Vol 6 Issue 23 by G Plus

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Volume 06 | Issue 23 Mar 30 - Apr 05, 2019 Price `10

Income tax collection in Assam increases by 19.6% in 5 yrs

Abandoned Chatribari bio-gas plant becomes a den for drug addicts, locals frustrated

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Who will win the Queen vs Bobbeeta 2019 LS fight? Guwahatians will identify who is their preferred leader in 2019, experienced Queen Ojha or inspired Bobbeeta Sharma

n 29th March last, the Congress party announced Bobbeeta Sharma as its candidate to contest the Gauhati Lok Sabha (LS) seat for the Lok Sabha elections 2019 making the contest attention-grabbing in Guwahati as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had already fielded Queen Ojha

Robin Bordoloi. Even Siddhartha Bhattacharya was defeated in the same year. Ojha joined BJP in 2014 and has now been fielded by BJP for the Gauhati Lok Sabha seat. Both the candidates have undergone the experience of losing legislative assembly elections from the same constituency (Gauhati East). “Queen is only a matriculate whereas Bobbeeta is a post-graduate, so we are still wondering whom to vote for in this general

who is also a prominent female politician of the city. If money investment is to be taken as the key factor to win Lok Sabha elections, the contest will be exciting as both the candidates are well-known businesswomen of the city. Speaking of political backgrounds, Sharma, married into a known Congress family, contested the state legislative assembly elections of 2016 from Gauhati East constituency but was defeated by Siddhartha Bhattacharya. Queen Ojha has more political experience than Sharma as Ojha has been active as a politician since the days of the Assam Agitation. She later joined Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and in 1996 became the Mayor of Guwahati after winning Guwahati Municipal Corporation elections. Ojha also contested for legislative assembly in 2001 from Gauhati East constituency but was defeated by Congress candidate Capt

election,” said a university student of the city. Educational qualification wise, Bobbeeta has an upper hand as she is a post-graduate and Queen is just a matriculate. “I will not make any promises because my work is my identity and it will speak for itself,” said Ojha while at an election rally. So Ojha is playing the development card. Bobbeeta, on the other hand, is playing the slam game and is slamming the BJP for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill row and its other unfulfilled promises. Though the results will give the exact picture as to who will come out the winner, Guwahatians, for the first time, will witness two women fighting for the coveted MP chair. The other prominent name in this fight is senior Supreme Court advocate, Upamanyu Hazarika, who is contesting as an independent candidate. n

G Plus Bureau @guwahatiplus

5th edition of G Plus Guwahati Food Awards PG 12-13

Badruddin Ajmal pushed to a corner with the latest Congress candidate list G Plus Bureau @guwahatiplus

ith Congress fielding seemingly strong candidates for both Barpeta and Dhubri parliamentary constituencies, the new found apparent romance between Assam Congress and the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has hit a massive road block. There were speculations that a tacit understanding had been reached between Congress and AIUDF by not fielding strong candidates in these two AIUDF strongholds in lieu of AIUDF not putting up candidates in constituencies where sizeable minority voters exist. This speculation got further credence when Ajmal announced candidates for only 3 parliamentary constituencies of Dhubri, Barpeta and Karimganj. At the end of the nomination process for the second phase of elections in Assam, AIUDF is now without candidates in all but one parliamentary constituency of Karimganj. This move will particularly help Congress in Nagaon, Mangaldoi, Silchar and Kaliabor from where Gaurav Gogoi is locked in a direct fight with the AGP candidate Moni Madhav Mahanta. While the rumour mills were agog, a faction led by Debabrata Saikia, current Congress Legislature Party leader in Assam

Assembly, swung into action and managed to convince the central leadership that such a move would be disastrous for Congress in future. This faction further pointed out that the minority voters are moving en masse to Congress and it would be foolhardy not to seize this opportunity at this time or else the party would not be able to come back to power in Assam in 2021. At the end, the central leadership took a pragmatic view and keeping in mind the 2021 state elections, put its seal on the candidature of Abdul Khaleque, a liberal face of the party for the Barpeta seat and for Dhubri seat, Abu Taher Bepari, who had returned to Congress only recently after having joined BJP in 2015, has been nominated. How does this impact the outcome of the Congress candidates in a few key seats in Assam? The news of a tacit understanding between Congress and AIUDF would have hurt the candidature of Sushanta Borgohain in Jorhat, as BJP would have tried to polarise voters in this

constituency on religious lines. Jorhat has less than a lakh of minority voters but any news of understanding between the two parties would have swung some caste Hindu votes away from Congress. Similarly, such a news would have hurt MGVK Bhanu’s chances in Tezpur as well. However, now with no AIUDF candidates in Nagaon, Koliabor, Mangaldoi, Tezpur and Silchar, Congress’s prospects have gone up manifold. Congress now seriously smells victory in 5/6 seats, which otherwise was not thinkable even a month ago. BJP on the other hand is sitting pretty in as many as 5 constituencies – Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Tezpur, Guwahati and Diphu. Close fights are expected in Silchar, Mangaldoi and Karimganj. AGP on the other hand seems to be in the race in only one seat, Koliabor and will need to pull out all its tricks to wrest this seat from the Congress. Declaration of a nonBodo candidate from Kokrajhar by Congress is very surprising as Sabda Ram Rabha would only eat into non-Bodo voter base of Naba Sarania, the current MP, thereby indirectly helping BPF. n

2 Lead Story Snippets Congress announces candidates for Gauhati, Barpeta, Dhubri, Kokrajhar

he All India Congress Committee (AICC) has finally announced the names of candidates from Assam for the remaining 4 seats of Gauhati, Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Dhubri for the Lok Sabha elections 2019. These five constituencies will go to poll on the third phase (23rd April). Gauhati: Bobeeta Sarma Barpeta: Abdul Khaleque Dhubri: Abu Taher Bepari Kokrajhar: Sabda Ram Rabha The AICC had earlier released the names of candidates for the 10 Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the first phase (11th April) and the second phase (18th April).

Local Holidays declared on polling days across Assam

he Assam state government has declared a local holiday in 12 districts on April 11 for the Lok Sabha polls. The holiday will be observed in Biswanath, Charaideo, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Nagaon, Sivasagar, Sonitpur and Tinsukia on April 11. On April 18, there will be a holiday in eight districts as the second phase of the poll will be held in these eight districtsCachar, Darrang, Dima Hasao, Hailakandi, Hojai, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Udalguri and South Karbi Anglong. Meanwhile, the third phase of the poll will be held on April 23 in 10 districts- Baksa, Barpeta, Kamrup, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Goalpara, South Salmara, Kamrup Metro, Kokrajhar and Dhubri. The local holidays have been declared under the NI Act in three days when the election will take place in the respective districts in three phases wherein all the government, non-government offices, educational institutes, banks and other commercial establishments will remain closed on the day.

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Income tax collection in Assam increases by 19.6% in 5 yrs Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

ssam has seen an almost consistent increase in income tax collection over the past five years, as per the data provided by the income tax (IT) department of the northeast region. The collection of direct taxes which includes both the corporate tax and the personal income tax has seen a quantum jump from 2013-14 to the last financial year, that is 2017-18. The total tax collected in financial year 2013-14 stood at Rs 4,486.8 crores. However, the tax collection in the year 2014-15 declined to Rs 3,658.69 crores before witnessing a continuous rise in the amount of tax collected from Assam. Further, people paid a total of Rs 3,982.79 crores as tax in the state in 2015-16, which further increased to Rs 4,709.99 crores in 2016-17. Finally, the total tax collected in 2017-18 again rose to Rs 5,366.42 crores. Elaborating on the possible reasons behind increase in the amount of tax collected, a senior official in the income tax department told G Plus, “Economic growth and increase in the state’s GDP is one of the major causes for the increase in the tax collection. Also, inflation is another factor which further pushes the tax growth.” He further added that the efficiency of the tax administration is another reason for the boost in tax collections over the years. In the same vein, the tax collected for the entire northeast region, too, saw a continual growth over the past three years.

Further, for the northeast region, the total tax collected increased by 36.48 per cent over the past three years. During the financial year 2015-16, the income tax department collected a total tax of Rs 5,200 crores; this increased to Rs 6,093 crores in 201617 which further increased to Rs

the all India growth percentage for the financial year 2017-18 remained slightly above at 18.3 per cent. Principal chief commissioner of income tax, NER, Kavita Jha, told G Plus that this year’s tax collection target from the northeast region (NER) has been set at

was collected as corporate tax while Rs 3,512.30 crores was personal income tax. The IT department officials also mentioned that a lot of deductors - including both government as well as private - are still to deposit taxes. As per the government

The department had collected a total of Rs 7,676.10 crores from the northeast region as on March 28. Out of this, Rs 4,163.80 crores was collected as corporate tax while Rs 3,512.30 crores was personal income tax.

File photo of Aaykar Bhawan, Guwahati 7,097 crores. On the other hand, the overall tax collection in 2017-18, as compared to the previous financial year (2016-17), increased by 16.5 per cent in the northeast. While

Rs 9,065 crores. Further, authorities informed that the department had collected a total of Rs 7,676.1 crores from the northeast region as on March 28. Out of this, Rs 4,163.80 crores

directive, taxpayers are required to deposit taxes by March 31. “Taxpayers should also pay any advance tax due by March 30 as March 31 is a Sunday and April 1 will be a bank closure day,” informed an official. On the other hand, the neighbouring northeastern state, Meghalaya, collected Rs 533.30 crores as tax in financial year 2013-14. However, this too increased to Rs 849.51 crores in 2017-18. Further, in Tripura Rs 218.70 crores was collected as direct tax in 2013-14 and this rose to Rs 296.41 crores in 2017-18. Additionally, the number of income tax return filers has crossed 1 million in the northeast during the current financial year. n

Special court for tax prosecution

special court under the Kamrup (Metro) District Judiciary was notified as Special Court for prosecution of offences under the Income Tax Act, 1961 last year. The court of Munsiff No 3 of the Judicial Magistrate 1st class has been notified by the Gauhati High Court. District Munsif Court is a court of the lowest order handling issues pertaining to civil matters in the district. The special court in Guwahati was the first such special court in the entire country to be set up for prosecuting tax offenders, said income tax authorities. Further, more than 50 tax prosecution cases were filed in

the special court with respect to tax related offences from the northeast region, informed

officials from the IT department. Some of the reasons for conducting tax prosecutions include non-filing of tax returns,

Further, non-filing of tax returns can lead to penalty and also prosecution under law for tax offenders. In cases of

Total direct tax collected from Assam over the past 5 years

The special court in Guwahati was the first such special court in the entire country to be set up for prosecuting tax offenders, said income tax authorities.

Year

Total tax collected (in Rs crores)

2013-14

4486.8

2014-15

3658.69

2015-16

3982.79

2016-17

4709.99

2017-18

5366.42

filing false returns, failure to pay taxes, failure to deduct taxes and failure to deposit tax deducted.

prosecution, the burden of proof lies on the defaulter, informed authorities. n

Politicking

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

BJP veterans irked with Siddhartha Bhattacharya Old-timers feel they have been sidelined after Himanta Biswa Sarma joined BJP; Siddhartha Bhattacharya was the state BJP president when Sarma joined the party G Plus News @guwahatiplus

arrogant towards the BJP workers,” said a BJP member who is also one of the executive members of the

with the decision of their saffron party. After Pallab Lochan Das, known

be formed by the veteran leaders of Assam BJP who have been neglected for 15-20 years.”

state BJP executive committee. Five sitting BJP members of parliament (MPs) – Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Rajen Gohain, RP Sharma, Bijoya Chakravarty and Ramen Deka were denied tickets this time and the MPs are upset

to be a close associate of Himanta Biswa Sarma, was named as BJP’s candidate from Tezpur Lok Sabha seat, sitting BJP MP Ram Prasad Sharma announced to form a new political party – New BJP. Sharma said, “The new party will

BJP’s candidates for 2019 Lok Sabha elections include the names of Topon Gogoi (from Jorhat), Pallab Lochan Das (from Tezpur) and Rupak Sharma (from Nagaon) and all these candidates are known to be very close to Himanta

fter five veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members in Assam were denied tickets to contest the forthcoming elections, many old BJP members are upset with the party and Gauhati East MLA Siddhartha Bhattacharya. Bhattacharya is known as the man who had persuaded Jalukbari MLA Himanta Biswa Sarma to switch parties from Congress to BJP; thereafter, quite clearly, the old BJP members in the state have been calculatedly sidelined. “Old BJP members are unhappy and irked at Siddhartha as after he brought in Himanta, the old BJP members have been sidelined. Even Siddhartha’s attitude has changed and he has become very

Biswa Sarma. A BJP member based in Guwahati said, “Siddhartha had brought in Himanta in 2015 for his own chief ministerial ambitions but after Himanta’s entry, even he (Siddhartha) has been somewhat sidelined.” Siddhartha Bhattacharya was the state BJP president when Himanta joined BJP but after the party formed the government in 2016, Siddhartha Bhattacharya did not attend the oath taking ceremony and it was perceived that he did so in protest against not being given any ministry. At present, he has two ministries under him but the old BJP members are not happy even with his performance as a minister. “He (Siddhartha) is very arrogant and can be influenced easily by anyone,” said a BJP member under condition of anonymity. n

4 Politicking Snippets Congress nominates Bobbeeta Sharma as Lok Sabha candidate from Gauhati

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Amit Shah kicks off Assam election campaign with sharp attack on Congress Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

obbeeta Sharma will be the Congress candidate from the Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency. This was announced by the AICC on Friday. Bobeeta Sharma’s main fight will be against Queen Ojha who is Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate from Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency. Sharma is General Secretary, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) and had contested the 2016 Assam legislative election from Gauhati East Constituency. She had lost to BJP candidate Siddartha Bhattacharya. Romen Borthakur and Bolin Bordoloi were the other two names in the Congress panel list for the Gauhati Lok Sabha seat.

