Vol 6 Issue 22 by G Plus

@guwahatiplus | /c/gplusguwahati www.guwahatiplus.com

INSIDE

Volume 06 | Issue 22 Mar 23 - Mar 29, 2019 Price `10

I-T dept pulls up 4003 people in NE over Rs 1,516 crore unexplained income

Bandhs unlawful and unconstitutional: High Court

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5th edition of G Plus Guwahati Food Awards

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Journalist from Siddhartha’s messy departments Guwahati stabbed in city restaurant G Plus News @guwahatiplus

journalist, Chakrapani Parashar from a regional news TV channel in the city, was attacked with knives and seriously injured in a restaurant in Ganeshguri on Thursday, March 21. He was stabbed by some workers at the restaurant, according to police reports. On Thursday afternoon, ie March 21, Parashar along with his crew had gone to the restaurant, Alber Eats, to cover a fight between the main accused, Sayed Ali Ahmed, the owner of the restaurant and some young men playing Holi who had come to put colour on Ahmed. However, the latter got angry and shooed them away by taking out his dagger, according to Aparup Barua, operations deputy manager at the news channel. It should be noted that the restaurant is in the same building as the news channel where Parashar works. That same evening when Parashar along with six other journalists went to settle the matter amicably with Ahmed, he took out his dagger again and stabbed Parashar in his stomach and leg repeatedly after rolling him over and hitting him multiple

times, as seen on CCTV footage obtained from near the restaurant. The footage also showed that Ahmed and his crew closed the shutter of their restaurant and set fire to it with an LPG cylinder to escape arrest. Allegedly, there were still other customers inside the restaurant when the fire was set. Following this, there was massive chaos in the area and people could be seen running away from the scene and panicking. The police then showed up at the spot of contention and with the help of the public, managed to open the shutter and put out the fire. “As soon as we got to know about the incident, we reached the spot. The way they had lit the fire using the LPG cylinder was very dangerous for everyone in the area. With the help of the public, we were able to break down and reopen the shutter to stop the fire and arrest the accused,” said Himangshu Das, ACP Dispur. Parashar sustained serious injuries in various parts of his body and was rushed to GNRC Hospital where he was admitted to the ICU after being given first aid and a CT scan. The doctor stated that he is currently out of danger and in stable condition. However, it would take a long time for Parashar to recover fully, according to police reports. Four people, Bhabesh Das, Nitin Sarma, Niraj Ahmed and Sayed Ali Ahmed were detained by the police in connection with the attack the same evening on March 21. The four were produced at the Kamrup Metropolitan District Court on Friday, March 22 where the court declined the bail request for the accused for attacking the journalist. They have been sent to judicial custody and the court has ordered that the

Related story on Page 10

New GMC chief engineer’s appointment alleged to be illegal Special correspondent @guwahatiplus

transfer notification of Assam government on 7th March 2019 has raised plenty of eyebrows as the transfer process of the erstwhile designated chief engineer (in-charge) of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Debajit Das, being appointed as the new chief engineer of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) is being termed as “illegal” as it has allegedly been done without following the prescribed criterion. An ACS officer who used to work with GMDA in 2016-17 (and is now posted elsewhere), talking to G Plus, under the condition of anonymity said, “As per GMDA Act, the criterion to become a chief engineer of GMDA requires an engineer to be from the Public Works Department (PWD). He/she should not be holding a rank less than the rank of a superintendent engineer (SE). Das apparently does not satisfy this criterion. He was an ex-cadre executive engineer. His posting at GMDA itself was illegal which was subsequently declared in a verdict of Gauhati High Court.” He further revealed that now he has been transferred as the chief engineer of GMC and even this transfer is illegal as the post of the chief engineer of GMC, according to GMC Act 1969, is equivalent to the post of superintendent engineer (SE). “How he has been appointed to this post is known only the Guwahati Development Department (GDD),” said the officer. Notably, Siddhartha Bhattacharya has been the GDD minister since last year.

File photo of Debajit Das Some of the PWD engineers suspect the transfer to be a political move as, according to one assistant engineer, Debajit Das is politically well-connected. Das joined PWD in 1996. An assistant engineer who is senior to Das in PWD, talking to G Plus under condition of anonymity said, “Das got promoted as assistant executive engineer (AEE) in 2001. After 3 years he became executive engineer. Then again even while 3 years had not passed, he became superintendent engineer.” The assistant engineer also said that after his regular “out-of-turn” promotions because of various nexuses in PWD, other engineers challenged his promotion before the court. Das then got demoted and now he is an executive engineer ex-cadre, the assistant engineer said. He also revealed that Das was very close to IAS officer MGVK Bhanu who was then an influential bureaucrat during the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government

in the state. Now retired, Bhanu has joined the Congress party and is contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Tezpur on the party’s ticket. In 2016, after Das’s demotion, a sudden shift was noticed as he was sent to GMDA as in-charge chief engineer, which was alleged to be an illegal process of appointment. The PWD AE expressed that after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government in Assam, Das became close to the BJP politicians. He is close to Suman Haripriya, the Hajo Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and through her he might have reached out to the present GDD minister, the AE said. Das has not yet joined the GMC as the chief engineer but his appointment both in GMDA in 2016 and in GMC now has raised questions regarding the entire promotion and transfer process of the government. n

Related story on Page 2

2 Lead Story

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

PWD’s engineer promotion process revolving around scams? From Page 1

he promotion process of the engineers in the Public Works Department (PWD) of the government of Assam is being questioned by many junior level engineers working in the department. A source in the department who has been working with the PWD as an assistant engineer for the last 18 years said, “There is a huge promotion scam going on in the department till now which is continuing since many years.” Talking to G Plus under conditions of anonymity, the source alleged that in the past there was a well connected engineer working in a senior position who manipulated the entire promotion process in the year 2003. According to him, with the help of a notification, the Assam Engineering (PWD) Amended Service Rule, 1983 was amended in 2003. With the amendment the promotion policy also changed. The promotion process depends on the performance marks award-

ed to each particular employee in his or her respective annual confidential report (ACR) which is reviewed every five years. The performance is calculated according to the grading given by the reporting officer. If it is below average, it is calculated as 0 point. For average its 1 point, good is 2

Like the casting couch in Bollywood, ‘promotion couch’ exists in PWD as many female engineers keep getting promotions frequently because of their ‘outstanding’ points.

points, very good is 3 points and outstanding is 4 points. There is also 0.22 points given for seniority every year. So, in five years, an engineer earns 1.1 points

File photo of PWD headoffice at Chandmari for seniority. But according to the amended rule, for promotion from assistant engineer to assistant executive engineer, an engineer requires 19.1 points and above for A-class promotion. For B-class promotion the requirement is 7.1 points to below 19.1 points. The source alleged that many junior officers, using their good connections and relations with the senior officers, keep getting

outstanding in the ACR every year. G Plus had reported the issue in April 2018 when Parimal Suklabaidya was the PWD minister, but even now the sources in PWD revealed that there has been no noticeable change. Well-connected engineers directly get 20 points and get promoted superseding a huge number of engineers who are senior to them in terms of years of service. It is also being alleged that af-

ter five years, the ACRs are made available to the employees who are well-connected, through a nexus in Dispur. The engineers then improve the grading by bribing the concerned reporting officers for a better grade. The source said, “Like the casting couch in Bollywood, ‘promotion couch’ exists in PWD as many female engineers keep getting promotions frequently because of their ‘outstanding’ points.” Some engineers had earlier also filed an RTI in the directorate of printing & stationary to get the copy of the notification (No Con 5/2003/50 dated 28/04/2003) but the directorate replied that it was not able to trace the notification. Federation of Engineering Service Association of Assam (FESAA) had also written to the chief minister in 2016 stating that PWD engineers are demoralised due to systematic deprivation of their legitimate promotional avenues for the last 13 years. Sadly, many competent officers of PWD have had to retire at the entry level post without promotion. n

Status of political parties for the 14 Assam Lok Sabha seats till 22nd March 2019 The Bharatiya Janata Party will contest from 10 seats leaving the rest four seats to its alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad (3 seats) and Bodoland People’s Front (1 seat). ASSAM LOK SABHA ELECTIONS 2019 WILL BE HELD IN THREE PHASES: 11TH APRIL, 18TH APRIL, 23RD APRIL, COUNTING OF VOTES ON 23RD MAY PHASES

PARLIAMENTARY SEAT

PHASE I (11TH APRIL)

TEZPUR

BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY/ AGP/BPF MANIMADHAB MAHANTA (AGP)

CONGRESS

RAM BAHADUR SUNAR

GAURAV GOGOI

ABDUL AZIZ

SUSHANTA BORGOHAIN

KAMALA RAJKONWAR BHABEN BARUAH

KALIABOR

PHASE I (11TH APRIL)

JORHAT

PHASE I (11TH APRIL)

DIBRUGARH

RAMESWAR TELI

PABAN SINGH GHATOWAR

PHASE I (11TH APRIL)

LAKHIMPUR

PRADAN BARUAH

ANIL BORGOHAIN

PHASE II (18TH APRIL)

SILCHAR

DR. RAJDEEP ROY

SUSHMITA DEV

PHASE II (18TH APRIL)

AUTONOMOUS DISTRICT (ST)

HARENSING BEY

BIREN SINGH ENGTI

PHASE II (18TH APRIL)

MANGALDOI

DILIP SAIKIA

BHUBANESWAR KALITA

PHASE II (18TH APRIL)

KARIMGANG

KRIPANATH MALLA

SWARUP DAS

PHASE II (18TH APRIL)

NOWGONG

PHASE III (23RD APRIL)

GAUHATI

PHASE III (23RD APRIL)

DHUBRI

PHASE III (23RD APRIL)

BARPETA

PHASE III (23RD APRIL)

KOKRAJHAR

NAZIA YASMIN MAZUMDER

PRADYUT BORDOLOI QUEEN OJHA Dr. Hafiz Rafikul Islam PRAMILA RANI BRAHMA (BPF)

NPP

MGVK BHANU

PHASE I (11TH APRIL)

TAPAN GOGOI

AIUDF

Politicking

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Despite Bhubaneswar Kalita, Congress has a tough battle in hand at Mangaldoi Chetan Bhattarai @chetbha1

nce the second list of selected Congress candidates for the five Lok Sabha seats of Assam was announced on March 18, it was evident that the party was serious about giving the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a tough fight in these seats. The second Congress list for Assam for five seats of Assam include Bhubaneswar Kalita (Mangaldoi), MGVK Bhanu (Tezpur), Pradyut Bordoloi (Nowgong), Biren Singh Engti (Autonomous District, ST) and Anil Borgohain (Lakhimpur). From the five seats we can assume that three of the selected candidates are heavyweights and two are first timers. For the Mangaldoi Lok Sabha seat, Congress nominated sitting Rajya Sabha MP and former APCC president Bhubaneswar Kalita. The senior Congressman had disclosed in the media that the party had asked him to choose between Gauhati and Mangaldoi. Speaking to G Plus Kalita informed that he had not asked for Gauhati but if the party wants he was okay with the decision. Finally, the second list on March 18 saw Kalita’s name figure for the Mangaldoi Lok Sabha seat. He will file his nomination on Monday, 25th March. Bhubaneswar Kalita will start his campaigning with the issue of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. Due to his vast experience and network, Kalita had spearheaded the Rajya Sabha campaign against the bill in the upper house and was finally successful. This

VS Bhubaneswar Kalita (Congress) act of his has made him a hero for many who have been against the bill. Now whether it will transpire into votes is another matter. Another ad-

vantage for Bhubaneswar Kalita is the dropping of sitting BJP MP Ramen Deka which the Congressman is going to en-cash. Kalita will cite the poor performance of the incumbent BJP MP thereby playing the anti-incumbency card to it full strength.

Lok Sabha Election 2009

Dilip Saikia (BJP)

If we look at data of the past two Lok Sabha contests in 2009 and 2014 we see that there is a trend

of Congress narrowing on the BJP for the Mangaldoi Lok Sabha seat despite having just one MLA. In 2009, the victory margin for BJP’s Ramen Deka was 55,849 votes against senior Congressman Madhab Rajbangshi. The third and the fourth place went to AIUDF and BPF. In 2014, the victory margin came down to 22,884

votes for Ramen Deka. It was getting tougher for him and the anti-incumbency was showing its tentacles. It was reported that Ramen Deka showed interest in moving out of the constituency and the BJP has named state general secretary Dilip Saikia as its candidate for the Mangaldoi Lok Sabha. Deka on the other hand has been sidelined for now. The fight: There are ten assembly constituencies in Mangaldoi. After the 2016 assembly elections Congress has been reduced to just one seat (Dalgaon). Also, the Congress’s vote share has come down during the 2016 assembly election which is a matter of worry for Kailta. But the voting patASSEMBLY PARTY terns for Kamalpur AGP state and na- Panery BPF tional elecKalaigaon BPF tions Majbat BPF have been Udalguri (ST) BPF found to be different. The Congress can only hope that the pattern continues from 2014. The rest of the 9 assembly constituencies are with the BJPAGP-BPF coalition with BJP and BPF holding 4 each and AGP holding one. It would have been an uphill task for a new Congress face. So a well-entrenched candidate like Bhubaneswar Kalita has been asked to contest as the party sees an opportunityhere. From Congress, Kirip Chaliha (2014) and Madhab Rajbangshi (2009) were good contenders but Bhubaneswar Kalita is a different Lok Sabha Election 2014

ball game. Though Ramen Deka had a formidable support base in Mangaldoi, his poor performance and the anti-incumbency has got the better of him. If the Congress can maintain the 2014 performance it can win this seat by a slender margin. Maybe an understanding with Badruddin Ajmal’s AIUDF can come to its rescue if the perfume baron puts up a weak candidate. The BJP is getting weaker here and they know it. Though the BJP has fielded Dilip Saikia from Mangaldoi, his popularity cannot match that of Bhubaneswar Kalita among the common masses. Saikia is an RSS worker and led the student wing of ABVP during his youth days. He is

ASSEMBLY

PARTY

Rangiya

BJP

Mangaldoi (SC)

BJP

Nalbari

BJP

Sipajhar

BJP

Dalgaon

Congress

the state general secretary of the BJP and had contested the 2011 assembly elections from Nalbari (under Mangaldoi LS) that he lost to Jayanta Mallah Baruah – current Assam Tourism Chairman and then Congress candidate – who interestingly was also one of the BJP contenders for the Mangaldoi seat. For the Mangaldoi Lok Sabha seat we would like to keep the fight open for both the Congress and BJP till the election fever grips the country in full mode. n

