Vol 6 Issue 28 by G Plus

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

INSIDE

Volume 06 | Issue 28 May 04 - May 10, 2019 Price `10

Cyclone Fani hits Odisha, widespread rainfall likely across Assam over the weekend

Attack on journalists scales up in state

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Preserving Assamese culture: 1,000 regional songs to be released online

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Business-driven No speed in city development private schools schemes despite GDD change of ‘force’ parents to buy guard a year ago books at higher costs G Plus News @guwahatiplus

Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

rivate schools in Guwahati are selling books and uniforms in the city at exorbitant prices and the parents often have no option but to buy them. According to sources, several

his child who had taken admission in the school. “The schools usually have a tie up with designated shops and the parents are told that the shop is their official supplier. So 99 per cent of the time, the parents follow the school’s instruction and buy books from these shops,” informed the parent, Rohit

espite numerous efforts taken up by the government to make Guwahati ‘smart’ and prosperous, the city is seen continuing to battle its way for just a fresh breath of air. And some water! With BJP’s Gauhati (East) MLA Siddhartha Bhattacharya completing a year in his new role as the

Guwahati Development Department (GDD) Minister, the department still seems to function at a snail’s pace and has achieved little success in delivering the things it once promised. Majority of the city dwellers are still deprived of potable drinking water, as the existing water supply projects are running out of age and the under-construction ones are crippled with several impediments. Works are currently going on for

four major water supply projects in Guwahati including the one funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The JICA-assisted project, which was initiated in early 2010, has already missed several deadlines for completion and has left Guwahatians clueless about their right of having uninterrupted supply of pure drinking water. n Continued on Page 02

G Plus Impact

prominent schools in the city ask the parents to buy course books, uniforms and shoes from particular designated shops which usually sell the books in sets. These sets often cost more and consist of unnecessary items in stationery, feel parents. They say that the books and notebooks would cost much less if they bought them from the market and not from the shops designated by the schools. The book sets cost anywhere between Rs 900 and Rs 3,000 depending on the school and the class, informed a citybased book seller. Parents, on the other hand, have raised a concern that they are almost forced to buy the books and uniforms from designated shops which the schools prescribe for them. A parent of a Grade XI student in a prominent CBSE school in Guwahati told G Plus that he had to shell out close to Rs 10,000 recently for buying books and uniforms for

Sarawgi. He further added that at times when the parents buy the uniform or shoes from a different store, the school authorities raise objections if there are even some minor differences in the shoes etc. Salonie Majumdar, another parent of a child studying in a private school in Guwahati shared similar grievances and said that she sometimes resorts to buying some of the course books online in order to cut down on the total cost. “For the past few years, we have been purchasing a few books online which are available at lower prices. To add to this, we sometimes also borrow books from students who have passed out,” mentioned Majumdar. She also complained that the sets also comprise notebook covers, pencils, name stickers, cello tape and other supplies which are often not required. Continued on Page 09

Nehru Park: Swinging towards restoration On April 25, G Plus highlighted the dilapidated condition of Nehru Park in Guwahati through pictures in its print and digital media. The impact was such that the authorities immediately took up the issue and have started renovation work. Read the full story on Page 4.

In The News

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Cyclone Fani hits Odisha, widespread rainfall likely across Assam over the weekend Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

ccording to information provided by the Borjhar-based Regional Meteorology Centre (RMC), the current meteorological analysis and numerical model guidance suggests widespread rainfall activity across Assam and other northeastern states during May 4-5, 2019. The Regional Meteorology Centre (RMC) issued a warning on May 3, Friday that light to moderate rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is very likely over most places of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and Meghalaya on May 4 and 5;

with isolated extremely heavy falls over Assam and Meghalaya on May 4. Further, it stated that light to moderate rainfall will take place at many places with isolated

heavy falls very likely over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura on May 4. On May 4, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely at isolated

places over Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Barpeta, Kamrup (R) and Udalguri with isolated extremely heavy falls over South Salmara Mankachar and Baksa districts. Additionally, heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places over Nalbari, Kamrup (M), Darrang, Morigaon, Sonitpur, Cachar and Karimganj districts. On May 5, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places over Bongaigaon, Chirang, Barpeta, Nalbari, Baksa, Sonitpur and Udalguri districts and heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places over Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Goalpara, Kamrup (R), Kamrup (M), South Salmara Mankachar, Nagaon, Hojai, Biswanath, West Karbi Anglong, Jorhat, Majuli, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, and Dibrugarh districts of the state.

The state has been put on alert for May 4, and directed to be updated on May 5. Assam State Minister for Revenue & Disaster Management, Bhabesh Kalita has asked all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to take up the necessary measures as a high alert has been sounded in Assam due to Cyclone Fani. The RMC had earlier issued a warning stating that thunderstorm, accompanied by gusty winds of 30 to 40 kmph speed and lightning is very likely to occur at isolated places over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram as well as Tripura, and heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland for the period between April 29 and May 3. n

Cyclone Fani impacts Toll-free numbers, transportation to and fro Guwahati guidelines issued for

ith the cyclone Fani making landfall in Puri on Odisha coast on May 3 and triggering heavy rainfall coupled with high-velocity winds, as many as 250 pilgrims from Assam have been reported stranded in Odisha since the coastal state is hit by the ravaging Fani. According to official information, most of the people were on a visit to Jagannath Temple in the coastal city of Puri and are waiting to head back to their state. Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has directed chief secretary Alok Kumar to take steps for evacuating tourists and devotees of Assam who may be stranded in the coastal state of Odisha. Further, the government and various non-government organisations have been

evacuating the tourists, providing them with food and helping them connect their family members over phone. The government had also arranged three special trains to evacuate tourists and devotees from Assam who are stranded in Odisha, particularly in the temple town of Puri. The first train began its journey from Puri at 12 noon on May 2. The second train left for Howrah station from Puri with the stranded Assam tourists and devotees at 3 pm while the third train left for Howrah from the temple town at 6 in the evening the same day. Incidentally, around 36 devotees from Assam were lodged at the Assam Jatri Niwas, a lodgecum-tourist home for devotees from Assam visiting Puri, before they were informed about the government order to vacate

the state in the wake of the alert sounded by the government of Odisha. Millions of people have been evacuated from the eastern state of Odisha to temporary shelters as the nation braces for its worst cyclonic storm since 2014. It is being called the largest ever evacuation process in the country. Meanwhile as many as 23 flights have been suspended to and from Guwahati. According to sources, 9 flights, which were scheduled to arrive at Guwahati on Friday, have been cancelled, while 14 flights scheduled to depart from Guwahati have also been cancelled. In a bid for preventative measure, the Northeast Frontier Railway also announced the cancellation of long-distance trains due to Cyclone Fani. n

How are cyclones named? The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has devised a mechanism where countries submit a list of names from time to time and the names of cyclones are chosen from this pool. For tropical cyclones developing in the north Indian Ocean, eight countries namely India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan and Thailand send their names to the regional tropical cyclone committee. At present, all eight countries have submitted eight names each for naming future cyclones. The name Fani was chosen from this list containing 64 names. Interestingly, the name Fani was proposed by Bangladesh and was selected as an identification name by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre in Delhi, as per the World Meteorological Organisation. The word Fani (pronounced Foni) means snake.

Kamrup (M)

he Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has been put on high alert in district Control Rooms with tollfree helpline number 1077 and State Control Room with toll-free numbers 1070 and 1079 with roundthe-clock operations. In view of the possibility of the cyclonic storm Fani hitting northeast India including Guwahati within the next 2-3 days, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has issued various directions and guidelines to be followed by the various line departments. All departments have been asked to activate their rapid action teams to tackle any eventuality. An action plan is being prepared to reduce the response time during emergency, including maintenance of law and order, traffic management, readiness of manpower, alternative

arrangement of power supply in case of power failure, monitoring of water levels and weather conditions and arrangement for drinking water. Additionally, the health

department has been directed to prepare an emergency response plan activating rapid action team with ambulance, doctor and paramedics. All hospitals in Kamrup (M) have been asked to be on alert for emergency response. The State Disaster Response Force personnel have been placed in 40 locations of Assam and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been reached for preposition in six locations - Cachar, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Sonitpur, Tinsukia and Jorhat districts. n

Cover Story

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

No pace in city development schemes despite GDD change of guard a year ago fROM Page 01

Status of JICA-funded water supply project in Guwahati The Rs 1,450 crore JICA-assisted water-supply project is being looked after by Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), which falls within the purview of GDD. According to an official from Guwahati Jal Board (GJB), which is responsible for operation and maintenance of the JICA-funded project, partial commissioning of the project has been started in Kharghuli and Pandu. “On 1st of March, we started partial commissioning of the project in some areas in Kharghuli and Pandu. As part of the commissioning, we have covered 60 and 150 households in Kharghuli and Pandu, respectively, and have been supplying water to those households. We are now providing the water for free, as the tariff for the same has not been approved by the government due to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections,” a GJB official told G Plus. The ground reality, however, is somewhat different from the claim made by GJB. A quick fact check has revealed that around two months after the partial commissioning, the beneficiaries are yet to receive uninterrupted supply of potable water, even for a month, due to technical and other reasons. One of the residents in Kharghuli area, on condition of anonymity said, “We have not received new water supply connections as claimed by the government. Yes, some of our neighbours have got the connections, but they are receiving water intermittently.” When asked about the resident’s allegation, the GJB official said, “We had to stop supplying water for two days by the end of April in order to perform hydrostatic work.” In addition, the government has so far completed 70% of the pipe laying work in the South Central Guwahati Metropolitan Area (GMA) regions under the JICA-funded project. Most of the areas in east Guwahati, including Chandmari, Zoo Road, Kharghuli, have seen the completion of pipe laying works. However, the areas with drains, hard rocks and other gaps are yet to be connected with water-supply pipes. Responding to a query regarding the delay in completing the pipe laying works, the GJB official said, “The pipe laying work has been stalled since we terminated the concerned contractor, IVRCL,

which is based out of Hyderabd, due to non-performance. We will float a new tender for the work once the elections are over.” Furthermore, the government has made little progress in the construction of the 191 MLD water

in Pan Bazar and Fancy Bazar areas of the city are expected to be benefitted. The water supply project, which is slated to be completed in 2020 as per the new deadline, aims to cater to the North and

