning weights obviously raises questions on the relevance of the rankings. As for the data used, its quality can always be questioned. For example, when it comes to a living parameter like access to public toilets, it would require proper field

surveys if such data is not available with the urban municipal corporations of the respective cities. And so, relying on data collected from sources that could be different for different cities automatically raises questions of reliability and comparability. While I am not saying Guwahati should have been placed higher on the rankings chart given that the city is quite liveable by way of its size and existing infrastructure, placing Pune as the No. 1 city of India above all other metros, etc is laughable. Having “lived” in Pune off and on, I can vouch for the fact that had the weightage on the various parameters been realigned to bring in traffic indiscipline, police inefficiency or even access to public toilets, Pune would have been way off the radar. The liveability index of a city is different from Ease of Living index. The latter pertains to or lays emphasis on only the physical attributes of a city – sourcing and collation of data between two such cities may not be comparable. The liveability index is all about ironing out the creases of physical living – an emotional index-- and Guwahati scores quite high here. Swapnil Bharali Editor

One act of random kindness

ssam is going to become infamous as the girlfriend who cries every time you miss her phone call. She thinks that you’ve forgotten her and you’re busy with someone else. Well, it’s time Assam grew up and stopped whining… In the context of the floods that have wrecked havoc in Kerala, people in Assam have been cribbing about the attention that media, business tycoons, Bollywood and political parties have showered on Kerala. Adding to Assam’s woes, Kerala has been supported with reported international funding, fund raising drives and television airtime, all of which does not seem to settle well with people here. (Note: For those wondering, Kerala’s flood relief amount is still less than what Assam has been sanctioned previously). Now you could argue that this could be politically motivated considering the 2019 elections, but does it really matter? Just weeks ago, around 33 people were reported dead in the first wave of Assam floods, but no one asked the government about the annual flood spend. No one asked about the status of embankments and the contingency plans for the second wave. Instead, they choose to ask ‘Why is Kerala getting all the attention?’ Adding to this, there is another self-styled religious leader who said that Kerala has brought this upon themselves because ‘they eat beef.’ Well, now is the time to choose, whether you want to be a part of people saying stupid things or be better than him and extend a helping hand?

Sidharth Bedi Varma

Emotional Intelligence

hat does the idea – the concept – of “Emotional Intelligence” mean to someone like the author – a 23-yearold fresh college pass out, ready to take on the increasing sophistication and adrenaline of the 21st Century lifestyle? There happen to be numerous instances on a daily basis which have successfully reinforced my belief in an already obvious conclusion – that in a modern day society, emotional intelligence should (and does) demand greater importance and significance than rational intelligence (typically called the IQ level). Look around and you will find impatient, occasionally grumpy, and increasingly volatile elements at a variety of locations you happen to be present at during the course of a typical day – be it your workplace, or when you are in the middle of the road (regardless of being the driver or the driven), at restaurants and shopping malls and even in movie theatres! The interesting part, however, is that in many cases these volatile elements are highly-educated, intelligent and respected members of society. The ever-increasing strain and demands of modern lifestyle leading to “neural hijackings” (physiological term indicating exaggerated responses to relatively trivial issues, which the person later regrets upon introspection) has made things worse, and this problem seems to plague a large section of the society, particularly the youth. To understand what Emotional Intelligence is all about, consider the following lines from “The Nicomachean Ethics”— a treatise on ethics by the great 4th Century philosopher, Aristotle: “Anyone can become angry – that is easy. But to be angry with the right person to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.”

rSidhu’s diplomacy

A concise, to-the-point statement which brilliantly encapsulates the dilemma modern society finds itself in. The statement can be successfully extended to a range of other emotions whose unrestrained and unchecked flow could prove to be detrimental in social interactions. In other words, Emotional Intelligence refers to the ability of an individual to respond accurately to social situations and complexities. An emotionally intelligent individual has a positive temperament, the ability to properly assess the situation he or she find themselves in, and respond accordingly. They make more relevant and informed decisions and stays balanced throughout – thus making them good leaders and better team players. In today’s day and age of increasing self-obsession and the unfortunate weakening of the social fabric, the emotional intellect plays a crucial role in holding together the threads of this fabric and ensuring the survival of a cooperative, caring and understanding society. It is also important to realise that divorcing emotions

in order to make a suitable and proper decision is not a solution in itself. In fact, from a purely biological point of view, millions of years of evolution has ensured that the “emotional brain” (regulated by a region called the amygdala) has intricate connections to the “rational brain” (the region of the cerebral cortex) and plays a major role in influencing our assessment of a particular situation and subsequent behaviours and responses. In addition to this, positive emotions such as empathy, optimism

O pinion Dhiman Kakati

and compassion have, time and again, proved to be the glue that binds a healthy society together, as discussed earlier. And this is where the role of the society’s youth comes into play – all the more important because they are the future of this society. From a professional point of view, it is not enough to have vast academic knowledge and a commendable set of soft skills to survive in the professional world. Emotional Intelligence helps us get along with colleagues and work as a team by means of empathy and collaboration, in maintaining a positive approach to work and give mature and sensible responses to various complications emerging out of the workplace. It will make us better and more efficient professionals. On top of that, the importance of emotional intelligence in our personal lives cannot be overemphasized. Managing our emotions and understanding those of our loved ones are key to maintaining healthy and durable relationships. It adds quality to our relationships and strengthens them further. Emotional Intelligence is no rocket science, either. All one needs to do is manage one’s emotions, behave in a gentle and suitable manner and try and empathize with the other party. And with patience and noble intent, it is not difficult to master at all. Hence, for a better quality of life, a proper combination of emotions and logic is of utmost necessity. And it calls for immediate action on the part of the individual – to realise this dream of a healthy and cooperative society. n

Letter to the Editor

emocracy is trying to find foot in terrorist state of Pakistan. In the recently held elections, political party of former Pakistani all-rounder Imran Khan emerged as the winner. In the swearing-in ceremony, newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan invited few of his contemporary cricketers from India. Though two legends Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar refused to attend the function but former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu and presently minister in Punjab government attended the function. During the swearing-in ceremony Sidhu was seen hugging the Chief of Pakistani Army General Bawja. His gesture sparked reactions nationwide as Pakistani Army is regularly sponsoring militancy in Jammu and Kashmir which has claimed so many brave-hearts and civilians over the years. Even Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh expressed displeasure over his Minister’s act in Pakistan. Captain Amarinder Singh himself being a soldier rose above petty politics in expressing his dislike. Another blunder the former Indian opener committed there was that he sat next to POK president Masood Khan. Given India’s position on POK, the government doesn’t recognise Masood government and there is a resolution that no elected Indian representative should share any platform with him. But for a turncoat politician like Sidhu it was more of ignorance and excitement to score some points. Rahul Gandhi must act and take some disciplinary actions against Navjot Singh Sidhu. Surely the ex Indian opener brought disgrace to the nation. Dr.Ashim Chowdhury, Ambari Guwahati.