4 Governance

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

I-T dept pulls up 4003 people in NE over Rs 1,516 crore unexplained income 4,003 people from the NE region are yet to reply to I-T department’s query post demonetisation; they may face action according to officials Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

fter the much talkedabout demonetisation exercise which the central government brought about in 2016 to check black money, the income tax department (northeast region) has found that Rs 1,516.49 crores which was deposited in bank accounts by 4,003 persons is unexplained income. A total of 11,545 people across the northeast who had deposited more than Rs 10 lakhs in their bank accounts after demonetisation, were sent notices by the income tax department to explain the source of income and to pay taxes on the amount. The total amount deposited by 11,545 people was Rs 4,565.74 crores. However, out of these, 4,003 have still not replied to the income tax department notices which were sent post demonetisation, informed officials. “All of these 4,003 people had deposited cash above Rs 10 lakhs in their bank accounts. Apart from them, there will be many more people who have deposited money below Rs 10 lakhs too,” informed

a senior official in the income tax department, north east region (NER). According to authorities, the notices were sent in two stages; in the first stage, a query letter was sent where people were asked to explain the source of income. Further, in the second stage, notice under section 142 was issued to file tax return on the income. “If people still do not reply to the query letter till March 31 and file tax returns then the IT department will take action against such individuals,” Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, NER, Kavita Jha, told G Plus. The department is expecting responses by those who would fail to reply by March 31. Further, explaining about the procedure of action which can be taken against them, officials mentioned that they will get assessment notices and if they don’t reply to the assessment notices, then they will get the assessment orders where tax demand will be created. After this, they may face attachment of bank accounts and properties and finally prosecution too. In the tax recovery proceedings, bank accounts may be attached, financial assets and other immoveable and moveable properties will

People stand in queue at an ATM in Guwahati just after demonetisation was declared be attached to the extent of the tax demand. “If people don’t reply then the cash deposits will be treated as unexplained income, since people have the responsibility to explain the source and if they don’t explain, it will be treated as unexplained income and tax will be imposed on that at the maximum rate and they will not receive any

I-T department increases manpower deployment for elections

ith a view to keep a check on the expenditures related to the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections the income tax department of the northeast region has increased the additional deployment of personnel to 164. These income tax inspectors will be spread across Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland. The deployment order of the additional manpower was issued by the investigation wing of the NER. Explaining the modus operandi, principal director of income tax of northeast region (investigation), Sanjay Bahadur said, “During elections we have flying squads and static surveillance teams who keep a check on large amounts of money being exchanged. They will ascertain if the money is

directly political money. Once the money is seized, it is then verified if it is from a declared source or undisclosed income.” He added that the department

has identified “high risk areas” and have deployed personnel close to these areas. Currently, 55 surveillance teams have been put in place across northeast in 112 districts. The investigation directorate teams will monitor movement of

large sums of cash or other items suspected to be used for bribing of electors and on the basis of Information or complaint, will conduct independent enquiry against any person indulging in such acts. They will also verify affidavits declaring assets and liabilities filed by the candidates before ECI and election expenses by any candidate or political party. Further, control rooms have been set up in every state which are headed by an officer of the department. For Assam, the toll-free complaint number is 18003453561 and the mobile and WhatsApp number is 94351107891. Complaints or information regarding movement of large sums of cash and other items suspected to be used for bribing voters during elections will be monitored from the Centre, said an official. n

relief on that,” informed an official. Authorities further informed that even out of those who have replied to the department’s query, some cases have been selected for scrutiny since either their income profile doesn’t match the amount of cash deposited, or in business cases, maybe the turnover doesn’t match with the deposited amount.

These cases, too, will also be subjected to scrutiny. “Those who haven’t replied should do so at the earliest, otherwise they may face penal and other consequences,” said a senior official. The income tax department of the northeast region has five commissionarates, out of which three are located in Assam. n

Air intelligence units set up

ith the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the income tax department has set up air intelligence units across northeast to keep a check on the flow of black money during elections. Speaking to G Plus, Principal Director of Income Tax of northeast region (Investigation),

Sanjay Bahadur, said that whenever a person checks into any airport, their baggage goes for a scanner. “If it is suspected that there is a substantial amount of cash, then the bag is opened and the money is checked. Normally, amounts of more than two lakhs is identified and the passenger is allowed to fly with the cash but in the receiving airport, the air intelligence people will intercept them and if the amount is undisclosed, it is seized,” said Bahadur. He added that 12 air intelligence units have been set up across northeast especially for election purpose. “Otherwise, regularly we monitor Guwahati airport and we have a set up in Agartala,” informed Bahadur. n

Politicking

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

For Himanta Biswa it was to contest or not to; well, here’s what happened last week Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee

only one name –Himanta Biswa Sarma – had been shortlisted. For Silchar constituency, the names of

and Angoorlata Deka, and Jitu Goswami were on the list. For Mangaldai the names of sitting

were of Swarup Das (Karimganj), Sushmita Dev (Silchar), Gaurav Gogoi (Kaliabor), Sushanta

Snippets AASU leader Moni Madhab Mahanta joins AGP

midst all the political drama, it’s final that Assam finance minister and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convener Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma will not be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. After the election dates were announced Dr Sarma revealed that he will not contest the 2021 state assembly elections. Political pundits started betting and guessing about the Lok Sabha constituency that the BJP heavyweight would contest from. Speculation started pouring in that he would be contesting from Gauhati replacing Bijoya Chakravarty who is the sitting BJP MP of the constituency after reports came in that she will not contest from the city. Later, the name of present Mangaldoi MP Ramen Deka started surfacing for Gauhati constituency. But the party finally zeroed in on Queen Ojha for the Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency. On March 14, an important meeting of the BJP Assam Election Committee was held at Guwahati to finalize the candidates for the Assam Lok Sabha seats. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, BJP president Ranjit Kumar Dass, NEDA convener

Himanta Biswa Sarma and a couple of MPs were part of the meeting. The BJP Assam Election Committee, on March 15, had shortlisted candidates for 10 Lok Sabha seats. Media reports quoting sources said that barring Tezpur constituency, for which

oni Madhab Mahanta who resigned from the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) last week, officially joined the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Wednesday.

File image of Himanta Biswa Sarma Dr Rajdeep Roy (now nominated) and Parimal Suklabaidya had been shortlisted, while Kripanath Mallah (now nominated) and Amaresh Roy were in the panel for Karimganj constituency. For Diphu names included Haren Sing Bey (now nominated), Bidya Sing Engleng, Tuliram Ronghang and Kache Teronpi. For the Jorhat seat, the names of sitting MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, state minister Topon Kumar Gogoi (now nominated), Lakhya Konwar and Santanu Gogoi were in the panel, while for Dibrugarh the names of sitting MP Rameswar Teli (now nominated) and Pulak Gohain were in the list. Sitting MP Pradan Baruah (now nominated) and Haren Deori were in the panel for Lakhimpur. For Gauhati, the party had shortlisted sitting MP Bijoya Chakravarty, Bijuli Kalita Medhi, Queen Ojha (now nominated) and Chikimiki Talukdar. For Nowgong, sitting MP and union minister Rajen Gohain, MLAs Rupak Sarmah

MP Ramen Deka, Dilip Saikia (now nominated) and Jayanta Malla Baruah had been shortlisted. The whole of local media was ablaze with the probable names of the candidates. Angry over these reports, incumbent BJP MP Ram Prasad Sarmah resigned from the party on March 16 and said that

The BJP Central Election Committee had decided that Dr Sarma will carry out his current duties as Assam minister and NEDA convener to strengthen the party’s base and work towards the development of the region. Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma responded with a tweet saying that he respects the decision taken by the central committee.

he would only return to the party if Prime Minister Narendra Modi would request. This led to further chaos within the BJP. Meanwhile, the Congress released their list on 15th and 18th March respectively. In the first list, the names included

Borgohain (Jorhat) and Paban Singh Ghatowar (Dibrugarh). On the second list, the names of the candidates were Biren Singh Engti from Diphu, Bhubaneswar Kalita from Mangaldai, MGVK Bhanu from Tezpur, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee Vice President and senior Congress leader Pradyut Bordoloi from Nagaon and Anil Borgohain from Lakhimpur parliamentary seat. The BJP list was yet to be endorsed and announced by the CEC and got delayed due to the sudden demise of Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar on March 17 as the party had to postpone all meetings. Later on March 21, ending all speculations, the BJP published its first list of candidates for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Just before the list was put up BJP national president Amit Shah, in a series of tweets, revealed that the Assam BJP Election Committee had suggested Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma’s name for the Lok Sabha elections. But, the BJP Central Election Committee had decided that Dr Sarma will carry out his current duties as Assam minister and NEDA convener to strengthen the party’s base and work towards the development of the region. Shah also asked party workers and people from the state to support the decision as it was necessary for the party. Later, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma responded with a tweet saying that he respects the decision taken by the central committee and will work along with the rest of the country for the re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. n

Mahanta was holding the post of the vice president of AASU and is being seen as a probable candidate from Kaliabor constituency from AGP. As Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to leave the Kaliabor seat to its alliance partner AGP, Moni Madhab Mahanta’s immediate opponent will be Congress heavyweight Gaurav Gogoi, son of three-time Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi. The younger Gogoi won the Kaliabor seat in 2014. For his official joining, a large procession was carried out from Guwahati Club to AGP’s office in Ambari. Moni Madhab Mahanta is the younger brother of AGP minister Keshab Mahanta.

BJP leader shot dead in Cachar

he deceased BJP leader has been identified as Sukhendu Das, president of Hatichara village panchayat. Another BJP leader identified as Rinku Senapati, was also critically injured after being fired upon by the assailants. The injured has been admitted to Silchar Medical College and Hospital. Superintendent of Police, Cachar, Mugdha Jyoti Mahanta described the incident as sad and unlawful. He said, “The GP president attended an event and was on his way back when someone fired at him from behind. It is not yet clear who did it and why.” Mahanta further informed that Das’ nephew who was travelling with him also got injured in the incident. The police have launched an operation to nab the culprits.

6 Governance Snippets Guwahati boy shines at special Olympics World Summer Games

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Bandhs unlawful and unconstitutional: High Court Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee

Dhabi.

bhishek Gogoi (18) won a silver medal for cycling at the Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Abu

The national record-holder para-cyclist won the medal for 10 km time trial. Gogoi is the only contestant to represent Assam and the Northeast in this prestigious event at the Special Olympics. The 18-year-old, is absolutely dedicated to his training. He visits a gym every day from 11am to 3pm, followed by continuous cycling for three hours around the city of Guwahati. “Because of Special Olympics today, I see a different Abhishek,” his mother said in an interview. “This is because of so many people who he has met as part of his journey through Special Olympics. His participation across the camps made him visible and the Mayor of Guwahati got in touch and supported him with a bicycle through crowd funding. With constant sporting activity, he remains active. He loves himself.”

alling for bandhs was almost becoming a part of the culture here in Assam. Recently, almost every day, a bandh was called by one or the other organisation to show a form of protest. In many cases violence was reported where irate mobs attacked vehicles and business establishments which defied their call for bandh.

the state. The judgement came after the court heard a petition filed by the Lower Assam Inter District Stage Carriage Bus Owners’ Association. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, in his judgement, said that the any organisation or body calling bandh will be liable to be prosecuted under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, National Highways Act, 1989 and would include those preventing people from going to their duties. They will also be booked under relevant sections.

As per a report, the state witnessed as many as 104 road traffic accidents that have been attended to by Mrityunjoy 108 Emergency Services. Kamrup district has the maximum number of accidents with a toll of 17 road traffic accidents, followed by Kamrup (M) with 14 accidents and Jorhat coming third with 12 such cases.

department of the government of Assam shall make assessments of the damage caused to the state which will be compensated by the bandh organisers and the main office bearers. A Bandh Loss Compensation Fund will be set up by the home and political department of the government of Assam within three months which will be maintained by retired judges of district and sessions courts with also one administrative officer. Now, the question that comes to the mind is how effective will it be? Well, just a day after the judgement was passed various organisations along with local residents staged a protest by blocking roads bordering Nagaland at Merapani in Golaghat District against the NSCN for assaulting and extorting money from traders from the bordering areas of Assam. However no action has been taken by the authorities as to the judgement passed in the Gauhati High Court.

Salient points of the order passed by the Gauhati High Court: FIR to be filed within 24 Hours Home department to be Informed within 7 days Charge sheet to be filed against bandh organisers Assam Police Accountability Commission will SP’s carrying out investigation

Mrityunjoy attends 104 road accidents during Holi festival oli festival this year in Assam has also been marked by a large number of road mishaps.

police station within 24 hours of such bandh or blockade. In all cases an investigating officer will carry out the investigation and file charge sheet before the competent criminal court immediately so that the accused can be tried as fast as possible. Further, the court has directed the Assam Police Accountability Commission to monitor the filing of FIR and registration of cases. If any of the guidelines are not followed seriously appropriate actions will be taken by the police accountability commission in accordance with the law.