Matriculation results by 20th May, marksheet to have 3D hologram

he High School Leaving Ce rtificate and High Madrassa results will be announced by 20th May. In a new move, SEBA for the first time will declare the results at midnight. This was stated by SEBA Exam Controller, Nayanjyoti Sarma. The results will be uploaded in the SEBA website and the students can also view their mark sheets. The students can collect their marksheets next day from their respective centres. In order to secure the marksheet and certificates, SEBA will introduce a 3D hologram, informed Sarma. This year, a total of 3,57,143 students have appeared for the HSLC exams.

ational president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Amit Shah, reached Kaliabor and Jorhat on Thursday, March 28, to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Shah kick-started the party’s 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign in Assam with sharp attacks on the Congress Party and former chief minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi over its alliance with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). Attacking the opposition Congress party, he said that Congress and AIUDF have a secret understanding between them. “It appears that the Congress is fighting alone but I urge the people of Assam not to get blindsighted by this. Gogoi said that he wants to stay away from Ajmal but at night they stand side-byside and get busy with Ilu Ilu (I love you, I love you). To secure the political future of his son, Gogoi has fallen at the feet of Badruddin,” he added. Shah was perhaps ridiculing how the AIUDF had decided to

contest in only three of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state as this could help the Congress. The BJP president called upon the voters to once again make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister of the country for

BJP. They were in power for two decades but the major change is seen after the BJP came into power,” Shah further hit out at Congress. However, he maintained total silence on the issue of the

Amit Shah at Kaliabor a “developed and stronger” India and to facilitate rapid development of Assam as well as the rest of the northeast. “Congress did nothing for the development of the state but the

Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) which had generated public ire against the BJP in Assam recently. Instead, in both the rallies, Shah kept flaunting the BJP’s agenda of development and pointed

out that the Narendra Modiled BJP government provided development projects worth Rs 3 lakh crores for Assam during the last 5 years. He further lashed out at the earlier Congress government for providing only Rs 50,000 crores for Assam during their five-year tenure even though Dr Manmohan Singh had represented Assam in the Rajya Sabha for 20 years. Shah addressed the first campaign at T Ao Rural Stadium in Kaliabor to pitch for BJP ally AGP’s candidate, Mani Madhav Mahanta after which he headed to Jorhat Institute of Science and Technology playground to campaign for BJP’s Topon Kumar Gogoi. Speaking during the occasion, he announced that along with their allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), the BJP should sweep all the 14 parliamentary seats in Assam. He also urged all the party workers to work hard towards achieving the target. Among others present during the occasion were chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma besides other MLAs and party leaders. n

Star campaigners of BJP and Congress to visit Assam

ith the filing of nominations for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections ending on Tuesday, electioneering has gained its momentum in Assam. Star campaigners of all the political parties will begin their campaigns for the polls in an attempt to attract as many votes as possible. Parties such as Congress, BJP are putting their best foot forward in order to come to power. BJP, staying a step ahead, has already decided on the dates of visit of their star campaigners and kicked off the campaign in Assam with party president Amit Shah on March 28. On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address two election campaigns at Gohpur in Biswanath and

Moran in Dibrugarh on March 30. From All India Congress

and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh also feature on the list of Congress’ star

Committee (AICC), general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to visit Assam in April for the poll campaign. Along with Priyanka, party president Rahul Gandhi, former party president Sonia Gandhi

campaigners set to woo voters in Assam. However, the national party is yet to finalize the schedule for its star campaigners’ visits. The Congress party which aims to capitalize on the “good

will” it has generated for itself because of its firm stand against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), believes that it will be able to put up a good show in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 and win eight to ten parliamentary seats. On the other hand, Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP believes that the BJP along with its allies will win at least 12 out of the Lok Sabha 14 seats in Assam. Amit Shah while addressing the gathering in Kaliabor aimed at sweeping all the 14 parliamentary seats and urged BJP party members to work towards the target. It may be noted that voting for the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls will be held on April 11, while voting for the second phase is scheduled for April 18 and third phase on April 23. n

Politicking

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Look back to 2014 polls: MP vote share and representativeness calculations Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

s the Lok Sabha elections 2019 draw closer, the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Election Watch have released a report analysing the percentage of votes won by the newly elected Members of Parliament (MPs) of Lok Sabha elections in 2014. The report also mentions the “representativeness” of MPs among the total number of registered voters and has used the data provided by the Election Commission of India. The percentage of representativeness has been calculated by dividing the votes polled for the winner by the electorate by the total number of registered voters. This value represents the percentage of votes won by the winning candidate among the total number of registered voters in the constituency. Additionally, the percentage of vote share was calculated by dividing the votes polled for the winner by the total number of valid votes. This value represents the percentage of votes won by the

winning candidate among the total number of valid votes polled. Elections will be held in Assam in three phases on April 11, 18 and 23. Further, Gauhati constituency will go to polls in the third phase on April 23. According to the ADR report, in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, at the

At the national level only four MPs out of 543 showed representativeness of more than 50 per cent. Interestingly, three out of these MPs belong to the northeast.

national level, only four MPs out of 543 showed representativeness of more than 50 per cent. Interestingly, three out of these MPs belong to the northeast. These include Neiphiu Rio of NPF from Nagaland constituency, Jitendra Choudhury of CPI (M) from Tripura East constituency and Sankar

File photo of Congress workers at Rajiv Bhawan, Guwahati Prasad Datta of CPI (M) who contested from Tripura West constituency. While Rio earned a whopping 60 per cent representativeness, Choudhury and Datta received 55 per cent and 54 per cent representativeness respectively.

The report also states that in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, a total of 475 (87 per cent) winners had won with less than 40 per cent of total registered voters in their constituency. On the other hand, 211 (39 per cent) winners had emerged vic-

torious with less than 30 per cent of total registered voters in their constituency; and finally, 19 candidates had won with less than 20 per cent of total registered voters in their constituency—which makes for a representativeness of less than 20 per cent. n

Representativeness and vote share of Assam MPs in 2014

s per the ADR report on the vote share of the elected MPs in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, we take a look at the MPs who were elected from Assam in 2014 and their representativeness. Rameshwar Teli of BJP who was elected from the Dibrugarh constituency, won by a 55 per cent vote share with 4,94,364 voting for him as opposed to 8,90,968 total votes polled in the constituency. Further, Sarbananda Sonowal, the current chief minister of Assam, who contested and won the Lok Sabha elections from the Lakhimpur constituency bagged the seat with 6,12,543 votes or 55 per cent vote share. The total polling in the constituency was recorded at 11,11,975. Lakimpur witnessed a decent polling percentage of 78 per cent. Similarly, Naba Kumnar Sarania, the sitting MP from Kokrajhar Lok Sabha constituency, won with a vote share of 52 per cent or 6,34,428 votes. The constituency saw a polling of 81 per cent and his representativeness stood at 42 per

cent. The sitting MP from Gauhati, Bijoya Chakravarty, also fared decently in the 2014 elections as she secured 7,64,985 votes (51 per cent vote share) from her constituency out of the 15,11,729 total votes which were polled. She also achieved a representativeness of 40 per cent. There were in total 19,22,270 registered voters in her constituency and it saw 79 polling per cent. Further, there were a total of 6,720 votes which were polled for NOTA (none of the above). In the same vein, from Jorhat constituency, MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa from BJP won by a 49 per cent of vote share which was

4,56,420 votes. He secured 39 per cent representativeness and the constituency saw a voter turnout of 75 per cent. As per the report, Rama Prasad Sarmah from Tezpur constituency won by a 46 per cent vote share and 4,46,511 votes. He achieved a representativeness of 35 per cent. The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal, the sitting MP from Dhubri constituency defeated his opponents with a with share of 43 per cent as 5,92,569 votes were polled in his favour. Further, he achieved a representativeness of 38 per cent. The constituency saw a polling of 88 per cent in 2014.

Representativeness:

Total votes polled for Winner/Total number of registered voters -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vote Share:

Total votes polled for Winner/Total number of valid votes polled

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal who contested and won the Lok Sabha elections from the Lakhimpur constituency bagged the seat with 6,12,543 votes or 55 per cent vote share.

On the other hand, another sitting MP from Silchar, Congress’ Sushmita Dev, won by a total vote share of 42 per cent in her favour with 3,36,451 votes being polled

for the winner. Her representativeness remained at 32 percent ion 2014 and Silchar saw a 75 per cent voter turnout. The report further states that Rajen Gohain from Nowgong had 4,94,146 votes polled his favour and achieved a vote share of 40 per cent in his constituency. Nowgong saw a polling of 81 per cent in the last Lok Sabha elections. Further, Congress leader and MP from Kaliabor Gourav Gogoi achieved victory by 38 per cent vote share in his favour or 4,43,315 votes polled for him. His representativeness was calculated to be 30 per cent and the constituency saw a voting of 80 per cent with 11,66,490 voters turning out to vote in the elections. n

6 Governance Snippets Lok Sabha 2019: Assam heavyweights file nomination for first phase polls

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

EC launches drive to generate voter awareness in state Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

in another awareness video, is seen appealing to first-time voters to

according to a district election official. An election quotient quiz was

C F

or the five Lok Sabha seats that are going for polls on 11th April, today was the last date of filing nominations. The five seats of Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Kaliabor and Tezpur saw a large number of candidates filing nominations. Among the political heavyweights were: Paban Singh Ghatowar (Cong/Dibrugarh), MGVK Bhanu (Cong/Tezpur), Topon Kumar Gogoi (BJP/Jorhat), Sushmita Dev (Cong/Silchar), Dr. Rajdeep Roy (BJP/Silchar), Mani Madhab Mahanta (AGP/Kaliabor), Bhubaneswar Kalita (Cong/ Mangaldoi), Dilip Saikia (BJP/ Mangaldoi), Pallab Lochan Das (BJP/Tezpur) and Pradan Baruah (BJP/Lakhimpur). Interestingly, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were seen together rushing from one Lok Sabha to the other. The duo accompanied BJP candidate Pradan Baruah in Lakhimpur, Topon Kumar Gogoi in Jorhat, and Pallab Lochan Das in Tezpur till the filing of this report.

Foreign cigarettes worth Rs 1 crore seized in Guwahati

round 200 cartons of foreign cigarettes were seized by the customs department in Guwahati recently. They are valued at over Rs 1 crore, informed sources. The cigarettes were recovered from the godown of a cargo company at Ahom Gaon area of the city. As per reports, the cigarette cartons were stored in sacks in the godown. The investigation in the case is ongoing.

elebrity endorsements, quiz competitions and folk song and sweet making contests are just some of the initiatives that the state election department in Assam has undertaken ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. This is primarily being done to attract women, first-time voters, people with physical disabilities and senior citizens to vote on the day of election. Sprinter Hima Das, Whitley Awardee and environmentalist Purnima Devi Barman, singer Tarali Sarma, body builder Golap Rabha and actor Kopil Bora have been roped in as state icons to create awareness about the election process. District election officers have been directed to reach out to the maximum number of voters in the constituencies under their jurisdiction, Assam Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Sahu said. Several initiatives have been taken up keeping in mind the local aspects under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Practices (SVEEP), according to Mukesh Sahu, Assam Chief Electoral Officer. Hima Das, herself a first-time voter, has urged young voters in a promotional video, to actively participate in the election. Tarali Sarma, who sang the theme song

File photo of girls showing their ink marked fingers after casting vote make informed and ethical choices while casting their vote. Additionally, cycle rallies and street plays have also been organized and campus ambassadors are currently being appointed in colleges for holding chunaav pathshalas (election schools) to spread the awareness among first-time voters through co-curricular activities. 200 students from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have volunteered to undertake door-to-door campaigns in the interior areas of Kamrup district,

also organized in the district. A major component of the SVEEP is to remove gender gap in polls and an initiative called Aaideur Chora has been taken up in collaboration with the Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission and Assam State Urban Livelihood Mission to sensitize female voters. The organizations are mobilizing self-help groups to open women help desks at various government outlets like gram panchayat offices and cooperative societies to facilitate women voters to verify their names, go through voters’ lists and make cor-

rections, if needed. They can also register their names if these do not appear on the rolls. Polling stations with low female voter turn-out have also been identified and mahila voter rallies are being held across the state. Nodal officers of SVEEP campaigns in various districts are organizing Naam (folk song) singing, pitha and laru making competitions and street plays to involve women in awareness campaigns and “Chandraprabha,” a local woman mascot, will be used for spreading the message of participation in the local language. Earlier, CEO Mukesh Sahu had launched an awareness campaign “Run for vote” to motivate every section of the people of Kamrup (Metro) District about the importance of participating in the electoral process during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Sahu also appealed to all the electorates and the first time voters to play an active part in the electoral process. “No voter must be left behind is the motto of this election. To ensure the same, all necessary measures have been taken up by the Election Commission to raise awareness on the importance of participating in the electoral process,” said the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam. A total of 10,72,132 electorates will exercise their franchise this year in Kamrup (Metro). Out of these, 5,36,070 are male and 5,34,062 are female voters. 21,884 first time voters have also been added in the voters’ list. n

Citizens to take part in monitoring MCC violations Lighter andandfaster responsible role citizens can

F Get the G Plus app or the first time in India, the citizens have been given the power to secretly monitor the Model Code of Conduct violations taking place ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. The Election Commission of India has launched an app named cVIGIL to fast-track the complaint reception and redressal system for citizens. ‘cVIGIL’, short for Vigilant Citizen, emphasizes on the proactive

play in the conduct of free and fair elections. It is an innovative mobile application for the citizens of the country to report Model Code of Conduct and expenditure violations during the elections. It can be used for reporting violations from the date of notifications for by-election, assembly and parliamentary elections. It is unique in the sense that it allows only live photo/video with

Scan the QR code

auto location capture from within the app to ensure digital evidence for flying squads to act upon in a time-bound manner. The app connects citizens with the District Control Room, Returning Officer and Field Unit (Flying Squads)/ Static Surveillance Teams and thus creating a rapid and accurate reporting, action and monitoring system. Additionally, the EC has appointed around 12 flying squads,