In Focus

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Biju Boro Photo-journalist

life-long interest in photography led Guwahati’s Biju Boro to start a career in photography way back in 1999. An international award winning photo-journalist, Biju has come a long way – working in association with global organizations like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Born in Guwahati, Biju shifted to Tezpur at a young age where he did his schooling from Don Bosco High School. After studying there till class 10, he returned to Guwahati to pursue higher secondary education in Arts Stream from Arya Vidyalaya. Having a passion for photography, Biju had the urge to learn and explore more in the field. Along with higher secondary, he enrolled himself in a year-long photography diploma course from Industrial Training Institute (ITI). Later, he went on to graduate in Mass Communication from KK Handique Open University. “As a kid, I used to read a lot of magazines. The colorful images printed in magazines enthused

me, still does. That is why I decided to take up photography as a profession. Being a photojournalist is an exciting job, where you get to meet new people and learn new things every day. It’s what keeps me going,” Biju told G Plus. Biju started his career as a college student taking up freelance projects. While his first picture was published in the regional newspaper ‘Ajir Batori’, he also took up assignments for prestigious national newspapers like ‘Times of India’. He went on to join UB Photos where he worked for over two years, ‘Aji’ Assamese newspaper where he worked for a period of around three to four years, ‘The Telegraph’ where he worked for another two years, before finally joining ‘Axomiya Pratidin’ in November 2004 where he continues to be working full time. In the international front, Biju has been associated as a stringer for Northeast India with the Agence France-Presse (AFP), an international news agency headquartered in Paris, for over 15 years now. He has also taken up three-year contractual works

for UNICEF and UNDP. Pictures clicked by the ace photographer have gained acclamation regionally, nationally as well as internationally. Biju has been awarded with many prestigious awards including MFI National Press Photo Contest (general category) held in Mumbai in 2012, Sony Photography Award 2013 held in Guwahati, Special Mention prize at the Wildlife Photo Contest 2013 of Sanctuary Asia held in Mumbai, Assam Tourism Photography Award 2014 by the Government of Assam, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – PII Photography Award 2014 and Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 held in Mumbai. Among the numerous photographs that have won him awards is one where he has captured two buffalos marching towards him. Recalling the moment, Biju told G Plus, “I was

covering the Assam Floods at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. I was with a friend, drenched in water when we spotted two wild buffalos marching towards us. But, instead of fearing, I was thinking of how picturesque the scene was. I started capturing them and their expressions until forest officials reached the spot to control the situation.” A trained photographer of par excellence, he initially owned a Nikon FM 10 film camera. Very soon, digital cameras hit the market and all companies / media houses started looking for photographers who owned a digital camera. Terming it as the most difficult period in his career, Biju recalls, “When digital

cameras came, I was faced with many challenges and started struggling. At that time, I wasn’t very financially sound and couldn’t afford such expensive cameras, so I thought my career has come to an end.” Biju added that he then took a loan to buy a new camera, took some time to get adapted to it, but finally he was hired by an English daily that published his pictures in color, unlike other newspapers that were still printing black and white images. “Challenges are a part of life. No matter what you do, you will be faced with hardships and challenges. But if you have the passion to achieve bigger things in life, you will definitely find a way. In case of photography, you have to love what you’re doing in order to excel and be successful,” said Biju. The photo-journalist believes that life should be colorful and bright, not dark and dull. Thus, he prefers his photographs to be colorful rather than monochromatic. He also believes that photography is all about the little moments, a good photographer is one that never loses a moment.

Should the sacrifice of animals for religious purposes be banned? Check what society feels about banning such animal sacrifices. @rajsekharsapcota Dear people,condemn what you may. It’s good that is happening but remember, practice before you preach. Most of your accounts will have posts of non-veg food (hypocrisy so dear, eh?). Going deeper, there’s not much difference for the poor creature, whether you use knife or your teeth. Whether you justify with hunger or they, with rituals, death is the same. In fact, they kill once a year, and we hypocrites do it every other day, maybe the species change, the slaughter methods change but at the end of the day we are no better. So, again, practice before preaching. @animalsneindia Shameful act by some devils. Unimaginable cruelty. The upcoming generation needs to spread awareness against these social evils. Such things should not continue in our country. People need to understand the importance of animals. They are not born to be killed. They, too, have a life. Will anyone ever sacrifice their kid in the name of religion? @tarang56 Stupid people, like the bull festivals in South India, the Courts/ Legislatures should ban these atrocities on animals. And to these idiots, what does your God do with flowers, blood, or anything else that you offer? Did God ever ask all these things? Never! I don’t understand who brought such concepts in our religion. It’s insane. @kiranchetri These psycho people who are into animal sacrifice must be hanged to death then they will understand what they are doing. God never asked killing of animals to impress God. He said to love people and animals and be kind to them and believe in karma.

@k.thakuria God knows when will these religious killing stop. If people are so religious, then they should just pray from heart. Why does one need to do killing in the name of religion? Because killing these animals won’t bring anything as God never asked for such animal sacrifices and nor do we have the right to do something like this. But Alas! The thinking of our people will never change. @sumit.poddar999 Inhumane act by people. These acts should be banned. While we say pigeons are symbols of peace and there it depicts an act of hostility. The pictures circulating of Deodhani Festival are something our society should not accept. Strict action should be taken against all these killings against birds and animals. @kiranmoy.deka So shameful and weird act. All are junglees and they call themselves to be the devotees of God. Please stop promoting all inhumane acts in the name of God. We are here for a better tomorrow. What’s the difference between human beings and wild animals after doing all this? Just remove these weird thoughts and serve your humanity if you are a human. @chiranziv Most disgusting thing one can see in Internet today. You cage a bird, not satisfied, so you offer it in the name of God, still not satisfied, so you sacrifice that poor creature, and still some are not satisfied, so you drink its blood right away. Wow humanity! It’s 21st century and I can’t believe we have to see this thing.