Home department to file contempt cases

Gauhati High Court These bandhs were causing losses to the tune of a whooping Rs 67.9 crore per day. The state witnessed 13 bandhs last year which was mentioned by Assam parliamentary affairs minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary, during the state assembly session in October 2018. In a historic judgment, the Gauhati High Court, on March 19, passed a circular declaring bandhs and blockades called by different organisation as illegal and unconstitutional and also issued various guidelines to stop bandhs which has been plaguing

A number of guidelines have been framed in the form of direction like lodging FIR against organisations who will call for Assam bandh or rail/road blockade. The commissioner of police, Kamrup (Metro) or any of his subordinates can lodge the FIR and produce the subject in the Pan Bazar police station within 24 hours of such bandhs or blockades being called. In case a bandh covering more than one district, rail or road of similar nature, the jurisdictional superintendent of police shall lodge the FIR at the competent

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Further, the commission shall submit a monitoring report to the Judicial Registrar of the Gauhati High Court once every three months plus the commissioner and the secretary to government of Assam in the home and political department shall also file contempt petition against the organisers and the key people of the organisation. The monitoring reports which will be submitted by the Assam Police Accountability Commission will be maintained by the Judicial Registrar of the Gauhati High Court and the home and political

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Departmental proceeding SPs who did not file charge sheet against bandh callers High Court to file contempt case against home department if no contempt case filed by them Home department will assess the damage that will be recovered from the office bearers of bandh callers A Bandh Loss Compensation Fund will be set up The money recovered will be kept in fund and then loss disbursement will be carried out

Politicking

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Know how much your MPs spent in 2014 Lok Sabha polls With the 2019 Lok Sabha elections less than a month away, G Plus takes a look at the expenditure of MPs in the last Lok Sabha elections. Ajmal MP from Dhubri from AIUDF declared an expenditure of Rs 31 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars and spent Rs 4 lakhs on campaign materials. He also spent Rs 4 lakhs on vehicles used and Rs 7 lakhs on campaign workers. Similarly, Ramen Deka BJP MP from Mangaldoi declared Rs 4 lakhs as expenditure on public meetings and processions without stars. He spent an equal amount on public meetings and processions with stars. He further spent Rs 1 lakh on campaign materials and Rs 32,000 on campaigning through electronic and print media. He also spent Rs 2 lakhs each on vehicles and campaign workers. Deka declared an expenditure of Rs 2 lakhs as other miscellaneous expenses during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

s per the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report on the expenditure of Members of Parliament (MPs) in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Assam state’s average election expense, was Rs 44.23 lakhs making Assam the eleventh highest spending state. The expenditure limits for Lok Sabha elections were raised in 2014 from Rs 40 lakhs to Rs 70 lakhs for each Lok Sabha

Assam falls in the category of bigger states along with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka among others and the election expenditure limit per candidate per constituency this year is Rs 70 lakhs. constituency in bigger states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka; and from Rs 22 lakh to Rs 54 Lakhs in smaller states like Goa. Assam falls in the category of bigger states and the election expenditure limit per constituency this is Rs 70 lakhs. This revision of election expenditure limits came after sustained efforts by the candidates contesting elections. However, Gaurav Gogoi of Indian National Congress from Kaliabor Constituency, declared an election expenditure of Rs 82.40 lakhs which was the highest in India by any contesting candidate from a political party. Out of the total expenditure incurred by Gaurav Gogoi in 2014 elections, he spent Rs 36.05 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars while Rs 14.98 lakhs was spent on public meetings and processions with stars. Further, he declared a spending of a whopping Rs 31 lakhs on vehicles used for the elections.

Rameswar Teli with BJP supporters Similarly, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, BJP MP from Jorhat, spent Rs 7.16 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars. Additionally, he incurred an expense of Rs 1.85 lakhs on public meetings and processions with stars. Teli further declared Rs 24.60 lakhs on campaign materials and used Rs 5 lakhs on vehicles. He also spent Rs 1 lakh on campaign workers and more than Rs 18 lakhs on other miscellaneous expenses. Further, there were a few MPs who had declared election expenditure incurred by them which was more than their total assets declared during the elections. Kamakhya Prasad Tasa of BJP from Jorhat constituency, Assam, declared total assets of Rs 16.94 lakhs during the elections. However, he has declared election expenses of Rs 58.21 lakhs which was Rs 41.26 lakhs more than his total declared assets. Moreover, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal who contested the elections form Lakhimpur declared an expense of Rs 7 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars while he spent Rs 8 lakhs on public meetings and processions with stars. Sonowal declared Rs 27 lakhs as expense on campaign material. He further spent Rs 6 lakhs on vehicles used and Rs 3 lakhs as expense on campaign workers. In the same vein, Rajen Gohain, BJP MP from Nowgong spent Rs 12 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars. Additionally, he incurred an expense of Rs 17 lakhs on public

meetings and processions with stars. Gohain further declared an expense of Rs 3.60 lakhs on campaign materials and used Rs 7 lakhs on vehicles used. He

Sidelights of the 2014elections:

According to the data compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch, a total of Rs 299 crores worth of cash was seized across the country during the Lok Sabha 2014 elections and 16 states had

Snippets New Flyover in GS Road will not ease trafficrelated problems

he new flyover that is being constructed over the existing overbridge in GS Road at Ganeshguri Chariali will not ease traffic-related problems on either of the two roads, according to President of Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG), Krishno Kanto Barooah.

While Barooah appreciated the state government’s initiative to construct new flyovers and overbridges to ease traffic-related problems in the city, he said the effort would not be constructive if the new bridge is not connected to the existing bridge at the Ganeshguri Chariali point with a roundabout. He added that the existing overbridge should be connected with Hengrabari Road for better movement of vehicles in that area. It is to be mentioned that Barooah had raised these concerns seven months ago before the present PWD Minister seeking his intervention to take corrective measures. However, the minister referred him to an official of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) who invited Barooah to a meeting but remained absent at the given time. In the meantime, the foundation stone of the new flyover has been laid by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

Assam woman seeks Gov aid to climb Mount Everest

njali Das, a woman hailing from Dakhin Kamrup district of Assam, has been selected to scale the Mount Everest. Anjali is a mountaineer, kabaddi player and marathon runner who is currently preparing to scale the world’s highest peak.

Gaurav Gogoi on his way to file nomination from Koliabor also spent Rs 9 lakh on campaign workers. Further, Gauhati MP Bijoya Chakraborty incurred an expense of Rs 15 lakhs on public meetings and processions without stars. She further spent Rs 22 lakhs on campaigning through electronic and print media. She also spent Rs 6 lakhs on vehicles used and Rs 4 lakhs on campaign workers. On the other hand, Badruddin

reported to have seized more than Rs 1 crore. Apart from that, 1.61 crore litres of liquor, 1,707 crore mg of drugs and 57,335 illegal arms and ammunitions were seized across the country. There were a total of 8,04,433 model code of conduct violations and 4,26,077 notices were issued by the Election Commission of India across the country. n

However, Anjali has been struggling to raise Rs 32 lakhs which is a prerequisite for this expedition. “I have urged Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to help me accomplish my dream. Hiking is an expensive sport. I won’t be able to do it until and unless the government helps me,” said Anjali. Earlier. Anjali had climbed the Renok Peak (4,800m) and Kabru Dome (6,600m) in Sikkim in 2015 and Dungla Peak (5,602m) in Leh and Ladakh in 2017. Anjali undertook a basic course in mountaineering from Western Himalayas Mountaineering Institute in Manali and an advanced course from Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling in 2015,

8 In The News Snippets Social media platforms to come up with model code document

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

The qualification row: Four sitting MPs from Assam are not even graduates Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

o ensure that the upcoming Lok Sabha elections are peaceful and clean, the Election Commission (EC) has urged internet companies and social media platforms to come up with a model code document for themselves based on the model code of conduct (MCC) in effect for all political parties.

On March 19, the poll panel said that the companies have agreed to come up with a code of ethics that would lay down operational rules for the industry by Wednesday, March 20. This move comes after EC officials met with representatives of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and representatives from social media organisations such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Google, ShareChat, TikTok and BigoTV. Based on reports, misuse of social media during elections and pre-certification of political advertisements were discussed during the meeting.

NPP releases list of candidates for Assam

ith the Supreme Court about to hear a petition that seeks to make graduation mandatory for candidates contesting polls, at least four out of total 14 members of parliament (MPs) in Assam have been found falling short of this proposed minimum qualification benchmark. While two of these four MPs belong to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one belongs to All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and another one is an Independent (I). The MPs are - Rameswar Teli (Dibrugarh), Pradan Baruah (Lakhimpur), Naba Kumar Sarania (Kokrajhar) and Radheshyam Biswas (Karimganj). BJP’s Dibrugarh MP, Rameswar Teli, has the least educational qualification among all the MPs from the state, being just a matriculation pass. He passed the 10th board exam in 1989 from Tipling Ghat High School. The second MP in this list from the BJP is Pradan Baruah who holds a diploma in Mechanical Engineering and was educated at Dibrugarh Polytechnic College, Assam. Though BJP hadn’t declared its list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls till the time of filing this report, both Teli and Baruah are likely to contest the polls again.

Former ULFA hardliner and incumbent MP from Kokrajhar, Naba Kumar Sarania, has also studied up to Class 12. He did his schooling from Tamulpur in Baksa district of Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) and secured

Among the remaining parliamentarians from Assam, four are graduates and six are post graduates. AIUDF MP Siraj Uddin Ajmal (Barpeta), BJP MPs Ramen Deka (Mangoldoi), Rajen Gohain (Na-

Pradan Baruah

Rameswar Teli

Naba Kr. Sarania

Radheshyam Biswas

third division marks in both his 10th and 12th standards. Sarania is likely to contest from Kokrajhar again. Lastly, AIUDF’s Radheshyam Biswas has also studied up to Class 12 from Karimganj College. Like Teli and Baruah, Biswas is likely to contest polls again.

gaon) and RP Sarmah (Tezpur) hold graduate degrees while the remaining parliamentarians – AIUDF’s Badruddin Ajmal (Dhubri), BJP’s Kamakhya Prasad Tasa (Jorhat) and Bijoya Chakravarty (Guwahati), Congress’s Biren Singh Engti (Autonomous District), Gaurav Gogoi (Kaliabor) and Sushmita

Dev (Silchar) – hold post-graduation degrees. While there are educational criteria set for contesting the Panchayat elections, many opine that it’s time the MPs be held to the same standards. “It’s a total shame on the part of us people. All these years when we were electing the candidates we never saw or verified the status of the candidates. We must know the profile of the candidate we cast our vote for,” expressed Pankaj Surana, a resident of Guwahati. In the same vein, another resident, Amarnath Sharma Laimayum said, “There should be highest qualification for the law makers for the betterment of the country.” The prayer in the apex court says that since the functions performed by lawmakers are vital to democracy, they should be educated enough to understand the “pros and cons of the laws.” The Supreme Court is going to take up the matter on March 25. A closer look at the educational qualifications of the Members of Parliament (MPs) India elected to its 16th Lok Sabha in 2014 reveals that around 10% of the members are not even matriculates. Among the MPs, 75 percent are graduates while six percent of the MPs hold doctoral degrees. On the one hand we have highly educated MPs like Shashi Tharoor and Harsh Vardhan in the current Lok Sabha while on the other hand we also have a cabinet minister like Uma Bharti who did her schooling till 6th grade only. n

Educational qualifications of Assam’s popular politicians

he National People’s Party (NPP) has released its first list of candidates for 5 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam.

Here is the list of candidates so far who will Represent Assam:

Silchar : Nazia Yasmin Mazumder Tezpur : Ram Bahadur Sunar Kaliabor : Abdul Aziz Jorhat : Kamala Rajkonwar Dibrugarh : Bhaben Baruah

n India, one doesn’t need to have a formal academic degree to hold the position of a minister. This fact has led to several uproars from time to time and a lot has been debated on whether educational qualification should determine ministerial competence. In recent times, there have been controversies surrounding the educational qualifications of various ministers - from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Smriti Irani; nobody has been left off the ra-

dar. While the youth of India are giving their board examinations and preparing for a better future, let’s take a look at how educated some of Assam’s prominent politicians are. Among the Assam ministers, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma holds the highest qualification of PhD in Philosophy. He also holds a degree in LLB (Bachelor of Legislative Law) from Gauhati University (GU). The present chief minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal,

as well as the former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, are both graduate professionals with LLB from Gauhati University. Similarly, Assam minister Chandra Mohan Patowary holds a master degree in arts (MA) degree from Gauhati University along with LLB from JB Law College. Presently, he is serving as the Minister of Transport, Parliamentary Affairs, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Industry & Commerce in Government of Assam. Gauhati East MLA Siddhartha

Bhattacharya too holds an MA and LLB from GU. Further, while Atul Bora holds a graduate degree from Cotton College, Akon Bora graduated from Gauhati University. Rakibul Hussain graduated from Nowgong College, Pramila Rani Brahma from Kokrajhar College, Rihon Daimary from North Eastern Hill University and Parimal Suklabaidya from GC College under GU. Among the ministers who hold the least qualification is Naba Kumar Doley who has studied up to class 12. n

Politicking

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Rahul Gandhi bats to save Congress in Northeast Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee

he upcoming 2019 election will be a test of survival for the Congress as the grand old party is on the verge of losing its ground in the northeastern region. Once a bastion, the Congress slowly lost power in 5 states which was under its rule. Even in Mizoram, which was its stronghold and an impossible area for other parties to gain power, the Congress lost to the Mizo National Front (MNF) in the recent state assembly election 2018. Even in Tripura the Congress was the main opposition to the ruling left government but after the state election in February 2018, the party failed to secure even a single seat. The party’s constant losses in the elections in Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram have become a worrying sign. The party, which is the biggest opposition to the BJP in Lok Sabha, is barely being able to keep ground in the region. To save the party from dying out in the region, Congress President Rahul Gandhi kick started its election campaign from Assam. On 27 February last Rahul Gandhi addressed a massive rally at the Khanapara Veterinary ground and later held a discussion with the Northeast Congress Coordination Committee, a forum of Congress leaders from the northeastern states at the Srimanta Saankaradeva Kalakshetra International Convention Centre to chalk out strategies for the upcoming 2019 polls. It is o be noted that under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress has not

performed well in the northeast. However, the leadership in the region expressed confidence to work under Gandhi to bring back the Congress its past glory. Gandhi, while addressing the rally, attacked the BJP and the RSS for trying to impose their ideology in the region. “There is an

Assam which the BJP Government removed after coming to power in 2016. Gandhi said, “They have taken away your special status, and from this stage itself I declare, the moment Congress comes back to power we will grant you special status.” Gandhi further promised to restore the North East Industri-

of former bureaucrat and current Lok Sabha candidate from Tezpur, MGVK Bhanu and Sushanta Borgohain from Jorhat. The cracks within the organisation is something that Congress needs to work on and work fast to be able to win the confidence of its party members and people ahead

The party’s constant losses in the elections in Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram have become a worrying sign.

Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Imphal attack on your history, your language and your way of life. Not only Assam, the RSS is attacking all the states of the northeast. The ideology of RSS has burnt every northeast state. It has burnt Arunachal, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland. They have not spared a single state, The Congress is going to stop this and save the history and culture of the northeast. We will give a befitting reply to BJP, Narendra Modi and Mohan Bhagwat” said Gandhi. One of the key things which the congress is betting upon is reviving the special status category for

al Policy, which was scrapped by the BJP. He also promised to waive off the education loans of students from the northeast. While addressing a rally in Arunachal Pradesh on 19th March Rahul Gandhi also promised to restore the special category status to Arunachal Pradesh and rest of the northeastern states and also claimed that the Congress would respect the indigenous identity, heritage and culture of the people. Gandhi took full opportunity to lambast the BJP and the RSS by saying that the duo is trying hard to impose its Hindutva identity

BJP Ministers, MLAs quit party in Arunachal Pradesh, join Conrad Sangma’s NPP

n a major setback for BJP, 18 members and lawmakers from Arunachal Pradesh have resigned from the party to join Conrad Sangma-led National Peo ple’s Party (NPP), which is an ally of BJP in the region. Home Minister Kumar Waii, Tourism Minister Jarkar Gamlin, BJP General Secretary Jarpum Gamlin, and six legislators from Arunachal BJP are among those who have resigned. Senior BJP leader and general secretary, BJP Arunachal Pradesh, Jarpum Gamlin resigned from the primary membership of the party over denial of ticket by the BJP high command for the Assembly elections in the state. Gamlin

upon the people of the region by bringing the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016, which he assured that the Congress will scrap it if they are voted to power. In Manipur the party currently holds two parliamentary seats from inner and outer Manipur

wanted to contest from the Liromoba assembly constituency and had started working with the voters. Gamlin in his letter to Tapir Gao, president, Arunachal Pradesh BJP wrote, “However, as the party has announced the ticket which is not in my favour, I am in a precarious position torn between the party and my supporters. After much thought, I have decided that I can’t let down the expectations of my supporters who have reposed faith in me.” The first list of 54 candidates for the 60 assembly constituencies of Arunachal Pradesh was announced by the BJP and there were notable omissions of sitting

MLAs and ministers that led to this en-masse quitting. Similarly, in Tripura, BJP’s vice-president, Subal Bhowmik had also quit the party to join Congress on March 19 and is expected to contest from west Tripura Constituency. Of now, a total of 25 BJP members from the northeast have quit and joined other parties on disputes over not getting tickets to contest the upcoming elections. It is to be mentioned that BJP’s allies NPP and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha have decided to contest alone for the upcoming elections. In Arunachal Pradesh the NPP will contest in at least 30-40 seats out of the 60 member assembly. n

and showed confidence in retaining those seats. Altogether nine people including the sitting MP, T Meinya Singh, are seeking party tickets from inner Manipur constituency and seven candidates are seeking tickets from the outer Manipur to contest the poll. However, the state leadership of the Congress in Assam is having a tough time amongst themselves with regard to giving tickets its candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Veteran Congress leader and two-time chief minister, Tarun Gogoi, expressed his dissatisfaction over the candidature

of the Lok Sabha polls. From the last Lok sabha election in 2014 to the 2019 elections, the Congress scaled up its campaign in an aggressive manner and is carrying out ground level work to attract voters to their side, similar to what the BJP is doing and had done during 2014 general elections which helped the party to win the Lok Sabha elections. Will the Congress be able to win maximum seats from the northeast? Can Rahul Gandhi propel the party to its much needed victory and most importantly, will the people give their mandate in favour of the party? Can the Citizenship Bill issue help the Congress be an alternative to the BJP? We will have to wait and see as to how the Congress campaigns in the region before the country heads for elections on 11th April. n

Election officials to hike through tough terrain for one voter in Arunachal Pradesh

lection commission officials will hike through tough terrain in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district which borders China, in order to ensure that the lone voter of a polling station can exercise her franchise. Sokela Tayang, 39, resides with her children in Malogam- which is around 39 kilometres from Anjaw district headquarter Hayuliang. According to reports, very few families reside in Malogam and all the other voters apart from Sokela have been registered in different polling stations.

Reportedly, the election authorities will reach the Malogam polling station by foot for Soleka’s vote. The Lok Sabha elections and state assembly elections are being held in Arunachal Pradesh simultaneously. n

10 In The News

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

5th edition of G Plus Guwahati Food Awards to be staged today Bakra King Cyrus Broacha chief guest and host for the evening

he gala award night of G Plus Guwahati Food Awards 2019 is all set to take place on March 23 at Vivanta by Taj, Guwahati. The voting for the awards closed this year with over 1,50,000 votes registered on the website and mobile app. With more than 150 nominations across 25 identified award categories, nominations were received from 68 eateries comprising restaurants, cafes, lounge bars, bakeries and fast food eateries amongst others. Guwahati Food Awards, initiated in the year 2015, steps into its fifth edition this year. The awards have been arrived at by a multiple phase process that involves nomination filing, voting, food tasting and jury visits. The voting period continued for almost three weeks, while a distinguished jury visited the participants for inspection and reviews. A cumulative score has been calculated through a credible process and the awards in the respective categories shall be announced at the grand awards night which will be a gala affair. The jury members

include Chef Faruk Ahmed - win-

accused be produced again for hearing on April 4. It should be mentioned that the accused, Ahmed, has a criminal record and has been arrested earlier too. He is originally from Bihar and has come to Guwahati to do business. It has also been alleged that the owner of the building, Ashok Singhal, MLA from Dhekiajuli, has given permission to many people to open and run their businesses in the building without checking

of the success of the best in the city’s food industry and receives overwhelming response from the industry every year.” The Guwahati Food Awards is an initiative of the city’s English weekly G Plus in association with Blender’s Pride Reserve Collection Music CDs. The initiative is sup-

chor, theatre personality, comedian, political satirist, columnist, podcaster and author as the chief guest and host for the evening this year. Organiser of the Guwahati Food Awards and Publisher & Director of G Plus Sunit Jain, said, “Voted by over a lakh of citizens and being

Jury members judging GFA 2019 Home Baker contest ner of GFA Chef of the Year 2016, Dr Geeta Dutta, an ethnic food enthusiast and Aabhishek Bedi Varma, a former chef of Taj Group of Hotels. It is headed by renowned food critic and international culinary judge, Suresh Hinduja, as its Chairman. Guwahati Food awards also organises an annual baking contest – Bake-off 2019. This was the third season of the “Best Home Baker

Journalist from Guwahati stabbed in city restaurant From Page 1

of the Year.” Contestants prepare

any proper legal documentation. Ahmed’s restaurant business was also one of these unchecked

items from home and present them to the jury members on the day of the competition. This year’s jury included Kashmiri Barkakati Nath, Food Blogger and Brand Ambassador at EatwithIndia and Chef Sumalya Sarkar Executive Chef at Vivanta by Taj Guwahati. This award shall also be announced during the gala night. The much awaited awards night will have Cyrus Broacha, TV an-

ported by Go Cheese, Magik Cook, Asomiya Pratidin, Pratidin Time with Hospitality Partner - Vivanta Guwahati and Outdoor Partner Outreach Advertising.

judged by the most efficient jury, I am looking to forward to the success of yet another edition of Guwahati Food Awards this year. This initiative is a fantastic celebration

Various organisations including the EMFA condemn the attack on Guwahati journalist

M professions where this horrific incident took place. n

Judges tasting food at an outlet in Guwahati

any organisations such as the Electronic Media Forum Assam (EMFA) have expressed serious concern over the brutal attack on the city-based television journalist, Chakrapani Parashar and they have demanded stringent action against the culprits. The forum has also

urged the state government in Dispur to ensure security to media persons by enacting a special protection law at the earliest. The EMFA has noted that many more incidents of physical abuse on journalists are being reported from various localities in India. They have further asked the union

government in New Delhi to take the matter seriously and have appealed to all media persons across the country to be united over the issue of safety and security of media persons. Various political parties, national and regional, and journalists’ organisations have condemned this attack on Parashar. n

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Sunny

32°/19° C

32°/20° C

31°/20° C

32°/21° C

33°/22° C

SATURDAY Sunny

32°/19° C

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Holi celebrations in Guwahati

Photo Feature

12 Concern

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Sharply dwindling house sparrow population indicator of ecological deterioration Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

ill a few years ago, the house sparrows were a common sight in a majority of areas of Guwahati and Assam. However, now they have become a rare sight becoming a cause of concern for environmentalists and residents alike. While, the exact number of house sparrows left in Guwahati is not known to activists working in the field of conservation of lesser known animals and birds, they informed that the number of house sparrows has been continuously declining. With the World Sparrow Day being celebrated recently on March 20, the focus has once again shifted to the declining population of house sparrows. Moloy Baruah, president of Early Birds NGO, which works for wildlife preservation, informed G Plus that in Assam two species of sparrows are found and these include house sparrows and tree sparrows. “House sparrows are suffering because of mobile towers which are installed across the city, which generate magnetic fields and due to which they cannot bring up their offspring because the eggs do not become fertile at the proper time and break down; this is where the main problem erupts,” informed Baruah. Apart from this, he said that earlier house sparrows found shelter in thatched houses or tin-

roofed houses. “But now one does not find thatched house anywhere in Assam and as a result the sparrows are not getting sufficient alternatives to build their nests as because they do not go to trees like tree sparrows,” mentioned Baruah. Further, another activist and

House sparrows are suffering because of mobile towers which are installed across the city, which generate magnetic fields and due to which they cannot bring up their offspring because the eggs do not become fertile at the proper time and break down Moloy Baruah, President of Early Birds NGO

founder of Help Earth NGO, Jayaditya Purkayasta told G Plus that the most important problem for house sparrows is the lack of living space since house sparrows rarely build their houses in trees as they don’t have a nest building mechanism. “They search for some nook and corner so that they can

A pair of sparrows | G Plus photo build their nest. In the old style of houses which existed in Assam earlier, there were many small nooks and corners where sparrows could build their nests. But now we have RCC buildings where there is no space for them to build nests. So ultimately there is no breeding space left for them,” said Purkayasta. On the brighter side, activists say that there are sufficient numbers of tree sparrows left in Assam. Further, environmentalists feel that the celebration of World Sparrow Day will provide a boost in generating

awareness about conservation of sparrows. World Sparrow Day was earlier celebrated only in Mumbai around 15 years ago, but it has now spread to other states as well, said Baruah. “The celebration of World Sparrow Day brings about conversation surrounding sparrows among people and it has generated a lot of awareness,” said a Guwahati-based wildlife activist. Further, Purkayasta pointed out that intolerance is another major reason for the declining

numbers of house sparrows in Guwahati. “Till two generations ago, people used to live more closely with nature and they had tolerance. Even today in places like Uzan Bazar and Railway colony, we see birds nesting on the houses but people do not disturb them and are tolerant towards them,” informed Purkayasta. He added that in the modern system, people usually don’t tolerate birds in their houses as they have broken the contact with nature gradually. n

Other birds need preservation too

oloy Baruah, president of Early Birds NGO which works for wildlife preservation added that apart from house sparrows, there are other birds which also need attention of the people and must be protected. These include hornbill, storks and the vulture. “There are only a few hundred vultures left in India now. They have seen a very steady decline from around one lakh vultures in 1992, but now only around 2,000 are left across the country,” informed Baruah.

He further added that the Greater Adjutant Stork’s popula-

tion in Assam is around 1,200. Further, besides Assam, only Bihar

has some population of the bird left with around 250 birds living in Bihar. Additionally, Baruah mentioned that no other Indian state possesses this bird currently. On the other hand, while the activists blamed the government for not taking any initiative to save the house sparrow, some of the NGOs have taken proactive steps to create awareness among residents. Activist and founder of Help Earth NGO, Jayaditya Purkayasta, informed G Plus that they have taken initiatives like distributing bird boxes among people. These boxes pro-

While the activists blamed the government for not taking any initiative to save the house sparrow, some of the NGOs have taken proactive steps to create awareness among residents.

vide a space for the sparrows to help them in the building of nests and ultimately promote breeding. “We usually distribute the bird box to general people and we also ran a ‘My Bird Box’ campaign among Guwahati residents. We have also installed some bird boxes in places like Dighalipukhuri and Shraddhanjali Kanan,” said Purkayasta. He also complained that the state government has limited its scope and only focuses on rhino conservation. He added that this is also one of the reasons why no survey has been conducted on house sparrows in the recent past which poses a problem for wildlife activists. n

News This Week

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

A quick round up of the news that mattered during the past week

Total prohibition of liquor in Mizoram

Mizoram has passed a bill to bring back total prohibition of liquor in the northeastern state after four years. Excise and Narcotics Minister, Dr K Beichhua while introducing the bill said, the state government has decided to prohibit the manufacture, import, sale and consumption of liquor for the general public in regards to their overall health and help in law enforcement. The ruling Mizo National Front had promised during the assembly election in November last year that if voted to power, it would ensure total prohibition in the state.

Gautam Gambhir joins BJP

Former Indian cricketer, Gautam Gambhir has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on March 22 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He will likely contest from one of the seven Delhi Lok Sabha seats. The 37-year-old has a reach of almost nine million followers on his social media channels and he has frequently been commenting on social and security issues that had sparked rumours of him joining politics. However, at the time he had dismissed the rumours stating he wanted to spend time with his family.

Single Document for CBSE Marksheet and Certificate for Class X

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will issue a single document combining the certificate and marksheet for class X board exams, starting from this year. The decision was taken by the board’s examination committee and was recently approved by the governing body. This document will be treated as a certificate and candidates will have to fulfill requirements as asked by the board for obtaining a duplicate copy.

SpiceJet becomes first Indian budget carrier to join IATA

SpiceJet has become the first Indian budget carrier to join International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has over 290 airlines as members. In a statement, officials from SpiceJet said that the IATA membership is important for SpiceJet’s plans to rapidly expand its international footprint. The membership will also allow the airline to explore and grow its collaborations with international member airlines part of IATA through interlining and code shares, which will enable seamless network options for its passengers in the future.

Granddaughter of 1st Cong Prez of Assam a ‘Doubtful’ voter

Manju Devi, the granddaughter of the first Congress president of Assam, Chabilal Upadhyay, has been tagged as ‘D’ (doubtful) voter. Manju Devi, 55, belongs to the Gorkha community and lives at Chandmari area of Tezpur in Sonitpur district. She is a mother of two and the granddaughter of freedom fighter Chabilal Upadhyay, who was the Assam’s first Congress president in 1921. But even being a granddaughter of a freedom fighter, Manju Devi was tagged as a ‘D’ (doubtful’) voter in 2005. And, she is yet to be freed from the tag.