Have a story to tell? Be a Citizen Journalist Get in touch with us, Contact/WhatsApp

8486002318/8486002320

12 static surveillance teams along with video surveillance teams are monitoring the city to check violation of the model code of conduct. Since March 11, a day after election dates were announced and MCC came into effect, the Kamrup (Metro) district administration has removed altogether 2,916 hoardings, 6,559 posters, 2,519 banners and 1,307 wall writings in Guwahati. n

City

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Abandoned Chatribari bio-gas plant becomes a den for drug addicts, locals frustrated

Snippets Lok sabha Elections: 60 candidates in Assam file nomination for the second phase

G Plus News @guwahatiplus

n 27th February 2018, Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) had laid the foundation stone for a biomethanation cum electric energy plant at Chatribari Bilpar area of the city. The foundation stone was laid in the presence of GMC Mayor Mrigen Sarania and the erstwhile commissioner of GMC, Monalisa Goswami. The construction work for the plant began and was going smoothly; three gas storage tanks were already set up but then slowly the work came to a halt and the site has been left abandoned for months now. Soon after, the residents of the area started facing nuisance because of the local drug addicts. Addicts would frequently come to the spot for their illicit indulgences. Locals alleged that the young boys belonging to the Snehalaya centre for child in Paltan Bazar and a few more from the nearby localities would come to the spot on daily basis for consumption of alcohol and drugs. The spot had, for decades, served as a wholesale fish market before the vendors were evicted by the administration to build the plant. As per the locals, one Abdul Ali, who is a resident of Dhirenpara area of Guwahati, had set up a shelter from where he supplies materials to these youths and has been running the den ever since. Ali has been accused of selling alcohol and cannabis illegally to people. Ali has been absconding after the local residents found out about the shelter and destroyed it for good. But, the situation hasn’t changed. These addicts have set up another shelter to carry out their drug abuse. After sunset the area becomes dangerous and the locals complain of facing constant harassment. Chain snatching and robbery have become rampant. A resident, Anamika Baruah (name changed), said that the kids from Snehalaya often come to the spot to carry out such activities. “We have been facing the problem for long now, these kids come here for drugs and alcohol. They consume it to such an extent that they don’t even realise what they are doing and we feel scared to even go outside because we fear that they might harm us. They even bring girls and carry out dirty activities.” Another resident said that these kids from Snehalaya would cut

F Abandoned Chatribari bio-gas plant | G Plus Photo to carry out their dirty activities; out the iron fencing near the pond we often find used injections, and sell it off to buy drugs. They cough syrup bottles and dendrite have become a menace over here. tubes outside our house. We are We often ask them to go away and living in complete hell.” not to carry out such activities but I fear that our kids might get init seems useless as they keep on fluenced coming by such back. We activihave been ties. The compolice do plaining not do to the poenough lice. They to ensure have even that such started people patrolling don’t the area come to but noththe area. ing seems We have to help. sent a Babul comRajbongplaint to shi is a Photo of foundation stone the office resident of the commissioner of police, Guwho lives close to the site and is wahati after which they intensifrustrated with these activities. fied the patrolling. Gradually the Rajbongshi said, “I have been a vicfrequency reduced but now it’s tim of their nonsense. They snatch all the same again. They often get away mobile phones of the people drunk and fight among themselves who pass by the area at night. Atand create utter ruckus. Once they least 10 to 15 cases of mobile and tried to cut out the iron rods of chain snatching is reported every the Shiva Temple of our locality month and we are seriously tired to sell it off to buy drugs and they of such nuisance.” He further said even tried to steal the idol inside that police are not patrolling the the temple due to which the idol area enough to ensure security got damaged, said Anaya (name and stopping such activities. “I changed) who is also a resident of would like to request the authorthat area. ities to take immediate action Well, the residents of that area against such activities and seal the are frustrated with such activities area so that further such nuisance and are seeking immediate action doesn’t happen.” from the administration. The resiAnother resident said that injecdents said that either the authority tions and beer bottles are a comshould complete the work as soon mon sight in that area. She said, as possible and make the plant “They bring in girls to the spot and functional or they should fence the have also built a shelter out of tin

area. Drug abuse has been rampant because of the cheap availability of drugs and moreover because of the fact that Guwahati has become a transit point for the drug

We often find used injections, cough syrup bottles and dendrite tubes outside our house. We are living in complete hell

or the second phase of polls to be held on 18th April a total of 60 candidates have filed nomination till Tuesday, 26th March. The second phase will see voting in Karimganj, Silchar, Autonomous District, Mangaldoi and Nagaon. The last day of filing nomination saw 46 candidates from these constituencies file their papers. Among the big names, Sushmita Dev (Congress) and Dr Rajdeep Roy (BJP) filed their nomination papers from Silchar. Others included Kripanath Mallah (Karimganj) and Rupak Sarmah (BJP) and Pradyut Bordoloi (Congress) from Nowgong. The highest number of nominations were from Karimganj. A total of 19 candidates filed nomination from Karimganj.

Leopard attacks residents in Maligaon; three injured

a local resident

smugglers. Boys at a very young are getting addicted to various kinds of substances including heroine. Because of the Golden Triangle – the tri-junction of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos – it is one of the worst-affected. Drugs coming for South East Asia makes its way to the country through Manipur and then to Guwahati from where it is distributed to the rest of the country. 7.8 per cent of the population in the state is addicted to narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances. However, the state government has intensified its crackdown against drug smuggling which has resulted in many rackets being busted over the recent past. But, more effective measures are needed to be taken to curb the menace of drugs in the city and especially at the local level to save the city’s kids from the menace of drugs. n

A leopard attacked residents of Kamakhya and injured three people on Monday night, March 25. The injured have been identified as Sukendra Sharma, Gita Devi and Joymoti Devi and have been admitted to Sanjeevani Hospital, Maligaon. According to reports, the leopard entered the residentialt area in search of food and got trapped inside Sukendra Sharma’s residence.

8 Concern

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

PUBG addiction has city parents worried, counsellors send out word of caution Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee

layers Unknown Battleground, popularly known as PUBG, has become a talking point in the country - and for all the wrong reasons. After the game was banned in a few cities in the country by the concerned authorities, it has finally been restricted to limited play hours. The Facebook page of the game has around 5.1 million followers. Around 1.35 million followers are on twitter and around 3 million Instagram followers worldwide. The game often hosts online competition giving away attractive prizes amounting to crores of rupees which often draws the attention many gaming bugs. Young boys and kids have been playing the game for long and now, a health reminder pops for players under the age of 18 if the playtime exceeds 6 hours, restricting players from playing further. Soon, PUBG mobile players started sharing screenshots of the health reminder which says, “You’ve played the game for 6 hours today. Please come back at 2019-03-23 05:30:00.” In a tweet, PUBG Mobile India said, “We’re aware of the “Healthy Gaming System” issue that many of you are currently facing and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused to you! Our development team is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.” Now, with all these developments, G Plus talked to some students and parents of Guwahati to get their point of view on the issue. Rita Sarma, who is the mother of a class 9 student, said that the game has been distracting her son, especially during study hours. She said, “My son has been addicted to these games for months now. He is

Screenshot of the game PUBG pinned on to his mobile phone for hours and now his final exams are near and he is busy with the game.” I am worried what he will do in his finals, he doesn’t even listen to me”. Anjali Roy, who’s son is in degree second year, said that her son has been addicted to mobile games for long and the addiction to PUBG has made it worse. She said, “My son has been addicted to mobile games for long and his latest is now PUBG. He plays the game for hours now with his friends online. We tell him to stop but he keeps on playing.” When informed about the playtime restriction in the game, both the parents said that the restriction is not the solution. The addiction to the game is more concerning than playtime restriction. If they can control the playtime by themselves then there is no need for a playtime restriction. Aranyak Sarma, the class 9 student of Reeta Sarma, said that he has been playing the game for long

and like playing it during his free time. He said, “I know the game is doing the news for the wrong reasons but restricting the game to 6 hours is also something that we won’t like because we play the game often to entertain ourselves during free time and we hope the restriction is lifted later on.” Banashree Roy’s son Arko said, “It is good that play time has been restricted to 6 hours which will stop students who have their exams from playing for hours. But what about people who are free and want to play the game? I know that addiction to anything is not good, but most us play to relax and for fun. I hope the restriction is removed once the exam season is up.” Animesh Agarwal, who is a professional gamer and represented India on PUBG Mobile Star Challenge Asia finals in Thailand, welcomed the move of restricting the game to 6 hours

for under aged people and said that people should play the game responsibly. Many players have made a professional career out of the game and are earning more than regular office goers.

Playing the game for long affects the physiology of a child and is responsible for numbing the brain reducing the capability of the brain by 60 percent.

He also said that many countries in the world have professional gamers who have turned it into their profession and in India the

stereotype of labelling the game as bad should change. Speaking to G Plus, Loya Agarwala, one of the leading counsellors and personality development consultant in the city said, “The game or any other game is highly addictive as it releases a hormone which is a neuro transmitter and which, after a certain level, keeps on moving up boosting the hormone more. This makes people play more and spend more time on the game.” Playing the game for long affects the physiology of a child and is responsible for numbing the brain reducing the capability of the brain by 60 percent. Young children who are exposed to such violent games at a tender age are very vulnerable as they have higher chances of developing a violent attitude due to the constant exposure to such games. Agarwala also said that peer pressure often makes a child to indulge more because the multiple player option allows friends often to play together and that’s how a child gets more addicted to the game. When asked whether the time restriction will provide any help, Agarwala said, “If a child plays the game for more than an hour the development of the brain gets affected and even restricting it for six hours will not provide great help.” She also said that parents should supervise the amount of time their children spend on the game. Amidst all the chaos it remains to be seen how things go in future both for the gaming company and gamers. And most importantly, how will it affect the kids and their psyche. Is the game really bad and influencing kids negatively? Well, all we can say for now is that everything needs to be monitored and individuals should view matters with a sense of responsibility. n

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

T-Storms

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

29°/21° C

28°/20° C

27°/20° C

30°/20° C

30°/21° C

SATURDAY Partly Cloudy

32°/22° C

Governance

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Better Employment Opportunities top Guwahatian voters’ priorities for 2019 Lok Sabha elections Harshita Himatsingka @HHimatsingka

ith the onset of the candidate campaigns for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, it is important for all political parties to take note of what it is that people actually want from their governments and a recent report by an independent

The purpose of these periodic surveys is mainly to assess voters’ priorities and to rate the performance of the government on these priorities. It does not rate the performance of any particular elected representative but reports the voters’ perception of the overall performance of the government,” ADR report

survey has revealed just that. Based on the “All India Survey on Governance Issues and Voting Behaviour 2018” done by an independent NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) across 534 Lok Sabha constituencies, the priorities for voters in the Gauhati

Lok Sabha Constituency include three main things. The voters want “Better Employment Opportunities,” “Better Roads” and “Lower Food Prices for Consumers.” This ranking was done based on the highest priority that voters chose for each constituency. Thus, for Guwahati, “Better Employment Opportunities” ranked first as 55.34 % people voted for it. “Better Roads” was second, voted for by 54.66% voters and “Lower Food Prices for Consumers” ranked third, voted for by 36.82% people. All three priorities were listed as “below average” with each getting scores of 2.58, 2.44 and 1.39 respectively. This score is based out of a total score of 5, for which 3 is considered an average score.

Voters Prioritisation for Gauhati Lok Sabha Constituency

Voters Prioritisation for Assam (Rural)

Priority of voters (In order of preference)

Score out of 5

Ranking

Priority of voters (In order of preference)

Score out of 5

Ranking

Better Employment Opportunities

2.58

‘Below Average’

Better Roads

2.44

‘Below Average’

Better Hospitals/Primary Healthcare Centres

2.12

‘Below Average’

Lower Food Prices for Consumers

1.39

‘Below Average’

Better Employment Opportunities

2.08

‘Below Average’

Agriculture Loan Availability

2.08

‘Below Average’

Voters Prioritisation for Assam (Urban) Priority of voters (In order of preference)

Score out of 5

Ranking

Better Employment Opportunities

1.93

‘Below Average’

Better Roads

2.15

‘Below Average’

Lower Food Prices for Consumers

1.97

‘Below Average’

Anything below 3 is considered to be “below average” and anything above 3 is “above average.” “The purpose of these periodic surveys is not to predict the poll outcome. The purpose is main-

ly to assess voters’ priorities and to rate the performance of the government on these priorities. It does not rate the performance of any particular elected representative but reports the voters’

perception of the overall performance of the government,” mentioned the report. The survey conducted describes the status of 31 of the most important issues for voters in their particular region in terms of their “capacity, governance and specific roles in improving the living conditions of the voters,” according to the report. The 31 important issues consist of agriculture loan availability, electricity for agriculture and domestic use, farm prices, consumer

prices, irrigation, subsidy for seeds and fertilizers, terrorism, employment, health care, law and order, public transport, roads, education, drinking water, empowerment and security of women, eradication of corruption, reservation, strong defense/military, subsidized food distribution (PDS), training for jobs, garbage clearance, encroachment of public land/lakes, facility for cyclists and pedestrians on roads, traffic congestion, environment and others. n

Voter priorities for the rest of Assam

imilarly, for people in Assam, the overall top voter priorities include “Better Employment Opportunities,” “Better Hospitals/Primary Healthcare” and “Better Roads.” 47.99% voters prioritized and asked for better employment opportunities in the state, 45.78% voters want better hospitals/primary healthcare and 34.56% voters prioritized better roads. They received the score of 2.04, 2.08 and 2.30 out of 5 respectively.