City

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Minors have easy access to alcohol, tobacco; feel 46% Guwahatians Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

t least 46% Guwahatians feel that minors have free access tobacco and alcohol in the city without any regulations to keep a check on this. This was revealed during a month-long survey conducted by G Plus titled ‘Let’s Talk Guwahati’ in which close to a sample size of 10000 citizens took part through an online as well as offline medium from different parts of the city. On the other hand, only 29.4% respondents felt that there are some regulations in place to check easy availability of tobacco and alcohol by the district authorities. Further, 23.8% respondents remained neutral and voted for the ‘can’t say’ option. In Guwahati, despite a ban on the sale of tobacco products within a 100-yard radius outside educational institutions, one

can find several shops selling cigarettes and other tobacco products outside schools and colleges in the city. The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA) which was enacted in 2003, prohibits sale of any tobacco products or cigarette to anyone below 18 years of age and in an area within a radius of 100 yards of any educational institution. It also prohibits smoking in public places. “There are plenty of stalls filled with tobacco and gutka on the roads right outside schools and some elder students can be seen buying from such stalls,” said a parent of a class 6 student studying in a private school in Pan Bazar. On the other hand, expressing her concern over the matter, chairperson of the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) Sunita Changkakoti termed the issue as a “serious

One way routes lifted; new routes defined

ith the surmounting pressure of vehicular traffic in the city, routes in Guwahati have been altered to accommodate and ease the burden of traffic on city roads.

to G Plus, DCP Traffic, Amanjeet Kaur said, “The road connecting from Paltan Bazar Point to Godhuli Bazar point is a wide road, but most of the spaces aren’t utilized. Illegal street vendors block the roads which in turn

Smokeless tobacco being displayed at a roadside shop in Guwahati | G Plus Photo concern” and said that there is a need for proper monitoring to check the sale of pan masala and other tobacco products to minors. She added that the ASCPCR conducts talks with school authorities in the city from time to

Golden Needles Tea from Arunachal creates world record at Rs 40,000 per kg

G New Routes

Route from Paltan Bazar traffic point via Paltan Bazar Police Station to Godhuli Bazar crossing has been changed to a two-way road. Road from Nepali Mandir via SAI Stadium to Godhuli Bazar point remains single way and only small vehicles are allowed to commute. Speaking exclusively

creates trouble for commuters. Now we have decided to open the road making it a two-way road, so that the traffic movement could be eased.” Kaur added, “We will implement this permanently and with this, the street vendors will go away. Life will become easier for people commuting from Ulubari to AT Road.” n

time and flags this issue. “A few months ago, we had visited a school and empty found packets of pan masala lying around near the toilets. We immediately took up the issue with the school authorities and asked them to ensure that

olden Needles Tea from Donyipolo Tea Estate in East Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh, was bought by Assam Tea Traders, a city-based buyer for Rs.40,000 per kg. The leaves are carefully plucked, and have a velvety golden coat. This tea produces a bright Golden Brew which has a smooth and sweet taste. Manoj Kumar, Senior Manager, Siang Tea, and Industries reckons that this lot was better than his previous attempts and such tea can be made only when natural forces align with precise tea making skills. “The price achieved for the tea is not something new for the es-

tate, which has been in the news for producing some superb speciality tea, recently its Silver Needles White Tea had fetched Rs. 17001 per kg price at GTAC”, informs Swashat Dutta of Contemporary Brokers (P) Ltd, who has been associated with the sales of many such lots of speciality tea in the past. “The trend of Speciality Tea being sold at good prices in the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre has not gone unnoticed, buyers have been waking up to the fabulous tea being produced in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. We have been dealing in such tea, even before it achieved such prices in the auctions” says Lalit Kumar Jalan, the owner at Assam Tea Traders, Guwahati. n

no shops sell tobacco products outside schools and to counsel students,” said Changkakoti. Authorities working in the field of child protection have called for a better implementation of the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015. It states stricter penalty for those selling cigarettes, beedi and chewable tobacco to minors and mentions a jail term of seven years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Dr Amal Chandra Kataki, director of Dr. B Borooah Cancer Institute had met with Governor Jagdish Mukhi last month and urged him to intensify tobacco control initiative in the state. Dr Kataki said that they are witnessing a rise in the number of youngsters with health issues related to the consumption of tobacco. They have also appealed to the Governor to undertake an initiative to make all the education institutes of the state a tobacco free zone. n

14 lakh fake children in Assam as Anganwadi beneficiaries

aking a cue from Assam in finding fake beneficiaries at Anganwadi centres, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi had directed all the states to start a head count to determine the authentic figures for number of beneficiaries. Addressing a conference in New Delhi on Thursday, Gandhi said, “Thanks to Assam we found out how many children are really being fed in Anganwadis. In the initial survey last year, it was found that there are 3 lakh fake children. Now again another survey in June 2018 has revealed that there are actually 14 lakh fake children.” Earlier in May this year, authorities of the state social welfare department informed that following the directions of the central government, the department carried out a head count of the number of beneficiaries recently in Anganwadi centres across the state. It revealed that six lakh fraudulent names were included in list of beneficiaries in Anganwadi centres. n

Trotter

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

9-yr-old donates piggy bank savings to Kerala; promised cycle every year

little’s girl donation towards flood-hit Kerala has warmed the hearts of many on social media. A tweet going viral details how Anupriya from Vizhuppuram, Tamil Nadu, donated Rs.9,000 to Kerala relief. The little girl had reportedly been collecting money in her piggy banks to buy herself a new bicycle but decided to donate the money instead. Her contribution has struck a chord with many who are appreciating her kind deed. She has even been promised a brand new cycle, and one every year, by Hero Cycles. Twitter user Ethirajan Srinivasan shared a newspaper clip about the little girl on August 19. His tweet has since collected over 3,500 ‘likes’ and more than 1,700 retweets. Anupriya had been saving her pocket money and collecting Rs. 5 coins in five piggy banks. Her parents supported her decision by handing her a Demand Draft in favour of the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. “I have been saving money for a cycle. But when I saw visuals of Kerala flood on TV, I decided to donate the money,” the nine-yearold told.

West Bengal school book uses Farhan Akhtar’s image for Milkha Singh

ctor Farhan Akhtar has tweeted about a “glaring error” in the depiction of legendary athlete Milkha Singh, popularly known as the ‘flying Sikh’, in a West Bengal textbook. Instead of Milkha Singh’s photo, the publisher of the book has used Farhan’s picture, who played the role of the sprinter in the 2013 super-hit Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. In his tweet, addressed to West Bengal’s Minister of School Education, Farhan has urged that the books be recalled and replaced. Since being posted, Farhan’s tweet has collected over 1,700 ‘likes’ and more than 400 retweets. It has collected quite a few reactions from people on Twitter.”What were they

thinking?” comments one Twitter user. “Maybe the publisher is just a huge fan of yours,” says another. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was based on the legendary sprinter’s life and also starred Divya Dutta, Meesha Shafi, Pavan Malhotra and Art Malik in supporting roles. (Source: ndtv)

24-Karat Mithai in Surat shop Anupriya’s gesture has moved many and Hero Cycles is among them. Twitter is proud of little Anupriya.”Kindly let me know the address, I will buy bicycle for her. Way to go girl. Rise and shine,” says one Twitter user. “Wonderful

example of humanity, compassion and empathy,” says another. “Great child. Tomorrow’s leader! Best wishes to her. Congratulations to her parents for grooming such a nice child,” says a third. (Source: news18)