India drops 7 spots in list of happiest nations

Indians are not as happy in 2019 as they were in 2018 and the country figures at 140th place, seven spots down from last year, on this year’s UN World Happiness Report released Wednesday which is topped by Finland for the second year in a row. The report was released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations on March 20 which has was declared as World Happiness Day by the UN General Assembly in 2012. The report ranks countries on six key variables that support well-being: income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity. According to the report, the overall world happiness has fallen over the past few years, which has mostly been fuelled by a sustained drop in India, which came in 140th place this year compared with 133rd place in 2018.The UN’s seventh annual World Happiness Report, which ranks the world’s 156 countries on “how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be”, also noted that there has been an increase in negative emotions, including worry, sadness and anger.

PM Modi to contest from Varanasi, Amit Shah in Gandhinagar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will once again contest from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh along with BJP President Amit Shah, who will contest his first Lok Sabha election by replacing LK Advani as a candidate from Gandhinagar. The first list contained the names of 182 candidates across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Sikkim and Rajasthan.

Hima Das wins Gold at Federation Cup

Won’t allow CAB to be passed in Rajya Sabha: Rahul Gandhi

Hima Das has won the 400m race in Patiala for the Federation Cup in 52.88 seconds. She left behind M R Poovamma of Karnataka who timed at 53.15 and Sarita Ben of Gujarat who came in third at 53.23 seconds. Previously, Das had come in fourth in her first race of the year on March 8 at the 3rd Indian Grand Prix. However, she is still nowhere near her best timing when she won silver at the Jakarta Asian Games with a timing of 50.79 secs.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi speaking at an election rally in Itanagar on March 19, Tuesday said that the Congress will not allow the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to be passed in Rajya Sabha because the bill is “detrimental” to the people of the northeast. The Congressman kick-started the party’s Lok Sabha poll campaign in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura on March 19.

PC Ghose to be the ‘First’ Lokpal Of India

Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose has been recommended to be the first Lokpal. The Selection Committee, comprising the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Lok Sabha speaker and an eminent jurist, finalised Justice Ghose’s name in a meeting. Official announcement will be made soon. Justice Ghose retired from the Supreme Court in May 2017. He was also the former Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and a former judge of the Calcutta High Court. He has been serving as a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) since June 2017.

14 G Talk E

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019 T

Prolonging the suspense

he conversations in the coffee shops and clubs of Guwahati these days are invariably of the Gauhati Lok Sabha candidates; the suspense kept up by the various political parties in declaring the names of their respective candidates for this prestigious seat until recently has been chilling to say the least. Even as I write this, we are still awaiting the news of the Congress candidate, while mercifully the BJP candidate – Queen Ojha – has been declared thereby bringing an end to the Bijoya Chakravarty era. Ojha has been a formidable politician throughout her career and carries a bulky baggage of credibility along with a squeaky clean image. It’s no wonder that the Congress looks to be at its wit’s end in fielding an equally impressive challenger to wrest the Gauhati seat from the BJP. Moreover, the master stroke in fielding Ojha could just be that the anti-incumbency factor that Chakravarty might have carried as a candidate could well be negated by Ojha. In this situation, as I write this on this Friday afternoon while we wait for the Congress candidate’s name to be announced later in the evening, Bolin Bordoloi and Bobbeeta Sarma seem to be

the front-runners and are looking forward with bated breaths to the suspense being ended. Between these two giant political parties, comparison of the candidates of both parties will be a natural consequence. From the 19 lakh plus voters in the constituency comprising the four assembly constituencies Guwahati city and the rest in the periphery comprising Dudhnoi, Chaygaon, Palasbari, Boko, Barkhetry and Hajo, Guwahati city, by itself, offers a voter base of more than 10 lakhs. And If I am to capture the pulse of the city currently, Ojha seems to already be several steps ahead. The BJP factor has only added weight to her candidature. The Congress’s insecurity in this regard is hence understandable and the party taking its time in offering a suitable candidate is already kind of sending a wrong and defeatist signal besides churning the rumour mills unnecessarily. Add to this is a strong independent candidate, Upamanyu Hazarika, who is already on overdrive with his campaign and creating a strong impression within the city. The city is clearly going to vote for the “right candidate” this time and the party winning the seat might just be incidental. Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

Holi pe “Chowkidari” The following is an excerpt from a conversation between a young chap from the city and a cop at a traffic point. Bullet wala: O dada, Happy Holi! Police: O thank you dei bhaiti. *Policeman packs some food in a metal container* Bullet wala: O, kiba holi special niki? (Got something special for Holi there?) Police: Heh-heh. Kunubae dise amak Holi buli. Amar to holi chutti nai no. (Nothing much. Someone gave it for Holi. We don’t have a holi-day) *A rowdy biker drenched in “Holi colours” zooms past* Bullet wala: Ei saaok sun utpaat lora buror. (Look at the nuisance these kids create) Police: Ei nokobae! Kali amar thana tu mane bhabibo nuara obostha. (In essence: There was more fighting than a Jason Statham movie, more drama than the Kardashians could keep up with and more hype than Game of Thrones at the police stations). Bullet wala: Ha ha. Well on the way here I saw almost 4 people passed out on the road, about 10 others walking around drunk and one guy who I’m almost certain was driving drunk, and naked. Police: I guess there’s something about the “Holi Spirit” that takes your breath away. *An auto-van reaches the checkpoint by and police halts him.* In the meantime, let me take this guy’s breath on this breathalyzer. As it is ministers are after our jobs. For us, Chowki means our “outpost,” but little does the public realize that more than “gate keepers,” our “Chowkidars” just want to hold on their Chowki (Chair).

Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_bv

Corruption and other ‘Indian’ evils

n my line of work as a strategy consultant to various government projects (usually technology enabled), I am asked a variety of questions from friends and family. The senior generations are usually curious about what it is I actually do – the idea of a grown man, giving advice for a wage is a rather confusing subject for most of them, if not downright “wrong” somehow. For younger generations, it’s an easier construct – convinced as most of them are that the government (whoever it may be) is ALWAYS in need of direction and advice – mostly from them, preferably! Be that as it may, one of the direct corollaries of my chosen line of work (more on that later) is that I have to defend the government initiatives at random times and by random people (often related to me and yet…). Not something I am thrilled about. Most of the questions revolve around – Why is India not as good as the West in regard to facilities & public utilities? Why doesn’t the government address their issues (insert pet peeve or specific clique/ group)? Where is all this “Progress” (yeah, translate to Hindi)? Why is India so corrupt?? That last question is the handsdown favourite for all genders, groups and ages. My answer is usually a question – Did you study history in school? Needless to say, I get blank looks. In the history of European thought, discussion of corruption in politics and the possibility of achieving non-corrupt politics immediately suggests the Greek philosophers, particularly Socrates and Plato, but also their immediate successors in the lateclassical and Hellenistic periods, all of whom agonized about the corruption of politics and the corruptibility of politicians. This is further taken forward by Aristotle and his thoughts on human society. Much nearer home, Kautilya or Chanakya, the crooked one who defined

statecraft and expounded on the importance of “artha” embraced the very concept as one of the cornerstones of successful government administration for leverage and manipulation to achieve intended targets. As I said, blank looks... Corruption (anywhere in the world) is part and parcel of the human state of being and intrinsic to the human condition – like cellular growth, one cannot completely eradicate it for as long as humans are involved. As Chanakya the master realist understood it, it is a necessary evil which can be restricted to permissible levels but never completely done away with. Something any realist understands. In this context, the Digital India

s Chanakya the master realist understood it, corruption is a necessary evil which can be restricted to permissible levels but never completely done away with. In this context, the Digital India initiative GoI is perhaps one of the better answers to the possibility of curbing corruption to permissible levels. initiative of the government of India is perhaps one of the better answers to the possibility of curbing corruption to permissible levels by automating processes and systems to reduce the level of human interaction to vitiate and leverage an established structure to their own ends and purposes. And yet, we have people questioning basics – educated people at that. But then again, education is far removed from common sense and an understanding or even acceptance of real-politik. If we drill down to the various

rSad STATE OF Late KHAGEN MAHANTA memorial park

O pinion Debashish Goswami

questions usually posed and topics which are, time and again used as political “issues” every election since 1950, the most honest answer is perhaps that India suffers its many ailments due to its immense population. The population explosion forces more stress on the administration to provide utilities/facilities which reach the common man/ woman and the revenue accrued by this humongous population is simply not sufficient to manage and deliver the levels of service common in the western world. For every initiative undertaken by the government, it’s a struggle to deliver to the last mile and the end-consumer keeping in mind the constraints. And yet, it is something that we all think that the government is responsible for managing their expectations. Before all, I will agree that this is perhaps a very simplistic answer and not really sufficient to answer every possible query. So perhaps, corruption and its eradication is a matter of managing expectations. Like a child, to distract, mis-direct, coax and cajole, the mother seeks to manage the populace for the day, awaiting for the next day and its own set of problems (often repeated) and hopes for the day the child is mature enough to realize its expectations. I did say, I was a consultant FOR the government, didn’t I? n (The author was a senior advisor to the government of India and served under various ministries on diverse digital initiatives in the past 15 years)

Letter to the Editor

It’s really sad to hear that the Government till now hasn’t completed the construction of Khagen Mahanta Memorial Park and also reduced the amount from Rs 1.25 Cr to Rs 25 Lakh. It’s a complete shame that the Government is not serious about it. Khagen Mahanta has contributed a lot to enrich the literature and culture of the Assamese Society. He was a legend and disrespecting his memorial is equivalent of disrespecting his contribution towards the society. What was shocking that the proposed site was used as dumping ground over the years. It’s a complete apathy of the State Government. His own family was kept in the dark for years. Thank you so much, G plus for bring the issue into the light and informing the people the condition of the memorial. I hope takes appropriate action in maintaining the site in the near future and start the complete the construction as soon as possible to pay homage to the Bihu Xomrat as he was called and I also hope the State Government increases the budget to Rs 1.25 Cr as originally it was supposed to be. Once again thank you so much! Maharnab Deka Guwahati

In Focus

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Rise of the Generation-Z

n 15th March 2019, thousands of young students in more than 120 locations around the world “bunked” school to stage a protest against the leniency in efforts taken against climate change and the demand for stronger action on the same by their respective governments. This butterfly effect was instigated by a 16-year-old, Greta Thunberg, a Swedish environmental activist who used to skip school on Fridays to protest against climate change in front of the Swedish parliament. Protests have occurred around the world, through the ages for various reasons, but a student led global uprising of this magnitude was unprecedented. This might bring many to a conflict with their previous conviction that youngsters, especially students, should never engage in political affairs of any kind. But a global

resolve having such clarity, resonating among students in all major cities of the world, leaves us with a bittersweet conclusion. First, it points out the fact that the youth of the world completely

Second, on a brighter note, the youth is now aware, and more importantly vigilant, to the extent that they have now challenged the previously held convictions, because all of this directly impacts

is set to outgrow the millennial population by 2019, according to the World Economic Forum. This is a generation that is characterised by the internet, the digital sphere

Krishanu Kashyap

are unhappy with the present mechanism to tackle climate change and much of the talk hasn’t yet been practically implemented.

their own future. The Generation Z comprises those born in the late 1990s and early 2000s whose population

and social media. This generation is the first “global generation” and are seen to have more in common with their global peers than with the adults of their

own country. This brings us to a few very interesting conclusions which might seek to explain why intrinsically the strike happened. Global awareness and a global culture redefined mostly by social media has been adopted by much of the youth which has made them question differences and the boundaries between them. They had never been subject to strong centralisation by the government as was evident in the late 20th century, and aided by the unrestricted freedom offered by social media, has left them in want of nothing less than full independence and control over their lives. Lastly, they have been born into a constantly expanding web of information that is shared, spread and interpreted by this information savvy generation at any given instance. Henceforth, a global resolve, brought about by a global culture, aided by the easy access to information, and the strong desire to be independent, had resulted in what happened, which by far and large, is not the end of it.

Four sitting MPs from Assam are not even graduates With Supreme Court about to hear a petition that seeks to make graduation mandatory for candidates contesting polls, at least four sitting MPs from Assam have been found falling short. Manna Barbhuiya Four MP candidates in Assam not even graduates in a country where PM holding fake graduation certificate along with few more ministers/MPs. What an irony! One of the main reasons of our country not developing. And what can we even expect? We should be inspired by the other developed countries around the world. Education is a must to run a nation. This way we will never head towards becoming a developed nation.

Raj B Wary To run a nation, one doesn’t require a degree. What is more important is brain and experience. If a person gets a degree than the maximum thing that person would have done was a job to run his/her family. And there is a very big difference between thinking for oneself and thinking for the nation. People won’t understand this. To look after a country, one requires a lot of experience and dedication which is not possible by every other ‘Aam Nagrik.’ Ashish Roy Is there any provision in the Constitution that a candidate has to be graduate? No, I guess. So there is no point having an unnecessary debate over this. There are so many people who have failed in their life but are today doing extremely well. No doubt education has an important role in everyone’s life but if one has a clear vision and broad thinking towards the development of the society then I don’t think it is so important that people are making an issue out of it.

Pankaj Surana It’s a shame on the part of the people today. All these years when we were electing these people, we never saw or verified the status of the candidates. All of a sudden, we get concerned about the education qualification of these people. If we think that this point is important we should have raised our voice against this long time back. Have we seen the educational qualification of Laloo Prasad Yadav or Rabri Devi? One should go and check and then everyone will understand how much education is a negligible factor in our country when it comes to politics. Neelimoy Baruah I don’t think it’s a big deal anyway. We have MPs, ministers, and CMs who are PG and PhD holders but still no development can be seen. Education has got nothing to do with politics in our country. If someone really wants to do something for the country and want change and development, then that person will work towards it. And we have live examples of such people around the world. It’s the intention that matters, if one is corrupt then no matter how qualified a person is, noting will change in this country.

Dika Tuolor Hmar This is the reason why our parliament is always like a class room of 9-10 standards. When educated or qualified persons lead our nation we will see the sunrise, till then prepare yourself for doomsday on everyday basis.

