Vol 5 Issue 48

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INSIDE

Education dept merges 20 low enrolment schools in Kamrup (M) PG 02

G Plus Impact: Construction work begins at Pubali Path PG 06

Thief menace on posh Lamb Road PG 08

Govt scared of conducting GMC, Panchayat polls before LS elections G Plus News

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he Panchayat and Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections are due and the contestants were expecting that the polls will be conducted after the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft list is published. The NRC final draft list was published on 31st July 2018 and the tenure of the GMC council also ended on the same day, but the state government till date has failed to take any initiative for conducting GMC and Panchayat

polls and it seems that the government will conduct the elections after 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

A highly-placed source in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) talking to G Plus said, “The BJP led Assam government is scared to conduct the Panchayat and GMC elections before 2019 Lok Sabha elections.”

The source revealed that two months back in a high-level party meeting which was held in Public Works Department (PWD) conference hall, it was decided that the Panchayat and GMC polls will be postponed. He said that the party is scared that if there is any anti-incumbency, the polls might

have a negative effect which would further give a wrong message to the voters for 2019 LS polls.

According to him issues like Citizenship (amendment) bill, failed demonetisation move, unplanned Goods and Services Tax (GST) and most importantly the hike in the fuel price has irked the voters which will affect the poll results.

He further said that the party is working on the strategy to woo the voters before the 2019 LS polls.

According to him the GMC polls are not only important for Guwahati but also for the entire northeast and if the BJP loses in such an important local body polls, the

LS polls will be hugely affected in northeast.

It needs to be mentioned that a local news portal had reported that a bench of the Gauhati High Court headed by A.K Goswami had issued an order of conducting Panchayat elections on or before 15th of September 2018 by the Assam Government and the State Election Commission.

The High Court in May had denied the plea of extending the tenure of Panchayats in Assam.

The High Court has also asked the State Government to constitute committees to administer gaon panchayats, anchalik parishads and zila parishads till the elec-

tion is held and new elected bodies are constituted.

Regarding this, the source revealed that the term is not extended but till now no budget has been sanctioned for Panchayat elections and GMC elections.

The source also said that the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has already declared that they would go solo in the Panchayat polls; therefore it is another threat to the BJP as AGP’s stand on Citizenship (amendmend) Bill was appreciated from all corners. n

Continued ON page » 12

2 Lead Story Snippets How MLA Utpal Dutta lost Rs 14 lakh: revelations of a fraud

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Education dept merges 20 low enrolment schools in Kamrup (M) Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

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n June 9, 2018, Mojammil Kaza (28) along with his brother Muntajul Kaza (28) (from Mankachar, Dhubri) arrived at the Dispur branch of State Bank of India and introduced himself as Utpal Dutta, an account-holder in the branch.

Utpal Dutta is an MLA from the Lakhimpur constituency of Assam in the north bank and like most MLAs his account is also in the Dispur SBI branch.

In the Dispur SBI branch, Muntajul raised an application for a new passbook after claiming that he had lost the old passbook. Once he received the new passbook from the bank Muntajul applied for the Internet banking facility on 22nd June.

Next, the fraudsters changed the mobile phone number which was against the account number and gave their own number. On 24th June, 2018, they opened an account in the name of Utpal Dutta at Allahabad Bank. Then they transferred rupees 6 lakh from Utpal Dutta’s SBI account to the newly-opened Allahabad Bank account and took away the money. Rest of the rupees 8 lakh in Utpal Dutta’s account was used for shopping by the duo using Internet banking.

This was only possible, as the thieves knew that Utpal Dutta never used an ATM card.

All his transactions were done through cheque or withdrawal forms. So, no SMSes came to him if a transaction happened in his account. Moreover, forgery of signature is not much of a skill.

The MLA was a perfect case for the fraudsters; he had everything they needed to complete the heist.

The poor MLA came to know about this whole cheating only on 13 July. Dutta then lodged a formal complaint at the police station. He even went further and found out about the main fraudster Mojammil, and managed to get a photograph. The police then after a thorough investigation managed to get hold of Muntajul Kaza from Mankachar, Dhubri but the mastermind, Mojammil is still at large and the police are searching for him.

“If MLAs’ accounts are not safe right here in Dispur, God knows what is happening with the general public’s account?” questioned Utpal Dutta. Well, the general public is already facing the heat of the cyber criminals and fraudsters.

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he state education department has merged a total of 20 schools in Kamrup (Metro) district in the past one month since several schools witnessed low enrolment of students during the past year. Apart from low enrolment, there were also many such schools across the state in which not even a single student took admission during the last academic year.

These schools with zero and low enrolment mostly included Assamese and Bengali medium schools in the city as well as the state, informed officials.

Apart from the 20 schools which have already been merged in Kamrup (Metro), education department officials are planning to further merge more schools together. Additionally, there were three schools in the district in which no student took admission in 2017.

“All three of these schools, were Assamese or Bengali medium schools where parents do not want to enrol their children anymore. People are rejecting vernacular medium of study and a majority of parents now want to send their children to English-medium schools,” district elementary education officer Buli Gogoi Bhuyan told G Plus.

She added that the decision to amalgamate schools was taken by the authorities in order to bring schools located nearby, which have zero or low enrolment, under one administrative and academic unit.

Further, no student took ad-

File photo of students of a govt. school mission in 476 government lower primary schools and 95 upper primary schools in the state in 2017. Authorities mentioned that there are close to 48,000 government-run upper and lower primary schools in Assam and around 5000 private schools.

“There are a number of private schools which have opened up in Guwahati as well as in the state.

There has also been a considerable rise in the number of students opting for private schools instead of government schools,” said another official of the state education department.

G Plus recently conducted a

survey called ‘Let’s Talk Guwahati’ in which around 10000 people participated in this month-long survey from different localities of the city.

When 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.

The quality of education in government-run schools has been a cause pf concern for a long time now. 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. n

Parents, locals oppose merger

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owever, the authorities in Guwahati are facing a host of problems while trying to merge schools with low enrolment. While they have successfully merged a total of 20 schools till now, the authorities have faced opposition while merging in a few places.

Officials informed that the parents and locals opposed the recent amalgamation plans of government schools in at least seven places in the districts.

The process of merging schools involves transferring students and teachers to the nearby schools.

The state government began a scheme

for this called Siksha Khetra- a scheme for amalgamation and merger of different schools.

Under this, in order to save the administrative costs and logistics support of the schools, it was decided to merge low enrolments with other schools located nearby.

This brings schools under one administrative and academic unit. As per the guidelines set by the department, if a school has below 15 students enrolled, they are usually amalgamated with other schools.

“Several parents of students studying in the schools said that since the teachers in low enrolment schools are not regular, irresponsible and have no

accountability, they were against the merger of the schools,” said district elementary education officer of Kamrup (Metro) Buli Gogoi Bhuyan.

On the other hand, the union human resource development ministry had decided earlier this year to merge three schemes of the department namely Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). The new scheme will be called Rashtriya Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (RSSA) and will comprise schemes for all classes starting from pre-nursery to class 12. The new scheme was also announced in the 2018-19 budget.

The Assam education officials informed that they are expecting the new body to begin functioning by the end of this year.

Bhuyan informed that once the new body comes into effect, a joint director will look after all the affairs of school education of the district. The joint director will be the highest authority in a district, she added. After the joint director, there will be an inspector of schools who will overlook the secondary schools and lastly the district elementary education officer will be responsible for overlooking the functioning of all elementary schools. n

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

4 In The News

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Organ Donation: Where lagging Guwahati can show exemplary leadership Nehal Jain jain.nehal@g-plus.in

We have over 700 registered organ donors who have pledged to donate their organs after death. However, due to lack of medical infrastructure and awareness, people who are willing to donate their organs after death too are unable to do so.

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rgan donation programme in the city continues to lie in the doldrums due to administrative negligence and lack of general awareness. At a time when the whole of India is busy promoting and accepting the cause of organ donation, Guwahati is yet to catch up with the concept.

Every year, hundreds of patients suffering from kidney, liver, heart and other organ ailments die in the city. While one organ donor can save up to 9 lives by donating their functioning organs, the practice of cadaver organ donation is yet to make its debut here. Presently, only eye donation is prevalent in the city and kidney transplants also take place intermittently (say a couple of times a month at the most).

Organ donation is the process of giving an organ or a part of an organ for the purpose of transplantation into another person. Organ transplantation is a surgical procedure to replace a diseased organ with a healthy donor organ. It is often the only treatment for organ failure. In the entire process, first the patient enrols himself/herself on the waiting list for transplant.

Only after getting enrolled and

Zublee Baruah, Founder, Zublee Foundation

File photo of Organothon organised by Zublee Foundation to create awarness about organ donation getting an appropriate organ can the patient’s diseased organ be replaced by a healthy one donated by a donor.

There are two situations under which organ donation can take place: live donation (when the person making the donation is alive) and deceased organ donation (when a dead person’s organs are donated). Further, the deceased individual in this

scenario can only be a victim of brain death.

Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO), located within the campus of Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) in Guwahati, is the apex organisation that carries out organ and tissue transplant in the region. There are other non-governmental and private organisations too that have been

Thousands declared brain dead every year, yet city faces dearth of organs

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very year, thousands of people are declared brain dead in Guwahati.

If each one of them donated their organs, it could bring an end to the sufferings of the innumerable patients suffering from organ failure and awaiting a transplant.

Case in point: Road accidents

Assam records the highest number of road accidents in northeast India, according to a report “Road Accidents in India 2016” released by the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. While the total number

of accidents in the entire region in 2016 was 9,552, a whopping 7,435 of them took place in Assam.

The report also revealed that deaths due to road accidents in Assam have shown an increasing trend over the years. While in 2016, 2,572 persons had lost their lives, the figures from 2015, 2014 and 2013 are 2,397; 2,522 and 2,441 respectively. Further, it highlighted that the rate of injury in road accidents has shown a declining trend. In 2016, 5,127 persons were injured, while the highest number of injuries was recorded in 2015, when 7,068 persons were injured in road accidents in Assam.

In 2014 and 2013, 6,499 and 6,609 persons were injured respectively.

Priyanka Borah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zublee Foundation, elaborated on the numbers saying, “Out of the 2,572 people who lost their lives, even if half were declared brain dead, then we had close to 1,500 potential organ donors.

Since none of their organs were actually taken into use, we wasted around 1,500 hearts, 1,500 livers, 3,000 kidneys, 3,000 lungs and 1,500 pancreases that could have otherwise saved the lives of thousands of people who were waiting for organ transplants.” n

working to spread awareness around the cause; one such prominent organisation is the Zublee Foundation. People can pledge to be organ donors either by visiting their offices or online.

Speaking to G Plus, founder of Zublee Foundation, Zublee Baruah said, “We have over 700 registered organ donors who have pledged to donate their organs after death. However, due to lack

of medical infrastructure and awareness, people who are willing to donate their organs after death too are unable to do so.”

“If a person pledges to be an organ donor, they’re not legally obliged to donate all their organs.

If, after their death, the family members of the deceased do not give consent, no organisation or medical institution can retrieve the organs,” she informed. She further emphasised on the need for an organ bank and facility of organ transplant in the city. n

Prevention of disease, awareness and infrastructure need of the hour

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uwahati, in recent times, has witnessed an increased demand for organs, informed Principal cum Chief Superintendent of GMCH Professor, Dr Atindra Kumar Adhikari. Speaking to G Plus about the alarming situation prevailing in the city, he said, “As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. So the most important step to be taken is to work towards reducing incidences of organ failure. Then, since the problem cannot be eliminated completely, we need to raise awareness around cadaver donation and start to maintain a bank of people who are waiting for organs as well as those who are willing to donate them.”

Organs that have been successfully transplanted include

the kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas, and intestines. Some organs, like the brain, cannot be transplanted. Tissues include bones, cornea, skin, heart valves, nerves and veins. Worldwide, the kidney is the most commonly transplanted organ, followed by the liver and then the heart.

Cornea and musculoskeletal grafts are the most commonly transplanted tissues.

While Guwahati is only equipped to carry out cornea (eyes) and kidney transplant at the moment, Dr Adhikari informed G Plus that works are underway to make GMCH well-equipped to carry out liver and lungs transplants as well. Additionally, the faculty members have been undergoing training to carry out transplantations and other major operations. n

Poll

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

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There should be uniformity in bus shelters Chetan Bhattarai

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he state of the present bus shelters in Guwahati is average as they are just places for advertisements.

They don’t have route markings on them and even the location of the shelter is not mentioned. If you are in a bus shelter you won’t know which buses will stop at the shelter. As we are busy launching biotoilets and water ATMs the city is also witnessing the construction of AC bus shelters. Between all this G Plus engaged with its readers with a poll where they were asked whether they were happy with the present bus shelters in the city?

It seems that Guwahatians did not care much about the bus shelters as almost 41% of the 935 respondents said that they

were okay with the shelters. The majority 59% said that they were not happy with the state of the bus shelters in the city. The poll findings revealed problems that the citizens face on a daily basis

Are you happy with present bus shelters in the city?

Yes

41% Votes

935 No

while trying to board buses from these shelters.