Crows trained to pick up litter become theme park’s attraction

ny Indian festival is incomplete without sweets! With the festival of Raksha Bandhan around the corner shops are stacking a variety of these delicacies. A shop in Surat, Gujarat named ‘24 Carats Mithai Magic’ is different from the rest as they are selling sweets for a whopping Rs. 9,000 per kg.The hefty price tag is due their speciality- the sweets come with a covering of 24-karat pure gold leaf. “As I entered the shop I was amazed. People in the shop told me that these sweets are good for

health. I wish them luck and hope people of Surat are benefited with it,” said a customer Divya Shah. When asked how the idea of using gold was arrived at, Prince Mithaiwala, the owner of the shop, said that they came up with it keeping the health benefits of gold in mind.”In place of silver, we have used pure gold leaf as it is beneficial for health. A number of people are buying it as Rakhi is just around the corner,” he said. These sweets have been named ‘Gold Sweets’ and are the centre of attraction for all the customers visiting the shop. (Source: ndtv)

Man fined for releasing pigeons on highway

isitors to a theme park in western France have a new attraction to enjoy: six crows that have been specially trained to pick up cigarette ends and rubbish. The birds have been in action at the Puy du Fou park, picking up litter on the site that features shows and rides themed around different periods of history. The black rooks, a member of the crow family, were chosen for their intelligence and have been trained to take small items of litter to a special wooden box in

exchange for a tasty nugget of bird food for each deposit. There have been some instances of cheating, however, with some of the crows attempting to steal rubbish from others to win the rewards. “It’s ecological, it’s practical and it’s fun to see,” Swiss tourist Dorothee Haefliger said. The managers of the park say the experiment is designed to make visitors more aware about litter. “We can see litter here on the car park and the crows are picking it up,” Christophe Gaborit,

who is in charge of falconry at the park, told.He stood holding the wooden box and dispensing the bird food for each piece of collected rubbish.”That’s not normal. It’s up to us, humans, to take care of it. That’s the ultimate message,” he added. He said that he had always loved rooks, adding that they are under-appreciated birds.”People see it differently, so that makes me happy,” he said. “We’ve changed its image and that’s really interesting.” (Source: ndtv)

raffic cameras on a Chinese highway recorded the moment a man parked his car on the shoulder and released 60 to 70 pigeons from his car. The video circulating shows the man parking at the side of a Jilin Province highway and releasing dozens of pigeons from inside his car. The man told police he had been keeping the pigeons but decided to set them free. He said he chose the highway because it was a wide

open space. Police said the man was fined about $29 and lost six points from his license for parking in the highway’s emergency lane. (Source: upi)

Review

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Starring: Utkarsh Sharma, Ishita Chauhan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, etc Director: Anil Sharma

G e w Movi vie e R

Genius

enius is Sharma’s son’s debut feature. In the film, which comes from an oldtime masala filmmaker who coated everything with a thick layer of loud, shouty patriotism, Utkarsh gets to do what heroes of the 70s and 80s build their careers on a bit of everything – comedy, romance, action and song-and-dance – while saving his country. The story revolves around a young IIT genius who lands himself on a mission for the Research and Analysis Wing of India (RAW), but his heart beats as much for his lady love as it does for his nation. He must do what it takes to save both. At one time he is a college goof ball, at another, a dashing charmer and a campus hero with top scores. Vasudev Shashtri (Utkarsh

Sharma) can shoot vedic chants and bullets with equal ease, chase a speeding convoy on a bicycle with a limping foot and solve rubik cubes in record time to save lives. Director Anil Sharma mounts a huge responsibility on his son's lean shoulders to heroically outsmart everyone else including the film's villain Nawazuddin Siddiqui. In an attempt to make a pot-boiler, the narrative packs in too many elements, but not all of them land. The campus romance between the young couple is glossy, but soulless. Film's debutante actress Ishita Chauhan has the glam quotient, but shows little expression to convey emotion. When Nawazuddin shows up as the bad guy in black, armed with a hat and a gun, you think ah, some relief at last. Alas, the uber talented Nawaz is reduced to striking poses. n

Cinepolis Christian Basti 09435025808 Gold 09:10 AM, 10:30 AM, 01:45 PM, 05:00 PM, 08:15 PM

Genius 02:15 PM, 05:00 PM

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi

Alpha, English, 3D

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PM, 06:05 PM, 09:05 PM

Gold 11:30 AM, 06:00

Genius 09:25 AM, 03:00 PM

PM, 08:30 PM

Alpha, English, 3D 12:25

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi

PM, 05:50 PM, 08:10 PM

12:45 PM, 05:30 PM

Mile 22, English, 2D

Genius 03:00 PM

12:40 PM, 06:30 PM

Satyameva Jayate 09:00 PM

Satyameva Jayate 02:45 PM, 08:50 PM

Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson Director: Albert Hughes

chreyer, an associate professor of anthropology, took two years to piece together the new language that is spoken by the characters in this film, which is set somewhere in the European region during the Ice Age. And that is not even the most remarkable thing about Alpha. It is how the films unfolds, slowly and gradually, first appearing alarmingly like a Hollywood extravaganza, then a simple fairy tale, before completely upturning the idea of what that the term ‘alpha’ has come to mean — especially now, in a world increasingly led by ultramasculine men invoking ultramuscular authority. Alpha has two heroes – one a skinny boy entering his teens, almost feminine in appearance,

he Honor Play has been launched in India by Huawei sub-brand Honor. The Honor Play is also the first smartphone in India to feature GPU Turbo, a technology that Huawei is touting to be the next big revolution in mobile gaming. The phone has been priced at Rs. 19,999 for the 4GB RAM variant and Rs. 23,999 for the 6GB RAM configuration. Sporting a competitive starting price tag, the smartphone has been positioned as a mid-range.

Design:

With metal unibody, vertically aligned dual rear cameras, 19.5:9 display and Huawei’s current flagship SoC, the Honor Play looks promising on paper. It is a departure from Huawei and Honor’s recent fascination with glass backs, which we have seen a lot of with recent premium offerings. While offering a classy and elegant look, glass cannot compete with metal in terms of

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who has to step into the large, hunter-gatherer shoes of his father, the chief of their tribe; and the second, a wolf, which attacks him, and which by the laws of the wild, he should kill but chooses to save. Much of it is, of course, CGI. But cinematographer Martin Gschlacht lays out such striking landscapes and images (especially one of Keda and Alpha in a frozen lake, separated by the sheet of ice), in 3D, that you are willing to see past the parts where the CGI is glaring. Besides, while nudging us to rethink what we think when we hear ‘Alpha’, there is another story at the heart of the film. It is about the beginning of a beautiful friendship, one of the few things to have endured 20,000 years later: between man and dog. n

Honor Play durability and sturdiness. The tall display and thin body also make the phone feel a bit too large to hold comfortably in smaller hands. The Honor Play is not exactly comfortable to hold, although it is compact for a smartphone with a 6.3-inch display. In fact, this big screen fits into the form factor of a 5.5-inch phone. This smartphone is available in Navy Blue and Midnight Black in India.