16 Feature

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

The Jajabors: 18 Nations, 20K kms and the open road A story about an Assamese couple motorcycling across 18 European nations in 120 days Harshita Himatsingka @HHimatsingka

ith nothing but three bags and a dream to see the world, Manas Dewan and his wife Dr Anuradha Dewan put their prolific corporate careers on hold and set off to travel across 18 exotic locations in Europe in their “strong, fast and reliable” Italian Ducati Scrambler. “Sometimes life gives you a golden cage and if you stay in that cage for a long time, you forget about your dreams. Then one day you wake up and suddenly you realize that you are growing old, and that life has gone by and your dreams are still dreams,” said Dewan, with a hint of seriousness in his voice, as if wandering back to the moment when he decided to embark on his great adventure. The duo did not want to be standing on the other side of their path and regret not taking an opportunity to travel and fulfill their dreams. Thus, they returned to India from Oman in March of 2017 and started preparing for their travels. “We wanted to travel the world, explore it, experience it and also get to know people from different cultures, regions and learn about their traditions and customs,” said Dewan. After coming back to India, the first thing that the couple did was buy their mode of transportation, the Ducati bike. They made some modifications on it and put it on the ship to Valencia, Spain and three weeks later, it promptly reached its destination. In the beginning of June 2017, the Dewans started their journey. “From Spain, we travelled to Portugal. From there, we headed to France, then Switzerland, Germany, and then we moved up to Czech Republic, Austria, Lichtenstein and Italy. After that, we made our way to eastern European countries of Slovenia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Albania and Macedonia. Then,we headed down to Greece, which was country number 17 and from there onwards, we went to Turkey. We spent a full month in Turkey,” said Dewan. When talking about the highlights of their trip, Dewan mentioned that there were quite a number ofthings that set their trip apart from regular tourists. One of them was that in all their travels, the biker couple never stayed in hotels. Instead, they chose Airbnbs where they could stay with local people.

Every place they visited, they wanted to connect with people; thus they stayed with a host, someone who understood the place and wanted to interact with new people from different cultures. “We stayed in little towns, villages and countryside and we stayed with the locals as one of them. It really teaches you about culture, about people, about nationalities and most importantly, about how people think,” mentioned Dewan. Another thing that was important to the duo and that set them apart was their lack of a definite itinerary. To wholly experience their surroundings, the couple never made a concrete plan regarding their destinations. They decided which countries they would be visiting, but not the route or the exact city or village. “Throughout the trip, we travelled from one place to another based on recommendations of local people and in a way, the route shaped itself. You can say that we went where the road took us,” mentioned Dewan. Dewan and his wife loved every country they visited and even learnt a lot from their travels. When asked about a favorite place, Dewan could not really pick one at first but he did come to a consen-

Throughout the trip, we travelled from one place to another based on recommendations of local people and in a way, the route shaped itself. You can say that we went where the road took us Manas Dewan

sus when probed. “If I have to pick a favourite, I would say in terms of natural beauty, my favorite is Croatia because the waters are so blue and deep green. There are mountains and they are lush green. For me, Croatia turned out to be an amazing place in terms of natural beauty. And in terms of people, Turkey turned out to be the most amazing country. But then again, when I think of experiences and people, every country has got so many beautiful experiences, it’s hard for me to pick just one place,” he said, with both excitement and nostal-

gia in his voice. However, as it goes with everything in life, not all was happy and jolly during the duo’s trip. They faced many challenges. The most challenging being getting their paperwork sorted by customs for their bike in Valencia. “We experienced a lot of paperwork issues in Valencia for clearing customs of our bike. At one point in time, I almost thought that we will not be able to do this and that we should go back home. It was that difficult,” said Dewan. The situation was so severe that they had to get in touch with the local dealer of Ducati in Valencia and the dealer had offered to help them. He was even willing to give them a brand-new Ducati, free of cost for their multi-nation adventure. “We never knew each other until we met. The dealer offered us a brand-new bike and said that what we are doing is a dream for everyone,” said Dewan. Another challenge that they had to face included navigating the extreme temperatures. In 2017, Europe had its hottest summer because of heat waves that were flowing in from Africa. “Temperatures would rise up to 60 degrees and we were biking out in the open, so it was a little difficult to manage with the heat. This was mainly in Spain and across the Bulcan region in areas such as Macedonia and Albania,” he mentioned. And speaking of heat, the duo had to cross a 60 km stretch of land that was raging with forest fire. “We had to cross through the forest fire on our route along the border of Spain and Portugal. We did it because if we did not cross this route, we would have to give up our trip and we certainly did not want to do that,” he added. On the flip side of having to deal with heat waves and forest fires, Dewan and his wife also had to overcome harsh rains and cold weather. When they were riding in the mountains in France, the temperatures would drop to 2-3 degrees, not taking into account the wind chill factor. The couple would be completely wet

and had to brave the cold winds and rain smashing on their faces. Apart from extreme temperatures, the duo also had to pack light for their trip as they were going to be riding long and hard terrains and had limited space in their bike. “We carried limited luggage as we only had space for three bags, one for me, one for my wife and one for accessories such as spare parts for the bike, paperwork, documentation, laptop, camera etc. We put the bags, one in the back and two on the side of the bike. All our bags were cabin-size luggage. So, for four months, we survived on only two small bags,” said Dewan. The couple even shared a pair of shoes amongst themselves. “Through this experience, we learnt that we actually need very little to be happy as those were some of our happiest days, and they were not filled with material possessions, but experiences. We realized it’s not about how much you have, but about if you are really happy in life,” he said. He added that to do a trip like this, they needed money and could not have done it without their savings. However, the important thing for them was to be able to do the things they dreamt of. That is the real use of money, according to Dewan. During their trip, Dewan was blogging and his blog became quite popular. It even featured among the top 100 travel blogs of the world and because of this, he was asked to write a book.

Therefore, when he came back, he wrote two novellas. “The first novella, called “Dear Journey Free-

wheeling” is a compilation of 25 short stories from our ride and are about the experience of travel and how it broadens one’s mind. The second novella, “Dear Journey Within,” is a compilation of 25 short stories, which are all abstract pieces. They include life lessons in the form of abstract stories,” he mentioned. These books together have been made into one volume and has been published by Crossword, India’s largest retail bookstore. The press launch for the books happened recently in Guwahati on March 11, 2019. “Since we’ve come back, it kind of changes the way you look at the world. I thought this deserves to be shared as a story because there is so much negativity in the world as people always think that the other country is bad, that people are trying to hurt each other, but what we experienced is that the world is beautiful, it’s big. We realized that there is humanity and beauty all around, and the world is full of nice people,” he added. Currently, Dewan is working as an independent business consultant in Pune and his wife is a philosophy teacher and has her own counseling and consulting organisation. “Both of us are getting back to ‘normal’ life as it is called. But yeah, we are hoping that sometime in the future, provided we are able to save some money, we do another big trip like this. So, we are working in order to fuel our dreams,” said Dewan in closing. n

Trotter

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Woman sends wedding invites before boyfriend proposes

woman baffled her friends by sending out wedding invitations before her boyfriend actually proposed. According to her pal, the wannabe bride decided to get cracking on the planning after taking a quiz on Facebook. It told her she would be getting married this year, so she decided to start seriously thinking about her big day. The woman has been with her boyfriend for a few years and was really excited to receive the invite, assuming he had popped the question. So she was left a little confused when the friend revealed he hasn’t actually proposed yet. Sharing the story on Facebook, the friend explains: “I love my friend dearly, and her boyfriend of a few years is really an awesome guy. Love hanging out with them!” Sometime after New

Year’s Day, she did a Facebook game that told her she’s getting married this year (those fake fortune games). “I told her that I could see a wedding for them happening sometime though. She messaged me on Instagram today to RSVP for a ‘special event’ on Zola, which is when I realised she’s really been planning her wedding!” There was a mixture of replies to her post, and some people claimed it isn’t actually that unusual to start planning the wedding before the proposal. One wrote: “We started

planning our wedding about six months before we got engaged, not everyone takes a linear path.” Another added: “Planning a wedding before an engagement isn’t a big deal, if both people are on board. But already asking guests to RSVP to an ‘event’ is the weird part here!” (Source: mirror.co.uk)

40 kg of plastic found in stomach of dead whale in Philippines

starving whale with 40 kilos (88 pounds) of plastic trash in its stomach has died after being washed ashore in the Philippines, activists said, calling it one of the worst cases of poisoning they have seen. Environmental groups have tagged the Philippines as one of the world’s biggest ocean polluters due to its reliance on single-use plastic. That sort of pollution, which is also widespread in other southeast Asian nations, regularly kills wildlife like whales and turtles that ingest the waste. In the latest case, a Cuvier’s beaked whale died in the southern province of Compostela Valley where it was stranded a day earlier, the government’s regional fisheries bureau said. The agency and an environmental group performed

a necropsy on the animal and found about 40 kilograms of plastic, including grocery bags and rice sacks. The animal died from starvation and was unable

to eat because of the trash filling its stomach, said Darrell Blatchley, director of D’ Bone Collector Museum Inc, which helped conduct the examination. “It’s very disgusting and heartbreaking,” he told AFP. “We’ve done necropsies on 61 dolphins and whales in the last 10 years and this is one of the biggest (amounts of plastic)

we’ve seen.” The 15.4-foot (4.7-metre) long whale was stranded in Mabini town on Friday where local officials and fishermen tried to release it, only for the creature to return to shallow water, said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. “It could not swim on its own, emaciated and weak,” regional bureau director Fatma Idris told AFP. The animal was dehydrated. On the second day it struggled and vomited blood. The death comes just weeks after the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternative released a report on the “shocking” amount of single-use plastic in the Philippines, including nearly 60 billion sachets a year. The Philippines has strict laws on garbage disposal but environmentalists say these are poorly implemented. (Source: economictimes)

Drunk man hit by van after standing on busy road to ‘test’ wife’s love

n a bizarre incident, a drunk man was hit by a speeding van after he stood in the middle of a busy road - ostensibly to “test” his wife’s love. The incident took place at Jinhua, in China’s Zhenjiang province. A video of the incident is now being shared widely on social media. Reportedly, the man, surnamed Pan, later told cops that he wanted to test if his wife loved him enough to pull him back. “I wanted to

know if she would pull me back,” Pan said. “I wanted to test if she still loved me.” In the video, he and his wife are seen fighting on the busy road for several minutes. The wife, surnamed Zhou, is seen trying to pull her husband to safety, even as he keeps rushing back to the middle of the road. As they struggle, a silver van crashes into him, sending him flying. Pan was immediately rushed

to the hospital where he is being treated for head injuries and chest fractures. He is not in a critical condition and the incident is now under investigation. (Source: ndtv)

Lionel Messi of the pigeon world sells for £1,000,000

pigeon described as the best ever has been sold for a record fee of more than £1 million. Joel Verschoot’s bird Armando was sold by auction house Pipa for €1,252,000 (£1.07 million) after a two-week online bidding war. Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, the founder and chief executive of Pipa, said, “This pigeon has a race record that has never been matched by any other pigeon. In football terms you have Messi and Ronaldo – it’s that level.” The figure made Armando the most valuable bird ever sold in an online auction, according to Pipa, dwarfing the previous record of €376,000 (£322,000), which was set in November. It also beat the record offline price of €500,000 (£428,000) paid for a pigeon named Mr Fantastic, Gyselbrecht said. Armando attracted bids from countries around the world, including the United States, South

Africa and Belgium. But the price, already a record, was pushed up by about €700,000 (£600,000) by two Chinese fanciers in the final hour of the two-week auction. Gyselbrecht said, “There was nobody in the pigeon world who thought that would happen. We were hoping for four or five hundred thousand, and maybe a little bit dreaming of six.” A number of his offspring were sold for five-figure sums in the same auction. While the highvalue sale has brought publicity to the pigeon world, it has not been without controversy. “A lot of people I know congratulate me and think it’s good,” said Gyselbrecht adding, “But there’s also a group of people that do not like that so much money is involved. It’s like in football; some people can’t believe the money being paid. There are some who don’t like it.” (Source: metro.co.uk)

Woman injecting juice of 20 fruits into her bloodstream nearly dies

woman with a love of alternative medicine almost died when her organs started shutting down. Zeng, 51, injected the juice of 20 different fruits into her bloodstream using a homemade IV drip. Her temperature started to rise and she felt itchy all over but didn’t do anything about it. It was only when her husband asked her what was wrong because she didn’t look very well that Zeng was taken to hospital in Guiyang, China. She was then transferred to an intensive care unit after her condition deteriorated on February 22. Doctor Liu Jianxiu said that she had contracted an infection and caused damage to her heart, kidney and liver. She

was left fighting for her life after developing sepsis and when her organs started failing. Doctors carried out dialysis to clear her blood of fruit juice and she was given antibiotics. Her condition improved after five days and the woman said she thought fruits were “very nutritious and it would not do me harm by injecting them into my body.” The case prompted the hashtag #OldWomanPutsJuiceIntoVeins. (Source: metro.co.uk)

18 Review

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra Director: Anurag Singh

Cinepolis Christian Basti 09435025808

Gold Cinema Paltan Bazaar 09854066166

Kesari

Kesari 11:00 AM, 11:15 AM, 02:15 PM, 05:15 PM, 08:00 PM, 08:15 PM

09:00 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:20 PM, 01:50 PM, 03:40 PM, 05:10 PM, 07:00 PM, 08:30 PM Mardko Dard nahihota 09:10 AM, 06:00 PM How to Train Your

Movie Review

Dragon: The Hidden World (English, 3D) 10:00 AM, 03:20 PM, 08:40 PM Badla 12:15 PM, 09:05 pm Luka Chuppi 12:30 PM Kaneen (Assamese)

Kesari

he film is based on the true story of one of the bravest battles that India ever fought, the Battle of Saragarhi. In 1897, the British Empire having conquered most of India, was trying to infiltrate Afghanistan. Fort Saragarhi, in the NWFP (North Western Frontier Province) was a small communication post used to relay messages between two major military forts, Gullistan and Lockhardt. To be posted at Saragarhi is no matter of pride for the newly formed Sikh regiment of the British Indian Army. Marked in color Kesari (Saffron), the Sikhs symbolize valor and pride and to die doing one’s duty. Ishar Singh (Akshay Kumar), The phone by Samsung is the more affordable sibling of the Galaxy A50. It features two rear cameras instead of three and a less powerful processor. The Samsung Galaxy A30 has been priced at INR 16, 990. In the box, you get a silicone case, SIM eject tool, power adapter with Adaptive Fast Charging, USB Type-C cable, and headset and it is available in multiple colours. Design: Samsung has maximised the front of the phone by using a big 6.4-inch display with slim borders all around. The chin area is thicker than the other sides. The phone has a full-HD+ Infinity-U display. It’s a Super AMOLED panel too, which means colours are vivid and everything from images to text really pops. The display seemed pretty resilient to scratches. The glossy sides and back look good but attract smudges and fingerprints easily. The phone is fairly slim but the grip is

a proud warrior who prefers to live by his community rules, is often found in direct conflict with the orders of his British officers. As a punishment, Ishar is sent to Saragarhi where a bunch of 20 unruly, undisciplined Sikh soldiers await him. And it is with this bunch of cheeky soldiers that Ishar goes into battle when an army of 10,000 Afghani Pathans turn up at Saragarhi on 12 September’ 1897. The film is about how the 21 Sikhs fought bravely against the 10,000 Afghans on the battlefield. The whole movie is pinned on Akshay Kumar who is the main lead. It is basically his film and the men behind him simply follow him on-screen, as is required by the