All were again labeled under the “below average” category as it ranks under 3. In Assam, all 14 constituencies were surveyed. These constituencies were further divided based on urban and rural demographics. For urban Assam, the preferences are the same as that of the Lok Sabha Gauhati constituency. “Better Employment Opportunities” received a score of 1.93 out of 5, “Better Roads” got a score of

2.15 out of 5 and “Lower Food Prices for Consumers” has a 1.97 score out of 5. All rank “below average.” In rural Assam, the priorities differed slightly. The first preference is for “Better Hospitals/Primary Healthcare Centres” which received a score of 2.12 out of 5, “Better Employment Opportunities” got a score of 2.08 out of 5 and “Agriculture Loan Availability” got a score of 2.08 out of 5. All were ranked “below average.”

“The funds with the government are raised from the people through various taxes. In this sense, people’s priorities need to be heard. The survey shows what the expectations of the people are from the government and how they rate the performance of the government on these priorities,” the survey stated. This is the third All India Survey of voters with over 2.7 lakhs (2,73,487 to be exact) respondents in nearly all

constituencies of the Lok Sabha. At least 500 respondents from each constituency were interviewed. It was conducted during October to December 2018. The first survey was conducted in 2014 before the Lok Sabha elections then and the second one in 2017. These surveys are the largest ever done in the world in one country. Based on reports, the accuracy of the survey is 95% and the true values are within 5% of the survey predictions. n

10 In The News

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

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

Rs. 72k per annum will be provided to the poorest families: Rahul

Congress Party president, Rahul Gandhi said that they will provide Rs. 72,000 per annum to the poorest families, if voted to power after addressing the media after the Congress Working Committee. This scheme is called NYAY or Nyuntam Aay Yojana. Explaining the scheme, Gandhi said that every household will be assured of Rs. 12,000 per month and the scheme will cover 20 percent of poorest families. If a family earns Rs. 6000 per month, the remaining Rs. 6000 will be paid to them.

Doctors write to PM Modi to continue ban on e-cigarettes

More than 1000 doctors from across the country have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enforce the ban Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) which includes e-cigarettes, e-hookah, etc. before it becomes an epidemic in India, especially among youth. E-cigarettes are also called “e-cigs,” “vapes,” “e-hookahs,” “vape pens,” are “electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).”

Women officials to man 60 polling booths in Kamrup (M)

For the coming Lok Sabha elections, a total of 60 polling booths will be manned by all-women officials and other executives in Kamrup (Metro) district. There will be one presiding officer and three polling officials who will be manning the fort in each booth. Further, they will also be accompanied with women security officers. In Kamrup (Metro) district, a total of 525 voting centres will be set up.

Naresh Goyal quits as Jet Airways chairman

Jet Airways founder and Chairman Naresh Goyal stepped down as the chairman of Jet Airways following the failure to meet the debt of 1 billion dollars (USD). Goyal along with his wife Anita on 25 March stepped down from the company. Goyal is likely to be replaced on the board by his son, Nivaan. The board will now move ahead with a debt recast plan for rescuing the carrier from the current situation. Soon after Goyal stepped down from the airline’s board, Jet’s stocks surged over 15 per cent which is the biggest gain for the airline since January 14. Goyal holds a 51 percent stake in the airline.

India successfully tests Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Missile

In his address to the nation on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi informed that India has successfully tested an indigenously-developed Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Missile. He added that the ASAT successfully targeted a live satellite on a low earth orbit. The PM called the operation- ‘Mission Shakti’ and said that it was a highly complex one, conducted at extremely high speed with remarkable precision.

Around 2 crore men lost their jobs from 2012-2018: NSSO

The number of men employed in the country has fallen down by nearly two crores in the five years between 2011-12 and 2017-18, as per the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report which was recently buried by the government. A review of the NSSO’s Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2017-18 report, which is yet to made public, shows only 28.6 crore men were employed in the country during 2017-18 as against 30.4 crore men employed five years ago in 2011-12. The decrease in India’s male workforce has happened for the first time since 1993-94 when 21.9 crore men were employed. This had grown to 30.4 crore in 2011-12 before falling to 28.6 crore in 201718, as per the PLFS report conducted between July 2017 and June 2018. The report had also put the unemployment rate for male in urban and rural segments at 7.1 per cent and 5.8 per cent, respectively. The report, which was approved by the National Statistical Commission (NSC) in December 2018, was withheld by the government leading to two members of the NSC, including Acting Chairman P.C. Mohanan, quitting the Commission this January.

Piyush Mordia is the new IG of BSF Guwahati Frontier

Piyush Mordia, IPS, took over the charge of Inspector General of Border Security Force Guwahati Frontier on 23 March. Mordia took over from Rakesh Aggarwal, IPS, IG and belongs to the 1998 batch of the Indian Police Service and was allotted the Uttar Pradesh Cadre. He also stressed the need to focus on the welfare of troops saying he would strive towards winning heart and mind of border populations while accomplishing the assigned task.

All Agency Banks to remain open for public this Sunday

With the financial year 2018-19 ending in the next three days, the Reserve Bank of India has released a notice stating that all agency bank branches, dealing with government businesses will be open on March 31, Sunday. The Government of India has advised that “all Pay and Account Offices will remain open” on March 31, 2019 (Sunday) to facilitate government receipt and payment transactions.

Pro-Talk ULFA leaders to Boycott 2019 Lok Sabha polls

The pro-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has decided to boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The leaders of ULFA will not participate in any election until a discussion with the Government of India is not over, informed ULFA chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa. “We have resolved not to cast our vote till the Indo-Assam issue is solved. All of us have been waiting for the solution,” Rajkhowa said.

China destroyed 30,000 maps that show Arunachal Pradesh as part of India Approximately 30,000 world maps that depict Arunachal Pradesh as part of India were reportedly destroyed by Chinese authorities. These maps also showed Taiwan as an independent country. According to a report in Global Times, these English maps were manufactured by a Chinese company called Anhui and were destroyed by the authorities to protect China’s “territorial integrity.”According to reports, a total of 803 boxes of 29,908 wrong maps were seized and destroyed.

Politicking

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Lok Sabha polls Assam: Top contenders in the first phase Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

ith the 14 Lok Sabha seats of Assam set to go to polls in three phases, the high voltage electioneering is going on in full swing in the state. While five constituencies (Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur) go to polls on April 11, five others (Karimganj, Silchar, Autonomous District, Mangaldoi and Nowgong) go to polls on 18th April. The remaining four constituencies (Gauhati,

Barpeta, Dhubri and Kokrajhar) will be voting on 23rd April. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the fight is expected to be between the Indian National Congress (INC) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which won an unprecedented seven seats in the last Lok Sabha elections. The BJP is contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Assam in alliance with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). The BJP will contest in 10 Lok Sabha seats leaving the AGP three seats (Kaliabor, Barpeta and Dhubri) and one seat to the

BPF (Kokrajhar). The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) led by perfume baron Badaruddin Ajmal is another strong contender from three constituencies namely Barpeta, Dhubri and Karimganj. The filing of nomination for the first phase of the election ended on March 25, and the withdrawal of nominations after scrutiny ended on March 28. Here’s a list of the top contenders in Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur constituencies that are scheduled to go to polls on April 11.

Tezpur

MGVK Bhanu VS Pallab Lochan Das

For the Tezpur seat, Congress has fielded former bureaucrat MGVK Bhanu. Although speculations were rife that the ruling party would field Assam cabinet minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma to contest from Tezpur, BJP has named Assam minister Pallab Lochan Das, replacing sitting MP Ram Prasad Sarmah who quit the party on March 16 alleging “neglect by the new intruders.” Tezpur has been changing hands for some time now but with nine sitting MLAs (including one

from AGP) the Bharatiya Janata Party has a big advantage here. The BJP candidate Pallab Lochan Das is the present minister of state with Independent charge of Labour & Employment and Tea Tribes Welfare. Bhanu, on the other hand, retired as an additional chief secretary to the government of Assam last year. He had earlier served as the chairman of the Tea Board of India and had also gone on deputation to Andhra Pradesh, where he served as a secretary to the state’s former CM YSR Reddy. It would be a tough call for Bhanu to prove his loyalty to the voters of Tezpur.

Kaliabor

Jorhat

Gaurav Gogoi VS Moni Madhab Mahanta

Topon Kumar Gogoi VS Sushanta Borgohain

The frontrunners from the Kaliabor seat are Gourav Gogoi and Moni Madhab Mahanta. Gogoi is a member of the All India Congress Committee and the son of former chief minister and Congress heavyweight, Tarun Gogoi. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Gaurav Gogoi received 4,43,315 votes. His nearest rival

from BJP, Mrinal Kumar Saikia polled 3,49,441 votes. This time, with AGP and BJP in alliance, the BJP has left this seat to the alliance candidate and younger brother of state cabinet minister Keshab Mahanta, Moni Madhab Mahanta. The Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency has been a Congress party stronghold. Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, his son Gourav, and brother Dip Gogoi have been representing this constituency since 1998. The Kaliabor Lok Sabha seat has ten assembly constituencies. The AIUDF has a sizeable voter base here but it has not put up its candidate which will help the Congress to a great extent.

From Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency, the competition is expected to be tough between BJP’s Topon Kumar Gogoi and Congress’ Sushanta Borgohain. Political pundits say that since both Gogoi and Borgohain belong to the Ahom community, it is difficult to say which way the votes will swing.

Originally, a Congress fortress since independence, the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat was won by BJP’s Kamakhya Prasad Tasa in 2014 where he polled 4,56,420 votes. His nearest rival from Congress, Late Bijoy Krishna Handique who had represented this prestigious seat for six times in a row, polled 3,54,000 votes. While Topon Kumar Gogoi holds the Ministry of Power (Independent) in the Sonowal Cabinet, Sushanta Borgohain is a former MLA of Thowra Constituency and president of Sivasagar district Congress. Borgohain had contested the 2016 assembly election from Thowra and had polled 40,334 votes.

Dibrugarh

Lakhimpur

Paban Singh Ghatowar VS Rameswar Teli

Pradan Baruah VS Anil Borgohain

From Dibrugarh seat, last year’s runner-up and five-time MP Pawan Singh Ghatowar would be contesting against sitting MP Rameswar Teli. Though Dibrugarh has originally

been a Congress bastion, the BJP not only routed Ghatowar in the 2014 general elections but also took hold of eight out of the nine assembly constituencies leaving just one for its partner AGP in the 2016 Assam Assembly election. For Congress, it would be an uphill task to find its foothold back in this Lok Sabha constituency, especially considering the BJP’s alliance with AGP. The Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat has nine assembly constituencies most of them held by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Lakhimpur seat was vacated by BJP’s Sarbananda Sonowal in 2016 after he was chosen to lead the state government. Pradan Barua replaced Sonowal as the BJP’s candidate to win the by-poll in 2016. Sonowal had

swept the seat with 6,12,543 votes (55.05%) out of the total 11,11,975 votes. Now, for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has again fielded its sitting MP who will be contesting against Congress’ Anil Borgohain. In Lakhimpur constituency, the Ahom community as well as the Mishing tribe, one of the largest tribes in the northeast, who also inhabit parts of Arunachal Pradesh, are the main electorates. Tea workers are also a sizeable section of the electorate. The Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat has nine assembly constituencies.

12 Special | GFA 2019

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Style - O - Cake (L) receiving the award for the Best Bakery (Single Outlet)

Abhijit Bhuyan (L) of Dine Way Platz receiving the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ages Aheadâ&#x20AC;? award in the presence of Prabal Choudhury (R)

Neha Agarwal (L) receiving Home Baker of the Year award

(L-R) Pallavi Barua, Chef Faruk Ahmed, Geeta Dutta, Suresh Hinduja, Kashmiri Nath, Chef Sumalya Sarkar and Aabhishek Bedi Varma

Minister of State Health and Family Welfare, Pijush Hazarika attending the grand event

The host for the evening - Cyrus Broacha!

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Special | GFA 2019

Shahi Darbar (R) bagged the award for the Best Restaurant for Vegetarian Food

Sunit Jain (L) handing over the award to for Best Sweets Shop to Kiranshree Sweets

Xtreme Sports Bar and Grill bagged the award for the Most Promising New Entrant (Pub/Bar)

Awadesh Jha (L) of Novotel, Guwahati receiving the Best Pub/ Bar Award for The Malt, Novotel

The grand unveiling of the Restaurant of the Year Award bagged by Kalita Spectrum!

14 G Talk E

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019 T

Fresh faces, old battles

t seems a long career in politics with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not the best of options for the party’s politicians. I mean, after all, a career in politics essentially means prolonging one’s position as an MP or MLA to the extent possible. But, if the recent turn of events across India are to be perceived in the right context, “nonperforming” sitting MPs are as useless as used tissues. Now have I got that right? The scenario today: In Uttar Pradesh 17 sitting MPs have been dropped; tickets to contest the elections have been given to fresh candidates. Similar scenarios in Chhattisgarh: all 10 sittings MPs dropped, in Gujarat: a minister and two other sittings MPs dropped, Maharashtra has seen four such casualties and Madhya Pradesh, five. Finally, in Assam, Ramen Deka (Mangaldoi constituency), Kamakhya Prasad Tasa (Jorhat) and Gauhati’s own long termer, Bijoya Chakravarty no longer figure on the would-be power list. That union minister Rajen Gohain not figuring as a candidate for reasons other than political is again a matter of debate. Now, what exactly might be the reason for these drastic dismissals? Is it purely non-performance? In Chhattisgarh, I am inclined

to believe that might be the case. In its last assembly elections, the BJP lost power to the Congress after 15 years of rule despite these 10 sitting MPs. So, heads rolling is understandable. In the other states, especially Assam, while it is difficult to gauge the “performance” of our MPs per se thereby holding them accountable, it would be reasonable to infer that any anti-incumbency factor that might exist is being sought to be tackled by offering a fresh candidate rather than the sitting MP. In Gauhati LS constituency that is clearly the case. However, while it is very difficult to understand the undercurrents of politics, the massive overhauling is clearly indicative of a dearth of respectable leaders within the greater Indian society – leaders that can be looked upon as statesmen. While BJP has understood this well, the Congress, in most cases, continue to rely on their oldtimers. The twist in this tale though has been the latest list of candidates featuring Bobbeeta Sarma (Gauhati), Abdul Khaleque (Barpeta), Abu Taher Bepari (Dhubri) and Sabda Ram Rabha (Kokrajhar) – all strong candidates and somewhat fresh faces. Battle lines are drawn for a most interesting election. Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

The dearth of leadership As the elections draw near and the political drama has engulfed the nation, we are once again at the crossroads of “who do we choose?” Most polls are often preceded by the standard questions – who will you vote for? Who is going to lead us for the next 5 years? The agenda and the 5 year goals always take the backseat. You never ask your fellow voter, “Hey buddy, which problem do you think we will eradiate in the next 5 years?” We’ve kind of given in to the fact that every 5 years we have to “settle” - settle for someone leading us in ways they see fit, because we are too occupied firefighting our daily challenges. While this question would make you feel that we have a long list of leaders who, in a Utopian world would all be over qualified for this job, and all of them would have the best interest for the public, the truth of the matter is that the coveted “chair” is sought after for nothing but selfish interests. Now “blaming the politician” might sound clichéd and an escapist thing to do, but it’s true. Please note that I do not favour the opposition’s candidate at this point because I feel that he is equally a poor leader. A leader who believes in sops and freebies is never addressing the long term goals and the immediate agenda is only voter appeasement. Parties have nominated their leaders who they feel have earned the trust of the janta. Yes it is true that the janta loves to be appeased; with freebies, or by creating parliamentary drama or by making announcements in the middle of the night. Bhai, just because you dramatized it does not make it a good decision! I honestly feel that the 2019 elections and the 5 years that will follow will show the failure of good leadership. No leader in the national or regional space has truly stood out by talking about agenda that need actual attention. Chest beating and sops seem to be the FYP and I truly hope that the voter sees through this and does not just “go with the flow.”

Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_bv

Terrorism & Pakistan: Understanding the unholy nexus

he reprehensible attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in J&K on the 14th of February was claimed by Pak-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad. A similar attack with the same modus operandi on members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards the previous day in Sistan-Balochistan province was claimed by another Pak-based militant group JaishAl-Adl. The twin attacks yet again diverted the global community’s attention towards the epicentre of terrorism, i.e. Pakistan. This nuclear-armed nation has, for years, supported, adopted and implemented terrorism as a state policy and is a major threat not just to the countries within its vicinity, but to the world at large. It is interesting to know how Pakistan drifted towards terrorism that began to shape its state policy. The genesis of this unholy nexus lies in former President Muhammad Zia Ul Haq’s controversial Islamization policies of the 1980s that was used as a means to create an army of irregulars to fight against the Soviet forces deployed in Afghanistan. The later years, as the war progressed, witnessed an influx of ideologically driven Muslims (mujahideen/jihadist) from various parts of the world to this war. Support and encouragement from the US, the Pakistan Army, the ISI, the CIA, Saudi Arabia etc coupled with easy availability of arms was a major incentive for these ever-increasing highly radical forces. Interestingly, most of these jihadis were never disarmed either by the US or Pakistan military/ISI even after the war had ended in Afghanistan. Little did they realize that these radicals would slowly but surely build a spooky institution that would one day decimate the very democratic structure and values its constitution had promised to its populace and transform the country into a safe haven and breeding ground of terrorists spewing venom all across. Pakistani Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, in a candid speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2018, had officially endorsed Pakistan’s support to terror groups. He propagated the theory of “good” and “bad” terrorists that sounded crazy and confounded everyone. He admitted Pakistan’s support for “good” terrorism if it’s

against a country like India who they consider oppressors against the Kashmiris whereas implying terrorism originating from Afghanistan as “bad” and played the victim card. Those they support are “good” while those who attack them are “bad.” The Pakistani army chief further warned world leaders in the forum that terrorism would not be eliminated from their soil in any near timeframe. He stated that a large number of people in the country had been radicalized, armed and empowered politically and ideologically and it would be difficult to wish them away now just because everybody wanted to get rid of them. What the world needs to look

ny serious commitment from Pakistan to eliminate terror groups inside their country demands immediate closure of Madrassas that promote and cultivate terrorists. Unless this is done, the country will continue to produce brainwashed terrorists every single day. at and understand is that only Pakistani nationals form the core of terror groups in the entire region. The Pakistan-based terror groups India battles everyday mostly comprise their nationals. The terror groups based in Afghanistan that target Pakistan too comprise nationals from their own country whom their army has estranged. Even the responsibility of the suicide attack on Iran Revolutionary Guards was taken by a Pak-based terror group. Similarly, the Baloch Liberation Front members are again their own nationals. Thus, the whole region is engulfed by terror groups, whose members belong to one nation alone - Pakistan. Albeit unlikely, any serious commitment from Pakistan to eliminate terror groups inside their country demands immediate closure of the terror factories in the form of Madrassas that promote and cultivate terrorists thereby indoctrinating them for life. Un-

rNEW GMC ENGINEER’S APPOINTMENT ALLEGED TO BE ILLEGAL

O pinion Subhasish Das

less this is done, the country will continue to produce brainwashed terrorists every single day. Second would be to desist from recruiting social discards, local thieves and disgruntled Kashmiris and use them as cannon fodder in their proxy war against India. The present lot operating in Jammu & Kashmir are just that. Harbouring and nurturing terror groups can never ever settle disputes. The sooner Pakistan understands this, the better. India will never commence dialogues under constant security threats from terror attacks especially under the Narendra Modi government. Moreover, Pakistan cannot bleed India to the level it desires nor would there ever be a Kashmiri uprising like it happened in erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. On the contrary, the only country which has and would continue to suffer is Pakistan itself as the monsters they’ve created could invariably turn inwards and become hostile to their masters if the pressure from international community increases and coerces the administration to act tough against them. It’s a well-known fact now that the so-called democratically elected civilian government in Pakistan is only a façade behind which the army and the ISI pull the strings and run the whole show. And this exactly is the disparity when the state policies are controlled by the army instead of an actual civilian government. Whereas a civilian government with a complete free hand would strive towards peace, reforms, stability and development, a crippled one covertly run by the military generals from behind would logically follow a policy of internal suppression and external aggression as generals only “know to fight, not develop nations.” n

Letter to the Editor

It is very sad to know the government who came to power by promise corruption free Assam and India is itself involved in scam. The appointment of chief engineer of GMC is illegal, recruitment of teacher of teachers also under scanner, PN&RD scam and DIPR recruitment. What is more shocking the most of the scams are happening in Education and GMC which is under Mr. Siddhartha Bhattacharya who himself is a lawyer. I hope that he investigates the appointment process to find out the entire scam and hope strict action is taken against the people who are involved. Thank you G Plus for bringing the issue into light. Swapon Bora Jorhat

In Focus

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Modi Vs Opposition (The Mamata Banerjee factor)

f the “Opposition” comes to power in 2019, Mamata Banerjee will exert considerable influence on the decisions that would be taken by the Opposition to run the country. So we should compare the performances of Modi ji Vs Mamata didi before deciding whom to vote (BJP or Opposition) in the 2019 elections.

knows the capability of our armed forces nor has confidence in them. So, if another “terror attack” happens in India in the future,

Singur in West Bengal. But Mamata Banerjee had opposed it strongly. It was so strong that the Tatas had to shift it to Sanand in Gujarat.

Point 1: Surgical Strike 2

After the Pulwama incident, the whole country wanted proper action against the terrorists and their supporters. Modi declared that the armed forces has been given the responsibility and they will decide how, when and where to strike. And our armed forces successfully carried out the Balakot bombing, i.e. Surgical Strike 2. This shows that Modi ji knows the true capability of our armed forces and has full confidence in them. On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee was asking for proof of the Balakot strike. Even after our armed forces had given out details about the strike, Mamata did not believe it. This shows that Mamata neither

Modi ji (then Chief Minister of Gujarat) invited them to Sanand and offered facilities and incentives to set up the factory there. The Tatas shifted the factory from Singur to Sanand. “So, what is the big deal?” you may think, “The factory got shifted, so what?” Frankly speaking, even I was thinking the same till a few weeks back. Then I googled! And what did I find? In 2008, Singur was a village/ small town, whereas, Sanand was a village. Now, when I googled in February 2019, I found that: as per Wikipedia, Singur is a town whereas Sanand is a city. (I don’t know how big a city it is, I have written what Wikipedia says.)

who will take proper retaliatory action against the terrorists and their supporters – Modi ji or the Opposition? Think about it ……

Point 2: The Nano car factory of the Tatas As we all know, the original location for the Nano factory was

This was projected as a victory for Mamata, and her party rode to power in the ensuing elections. Now let’s analyse this. When the plant was being built in 2008, Singur was a village/small town. Mamata had objected on the ground that it will not benefit the area and the local people. In 2008 when the Tatas were looking for an alternative location,

You may google to check the photos/images of both the places. The photos show that Singur remained as it was, whereas, Sanand has seen tremendous development from 2008 to 2019. Sanand has attracted commitments of billions of dollars from some of

GUEST COLUMN

Anupal Bharali

world’s largest companies. Sanand has become an industrial hub now with factories of Tata Motors, America’s Ford Motors, Japan’s Hitachi Ltd, India’s Cadila Healthcare etc. Real Estate giants like DLF, Raheja, Parswanath are planning to develop major townships around Sanand. From the above, it is clear that Singur of West Bengal remained as it was in 2008, whereas, Sanand of Gujarat has developed and progressed by leaps and bounds. Can you now see what Mamata did to Singur, versus, what Modi did to Sanand? Now, consider your village, town or city. Won’t you like to see development there? Whom would you prefer – Modi or Mamata? That is, Modi or Opposition? Think about it …… (Anupal Bharali is a Nagaonbased educationist and is an alumnus of BITS, Pilani)

Followers of G Plus reacted to Rahul Gandhi’s promise to provide a minimum income guarantee of Rs 72,000 per annum to the poorest families, if voted to power. She-walee Kumar Medhi BPL families will never work now. Make schemes for work culture not for freebies. Development should come but keep in my mind the pros and cons of the promises made by these politicians these days. Just coming up with schemes will not help. Don’t know who will win the election but what is important is who will really work for people rather than filling their pockets with our money. Rajdeep Sahu It’s a masterstroke before election and I wish people will be benefited if Congress comes to power. Enough of “Modi” chants by “Bhakts.” We don’t need a “Chaiwala” or “Chowkidar” as PM of our country. Smart and talented people are the ones who will help this country rise. I wish the blindfolded see the reality and vote wisely in the upcoming elections. Anurag Chakraborty I wish Rahul Gandhi had come up with such schemes long back. Congress needs to take many drastic steps to come back to power right now. The “Bhakt” thing has just got into the blood of the people of the country and this can be only removed if the educated people or the influencers starts raising the issues that need to looked into or have been neglected by the BJP in their tenure. Today under this BJP rule I feel, there is no more democracy. We can’t write anything against the government as you will be termed as anti-national immediately. If we go through the comments of this post only, we will find many “bhakts” slamming Congress for coming up with such a scheme. But if Modi would have done the same then these “bhakts” would have started licking his feet. That’s the difference between an educated and an illiterate.

Rup Sahani Why doing good things now? Need power? Why I will do such things only if voted to power? When this party was in power then where were all these schemes? People have woken up Mr Pappu. Do some deeds before coming for all these ‘bhik’. And BTW you and your party people are not spreading the common info on this latest scheme. If you want to really win, then think out of the box and really work from your heart. Today people don’t believe you because of your party’s past deeds. Sameer Kumar Pattnaik Educated people know the reality of this joke but uneducated and pseudo educated people won’t know what the s*** this is. For mere votes of a desperate, power hungry party India’s fiscal health shouldn’t be traumatized. Vote for Modi and help the country grow my appeal to every Indian. “Rahul ko Bhagao, Desh ko Bachao!”

Amit Singh Indira Gandhi’s slogan, “garibi hatao” and now Mr Gandhi admits that his party has done nothing but his family bank balance has increased. Hope he will give that money from his personal savings. And his brother-in-law will help him in this noble cause.