Specifications:

The Honor Play is powered by the company’s own flagship HiSilicon Kirin 970 processor, which has previously been used in several models. The Kirin 970 has a cus-

e ew Movi vi e R

Display:

The 6.3-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD panel has a resolution of 1080x2340 pixels and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. To help conserve battery life, the Honor Play offers the ability to toggle the screen resolution between FHD+ and HD+. This is available under Screen Resolution in the Battery section of the

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi 09:30 AM, 03:30 PM, 09:30 PM Gold 10:00 AM, 12:20

10:30 AM, 03:15 PM

PM, 06:30 PM

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi

Alpha, English, 3D

12:30 PM, 05:15 PM

01:15 PM, 09:45 PM

Gold 08:15 PM

Genius 03:25 PM Satyameva Jayate 06:40 PM

Gold Cinema

11:00 AM, 08:00 PM

Galleria Cinemas HUB 09706989143 Genius 09:30 AM, 05:50 PM

Gold 11:15 AM, 08:15 PM

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi

12:15 PM, 09:00 PM

02:00 PM, 05:15 PM

Gold 02:55 PM

Satyameva Jayate

tom NPU (Neural Processing Unit) for AI processing, which is said to improve camera performance, battery life, and app optimisation. The Honor Play also has a non-removable 3,750mAh battery and 64GB of onboard UFS 2.1 storage. In terms of connectivity, the Honor Play features 4G VoLTE, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v4.2 LE, GPS/ A-GPS, GLONASS, a USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Sensors include an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, an electronic compass, a gyroscope, and a proximity sensor. This phone supports dual SIMs (Nano) and both can latch onto 4G networks simultaneously.

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Alpha, English, 3D

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Settings app. The display on the Honor Play has great viewing angles and delivers good colour reproduction. We had no problems with the resolution set to full-HD+. Outdoor legibility was average, because the screen gets too reflective under direct sunlight.

Camera:

At the rear, the Honor Play sports a vertically stacked pair of cameras. There is a 16-megapixel primary sensor with an f/2.2 aperture, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture, coupled with an LED flash. The front camera comes with a 16-megapixel resolution and a f/2.0 aperture that offers well-balanced selfies in good light conditions with good contrast and colors. Honor Play doesn’t have an impressive camera but its results should work for social media. The camera app does not have the most intuitive user interface but gets the work done.

Verdict:

The Honor Play is the most affordable smartphone from Huawei to rock the Kirin 970 SoC, which makes for good overall value. It has a sleek and elegant design with a vibrant display. However, its physical size and average cameras might be deal breakers for some. n

Entertainment

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Bidyut Kotoky’s Xhoixobote Adil Hussain becomes 1st Indian to win Best Actor at Norwegian National Awards Dhemalite shines at US fest

A O

n Sunday night, Adil Hussain became the first Indian to win the Best Actor Award at Amanda Awards, the top Norwegian National Awards held in Haugesund, for his movie ‘What Will People Say.’ The actor has time and again proved his talent in the film industry, be it of any genre or any language. The movie ‘What Will People Say’ is set in Pakistan and Norway, and traces how a Pakistani immi-

grant family deals with their teenage daughter’s affair with a local boy in Norway. It has been directed hy Norwegian-Pakistani filmmaker Iram Haq. Reacting to the honour, Hussain said the award was for all those who believe that art can break boundaries. The actor dedicated the award to the people of Goalpara, Assam saying, “My hometown, Goalpara, has inspired me to break free from the boundaries that suppress. If you have a passion for art,

you can transcend boundaries.” Adil had earlier won the Kanon Award at Kosmorama film festival, which is Norway’s equivalent of the Academy Awards. His other international projects include ‘Gangor’, ‘Life of Pi’ and ‘Reluctant Fundamentalist’ and an equally impressive career in India with films in languages such as Hindi, English, Assamese and Bengali. Adil’s last seen work was ‘Bioscopewala’, an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s story ‘Kabuliwala’.

III Smoking Barrels - A movie that shows Northeast India like never before

or the first time ever, Northeast India is set to receive enormous limelight in the form of a full-length movie. The trailer of III Smoking Barrels, India’s first ever multilingual film is released, and people of Northeast can’t seem to wait for it. The movie, directed by Sanjib Dey, has been shot in around 6 different languages and throws light on some of the burning issues from the north-eastern region of the country. The movie shows in a very hard hitting manner, how the mainstream India has neglected this part of the country, year after year. The story of the movie has been inspired by true events from the region. Several remote areas of Northeast are gripped by burning issues like terrorism, child trafficking, drug abuse, and poaching, and the movie highlights it all in a very realistic manner. The lead roles of the movie are played by actors from different parts of the region. The actors include Shiny Gogoi, Siddharth Boro, Subrat Dutta, Indraneil Sengupta, Mandakini Goswami.

dding another feather in its cap, Assamese film Xhoixobote Dhemalite (Rainbow Fields) has won the Best Screenplay award in the recently concluded Treasure Coast International Film Festival, Florida, US. The film was nominated in as many as five categories in this prestigious film festival. According to writer-director Bidyut Kotoky, though his film is based on the lives of children growing up in Assam in the 1980s, the story can be of children in conflict zones from any part of the world. On receiving the award, Kotoky said, “The film’s story is based on the soil of Assam, but people from halfway across the globe are relating to it. It just goes to show once again that the colour of emotion across the globe is same. In Xhoixobote Dhemalite, we always believed that we are making a world cinema in the

Assamese language.” Last month, Xhoixobote Dhemalite became the first Assamese film to be commercially released in the US. The film also won three awards in the Love International Film Festival, Los Angeles, including the Best Film award recently. The film stars veteran actor Victor Banerjee along with artistes like Nipon Goswami, Nikumoni Barua, Nakul Vaid, Naved Aslam and Dipannita Sharma. Inspired by true events and set in Assam in the violent period of the 1980s, the film is about children growing up in violent places, witnessing brutality around them and how it affects them deeply, leaving an indelible mark on their psyche. The film is produced by India Stories, a Mumbai-based production house, and coproduced by Bidyut Kotoky’s Dhruv Creative Productions and Kurmasana Kreates, a US-based production house.

Assam designer’s artwork to feature in Bollywood film

ssam’s celebrated fashion designer Sanjukta Dutta is all set for her Bollywood debut with the film Sui Dhaaga. She was among the chosen few to collaborate with Yash Raj Films to design the logo of the film Sui Dhaaga, which is dedicated to the craftsmen of India. Speaking to G Plus, the designer informed that she was approached by the makers of the film to

design the logo. The film stars Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles. The film is based on the ideology of Make in India and is directed by Sharat Katariya. In Sui Dhaaga, Varun Dhawan plays a tailor, and Anushka Sharma an embroiderer. The film is a salute to the self-reliant workforce of the country — artisans, craftsmen, weavers and the grassroots level contributors to India’s indigenous arts and crafts industry. Dutta has been an instrumental figure in taking Assamese fashion and handloom to an international platform. She is the only designer from Assam whose creations were donned by Assam Tourism Ambassador Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu, Dia Mirza Preity Zinta, and Zarine Khan at Lakme Fashion Week. Sanjukta Dutta will be showcasing her collection Abor, at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, which is dedicated to the strong and determined women weavers of Assam.