seeks to transform 100 cities across the country. One of the much-hyped initiatives of the Smart City project included the installation of a 120 X 80 feet tall National Flag atop Sarania Hill near Gandhi Mandap on 2nd October last year. However, the tricolour was seen to have torn within 35 days of its official unfurling, bringing shame to the very intention of the Smart City project. Since its installation, the flag was seen to be shredded on at least three different occasions, prompting the concerned officials to replace it with spares and forcing the flagpole to wear a deserted look most of the times. The flag that weighs approximately half a ton was installed by Bajaj Electricals Limited, a contractor which was selected by Guwahati Smart City Limited authorities (GSCL) to install and maintain the flag. Despite spending a GSC Bio tiolet (Avobe), Smart city work under progress (Below) | G Plus photo whopping Rs 2.91 crores on South Central regions of Guwathe project, the contractor has aptreatment plant (WTP) in Kharhati metropolitan area. peared to have failed in keeping ghuli, with only 30% of the work According to GJB, approxithe flag in good shape. The proon the plant being completed so mately 50% of the work has been ject cost includes the construction far. completed in the North Guwahaof the flagpole, entire structure Upon completion, the WTP will ti region under the JICA-assisted surrounding the pole, lighting cater to the people living in the project. arrangements and the cost of 12 South Central Guwahati MetroThe pipe laying work is hardly spare flags. politan Area (GMA). making any progress in the re“High wind pressure around In order to expedite works ungion, as the government had to the Gandhi Mandap hilltop has der the JICA-funded project, Asterminate the old contractor due resulted in the frequent tearing sam CM Sarbananda Sonowal, to several reasons including delay of the flag. We have directed Baalong with Siddhartha Bhattachain starting the work. A new conjaj Electricals Limited and other rya and other officials, recently tractor has already been selected agencies related to the project to made a visit to the project site at for the purpose to start the pipe study the issue and come up with Ramsa Hills and Kharghuli. Post laying work soon. the best possible solution so that the visit, CM has directed JICA ofsuch incidents will not occur in ficials to complete the remaining Status of ‘smart’ inifuture,” an official from GSCL told portion of the project early. Sonowal even asked GDD and G Plus. tiatives under ‘Smart JICA officials to commission the According to the official, reCity’ city project first phase of the project before plenishment of the flag currently October this year. In the first costs nothing, as GSCL has been A couple of initiatives have phase, around 5,000 people will using the spares. But the spare been taken for the city of Guwareceive water-supply connection, stock is running out fast as GSCL hati as part of the Government while approximately 2,000 houses has so far used up at least three of of India’s Smart City project that

the spares.

Lack of space for bio-toilets As part of the Smart City project, GSCL, in September last year, launched an initiative to provide sustainable and hygienic sanitation to the residents of Guwahati. The initiative includes installation of 30 smart bio-toilets across the city. However, GSCL has not been able to find adequate or appropriate space to install the units. The contractor who was selected by GSCL for the project, has so far installed 20 bio-toilets in various locations, but has not found enough space to install the remaining 10 toilets. A GSCL official said, “We are working with Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) to find out suitable locations to install the remaining bio-toilet units. Work is also going on to install two new units at ISBT and Jalukbari.” The bio-toilet units are equipped with an auto-flush system and do not require any manpower to operate. It took around Rs 30 lakhs to build each of the coin-operated systems that are 450 ft² in size. Monitoring the system has become a major issue of concern, as people are resorting to malpractice while using the units. The GSCL official added, “We have reports of people misusing the units. In some places, LED bulbs that were fitted inside and outside the units were stolen. People even cut the steel bench fabricated to the system and took it away. “In some areas, people were seen inserting a coin before entering the unit and keeping the door open for the next person once he is done using the toilet, so that the next entrant did not have to pay.” The smart bio-toilet units that are currently in operation are installed at Judges Field, GMDA office, Gauhati Medical College & Hospital, Dr B Barooah Cancer Institute, Sonaram Field, Mahavir Udyan in Fancy Bazar, Azara Civil Hospital, State Zoo (2 units), Dispur circle office, Assam Engineering Institute in Chandmari, District Transport Office, Nabagraha Temple, Regional Science Centre in Khanapara, Sarusajai Stadium, Dharapur, Gorchuk vegetable market, Nehru Stadium, Tarunram Phukan Park, and Food Villa on MG road. Apart from the commissioned projects, a lot of other projects are currently underway and are in pipeline under various schemes to upgrade the city of Guwahati. A proactive and decisive government is the only thing that is required to complete those schemes and projects on time. n

4 Cover Story

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Nehru Park: Swinging towards restoration Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

n April 25, G Plus highlighted the dilapidated condition of Nehru Park in Guwahati through pictures in its print and digital media. The impact was such that the authorities immediately took up the issue and have started renovation work. Nehru Park, one of the major tourist attractions in the city, is currently in a dilapidated situation, with broken swings, torn slides and sawed-off see-saws. The park that once used to be thronged by children day in and day out has turned into a dating spot with barely any play rides in usable condition. Located in the heart of Guwahati city, Nehru Park is one of the oldest parks in Assam. It is a major tourist attraction of the city as well as a place of recreation and walks for the citizens of the city. Historically, the area of the park was part of an old church that was later developed as a park by the Assam government. Yet, the

playing equipments for children are in ruins dissuading children from using them. The park is currently managed by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and maintained by Daffodils Nursery of Jagiroad. G Plus highlighted the dilapidated condition of the park in a Facebook post dated April 25, Thursday. It also carried photographs showing the dilapidated condition is its print edition dated 27th April, 2019. In one of the pictures, a big hole is seen at one end of the slide which is supposed to be used by the children at the park. The second picture depicts the dysfunctional swings that have been tied up to their structure while the third image shows the poor condition of the see-saw that wears the look of not being used for a long time. Not only did the post gain massive traction with people from all walks of life sharing their past experiences, it immediately gained the attention of the management which has started renovation work in the park. The authorities have start-

ed renovation work of the park which includes fixing of lights, installation of new slides and swings and garden refurbishment. Additionally, the simulator which had been dysfunctional

since a while is also under maintenance and is expected to be repaired soon. “The restoration works started in April end and will probably end by May 10. Until then,

City’s premier park losing its charm

he Nehru Park was built in the 2000s and named after the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The park is visited by hundreds of people every day since its inauguration by former chief minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi on June 12, 2004. However, visitors feel that the park has started to lose its charm. “Feel sad for the dilapidated condition of this park where we spent our childhood. I took my child there a few months ago and it was a horrible experience. The equipments were damaged and there were a lot of mosquitoes. Everything was in a bad condition and it seemed totally unsafe for children. Don’t know what the authorities are doing. Development does not mean restrict to the construction of roads, maintenance of these places should also be taken care of,” Salma Rahman, a resident of Guwahati told G Plus. In the same vein, another resident said, “Luckily someone has raised the issue and now I just hope the GMDA will invest in its renovation given the present condition of the park.” While the entry to the park is free

for morning walk (6 AM to 8 AM), the park charges an entry fee of Rs 10 per children and Rs 20 per adult. Further, taking a ride on the simulator costs Rs 20, ATV (90 cc) ride costs Rs 200 and ATV (50 cc) costs Rs 150. The Nehru Park boasts of 45 sculptures carved out of concrete depicting various dance forms of the state of Assam including Bihu, Deodhani, Ojapali, Bor Taal and Jhumur. Besides, it has an open air theatre, a rock garden, jogging track, a charming lawn and a few artificial ponds with musical fountains that operate in the evening. n

fROM Page 01

we have shut down the rides that are broken keeping in mind the safety of the children,” informed a source at the GMDA. City’s premier park losing its charm n

Governance

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

EC team to re-visit Amingaon strong room three days before counting Mrinmoyee Hazarika @guwahatiplus

ollowing a complaint lodged by the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) and Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP for Assam, Ripun Bora, a twomember team of the Election Commission of India (ECI), led by senior official of ECI, OP Sahani, came to inspect the strong room established at a private location where “unused EVMs” were brought for storage on Sunday (28th April). Congress candidate for the Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency, Bobbeeta Sharma, had also raised a complaint on the matter. The two-member team visited the strong room in Amingaon area of Kamrup (Rural) district and it has promised to pay another visit to the area before the counting begins for the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Responding to the complaint lodged by the members of Assam Congress, Mukesh Sahu, CEO Assam, had previously stated that those EVMs were stored in the centre storage facility and were

intended to be transported to other states. APCC general secretary Diganta Chaudhury told G Plus, “So far, we have not received any formal letter from ECI on the results of the inspection, but hope that they would soon provide us something in writing. “Post the recent inspection, the ECI team had sealed all the unused EVMs and permitted our representatives to guard them.” Chaudhury further noted that the team is expected to re-visit the strong room in Amingaon three days before the counting and will stay there until the entire process is over. “The team even raised concern about the dilapidated condition of the strong room and questioned the Kamrup (R) deputy commissioner, Kamal Kumar Baishya, on the appalling situation prevailing in and around the room. They also voiced serious concerns about the ‘three-tier security arrangements’ that were specifically made to keep the strong room safe and asked Baishya whether the room is going to last till the counting,” Chaudhury said. Following a tipoff about

improper movement of trucks loaded with “unused EVMs” in Amingaon on Sunday, APCC moved the ECI to lodge a formal complaint on the issue. The EVMs were allegedly shifted from different parts of the state to a private location, Himatsingka Workshop, which is situated opposite the office of the deputy commissioner, Kamrup (Rural). The office is currently being used as one of the strong rooms established to store the used EVMs in some parts of the Gauhati LS constituency. Prior to the inspection carried

out by ECI, Chaudhury, in a letter sent to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Assam said: “Around 10.35 pm on 28.04.2019, we received telephonic information that small trucks laden with so called ‘unused EVM’s’ are suddenly being brought to a private location, popularly referred to as Himatsingka Workshop situated opposite the Office of Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Rural). “Local sources have informed our party sources that several truck loads of such commodities were deposited in the said godown.” The letter also read: “Thereafter

Prag Cine Awards to be Held in Nagaon on 1st and 2nd June G Plus News @guwahatiplus

agaon will host the Prag Cine Awards 2019 on 1st and 2nd June at Nurul Amin Stadium. The awards held by AM Television Private Limited have grown to become a major event for those associated with the film industry of Assam and the northeast. Addressing the media, chairperson of the Prag Cine Awards Northeast, Moloya Goswami and CMD of AM Television, Sanjive Narain, said that this time the theme is “The Mighty Brahmaputra” and that Bollywood actors and actress as well as artists from the region and the rest of the states in the country will be present at the event. 41 movies have been nominated which includes 30 from Assam

and 11 from the rest of the region in 34 categories. This time the life time achievement award will be conferred on veteran Assamese actress Runu Devi for her contribution to Assamese cinema. The organizers have informed that apart from Assam, artistes from other northeastern states and also from the different film industries will perform in the twoday event. The Prag Cine Award function first started in 2003 and since 2015 it has been honouring film personalities from other regions of the northeast. n

as other such truck laden ‘unused EVMs’ continued to reach the said location unabated, the authorities then allowed the storage of these machines in a place adjacent to the Strong Room in the jurisdiction of the DC, Kamrup (R). “Who gave permission for such action?” In a separate letter to the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora said: “This entire exercise of the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (R) in the name of storing the so called unused EVMs has created strong doubt about manipulation of EVM.” Bora also alleged that Kamrup (R) deputy commissioner and assistant commissioner Mayuri Ojha were violating the model code of conduct (MCC) by performing election duties in their home district. Mayuri is the daughter of BJP candidate for the Gauhati Lok Sabha seat Queen Ojha. However, the BJP candidate has reportedly rubbished all the allegations made against her daughter by saying that her daughter was on leave and out of Guwahati. n

Snippets APSC Prelims results a ‘mess’; answer key ridden with mistakes

he Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) is being questioned regarding how the results of the Prelims were prepared. It should be noted that APSC had announced a list of 3,500 candidates on March 13. As per reports, the “answer key,” which is the reference point for evaluators of the APSC exams, is found to be ridden with mistakes. As a result, APSC now has released two lists of successful candidates once their mistake was found out, and to cover up, another 406 candidates have been added in the second list. However, deprived candidates have been threatening to go to court and are stalling the whole process.