16 Feature

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

In nature’s lap with the mighty Annapurna as backdrop

“A

re you sure I will be able to complete the trek and handle the altitude, the cold?” quipped my wife Prachi, who had never been on a serious trek before. The question did raise some anxiety in me as well. Born and raised in Assam, amidst the greenery and mountains, and now living in Mumbai for the past 14-15 years, trekking and camping has been my connect with nature. Having done a couple of short treks in Uttarakhand and Himachal, trekking in the Nepal Himalayas was always on my mind. Getting time out of our schedule

Quick Tips What to Eat? If you are a non-vegetarian, Newari Cuisine & Thakali Cuisines are a must. There are plenty of options for vegetarians too, minus the meat. Mutton Sekua, Mutton Sukuti, Chicken Choila, Gundruk are part of authentic Nepali meals Momos are found widespread, typically mutton, pork and buff Bhaat (steamed rice) and Aloo ko tarkari (Potato curry) are staples Sel Roti, a round shaped rice batter fried cake is a must for the sweet tooth What to Shop? Plenty of curios, fridge magnets, woollens Local drinks like Apple Brandy Adventure gear, if you are an adventure seeker looking to venture out in the outdoors What else to do? Take the mountain flight to view the amazing mountain peaks 2-seater Ultra-light flights for a unique flying experience Trekking through the picturesque landscape and mountains Boat ride on Phewa lake Paragliding over the Phewa lake Shopping at Thamel and the old city near Hanuman Dhoka, in Kathmandu The famed Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu

in Mumbai for a longer trek was a bit difficult. Plus I couldn’t leave the wifey alone. I had to kill 3 birds with a stone! So, I decided to do a shortish trek for the wanderlust

The trail took us through some awesome terrain with mountain view, lush green valley and rice fields. We interacted with the limited village populace enroute witnessing their way of life. We finally reached our campsite after a good 5 hours of trek, burning 2000+ calories!

me, take the wifey along and make sure she was comfortable during the trek. Once this was decided, the next thing was to plan, choose the destination, draw up the itinerary and finally do the bookings. As avid travellers, we have always felt, this is the best phase of every trip, when you start researching and the excitement keeps growing with every discovery. After some deliberations, debates and lobbying (with the wife, of course!), we finally sealed the Annapurna Region in Nepal as our destination. And with the Diwali weekend coming up, it was a perfect opportunity to escape the city pollution and head for some fresh, crisp mountain air! Finally, we drew up our itinerary for the trip, making sure we included things both of us liked. We decided to fly down to Kathmandu from Mumbai, via Delhi, spend overnight at Kathmandu, then fly to the picturesque Pokhara, before moving on to the Annapurna Region for our trek. And what lay ahead of us in Nepal, was just awesome! We took a connecting flight to Kathmandu from Mumbai and landed in Kathmandu around 4.30 PM. Both of us had been to Nepal

earlier, albeit during our respective childhoods. I did have faint memories of my previous trip, so we decided to hole up for the night at Thamel, the backpacker’s heaven in Kathmandu city. Lined up with numerous curio shops, eateries, adventure gear shops and travel operators, the buzz and energy in the narrow lanes of Thamel truly gets on to you. We spent the evening strolling around Thamel and meeting our trek organizer, before something totally unexpected happened! We bumped into a childhood friend of mine from Tezpur after almost 30 years! This surely was a great beginning for the trip. “Pulak, I don’t think I will be able to do the trek, I am feeling too weak.” That’s the first thing I heard when I woke up next day morning for our flight to Pokhara. Prachi had a bout of diarrhoea during the night! I was cursing the delicious Newari cuisine we had hogged last evening for Prachi’s condition, until, we figured that it was something else. Prachi

had consumed unbot- tled or tap water and some bit of research told us that unfiltered water is contaminated in Kathmandu. So, that’s a tip for tourists visiting Kathmandu. Out there, buy bottled water! Despite the minor setback, we headed to the airport to catch our flight. And, this was a sight and an experience by itself. No baggage scanners, no conveyor belts, only

Pulak Sarmah

trust, hospitality and love. The domestic airport in Kathmandu has pretty basic facilities, but the warmth of the people makes up for it. Next was the flight. Having seen the mountain flight videos to Lukla (airbase for Everest Trek), domestic flights to mountainous regions in Nepal were scary affairs. The aircrafts are small, with around 40-50 seats and passenger load needs to be balanced while taking off and landing! But the snow-capped views you witness from your window seat takes away all the anxiety. We were both awestruck, and in love with the place already. Next, we land at Pokhara, a little past noon. Pokhara, in Nepalese translates to a lake. And indeed, it is a lake city. It is also known popularly as the gem of Nepal. The mesmerizing lakeview on your right, cobbled streets dotted with numerous souvenir shops, cafes and currency exchange counters on your left and the mighty Annapurna ranges as backdrop. Now, imagine Pokhara. Underrated among Indian tourists, you will find half of Europe here! Besides being picturesque and postcard perfect, this region has a strong food character, as well. Unlike Kath-

mandu valley known for its Newari cuisine, this region has a distinct Thakali cuisine which relies more on locally grown legumes and lentils. We spent the night right on Lake Road. While I was exploring the local food, I was making sure Prachi was having enough fluids for the trek, which was to start next morning. We woke up early next morning to find Prachi in a slightly better state. I didn’t want to push her though and had already planned to drop it if her health didn’t permit. But she was resolute. I think the

early morning view from the hotel balcony made the difference. From our hotel in Pokhara, we could see the mighty and magnificent peaks of the Annapurna ranges, and trust us, those were views to die for! We finally embarked on our trek with our trek guide, Gurung dai; dai in Nepali meant elder brother. In his early fifties, one can’t imagine how fit he was. I had chosen a pretty moderate trek to Australian Camp, in the Annapurna region. The trail took us through some awesome terrain with mountain view, lush green valley and rice fields. We interacted with the limited village populace enroute witnessing their way of life. Our hearts pumping blood continuously with every climb, we finally reached our campsite after a good 5 hours of trek, burning 2000+ calories! Our campsite at Australian Camp was nothing short of a luxurious experience. Right on the edge of the mountains, this place was complete with cosy cottages, magnificent views, and a restaurant with mouth watering array of local snacks and food. I thought, “Oh lord, could I have asked for more?” This was until the night temperature dropped to single digits. But then, I had a special Apple Brandy from the Nampha region to my rescue. It was a multi-cultural experience at the camp, meeting people from different nationalities and beliefs and yet sharing the same connect with nature. While a trek is meant to push yourself physically and connect with nature, networking and meeting random strangers is so liberating. Oh, we didn’t tell you this, there was paid WiFi at the camp too. We were already thanking our stars for such a brilliant experience, until the morning sunrise which left our jaws wide open. At around 6.15 AM, the sun came up throwing its golden hue on the mountains. As the sun came up and lifted the veal of clouds, we could see the grandiose Annapurna South peak glowing in full glory. Witnessing it from such close distance was so surreal and made everything look so small. We are glad we could do this despite our limited time and an initial glitch. I am personally glad I could take Prachi on a real mountain trek. And she is glad we planned this and got through. Go travel guys! We are leaving you with some quick tips to plan your escapade. n

About the Authors

Prachi and Pulak are an avid and passionate travelling couple based out of Mumbai. Taking out time from their professional pursuits, they record their travels on their blog www.tummiesontour.com.

Trotter

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Tamil Nadu candidate pays Rs 25,000 poll nomination deposit in coins

andidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls are coming up with innovative ways to campaign and this candidate from Chennai took his campaign a step further by filing his nominations in a “noteworthy” fashion. Kuppalji Devadoss, an independent candidate from Amma Makkal National Party (AMNP), came with utensils of various shapes and sizes filled with currency coins totalling the Rs 25,000 required as election security deposit. The total amount of the deposit was made up of coins of Rs 10, Rs 5, Rs 2 and Re 1 denominations. Devadoss arrived at South

Chennai zonal office 13 with the vessels filled with coins that he submitted along with his nomination to contest from South Chennai Lok Sabha seat, which is currently held by AIADMK’s T

Radhakrishnan. Tamil Nadu will go to polls on April 18 for its 39 parliamentary constituencies, while counting of votes will take place on May 23. (Source: ndtv)

Student earns £1,300 a month selling her used underwear online

student has explained how selling her used underwear online helps to pay her student fees. The 21-year-old buys the underwear in bulk for a few quid a pair and can sell them for about £90 a pair. The amount she charges depends on how long she’s been wearing them for and buyers can also pay more to get selfies of her wearing them. The New York University student, who sells on uses Craigslist, told she got into the unusual field while she was working as a web cam girl. Viewers used to bid on the underwear she wore during the

show and she would simply pop it in the post. She said, “To be honest, selling my underwear has

made me feel really empowered because I’m in control of my body. It feels really awesome to be able to provide a healthy outlet for people with these fetishes. I never feel like I’m in danger.”

Sometimes she offers extra services to customers and once made £380 by letting a man smell her armpits. She said, “After one of my regular underwear clients opened up to me about his armpit fetish, I made an extra $500 bucks by allowing him to smell my armpit. We met up and I was pretty much fully clothed and I just let him smell it for like 15 minutes.” As well as her studies and underwear sales, the woman works as a waitress and does dog walking and she brings in a total of $40,000 a year, which is about £30,000. (Source: mirror.co.uk)

Chinese Police trolled for using criminal’s childhood photo on ‘wanted’ poster

olice in a county in southwestern China have apologised for posting a picture of a criminal from when he was a child. The photo was released by officers in Zhenxiong county, Yunnan province. The police released a 100 photographs, out of which four showed children, and one in particular went viral online. It featured a boy of primary school age in a blue shirt, staring rather innocently at the camera. “Ji Qinghai, male, ethnicity Han ... is wanted by the police for involvement in a public nuisance case,” the police notice announced, stating his ID card number. After the pic went viral on Chinese social media platforms

and the police was trolled mercilessly for it, an officer of Zhenxiong county police defended the decision to use an old photograph because more recent ones were not available. A Zhenxiong police officer, Liu, said that the photo the police had

of Ji when the crime took place was blurry, so they used one from when he was a child. “His features won’t have changed,” Liu was quoted as saying. “Look at his features clearly, his nose, eyes, ears, mouth and eyebrows. These won’t have changed. We welcome any tips.” However, after facing ridicule online, Zhenxiong police apologised through a letter published on Chinese social media platform Weibo. “The use of old children’s photos (now removed) has drawn the attention of netizens and created a negative influence,” the post read. “We sincerely apologise for the carelessness in our work.” (Source: ndtv)

Grieving dad told police his daughter was killed by son-inlaw’s huge penis

man mourning the sudden death of his 23-year-old wife was forced to show cops his penis after his father-inlaw claimed it was so big it had killed his daughter during sex. Cops brought the son-in-law, named only as Barsah, in for questioning and asked him to show them his penis - in front of his late wife’s grieving relatives only to discover it was of normal size. Nedi Sito, 55, of Maron Kidul Village in Maron District of Indonesia’s East Java province, had called police following the sudden death of his daughter Jumantri. The young woman was found dead in her bed after suffering an apparent epileptic fit during the night. But Sito had heard rumours his son-in-law accidentally killed her during sex with his huge penis and reported it to police. Barsah was then asked to show officers his genitals with

members of the grieving family and village officials looking on as witnesses. Probolinggo Police Crime Investigation Unit Head Riyanto said, “After seeing directly the genitalia that was thought to be over-sized, it turned out to be of the standard size.” So right there and then the father-inlaw dropped the report and they apologised to each other. Sito says the family has now accepted that Jumantri had died from epilepsy which she had suffered from since the age of 14. (Source: mirror.co.uk)

London flight to Germany mistakenly goes to Scotland

assengers on a London flight to Germany ended up taking a 525-mile detour to Scotland due to an apparent mix-up with the flight plan. The British Airways flight that took off from London’s city airport was meant to land in Dus-

my colleague sitting across the aisle from me told me to check Google Maps and it showed us being around Carlisle.” She said the flight crew was apologetic when the mistake was discovered. “When we landed there was a bit of a hilarious moment when

seldorf, but due to an incorrectly filed flight plan, the pilot and crew thought they were supposed to land in Edinburgh. The flight was operated by German leasing company WDL Aviation on behalf of BA City Flyer, a subsidiary of British Airways. The plane eventually ended up taking off from Edinburgh to land at the correct destination. Passenger Zsofia Szabo said she and her fellow flyers started noticing something was amiss when they noticed the landscape while the plane was preparing to land. “When we started descending and I saw some taller hills/mountains, I did think that this isn’t how Eastern Netherlands/Western Germany should look like but I assumed we took some small detour,” Szabo said adding, “Then

the flight attendant asked for a show of hands for the people going to Dusseldorf, which turned out to be everyone,” she said. Szabo said the captain explained to passengers that they would be continuing to the correct destination after refuelling. “Most of us found this situation quite funny,” Szabo said. “People were on phone calls trying to convince everyone that they’ve arrived in the wrong city.” British Airways said it is working with WDL Aviation to find out how the wrong flight plan ended up being filed for the trip. “We have apologized to customers for this interruption to their journey and will be contacting them all individually,” an airline representative said. (Source: upi)

18 Review

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Starring: Eva Green, Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton, Nico Parker Director: Tim Burton Genre:Family, Fantasy

Cinepolis, Christian Basti 09435025808

Movie w Revie

Dumbo

umbo is an American family, fantasy movie about a struggling circus owner, Max Medici who enlists a former star and his two children to care for Dumbo, a baby elephant born with oversized ears. When the family discovers that the animal can fly, it soon becomes the main attraction, bringing in huge audiences and revitalizing the run-down circus. The elephant’s magical ability also draws the attention of V.A. Vandevere, an entrepreneur who wants to

showcase Dumbo in his latest, larger-than-life entertainment venture. In this live-action version of the 1941 animated movie, Burton takes this classic and has not done it justice at all. Maybe it is because the whole circus venture is not relatable to the PUBG playing generation or maybe it is because the movie is a major letdown. There are elements in the movie that work very well independently. However, together it is a mismatch and does not work.

The star cast is all A-list actors and even though they slip into their roles, there is a disconnect. Keaton, who plays Vandevere is the only saving grace as he makes his role a memorable one. Sadly, even Danny DeVito with all his charm could not save this movie. You know what they say, if it isn’t broken, don’t mend it. Similarly, this movie does not stand well to its original 1941 counterpart. While the effects are to be credited, the story does not hold its own. n

Junglee 09:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 05:45 PM, 08:20 PM Dumbo (English, 3D) 09:30 AM, 02:00 PM U’s (English) 09:45 AM, 05:10 PM Kesari 10:00 AM, 01:10 PM, 02:35 PM, 04:20 PM, 07:30 PM How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (English, 3D) 11:30 AM Badla 07:45 PM Luka Chuppi 12:20 PM Seema- The Untold Story (Assamese) 03:00 PM Notebook 04:30 PM, 09:20 PM Dragon Ball Super: Broly (English) 07:00 PM

Anuradha Cineplex, Noonmati 0361 2656968 Dumbo (English, 3D) 10:45 AM Seema- The Untold Story (Assamese) 03:45 PM Junglee 01:15 PM, 05:45 PM Kesari 08:15 PM

Gold Cinema, Paltan Bazaar 09854066166

Kesari 12:45 PM, 05:45 PM, 08:30 PM Kaneen (Assamese) 11:15 AM Seema- The Untold Story (Assamese) 01:45 PM Junglee 10:30 AM, 03:30 PM, 06:00 PM Notebook 03:45 PM, 08:15 PM

Grande Cines, Paltan Bazar 09854017771 Junglee 10:00 AM, 03:00 PM, 05:45 PM Dumbo (English, 3D) 10:15 AM, 02:45 PM U’s (English) 12:30 PM Seema- The Untold Story (Assamese) 12:45 PM Kesari 05:15 PM, 08:45 PM Notebook 08:30 PM

PVR Cinemas, Dona Planet 08800900009 Dumbo (English, 3D) 09:45 AM, 06:15 PM Junglee 10:10 AM, 03:05 PM, 09:00 PM Notebook 12:20 PM Dragon Ball Super: Broly (English) 12:45 PM Kesari 03:00 PM, 08:50 PM U’s (English) 05:40 PM

iBall CompBook Netizen 4G Windows Laptop

he new iBallCompBook Netizen has been billed as India’s first “alwaysconnected PC.” It officially costs just under Rs.