Respondents who were not happy with the shelters said that the buses don’t stop at many of the shelters. They just move to the area where they can easily get more passengers. The favourite spot is the starting of a flyover from both the sides. The buses will stop there no matter

59% where the shelters are. Most of the times, those waiting at the shelters have to rush towards the bus as the buses compete against each other for passengers. This not only leads to blocking the flyover entry but also slows down the traffic as cars come to a halt

behind the buses that wait there for passengers.

Other said that the bus shelters are mostly surrounded with shops selling tobacco products and one can see people smoking and spitting around it. The whole idea of a shelter is

lost when you stand at such a place said the respondents. The respondents also pointed out that bus shelters are refuge to homeless people who use it as a temporary shed. People don’t protest much as they use the shelter for just a few minutes till the bus arrives and the situation continues. There should be stricter rules so that a bus shelter is not misused for other purposes and is solely used for the benefit of the commuters.

Many of the respondents felt that it is high time Guwahati bus shelters are turned into proper shelters that cater to the needs of a metropolitan city. The respondents seemed to be aware of the standard of bus shelters in other cities of the country and questioned why Guwahati didn’t have similar shelters.

The respondents also said that there should be some amount of uniformity in the shelters and they should look like bus shelters of a modern city with ample space, comfortable seating, proper signage, lighting and protection from rains. Also, the respondents pointed out that the city still lacks sufficient number of bus shelters at majority of the places and people have to stand in open waiting for the buses. n

6 City Snippets GMC officials carry eviction drive in the city

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uwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) carried out an eviction drive against street vendors at Beltola-Basistha road today, September 15.

According to the officials, the street vendors have occupied the streets with illegal shops which are leading to traffic congestion during the busy hours of the day.

It is to be mentioned that, the city in the past couple of years have experienced traffic woes because of the increasing number of motor vehicles plying on the road.

The illegal vendors covering a majority of the parking areas and footpaths has added fuel to the growing concerns.

Recently, G Plus conducted an online poll asking Guwahatians whether they should be removed.

In a total sample size of 856 were of the view that they should be removed. Only 26% believed that the fish se lle rs and ve ge table vendors should be allowed to operate until suitable locations are allocated to them.

Gauhati University girl student attempts suicide

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girl student of Gauhati University allegedly attempted suicide on Monday, September 17.

The stude nt has be e n ide ntifie d as a 21-year-old warder of the RCC7 hostel of the university who is from Hojai, Lanka near Nagaon.

She is a third semester, post graduate student from the Education Department.

The student was allegedly found unconscious under mysterious circumstances at her hostel room at the university campus in Jalukbari.

She is now under treatment in a city-based hospital. The reason for her suicide attempt is yet to be known.

Assam girls win JNU students’ union polls

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wo Assamese girls have managed to get elected in the recentlyheld Jawaharlal Nehru University Student’s Union (JNUSU) polls.

Srijani Bhaswa Mahanta who represented Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Karabee Karabi Kakati representing All India Students’ Association (AISA) got elected to the post of councillors for the School of International Studies (SIS).

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Construction of city road stalled for six months, residents suffer Within a few minutes of rain, the road gets flooded, making it impossible to walk. On the occasion of teacher’s day, I had to take my daughter to the main road without shoes because the road was too slippery for her to walk in shoes.

Lalita Mondal, Resident

Pathetic condition of Pubali Path | G Plus Photo Nehal Jain jain.nehal@g-plus.in

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esidents of Pubali Path, situated adjacent to Kahilipara Road in Guwahati, have been suffering for the past several months in the absence of a road. The 400-meter long stretch of Pubali Path has been lying in a shambles and has been under construction for the past six months.

Situated near Hayat Hospital, there are close to 60 families who reside at Pubali Path and use this road on a daily basis – whether to commute to their workplace, educational institutes or to bring essential commodities to their houses.

In the absence of a road, the residents have been suffering for a long time now. With the entire lane being covered in mud and

There have been several accidents where people have slipped and fallen in the midst of mud and sludge. Recently, an elderly lady suffered a fracture while crossing the road.

Ajay Sarkar, Resident of Pubali Path

sludge, it is almost impossible for residents to even walk and vehicles to pass through. The residents have blamed the contractor for the negligence in completing the road construction work.

“This road has always been in a terrible state. But ever since the construction work began, the situation has become much worse.

The work started in April 2018, but the pace was very slow. Suddenly around a month ago, it stopped completely,” informed Ajay Sarkar, a student and resident of Pubali Path.

The residents of Pubali Path alleged that earlier the workers used worked during the day also posed challenges for them, causing disturbances in their daily chores.

In the absence of a designated space for the residents to walk, the elderly and children have been worst affected. Those who wish to access Pubali Path, have to walk on the narrow guard walls of the drain constructed on either sides of road which is only a few inches wide.

“There have been several accidents where people have slipped and fallen in the midst of mud and sludge. Recently, an elderly lady suffered a fracture while crossing the road,” Ajay told G Plus.

Emergency services like ambulances and fire tenders cannot enter the lane, say residents. They also added that bringing heavy commodities inside the lane is a task since it is very difficult to walk on the guard walls carrying goods. A housewife, Deepshikha Das, informed that buying cylinders have become

very expensive for residents of Pubali Path.

“The cylinder company’s vehicle can’t enter the lane so we need to go to the main road to purchase the same. But the cylinders are very heavy for us to carry so we ask labourers to carry them to our houses. The labourers charge hefty amounts, making the cylinder cost much more than it should,” she said.

Further, the situation becomes worse when it rains as the entire stretch of road gets submerged.

Another resident Lalita Mondal sharing her agony with G Plus said, “Within a few minutes of rain, the road gets flooded, making it impossible to walk. On the occasion of teacher’s day, I had to take my daughter to the main road without shoes because the road was too slippery for her to walk in shoes. Then I made her wear shoes before getting on the school bus.” n

G Plus Impact: Construction work begins at Pubali Path

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fter a long haul, the construction work at Pubali Path has finally resumed. Recently, the residents of the lane had reached out to G Plus to bring their problems to light. They informed that an amount of Rs 65 lakh had been sanctioned under the Public Works Department (PWD) and tendered under contractor Kamal Poddar for the construction of the lane.

However, the work had been stopped mid-way and the residents had been suffering due to it.

Upon receiving the information, G Plus reached

the location to gather first hand information and published a video showcasing our findings.

Following this, the road construction work at Pubali Path resumed the very next day and it is now going on in full swing.

Since the road construction resumed at Pubali Path, the residents of the lane are now hoping that the entire stretch of road gets constructed without any further delay.

“With Durga Puja almost around the corner, we really hope that the construction gets finished by that time otherwise all the festivities will be marred by the dirty and muddy road,” said Deepshikha. n

In The News

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Gorchuk Nexa employee cheats over Rs 1 crore from customers; absconding G Plus News

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he Maruti Nexa showroom located at Gorchuk is under scrutiny for all the wrong reasons as the showroom authorities have filed a fraud case against one of its employee who is absconding at present.

A source in the Gorchuk Police said, “According to the complaint which we have received, an employee Nikita Tiwari, has cheated more than Rs 1 crore from the customers and we are investigating the matter.”

The police revealed that according to the complaint, Nikita has taken advance from many customers for booking new vehicles without informing the management and now the customers are demanding the vehicles, but Nikita is absconding.

The police also did not rule out that there might be other employees who are involved in the scam and the investigation will reveal the nexus.

Meanwhile, the customers are getting harassed as they have already booked the vehicle by paying advance and now they are not getting the vehicles.

A businessman from Tezpur, Avinash Bajaj, talking to G Plus said, “I paid around Rs 4.5 lakhs as an advance but I am not getting my car.”

Bajaj narrated his story that in August he visited Nexa in Gorchuk, to find out the car rates when he met Nikita Tiwari who gave him a good exchange offer for his Swift car. The exchange value for his Swift in Tezpur was Rs 2.7 lakhs, whereas Nikita offered him Rs 4.5 lakhs. He liked the offer and booked a S-Cross Zeta by paying a booking amount of Rs 11,000. After around five days, Nikita called him and asked him to deposit Rs 1 lakh as she informed him that the car is booked. He im-

mediately made a payment of Rs 1 lakh on 21st August. After 5 days Nikita again called him and said that the vehicle has reached the showroom and he has to pay the remaining amount, but she said that she will be delivering S- Cross Alpha which is around Rs 1 lakh more than S-Cross Zeta.

Bajaj disagreed as he wanted Zeta because of its low price (Rs 9.98 lakh). Nikita it seems called him again after a while and said that he will get Alpha in the same price as Zeta but asked him to immediately make the payment.

Bajaj again made a payment of Rs 4 lakhs as he would have exchanged his Swift for Rs 4.5 lakhs. He made the payment on 27th August.

He then wanted the delivery of his car which Nikita kept postponing and finally he visited the showroom on 12th September, as 17th September was Viswakarma Puja and he wanted the car before that.

On 12th August, Bajaj met Nikita who made her wait in the showroom for a while but later she was unreachable as he kept calling her. He even met the manager of the showroom who was also not able to contact her.

Later, the manager of the showroom asked Bajaj to take the delivery on 17th September.

Bajaj said, “On 17th September, the manager called me and said that they have filed a complaint against Nikita in Gorchuk police station. Even the police called me to visit the police station as they require my statement for the investigation.” Bajaj is yet to visit the police station.

Similarly, there are many other customers who were cheated by the employee of the showroom. Police is suspecting that there might be more people involved in the scam and the arrests will be made accordingly.

The incident raises questions about the financial dealings of such showrooms where an employee could cheat customers without the knowledge of the management. n

NEXA showroom at Gorchuk | Source: Internet

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8 Concern Snippets ATM card cloning gang busted, 2 Haryana youths arrested

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he city police has finally managed to get hold of a ATM card cloning gang.

In an operation near Guwahati airport, the Azara police nabbed two members of a gang who were in the business of making fake ATM cards to loot people.

The arrested duo from Hisar, Haryana, has been identified as Manjit Singh (22) and Pravin Kumar (20). They have admitted of looting money from various accounts in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana by cloning ATM cards.

Modus Operandi

The police informed that the two youths had come to the city to start the business and were searching for potential victims.

Once a card is swiped by the machine, details of the cardholder get recorded in it. Later, with the help of software a new duplicate card is made on the basis of the recorded details. The gang then use the duplicate card to take out money from the account. The card holders were in for a surprise as even though they were in possession of the cards, the money was still being withdrawn from their accounts through the cloned cards. The gang had already collected details of 12 card holders in Guwahati.

The Operation

According to the Azara police, at around 8:45 PM, acting on a tip off, a police team apprehended the duo while they were on their way to the airport. They were supposed to board an Indigo flight to New Delhi.

The police recovered one laptop, two ATM swipe machines, 43 blank ATM cards, ATM cards of various banks, 3 cell phones, Rs. 21,641 in cash and a number of SIM cards and objectionable materials from the duo.

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Thief menace on posh Lamb Road Hiranya Barman

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esidents of Ambari in Guwahati have a new problem now as Lamb Road has been giving them a harrowing time recently and residents have none to rely upon in times of need.

According to the residents of Lamb Road, there have been an increasing number of cases where two wheelers parked on the road have been stolen by miscreants in

The entire stretch from the approach of the Lamb road up to Latasil playground looms in total darkness in the evening.

The surroundings of Jor Pukhuri are infested upon by anti- social elements taking advantage of the darkness. Street lights don’t work in the area A Resident

every interval of one day or two.

Residents blame it upon the lack of intervention of police as well as unavailability of streetlights on the road.

“A coaching centre is located at the commercial block at the approach of the Lamb Road from Ambari’s side. Students have to park their vehicles on the road due to dearth of space inside the commercial block. It is a matter of serious concern that at least four two-wheelers belonging to the students have been stolen in the last two weeks. The police have failed miserably in getting back the vehicles,” a resident of lamb Road said.

Ambari in the city hosts maximum number of the directorates of state government departments.

Lamb Road residents boast of their ‘oldest locals’ identity in the city. Further, the menace of malfunctioning streetlights on the road is a matter of serious concern.

“The entire stretch from the approach of the Lamb road up to Latasil playground looms in total darkness in the evening. The surroundings of Jor Pukhuri are infested upon by anti- social elements taking advantage of the darkness. Street lights don’t work in the area,” another resident said.

A long-time resident of Lamb Road is of the view that anti-social activities beside the Jor Pukhuri have become a regular order of business in the evenings. “Taking

Night view of the Ambari Lamb road | G Plus Photo advantage of illegal parking of cab services near the Pukhuri, miscreants resort to illegal activities.

The newly set up parking space

near the Jor Pukhuri by the cab services is making things worse.

Locals are finding no space to park their vehicles,” he said. n

Two wheelers are stolen from the lamb road in every interval of day or two.

Residents blame it upon less intervention of police as well as unavailability of streetlights on the road.

Residents hold police accountable.

Street lights don’t work in the area.

Police seen maintaining vigil in less important areas.

Residents complain of anti-social activities near JorPukhuri during evening.

Police say no inaction on their part.

Police retorts back Residents say police accountable for trouble

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esidents of Lamb Road are holding police accountable for the thefts in the area. A resident on the condition of anonymity has said that even after several complaints registered with Latasil police station against thefts in the area, police failed to address the issues.

“A homeguard came to interrogate in the recent theft issue.