6 Concern

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Attack on journalists scales up in state Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee

emocracy has four pillars - the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary and Media. But unfortunately, the fourth pillar of the institution, that is the media, is being attacked in recent times. Journalists within the country have been a victim of attacks by miscreants for various issues. India currently ranks 14th on the Global Impunity Index list with 18 journalists being murdered from 2008 to 2018. In Assam, as per records, 32 journalists have lost their lives in the past 30 years which began since 1987 when Purnamal Agarwalla, a correspondent with The Assam Tribune, was killed by suspected United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). In 1991 Kamala Saikia, a correspondent with Ajir Asom, was also murdered by suspected ULFA members and once again in 1996 Parag Kumar Das, the executive editor of Asomiya Pratidin was shot dead by surrendered members of ULFA while he was returning home. Between 1995 and 2010,

at least one journalist has been murdered in Assam each year. Recently, three journalists from the state were attacked within a month which is raising questions about the safety and security of the journalist fraternity in Assam once again. Rajen Deka, a 48 year old journalist from Dainik Asom, was attacked with a sharp weapon and left seriously injured at Tegheriattri village under Mukalmua Police Station in Nalbari district on the night of 25th April. While returning home from Mukalmua Chowk on his bike, Deka was attacked allegedly by a BJP worker. He received serious injuries on his chest, head and arms. He was rushed to the Mukalmua Community Hospital and later was taken to Gauhati Medical College & Hospital. Deka, speaking to the media, accused BJP worker Ripul Deka alias Baba and other youth workers who came on a tempo van to attack him when he had stopped near an LP school. The attackers fled the scene after attacking Deka. Deka also said that he was often threatened on Facebook by

Ranjan Deka injured in attack | File photo BJP workers for a piece of news filed by him in the 25th April issue of Dainik Asom against a section of BJP workers. Ranjan Deka further said that one Jintu Medhi allegedly uploaded a post on social media threatening to kill him. Deka lodged a complaint with the Mukalmua Police Station against Ripul Deka and Jintu Medhi. On 26th April, the Nalbari District Journalists’

State journalist forum condemns attack

arious journalist forums across the state and the country have been staging protests and demanding justice against the continuous attacks on journalists. The National Union of Journalist and Journalists’ Association of Assam (JAA) condemned the gruesome attack on the Dainik Asam journalist and asked the government to introduce the Journalist Protection Act in the state which is a long standing demand of the Journalists’ Association of Assam. The JAA submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Assam last year in January in regard to bringing the law. “There is need for a comprehensive act with clear provisions of registering complaints in police stations on intimidation, attack or torture of journalists,” said the JAA and sought immediate enactment of a Journalist Protection Act. The JAA also demanded that

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Journalist staging protest against attack| G Plus photo

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the investigation of the attacks should be carried out by senior police officers equivalent to the SP or ACP to ensure stern punishment against the culprits. The Dima Hasao Journalists’ Union (DHJU), Haflong also submitted a memorandum to chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal through the deputy

commissioner Dima Hasao district Amitabh Rajkhowa, against the growing attacks on journalists in the state. The Indian Journalists’ Union (IJU) has condemned the recent attacks and has urged the government to ensure safety and security of the journalist in the state.

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Union staged a protest in front of the Nalbari Natya Mandir and later submitted two memoranda to the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police demanding strict actions against the culprits. In a another incident in Tinsukia district, Upasana Barua Goswami, a journalist with a local television channel was also allegedly attacked by a group of miscreants when she

State government assures but fails to ensure safety

hief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal condemned the attack on the journalist and has directed the Assam DGP Kuladhar Saikia to investigate the case and nab the culprits.

In a statement, the chief minister said that the state government is committed to the safety and security of journalists. He described the attack on the two media persons as highly condemnable and said the state government would take strict action the perpetrators. In December last year, the Assam government had organised a ceremony where chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal disbursed one-time financial assistance of Rs 5 lakhs each of the 32 to the

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went to a restaurant with her family. Again in Jorhat, Rajib Bora, a video journalist of a private news channel from Guwahati was attacked by five persons on motorcycles near the Assam Power Distribution Corporation Ltd office at MG Road at around 10:40 pm on 28th April. Also last month, on March 21, a Guwahati based TV journalist, Chakrapani Parashar, was attacked and stabbed by a restaurant owner in the Ganeshguri area of Guwahati. After an argument that broke out between Sayed Ali Ahmed, the owner Albar Eats and Parashar, Ali stabbed him with a dagger. Parashar sustained serious injuries in various parts of his body and was rushed to GNRC were he was admitted in the ICU. The police had detained four people Bhabesh Das, Nitin Sarma, Niraj Ahmed and Sayed Ali Ahmed in connection with the case. The four later on were produced at the Kamrup Metropolitan District Court on March 22. They were sent into judicial custody as per the court’s order.

families of slain. However, no concerted law for the protection of journalists have been formulated in the state by the government yet. With the increase in attacks on journalists the state and the central government need to come up with a strong law for the protection of journalists to ensure free voice in the democracy.

Health

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Leprosy cases on the rise in Guwahati Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

amrup (Metro) district has seen a continuous rise in the number of leprosy cases over the past three years. Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. The disease primarily affects the skin, nerves and mucous membrane. The disease is curable but needs timely treatment to avoid the chances of disability among patients. There are two primary forms in which the disease is classified; these include paucibacillary (PB) and multibacillary (MB) leprosy. The disease is classified on the basis of the number of skin patches on the patient. As per the data available with

the state health & family welfare department officials, a total of 60 cases were registered for the disease in 2016. “Out of these, 49 cases were

Ghy lacks govt infrastructure for reconstructive surgery

ome leprosy patients also need to undergo reconstructive surgery which is provided to patients who suffer from disabilities due to the nerve damage caused by the disease. Further, treatment for leprosy is provided for free as per the government directives.

department to begin the reconstruction surgery in the district hospital Sonapur earlier this year. However, the facility could not be started due to some infrastructural issues related to the operation theatre in the hospital. “We are hoping to start the surgery in the near future this

However, currently there are no government hospitals in Guwahati for patients who are looking to get the reconstruction surgery done. “Till last year, we had the surgery available in Gauhati Medical College & Hospital. Now we are arranging the surgery in district hospital, Sonapur in Kamrup (Metro),” informed nodal officer (Leprosy) Kamrup (Metro) district, Dr Farhan Ali. He added that they had written to the health

year at the district hospital in Sonapur,” Dr Ali further said. As far is the treatment is concerned, the officials say that there is a multi-drug therapy administered for leprosy. Doctors say that the disease is confined to humans and is a droplet infection. Further, leprosy is more prevalent among people who live in unhygienic conditions and places with high concentration of population. It is thus, more common in slum areas. n

recorded for multibacillary leprosy while 11 paucibacillary cases were registered. Further, 63 cases in total were reported from the district during the next

year,” Nodal officer (Leprosy) Kamrup (Metro) district, Dr Farhan Ali, told G Plus. However, in 2018, the number of registered cases saw a steep increase from 63 leprosy cases in 2017, to 110 cases in 2018 which consisted of 93 multibacillary cases and 17 paucibacillary cases. On the other hand, the situation at the grassroots level paints a worse picture, feel activists working in the health sector in the city. They say that the number of registered cases is just the tip of the iceberg as many leprosy-affected people do not

come forward to get themselves diagnosed due to the fear of social boycott by members of their community. According to a 2016 report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), there were a total of 1,27,326 new cases of leprosy detected in 2015 which accounted for 60 per cent of the total global new cases. In comparison, 1,25,785 new cases were reported in 2014. Even though India had announced the elimination of the disease as a public health concern in 2005, new cases were again reported over the past few years with thousands of new cases being recorded every year. At the national level too, Assam lags behind in effectively curbing the disease. According to reports, Assam records one of the highest numbers of multibacillary leprosy patients in India. n

Fewer cases detected due to attached stigma

anashree Huzuri, programme coordinator at Helpline Healthcare Society, a health NGO working in Guwahati told G Plus that the main problem which leprosy patients face is the stigma they face in society. “Many people also don’t know that the basic treatment for the disease is free of cost and is readily available at any government dispensary. So there’s a lack of awareness too,” said Huzuri. She added that the symptoms take some time to fully show up and it takes anywhere between five to 15 years for the symptoms to appear. So the person suffering also doesn’t come to know about the presence of the disease.

“People usually ignore the early symptoms and slowly the patches grow in number and nodules appear which also lead to disability. This is when the patients visit the doctors but it is usually too late by this time,” informed another citybased health activist. In order to sensitise people, the government as well as NGOs conduct awareness camps in different parts of the city as well as the state. Screening and sensitisation is also done during these camps since the disease is infectious. Additionally, the government implements the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) which is a centrally sponsored health scheme and which has been implemented with the major

objective of reducing the disease burden, prevention of disability and to improve awareness among the masses about leprosy and its curability. Even though Assam had achieved the “elimination” status for leprosy, a large number of new cases are being detected yearly. Under the twelfth five year plan, the government aims to eliminate leprosy, which is defined as prevalence of less than 1 case per 10,000 population in all districts of the country. It also includes strengthening disability prevention and medical rehabilitation of persons affected by leprosy and reduction in the level of stigma associated with leprosy. n

8 In The News

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Goalpara emerges as PwD voter-friendly constituency in Assam Mrinmoyee Hazarika @guwahatiplus

he Goalpara district of Assam has emerged as one of the most welcoming constituencies for person-with-disability (PwD) voters in the recently concluded Lok Sabha (LS) elections in Assam. The four assembly segments of the district including Dudhnoi, Goalpara East, Goalpara West and Jaleswar, have recorded an average of 83.5% PwD voter turnout in the 2019 LS elections. Among those constituencies, Dudhnoi registered the highest PwD voter turnout with 87%, followed by Goalpara West with 87%, Goalpara East with 84% and Jaleswar with 75%. Regarding the high turnout of PwD voters, District Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner of Goalpara, Varnali Deka told G Plus, “The Chief Election Of-

ficer (CEO) Assam has taken lots of initiatives for the PwD voters. In our place, we had executed a plan wherein all PwD voters were mapped with the help of social welfare department. “We made a travel plan for each of them. We had engaged poll volunteers at the polling booths where PwD voters were there to ensure that the voters

could comfortably vote.” Deka also said that Braille ballot sheets were provided to the polling booths and provisions of wheelchair were made for the persons with locomotor disability. At some booths in Goalpara, magnifying glasses were also provided to the voters who required them.