25,000. Design: The laptop is made of glossy grey plastic with a speckled texture on the top and bottom. The metal logo on the lid, looks better than the screen printing that iBall has used in the past. The CompBook Netizen is relatively slim and portable at 24mm in thickness and 1.32kg. There are no vents since the low-power Intel Celeron processor can run without a fan. The body isn’t very rigid, and both the top and bottom flex easily with very little pressure applied. The hinge is stiff. The island-style keyboard is reasonably well laid out and even has Fn-key combinations on the right acting as a virtual number

pad. The one problem here is the power button in the corner. The CompBook Netizen is relatively slim and portable at 24mm in thickness and 1.32kg. There are no vents since the lowpower Intel Celeron processor can run without a fan. The body isn’t very rigid, and both the top and bottom flex easily with very little pressure applied. On the left, you’ll find the power inlet, one USB 3.0 port, and a Mini-HDMI 1.4a video output. There are two USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, 3.5mm headphones and mic combo socket, and a microSD card slot on the right. You’ll find a webcam above the screen

Specifications and Software: It has two cores without HyperThreading and runs at a base speed of 1.1GHz with a boost speed of up to 2.4GHz. It also has a basic Intel HD Graphics 500 integrated GPU which is far too weak for gaming but does fully accelerate H.265 and VP9 video. The 14-inch screen has a full-HD 1920x1080-pixel resolution.4GB of RAM and 64GB of embedded storage are available. The microSD card slot lets you add up to 128GB of storage, and there’s the SATA bay. There’s Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 4.0 for wireless connectivity in addition to 4G. The battery capacity is 37Wh and you get a simple wall-wart adapter in the box. The CompBook Netizen comes with Windows 10 Home and no preloaded software other

than a configuration shortcut for the cellular modem. Performance, Battery life and Cameras

Cellular data connectivity worked very well. We used the CompBook Netizen in a

windowless office, on an open balcony, and in various rooms in a house, and we only rarely saw the Netizen utility’s status indicator showing us 3G or EDGE rather than 4G. Battery life is one of the important aspects of PCs that Intel, Qualcomm and Microsoft promote. The iBallCompBook Netizen ran for 4 hours, 16 minutes in the intense Battery Eater Pro test. It got through 12 hours of use and had about 20 percent left over at the end. Verdict: iBall seeing a market opportunity, and alwayson cellular connectivity genuinely could be a game-changer for businesspeople and frequent travelers. he way that iBall has patched hardware and software together for cellular connectivity is an excellent example of ingenuity. n

Fiction

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Escape from the riots

still remember the riots that occurred after the Nellie massacre that took place on 18th of February, 1983. The preceding day, my younger brother (now deceased) and I were in our family tea garden near Gohpur where the annual factory machinery maintenance works were being undertaken. Our production was rising steadily and we had to ensure proper overhauling of the machinery and main engines so as not to suffer any major breakdowns during the season time. My brother was a highly skilled self-taught mechanic who had learnt the job entirely from the numerous garden’s mechanical staff and motor mechanics he had interacted with since his early teens. He was presently engaged in the maintenance/repair of the 6YDA Ruston generator sets and the work on the last genset was being completed. A trial was underway to see that the engine was running smoothly after a change of the piston rings. Bhaiti was a favourite in the family with one and all and took upon himself to check and see that all our cars were kept in tip-top condition. He ran his own garage with a few mechanics to whom he was their hero and every Biswakarma Puja we all looked forward to his mutton curry feast. On this trip, our old family friend Putuda and his cousin were coming to visit us for lunch as they were nearby. They had come to stay with their cousin’s son in a garden near Biswanath Charali where he was posted. Putuda had come to see an old workshop in Tezpur which was up for sale. He was an excellent broker and he could sell anything and everything. After leaving his family garden due to some internal strife he moved to Guwahati and set about his broker works making good money over the years. They arrived late; so instead of lunch he asked for some coffee and snacks. My brother returned later with his overalls dirty with grease and oil marks and grime, a typical mistri sahib in the gardens who knew his job well. Putuda insisted on taking a look at the field and we took them for a round of the plantation which, of course, had no green leaf as the tea bushes were recovering from the pruning with a few new shoots coming up. It dawned upon me, as the evening progressed and Putuda’s stay extended, that he may be keen for a drink having unilaterally postponed his lunch meeting with us. So we opened the bar cabinet and a couple of shots of whisky later they finally left. Anyway, Bhaiti and I were satisfied of the work progress during the garden visit and decided that we could return to Guwahati after two more days. The next morning while we were having breakfast we saw that a lot of people from the neighbouring villages were moving quite excitedly

ised that there could be a very tense situation. So we decided to pack up and return that very day itself and after giving the work instructions to our garden manager we left by mid-

Mangaldai town where it seemed that the entire populace were on the streets. It was getting on to evening then and we thought that better to keep going and we drove out about 5 kilometres from the town. Suddenly in the distance we saw a huge crowd of people running down the highway with all sorts of weapons like daos, axes, sickles and sticks. They kept coming closer and I shouted to my brother to turn around and go back. He acted very fast and we managed to flee from the maddened crowd. On the way back to Mangaldai there was a small market place which was burning and which we had not noticed properly earlier. There was a police team and the senior officer came up and told us to return quickly as there was heavy rioting and communal violence erupting in many places. He told us how he had to fire many times with his revolver to stop the crowds and mayhem being committed and he explained that he had aimed and shot them in the legs only as it was impossible to kill the people whom he knew by name. My brother handed over two packets of cigarettes to him which he accepted gratefully and we got back to Mangaldai and entered with our car into the safety of the police station. The police personnel were fatigued as they were

day in my Ambassador car with Bhaiti behind the wheel. It was a norm in the family that if Bhaiti is a travelling companion of yours the driving seat is reserved for him. Others may drive only when he asked for a rest. On the highway and while we passed through the towns we could make out a palpable sense of foreboding and managed to enter

all up and about since yesterday’s Nellie killings were flashed over the radio and the villages were burning. They did not even put up a road block to stop the vehicles. I then organised a few men and set about to warn the vehicles about the mobs on the roads and to stop; most of the cars all stopped on the side of the highway but I remember one black

through the garden and it was then that we both came to learn about the tragic massacre at Nellie the previous day. Soon more news came in from the garden staff and we real-

Suddenly in the distance we saw a huge crowd of people running down the highway with all sorts of weapons like daos, axes, sickles and sticks. They kept coming closer and I shouted to my brother to turn around and go back. He acted very fast and we managed to flee from the maddened crowd.

Ambassador car belonging to some army officer did not stop at all. Later we found out that the very mob from which we had survived caught the car and burnt it down; the driver’s plea that he was going to Rangiya to pick up his boss fell on deaf ears – but he survived. Just as darkness was about to envelop the town, Putuda too arrived on the scene. He had also heard the news and so was trying like us to make it back to Guwahati. There was no way we could go ahead as we were told that one wooden bridge was burnt and that meant that we were cut off. In the police station itself, it was utter chaos as no one knew how to tackle this sudden extraordinary situation. The stock of one employee in the cop station had suddenly risen sky high; he was the Morse code man who was now in big demand as the telephone and telegraph lines were all burnt and everyone was requesting him to send and obtain replies. He was also kind enough to send out two messages to our families in Guwahati that we were well but stuck at Mangaldai due to the riots and to not worry. I knew of a hotel in Mangaldai where we used to stop for lunch at times and went there for two rooms - for us and Putuda. But the news had spread and the place was full

and at best we could collect some rotis and dry fried chicken for our dinner. I planned that we must now try to get back to Tezpur and line up at the ferry ghat to go across to the other side to get to Guwahati. Another car also joined us and we decided to proceed together after checking with the police again that the roads were open. Putuda had a revolver which he kept ready and

Ranjan Kumar Choudhury asked us to go in front with their car in the middle and the third car following us. I was carrying my weapon as well but it was safely packed in the dickey as I knew that shooting our way out was not an option and silently prayed that there would be no rioters out at night. By that time it was around 8.30 pm and it was a lovely moonlit night and we could see quite well. Fortunately, we made it to Tezpur without any incident and by midnight we were lined up at the ferry ghat with our cars first in line. We reasoned with the ferry workers to take us across at night but they refused. Although it was possible to navigate the river at night, their higher authorities, however, would have taken them to task. They did assure us that they would definitely load our vehicles first as I was worried that some government people would come and claim preference. Putuda was relieved that we were together and suggested we open our drinks to relieve some of the stress befallen on us earlier during the day. It was quite strange but there we were brought together by fate saved from the rioters enjoying a drink and eating cold rotis and chicken to live another day. But the adventure did not stop there; that very night while we were on the riverside a strong earthquake struck and Putuda who was mortally afraid of such calamities got up with a jump and wanted to run for safety. But I restrained him as the river was in front of us and the rioters behind us. However, the quakes stopped and then we noticed that the plastic cups holding our drinks had fallen down from the car bumpers and we decided to curl up in the car for a few hours’ sleep. True to their word the ferry crew loaded our vehicles at 7 am first and we crossed over to Jaklabandha on the other side and reached Guwahati without any further incident. The roads were lined up with people with fear on their faces and in fact we could not visit our tea garden again for a full month after the riots as it took time for the damaged bridges to be repaired. It was a close call for us that day and I remember the same with a lot of sadness when the people became mad to kill one another forsaking the voice of reason within themselves for the hatred fanned in their hearts by others far away from the madness of it all.

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

Sudoku

April 1st &5th will be great days for you to schedule important meetings & share ideas with seniors. On April4th, you will be emotionally hurt by your colleagues or superiors. On April 3rd, you could have a fall out with a superior or someone at work. Be careful while dealing with the opposite gender on March31st, ladies you should avoid blind dates.

Ideal time to just take a break from work. March 31st will be a great day for you to build a rapport with seniors &people at work, host your important meetings on this day. Lay low on April1st & 4th, you are bound to have disagreement with people at work or there could be changes in your work place.

Use April 3rd to host meetings, share ideas with your superiors & network with business associates. Avoid hosting any meetings onApril 5 as you are bound to have disagreements. On April 2nd, you will feel others are ungrateful, especially your senior or parents. 30th March will be a slow day for you.

April 4th & 5th will be great days for you to connect with seniors & share ideas with him/her, you could host important meetings on these dates. You will feel betrayed by someone at work or your senior onApril 1st. It’s not a day to trust others with your secrets.

April 5thwill be a great day for you to share ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them. Host important meetings on these dates. On April 1st, be careful of your words &actions, you could have issues at your work place with your seniors or clients.

April 3rd, 4th, 5thwill be excellent days for you to schedule important meetings. Your seniors will be receptive to your ideas. On March 30th, try to keep a low profile. Avoid hosting any meetings especially with seniors on April 2nd. You are bound to have disagreements.

1 2

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

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

3 5 6 8 7 8 6 5 3 3 6 8 2 medium 1 Daily Sudoku: Fri 18-Jan-2019 1 2

9 3

Daily Sudoku: Thu 17-Jan-2019

March 30th March &April 4th 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 & actions on 3rd April, you could create your own problems.

April 3rd will be a great day for you to build a rapport with seniors and people at work, host your important meetings on this day. April 4thwill be a slow day for you. Go out for Sunday brunch or coffee on March31st, just connect with your parents and/ or your superiors.

April 1st will be a great day for you to build a rapport with seniors & people at work, host your important meetings on this day. Avoid hosting any meetings on March 30th and April 2nd, things will not go according to plan. April 5th will be a slow day for you.

Avoid hosting any meetings onApril2nd, things will not go according to plan. April 1st will be a great day for you to build a rapport with seniors & people at work, host important meetings on this day. On March31st, be careful while dealing with parents and/or your superiors.

March30th &April 3rd will be great days for you to share ideas with seniors or simply just connect with them. Schedule important meetings on these dates. On March31st,you should spend time with parents &connect with them. Watch yourself on April1st &4th, avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation.

March30th, April3rd & 4thare ideal days for you to mingle with seniors,people at work &build your work network. Host a brunch/ evening coffee, invite seniors or just catch up with parents on March31st. Avoid hosting any meetings on April2nd and 5th, as things will not go according to plan.

Ronald Wayne founded this Fortune 500 Company in 1976 with two others. Identify the company and the two famous co-founders.

“Service before Self” is the motto of which premier education institute, the first of its kind in North East India?

What is the Spanish word for daisy which is also a famous tequila based cocktail?

Sukumar Sen was the first person to hold which post that was very important in the context of Indian Democracy?

What unique record is held by this movie in the history of Indian cinema? Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Dilbert By Scott Adams

curio-city

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Rajnish Kumar is the current Chairman of which important institution of India?

State Bank of India Apple, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak Assam Engineering College, Guwahati Margarita He was the first Chief Election Commissioner and conducted the first General Elections in 1951. It was the first Indian movie which won an award at a Foreign Film festival.

easy

8 last 5 1week 2 9solution 3 7 6 4 4 2 7 6 5 1 9 8 3 1 5 6 8 7 3 2 9 4 6 9 3 7 8 4 1 2 5 4 2 3 9 1 6 5 8 7 5 1 4 8 3 2 6 7 9 7 8 9 5 2 4 1 6 3 3 6 9 5 1 7 2 4 8 2 4 5 6 8 1 7 3 9 2 7 8 4 6 9 5 3 1 6 1 8 3 9 7 4 5 2 9 4 5 3 2 6 8 1 7 3 9 7 4 5 2 8 1 6 1 3 2 9 7 8 4 5 6 9 7 2 1 3 5 6 4 8 7 8 6 1 4 5 3 9 2 5 Sudoku: 3 Fri418-Jan-2019 7 6 8 9 2 medium 1 Daily

8 6 1 2 4 9 3 7 5 Daily Sudoku: Thu 17-Jan-2019

easy

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

curio-city

Word of the week knackered adjective [nak-erd] British Slang. exhausted; very tired

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

These predictions are based on the month of birth and are about an individual’s work environment, parents and extended family.