The police wrapped up the inves-

tigation after only a preliminary investigation. Nothing on the ground been noted thereafter.

The police has also been creating nuisance in the area. Unauthorized police personnel like the home guards are seen blowing sirens every evening. Latasil police station personnel are also seen setting up check-posts or seen maintaining vigil in areas less necessary like near the hostels of Handique College and Cotton College,” the resident said. n

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pon asked about the frequent thefts in the locality Latasil PS officer-in-charge Sunil Kalita completely negated the idea of lackadaisical attitude on the part of Latasil PS. “Thieves are in action and resort to anti- social activities almost across the city. Today we have recovered an autorickshaw and a mobile phone stolen recently. In case of the twowheelers complaints are being taken seriously. Not many two wheelers are been stolen rather only a two wheeler has been missing from its parked place.

The owner who is a student

has been interrogated upon. He parked it near the Jor Pukhuri where streets lights fail to work,” Kalita said.

“Police cannot keep an eye upon each and every local staying in this area. Taking advantage of the dark, miscreants resort to stealing of two wheelers. There has been no inaction on our part.

We still have thieves in our jail.

Upon release of the miscreants they again resort to stealing.

Street lights adjacent to the police station were not working earlier. I had to ask the GMC officials to repair the streetlights.

This area looms in total darkness,” Kalita added. n

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Storm

Storm

Storm

Storm

Scattered Storms

Storm

32°/25° C

31°/25° C

31°/25° C

31°/25° C

32°/24° C

31°/25° C

SATURDAY Scattered Storms

32°/26° C

Concern

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Crime against Women on the rise in the City Hiranya Barman

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rime against women in the city is on the rise.

Latest data available with 181 Women Helpline, Assam also revealed new types of crimes being meted out to women in the recent times.

Until now, as many as 720 cases have been registered across Assam with the helpline, since its inception in March. Out of the total cases registered, 173 cases are from Guwahati city.

Officials in the helpline informed that 77 domestic violence cases have

attributed as the highest among all the cases registered and 18 cases are registered against other than the existing categories: n

Crime against Women: Table for Guwahati City

13 cases are registered against obscene calls 10 against ‘tortured by family/ neighbour’ 9 against cyber- crime 5 against property dispute

1 against abandoned and mentally ill 2 against black mailing 1 against child marriage 2 against child sexual abuse

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1 against crime against old 2 against extra marital affair 3 against fraud and cheating 8 against mental torture

1 against rape and sexual assault 3 against romance gone bad 3 against sexual harassment of women 2 against stalking and against trafficking

Challenges of the Helpline

O Newer forms of crimes

be negated.

181 Women Helpline Manager, Nilakshi Sarmah, told G- Plus that cases related to property dispute and cyber-crime are slowly making their foothold in the city.

“Widows and girl child in families often face the brunt of property disputes. When it comes to property, women have to face the maximum as these problems are mostly followed by crime.

We have got some cases where other members of the family don’t feel the necessity to share the property with the girl child,” Sarmah revealed.

While it is evident that minor girls often fall prey to cybercrime due to lake of awareness, working women, too, falling prey to such crimes is a major concern.

“Women themselves have

Doctor allegedly gets drunk, removes patient’s oxygen mask at GMCH

1 against abduction

5 against property dispute

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Snippets

4 against abandoned

5 against missing person

hile existing crimes against women are on the rise, newer forms of crimes cannot

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to be careful to prevent cyberrelated crime. It is seen that due to carelessness, partners exchange private photos, videos and share social media accesses. It then leads to blackmailing and a crime to follow after that. It is our appeal to women to not fall prey to such intimacy, because those who really share a pure intimacy would not prefer exchanging photos, videos etc. Police has to come up with newer technologies to prevent cyber-crimes. The Assam Police Cyberdome has big role to play in future,” she said.

Officials in the helpline regard social media platforms as bane to relationships that ultimately takes the shape of a crime related to domestic violence.

“In a certain case, a 50-yearold woman caught her husband flirting with girls much younger than his age. Initially, the incident mentally harassed the lady and later the husband resorted to physical assault on her,” an official said. n

fficials of the helpline however complained of lazy attitude of police in its intervention of women-related cases. Officials called for better coordination with police.

“If some events like Ambubachi Mela are organized in the city, the whole police force is engaged for security reasons. No help from police comes to fore if emergency situations arise during such events,” an official said.

As far as legal aid is concerned, the officials of Women Helpline take help of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA).

Free legal aid is offered by DLSA to Women Helpline to dispose such cases. “A free legal aid is equivalent to none. They are not very keen on fighting the cases aggressively. A free legal aid is of no help to a victim if the op-

position comes up with a private lawyer. In such cases, justice delivered to a victim is a matter of serious concern. If it goes on like this, there would be no trust upon the Women Helpline system,” a source in the Social Welfare Department said.

“We have urged upon lawyers who believe in activism. Lawyers who believe in justice can come forward to help victims on voluntary basis. There should be provisions to file an FIR via email.

Presently a person has to appear physically to file an FIR, as he has to sign the FIR. But in some cases, victims don’t remain in a state to come physically to file an FIR. FIR’s filed via email is the need of the hour,” Nilakshi Sarmah said.

Unlike other women helplines, 181 women helpline prefers long term follow up of cases until their disposal. n

‘Eye-Watch’ App to mitigate women-related crime

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he Social welfare Department and the 181 women helpline will soon launch an application – ‘EyeWatch’ to help women fight against crimes in times of emergency. The GPS-enabled app is said to be path-breaking in addressing crimes against women.

“An individual in times of emergency simply has to shake

the smart phone. Location of the victim can be traced via GPS in the phone. The information then would automatically help police and others to trace the victim.

The app will soon be available in Google Play Store. The app is on its final stages and is going through some changes. I hope women will download this app along with shopping apps as it would be equally beneficial to them,” Sarmah said. n

n an incident of drunken brawl at Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH), a doctor has been alleged of misbehaving with patients while on duty.

The doctor, identified as Arjun Khaklary, was reportedly in an inebriated state while the incident took place took place at ‘General ICU’.

The family members of the patient have alleged that Khaklary had hit the patient and had also removed the patient’s oxygen mask.

The doctor was later arrested

by Bhangagarh Police.

Hima Das signs endorsement deal with Adidas

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he leading sportswear manufacturer, Adidas on Tuesday has officially signed an endorsement deal with Assam’s rising athlete, Hima Das. Hima, who is already a big fan of Adidas, has worn shoes sponsored by Adidas during her historic run at the Youth Championships and at the Asian Games.

Hima will now be equipped with the best offerings from Adidas for her race and training, as per requirement.

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10 In The News Snippets Centre confirms Arjuna Award for Hima Das

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ssam’s golden girl, Hima Das will be conferred with Arjuna Awards on 25th September, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by President, Ram Nath Kovind.

Hima’s name figures at number 3 in the list of 20 Arjuna awardees prepared by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Hima will receive a statuette, certificate and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh from the Govt of India at a special function in New Delhi.

18-year-old Hima, won one gold and two silver medals at the recently held Asian Games and previously, a gold at the women’s 400m final race in the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Tampere, Finland.

The Ministry for Youth Affairs and Sports on Thursday, released the complete list of sportspersons to be awarded with National Sports Awards.

Gauhati University PG Students’ Union polls on 24th September

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tage is all set for the prestigious Gauhati University Post Graduate Students’ Union (PGSU)

polls.

The polls are scheduled to be held on 24th September, Monday, and the counting of votes will take place on 25th September. The last date of nomination withdrawal was on 19th September.

Though the university is a stronghold of the All Assam Students’ Union, other major organisations in the fray are: National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Satra Mukti Sangram Samiti (SMSS) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), who will be fielding candidates for various posts.

It was AASU which won most of the posts in last year’s election. According to students, most of the major posts will see a three-cornered fight this year.

Guwahati-North Guwahati ferry services resume after 6 days

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erry services between Guwahati and North Guwahati has resumed from Friday.

Regular ferry services will start from Rajadwar, Madhyam Khanda and Mazgaon ghats.

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Aadhar implementation to begin from October beginning G Plus News

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he much-awaited Aadhaar enrolment in the state is set to start from the beginning of October onwards, informed district administration officials.

The process of implementation has gained momentum in the state and is expected to go full swing in the first part of October. Authorities said that the state registrar of the general administration department (GAD) has already issued work orders to the six shortlisted firms to carry out the enrolment process.

The Aadhaar enrolment was initially slated to begin during the last part of August this year; however, the work got delayed due to some official procedural hurdles.

The selected firms have already been handed over the official work orders on September 1 for supplying Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) certified one machine and operational kits alongwith one skilled operator per Aadhaar Enrolment Centre on monthly rental basis across each enrolment centres set up across the state.

The firms involved in the process have been given a time period of one year to complete

People standing in queue to collect their Adhar Card forms at a bank in the city | G Plus Photo the task assigned to them for 3.16 crore residents of the state who are yet to receive Aadhaar cards. Out of 3.40 crore estimated population only 24.34 lakh people (less than 10% population) possess Aadhaar cards so far, according to official figures.

The six selected firms have already been given the terms and conditions of the project and

contract agreements have also been signed between the registrar and the firms on September 6.

Altogether 20 firms had applied for the Aadhaar exercise and out of them only six firms were finally selected through a bid evaluation committee and state level Aadhaar implementation committee notified for the purpose. n

Aadhar is considered a proof of residence and not a proof of citizenship.

The residents who come to the Aadhaar enrolment centres for the generation of Aadhaar cards are required to submit original documents of proof of address, proof of date of birth and proof of residents at the time of submitting applications.

State divided into 10 zones Process of for Aadhaar enrolment Aadhaar enrolment

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he entire state has been divided into 10 zones for the project. Further, the GAD has already notified 1,241 enrolment centres in the state spreading across 33 districts.

Officials informed that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) would be providing funds for the cost of generation of Aadhaar cards for the residents through the registrar and the other expenses like consumables and stationary items among others for the enrolment centres would be borne by the general administrative department.

Additionally, a review meeting was recently held between the GAD and the additional deputy commissioners who would be monitoring and supervising the entire exercise at the district level.

Further, a first phase training of the document by verifying officials (who are government

employees) was also carried out.

However, one more phase of such training would be conducted both for the government verifiers and skilled operators jointly.

An orientation programme was also organised for the selected firms on September 14 at GAD where the UIDAI technical persons briefed the suppliers about their roles and responsibilities in the Aadhaar generation process.

Further, all the selected firms have been instructed to contact the respective deputy commissioners with regards to supply and installation of machines and kits alongwith skilled operators immediately.

District administrative authorities said that the Deputy Commissioners (DC) would be the enrolment agency under whose direct supervision the Aadhaar implementation work would be carried out. n

The Unique Identification Authority of India issues a 12- digit number which is called Aadhaar Card to Indian residents. The Aadhaar card enrolment application form would be provided to the residents in the enrolment centres.

However, the form can also be downloaded online through UIDAI website or by visiting the nearest Aadhaar enrolment centres, or banks and post offices. Further, once the application has been submitted, the Aadhaar card can be downloaded online after 10-12 days from the date of submission of application.

Aadhar is considered a proof of residence and not a proof of citizenship. The residents who come to the Aadhaar enrolment centres for the generation of

Aadhaar cards are required to submit original documents of proof of address, proof of date of birth and proof of residents at the time of submitting applications.

In order to create publicity and awareness, a series of information, education, communication (IEC) activities among the residents on the necessity of Aadhaar cards that is, in getting government benefits and subsidies, including the procedures of Aadhaar card generation has also been planned by the GAD with the help of UIDAI. A person can get his/her Aadhaar number/card free of cost. An Aadhar number can be used while opening a bank account, applying for passport, booking e-tickets and many other places where there is a need to establish identity. n

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

12 Cover Story Snippets New Media Campaign by Assam Police

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n continuation of the ‘TheThinkCampaign’, Assam Police is launching a twoweek long Cyber Safety and Awareness Campaign in partnership with UNICEF Assam.

The new campaign is termed as #ThinkBeforeYouClick. This Social Media campaign is designed to raise awareness among children, youth, students and the public at large on issues pertaining to Digital and Internet safety.

The Assam Police Smart Social Media Centre has released a circular stating that the campaign will kick off from 20th September, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube et al with creative visuals and multimedia graphics on cyber safety and wellness.

Additionally, Assam Police is also planning to conduct workshops and training sessions for Schools and Colleges where experts from Social Media and Digital Media along with Assam Police officials will sensitise young students on Cyber Safety.

An added feature of these workshops and training sessions will be self-defence demonstrations, as at times Cyber Stalking is followed by physical stalking.

Eviction drive at ITA Machkhowa

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Cong councillors in Guwahati getting offers from BJP Continued from page » 1

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he Congress councillors who won in 2013 and were sitting councillors till 31st July 2018, when the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) term ended are getting offers from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

A Congress councillor talking to G Plus on condition of anonymity said, “The BJP has given me an offer to join their

party and start working for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.” He revealed that the saffron party leaders have promised him the councillor ticket if he works for the party in the ward he won in 2013.

He also revealed that like him many other Congress councillors are getting offers from BJP but they have decided that they will not join the saffron party as, the Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) wave is not strong this time. n

BJP councillors on their toes for ensuing elections

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he Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) council term ended on 31st July 2018 and thereafter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors are on their toes for the ensuing elections which are due this year.