Samsung Galaxy A30

03:00 PM script. Some of the most interesting aspects of the film include the chakrams, dangerous circular weapons forming tight halos around the turbans and some glimpses of Gatka, the Sikh martial art. Other than that, the many action sequences that follow are all been there, done that. Parineeti Chopra is also average in her role as Jeevani Kaur, Kumar’s love interest. Overall, while the film seeks to honor the memory of the brave soldiers of Saragarhi, it does more to hype up Akshay Kumar’s role in the film than their sacrifice. Watch it if you’re a fan of the Khiladi. If you miss it, no worries. n recognition is quick but the placement was a bit awkward.

only adequate. The buttons on the right have the same glossy treatment as the rest of the sides. The SIM tray can accommodate two Nano-SIM cards and a microSD card (up to 512GB). The speaker, 3.5mm headphone socket, and USB Type-C port are all at the bottom. The back of the Galaxy A30 has slightly tapering edges, which make it look slender. The back has the appearance of glass but it is actually plastic. The fingerprint sensor is placed a bit too high up and we had to really stretch our index finger, or at times, shuffle the phone around to reach it. Fingerprint

Captain Marvel (English, 3D) 05:50 PM

Anuradha Cineplex Noonmati 0361 2656968 Kesari 11:00 AM, 02:00 PM, 05:15 PM Kaneen (Assamese) 08:30 PM

Samsung Exynos 7904. There’s only one version of this phone in India, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It has WiFi, Bluetooth, gyroscope, Hall sensor, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, compass, GPS, FM radio, and USB-OTG. The Galaxy A30 runs on Samsung’s new One UI, which is based on Android 9 Pie. Performance, Battery life and Cameras

Specifications and Software: The Samsung powered by

Galaxy A30 is the octa-core

The Galaxy A30 has a 16-megapixel primary camera with a f/1.7 aperture and a secondary 5-megapixel wideangle camera without autofocus.

Kaneen (Assamese) 02:00 PM Badla 05:00 PM

Grande Cines Paltan Bazar 09854017771 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (English, 3D) 10:15 AM, 03:45 PM Kesari 10:30 AM, 12:20 PM, 03:10 PM, 06:00 PM, 08:15 PM, 09:00 PM Captain Marvel (English, 3D) 01:15 PM Badla 05:45 PM

PVR Cinemas Dona Planet 08800900009 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (English, 3D) 09:15 AM, 11:50 AM Badla 03:30 PM

The camera app offers the Scene Optimiser. This automatically detects objects and adjusts the exposure accordingly. We noticed that it boosts colours slightly and also softens textures a bit, which is not something you’d always want. The 4000mAh battery is one of the Galaxy A30’s strong suits. It lasted for a good 15 hours and 8 minutes in the battery loop test, which is well above average. With day-to-day usage, the phone lasted a full day on one charge. The bundled fast charger is able to take the battery to about 70 percent in an hour. Verdict: The phone has a good battery life, Super AMOLED display and decent build quality. The 6GB RAM variant of Galaxy M30 that is available for just Rs. 1,000 more offers slightly better camera performance, a bigger battery and more RAM and storage despite running an older version of Android. n

Fiction

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

The sadhu’s cave at Ramghat

amghat is a most beautiful place on the Boroi River where it emerges from the mystical mountains of Arunachal Pradesh and is a typical Himalayan river starting from high icy ranges joined by tributaries which are mainly rain-fed waters. There is a bamboo bridge built with cables where people can cross the narrow river here and the other side leads to Nishi villages high up on the mountain clearings. The place has a very quaint forest Inspection Bungalow which was designed and built by a famous forest officer in the 1960’s. It was built on concrete pillars and had two bedrooms with small bathrooms and sitting and dining rooms. The kitchen was separate and the place had running water from a mountain spring but no electricity. It had a majestic view of the river emerging from the last gorge and the sounds of the water could be heard all the time. At night one could have sit out bonfires and the sound of the jungle under starlit nights was magical. I had organized a lot of camps here for my family and friends and many have come on repeat visits. The most memorable of times were the New Year

leash. The dog suddenly froze as it must have sensed the presence of someone and I patted him to be quiet. Then from the shadows a voice remarked in Hindi “Don’t worry…the dog will not be afraid of me as I am not of him” and I saw

They began celebrating Maha Sivaratri around the cave and it was becoming ever popular as each year passed. It was alleged that this had riled the Nishis who went to the cave and shot the sadhu dead with their bows and arrows.

a sadhu get up and smile at me. I was taken aback but soon gained my composure

celebrations here with the entire family. By my second year of exploring the area around Ramghat I had traversed the river quite extensively. I stumbled upon a cave on a ridge beside the river in the part where the waters become quite still and clear after the third rapids. I never expected to find anyone Illustration by Abhishek Kashyap living there but when I and sat down on a was exploring boulder and we got talking. He the cave as the track went inside told me that he had been living and emerged on the other side I here alone since the last couple was surprised to see cultivation of years. He had come here from of a few vegetable plants. I had a visiting Parshuram Kund in the Golden Retriever dog then named Lohit district along with a group Chinku whom I used to take on of sadhus from Gorakhpur in my camping trips and it was on a

Uttar Pradesh. He had heard about Ramghat and discovered this cave where he was in the process of setting up an ashram. He ventured only once or twice to the outside world but having learnt of his presence, some local Hindu people used to come and visit him especially in the winter months with various offerings of food, incense and some dhotis and shawls for him. I noticed that he was growing some vegetables like cucumber, beans and herbs along with a few fruit trees of papaya and bananas. Also there was some maize growing in a small patch. He told me that he ate only once a day and meditated most of the time on metaphysical things. I was a bit wary of him but later on I also met him often and brought him some rice and biscuits which he relished. I once asked him about the Nishis who were aware of his presence but did not trouble him and passed through on their hunts in the jungle. In fact, later I found out that there was a trail in the jungle which could reach the road out from Ramghat and which he used to come to the cave. It was

new Nishi villages had sprung up on the road to Ramghat just near the boundary with Assam. Some young Nishi men and their families set up this village as an outpost to keep an eye on the persons entering their area. I was known to them as I had visited their main village once high up in the mountains and they knew that I hunted and fished in the Boroi River and the adjoining mountains; the fact that I did not do any commercial business was in my favour and hence they only told me to meet and inform them whenever I came there. So for another few years it continued this way but avarice took roots in the minds of these simple people and they soon took to collecting taxes from the local Bihari fishermen who had never gone beyond Ramghat and fished only in the river where it entered Assam using nets etc. After that they allowed the plains tribal people from the nearby places to cultivate their lands that were so fertile the mustard crops sprang up with record yields. The

quite surprising how he found out this route and he told me that it was ordained for him to be there and that God had shown him this path in a dream. After about 7 years from that chance meeting when I was in our garden I noticed that some

deer like sambar and the hog deer loved to feast on the growing mustard flowers and I bagged some deer from these fields at times. However, soon, whole tracts of forests were cut down for farming to the detriment of the fragile eco system. Side by side the Bihari

Ranjan Kumar Choudhury

fishermen took advantage of paying the fishing tax and went further right upstream and killed off whole schools of fish from the deep pools which were like reservoirs using illegal methods like poisoning, bombing and later electricity from mobile generators. I came upon them many times and tried to stop them, for the time I was there but they resumed the same as soon as I left. I had informed the local Circle Officer at Balijan and the DFO at his office in Banderdewa. In fact, when I was there a senior tea planter from Dufflaghar Tea Estate was appointed as an honorary forest officer and he too was an avid angler. Together we used to try and get the authorities to intervene but the problems increased as other Nishi men and women occupied the various roads all leading to the forests. The fragile peace existing between the communities broke one night. As more and more people got to know of the mysterious sadhu living at Ramghat, his legend grew and they began to flock there for blessings. They began celebrating Maha Sivaratri around the cave and it was becoming ever popular as each year passed. It was alleged that this had riled the Nishis who went to the cave and shot the sadhu dead with their bows and arrows. The local forest officer told me about this sad incident. On my next visit to Ramghat, I noticed that the village was very silent and hardly any Nishi men could be seen around. The police had conducted a raid following the sadhu’s killing for which they had vanished into the interiors for a while. However, then onwards, the cave was sealed up with barbed wires and as far as I know no other sadhu has been there again. The lure of Ramghat also diminished as people were afraid of the Nishis and for me, in any case, my beloved river had been literally bombed out of all fish; at that time I knew that it would never be the same again. n

20 Fun Horoscope of the week

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019 Jayashree Bose These predictions are based on the month of birth and are about an individual’s work environment, parents and extended family.

Certified Feng Shui, Chinese astrology, date selection consultant & author, jbose@jayashreebose.com

Sudoku

24th & 29th March will be great days for you to schedule important meetings & share your ideas with seniors. On 23rd March, you will be emotionally hurt by your colleagues or superiors. On 25th March, you could have a fall out with a superior or someone at work.

16th & 18th March will be great days for you to share your ideas with seniors or simply connect with them. You could schedule your important meetings on these dates. On 20th March, you could have a disagreement with your senior or work associate. You could be emotionally betrayed by someone at work or your parents on 22nd March.

The first half of your week will be slow but the second half will be great. For good results, host your meetings, share ideas with your superiors & network with business associates on 26th, 27th& 29th March. Avoid any Sunday meetings on 24th March. On 25th March, nothing will go according to plan.

It will be a great week for you. 23rd, 26th & 27th March will be great days for you to connect with seniors & share ideas, you could hostimportant meetings on these dates. You could have issues with seniors or extended family on 25th March, don’t get into a confrontation. On 28th March, be careful while dealing with the opposite gender.

24th & 28th March will be great days for you to share your ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them. Host your important meetings on 28thMarch. On 26th & 29th March, you could have issues at your work place with seniors or clients. Avoid getting into a confrontation.

This week will be good for you. 23rd & 29th March will be excellent days for you to schedule important meetings. Your seniors will be receptive to your ideas on24th March, maybe you could meet up with them for a Sunday brunch or coffee. Avoid hosting any meetings especially with seniors on 27th March.

You have a great week ahead of you. 23rd, 26th & 27th March will be great days for you to share ideas with seniors or simply just connect with them. You could schedule important meetings on these dates. Watch your words and actions on 28th & 29th March, you could have disagreements at work.

27th March will be a great day for you to build a rapport with seniors & people at work, host important meetings on this day. On 26th & 29th March, avoid making any promises as you will have to live up to them. 23rd March will be a slow day for you and on 28th March you will be betrayed by someone you trusted.

Avoid hosting any meetings on 25th March as things will not go according to plan. You will have issues at work or with your superiors/clients on 27th March, try not to get into a confrontation. 28th March will be a great day for you to build a rapport with seniors and people at work, host important meetings on this day.

Watch your words & actions on 25th March, you could create your own problems. On 28th March, you will be emotionally hurt either by your parents or seniors. You could also have a disagreement with seniors or work associates, don’t schedule important meetings. 29th March will be a great day for you to connect with seniors & share ideas with them.

Watch yourself on 23rd & 29th March, avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation. You could have a disagreement with seniors or work associates, not a day to schedule important meetings. On 25th March, you will be emotionally hurt either by your parents or seniors. 26th March will be a slow day for you.

29th March is an ideal day for you to mingle with seniors, people at work & build your work network. On 24th March, you will be emotionally hurt by your colleagues or superiors. Be careful with your words and actions on 27th March as you will create your own problems.

Which popular cocktail, first made in prohibition era New York, has equal measures of vodka, gin, light rum, tequila and triple sec with cola and lime as it constituents?

Masoki Hiramura has based his creations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on what past items first created in 1964?

Bushu, a harvest festival, is the chief festival of which ethnic tribe that resides in Assam and Nagaland?

If you are having Steak Tartare, what exactly have you been served?

Identify this Assamese Film legend. Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Dilbert By Scott Adams

Kamudu Pyre is the lesser known name of which celebration done in this part of the world during the spring equinox?

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Holika Dahan or the celebration of burning of the demon Holika, the night before Holi Long Island Iced Tea Olympic pictograms Dimasa tribe Raw beef fillets Aideau Handique, the first Assamese film actress who played the lead role in Jyoti Prosad Agarwala’s Joymoti (1935)

curio-city

last week solution

Word of the week earthshaking adjective [urth-shey-king] imperiling, challenging, or affecting basic beliefs, attitudes, relationships, etc.

Crossword Across

Down

1 Loosely woven cloth from Scotland (6,5) 9 Impromptu (9) 10 Animal (with nine nine tails?) (3) 11 Himalayan country (5) 13 Excellent — shining bright? (7) 14 On ship (6) 15 Purist (6) 18 Arctic deer — a Rio cub (anag) (7) 20 Best possible (5) 21 See 23 22 Fling (9) 24 Fifth book of the Bible

2 Fit (3) 3 Person whose speech is not well organised (7) 4 Married partner (6) 5 In which position? (5) 6 Acquit — clear (9) 7 Entertainment area with coin-operated machines (5,6) 8 Narrator (11) 12 TV show (9) 16 Issue (7) 17 Male domestic servant (6) 19 Bathroom basin (5) 23, 21 UK resident who the tax man accepts as having their "true" home elsewhere (abbr) (3-3)

Last week’s solution

Lifestyle

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Vaastu and the Astrological Connection

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

residence is concerned. Mangal or

Mars and Shukra or Venus are also

ometimes we see that people living in similar buildings have different kinds of struggles or successes in life. Though they live in similar apartments such as same housing colonies, the vaastu effects on the inmates are more or less similar, but the fortune of the residents are not necessarily the same. This is due to the effect of stars and planets on their natal charts. Astro-vaastu deals with this aspect.

lucky planets to have on the 4th house. But the planet Saturn, if situated in the 2nd house of the birth chart can protect the owner from all sorts of evil effect of vaastu. Also, Saturn on the 5th house will always make the owner dissatisfied in his own home. If there is no bad planet like Saturn or Rahu on the 4th house of the birth chart, the owner will have a good time.