In addition, the district administration made necessary seating arrangements for PwD voters at all the four model polling stations in Goalpara. Regarding the photo that went viral across various media platforms where Deka was seen escorting a PwD voter sitting on a wheelchair to a polling booth, the young bureaucrat said, “Since morning, I was working in the field, looking after the mock poll and everything, and then I came to know that there was a young PwD voter in Beltola area in Goalpara district who wanted to vote. “As I was near Beltola at that time, I decided to go to the area and picked her up. I even had a nice conversation with the voter, who was in her 20s maybe, on our way back to the booth. “I was also happy to help another PwD voter in Dudhnoi who was a first time voter.” In the recently concluded LS elections, Goalpara district

had a pooling booth exclusively manned by PwD voters, reportedly becoming the first booth of its kind in Assam. At some places, the district administration felicitated the PwD voters with bags of goodies, snacks, gamochas etc. Furthermore, Deka believed that a multitude of factors worked behind the high rate of women voter turnout in her area of jurisdiction, apart from the fact that the area is run by a woman officer. “Awareness amongst the female voters is growing, not only in Goalpara but across the country. “Irrespective of the gender, voters in general have also become more aware of that fact that it is their right and duty to come out and vote.” In the 2019 LS elections, a total of 90.44% women cast their votes in the Dhubri LS constituency that covers parts of Goalpara district. n

Exploring Northeast: Novotel Guwahati organises Tea Trail Harshita Himatsingka @HHimatsingka

n a sincere attempt to discover the Northeast region and showcase its beautiful, rich culture, Novotel Guwahati GS Road organised a tea trail in association with Wild Mahseer. A group of enthusiasts that included journalists, photographers and staff from Novotel Guwahati GS Road embarked on a five-day trip from April 26 to April 29 to discover the treasures of the state. The entourage’s journey began on April 27 after out-of-state members arrived in Guwahati the previous day. Their first stop was Missa Polo Club which is located in the picturesque Kellyden Tea estate, 40 kilometers from Nagaon and 35 kilometers from Tezpur. This estate houses the biggest polyback unit of Amalgamated Plantations Pvt Ltd. After this, they reached the Eastern Himalayan Botanic Ark in residence at Wild Mahseer which is situated on a 22-acre land, located in the middle of the beautiful Addabarie Tea Estate, that lets visitors immerse themselves in the tea planter’s lifestyle. Following that, a cultural show was organised at Baligaon in Mishing Village. The next day, April 28, the group

participated in the Japanese art of jungle bathing, “Shinrin-Yoku,” where they found themselves enjoying the sounds, sights and scents of the earth. Following this, they headed to a tour of the community villages to experience the natural way of living of the Garo community. While there, they indulged in ethnic meals of seasonal vegetables, smoked meat and also took home souvenirs of traditional handicraft made by local artisans. “We went to community villages. There were people in the village who taught us how to make dye from different kinds of vegetables, tea leaves. They also taught us about their food, their culture. They also have a local beer which they showed us how they ferment when we had sessions for all these different activities,” said Dristi

Hatimuria, Assistant Manager, Marketing & Communications, Novotel Guwahati GS Road.

After a busy morning, the group relaxed in the evening as they explored the history and romance

of tea and even tasted tea from the well-known Wild Mahseer, which offers its guests a unique experience to revel in the old British tea plantations that date back to 1823 AD. Since exploring the rich heritage of Assam is incomplete without visiting Kaziranga National Park, that’s exactly what the group did next. On April 29, the group woke up at 6 am and headed to the one-horned rhino’s home where they took part in a jeep safari and explored the area’s incredible ecosystem. On the final day of their journey, April 30, they were back in Guwahati and headed to Kamakhya Temple early in the morning. Following the cultural trip, Novotel Guwahati GS Road organised a special spa session with freshly picked leaves from the tea trail and a tea-themed dinner menu at its restaurant, The Square. “Novotel Guwahati GS Road has done this because we want to connect with the local culture. We have a diverse tribal community here and to understand them in five days was not enough, but we tried our best to understand what they do, how they are so eco-friendly. It was an attempt to understand and explore our own rich culture and heritage,” said Hatimuria in closing.

Cover Story

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

‘We stock books as per orders received by schools,’ Bookstore owners fROM Page 01

dditionally, the bookstore owners say that they stock the books as per the orders received by the schools. Subhash Jain, the owner of Student Gallery which sells books and uniform sets of some of the premier private schools of the city told G Plus that they keep the materials according to the demands of the schools. “Some of the prominent schools including DPS, Royal Global School and Sarala Birla Gyan Jyoti in Guwahati ask us to provide books, stationery, uniforms and shoes which are all included in the set,” he said adding that on the other hand, some schools

Every school has their own curriculum for every class and books are selected based on the curriculum of the school. The city schools contend that if a particular shop is not prescribed, it becomes very difficult for the parents to search for individual books in the market separately.

only ask the store to provide book sets to the parents. He added that the price of the book and uniform sets ranges from class to class and as per the requirements of the schools. Some of the stationery items included in the book sets are art and craft supplies for junior classes and worksheets for senior students. When asked if the schools charge some commission on every set of books, another well-known bookseller in Guwahati said on the condition of anonymity that they do not charge any commission but ask the booksellers to provide discount to the parents. Further, the owner of Bani Mandir - which is the supplier of books and school material for

Don Bosco School among others - informed that the price of book sets also depends on the schools and different schools make different curriculums and decide on which books to keep in the course for different classes as per their syllabi. n

School authorities say sets designed for parents’ convenience

hile the parents have complained about the schools for charging exorbitant money for book and uniform sets, school authorities on the other hand say that these sets are made for easy availability of books and uniform for parents. “Every school has their own curriculum for every class and we select books based on the curriculum of the school. Sometimes, if we do not give books from our side and if

we don’t prescribe a particular shop, it becomes very difficult for the parents to search for individual books in the market separately,” informed a senior official at one of the premier schools in Guwahati. She added that their school does not prescribe any stationery or school bags for the students. Further, she also mentioned that the schools do have tie ups with bookstores and they get certain commission per set “but it depends on school to school.”

Soil testing for new Brahmaputra Bridge underway

oil testing for the upcoming six-lane bridge over Brahmaputra River connecting North Guwahati to Guwahati is currently under-way. The bridge is expected to be 1,600 metres in length with sixlane carriageway. The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 1,925 crores. The length of the main bridge will be 1,240 metres extra-dosed cable type with Y-arm of 360 metres. The new bridge, once completed, will reduce the travel time between the north and south banks from 90 minutes to 15 minutes. The starting point of the corridor will be at Bharalumukh on the south bank of the Brahmaputra. The culmination point will be at

Snippets CM Sonowal inspects repair work of old Saraighat Bridge

hief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Monday, April 29 visited the old Saraighat Bridge and reviewed the progress of the repair work there. He expressed confidence that the bridge would be open to the public starting June this year. While there, he also called on construction company officials to provide information regarding the technical knowledge and manpower required to complete the bridge on time. It should be noted that the deadline for the completion of repair work has been set at June 20. The chief minister has further ordered the concerned agencies to work in three shifts for the timely completion of the project.

SSUHS bans party attires, informal clothes; new dress code announced

Ugratara Temple’s idol recovered

T NH-31 near Gauripur Junction on north bank of the Brahmaputra. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the six-lane bridge along with chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on February 9, 2019. n

he Golaghat police have been able to trace the centuriesold idol of the Ugratara Temple from Nalbari district. The police have arrested four persons namely, Saan Hussain, Adil Ali, Rahul Ali and Mintu Roy. Additional Superintendent of Police, Golaghat, Surjeet Singh Panesar said that they called upon the temple priests to verify the

same. The centuries-old deity was stolen from the temple on the night of November 15, 2018. n

he Srimanta Sankardeva University of Health Sciences, Guwahati recently issued a new dress code “as part of maintaining workplace environment.” A recent notification issued by Dipika Deka, the vice chancellor of the University, lists out 16 clothes and footwear not to be worn in the university campus. These items include party attires, picnic clothes, T-shirts, tight-fitting and “seductive” clothes, micro minis, gauzy/flimsy/transparent, walking shorts, pedal pushers, leggings, tights, jogging pants, slippers, sandals by males etc. Wearing excessive jewellery has also been banned. However, the notification states that it exempts certain items because of religious affiliations, physical disabilities and other analogous circumstances.

10 City

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Two city restaurants slapped with 10 days’ shutdown notice over hygiene issues Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee

he foodies of the city seemed to be in spin after the food safety department, Kamrup (Metro), on 30th April, served a closure and improvement notice two restaurants in the city after they were found serving food in unhygienic conditions. Mughlai Darbar, located at Christian Basti and Emperor China at RG Baruah Road, have been shut down for ten days. The closure and improvement notice was issued by the officials of the department under Section 32 of the Food Safety & Standard Act 2006. An inspector with the food safety department said that the raid was carried out after a complaint was received by the department regarding both the

restaurants maintaining low hygiene standards. The official who didn’t wish to be named said that the kitchens of these restaurants were found dirty and were below food safety standards. There was no sufficient space for storage and poor ventilation systems. During the inspection, the officials also found the kitchens to be cramped with very less space for movement. “While inspecting, we saw the floors and walls to be unclean, insects were roaming in the kitchen. Neither there was any net fitted on the windows nor it had a proper drainage system as per the Food Safety Act,” said the official. Further, he stated that the staff of these restaurants was not found to be using proper gear like hand gloves, aprons and headwear. The department officials also found a huge pile of spices which had already crossed its expiration date. “We have served them a notice to close the restaurant and

fix everything within 10 days, and if found that the situation is still the same then further course of action will be taken.” It’s not the first time that the food safety department has carried out such raids in city hotels and restaurants. In July last year the food safety department along with Minister of State for

City foodies express concern

uwahati is a city that likes to eat and eat good food. Many food fanatics have expressed concern over the growing cases of adulteration and unhygienic conditions of the restaurants in the city. Nabanita Sarma is foodie and a frequent visitor to various food joints and restaurants in the city. Speaking to G plus Nabanita said that the growing number of cases of restaurants serving food under unhygienic conditions has created a sense of fear among the food lovers and for the people who visit these places to eat. “Most of the time I eat outside at various restaurants because of my work. I am now scared to eat outside because of the

news that we are receiving. Everything is getting adulterated - be it fruits, vegetables and other food items. The safety of the consumers is being compromised. Restaurants operating in unhygienic conditions are posing greater health risk for the people who visit those restaurants to eat.” She further said that the government should make its food licensing norms more strict and should frequently check the food items being served at the restaurants. Anoorag Deka who is also a foodie and frequent restaurant hopper also expressed a similar concern. Deka said that because of the increase in the number food joints and restaurants, the quality of food is being

compromised. “Because of the rapid growth of the city and its population, a lot of food joints and restaurants have mushroomed in the area to cater to the growing needs of the people. And the restaurants are starting to compromise on the standard and quality of food that they serve. Quantity has become the key rather than the quality,” said Anoorag. The growing concern about the quality issue among the general masses will hamper the food industry as many people are apprehensive of eating outside at such restaurants because of quality and hygiene issue. Moreover, the reputation of such places will not be the same even after the corrections are made. n