A BJP councillor said, “We don’t know who will get the ticket as if there is an alliance between Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and BJP, there is a possibility that some of our seats may be given to them (AGP).”

He also said that in every ward there are many BJP members who are also aspirants of the tickets and they are trying their best to impress the party leadership.

He revealed that the aspirants keep visiting the party office to woo the party leaders, therefore it is unknown who will get the ticket and who won’t.

The councillor also mentioned that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also have their own candidates and the saffron party takes their opinion before giving the tickets. n

BJP President Amit Shah addressing a meeting in Guwahati | G Plus Photo

‘Abhi- Neel’ waterfall to feature at Lakhimandir Durga Puja celebration

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he District Administration Kamrup (Metro) carried out an eviction and demolition drive at the premises of Pragjyoti Cultural Complex at Machkhowa.

A total of seven unauthorised structures were destroyed by the district administration at ITA Machkhowa on Thursday.

The team led by Circle Officer Damodar Barman demolished structures of business establishments that had extended their structures beyond their allotted area.

Also, a road behind the campus has been cleared in this drive.

The demolition drive will help in the extension plan of Pragjyoti Cultural Complex, said the officials.

Hiranya Barman

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ith much pomp and show the Lakhimandir Durgotsav Udjapan Samiti is ready for its golden jubilee celebrations at Lakhimandir, Beltola.

Unlike last year the samiti will organize a 10-day celebration on the occasion of golden jubilee. The celebration would start from October 10 to 19.

Lakhimandir Udjapan Samiti retaining the tradition of showing burning issues of the society by installing artworks is gearing up for even bigger rendition this year.

Samiti members are of the view that artwork installation of

Lakhimandir Durga Puja pandal | G Plus Photo

Abhi-Neel waterfall from Karbi Anglong would be the centre of attraction. As many as 20 artistes under the supervision of renowned artist Akhil Sinha are currently engaged in the work.

The artwork waterfall is about 25 feet tall and around 250 feet in length.

Along with the decoration of the Basistha road, other artwork installations of man-elephant conflict and technical rendition of 20 feet King-Kong are other attractions.

Upon asked about the security concerns for 10 days, samiti members told that maximum security would be provided for the visitors. CCTV cameras and police personnel would check for any kind of untoward incidents at the venue, they said. n

In The News

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Ambulance strike continues for over two weeks, paralyses emergency services workers, authorities decided to temporarily completely call off the services of the 102 and 108 ambulances following the meeting with the striking workers. n

108 and 102 employees protesting in Guwahati | G Plus Photo

Saumya Mishra saumya.mishra@g-plus.in

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he indefinite strike by workers of GVK-EMRI, the company which manages 108 and 102 ambulances in the state, entered its 17th day on Friday, paralysing emergency services across the state for more than two weeks.

With no near solution in sight, the residents dependent on 102 and 108 ambulances have been suffering in the city as well as the state.

Close to 3,000 staff of the 108 and 102 ambulance services of the state went on an indefinite

strike from September 4 affecting medical emergency services across the city as well as the state.

All the field staff, drivers, medical technicians as well as the call takers of the Emergency Management and Research Institute (GVK-EMRI) have called a strike on account of their various demands.

Some of their major demands include an increment in their salary, leave encashment, reducing their shift duty from 12 hours to 8 hours and implementation of the rules of the labour law.

Immediately after the workers called the strike, the GVK-EMRI had arranged for Adarani vehicles in addition to some ambulances provided by the gov-

ernment to carry out the emergency operations.

However, the officials had to completely shut that service too since September 10. GVK-EMRI officials told G Plus that the decision was taken after the striking workers assaulted top officials of the Hyderabad-based company at a negotiation meeting held in Guwahati recently.

“We had called the drivers, technicians and other striking workers for a meeting for negotiation, but a consensus could not be reached and at the end of the meeting they assaulted the senior officials of our company who had come to Guwahati from Hyderabad,” informed an official of the company.

Fearing the safety of their

The 108 Mrityunjoy Emergency Response Services was formally inaugurated on 6 November 2008 in Guwahati. They are operational in all the districts of Assam and provide emergency medical service. Each ambulance is manned by a pilot and an emergency medical technician who is a trained paramedic capable of providing pre-hospital care while transporting the patient to the hospital.

On the other hand, 102 ambulance services have been operational in the state from September 2013. It primarily helps in shifting a patient from a lower level hospital to a higher level treatment facility.

Aimed at increasing the number of institutional deliveries, Adarani project provides for a drop facility to mothers and their newborns from the hospital to their residence after delivery.

GVK-EMRI MoU with Assam govt to end on Sept 30

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n the meantime, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of GVK EMRI with department of health and family welfare, government of Assam for providing Mrityunjoy 108 Emergency services and 102 Inter Facility Service (IFT) will come to an end on September 30.

As per the terms of employment/service rules, employment contract of all employees of 108 and 102 with GVK EMRI will come to an end and on September 30 as these services is co terminus with GVK EMRI’s agreement with the state government.

GVK EMRI officials informed that with the award of new contract in between GVK EMRI and the state government, GVK EMRI will start fresh operations

in the state with re-hiring people from existing operation based on their satisfactory performance in their current job and also by hiring fresh people and providing them adequate training.

Further, the company has handed over all ambulances and its assets to the state government as per the terms of the contract.

Additionally, GVK EMRI will again start the process of taking over ambulances and other assets from Assam government as per the terms and after award of the new contract.

On the other hand, the company authorities said that two of the workers’ demands including reduction of their duty hours from 12 to 8 hours and implementation of service rules have already been discussed with the labour commissioner and the

talks are ongoing.

Further, officials informed that the staff members were already given leave encashment in their last salary and they were also offered increment with an arrear for the months of July, August and September which will be paid along with the salary for the month of September.

On the other hand, the agitating employees of the GVKEMRI said they had not received any wage revisions and that they had to work for 12 hours every day. They added that one of their main grievances included nonimplementation of the service rules.

“We have approached the labour department as well as the National Health Mission, but still no attention was paid to our demands,” informed an employee

and union member.

Currently, the striking workers are having talks with the state government, the results of which are awaited, informed sources.

Ganesh Saikia, Joint Director Health, Kamrup (Metro), told G Plus that in order to meet the emergency demands of the district currently there are 16 vehicles from the ‘Adarani’ ambulance service which are being used to cater to emergency cases.

“In addition to this, we have some basic older ambulances which were purchased around 10 years ago by the state government, so we are utilising their services,” said Saikia.

He added that in some dire cases, if need be, they can also request private hospitals and clinics. n

13

Snippets Subodh Biswas, prime accused in Silapathar vandalism, granted bail

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he Gauhati High Court on Tuesday granted bail after around one and half years to Subodh Biswas—the prime accused in the Silapathar attack case.

Biswas is the president of Nikhil Bharat Bengali Udbastu Samannay Samiti (NBBUSS), a lesser known Nagpur-based Hindu Bengali outfit.

Biswas allegedly inspired a mob with hate speech to attack the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) office on March 6 last year and was charged with abetting riots and fuelling enmity between two communities.

He was arrested from the Bajitpur area of North-24 Pargana district of West Bengal on March 22.

Biswas’ bail petition was rejected on several occasions earlier. The bail was granted by the Court of Justice Mir Alfaz.

Goods carrying trucks restricted inside Guwahati city

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eputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Amanjeet Kaur has informed that entry of goods-carrying commercial vehicles of and above 10-wheels has been restricted into the city.

The order comes into effect from Thursday and the vehicles will not be allowed to enter the city from highway. Many trucks use the city roads during nights as a quick bypass from one point to the other or deliver goods to warehouses inside the city.

This decision has been taken to ensure the safety of citizens in the streets of Guwahati and also to streamline the traffic flow and minimise traffic jams.

The police however after a special permission will provide entry to those trucks that are carrying essential commodities and perishable goods.

14 G Talk E

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G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018 T

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Messy VC appointment

hatever is happening at Gauhati University is not nice.

Period! It has never happened before and the unprecedented nature of the occurrences is akin to a touch of indigestion – a feeling that someone somewhere is tinkering around and compromising the quality of education dispensation of the apex institution. Yes, I am talking about the Court’s intervention in the matter of the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor post Dr Mridul Hazarika’s retirement on August 7 last.

Two factors demonstrate whatever is happening here is wrong. One is the fact that to my knowledge, Gauhati University has never had an incumbent VC stretching out his term post retirement.

Customarily, once a VC has finished his term, the Rector or the senior-most professor of the University takes over during the interim period until a new VC is selected.

Certainly, Dr Hazarika’s moment of retirement was in a blaze of glory: leading GU towards acquiring Grade A accreditation from NAAC. But any attempt to reinstate him or stretch his term would be something like a guest who overstays his welcome. If titbits received from reliable sources are to be believed, he allegedly happens to be an

applicant and was ready to face an interview panel, but the Court intervened.

The other factor is the addition of an individual to the “Vice Chancellor Selection Committee” who doesn’t fit the norms of the University Grants Commission; there is allegedly a conflict of interest and so the Court had to step in. What these kinds of moves do is arouse suspicions that the best candidate might not get the top job and somewhere there is some manipulation being insidiously perpetrated.

Let us be very clear about the role of the VC of Gauhati University. He is that entity upon whom the fate and future of this premier institution of the state’s highest learning depends. He is the intellectual and administrative stalwart whose strategies and vision have a profound impact on the quality of our state’s human resources. Today, the very fact that the Court has had to intervene with regard to the appointment of the Vice Chancellor smacks of a compromise in this holy process that is not acceptable.

One hopes those relevant powers-that-be understand the stark importance of not messing around with our premier institution.

Swapnil Bharali Editor

GUWAHATI ADDA

New Age Media Random Human: Oh so I heard your column bagged some award in Delhi?

Me: Oh yeah. Thanks. How’d you know?

Random Human: I didn’t say congratulations... And to answer your question, your Facebook update…

Me: Oh yeah, right.

Random Human: And your Instagram update Me: Yes yes.

Random Human: And your Snapchat story too.

Me: I got your point.

Random Human: Well, congratulations though. Hope you continue to do great. So while we’re on this topic, what exactly is this Guwahati Adda?

Me: Well, simply put, Guwahati Adda is a conversation between two or more stakeholders from our city. It could be about something that’s trending or something that concerns us. It could be between you and I, a cop and a fish wala, a politician and his followers, so on and so forth.

It’s usually inspired by daily conversations, small or big, frugal or serious.

Random Human: Oh, so a conversation like this could possibly be featured on the column?

Me: Yes, possibly. If you are the highlight of my week…

Random Human: Well I do hope you have a better highlight somewhere else too.

Me: Speaking of highlights, I could post our selfie on my Instagram Highlights. Do you want to take a selfie?

Random Human: Not really.

(Random human walks away).

Let my millennial existential crisis begin...

Sidharth Bedi Varma

Suicidal tendencies: mankind’s ugly option

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n the modern era, words like, “science & technology,” “business & commerce” etc have all showered a sanguine mindset among humans residing on this globe, and that has indeed come in handy in the process of making mankind climb the ladder of progress and development. But amidst this aura, a detestable term known as “suicide” or killing oneself has also silently kept on lingering in the logical atmosphere of this human dominated planet. And this has only happened because every now and then we come across news where we find individuals tempted to adopt this tragic way of killing themselves, and the sad fact is that with each passing year, the percentage of suicidal cases have only grown higher.

Over the years, we have also descried that many authors as well as mind specialists have also given their descriptive and analytical views about suicide or ways to tackle suicidal tendencies.

However, it seems that all those writings and deliberations have simply gone in vain. Very recently, four more meritorious students from four different local educational institutions have also committed suicide, surprisingly within a period of less than one month. So that puts out an alarming question: why are the youths inclined towards ending their lives in this dreadful manner? Furthermore, statistics reveal that about 8,00,000 people

The author offers a scientific analysis on the reasons that tempt a person to commit suicide in the aftermath of four students of local institutions taking this drastic step within the last 30 days

rOnly personal milestones

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commit suicide worldwide every year; of these 1,35,000 (17%) are residents of India. Moreover, according to 2015 data (the latest available) from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), one student commits suicide every hour in India. Added to this, according to 2012 Lancet Report, India has one of the world’s highest suicide rates for youths aged 15 to 29. But the bigger question that arises out of this is: What are the core reasons that are causing individuals - especially youths - to take this drastic step?

A few psychologists are of the opinion that an individual is actually born with the fear of two things - a) fear of falling down b) fear of loud noises.

In fact, according to those psychologists, even the above mentioned consternation cannot be tagged as “fear,” rather they are preventive measures that the human mind automatically generates within itself to help and protect an individual. So, the fact that is evident from this analytical reference is that the human mind never wants to kill the physical body; rather it helps the body to nurture itself and develop completely. Hence, the suicidal tendency generating in an individual’s mind is because of external factors which are more often than not pulled by an individual towards himself.

If we broadly analyze the core factors that force a person to commit suicide, then we will find that the factors can be divided into- a) societal factors b) individual factors. Societal factors include constant pressure imposed upon an individual by the society - like to bring laurels to the society, to get more and more educational degrees, to get oneself employed in high salaried jobs, to get married on time etc.