The 4th house(starting from the lagna) on the birth chart deals with ownership of houses and subsequent residence luck.

Venus is the ruler of beauty. If Venus is on the 4th house and is not looked upon (Drishti) by inferior planets, then the owner will have a beautiful house.

If the owner of the 4th house in the birth chart is situated in an exhalted place, the owner will be lucky. It is also referred as Ucchasthana of grahas.

If Venus is placed on the 12th or 8th house of the birth chart and looked upon by inferior planets, then

If there is a good planet like Jupiter or the Sun on the 4th house of the birth chart, then the owner will have good luck as far as

there is a danger of the property being damaged or encroached by others. If both Jupiter (Brihaspati) and the moon (Chandra) are together on the 4th house of the birth chart, then the owner will have a good house and lots of financial luck. When Venus is on the 4th house of the birth chart and the original owner of the 4th house is on the 7th house of the birth chart, the person will get a house through his wife. If the owner of the 4th house of the birth chart is placed in Aries(Mesh), Cancer(Karka), Libra(Tula) or Capricorn(Makar) and if it is looked upon by the good planets, then the owner will have more than one residence. These are astrological predictions and readers are requested to consult experts in case of any doubt. However, whenever the vaastu is perfect and things are still not going smoothly, consider getting your birth chart checked for anomalies on the 4th house.

What makes a superfood? Kastaurika Saikia

he term, ‘super’ has always been seen asa magic prefix; from Superhero to Supernatural, and now Superfood! Kale, quinoa, avocado, blueberries, goji berry, acai berry, moringa, spirulina, wheatgrass, ginseng, turmeric, coconut oil, chiaseeds, flax seeds, wild salmon etc. But, what makes these food items any different and ‘super’? Scientifically speaking, there is no one definition to superfood as they do not fall under any regulated food group, but are largely seen as plant based items containing heavy dosages of nutrients, mainly - vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. For example, Kale is fibrous, anti-inflammatory, loaded with vitamins, avocado is rich in hearthealthy monounsaturated fats, folate, vitamin C and vitamin K, acai berry is rich in antioxidants (mainly anthocyanin) and anti-inflammatory polyphenolic compounds, blueberries contain antioxidants and phytoflavinoids, also high in potassium and vitamin C, moringa contains high levels ofantioxidants- flavonoids, polyphenols, and ascorbic acid and flax seeds arerich in heart—healthy omega 3 fatty acids plus thiamine, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and proteins. The term ‘superfood’ was first used in the 20th century as an aphorism to describe the bountiful nutrients in an infant formula, which was then taken up by The United Fruit Company to drive their sales of imported bananas.

The term later made a re-appearance in Michael Van Straten’s cookbook on healthy cooking named ‘Superfoods’ in 1990. However, mid-2000 onwards, the term has gained exponential popularity, thanks to the concentrated efforts of the food and nutritional industry and Hollywood - whether it

pay more for foods that claim health benefits. As such, exotic fruits and vegetables are increasingly getting classified as superfoods with claims of miraculous effects on health, all under a greater marketing gimmick pulled by an ever exploding food and beverage industry. The real scientific

is Ellen DeGeneres eating Kale or Matthew McConaughey swearing by Acai berry! As per Mintel data, between 2011-15, there was a 202% increases in launches of food and beverages claiming the ‘super’ tag. While a Nielson study suggested that consumers are willing to

backing to the superfood movement stands on very shaky grounds with industry funded researches tainting the real picture. Long before Starbucks started serving their ‘golden latte’ (Turmeric latte), Indians have already been drinking their daily quota of haldhi-doodh, a

household nuska to boast immunity. Ayurveda has been promoting the intake of herbs and plants like Haldhi (turmeric), Ashwagandha (Indian Ginseng), Aadrak (Ginger) and Dalchini (Cinnamon) for healthy living for ages now. Grains and millets like Amarnath, Rajgira, Black Rice that are now being touted as superfoods, have always been part of local and regional Indian cuisines. While the western world’s new found obsession is with coconut and moringa (drumsticks), these foods have always been serving as staples in our tropical diets. Eating healthy food is not unadvised upon, but eating too much of the same kind of food is only prescribed when the body is running some sort of nutrient(s) deficiency. Otherwise, the effects could be the opposite to what is desired, as in the case of high concentration of anti-oxidants that react with other chemical compounds in the body to produce pro-oxidants that are detrimental to an individual’s health. Besides, calling a food item ‘super’ and consuming it more and often does not necessarily cure one of ailments instantaneously. As such, consumers ought to be smart about their food choices.

The fast fad of Superfoods in Europe and America has led to a different kind of issue in producer countries across the globe, affecting their local farming and communities. The Telegraph, UK reported in 2016 that Mexican farmers have been eradicating pine forests illegally for cultivating avocado, the demand for which is soaring in western countries giving this pre-historic fruit the status of ‘green gold’. Also in Kenya, farmers have been shifting base from the traditional tea and coffee plantations to avocado farming, given the high demand. While farmers in Bangladesh have also jumped on the same bandwagon and are cultivating moringa as its demand is peaking. Similarly, with the global popularity of quinoa, an Andean grain, the prices and demand for it has increased so much that the locals can no longer afford to consume the same and majority of the produce goesdirectly into export. Superfoods are undoubtedly packed with healthy nutrients, as such it is not wrong to explore these food items but one should not be gripped by the fads and hype propagated by the food industry, because after all, an apple can providethe same value of nutrition as a superfood while costing only a fraction of the price. Contrary to the superfood fad, nutrition experts at the Harvard School of Public Health have created the Healthy Eating Plate that advocates the intake of all kinds of nutrients in optimal proportions and helps individuals in making informed eating and dietary choices.

22 Buzz

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

UN Certificate of Excellence in poetry

Ahmed, a faculty of Don Bosco School, Guwahati and a columnist of The Assam Tribune for his outstanding literary achievements in the field of poetry and journalism.” Further Dr Sarma added, “His poems have gone global from Assam, and have been translated into Italian, and so we have decided to award him this prestigious certificate.” Receiving the certificate, Sabah said, “I am so elated to have received this prestigious certificate, and I believe my parents’ blessings, especially my mother’s, have brought me here.” n

uwahati-based poet, Saikh Md Sabah Al-Ahmed, was awarded the United Nations Certificate of Excellence on March 20, 2019 for his poetry at the office of the United Nations Resource Centre (UNRC), North East Region (NER), Khanapara. The certificate was awarded by Dr Aswini Sarma, Executive Director, UNRCNER in a simple ceremony at the Khanapara office. In his short speech, Dr Sarma said, “The UNRCNER is pleased to award this Certificate of Excellence to Saikh Md Sabah Al-

City school felicitated by Fortune India Magazine and Univariety

ity school Sanskriti The Gurukul was recognized and felicitated as part of the Future 50 Schools Shaping Success in India (2018) for National Curriculum by Fortune India magazine and Univariety on March 19.

recognition for schools that work tirelessly in crafting student careers and shaping success. The school was also recognized for its excellence in academics for ISC and ICSE examinations in the 2018-19 session by The Telegraph School Awards.

The platform aims to provide schools with a platform to learn and share best practices in the space where the definition of education is constantly being re-evaluated. It aims at providing

Divasjyoti Parashar (ISC 2018) was recognized for his excellence in academics and Nabaraj Mahanta (ISC 2018) was recognized for allround excellence on March 18.

ADBU hosts North East NSS festival 2019

he Regional Directorate of National Service Scheme (NSS), Guwahati, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India and Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU), Sonapur celebrated the North East NSS Festival from March 18 to March 22. The event was held in Don Bosco’s Tapesia campus. Editor of The Shillong Times, Patricia Mukhim, was invited as the chief guest for the festival. Other dignitaries

present at the event included Stephen Mavely, Vice Chancellor of Assam Don Bosco University,

Biju Michael, Registrar of the University and Dr Tushar Rane. The festival was organised to inculcate a sense of responsibility

and social commitment among the youth of northeast India. Over 500 NSS volunteers and 12 NSS program officers from across the eight northeastern states participated in the five-day festival. Life skill education along with games, adventure sports, trekking, literary art, elocution competitions and an educational tour of the city were the key components of the festival. SPICMACAY teams also performed on 18th and 20th March.

Google News Initiative Workshop held in city university

day-long workshop on the fundamentals of research, investigative and data journalism was conducted by the Department of Mass Communication, Assam Don Bosco University at their Tapesia Campus on March 19 to provide digital investigative skillstomediapersons, media educators and students of journalism. The workshop was conducted by Google teaching fellow, Geetiga Rustagi. This training is part of a pan-India training conducted by Google News Initiative India Training Network across India. Currently, this training is being conducted across Indian cities.

Some of the topics covered in the training included fundamentals of digital investigation, data journalism, YouTube live

streaming, Google trends, Google My Maps, digital news gathering, data visualization tools and emerging trends in data journalism, digital security and safety and career opportunities in data journalism. n

Shishu Sarothi organises ‘Ring the Bell’ for inclusion campaign

hishu Sarothi organised the “Ring the Bell” for inclusion campaign from March 13 until March 19 in Guwahati. The programme was done in collaboration with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a programme for Universal Elementary Education. On the first day of the campaign, two SSA schools, Rupnagar LP School and Rupnagar ME School participated by Ringing the Bell for Inclusion

followed by a signature campaign where children with and without disabilities and teachers participated in the event. On the second day of the event, children from Durgasarovar High School and Notun Fatasil Town High School participated in the inclusion programme. On March 19, the event concluded at Shishu Sarothi’s premises with the participation of four SSA schools. The programme was conducted keeping in mind values such as acceptability, adaptation, inclusive education and welcoming all children in school.

Entertainment

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

Monjul Baruah’s film ‘Kaneen’ releases in theatres across Assam

onjul Baruah’s film, Kaneen (A Secret Search) has released in theatres in Assam. The film, which is based on a novel by Dr Rita Choudhury, focuses on the wife of a high-profile officer who is triggered by guilt following an encounter with an abandoned infant. The encounter leads her to track her own abandoned child who was born out of premarital momentary passion. However, her efforts to bring him back to life hit the high glass that divides them. The movie has been produced by Dr Gopendra Mohan Das. The cast of the film has a lineup of seasoned actors including Dr Jahanara Begum, Baharul Islam, Purnima Pathak Saikia, Partha Hazarika, Dhananjay

Baruah, Kasvi Sarma, Rahul Gautam Sarma, Prankrishna Mahanta, Nirode Choudhury, Tapan Kumar Banerjee, Disha Saikia, Manuj Gogoi, Popy Kakoti, Abotosh Bhuyan and Kakoli Handique.

Debnath, Jolly Bhattachaya, Mintu

The cinematography of the film has been done by Nahid Ahmed, sound design by Amrit Pritam Dutta MPSC, production designer for the film is Himen Borah, the mixing 7.1 Dolby has been done by Debajit Changmai, the DI Colorist is Sujit Borah, costume designer is Geeta Rani Goswami, make-up designer is Ashitav Baruah, art director is Roma Roy, editor is Twenchang, visual effects have been done by Priyam Chakravarty. The chief assistant director is Ghanashyam Kalita, casting director is Ronald Hussain and the assistant directors are Ronald Hussain and Samar Jyoti Sarkar.

Karishma Kapoor dons mekhela chador by Assamese designer

ollywood actress Karishma Kapoor walked the ramp of Lotus MakeUp India Fashion Week 2019 in Delhi wearing a mekhela chador by Assamese designer, Sanjukta Dutta on March 14. The mekhela was a black garment, with an embroidered border in white, gold and red. The designer showcased her new collection,

“Morom” (Love). The collection was inspired by butterflies and flowers and it captured the essence of Assam. Her designs were a mix of ethnic and Indo-western sensibilities which included garments such as jumpsuits, mekhela chadors, skirts and crop tops. The collection featured colours such as black, white and beige that were marked by floral motifs.

Rima Das nominated for ‘Best New Director’ at 13th Asian Film Awards

ilmmaker from Assam, Rima Das, has been nominated yet again for her second movie, Bulbul Can Sing at the 13th Asian Film Awards. After being nominated, she expressed her excitement on Twitter and said, “Overjoyed to be nominated as Best New Director for Bulbul Can Sing at 13th Asian Film Awards. See you at the awards.” Internationally acclaimed actor, Adil Hussain, who is also from Assam congratulated Das and wrote on Twitter, “Uffffff baba!! How many ??!? How proud I am of you… Congratulations. And Treat is expected!” Das has been nominated for many awards for both her films. Her first film, Village Rockstars was the official selection for the Oscars

as the foreign language film from India and her second film, Bulbul Can Sing has also received many accolades. The other film directors who have been nominated in this category include Yeo Siew Hua for A Land Imagined, Phuttiphong Aroonpheng for Manta Ray, Ueda Shinichiro for One Cut of the Dead, Oliver Chan Siu Kuen for Still Human and Bai Xue for The Crossing. The Asian Film Awards (AFA) ceremony was held on March 17, 2019 at Hong Kong’s TVB City.

Meghalaya filmmaker Dominic Sangma’s movie to showcase at Cannes

eghalaya filmmaker Dominic Sangma’s film, Rapture has been selected for La Fabrique Cinema 2019 to be organized by Institut Francais for this year’s Festival de Cannes. His film is one among the ten projects selected globally for the festival to be held in Cannes from May 14 until May

Lotus Make-Up India Fashion Week 2019 began on March 13 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. The event also showcased many other designers such as Rahul Mishra, Samant Chauhan, Rina Dhaka and Shalini James who presented their collections. Dutta, who has already established herself as a national designer in the fashion industry always tries to tell a story through her designs. Her main aim is that she tries to reflect rich Indian heritage and Assamese culture through her designs. She effortlessly merges the traditional with the modern through impeccable craftsmanship and her designs always reflect that.

25. From India, it is the only film to be selected for La Fabrique Cinema 2019. Directed by Dominic Sangma and produced by a Chinese producer, Xu Jianshang, the film is about the disappearance of some people from a village and how they react to different situations and the challenges they face throughout this ordeal.

Catching Up

G PLUS | MAR 23 - MAR 29, 2019

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