Horoscope of the week

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

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 30 - APR 05, 2019

Vaastu in relation to the days of the week

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

on’t we all know that some days can be really bad for you, while on other days, you are very lucky? This is because each day of the week is ruled by a particular planet and deity. It is also associated with a particular colour and number as well. If you can please the ruling deity of the day and the planet, you can get their favour in the form of extra luck! Below is a list of all the days of the week and their characteristics. Monday: This day is ruled by Lord Shiva and the Moon. White and silver are the lucky colours for this day. The number 2 is also considered lucky. Donate

white clothes, rice, silver, milk, white clothes or pearl for luck. Tuesday: This day is ruled by Mars (Mangal). Red is recommended for Tuesday and the number 9 is considered lucky. Red clothes, copper, red flowers or sandalwood, jaggery, red lentils (Masoor Dal) should be donated on Tuesdays for good luck. Wednesday: Mercury rules this day. Green is a lucky colour for Wednesday and 5 is the lucky number. It is good to donate green vegetables, green lentils (Moong Dal), green clothes, plants and trees on this day. Thursday: Jupiter is the ruling planet for Thursday and this day is ruled by Goddess Lakshmi. Wearing yellow or off-white clothes can bring luck. Both numbers, 3 and 7, are lucky for

Thursdays. Donating gold, yellow clothes, turmeric, sapphire or a white cow is considered auspicious on Thursdays. Friday: This day is ruled by Venus and number 6 represents this planet. White or light blue colours are lucky on Fridays and it is recommended to have yogurt on this day before leaving the house. Milk, sweets made from

Facts about April Fool’s Day

very year, April Fool’s Day is celebrated on April 1. It is a day when pranksters rejoice and celebrate and the victims of pranks cannot complain or be offended. Practical jokes, white lies and elaborate pranks are all fair game. Listed below are some facts about this day. Origins

Laugh

out

It was believed that this day was a day of laughter and celebration of life by removing evil thoughts from our psyche. People celebrate their happiness and laugh their worries away. Deadline:

Noon

Just like Cinderella had a deadline for midnight, in some countries, pranks are

Saturday: Lord Shani (Saturn) rules Saturdays. The lucky colour for this day include black, dark blue and purple. It is good to fast on Saturdays. Eating black sesame seeds and brinjal brings luck. The numbers 4 and 8 are lucky for

this day. Donating mustard oil, iron, money,chapattis or even a horse is considered good on Saturdays. Sunday: It is ruled by the Sun and the number 1 is lucky for this day. Maroon and pink are lucky colours for Sunday. Having Moong Dal is good on Sundays and it is good to donate red clothes, red flowers, wheat, jaggery and copper on this day. These are some general recommendations. Some days may have a different planetary configuration and may give different results. Lucky numbers and colours also vary from person to person of different horoscopes. For example, a few lucky numbers for Taurus are 2, 4, 5 and 8. But since Taurus is influenced by Venus, its lucky number in general is 6.

WHERE’S HOME ? I haven’t been home for some time now. And I know not when I will. I’ve no idea where I’m headed to, Or the places I’ve been? I faintly recall why I left. I guess, I was finding shelter. In words, in places,

France

According to some historians, April Fools’ customs most probably began in France. It stemmed from a calendar change in the 16th century, the moving of New Year’s Day from April 1 to January 1 when the Gregorian calendar was adopted. People who continued to celebrate New Year’s were referred to as “April fools” and people would play tricks on them.

milk or white sweets and white clothes should be donated to some elderly lady.

In insobriety and things. Because home was lost, only

allowed

Two-day

until

noon.

celebration

In Scotland, people celebrate April Fool’s for two days. The second day is called “Taily Day” in which people only play pranks using one’s back by sticking papers that say “Kick me” etc.

Or maybe, there was no home. But I was warm once, and suddenly I was cold. And I found shelter for a little while, Or you could say, that I was just high. And for a while, I feel it helped, It helped keep demons away, One’s I brought along when home was gone. And now they’re back as my high fades. And now I’m lost, lost again. Antriksh Somany

22 Buzz

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

NLU wins state-level quiz competition on elections

ational Law University has won the state-level quiz competition, EQThe Election Quotient organised by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Assam. The quiz was conducted at Dr Bhupen Hazarika Auditorium, IIT Guwahati on March 24. 107 teams from different districts of the state participated in the quiz. It was hosted by Dr Upakul Sarmah, assistant registrar of Tezpur University. Teams from Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Karimganj, Karbi Anglong, Udalguri, North Salmara, South Salmara, Charaideu, Lakhimpur, Dima Hasao, Dhubri, Biswanath etc participated in the competition. The platform allowed on-thespot registration and online registration to encourage maximum number of young voters to participate in the event.This initiative was taken up to spread the awareness about electoral participation and ethical voting

anskriti the Gurukul has received an award from the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Government of India for conservation of Green India and Swachh Bharat Program and for promoting Harit Diwali i.e. Green Diwali among the youth of east India.

The school was also recognized and awarded for its

among the young voters. Teams from Assam Engineering College, Tezpur University, Dhemaji College, University Law College, Gauhati University, Gauhati Medical College, Cotton University, National Law University and IIT Guwahati competed for top-positions in the final stages. The champions of the event were Himangshu Sonowal and Sudarshan Goswami from National

Law University while the next two positions went to Aditya Kumar and Himangshu Chaudhary (IIT, Guwahati) and Dipankar Deka and Plawan Sarma (Cotton University) respectively. Cash prizes and certificates were given away to 12 teams. The first, second and third teams each won cash prize worth Rs 15,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. n

42nd All Assam U-7, U-13 chess championship concludes he 42nd All Assam U-7 and U-13 (boys and girls) chess championship organised by the Guwahati Chess Association at the South Point School ended on March 27. Atreyee Talukdar, Krishnav Mrinmoy Hazarika, Asiesha Talukdar and Mayank Chakraborty of Guwahati Chess Association were declared champions. In the U-7 girls’ category, Atreyee Talukdar scored 5 points out of 5 points. Suzein Ahmed of Darrang secured the second spot by scoring 4 points. Ayushmita Paul and Tamanna Sarma, both

City school wins awards for its environmental efforts

from Guwahati, came in third and fourth respectively by scoring 3 points each. In the U-7 boys’ category, Krishnav Mrinmoy Hazarika of Guwahati became the champion with 6 points out of 6 points. Maharishi Kashyap of Sonitpur occupied the second spot by scoring 5 points while Bodhisatwa Bhomick of Jorhat and Emil Borgohain of Guwahati came in third and fourth respectively. In the U-13 girls’ category, Aslesha Talukdar of Guwa-

hati emerged as champion by scoring 6 points. Winee Thengal of Golaghat grabbed second spot with 5 points. Pritilakshmi Kashyap of Sonitpur and Harshita Bhardwaj of Darrang came in third and fourth respectively. In the U-13 boys’ group, Mayank Chakraborty of Guwahati became the champion by scoring 6 points. Pran Govinda Parasar Kashyap of Guwahati scored 6 points but came in second by virtue ofa tie-break score. Manish Gwra Basumatary and Puskar Basak, both from Guwahati, came in third and fourth respectively.

contribution towards the “Behtar Swasthya” initiative at the national level of Behtar India Campaign 2019. The school was also recently recognized by Education World, India’s most comprehensive education portal, as the number one co-educational day school in Assam. It ranked 82nd overall for its performance in the whole country.

GU hosts 5-day exhibition on Human Knowledge in Asiatic Society

auhati University (GU) hosted a 5-day exhibition on “Time Past and Time Present: Treasures of Human Knowledge in Asiatic Society” at AT Hall of the University beginning March 25.

The event was hosted by the Department of History, Gauhati University, in collaboration with the Asiatic Society, Kolkata. The exhibition was inaugurated on March 25 by Professor MK Chaudhury, education advisor to the chief minister and former VC of Tezpur University. Professor JB Bhattacharjee, former vice chancellor of Assam University, was the guest speaker and Dr S Chakrabarti, general secretary of the Asiatic Society was the guest of honour for the event. The first day of the event was presided over by Professor L Choudhury, Vice Chancellor incharge of Gauhati University and the welcome address for the same was delivered by Professor Rajib Handique, head of the department of History, Gauhati University. A quiz competition on heritage and history of India was also held on March 26 at the PD Hall inside the University premises, where 26 teams took part. Students, research scholars and the university community

at large participated in the quiz. The valedictory session was held from 4 pm on March 29 where Dr Topi Basar of National Law University, Assam, was the guest speaker. Dr Basar spoke on “Future of traditional knowledge, community intellectual property rights and law” Gauhati University vice chancellor, Dr Mridul Hazarika presided over the function. Jishnu Barua, additional chief secretary, government of Assam, was the chief guest, and Professor Tapati Mukherjee, library secretary of the Asiatic Society and former vice chancellor of SKB University, was present as the guest of honour.

Entertainment

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

Majuli folks release poster for Assamese feature film ‘Bornodi Bhotiai’

midst celebration of Holi on March22, the crew of upcoming Assamese feature film titled, Bornodi Bhotiai released the film’s official poster at the hands of the common people of Majuli. Based on the life experiences of the director, Anupam Kaushik Borah, this film is a commentary on the hopes and aspirations of commoners that inhabit the island - an island long viewed through lenses focusing only on its cultural and communal diversity.

Suman Adhikary from Assam has written the dialogues for Vidyut Jammwal starrer Bollywood movie, Junglee which has been directed by American filmmaker, Chuck Russell. The film is set to release on March 29. Adhikary originally hails from Barpeta in Assam. While Adhikary is get-

the Deputy Commissioner of Majuli District, Deba Prasad Mishra, spoke at one of these events. The proud and jubilant people of Majuli, across the island, enthusiastically held up the poster high in anticipation of the upcoming release. Bornodi Bhotiai is slated to release on May 3, 2019. It is worth mentioning that the release date of the film was announced through a creative video that has drawn accolades throughout the state and has led to people appreciating the innovative marketing strategies of the film. The official poster was also simultaneously released in Barpeta amidst the famed DeulUtsav celebrations of the district. Here too, the poster release was done by

people amidst much excitement for the film’s upcoming release. Bornodi Bhotiai premiered at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival last year and is the directorial debut of National School of Drama graduate and renowned theatre practitioner, Anupam Kaushik Borah. The key roles in the film are written, directed and produced by Anupam Kaushik Borah under the banner of Bhawariya the T Positives. The roles have been essayed by Dorothie Bharadwaj, Anupam Kaushik Borah, Kenny D Basumatary, Sonmoni Sharma, Kaushik Nath, Himanshu Gogoi, Rajib Nath, Manisha Bhuyan and Diganta Konwar among others. The music has been done by Tarali Sarma, cinematography by Prayash Sharma Tamuly, edited by Rantu Chetia, sound design done by Debajit Gayan, Di Colorist is Arindam Das, executive producer is Stuti Jyotshna Saikia and chief assistant directors are Himangshu Nath and Arindom Kashyap.

Short film by Assamese editor screened at GIIFF, 2019

short film, Mrigtrishna: Mirage by Mumbaibased Assamese film editor, Rantu Chetia, was screened at the Global India International Film Festival 2019 in Texas as an official entry. It is a poem-based short film that is about the life of a village boy who wants to be an actor and feels lost in a big city. Chetia said that Mumbai has been the city of dreams for ages and millions of people

Two from Assam make it big in movie industry in India, overseas

wo people from Assam, a dialogue writer and a child actress have made it big in the movies.

Kalyan Kumar Kalita

“This film would not have been possible without the generous help of the people of Majuli at every stage of the production process and so it is only right that the first official poster be released at their hands instead of celebrities,” said director Anupam Kaushik Borah. In an unprecedented incident, the poste r re le ase of the film took place in ferries, sattras (Vaishanavite monasteries), shops and streets of Majuli. Mask-maker and Sangeet Natak Academy awardee, Hemchandra Goswami and

from every nook and corner of the country go there to try their luck in the “world of

Bollywood.” However, only a handful of people are able to make their dreams come true and the rest of them have to face the harsh reality of life and the dilemma of their existence. The primary question that constantly bothers them is their motive of life in the city of dreams. The poem tries to portray this existential query of the protagonist who is a struggling actor and has left behind the joyous and playful life of his village.

ting ready to make his place in Bollywood, child actor Orgha Goswami recently acted in an award-winning Sri Lankan film, Asandhimitta. Goswami is from Assam and has also featured in several advertisement films of Sri Lanka. She has been modelling since the age of 3 and been featured in advertisements of Spencer’s, Khadim’s Khazana and Story. Her parents, Himanka Goswami and Dr Geetanjali Goswami are from Assam but now reside in Colombo.

Girl from Assam stars in Malayalam film, Pathimoonnu

2-year-old Fariya Hussein from Dibrugarh is all set to star as the protagonist in Malayalam movie, Pathimoonnu (Thirteen). The film is slated to release sometime in April 2019 and has been written and directed by acclaimed director, BN Shajeer

and has been featured in a music video called Let girls remain girls, a musical visual initiative by Go Figure Humanity in support of International Day of the Girl Child by the United Nations and also Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign by the government of India. She is a student of class VI at Christ Nagar

Sha and has been produced by Satheesh Sajan of Vellore. Fariya has already acted in a number of ad films before this

Senior Secondary School and resides in Thiruvananthapuram. She is the daughter of Farhan and Farmin Hussein from Dibrugarh.

Catching Up

G PLUS | MAR 30 - APR 05, 2019

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