On the other hand, the individual factors include the tendency to die without any reason, unfulfilled love affairs, not getting expected results, constant pressure from beloved ones, unhealthy matrimonial relationship, drug addiction etc. And both the societal and individual factors, either in an amalgamated way or separately, cause a person to

O pinion Bishaldeep Kakati

suffer from depression and mental illness (illness like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality etc), traumatic stress, substance abuse and impulsivity, hopelessness, social isolation etc which ultimately instigate the person to commit suicide.

However, in the present scenario, it remains really crucial to come up with ways to reduce the number of suicidal cases. In order to reduce the number of suicidal cases in youths, the roles of the father, mother and the teacher remain vital. A teenager must be strictly monitored, his actions should be noticed, and if at any point of time, the teenager’s behavior turns out to be odd then it remains the duty of the parents and the teachers to talk to him, and if necessary should also treat him by taking him to appropriate counseling sessions of experts.

The extra burden, pressure and expectation imposed upon a person should be reduced and the society should try to appreciate the individual as he is without comparing him with others.

Along with this, it is also believed that if a person before committing suicide even for a moment reconsiders his decision, then he will never be tempted to commit suicide again at least for that moment. Hence, proper discussions with the right individuals, understanding oneself, trying to evaluate out the solutions to problems, trying to handle pressure in a constructive way etc can all diminish the suicidal tendency residing in an individual’s mind. Last but not the least, people should always realize the fact that life on this planet is the gift of god, and hence they should always try to make use of it in a better way, rather than ending it on a bitter note, giving due emphasis on the quote, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” n

Letter to the Editor

he recent tour of England by Team India, ranked No1 test team in ICC ranking was totally a one-sided affair. The much hyped test series exposed Team India’s meek surrender against quality swing and seam bowling by the English bowlers and also surprisingly against spin bowling led by MoeenAli. Barring a few personal milestones for the likes of ViratKohli, Ishant Sharma, KL Rahul, the other members of the star studded Indian team crumbled like anything. Personal achievements or milestones hardly matter in team game like cricket. What really matters is success of the team. After the last tour of South Africa, it was expected from the flamboyant test team of India to shed the tag of ‘Lambs at abroad’ in the English summer but all the speculations that were created by Indian media was laid to rest. Now another tough tour of Australia is coming up in the later part of November and as usual the followers of Indian cricket will hope for something special. Till then let us keep our fingers crossed.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Ambari, Guwahati

In Focus

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Mayur Bora Writer, Social commentator

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ayur Bora is a critically acclaimed writer with 14 books to his credit.

Mayur started writing during his school days and now writes in both Assamese and English. He has also translated short stories by noted litterateur Dilip Bora into English which was published in the form of a book titled “All Those Yearnings.” As a popular motivational speaker and social commentator, he has already made his mark across the state of Assam.

Mayur has his roots in Nagaon where he was born. But he grew up in Guwahati and only visited Nagaon during holidays.

Here, he began formal education in Sacred Heart School and later joined Nizorapar LP School.

When Mayur was in the fourth grade, he appeared for the LP Scholarship program in which he stood first. But then the Assam Agitation took place and he lost a year.

Later, in 1981, Mayur joined Cotton Collegiate Higher Secondary School for matriculation. He went on to study in the science stream

at Cotton College. The bright student that he was, Mayur got selected in most of the prestigious Regional Engineering Colleges (now National Engineering College) but instead, he joined Hansraj College under the University of Delhi to study History and Geography.

“I feel that my father took a really good decision in admitting me to a vernacular medium school since he made sure that it didn’t hamper my English communication skills,” Mayur expressed.

After graduating, Mayur started preparing for competitive examinations. After getting selected in multiple central government and banking jobs, he finally joined National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) as an assistant manager. For over the past 20 years, he has been associated with NABARD and currently holds the post of Deputy General Manager.

Working with NABARD, he has been posted at various places across the country including Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jorhat and Guwahati. Presently,

he is posted on deputation at the Indian Institute of Bank Management (IIBM).

Speaking to G Plus about finding his calling as a writer, Mayur said, “I first started writing when I was around 10 years old.

My first essay got published in the Xofura magazine and it motivated me to pursue writing further.”

Mayur mostly dabbles in nonfiction, writing on a vast range of issues like westernization, casteism and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). When the national media was busy focusing on the NRC, Mayur wrote a counter narrative giving the perspective of the indigenous people of Assam. The article went viral; it was shared by people from across the globe.

Mayur is associated with some of the leading regional as well as national newspapers for whom he writes opinion pieces and these include Firstpost, Deccan Herald, Economic Times, Orissa Post, Assam Tribune and The Sentinel among others.

He is also a known face on Assamese television. A commentator in Assamese and

English, Mayur loves to deliver speeches. Calling a spade a spade is the defining trait of his writing and speeches. His candor has sometimes created controversies, but his underlying logic has often ultimately helped drive his argument home.

“I believe that the real tussle is between truth and propaganda and not between the ‘isms’ of the world. In this post-truth world, I feel that truth is perpetually on trial and rehabilitating the truth is the most serious challenge staring at the face of mankind,” Mayur, who holds very strong opinions about various issues and is vocal about them, told G Plus.

Additionally, Mayur has delivered speeches at over 70 colleges and almost all the universities in the Brahmaputra Valley.

His books have also been selected as part of the syllabus and competitions at various educational institutes, a recognition he is very content with.

For his works in the field of literature, Mayur has been conferred with many prestigious awards including the Sahitya Sabha Award, Karmabir

15

Chandranath Sharma Award and Dr Moidul Islam Bora Xahitya Award. Among his most well received books are Axomiya Swabhimanor Ruprekha, Abegar Kunwari Phali and Xowaranir Xonowali Pristha.

Son of Late Bharat Chandra Bora who retired as a deputy secretary in the government of Assam and Late Baralata Bora, Mayur currently lives in Guwahati with his wife Ranjita and their two children – Debasmit and Pracheeta.

Xowaranir Xonowali Pristha.

Son of Late Bharat Chandra Bora who retired as a deputy secretary in the government of Assam and Late Baralata Bora, Mayur currently lives in Guwahati with his wife Ranjita and their two children – Debasmit and Pracheeta.

The recent move by the traffic police to restrict goods carrying trucks inside Guwahati has got the citizens talking about it Hiranya Deva Sarmah

The DCP already has the “Paltan Bazar traffic flow improvement” in the list of her achievements. I wonder if the trucks will be allotted designated truck lay bays so that they don’t end up choking the highway. However, ‘Special permission’, duh!

Sandeep Rajkhowa

Ha ha ha... Special permission... Why? Earlier it was illegal money now it will be 100% legal. Who will decide which vehicle to be allowed and which not? The Police? Ha ha... tab to ban chuki baat! (it just means nothing) Madam, Ganeshguri traffic jam r karone kiba eta korok (Madam, please do something about the Ganeshguri traffic jam)... daily daily adha ghanta tel puri abastha beya hakalure (we lose a lot of fuel and time waiting for the traffic to clear) especially when fuel is now a precious commodity!

Nabanita Devi

Trucks are a menace at night. You should see how fast they drive and even if you ask for side they don’t relent. All they do is eat up the road space and keep honking horns. It is good that now they will have to take permission to enter the city. This will at least bring some discipline among the drivers.

Robin B

A very good step taken by Guwahati Police, much needed. Guwahatians who have to move around the city at night for different reasons understand the nuisance caused by trucks. In the VIP road area we witness a long line of trucks which pass through the heart of the city. It is known that for economic progress trucks contribute a lot but they should not be allowed to break the city’s roads and further slow down the already pathetic traffic movement. Also, due the un-planned digging of city roads one can see and feel what happens in areas like Narengi, Noonmati and Pathor Quarry. The road has already been dug and there is no place and you have to fight your way out between lines of trucks and broken roads.

Barun Mahanta

This is just a temporary measure. It is not going to solve any problem.

Trucks not only slow down the traffic they are also parked haphazardly.

You should see their drama at the highway where they come to load and unload at the warehouses. Most of the traffic jam in the JalukbariKhanapara stretch is because of trucks trying to move from one side of the road to the other. They don’t follow the traffic rules and would just drive the truck through narrow lanes. The service lanes are totally destroyed because of the trucks. When the connecting road gets blocked by such trucks, the traffic slows down and it ultimately slows down the traffic of the adjoining areas inside the city – Lokhra is one such example.

Devarun Chaki

The main problem is not trucks but buses, streamline them and most of the city roads will be Jam free.

16 Snippets

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Guwahati writer wins award for Best Columnist at Digipub Awards 2018

Pulin Das memorial sports quiz contest to be held on Oct 2

G

URUGRAM: In the 2nd Edition of the afaqs!

Digipub Awards 2018, a convention for web publishers across India, Guwahati based media professional, Sidharth Bedi Varma from city-based publication GPlus bagged the award for the Best Columnist in India, with a Gold trophy.

The award was accorded to him for his column ‘Guwahati Adda’, published on Guwahati Plus (G Plus), the city-based popular print and digital publication.

According to the writer, ‘Guwahati Adda’ is an informal conversation between 2 or more people about current issues and challenges that affect the city of Guwahati and is often identified

T

he second Pulin Das Memorial Open PrizeMoney Sports Quiz Competition – 2018, organised by Guwahati Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA), will be held on October 2, 2018

with its localized language, local references and contexts.

“I think it’s the insight from the streets of the city with an

informal style in storytelling that made more of an impact for the prestigious jury members,” said Sidharth said. n

Two –day jewellery exhibition inaugurated in city option to buy loose diamonds at the exhibition in order to get it made according to their preference.

According to the organisers, the first day of the exhibition saw encouraging and enthusiastic response from the city residents.

Kashyap Patawari and Santosh Patawari, the owners of Vaachee informed that they have organised

Water ATMs and Smart Bio-Toilets launched under Guwahati Smart City Mission

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nder the Guwahati Smart City Mission, twenty (20) water ATMs and thirty (30) bio-toilets, have been taken up at selected locations in the city.

A bio-toilet and a water ATM was inaugurated by Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Guwahati Development Department (GDD) minister, Government of Assam, at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital premises on Thursday. The locations for the services have been chosen in such a manner that maximum number of citizens avail the benefits.

The project cost for the water ATMs is Rs. Rs. 2.09 crore and includes operation and maintenance by the contractor.

The project cost for bio-toilets is Rs. 9.53 crore and includes operation and maintenance.

Water ATMs

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two-day jewellery exhibition by Vaachee was inaugurated on Friday in Guwahati.

The exhibition is being held in a city hotel and will conclude on September 22.

The Kolkata-based company Vaachee deals in a range of different kinds of jewellery including diamond, jadau, imported jewellery and colour stones or rashi stones.

Imported jewellery from Turkey and Dubai was the highlight of the exhibition which offered a wide range of designs from Jaipur and Kolkata among others. The customers have an

extensive array of jewellery to choose from including modern gold sets, diamond rings, earrings, traditional jadau jewellery sets from Jaipur and rashi stones.

The customers also have an

a standalone exhibition for the first time in Guwahati.

“The response from Guwahati has always been good and we are looking forward to organising more such exhibitions here in the future,” said Mona, one of the organisers. n

at Kumar Bhaskar Natya Mandir, Uzanbazar, Guwahati at 2.00 PM. The preliminary screening and selection round will be held at 11.00 AM on October 2 at the same venue.

The top three winning teams will receive a cash award of Rs. 10,000, Rs. 7,000 and Rs. 5,000 while the fourth, fifth and sixth teams will receive Rs. 1000 respectively. The quiz will be conducted by renowned quiz masters Dipankar Kaushik and Dilip Sarma.

Nabajyoti Kalita, general secretary, GLTA informed in a press release that any teams comprising two members are eligible to take part in the competition. n

Each water ATM is equipped to dispense water in the volumes of 250 ml, 1 litre, 5 litres and 20 litres. Paper glasses for dispensing 250 ml of water will be provided by the contractor at the water ATMs. The rates for water have been fixed at Re 1 for 250 ml; Rs. 5 for 1 litre; Rs. 10 for 5 litres and Rs. 25 for 20 litres. The price has been kept substantially lower than the market rate. The water will meet all the treatment quality standards assured the government.

Smart bio-toilets

The smart Bio-toilet unit is a modular, pre-fabricated unit and

is integrated with user-friendly electronic interfaces. They are unmanned, automated smart toilets having remote monitoring facilities by integrating electrical, mechanical and GPS technology.

The toilets are provided with a bio digester tank for hygienic decomposition of the soil waste and discharging environment safe effluent. The technology behind the Bio Digester system is Anaerobic Bio-Digestion.

Features of bio-toilet

Each unit has 1 toilet seat each for male and female with benches, napkin incinerator and female friendly features.

The entry to the toilet is controlled through a coininsert mechanism.

Even if the user forgets to flush after usage, automatic flush is generated after the exit.

Further automated floor cleaning is activated through a ‘programmed to function’ after a usage by 5 users.

This unit is connected to an anaerobic bio-tank/ bio-digester with DRDO approved technology for minimum of 200 users per day with a capacity of 10,000 litres.

The operation and maintenance of these 30 units will be done by the Contractor for one year and it may be extended up to 5 years depending on the performance.