Health, Pijush Hazarika, carried out surprise raids at various hotels and restaurants at Paltan Bazaar where a few hotels namely Hotel Raja, Hotel Green View and Hotel Kamakhya were shut down for three days after they were found operating in unhygienic conditions. Raids were constantly carried

out by the district administration in city since last year. Heavy fines amounting to even Rs 8 lakhs were imposed on traders of the Fancy Bazar area of the city for selling low quality food products. Atleast 82 cases were registered against these business establishments. During the raid fines were imposed against oil traders who were found selling low quality product to the customers. Fines ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakhs were slapped on them. Even fruit vendors were fined for ripening bananas and mangoes using carbides and other chemicals. A total of 12.5 quintals of mangoes were seized during the raid. Apart from all these, many famous and reputed restaurants also came under the scanner because of serving rotten meat and stale food to its customers. The food department collected samples from their kitchens after receiving complaints. n

Government’s credibility questioned as raids yield no improvement in food standards

he health ministry last year constituted a team comprising officials from the health & family welfare department, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL) to conduct surprise raids on various hotels, milk vans, sweet shops and factories. However, the raids were not conducted regularly because of shortage of manpower, said an officer of the FSSAI under the condition of anonymity. The officer said, “The office does not have adequate manpower. The team constituted by the minister of state for

health and family welfare has inducted most of our food inspectors. Frequent raids are conducted throughout the city to collect samples and follow up on those cases only.” “The regular checking has taken a back seat. Because of such raids, several restaurants are maintaining the hygiene of the food that they serve to the customer, but again there are many who are not maintaining the standards of the food according to the food safety act. Strict action will be taken against the violators in the future surprise checking that will be done by the team,” said the officer. n

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

AM Rain

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

30°23° C

33°22° C

33°23° C

33°23 C

33°24° C

SATURDAY T-Storms

29°24° C

Review

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Canon conceptualises a revolutionary new EOS system-EOS R The first full frame mirrorless camera from Canon

anon is known for their new technological advancement and inventions in the world of cameras and following its tradition, it has launched the first full frame mirrorless camera EOS R. The EOS R is Canon’s first 35mm full frame CMOS sensor mirror less camera that features an electronic viewfinder. Equipped with various other pioneering features like advanced Dual pixel CMOS AF, Digic 8 imaging processor, High density AF points positions, Multi function slider bar, Flexible AE Mode, High speed data communication RF mount, the camera is set to become the future of imaging and bring forth to users an epitome of image quality never seen before.

and 100% vertically which allows the users to use AF even when composing pictures in which subject is in a corner of the frame. The camera has 5655 AF positions to pick from which helps in extreme precise AF while the subject is moving as well.

High Image Quality with EOS R

Another brilliant feature with EOS R camera is the ability to shoot in very dark conditions. In low light situation when AF does not work and camera is turned to manual-focus, the user generally check the focus results after the photo has been clicked. The EOS R with the capability of EV -6 the ultra-sensitive AF shoot subjects that are nearly invisible and expands the range of working conditions with AF, minimizing the inconvenience of checking focus results after shooting.

The EOS R features a new 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor with effective approx. 30.3 megapixels developed and manufactured by Canon. DIGIC 8 serve to reconcile highly sensitive and high-speed performance with highresolution specifications. Photos right out of the camera are seen to be richer in color accuracy and sharpness. Full frame sensor provides informationrich image data that facilitates retouching and image editing. It also helps if you want to get large size photos or for commercial use as well. Detailed image reproduction is an important component of “image quality” where EOS R is a clear winner. The all new Canon EOS R comes with DLO which is enabled by default. Each RF lens transfers the preset lens data for Digital Lens Optimization to the camera, so there is no need to download or register this data to the camera . This means improved sharpness, contrast, advanced correction of aberration and distortion

Touch & Drag Auto Focus: EOS R with the touch and drag features has changed the way the photos can be composed. The desired AF point can be selected using the LCD touchscreen. The selected point is displayed on the monitor, allowing the user to set autofocus while looking through the viewfinder.

Minimum Luminance of EV-6

Video Recording with EOS R With 4K movie recording at up to 30fps, Canon EOS R brings you unprecedented level of details and resolution for movie shooting. Highquality movies can be shot under natural lighting. This makes the camera a highly efficient, reliable tool for professional-quality movie recording.

Enjoy recording high definition slow motion movies with just a click of a button

Enhanced Image Stabilisation The algorithm to detect camera shake is an evolution from that of EOS DSLR cameras. EOS R gives you a Dual Sensing IS system. This Dual Sensing IS system can accurately detect and compensate for low-frequency blur that used to be hard to detect with gyroscopic sensors alone. As a result, camera-shake blur is reduced by the equivalent of a 5-stop faster shutter speed.

‘Auto Focus with EOS R The area covered by autofocus has been expanded to 88% horizontally

Time-lapse movies can be generated in either full HD movie or 4K UHD movie format

Frames can be extracted from 4K movie footage and saved as an 8.3 MP JPEG image

Photo credit: Canon Photo Mentor - Mr. Ravi Dhingra

Operational features of EOS R While clicking your pictures, the high-precision, vari-angle, touchscreen LCD comes as a relief to achieve extreme low angles or unique high angle photos with so much ease and accuracy. It also supports vertical (portrait) shooting, which is not easy with regular tillable monitor screens.

Convenience: Auto Transfer to PC/ smart device With the Canon’s Camera Connect application, the EOS R camera can be connected to a smartphone at all times, via Bluetooth Low Energy, allowing photos and movies to be transferred to the smartphone. Location data acquired from the smartphone can be added to the image file. Besides its native lenses, the EOS R is compatible with not only the EF lenses but also EF_S lenses, via a mount adapter. This makes it the first EOS full-frame camera to be compatible with EF-S (crop sensors) lenses.

12 City

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Design-o-Lam: One stop shop for all your interior designing requirements G Plus profiles a creative start up venture that is making the complete range of interior products available under a single roof

he entire exercise of designing the interiors of your dream house or workplace can be exciting and tiring at the same time. To make the process easier, Design-o-Lam has been launched in Guwahati to offer the complete range of interior designing products under one roof. The showroom, located below the Bhangagarh flyover, deals with plywood, veneer, hardware fittings, kitchen accessories, corian surfaces, decorative boards, paints, lights and electricals, green wall (vertical gardens), wallpaper, fabrication works, temple works, MDF jali and many more. It also deals with customised iron and wood furniture which

northeast. Design-o-Lam is the brainchild of three young entrepreneurs Prateek Mittal from Guwahati, Yash Bazari from Itanagar and Aman Bazari from Tinsukia. They informed that they wanted to bridge down the hassle of looking for different products under different roofs and bring all of them together for a fun-filled shopping experience in one place. With this thought in mind, Design ‘O’ Lam was born. Guwahati witnessed the majestic opening of the oneof-its-kind interior solution showroom on April 28, Sunday. The showroom was inaugurated by Joint Commissioner of Police, Devraj Upadhyaya who was all praises about the efforts of the youngsters. “This world class showroom proves that Guwahati is moving towards becoming a smart city. The people of Guwahati

graced the occasion with his presence and said, “Design-o-Lam is providing quality products at a reasonable rate and I would definitely make my purchases

some of the renowned builders, architects and interior designers of the city also graced the occasion. Aesthetically designed by ace

are currently in great demand. Another highlight of Designo-Lam is that it has over 800 designs of mica on display, which is the largest display in the entire

love to decorate their homes and Design-o-Lam is the best place for all their requirements,” he said. Assam Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya also

from here in the future.” Renowned social worker Banwarilal Mittal, Sanjay Bazari and Ajay Bazari were also present during the occasion. Additionally,

designers Ranjan and Kiyatta Agarwal, the space has been planned keeping in mind the display structure of products for the customers. “The place should

Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

tell the story of who you are and be a collection of what you love. Therefore, Design-o-Lam is the perfect solution in building your dream place right,” they said. What sets the showroom apart from other similar stores in the city is the presence of a wide variety of products on display and the absence of middlemen. Design-o-Lam directly buys the products from the manufacturer and sells them in Guwahati with the promise to provide quality products 20-25% cheaper than market rate. One of the key highlights of the showroom is the cafeteria where architects, interior designers and freelancers can bring their laptops and work in leisure, using free WiFi. One can even have meetings in the cafe and order beverages and snacks from the delightfully curetted menu. The cafeteria acts as a relaxing zone (a new concept) in the centre of the showroom, designed to give a homely touch, keeping in mind the comfort of the customers. “The space has been created to cater all the interior designing requirements of the people of northeast. Our motto is to provide our clients with unique, extraordinary products and make them happy,” said Prateek Mittal, co-owner of Design-o-Lam. An incomparable range of hand-picked, lovingly sourced and procured Sizzler Plus laminates, ReVera Interio kitchen solutions, in-house produced Club Supreme plywood, Lucento NX architecture surfaces, and a wide range of LED lights of all shapes and sizes are just some of the products to look out for at Design-o-Lam. Whether you’re looking to change up your entire house, or are looking for that perfect office display or just the right lighting for your cafeteria/hotel, Designo-Lam has it all under one roof. n

Guwahati witnessed the grand opening of Design-o-Lam on Sunday, April 28. The one-of-a-kind showroom for interior designing products was inaugurated by Joint Commissioner of Police, Devraj Upadhyaya and graced by Assam Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya. The showroom is located at Khemka Tea Warehousing Complex below Bhangagarh Flyover in Guwahati. It deals in plywood, veneer, hardware fittings, kitchen accessories, corian surfaces, decorative boards, paints, lights and electricals, green wall (vertical gardens), wallpaper, fabrication works, temple works, MDF jali and many more. It also deals with customised iron and wood furniture which are currently in great demand. Design-o-Lam has over 800 designs of mica on display, which is the largest display in the entire northeast.