Fun

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Horoscope of the week In marriage, your partner may not be in a good mood this week, and it will be your responsibility to lift their spirits. Mercury, the ruler of your Sign is now direct in motion and this denotes a progressive period for you at the career front. But it may not be a path of roses, as two major planets which are now retrograde shall throw a spanner in your works.

Mercury is now direct in motion and it will bring about positive developments in your business. If you have been contemplating about spreading your wings or launching a new service/ product, this seems to be the ideal time. Retrogression of Mars and Saturn may be something you should be a little wary about but methodical planning and the will to move ahead will help you stay on track.

The urge to dive into the sea of physical pleasures is likely to dominate your mind if you are single. Your partner, too, shall reciprocate your feelings. Venus, the planet associated with love, is in your support. However, you will keep feeling that something is amiss, and may not be able to enjoy the moments thoroughly.

Over the last Sunday, ruler of your Sign Mercury became direct in motion. Mercury, besides being the ruler of your Sign, also astrologically holds the important folio of your 10th House – of Karma. So, this is a surely a good cosmic indication. Expect work and career matters to get a positive momentum. Progress comes, though you may still be troubled over a fading work relationship.

Last weekend, the trickster Mercury turned direct in motion. This paves way for progressive forces to work effectively – in your favour. However, the combined influence of retrograde Saturn and Mars (in your 4th House) may continue to trouble you, especially on the home front. Watch your relations with your mom, mother-like figures, maternal relatives etc.

With Moon in Sagittarius, when the week begins, you will be optimistic and free-spirited. Travel may be in your mind too. Saturn, however, will keep you grounded, by making you aware of your limitations. Exalted Mars wants you to throw caution to wind, and go ahead all guns blazing, but Mars has different plans.

An issue from your past may dampen your mood, making you gloomy or broody. However, you will manage to keep a cheerful façade for the world – and this will, slowly but surely, put to you back in an optimistic mood. Obviously, the life has to go on, says Ganesha. Two planets are still in retrogression in your 2nd House.

Mercury’s direct motion rings in better times for you. You have worked hard and this is the time to relish the fruits of your hard work. The stars are in your favour and you shall make great progress; you need to ensure that you don’t get distracted. Motivate yourself to do better and nothing can stop you then. The planetary alignment also promises a great time for you at home.

With differences cropping up in your longterm relationship, you might feel a little low at the beginning of the week. Understanding your partner will be of utmost importance because your relationship is important to you and you don’t want any cracks to develop and widen. Mercury is now in direct motion, helping you move ahead in your career.

Crafty Mercury became direct in motion, over last Sunday. This will open the roads for progressive forces to work effectively - in your favour. You will feel better, and would be more expressive and communicative of your feelings and desires. Professionals, freelancers and business-persons – all will benefit from this cosmic movement.

What was discovered in 1984 by Robert Gallo and Luc Montaigner, both working independently at NIH Bethesda and Pasteur Institute, Paris?

Who were the recipients at the Screen Awards for Best Supporting Actress in 2008?

What is the French word for “twice baked”?

Which former footballing great is the current Chairman of the football club Dynamo Brest?

What was started by Oliver Thomas Cutter in 1846 at Sivasagar for the first time in Assam?

Identify this swimmer, the first Indian to win an individual Gold medal at the Asian Games in 1951. Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Garfield by Jim Davis

curio-city

2 7 7 8 6 2 9 4 3 4 5 1 2 5 9 7 5 3 8 9 2 6 72 4 2 8 4 6 6 Fri 24-Aug-20182 Daily Sudoku: 9

1 6 3 35 1 6 7 93 2 49 76 4 3 5 9 5 9 6

Daily Sudoku: Sat 18-Aug-2018

1 8 14

easy

hard

6 last 5 2week 7 8 solution 1 3 4 9 1 3 7 5 4 9 8 6 2 2 5 89 97 48 6 2 63 35 11 47 9 4 31 43 62 8 9 87 72 65 51 4 5 6 7 1 9 2 5 1 6 34 27 93 88 6 8 77 19 83 3 5 22 56 49 14 8 1 4 5 3 4 8 9 2 3 76 91 27 65 4 9 56 72 35 9 1 18 84 32 76 3 6 22 68 17 4 7 45 19 58 93 5 Sudoku: 6 Fri124-Aug-2018 8 2 9 4 7 3easy Daily 3 4 9 1 7 5 6 8 2 Daily Sudoku: Sat 18-Aug-2018

hard

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

1. The HIV virus 2. The Chak De India girls 3. Biscuit 4. Diego Maradona 5. Orunodoi, the first Assamese Language Magazine, that lasted till 1883 6. Sachin Nag

curio-city

Sudoku

Over last Sunday, crafty Mercury became direct in motion. This will be a relieving change. Planets may clear way for a notable monetary gain. Progressive forces shall also work effectively, helping you find positive momentum. However, two major planets are still in retrogression – in your 9th House – and this may keep you troubled or stuck – in some way or other.

Sunday brings some relief, as Mercury starts to move in direct motion. This is a good sign for you, in general. Slowly but surely, you shall see progress on the career front. Routine activities may be troublesome, at times, but you shall finally manage to handle them appropriately. If you are an entrepreneur, pull up your socks and get ready for an eventful time.

Word of the week squamous adjective [skwey-muh s] covered with or formed of squamae or scales.

Crossword Across

Down

1 Irregular in outline (12) 9 11th century Spanish hero (2,3) 10 Seasonal Indian Ocean wind (7) 11 Noisy (4) 12 With no crew (8) 14 Rickety (6) 15 Call off (6) 18 Birdman’s prison (8) 20 Card game for two (4) 22 Fields for making hay (7) 23 Electronic communication (5) 24 Twenty-year sleeper (3,3,6)

2 Give in (7) 3 Southern part of France (4) 4 White fur (6) 5 Self-drive automobile (4-1-3) 6 Top of the head (5) 7 British boxing award (8,4) 8 European bird — Orwell mayhem (anag) (12) 13 Excessive amount (8) 16 Cut short (7) 17 Poland’s largest city (6) 19 Muscle spasm (5) 21 Having little fat (4)