Trotter

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

The strongest material in the Universe could be (nuclear) pasta

H

ow to cook “nuclear pasta” in three easy steps: 1. Boil one large, dying star until it goes supernova and explodes. (This could take a billion years, so be patient.)

2. Vigorously stir any leftover protons and electrons inside the star’s shriveled core until they merge into a soup of ultradense neutrons. Apply as much gravity as necessary.

3. Scrunch the neutron stew into an airtight sphere the size of Toronto. Cover in a crystalline crust and serve at 1.08 million degrees Fahrenheit (600,000 degrees Celsius).

Voila! You have just made one of the universe’s strangest concoctions — nuclear pasta.

For several years, astrophysicists have noodled with the idea that such a linguini-like tangle of matter might be rippling around inside neutron stars — the relatively small, unbelievably dense stars that form after massive suns collapse under their own gravity.

Just like your nonna’s pasta, nuclear pasta makes great leftovers (it may be pretty much the only matter that can survive in a star after a supernova). Unlike

earthly noodles, however, nuclear pasta may be the strongest substance in the universe.

In a new study soon to be published in the journal Physical Review Letters (and prepublished in the online journal arXiv.org), a team of researchers from the United States and Canada

ran a series of computer simulations to test the strength of nuclear pasta, based on all that is known about the neutron- star conditions under which it forms. The team determined that, to shatter a plate of nuclear pasta, it could take about 10 billion times the force needed to shatter steel. “[That] may make nuclear pasta the strongest material in the known universe,” the researchers wrote in their new paper.

Much of nuclear pasta’s strength likely comes from its density. Nuclear pasta is thought to exist only inside neutron stars, which form when massive stars (at least eight times the mass of Earth’s sun) collapse under their own gravity. As a result, neutron stars pack an entire sun’s worth of mass (or more) into a compact core about 12 miles (20 kilometers) across. To visualize how insanely dense that is, imagine cramming the mass of 1.3 million Earths into a single American city.

(Source: Live Science)

Chinese restaurant chain loses £145m after pregnant woman finds dead rat in soup

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Chinese restaurant chain lost around £145m in market value after a pregnant woman found a dead rat in her soup. The rodent was found at the fast food restaurant Xiabu Xiabu, famous for its hotpots, in Weifang, a city in the eastern province of Shandong.

The pregnant woman was dining at the chain with her family when she fished the boiled rat out of the broth she was eating with a pair of chopsticks. The woman’s husband, named as Mr Ma, said restaurant staff had told him: “If you are worried about the baby, then we’ll give you 20,000 yuan to abort it,” according to Shanghai-based Kankan News.

Hotpots are prepared with a simmering pot of soup stock at the dining table and contain a variety of east Asian foodstuffs. Typical ingredients in hotpots include thinly sliced meat, tofu, vegetables and seafood.

The outlet in Shandong has been temporarily shut down following the find last week.

After video footage of the dead rat in the woman’s soup circulated on social media, the chain’s shares dropped by 12%, losing £145m in value to reach its lowest level since October last year, before regaining value.

An inspection was immediately undertaken at the restaurant, but there was reportedly no trace of rats. However inspectors found that some of the restaurant’s suppliers did not have proper qualifications. The restaurant released a now-deleted statement on Saturday saying that =it had “ruled out” the possibility that a lack of hygiene had caused the deceased rat to end up in the hotpot.

(Source: Sky News)

This is what happens to your penis when you take Viagra minute by minute

V

iagra’s function is wellknown. But, much like ED, the average person’s knowledge of how it works is limited.

Shedding some light on this matter was a study conducted by Superdrug. It reveals what the drug medically known as Sildenafil actually does to your penis in the minutes and hours after taking it.

A

uine mistake, although some in the industry said it was inexplicable.

“The spacing is too onpoint for a mishap,” an engineer for Haeco, a sister company of the airline, told the South China Morning Post.

“There should be a blank gap in between letters if it was a real

mistake I think.”

Social media users saw the funny side, however.

(Source: BBC)

Four hours

It’s possible you may still be able to have sex, although the effects of the Viagra will be steadily reducing. It has a half-life of about

First 12 minutes

The body quickly absorbs Viagra and it’s found some men with ED will notice the effects - i.e. get an erection - within 12 minutes of popping a dose. That’s the good news.

27 minutes

However, is if a man has not experienced an erection within the first 12 minutes...then it may take him up to half an hour. According to researchers, the average response time to Viagra was just 27 minutes. Be warned though, doctors advise waiting an hour to see if anything perks up.

57 minutes

An hour marks a crucial point with Viagra, as after nearly 50 minutes have passed you’ll reach the “maximum erection potential”.

This is when the drug reaches its highest concentration in the blood, which explains why doctors advise taking one an hour before sex. According to the study, men can have erections lasting up to 33 minutes within an hour of taking the drug.

four hours, which means that every four hours after taking it, the drug reduces by 50per cent.

10 hours

Even after 10 hours, scientists found men still could get an erection - and found it just as easy as it was two hours after dosing up.

12 hours

It’s still possible to have sex, but with the average erection lasting 16 minutes, it doesn’t last long.

24 hours

After one day the effects of Sildenafil will have worn off.

Almost all traces of the drug disappear from the blood stream, along with any boost to sexual performance.

(Source: Mirror UK)

Frenchman shares his home with 400 reptile roommates

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n an unassuming house on France’s River Loire, a cobra lives on the coffee table, a 50 kg (110-pound) tortoise roams the garden and a two-meter (seven-foot) alligator sleeps in the owner’s bed while another keeps

Cathay Pacific spells own name wrong on plane

n airline has had to send a plane back to the paint shop after the company’s name was spelled incorrectly on it.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific painted its name as “Cathay Paciic” on the side of the jet.

Eagle-eyed travellers spotted the mistake at Hong Kong International Airport and contacted the airline.

“Oops this special livery won’t last long! She’s going back to the shop!” the company joked on Twitter.

The airline said it was a gen-

17

watch at the door.

Over two decades, 67-yearold reptile enthusiast Philippe Gillet has amassed a collection of more than 400 phobia-inducing animals, including rattlesnakes, tarantulas and lizards in his home in western France near the city of

Nantes.

Gillet says the two alligators, named Ali and Gator, were rescued from a leather farm but most of the animals are pets that outstayed their welcome elsewhere and have been abandoned or donated.

Gillet says he has all the necessary permits to keep and transport the animals for roadshows which he runs to raise awareness about reptiles.

He insists the locals do not mind their unusual neighbours and regularly pop in for coffee, safe in the knowledge that the most dangerous snakes are kept in a room behind two sets of doors.

But the local fire department is more cautious: they are under instructions not to enter his house in an emergency.

(Source: Huffington Post)

18 Review

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Starring: Subrat Dutta, Indraneil Sengupta, Amrita Chattopadhyay, etc.

Director: Sanjib Dey

T Movie Review

III Smoking Barrels

hree stories set in the North-Eastern part of India, encapsulates the three most glaring issues pertaining to region: Terrorism, drugs and Bangladeshi immigrants. Though the stories are not intertwined, ‘III Smoking Barrels’ makes an honest effort to bringtolighttheburningtopics.

In the first story, engineer AnuraagDutta(IndraneilSengupta) finds a 14 year-old girl Janice (Shiny Gogoi) from Manipur, armed with a pistol, sitting in the back of his car and asking him to drop her to the city of Guwahati. The second story shifts the audience’s focus to the alarming issue of growing drug usage in the region when young college dropout Donnie (Siddharth Boro) gets involved with a crossborder drug cartel. This is followed by the story of a Bangladeshi

immigrant Mukhtar (Subrat Dutta), whogetsdrawntoelephantpoaching, owingtoextremepoverty.

Thisindiefilmhasmadeanhonest effort to put forward the problems of the otherwise neglected region of the country, but the execution is painfully draggy and the first two partsmakenosensewhatsoever.The sensitivity of the subjects have been portrayed in a comical way and the fact that the first two films feature novices, make things only worse for directorSanjibDey. The only part that made a little sense and gave somewhat of a blurry insight into the lives of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants of the North-East, was Subrat Dutta’s portrayal of Mukhtar. ‘III Smoking Barrels’ tries, but fails to depict the territory in its entirety or even do justice to the issues North-East is grappling with. n

Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rasika Dugal, Tahir Raj Bhasin Director: Nandita Das

I

n the film, director Nandita Das has tried to trace Manto’s inspirations in life — brothels, stories of sexual desires, melancholic set-ups. Manto wasn’t happy writing for films, but did so for money. Through his work, he constantly aimed to find flawed characters looking for salvation.

The India-Pakistan partition serves as the film’s backdrop.

The then volatile society looking to ease out the anger found a face in Saadat Haasan Manto. He was like the cork of a soda bottle thrust shut after pouring some salt in it. During a scene in the film, the organiser of a literary event says with a deep sigh, “If only we could get these many people in every meeting.”

This is the source of Manto’s strength and also his arrogance or

A

fter keeping silent for a while now, Coolpad has added a new phone to its Mega series. Coolpad, on Thursday, launched a new budget handset called the Mega 5A in India for an affordable price of Rs 6,999. Considering the price of the phone, we can say that with the Mega 5A, Coolpad is aiming to take on the likes of phones like Xiaomi Redmi 4A and also the Nokia 2. Unlike the Redmi and the Nokia phones, getting the Coolpad phone, will be easier. This is because the Coolpad Mega 5A has been launched as an offline exclusive product.

Coolpad says that the key highlight of the Mega 5A is its display and somewhat also the camera. The phone is capable of delivering great viewing angles and also capture clear pictures, Coolpad claims. The Mega 5A is said to be the first Coolpad phone to come with 18:9 display in India. Interestingly, the Coolpad Mega 5A runs Android 8.1 Oreo. However, there's

pride, whatever you may want to call it. In his head, he is holding a mirror to the society and people in power. In the film, it is so ironic that when he decides to fight his own case during the obscenity trial, the judge announces his verdict with a sarcastic remark, “I don’t know why they waited this long to pronounce a sentence. Your final argument was enough to get you jailed.”

It’s a film that will make you think, hurt you and will bring you back to your ideals.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui has stripped himself of all the apprehensions and has dived into Manto’s world with unmatched energy, wit and personality. Far from Wasseypur, he has transformed into a writer who has lost everything in the No Man’s Land between India and Pakistan. n

Coolpad Mega 5A

no word if the Mega 5A will be upgraded to Google's latest operating system Android 9 Pie or not.

COOLPAD MEGA 5A SPECIFICATIONS:

Processor: On the hardware front, the Coolpad Mega 5A uses a Spreadtrum SC9850K chip and is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core high-speed processor to run the phone.

Display: The smartphone sports a 5.45-inch Incell Fullscreen display with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and 1440x720p resolution.

Coolpad claims that the phone is capable of delivering a great viewing experience Software: On the software

Cinepolis Christian Basti 09435025808 The Equalizer 2 10:50 AM, 04:15 PM, 09:25 PM Manmarziyaan 11:40 AM, 05:55 PM Batti Gul Meter Chalu 12:15 PM, 01:15 PM, 04:45 PM, 08:15 PM III Smoking Barrels 01:20 PM, 09:20 PM Stree 03:05 PM The Nun 03:45 PM Manto 06:10 PM, 08:55 PM Tumi Muk Faki Dila 07:00 PM

Anuradha Cineplex Noonmati 0361 2656968 Tumi Muk Faki Dila 02:00 PM Batti Gul Meter Chalu 05:00 PM III Smoking Barrels 08:15 PM

Movie Review

Manto front, the Mega 5A runs Android 8.1 Oreo software. There's, however, no word if the phone will be upgraded to Google's latest operating system aka Android 9 Pie. Rear camera: On the camera front, the Mega 5A comes with a dual rear camera setup considering of a primary sensor of 8-megapixel and secondary sensor of 0.3-megapixel.

Front camera: On the front, the Mega 5A includes a 5-megapixel sensor for selfies.

Battery: The Coolpad Mega 5A is backed by a 2500mAh battery -which the company claims is capable of delivering a full day battery backup.

RAM: 2GB Storage: The phone comes with 16GB of internal storage which can be expandable up to 64GB via microSD card.

COOLPAD MEGA 5A FEATURES:

--This is the first Coolpad phone to come with 18:9 display.

The smartphone manufacturer claims that the display is the

Gold Cinema Paltan Bazaar 09854066166 Batti Gul Meter Chalu 02:00 PM, 05:00 PM, 08:00 PM Tumi Muk Faki Dila 02:15 PM Stree

best part about the phone as it delivers great viewing angles. How well does Coolpad stand by its

05:15 PM III Smoking Barrels 08:15 PM

Grande Cines Paltan Bazar 09854017771 Batti Gul Meter Chalu 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, 05:15 PM, 08:30 PM Tumi Muk Faki Dila 01:00 PM The Equalizer 2 03:00 PM Stree 05:30 PM Manto 08:00 PM

PVR Cinemas Dona Planet 08800900009 The Equalizer 2 12:30 PM, 09:20 PM Batti Gul Meter Chalu 01:10 PM, 03:05 PM, 09:05 PM Tumi Muk Faki Dila 04:25 PM Stree 06:20 PM III Smoking Barrels 06:35 PM

Galleria Cinemas HUB 09706989143 The Equalizer 2 12:10 PM Batti Gul Meter Chalu 02:35 PM, 05:40 PM, 09:00 PM

camera modes like time-lapse and slow-motion.