In The News

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Israel hopes to share Expertise & Technology with Assam: Israeli Envoy G Plus News @guwahatiplus

srael’s Ambassador to India, Dr. Ron Malka, was in Guwahati on Wednesday, 1 May to deliver the 6th Professor Sarat Mahanta Memorial Lecture, where he said that Israel looks forward to sharing its expertise and technology in various fields, including agriculture, energy and water management, with Assam. Dr. Malka further added that he had “fruitful discussions” with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. He also expressed confidence that Israel’s engagement with Assam will witness progress in future. Speaking on ‘Israel’s Economy and India and Israel’s Bilateral Relations: Past, Present & the Future’ at the Royal Global University, Dr. Malka said that even the sky is not the limit to enhancing cooperation in various fields be-

tween the two countries. “There is no limit to the help Israel will give to India, which is a precious friend,” he said. Listing out the areas of cooperation between the two countries, the Israeli envoy said that various working groups have been set up to monitor progress and ensure implementation of MoUs in many sectors within a given time frame. India, the envoy pointed out, is 150 times bigger than Israel, which has a total area of 22,072 square kilometres, and is the tiniest country in the entire Middle East, Asia and North Africa About 77.6% of Israel’s citizens are ‘Sabras’, the nickname given to people born in Israel, while the remaining 22.4% are Israelis who migrated from other countries. Fourteen percent of Israel’s population are of European origin, 4.4% of Middle Eastern origin, 2.1% migrated from the Americas, 1.2% from Africa and 0.6% from Asia and other regions.

A total of 75% of Israel’s population are Jews, 20.7% are Arabs, 1.5% are Druze and the remaining 2.8% follow other faiths. Israel’s GDP in current prices

man was the first Israeli head of state to visit India in 1996, while Ariel Sharon was the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit India in 2003. Pranab Mukherjee’s visit

India, more than 20 MoUs were signed between 15 Israeli universities and academic institutions and their Indian counterparts. Jindal University and IIM Ban-

ades of knowledge in cardiology, neurology, diabetes, rehabilitation, respiratory diseases, oncology, genomics, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and medication management and is keen on sharing these with India, he said. India and Israel are also cooperating very closely in the energy sector, particularly in exploring new reserves. Israel is working towards starting directing flights from that country to a few more Indian cities and hoped that, in future, direct flights will start between Israel and Guwahati too. MoUs and agreements were inked during the visits of Prime Ministers of both countries in 2017 and 2018 in film co-production, water conservation, cyber security, oil & gas, air transport, industrial research & development, water utility reform, space and investments, Dr. Malka added. Assam Finance Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, in his speech at the event, said that the scope of collaboration between

was the same as Egypt, the Arab Republics, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria in 1960. While Israel’s economy started improving since the late 1970s and started rising steeply after a decade, the economies of its neighbours remained stagnant or improved only marginally. Since the turn of this century, Israel’s GDP started rising exponentially and the rise has continued at the same breathtaking pace, which the only other economies of the region, that of Egypt and the Arab Republics, that kept pace with Israel’s started have been experiencing a freefall since 2016. Israel is the only country in its neighbourhood whose per capita GDP has consistently risen. India and Israel share a long history. India recognized Israel without establishing formal relations in the 1950s, and it was only in 1992 that full diplomatic ties were established between the two countries. President Ezer Weiz-

to Israel in 2015 was the first by an Indian President to that country, while President Rivlin visited India in 2016 and again in 2018. Prime Minister Modi visited Israel in 2017, followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to India in January 2018. India and Israel, said Dr Malka, are collaborating in the fields of water, agriculture, education, innovation, defence, HLS, cyber, finance, health, space, energy and tourism. In the water sector, the focus is on water--management, conservation, desalination, recycling, enhancement and irrigation. There are many Israeli-led water projects in many Indian states, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Of these, drip irrigation projects account for 531 million US dollars (Rs 3690.4 crore), water treatment projects 8.78 million US dollars (Rs 6102 lakh) and water planning infrastructure 282 million US dollars (Rs 1959.9 crore). Israeli agro-technology expertise in water and wastewater management irrigation, post-harvest, greenhouses, fertilizers and pesticides, seeds, dairy farming and aquaculture, mechanization and turnkey projects in engineering and consultancy is being shared with India. The Indo-Israeli agriculture projects involve 16 state partners, and there are 25 fully active centres of excellence spread over 16 states. These centres of excellence are advanced and intensive agriculture farms that are a platform of knowledge transfer of Israeli agro-technology. Dr Malka said that during President Reuven Rivlin’s 2016 visit to

galore now offer Israel Studies programme. Indian students constitute 10% of the total number of foreign students studying in Israel. More than 200 scholarships to study in Israel are offered to Indian students every year. India and Israel are cooperating in air, maritime and land defence and in military communications and technology systems. There are more than 2000 start-ups among the 5000 plus companies in Israel. Innovation is spread widely across all domains from bio-meds to financial technology, he said, adding that Israel ranks second in R&D spending per GDP, the first in R&D spending per capita, the first in patent applications per capita and the first in venture capital investment per capita. Israel, said the envoy, is the world leader in cyber security and 20% of the total global investments in cyber security happens in Israel. Israel has acquired dec-

Assam and Israel in agriculture and other fields was vast. Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora also said that Assam hoped to gain from Israel’s expertise in agriculture and technology. Noted journalist and human rights activist Ajit Bhuyan, who is also the chairperson of the Dr Sarat Mahanta Memorial Foundation, recalled his association with Professor Mahanta in his welcome address. The programme started with a soulful invocation by Zublee Baruah and a Xatriya dance recital by Mridusmita Das. Among others present on the occasion were Guwahati Lok Sabha MP Bijoya Chakraborty and Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) Chairperson Ashok Singhal, apart from top bureaucrats and police officers. Distinguished personas from various walks of life also attended the programme.

14 G Talk E

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019 T

Memorable moments with Malka

, along with many others, was privy to a great piece of lecture delivered as a keynote address by the Ambassador of Israel to India, Dr Ron Malka. This was part of the 6th Prof Sarat Mahanta Memorial Annual Lecture series held dutifully every year on May 1. While I had been to the previous editions as well, the lecture this year, delivered with élan and peppered with humour, held the greatest impact on me. The envoy basically talked about the growing relations between India and Israel, especially over the past 5 years after Narendra Modi came to power. Dr Malka’s PPT slides had nothing much to mention prior to 2014 besides India’s formal recognition of the state of Israel in 1950 and establishment of its embassy in Tel Aviv in 1992. The rapid growth in relations clearly began after 2014 when PM Modi, in his first year as Prime Minister, took his globe-trotting rather seriously and there were a number of bilateral exchanges between the two countries including a couple of summits. Unbeknownst to be simply because the growth in the relations was never very “newsy” so to say, the two countries have made rapid

strides such that they are two of the biggest mutual trade partners today collaborating in many areas of productivity including information technology, biotechnology and agriculture; all are sectors where Israel happens to be a world leader and can hold a beacon of guidance to India. Moreover, what clearly came across to his audience is the awe that India is held in today – a clear and definite indication of PM Modi’s massive exercises in international diplomacy that had been the subject of many trolls in his first year of power. The ambassador kept referring to India as a close friend today – something that was never the case under previous regimes with India’s nonaligned and pro-Arab policies. Clearly, given many other current affairs of the world today – including China lifting its veto finally allowing the UN to categorize Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist” and again, China redrawing its maps to not stake its claims on Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, PM Modi’s huge hard work is showing clear dividends. Israel has earned global respect for its resolute survival instincts. For the same country to show such respect towards India is heart-warming. n Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

Assamese actors & fear of the English language I am privy to the insecurity of the “Assamese folk and their language,” brought forward after two recent incidents I witnessed. As the older generation would put it, the Assamese language has been butchered by the young and the diction has been corrupted. To explain things better, a local theatre artist was lambasted for having done a commercial in part English and Assamese. The comments being, “Dada, are you ashamed of being an Assamese? Apuni nijor bhaxa nokoi kio? Style maribo nalage, speak in Assamese” (Leaving all the abusive comments aside). Another celebrity was apprehensive of speaking in English on camera because the audience had trolled her in her past videos. Since she spoke English fluently, we told her to go ahead with it anyway. It is then that she mentioned that audience has a problem with her speaking in English, not how she spoke. In both the cases, here’s what I don’t understand. Why is a language that helps artists earn their bread and butter be subjected to debate by people sitting behind a 6 inch screen. Audiences for far too long have enjoyed maintaining their double standards. Because they watch free content on the internet, they feel entitled to comment on someone else’s work. Where does this vehement interest of “cultural-preservation” go when people are out there spitting on the roads, harassing tourists, reporting absent from cultural events? Brands are paying artists for content, because they meet certain standards. Viewers are free to not view these, but it is disappointing to see artists live in fear of trolls, especially when these are the last people to buy tickets for an Assamese movie. Story line and narrative aside, if cultural preservation is paramount, support the effort anyway and leave constructive criticism. But no, you’d rather tell everyone, “Moi je ki comment mari down dilu actor tuk. 50 likes paisu comment’ot!” Art is the freedom of expression and what is freedom if someone is after your expression!

Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_bv

Tax Me Not

O pinion Debashish Goswami

Politics doesn’t concern middle-class India – though we pay for it.

ou, dear reader and I, belong to that massive minority which sustains democratic aspirations of India and benefits not from that democracy. Our democratic structure runs on our taxes and yet gives benefits to the corporate entities/businesses/ banks on the higher rungs and the masses that fall below the so-called “middle-class” lines and are part of the voting blocs. You and I, the educated minority don’t really matter. And yet the country runs on taxes paid by us, revenue generated by us, systems sustained by us for very little in return or even recognition. The workhorse of modern India and the actual engine of its growth is its middle-class - hard-working, upwardly mobile, self-aware of these facts and yet unattended and beaten down. As per official figures, our growth rate is 6.6% which is weak in itself, considering our performance over the last 15 years. The economy is on a downward spiral and barely performing. Our core sectoral growth as per February 2019 is 2.1% and the IIP (Index of Industrial Production) is 0.1%, export growth is zero (rare status since 1991) and our savings and investment rates have dipped below 30% for the first time since 2003. Agriculture as a sector is burning out and the employment figures are appalling. India is driven by its aspirational middle-class segment, regardless of boundaries of religion or community. The national growth rate is essentially contributed by these aspirational successive generations of the same middle class and is fuelled massively by rapid banking strides by institutions commercial and noncommercial. The country grows whether political will mandates or not, by this immense growth engine but this engine is faltering and needs support. Analysing our growth story,

in terms of basic accounting, we arrive at the answer of growing inequality. Growth is happening but concentrated at the top, while the rest of the society is static. The bulk of the working class such as farmers, small businesses and traders across smaller towns and cities are barely managing, while the top metropolises generate high