Last week’s solution

Lifestyle

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

Vaastu tips: how not to lose money Teaching Respectful Relationships

e keep on losing money because of certain vaastu defects without our knowledge. Let us identify some of them:1. There should not be any crack on the walls. It is said that Lakshmi does not reside in houses with broken or cracked walls. Get them repaired as soon as possible. 2. Cracked or broken windows bring ill health and loss of wealth. Get them replaced immediately. 3. Keeping debris and waste materials on the roof of the house brings bad name and poverty. If you need to store such things, construct a room at southwest and do so. 4. Do not keep useless gadgets or machines that are not working. 5. Repair leaking taps and faucets. They signify leakage of wealth. 6. Do not keep broken or chipped statues of gods or goddesses at the place of worship. 7. It is inauspicious to have the broom in view. Always keep it hidden from sight. But it is a good omen to see someone sweeping with a broom early in the morning. Vaastu to resist earthquakes Vaastu practitioners in earlier days understood the laws of nature and constructed houses accordingly. We have seen struc-

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

tures which are centuries old, withstanding major earthquakes over time whereas many sturdy looking modern day structures collapsed. Here are some tips that should be kept in mind when constructing a building or a house in an earthquake prone area. Vaastu for earthquake resistant houses 1. The building should be built in a regular or square shape. 2. In a hilly terrain, no wall in the rooms must exceed 3.5m. 3. Each story must be kept below 3.2 m in height. 4. The ratio of cement and sand should be 1:6 or more; that of cement, lime and sand should be 1:2:9. 5. The depth o the foundation should be at least 50 cm in sandy soil and the width must be a minimum of 75 centimetres. 6. The base must go at least fifteen centimetres deep into the rocky earth 7. The width of load bearing

walls must be at least 20 centimetres. 8. A 16mm bar must be used on the ground floor and a 12mm bar everywhere else if the construction is three storied. 9. Lintel band of reinforced concrete must be used over windows and doors in each story. 10. Wherever the depth of the black soil is 2000 mm or more, the depth of the foundation should be more than 1.2 m. 11. With trusses bracing must be used in tiled roofs. 12. An 8mm rod should be provided around the windows and doors. 13. The windows and doors must be correctly located and the lintel should be sufficiently long. 14. No projections or cantilever must be allowed. 15. It is seen that most of seismic waves move north-South. So houses should be constructed north-south and east west in rectangular shape.

ast week’s G Plus Survey – Let’s Talk Guwahati – on women’s safety was another reminder of the work that still needs to be done for our women to feel safe in their homes and outside. It is not surprising that the recommendations are directed at external agencies, notably the police. It is easy to do that; what is difficult is to take a hard look at the underlying causes of the situation and doing something about them. But if we want real change, we need to start teaching our children and young people about Respectful Relationships. This ‘relationships’ umbrella includes all types of relationships – between family members, intimate partners, friends, peers, and colleagues. What we should teach and when? Teaching respectful relationships starts early. For young children, this means learning how to treat others with care, empathy, and respect; learning social skills in cooperation, assertiveness, and negotiation. The home, school, and particularly the playground provide ample opportunities for young children to learn and demonstrate these skills. As children enter their teenage years, they start to form their own societies within their friend circles. The complexities of navigating and maintaining relationships increase. This is when they should be taught about a) gender stereotyping and how it influences power and respect

in relationships; b) about the distinctions between aggressive and respectful communication; c) about boundaries and consent in relationships; and d) about responsible conduct on social media platforms. They also need to be taught what healthy relationships look like and what relationship abuse looks like. How do we teach? Children learn from what they see us adults doing. So the best way is to model the attitudes and behaviour we want them to develop. We need to invest time in our young people to connect with them. We need to encourage our boys to talk to female figures in their lives to understand things from their perspectives. We need to have healthy and open discussions with our young people about the relationship concepts popularised by media, movies, music, and importantly, pornography. Many schools offer Life Skills classes. What better goals for a life skill class than to be able to break free of gender-based violence/ abuse and develop skills to form and maintain positive relationships? I’d even say that the time has come to make teaching ‘Respectful Relationships’ mandatory in our school curriculum. Bornali Borah Family Counsellor, Parent Coach and Mediator. Email: bornali.borah@ gmail.com

Menstruation: Know your cycle

he cyclical phenomenon of bleeding in woman is known as Menstruation. Here I share some science about it. The woman releases an egg (Ovum) once every menstrual cycle, usually of around 4 weeks but may vary from 20 to 40 days. Menstruation is the story and fate of this egg. The first day of bleed is considered as the first day of the menstrual cycle and usually the bleed lasts for 3 to 7 days with an average blood loss of 30 to 40ml. During this early period the female hormones FSH and LH are secreted from the Pituitary gland, located in the brain, which is a storehouse of many hormones. They act upon the Ovary and prepare the follicles (primitive eggs) to grow. This phase is known as the Follicular phase. Somehow after the first few days, the ovary selects just one follicle to grow which is secreted in the middle of the cycle after a sudden surge in LH. This is known as the ovulatory phase. Till now, there is a tremendous increase in the level of estrogen, one of the major female sex hormone secreted by the ovary. The follicle after releasing the egg transforms into a structure called Corpus luteum, which secretes

another sex hormone called progesterone. This is the third phase called the luteal phase. If the ovum is fertilised by a sperm, the corpus luteum is stabilised and continues to secrete more Progesterone. This helps to maintain the inner layer of the Uterus, which continues to grow with pregnancy. If fertilisation fails, the Corpus luteum too fails and is no longer able to retain the inner layer of Uterus. This is shed exactly 14 days after ovulation if fertilisation doesn’t happen. Let us now understand some

basic concepts from this. • The woman generally releases one egg, which after fertilisation becomes a single embryo and later one foetus. If she releases

two eggs and both become fertilised and implanted, this leads to twin pregnancy. These are non-identical twins. Identical twins are produced when a single embryo divides into two very early in the process of growth and replication. • Life starts as a single cell. • The egg is released in the mid menstrual cycle and remains viable for only a day or two at which time it needs to be fertilised by a sperm. The sperm has a life of 24 to 72 hours and the chance meet has to be within this period. Thus in every menstrual cycle, just few

days in the mid menstrual period, a pregnancy is possible. If this period is avoided, it might well become a contraceptive planning albeit a risky one, especially in those with irregular cycles. • Menstruation means the women is ovulating. When the woman exhausts all her eggs, there can’t be any further menstruation. This is called Menopause. • Menopause means lower levels of estrogen and progesterone as there is no follicle to grow. This imbalance in sexual hormones is a major reason for Menopausal problems. Hormone replacement therapy is one form of treatment for menopause. • Menstruation is blood and dead uterine tissue of a uterus prepared for pregnancy but fails to receive an embryo. • A missed menstruation could be one sign that someone may be pregnant. This week we discussed menstruation, next week it be Menopause, the natural permanent cessation of menstruation. Dr Rakesh Periwal Critical Care Medicine and Sleep Specialist drperiwal@gmail.com

Buzz

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

IIT Guwahati to organise Techniche from Aug 30-Sep 2 Assam Jatiya Bidyalay

launches plantation drive

he 20th edition of the annual technomanagement festival of IIT Guwahati ‘Techniche’ is scheduled to be held from August 30 to September 2 at the college campus. The events to be conducted during Techniche include workshops, technical exhibitions, guest lectures, technical competitions, literary events including Model United Nations. Scientists from NASA and ISRO are going to chair a discussion on the latest developments in space sciences and technology during this edition of Techniche.