--The Coolpad Mega 5A also comes with a Face unlock feature which will help users to unlock the phone just by looking at the screen of the phone.

COOLPAD MEGA 5A PRICE AND AVAILABILITY:

The Coolpad Mega 5A comes in only one colour variant - Champagne Gold. The smartphone is available in Delhi NCR, Haryana, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Maharashtra. The Coolpad Mega 5A is an offline exclusive product. claims? We can find that out only in our full review which we are going to put out in the next few days.

--Considering the price - that is Rs 6,999 - Coolpad Mega 5A is at advantage as far as the software department is concerned. The Coolpad Mega 5A runs on Android 8.1 Oreo software.

--The smartphone comes with

Verdict:

The Coolpad Mega 5A is the most affordable smartphone from the house of Coolpad which makes for good overall value. It has a sleek and elegant design with a vibrant display and set has another industry benchmark which is tough to match. n

Entertainment

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Actor Adil Hussain prepares Assamese dishes for Delhi foodies

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nternationally acclaimed actor from Assam, Adil Hussain, donned the role of a chef at a Sikkimese restaurant in Delhi on September 15, Saturday.

Adil prepared a total of three vegetarian dishes and three non-vegetarian dishes for his esteemed guests as he took over the restaurant’s kitchen for the day.

The diverse dishes on the menu ranged from places across the country, not forgetting his home state Assam. Adil prepared khar with rohu fish, a traditional preparation with alkaline water made from a special kind of banana peel which is sundried and soaked in water, straight from the culinary heritage of his native state, Assam. He also prepared a bharta of pumpkin leaves delicately blended with fermented bamboo shoot, rightfully depicting the ethnicity of the northeast.

mother’s kitchen at his ancestral home in Goalpara during his childhood. In 1998, a small food joint in Humpi serving delicious food gave him a dream to start a restaurant of his own that will

When asked, Adil reminisced that he developed a penchant for cooking spending time in his

serve food cooked with love. Twenty years later, he finally lived that dream for a day.

Earlier, on Thursday, Adil had hosted a sneak preview showcasing his select dishes for gourmets and media friends.

Village Rockstars to release on September 28

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fter winning the Best Feature Film Award at the 65th National Film Awards, Rima Das’ directorial debut “Village Rockstars” is set for release across India on September 28.

The film, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and India premiere at the Mumbai Film Festival 2018, has been screened in more than 70 international and national film fe stivals and has won 44 awards, including four National Awards.

Excited about the release, Das said in a state me nt: “Afte r trave lling to many film festivals across the world and winning hearts, I am so delighted that the exciting journey of Village Rockstars has come to its final stage when we prepare with nervous anticipation and hope to present the film to the audiences in our homeland.”

Set in Das’ own village, Chhaygaon in Assam, Village Rockstars is the story of “poor but amazing children” who live a fun-filled life. It

First poster of Jahnu Barua’s ‘Bhoga Khirikee’ unveiled

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he inaugural film of the 2nd Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF) 2018 will be Jahnu Barua’s ‘Bhoga Khirikee’. An announcement was made on Wednesday, at Jyoti Chitrabon here and also the first poster of the film was unveiled. The movie marks the debut of Purple Pebble Pictures

Shahnaab Alam, director Jahnu Barua, lead actor Zerifa Wahid, composer Ibson Lal Baruah, singer

and Easterly Entertainment in Assamese cinema who are the producers of the film.

The cast of the film includes Zerifa Wahid, Seema Biswas, Joy Kashyap, Sanjay Khargharia, Kasvi Sharma, Mohommed Ali Shah and Bishnu Khargharia among others.

Bhoga Khirikee will be released on Friday, 26th October, 2018 in theatres across Assam.

The event was attended by producers Dr Madhu Chopra and

Anindita Paul, art director Phatik Baruah and executive producer Sartaj Alam. Also present were Pabitra Margherita, chairman of Jyoti Chitrabon and Monita Borgohain, festival director of GIFF. Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF) will collaborate with Priyanka Chopra’s Purple Pebble Pictures and Shahnaab Alam’s Easterly Entertainment for the GIFF 2018 to be held from 25th - 31st September.

Assamese short film ‘Breaking the Cocoon’ to soon release online

revolves around the lives of a little village girl, Dhunu, who dreams to have a real guitar and forms a music band with her friends in the village. The film narrates the day to day struggles of common villagers and the way they deal with poverty and natural disasters. In the film, Dhunu’s family that consists of her widowed mother Basanti and her

elder brother Manabendra, represents the life of the villagers.

Das not only wrote and directed Village Rockstars, but also filmed it, did the production design and edited it single-handedly. Her only assistants were a group of six preteens whose story she tells in the film, which is now being shown in film festivals across the world.

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short film, ‘Endharor Bheta Bhang (Breaking the Cocoon)’ directed by Assamese filmmaker Arindam Barooah is slated for online release soon.

The story of the movie is written by Khimpi Dutta, while Nibir Akash Baruah collaborated with Arindam Barooah in

Assamese movie on menstruation shines at Suri Film Festival

“A

lert Condition: Red,” an Assamese short film by Xahid Khan, bagged three awards at the recently concluded Suri Film Festival 2018 held in West Bengal. The film bagged the awards for Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor (Female) – Himadri Das. Prior to this festival, the film has received awards and recognition from across the country and abroad.

Alert Condition: Red shows what happens to a young girl who steps into her adulthood.

Menstruation is natural body behaviour in women but usually,

19

women and young girls have to face a lot of problems in the society. It is generally considered as taboo in Indian society. To change the mindset of the people and to spread aware-

ness, Xahid Khan has done an ex-

traordinary job.

Additionally, “‘Mistake,” another Assamese Short Film by Xahid Khan was also screened as the closing film in the Suri Film Festival-2018. Mistake is written by Bangladeshi writer Nila Harun, and screenplay and direction of the film has been done by Xahid Khan.

The film festival was attended by many Tollywood personalities including Ashish Sen Choudhury, Sapna Chakraborty and Manas Chakraborty.

penning the screenplay. It revolves around a girl whose grandmother breaks age-old gender-based stereotypes and sets an example for others.

The dialogues have been rendered by Rita Bhuyan Barooah, Nibir Akash Baruah and Khimpi Dutta. Tridib Konwar and Bhaskar Jyoti Dutta handled the cinematography, while the editing was taken care of by Hirak Jyoti Pathak, Tridib Konwar along with the director himself.

The short film, base d on women empowerment, has already earned recognition and accolades in around 15 film festivals, both within the country and abroad. Some of the awards that the short film has bagged include bronze medal at Virgin Spring Cinefest 2018 in Kolkata; second runner-up at International Children’s Film Festival of Jaipur; Special Festival Mention at sixth Indian Cine Film Festival-18, Mumbai, India among others.

The short film also attained official selection at 8th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival-2018; 7th Kolkata Short International Film Festival; Aab International Film Festival 2018, Punjab; Berlin Flash Film Festival 2018, Berlin, Germany; Lake View International Film Festival, Punjab; Pukaar Short Film Festival, Mumbai; 7th Bangalore Short Film Festival-18; South Film & Arts Academy Festival – 18, Chile; among others.

20 Fun

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Horoscope of the week You may not be receiving due credit for all the hard work that you are doing. As a result, you may feel highly discontented and grumpy. Rightly so, you may experiment with new ideas and explore new avenues to improve your prospects. Sun and Mercury are highly supportive of your endeavours, and provide necessary back-up required for your success, says Ganesha.

A little movement in your cosmic alliance is likely to interrupt your daily activities leaving you exhausted. There is no way out, but to face the challenges. Don’t you worry; it will not last long. Employees may be given a new assignment in office. Although unwilling to take up, stick to your commitment, perform well and submit it before the deadline.

The cosmic alignment, at the beginning of the week, hints upheavals at the personal front. Some friction with your partner or near one is likely to disrupt your peace of mind. Stay level-headed; take the matter in your hands to maintain the equilibrium at home. As no star is in retrogression, progressive forces will work effectively; be ready for some result-oriented action.

For once, it’s a week that you had secretly wished and prayed for! Businessmen are likely to be exhilarated as it’s going to be a win-win situation this week. Repeated calls from a valuable customer, negotiating and cracking important deals shall keep you on toes. A social gathering in the family will give you a chance to unwind, relax and bond with near and dear ones.

Your enthusiastic and optimistic approach will take you a long way, personally and professionally. Moreover, well-aligned benefices are supportive of all your endeavours.

Besides going great guns on the professional front, you may be blessed with a good financial position.

All thanks to your past efforts, you are bearing the fruits till now.

Count your lucky stars and thank them! This week, you not only will earn good money but also fame in the social circle. Two benefices traversing through your Sign will aid in enhancing your status and likeability in your social group. Moon in fiery Sign Sagittarius will keep you optimistic about future prospects.

Memories give us as much pain as they gave pleasurable moments, once. You may be heavily bogged down with some memories and remembrance of the past, as the week begins. The pain and the emotional turmoil caused by it will not allow you to concentrate on your work, which, in turn, may affect your performance.

You are likely to regain your calm composure this week, foresees Ganesha. And Ruler of your Sign Saturn, which is direct in motion shall aid you in attaining the much-needed peace of mind effortlessly. You shall become wise and calculative while dealing with financial transactions – all thanks to the presence of Saturn, which also naturally holds a portfolio of your 2nd House.

A steady increase in habitual expenses and a dearth of savings may get you thinking about the way to earn extra bucks.

Businessmen will be busy negotiating and cracking multiple deals. Spending on the development of business is one of the agendas this week. Employees may have to perform under pressure, which eventually, is likely to leave them stressed-out.

This week, formulating and implementing a strategy to up your financial earnings may bear favourable results… And for this, you can give the credit to Moon, which traverses through your 11th House in the company of wily Saturn as they seem highly supportive of your endeavours. However, refrain from taking undue risks to enhance your financial prospects or you may have to regret it later.

Gangavataran in 1937 was the last directorial venture of which Indian film legend?

3

Which popular dessert gets its name from a French word which literally means ‘crust of a tart’?

4

Which northeast legend, voted by MSN in 2014 as the Most Influential Indian Female, bears the nickname Mengoubi or ‘the fair one’?

5

Who remains the only footballer to be knighted while he was still playing actively?

6

Identify this majestic building.

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

1. Borthal Dance of Barpeta 2. Dadasaheb Phalke 3. Custard 4. Irom Sharmila Chanu 5. Sir Stanley Matthews 6. National Library of India located at Kolkata

Which popular Assamese folk dance has the dancers dancing to a very fast beat, the Zhiya Nom beat?

5 7 8

1

7 2

9 9 2 4 8 5 3 8 6 9 2 5 1 2 6 9 7 1 8 9 9 1 3 7 7 4 5 6 2 4 9 8 1 Daily Sudoku: Fri 21-Sep-2018 5 1

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

Daily Sudoku: Thu 13-Sep-2018

easy

5 last 6 8week 1 4 solution 3 2 9 7 7 9 1 8 5 2 6 4 3 8 1 9 5 7 4 6 3 2 3 4 2 9 7 6 8 1 5 5 2 4 8 6 3 9 1 7 1 5 7 6 3 8 4 2 9 3 7 6 1 2 9 8 5 4 8 3 4 2 9 5 7 6 1 1 9 5 7 8 2 3 4 6 6 2 9 7 1 4 3 5 8 6 4 8 3 9 5 2 7 1 9 1 3 4 6 7 5 8 2 4 18 61 59 93 84 27 73 62 5 2 52 79 11 87 96 44 86 53 3 9 8 7 6 3 1 4 2 5hard Daily Sudoku: Fri 21-Sep-2018

2 5 1 9 4 8 7 6 3 Daily Sudoku: Thu 13-Sep-2018

easy

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

curio-city 1

Sudoku

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2018. All rights reserved. (c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

Putting aside all the traditional ideas and old strategies, you may be keen to experiment new ways to move up the career graph. And the credit goes to the Moon, which comes in close connection with Saturn in the 9th House. Moreover, Sun and Mercury moving through the 5th House will help you to work your way up.

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2018. All rights reserved. (c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

There’s always a right time to soar and succeed. Although you may plan strategically to push your way forward, your stars may not allow that. Blame it on the connection of moon with wily Saturn in your 10th House. All you can do is keep trying hard till you hit the bull’s eye! Your trait of being a perfectionist is likely to come to the fore this week.

Across

Word of the week aspersion noun [uh-spur-zhuhn, -shuhn] a damaging or derogatory remark or criticism; slander.