Observing the narratives pushed out from the ivory towers of New Delhi - especially the ministry offices of the CGO complex or North Block or even from the commercial hubs of Mumbai which take decisions based on pure numbers and mandate policy based on those numbers is a fallacy propagated in India for ages. growth rates and show the “India Shining” story. Policy errors like demonetization (November 2016) have contributed negatively to the hinterlands of “Bharat” while leaving the rich “India” virtually unaffected. Countries which have done similar “demonetizations” since 1982 like North Korea, Venezuela, Myanmar, Iraq, Russia, Ghana, Brazil and Cyprus, have suffered similar disastrous consequences affecting the middle class most, and essentially spasming the

rThe price for Masood Azhar

economic growth engines. Observing the narratives pushed out from the ivory towers of New Delhi - especially the ministry offices of the CGO complex or North Block - or even from the commercial hubs of Mumbai which take decisions based on pure numbers and mandate policy based on those numbers is a fallacy propagated in India for ages. The inability to know the real story on the ground is contributory to many of the policy errors committed by the current and preceding governments. And yet, the middle-class across the very same ignored hinterlands, is urged to vote, to pay taxes and levies on each and every transaction but on a point-topoint benefit ratio, lose out to the teeming masses that get toilets, gas connections and much more. They do not get subsidy deals, low-interest loans or economic benefits aside from a paltry few scraps in each budget. The roads, drains or even communal public utilities which we pay taxes for barely exist, public services are a joke in most of the Smart Cities, leave aside the un-Smart Cities. And our taxes go to benefit who exactly? So how do we answer this growing inequality? As stated before, politics shouldn’t concern the Indian middle-class, but perhaps we should stop paying for it. The state exists for us and not the other way around. We who pay for this existence should reconsider - Pressing the NOTA button will not really matter. Not paying taxes collectively might. n

Letter to the Editor

Finally, the UN has declared Masood Azhar a global terrorist and it is a symbolic win for India. How much of terrorism, pursued by this man, in India, can now be arrested remains to be seen. However, the behind-the-scene activities need to be known and the public should be aware of this. Till recently, India was having a good rapport with Iran, and Iran was supplying oil to India in Rupee terms. The US administration, under the tutelage of its maverick President, Donald Trump, was hell bent on imposing sanctions on Iran, for one reason or the other. At the same time, the US appears to be supportive of Saudi Arabia, and its murderous heir apparent, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. This Wah-habi regime of Saudi Arabia is one prime exporters of Islamic terrorism all across the world, including killing of hundreds of civilians in Sri Lanka recently. The price of Masood Azhar being declared a global terrorist may be quite high to the nation, which only time would decipher in future. A Bhuyan Nagaon

In Focus

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Stuck in traffic: Wild elephant caught roaming on GS Road Harshita Himatsingka @HHimatsingka

n April 30, the citizens of the ever-developing Guwahati had an unusual experience – a wild elephant was seen roaming on the GS Road, one of the busiest streets in the city.

According to Assam State Zoo officials, the elephant had come towards the city at around 3 am from Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary on Tuesday. Authorities also mentioned that the pachyderm entered the city via Hengrabari side and then headed to Ganeshguri, GS Road and Ulubari. Amidst the chaos, zoo authorities were trying to maneuver the

elephant towards the Assam State Zoo on Zoo Road (RG Baruah Road) so as to ensure minimal damage. Even though they weren’t successful at first, after several hours of work and a team effort by the zoo authorities, forest officials and the administration, the lot managed to capture the elephant and tranquilize it. Once the pachyderm was tranquilized, it was made to

walk across the city to the Assam State Zoo where it was kept overnight. On the day of the incident, G Plus had spoken to Assam Forest Minister, Parimal Suklabaidya who said that he had taken stock of the situation and all necessary actions were taken so that both the public and the elephant were kept safe. He had also spoken to author-

ities of the District Administration to ensure smooth movement of traffic as the whole area had come to a standstill once the pachyderm was spotted on the premises. The next morning, on May 1, forest officials used a Hydra vehicle (a crane-like vehicle to lift the animal) and released the elephant in the forest in Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary. n

Human-Elephant conflict, dire consequences loom at both ends of the spectrum

he elephant sighting on GS Road was a sight to behold, and raised all kinds of emotions alarm, concern and sadness. This incident begs the question regarding human-elephant conflict to be addressed as what happened on that faithful Tuesday is a major cause of concern. And more so than that, what was even surprising was people’s reactions to the pachyderm. The public was seen shouting, crowding the animal and acting in a wild manner, unlike the poor elephant, who seemed stuck and scared. In hundreds, they were

also seen swarming behind the animal, causing unrest and disturbance to both fellow citizens and the pachyderm. According to a report by Deccan Herald, 761 humans and 249 elephants have lost their lives since 2010 in such human-elephant conflicts. Based on the report, wildlife activists have said that a rise in encroachment of forest areas has caused habitat loss of these magnificent pachyderms which forces them to come down to the plains in search of food and water, which in turn causes human death and destruction of human

property. Elephant deaths have increased from 25 in 2010 to 46 in 2017. Some of the main reasons for these animals’ death include electrocution, being mowed down by trains, poaching, accidents and poisoning. The state

forest department, in a document, has mentioned that in order to reduce human-elephant conflicts, elephant depredation squads have been formed in each district that comprise officials of the district administration, local villagers and NGOs. However, the situation is getting serious dayby-day. Now, we really have to wonder who is to blame for such incidents: the poor elephants who unknowingly lose their way in search of food and water or us humans, who are knowingly losing all our ways in search of money. n

The wild elephant creating “menace” on GS Road stirred up a lot of comments and reactions on the digital channels of G Plus. Here are a few of them. Salma Rahman If we see properly people were behaving like wild animals, shouting, showing signboards, beating drums and firing bullets/bombs in the air. Yes, there was a huge traffic jam due to it. But who is to be blamed? When deforestation happens, it leads to man-elephant conflict. The elephant doesn’t even know what to do, where to go. People are blocking its way. Not giving it any chance to move. Call forest officials, tranquilize him and take him away. I think everyone would agree to my point, being a common man’s thinking. But creating a havoc, hue, cry about the elephant, not allowing it to move, showing signboards will lead to nothing. Sad! Where is the human race heading to? Neel Knight Isn’t Amchang the same place where eviction was taking place few days back and some people were against the eviction? Well this is Karma! I wish a huge group of elephants ransack all everything of these people. Until and unless the people see the bad side, they don’t understand what wrong they are doing. Such things should happen to make people realise what we are doing with the environment.

Dipshikha Das Hundreds of people walking behind the elephants, so think how jobless they are. They just roam around the city with no work at all and create chaos here and there and if something occurs they immediately gather at that place and enjoy the show of the day and return home. I saw on the television that police were announcing to move away from the place but the people didn’t bother at all and people don’t understand good words so it was better if the elephant smashed one or two people. At least then they would have understood. Gaurav Sarma He must be so hungry. He walked so far from Amchang Forest and no one thought about that. Reporters and the public are creating more outrage than the elephant itself. It has been tranquillized but God knows with how many shots because vet doctors here do not care about animals. There was a reporter who said that she was hurt but I think it’s her fault but she was acting like it was the fault of the elephant. To be true, people are creating more outrage than the elephant. I hope the elephant stays safe.

Sumi Shreemoyi I would say it’s a civilized elephant and quite decent but the humans are behaving wildly towards this innocent animal. People coming across the elephant should have given him food and water. It makes me sad to feel how hungry he must be but still behaving in such a cool manner all alone amidst the chaotic city and uncivilised people! And we should preserve the forest areas and stop encroachment into their habitats. It’s high time to resolve the man-elephant conflict by treating the innocent elephants with affection and care. And I strongly condemn the forest department’s insensitivity in tackling this issue timely which requires immediate and effective measures.

16 Feature

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Preserving Assamese culture: 1,000 regional songs to be released online Harshita Himatsingka @HHimatsingka

intage vinyl records and cassettes are of immense value. Nothing can beat the touch and feel of a vinyl record spinning peacefully on a gramophone, or the incessant turning of a cassette with a pencil to roll back its tape. However, in this digital age, the way for preservation going forward is electronic. Not that going electronic is a bad thing, having an infinite playlist on one’s phone is not only convenient but also very impressive, technologically. A similar impressive technology is being used by Axl Hazarika, Archive Head of Jyoti Chitrabon Digital Archiving Department, who is on a one-man mission to digitize and re-master old Assamese tracks that seem to have been lost, but not forgotten. “This is a relatively new department. It was officially launched in 2017 and the campaign actually started with chief minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, who digitized the first track, Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla’s Gosai Gosai. And now, after two years, we are ready with almost 10,000 tracks that we will slowly release on YouTube,” said Hazarika, speaking in an excited manner. Turning a one-dimension audio into a multi-dimension audio is essentially what the process of digitizing comprises, he explained. “First, it depends on what kind of audio we have, either in a vinyl form or a cassette. If it’s in a vinyl, we use a gramophone player and if it is in a cassette, we use a cassette player and then record on DAW- digital audio workstation,” mentioned Hazarika. Following that, the mastering of the song is done. The song goes through editing, where layers are separated such as guitar layer, bass layer, vocal layer etc and then everything is filtered individually. After that, a compressor is added or a multiple compressors are added, essentially whatever the track requires and then plug ins, mostly universal plug ins are used. Hazarika, exhaling after explaining the whole process said, “It’s not so easy to describe the entire process in lay terms, but these are the basics.” Through the month of April and May, Hazarika and his

department, which mostly consists of him, will release close to 1,000 songs on YouTube in an effort to preserve them and create an online accessible library of sorts. “In the beginning when we started with this project, finding vinyls and cassettes were difficult as there were so few of them available to me and I wasn’t even listening to Assamese artists and musicians. But, when I passionately got involved in the entire process, I realised that Assam is a treasure trove of great music,” said Hazarika, talking about how he got started with this project. He does go on to mention that even though there was this great music available, proper re-

mastering of this music had not been done. “Since I am also a musician and from Assam, I don’t want to just digitize these records and keep it,

Axl Hazarika’s aim is not to create a museum, but to make a digital archive that stores these re-mastered songs so that they are accessible to all, even in countries as far as the United States and United Kingdom. He wants to create a sharing platform, not a viewing platform.