The upcoming edition of Techniche will further witness the participation of eminent personalities from diverse fields like Dr Manfred Krammer (HoD, Experimental Physics, CERN) and Marlon West (VFX Supervisor, Walt Disney) as part of a lecture series. Trevor Bull (CEO and MD, Aviva India) and many others will also be delivering lectures as part of the industrial conclave. According to Labanu Konwar, Asst Registrar of Public Relations IIT-G, Techniche being a complete student body organisation, always tries to uplift the technology aspects in the northeast and

encourages students through its exciting events and interesting competitions. Among the attractions of Techniche-2018 is the tenth edition of the Guwahati half marathon on August 26, the theme of which is ‘Run for Digital India’. Apart from organising techno-management events, team Techniche has very much contributed to the social development of the premises surrounding IIT Guwahati by organising a free health check-up, installing the basic necessities of people like streetlights, educating the children present in these areas, etc. n

BBCI starts master’s course in cancer biology

r. B. Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati, a grant in-aid institute of the Department of Atomic Energy and a unit of Tata Memorial Center, Mumbai has for the first time in the Northeast India started a master’s course (MSc) in Cancer Biology. The course has been started in collaboration with the Department of Bioengineering and Technology, Gauhati University. The incidences of cancer in the Northeast India are very high compared to the rest of the country. The cause for this higher incidence is not well explained so far, and can be addressed by research on the various biological aspects of cancer in the patient population

of the region. The MSc Cancer Biology course will address the challenge of critical shortage of cancer biologist with a practical knowledge on the biological aspects of cancer. “This course will provide an in-depth understanding of the biological processes in the development of cancer and will link academic knowledge with the practical applications on cancer biology, with a focus on the latest advances in this field. This course will provide students with an excellent career opportunity in hospital and commercial laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, and in academic or research institutions,” said Dr Amal Chandra Kataki, Director of BBCI. As cancer related specialized basic courses are being offered

in various European and American universities, students after completion of this course will have an opportunity for various scholarships in foreign Universities for Ph.D. positions, Dr Kataki further stated. Dr Mouchumee Bhattacharyya, Principal Coordinator of BBCI-Academia and Professor of Radiation Oncology said that, the first batch of M.Sc. Cancer Biology comprising of ten students have been admitted after an entrance test conducted by the Gauhati University. The academic session has started from August 2018. During the course students will get exposure to state of the art technology in cancer treatment and research facilities available at BBCI and Gauhati University, respectively. n

Shishu Sarothi to conduct English Access Micro Scholarship Program

hishu Sarothi, in association with the US Consulate, is commencing the English Access Micro Scholarship Program (Access) which provides a foundation of English language skills to bright economically disadvantaged students worldwide through after-school classes and intensive session in their countries. Students in the age group of 13-25 years, 1st year college students of any stream are eligible for the scholarship program. Shishu Sarothi has invited applications from the students. n

s part of its yearlong silver jubilee celebration, Assam Jatiya Bidyalay launched a plantation drive on both sides of the MD Road in Noonmati area of the city on August 23, Thursday. Stakeholders of the school along with various city based organisations took part in the plantation drive. Besides its Higher Secondary students, former students, teachers, nonteaching staff, members of the Bidyalay management committee, musician Ramen Barua, Guwahati Refinery Executive Director Jogen Barpujari, social worker Debeswar Bhattacharya, officer-bearers of the Noonmati unit of AASU, the

members of the Noonmati Bihu Sanmilani, Workers’ Union of Guwahati Refinery, Srimanta Sankardev Kirtanghar, Durga Puja Committee, Noonmati Merchants’ Association and Rana Star Club took part in the programme. Earlier, the programme started with the paying of tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and eminent journalist Kuldip Nayar, who had extended a significant financial aid to the Bidyalay from his MP fund. A meeting held on the occasion was addressed by school management committee secretary Dr Narayan Sarma, Guwahati Refinery Executive Director Jogen Barpujari and others. n

Moot Court competition for law students at Gauhati High Court

ustice Nishitendu Chaudhury Memorial Trust is organising a Moot Court competition for the aspiring law students of the state. The competition will be held on 1st September at the High Court premises. The competition, held for the first time, will witness prominent law colleges participating and arguing on the moot problem. Judges of Gauhati High Court would grace the inaugural and prize distribution ceremony and also judge the final round of the competition. The moot problem (facts of a case) has been provided to the participants to prepare for the competition. The best team will be awarded a running trophy plus a cash reward of Rs. 10,000 (ten thousand). Best speaker and best researcher will be awarded Rs. 5,000 cash and a trophy along

with certificates. Justice Nishitendu Chaudhury was a visionary with illustrious knowledge of the law and a prominent High Court Judge. The charitable trust has been formed by his admirers and friends to further his vision. n

Events

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018

August 25, Saturday Innayat-the band Live Underdoggs Sports Bar 8PM onwards o from Ketholen d Nagalan e th in big making it l a it p a c fashion

Femina Miss India finalist Rewati Chetri walking the ramp

Guw a sho hati’s J wca sin anvi D of to p de g the d eori sign e ers signs of th e co un

August 25, Saturday Big Bollywood Night ft. DJ Ankita

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Event: Lakme Fashion Week Date: August 22-26 Venue: St Regis Mumbai

Lakme Fashion Week 2018 was all about sustainable fashion. India’s top models from the northeast including Janvi Deori, Aradhana Buragohain, Ketholeno, Rewati Chetri and Gloria sizzled the ramp!

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8PM onwards August 25, Saturday Feyago on the road Malt, Hotel Novotel 8PM onwards August 25, Saturday Grand Anniversary Night Madiza Ultra Lounge 8PM onwards

Bollywood actor Yashpal Sharma at Guwahati Press Club on July 21 for the promotion of their film ‘Karim Mohammed’

August 25, Saturday Happy Saturday ft. Zephyr Happy & High Restaurant 7:30PM onwards August 25, Saturday Spinal Fusion Live NYX, Hotel Palacio 8PM onwards August 25, Saturday Big Bang Saturday ft. DJ Ritzee

Event: Club Night ft. DJ Blame Date: August 20, Monday Venue: Dunkin Oza

Terra Mayaa 7:30PM onwards August 25, Saturday Social Shanivar ft. DJ Eshna The Socialite 8PM onwards August 26, Sunday

Event: Weekend Vibes Date: August 18-19 Venue: Underdoggs Sports Bar

Sunday Social Madiza Ultra Lounge 8PM onwards

Catching Up

G PLUS | AUG 25 - AUG 31, 2018