Crossword

1 Brain area (7,4) 9 Escape quickly from a difficult situation (3,3,3) 10 Singer-songwriter Sayer, b.

1949 (3) 11 Regretting (5) 13 Caressed (7) 14 Soldier-sailor (6) 15 End (6) 18 Eminent (7) 20 Garment worn round head, neck, or shoulders (5) 21 Recede (3) 22 Non-participant spectator (9) 24 Study of weather (11)

Down

2 Long-tailed rodent (3) 3 Nine-sided figure (7) 4 Loose from moorings (6) 5 Tablecloth material (5) 6 Instrument with three strings and a triangular body (9) 7 Alarmist (11) 8 Take temporary charge (4,3,4) 12 Tetchy (9) 16 Set up (7) 17 Spring discharging hot water and steam (6) 19 Holy Writ (5) 23 Follow closely (3)

Last week’s solution

Lifestyle

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Be a winner through Vaastu

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he bio-energy acts on everyone irrespective of faith, belief, cast or creed. Vaastu has identified this long back and has laid down some rules which should be followed by all to attract positive energy in the house which, in turn, brings wealth and prosperity. Many households face poverty because the occupants have neglected the basic thumb rules of Vaastu which are applicable.

1. The planet Jupiter rules the prosperity energy. Wherever there is clutter and junk, positive energy will not remain. Energy will stagnate and blessings of Guru will not enter such a household. So clear all junk and clutter immediately. This is true for Goddess Lakshmi also.

2. Broken objects should not be kept in home. There is a saying, “If your belongings are broken, you probably are too!” Replace any broken utensil, machinery, bulbs, mirrors etc.

3. Do not keep dead and withering plants. Decomposed plants attract negative energy.

That is why dried flowers and plants should be avoided too.

4. There should not be any leaking taps or walls/ceilings/ floors. This may transform into money being leaked away. Repair all leaks.

5. North, east and northeast are prosperity zones. There should not be any toilets in these areas.

If a toilet is unavoidable in these directions, keep the toilet lid and the toilet door closed but open the windows. Keep a bowl of water with salt and change the water at regular intervals.

6. Brooms, vacuum cleaners, shoe racks and trash cans should

not be kept in the prosperity area.

7. Do not display pictures or art of barren landscape, hills, dried lake, dead trees etc. Pictures of unhappy phases of life should not be displayed.

8. Smelly mattresses and boxes where animals are kept attract negative energy. These should not be kept in the prosperity area.

opportunity for some job or contract but it slips out of hand or you fail to capitalize on it.

4. Death of a dear pet is sign that you might lose money soon.

5. Sometimes, without any prior warning like blood pressure or sugar, your health starts developing problems. This is a clear signal that you are about to incur heavy expenses.

6. When the ceiling of the house starts leaking without having any water tank or waterline over it, financial losses are indicated.

7. When saliva of a person

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Incandescent Light Ask me no secrets And I will tell you no lies Mind is a little disillusioned Answering the several why’s Life without the fake ones Is an absolute bliss!

Naysayers did say but in a hiss It was the cul de sac of a lifelong wish!

Humility is a virtue Might sound unfamiliar to you Facade of emotions that you foster Is but being that ‘known’ imposter!

Indications that you are going to lose money: There are certain signs which foretell that there may be financial losses coming your way! It is like the sixth sense but see them for yourself.

1. When there are frequent altercations between the husband and wife, it indicates that there will be loss of money.

2. When electrical gadgets and connections need repairs most of the time, you will know that you are about to lose money somewhere.

3. Financial trouble is round the corner when you get an

Seeking end to a worthless fight I set afoot on my road to redemption You my friend shall always be A victim of your own delusion.

comes out while talking, he/she is going to lose money.

8. If oil is spilled on the front door by accident, there will be heavy financial burdens on the family.

9. If a mole appears on the sun finger of the hand, that person will lose money through bad decisions or due to partnership problems.

10. Losing gold or gold ornaments is a bad omen. It says that Lakshmi is leaving!

Maybe not now but when the time is mine I will evolve and I will shine And for you I pray there be a day When you will simply not whine.

Your jealousy is your insecurity, Pity on you and your sorrowful plight I want you to know that I am my incandescent light!

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

Sushmita Baruah

The many forms of Intimate Partner Violence

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t seems like scarcely a day passes without some news of domestic violence. The prestigious journal The Lancet revealed recently that married women represented the largest number of suicide deaths in India; the main reasons are domestic violence and arranged marriages. G Plus reported last month that the number of domestic violence cases has gone up in Guwahati and police are not equipped to handle complex cases. Domestic violence aka Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has many forms.

Without a solid understanding of the various types of IPV and what drives them, any efforts to address it will be half-baked and risk making situations more dangerous for the victims.

Coercive and controlling violence

The overwhelming majority of perpetrators are men and the targets are women and children.

This form of violence is about

power and control. It is designed to cause fear. The perpetrator has two faces – a caring, respectable one for the world and the opposite with the victim(s).

People can’t believe that such a person could be an abuser.

This is the most complex to address. It appears like anger issues but its roots are in deeply held beliefs about the place of women and children. Anger management is of no use; it needs behavioural change treatment. Helping a victim leave such a relationship can be tricky due to its hidden nature and safety aspects.

Violent resistance

Perpetrated mostly by women in response to a coercive-controlling partner; this is a situation where the woman can no longer bear it. The trigger is usually a serious threat to her or the children. This can be an extreme form of violence.

Situational Violence

Perpetrated by both men and women; these are triggered by relationship issues which escalate and end up in physical violence. The men and women involved are generally not violent. They will often admit they got carried away and are not proud of it.

Couples counselling focused on conflict resolution or emotions management is the option.

Separation instigated violence

Perpetrated by both men and women, the trigger is separation. It is driven by revenge, anger, jealousy, or abandonment.

This type of violence can occur in both relationships that are coercive-controlling and those that are not. This is a dangerous form of violence because it is unexpected and can lead to familicide.

Anyone helping a person leave a relationship must be aware of the risks of this type violence and have corresponding safety plans.

22 Buzz

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Assam girls in JNU students’ body

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wo Assam girls found their berths in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students’ Union after winning the election on Sunday.

The two girls from Assam, Karabee Kakati and Srijani Bhashwa Mahanta, who were part of the Left Alliance Party, won the posts of Councilors of the School of International Studies in the University. The United Left has swept all the major seats.

Srijani is a first-year postgraduate student while Kakati is a PhD research fellow.

The other members elected in the students’ union are N Sai Balaji as President, Amutha Jayadeep as

Joint Secretary, and Aishe Ghosh, Vishnu Prazad and Syem Kumar Venu as Councilors. n

Peter Vijaykumar to conduct tennis camp in city

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he North East Tennis Foundation (NETF), Dispur is organising a 10-day tennis coaching camp at its own com-

tennis player of the country during the 1980s, will tie up with NETF for a period of three years to coach the foundation players exclusively.

NETF Secretary, Ankush Dut-

plex from October 6 to October 15. The camp will be conducted by Peter Vijaykumar from Bengaluru.

Vijaykumar, who was a top ranked

ta, informed that during the visit of Vijaykumar, NETF will appoint him as the chief visiting coach of the foundation. n

GU team wins Dilip Baruah inaugural quiz

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he Gauhati University team comprising Derajuddin Ahmed and Dhrubajyoti Barman emerged the best team and won the prize money of Rs 25,000 in the

versity, Bhabesh Chandra Goswami, lighted the lamp to mark the advent of the quiz, while former principal of Cotton College, Anil Kumar Goswami, was the guest of honour at the event organized by Cottonian Class of 75.

University comprising Biswajit Sarma and Raktim Kaushik.

As many as 24 teams from various colleges and professional institutions of the city participated in the quiz conducted by Robin Kalita, who

Neighborhood Development Mission by USTM

W inaugural annual Dilip Kumar Baruah Memorial Quiz contest held at the Sudmersen Hall of Cotton University. The quiz was held on September 15, Saturday.

Vice Chancellor of Cotton Uni-

The second prize of Rs 15,000 was bagged by a team from Cotton University comprising Rittwik Bhattacharya and Dipankar Deka while the third prize of Rs 10,000 was bagged by another team from Cotton

was assisted by Dipankar Kaushik.

Earlier, rich tributes were paid to the memory of late Baruah, who first introduced quiz in the northeast during the College Week of Cotton College in 1967. n

AASU fetes meritorious students

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he All Assam Students’ Union (AASU)’s Dimoria regional unit organized a special program at Sonapur Tricem Hall on Septmebr 15, Saturday to felicitate the top performers of Dimoria in the last Higher Secondary (HS) and Higher School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examinations.

Altogether 309 meritorious students who had performed brilliantly in the examinations were felicitated on the occasion.

Dr Pradip Kumar Sarma, Vice Chancellor of Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University attended the program as the chief guest. Among

the dignitaries present on the occasion were Chinmoyee Talukdar, DDHE from the Directorate of Higher Education, Lurin Jyoti Gogoi, general secretary of AASU

and Dibyajyoti Medhi, general secretary of Kamrup (M) unit of AASU. The meeting was presided over by Rintu Das of AASU’s Dimoria regional unit. n

ith a mission for the development of its neighborhood and the people, the University of Science & Technology (USTM), Meghalaya, on September 15, held a meeting with the headmen of different villages as well as principals of the schools in the Baridua area under Ri Bhoi district. The University also announced a co-curricular festival for the children and others to promote education and entrepreneurship among the people. Named the ‘USTM Neighborhood Mission Festival’, it will take place in the month of December.

“By the next five years, all the villages surrounding USTM must be transformed into ideal villages.

We put most emphasis on education and ensure to provide all support so that students from these villages can avail higher education,” said M Hoque, Chancellor of USTM. Also termed as “knowledge festival,” the USTM Neighborhood Mission Festival will be held at different parts of the Baridua area to attract children and youths for education and business ideas. He said that the university is also ready to offer other needed facilities to the economically downtrodden

families. “Our aim is overall development of the villages near our university, and for that we are even ready to provide free education and all possible entrepreneurial facilities,” he added.

The representatives from the villages of the area put forward the problems they have been facing and also suggested

some possible solutions to them. They said that school dropout has been a major problem and this is happening due to many factors like poverty, lure of easy money, etc. The meeting decided to work for development of education in the schools and USTM promised to assist teachers in teaching and training of teachers as well as offered small funds to widows and needy women in the area to start up with poultry, cattle rearing, etc. The Chancellor of USTM also scheduled visits to several villages and schools in the next few weeks. n

Events

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

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September 20-30 Roti Pe Boti – A Food Festival The Square, Novotel 7PM onwards

Guwahati’s favourite restrolounge NYX Lounge and Deck has turned two years old. It has been two whole years of NYX bringing one of the best artists to Guwahati and organising the hottest parties in town.

The occasion was marked with 8 days of grand celebration with some of the best performances from across the country, along with the local heroes, setting the tone.

The second anniversary celebration of NYX featured some of the most acclaimed artists including Kohra Arpan who performed at the launch party, G Glock who performed at sundowner, Suraj Verma of Indian Idol fame who performed on an acoustic night and Major C who was the concluding act, among others.

The week-long celebration received humongous response from the patrons and the NYX team has extended their gratitude towards those who helped make the celebration a huge success!

September 22, Saturday The Homegrown Live Club V 7PM onwards

2nd Anniversary Celebration

September 22, Saturday Bollywood Commercial Night ft. DJ Nony The Socialite 8PM onwards Date: September 8-15 Venue: NYX Lounge and Deck

Event: Roti Pe Boti – A Food Festival Date: September 20-30 Venue: The Square, Hotel Novotel

Event: Super Sunday ft. DJ Mudit & DJ Rik Date: September 16, Sunday Venue: Dunkin Oza

September 22, Saturday EZ Riser Live NYX Lounge and Deck 8PM onwards

‘Roti Pe Boti’-a North Indian culinary affair that promises your palate a flavourful journey – is being organised at Novotel Guwahati.

Relish the authentic Indian tandoors handcrafted with love for a sumptuous experience at the multi-cuisine specialty restaurant ‘The SQUARE’. Indulge in an array of mouth-watering dishes such as ‘Curry Leaf Dusted Prawns’ on Kasoori Malabari Parantha, ‘Slow Cooked Lamb Kebab’ handcrafted on Saffron and Cardamom flavoured bread and much more.

This festival also offers delectable options for the Vegetarians, with a variety of creations such as ‘Rajwadi Paneer Tikka’ with Sundried Tomato and Jalapeño Naan, ‘Malai Tandoori Flowers Shashlik’ with Lasooni Naan, ‘Oyster Mushroom Fritters’ on Barista Laccha and many more delicious creations.

Time- 7PM onwards Price- INR 550 plus taxes onwards (ala-carte only)

September 22, Saturday Bollywood Night ft. Roni Dicey’s Garden 7PM onwards September 22, Saturday Big Bang Saturday Night Retro Town 8PM onwards September 22, Saturday Afrobeats in the city XS the place to be 7PM onwards September 22, Saturday Time Lapse ft. Ekanta Terra Mayaa 8PM onwards September 23, Sunday A Good Sunday NYX Lounge and Deck 8PM onwards

24 Catching Up

G PLUS | Sep 22 - Sep 28, 2018

Bishaka thapa

Most shared story of the week

New

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She will now be equipped with the best offerings from adidasfor her race and training, as per requirement.

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About Me

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Hi, I’m Bishaka Thapa, a 24 year old Guwahati girl. I started my modelling journey with Miss Glorious 2013. I’ve walked down the ramp for several designers of the region.

Mojo The urge and the spirit to be a part of the glamorous industry has always led me move ahead.

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Route in the woods I aim to be a successful model and achieve new heights in the field.

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