but I want to properly re-master it and share it with everyone,” he added. Speaking of the challenges related to this project, Hazarika

mentioned that there were three main hindrances. First, it is extremely time-consuming to edit, mix and re-master these songs. These songs have separate layers and different textures in different frequencies. “I have to perform various ‘surgical strikes’ during sound engineering, filtering has to be done. Just for mixing and mastering a song, it takes 5 hours alone and right now, it’s just me,” he explained. Collecting vinyls and cassettes is a whole other story he says. Some people who are record or vinyl collectors, don’t like to part with their collection and often ask for financial compensation or such, he mentioned. “This becomes difficult because

we cannot provide that. We are a government organisation that is not even directly seeking money from the concerned authorities, so we cannot provide any kind

of monetary remuneration” said Hazarika. Speaking of how he meets people with records, Hazarika said that it is generally through wordof-mouth and contacts. 80 percent of these records, vinyls and cassettes are recovered from Assam and the remaining 20 percent are found in states like West Bengal and New Delhi, especially in Kolkata as earlier, all vinyls from this region were produced there. “There one is a funny anecdote. I have found a lot of records in the chor bazaars, flea markets of Kolkata. One time, there was a stack of old Assamese vinyls just lying around. 10 rupees for a piece, can you imagine? A bunch of Assamese greats, found in the nooks and corners of old Calcutta,” he exclaimed, recalling the incident. The third problem that he faces is that people often mistake his archiving as a music museum. Hazarika’s aim is not to create a museum, but to make a digital archive that stores these remastered songs so that they are accessible to all, even in countries as far as the United States and United Kingdom. He wants to create a sharing platform, not a viewing platform. “I want to spread the music digitally, that is the initiative. It is for everyone, not just one person. It will be available in Jyoti Chitrabon’s website, my website. You can also download it and spread it. We have to spread and share Assamese music, that’s the initiative,” he said passionately. Currently, the department has collected approximately 10,000 pictures of film personalities from Assam. They are also collecting and in the process of archiving Assamese films, music, photographs and literature. Hazarika mentioned that he wants to mix all of these together and make a platform where everything from Assamese culture is available in a single place. His aim to make the platform like Netflix and Spotify of sorts - a mixed version of that. “I have an appeal for all musicians, sound engineers, archivists etc of the region to take initiative and volunteer for this project. Maybe in one month, one album could be digitized and this would help a lot. Also, if someone has a vinyl or cassette, if it is digitised or not, please send it to us or if not, let us come to your place and we’ll digitize it. This is for our culture,” said Hazarika in closing. n

Trotter

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Gorillas pose with anti-poaching ranger for coolest selfie ever

good selfie usually needs two ingredients - the right frame and the cutest subjects. As it turns out, gorillas too are mastering the art of looking great in selfies. The proof is the selfie shared by an anti-poaching ranger in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The selfie clicked by the ranger Mathieu Shamavu at the Virunga National Park has been posted on Facebook page of The Elite Anti Poaching Units and Combat Trackers and has seen 20,000 shares at the time of writing this. The selfie has been titled, quite aptly we might add, as

“Another Day at The Office.” The Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the recent military turmoil in the country has also given rise to unchecked and illegal poaching

activities in the park. The Elite Anti Poaching Units and Combat Trackers is a group of 600 anti-poachers who have come together to protect the gorillas at the Virunga. The rangers at the Virunga National Park have posed for selfies with gorillas earlier as well, which in a way indicates the close bond between the humans and the gorillas - a bond perhaps based on trust. Gorillas are critically endangered species, mostly because of the loss of habitat as well as illegal poaching in many regions. (Source: news18)

Groom played PUBG at his own wedding, ignored bride

nline multiplayer game PUBG has taken the world by storm and a video is there as proof. The video, which has been shared widely online, shows a groom busy playing PUBG during his own wedding! While his bride sits next to him (not amused in the least), he continues to devote his full attention to the addictive game, even brushing aside a gift he was handed at one point. The video was originally uploaded on the video sharing

platform Tik Tok, and has gone viral from there. One version on Facebook alone has been viewed over 4 lakh times. It is not clear when and where the now-viral video was filmed. While it is not clear whether the video is staged or this incident actually happened, it has definitely left netizens amused. “He is a pro player. Do not disturb him,” laughed one

person in the comments section. “Hahahah,” said another. (Source: ndtv)

Woman, 34, throws herself luxury divorce party after 15-year fight for split

woman who spent 15 years trying to divorce her husband has thrown a luxury divorce party to celebrate the paperwork finally going through. Area manager Catherine Navarro, 34, from New Jersey, in the US, was just 20 when she married her first love and now exhusband Marc in 2005. She had only fully made up her mind just weeks before the big day. Catherine thought Marc was joking when he suggested they tie the knot while at another friend’s wedding. However, Catherine managed to pool together her friends and family to organise a last-minute wedding. While the relationship started sweetly, it soon faltered and when Catherine filed for a divorce, Marc disappeared never to contact her again. The court could only grant her a divorce in his absence if she could prove she had searched high and

low him life. first

for her husband — despite totally vanishing from her “I thought he was joking at because we’d been drinking

and were on a dance floor in that moment, but a few days later he followed up about my dress and flowers,” Catherine said. After the City Hall in New York, with witnesses including Catherine’s mum and her friends, the wedding party joined a family party to celebrate. “It was an absolutely gorgeous day,” she continued. “It was a simple affair but it came together perfectly it

such a short time frame.” Catherine filed for a divorce but Marc refused and in 2012 he disappeared entirely to never be seen by her or any of their family and friends again. It took the 34-year-old years to prove the grounds of their divorce in his absence and at last in March this year she was granted the divorce she had desperately wanted for so long. To celebrate, she threw herself a “divorce party” with the help of friends — a celebration that she had been planning secretly for years as she waited for the divorce to be finalised. About 30 friends attended the party, that included cakes, decorated with “straight outta marriage” and “boy, bye”, as well as with balloons with “happily divorced” written across them. “It had been years in the making but the day I finally got divorced, I decided it was time to celebrate with an incredible party for my new beginning,” Catherine said. (Source: news.com)

Viral ad on #barbershopgirls of Uttar Pradesh smashes gender stereotypes

ack in 2014, in the Banwari Tola village of Uttar Pradesh, two teenage girls took over their father’s barber shop when he fell ill. To step into a profession traditionally dominated by men, they disguised themselves as boys, even taking on male names. Gradually over the years, as they supported their family with the money they earned, continued to study, and paid for their father’s treatment, Neha and Jyoti began to reveal their identities to customers. Today, their inspirational story of smashing gender stereotypes has been turned into an ad by personal grooming brand Gillette - and netizens can’t stop praising them. The now-viral ad shows the village of Banwari Tola through the eyes of a young child who observes women busy with household chores while men go out to work and play. All his notions of traditional gender roles are upturned, however, when he walks into a barber shop with his father and sees a girl ready to give him a shave. And when he asks his father how a girl could shave him, his father explains that a razor can’t differentiate between a boy and a girl. The ad has been viewed over

3.2 million times on YouTube alone, and has also been shared by celebrities on social media who have praised it soundly. “Moved by the story of these #BarbershopGirls. And hats off to their father and the entire village of Banwari Tola for supporting them,” wrote actor Farhan Akhtar on Instagram, sharing a video of the ad. “Who run the world? Barbershop Girls! Jyoti & Neha, just came across your story and I am super excited to share this!” wrote Swara Bhasker, adding that she applauded the people of Banwari Tola for supporting the two women. Other actors who shared the video and praised Neha and Jyoti include the Dangal girls, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra, actress Radhika Apte and hairstylist Aalim Hakim. (Source: ndtv)

Kerala traffic police challans Tata Nexon driver for not wearing helmet

motorist in Kerala was recently fined for not wearing a helmet by the Kerala Traffic Police. A pretty common occurrence, right? Not when you are driving an SUV! The motorist was actually in a Tata Nexon when he was challaned for not wearing a helmet. Gopa Kumar shared the incident he faced on April 30 while travelling in his car with his family. A translation of the post explains that Gopa Kumar was travelling on Shasthankota Chavara route with his family when the traffic police stopped him, apparently for not wearing a helmet. A sense of sarcasm can be noticed in the post by Kumar as the incident is less likely to be a deliberate move than a mistake at the hands of the traffic police. As far as the imagination goes, Kerala Traffic Police must have been conducting a routine check at the post, where other vehicles might have been stopped as well. Though it is not clear as to why kumar was stopped, in all probability, it is the mix-up of his challan with that of a two-wheeler rider that has turned out to be one

of the most hilarious things on the internet in recent times. Kumar realised that the challan was for not wearing a helmet only after he had already paid it and was thereby released by the police. A simple reasoning would say that there must have been another who had gotten a “not

wearing a seat belt” one for his two-wheeler. So we know for sure that the comedy of errors is not restricted to Kumar in this case. While it is understandable that to “err is human”, challans like these can go a long way in other countries, even leading to the suspension of the driver’s license over time, as well as affecting the insurance premium of the vehicle. (Source: indiatimes)

18 Review

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Starring: Sunny Deol, Karan Kapadia, Karanvir Sharma Director: Behzad Khambata

Cinepolis, Christian Basti 09435025808

Avengers: Endgame (Hindi), 3D

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

Blank 11:15 AM, 05:15 PM

04:40 PM

Kalank

Avengers: Endgame

02:00 PM

(English), 3D

Movie Review

Setters

Bornodi Bhotiai

08:45 AM, 09:10 AM, 12:00 PM, 12:30

(Assamese)

PM, 12:55 PM, 03:45 PM, 04:15 PM,

05:00 PM

07:30 PM, 08:00 PM, 08:25 PM

3rd Eye

The Tashkent Files

08:15 PM

10:35 AM

Blank 09:30 AM, 06:50 PM, 09:20 PM

Blank

ased on a reputed national newspaper, Hindustan Times, the film directed by Behzad Khambata, Blank is about sleeper-cells and terrorists, and more specifically about a guy with a bomb planted inside his chest. This guy, Hanif, doesn’t remember who he is, but the bomb is ticking and the film is fraught with urgency. Or at least it should have been. Weighing in at just over a 100 minutes, this should have been a tight film but merely enforces the illusion of economical filmmaking: it is short not because it’s unspooling at a thrilling speed but because it has too little to say, as is evidenced by the multiple montages of

terrorists checking their phones. We see each terrorist, we see their phone screen with an identical message, we see their identical reaction shots, and we see them move into action. Still, this could have been pulpy fun and there is some promise. The hand-to-hand combat sequences are shot grungily, with extreme close-ups, but while Blank wants to be a heavy metal movie, it is basically a kid with a noisy amp. At one point a terrorist Skyping from afar who was clearly supposed to have an Osama Bin Laden beard is wearing a Rajneesh Osho beard. All beards are evil, remember? Deol solemnly commits to an uncharacteristically un-scream-y part and keeps things watchable,

though it is a bit odd to see those legendary, larger-than-life hands used to pull coloured string from photograph to photograph across an FBI-style board of suspects. It gives the sense of a majestic jungle cat forced to play with yarn. The mouse in this chase is debutant Karan Kapadia, who, as Hanif, must be commended for starting out with a supporting role. There really isn’t much to do, but Kapadia is tall and fights well. The two times he has to really emote, though, his voice rises to an unfortunate Suniel Shetty register, but otherwise there isn’t much wrong with him. Maybe the next time he’ll be in a film that fires actual bullets. n

Grande Cines, Paltan Bazar 09854017771

Setters

Avengers: Endgame

01:45 PM

(English), 3D

Bornodi Bhotiai

10:00 AM, 01:30 PM,

(Assamese)

04:30 PM, 09:00 PM

04:10 PM

Avengers: Endgame (Hindi), 3D

Anuradha Cineplex, Noonmati 0361 2656968

Avengers: Endgame

12:50 PM, 05:15 PM, 08:15 PM

Blank 10:45 AM

(English), 3D 02:00 PM, 08:45 PM

Avengers: Endgame

PVR Cinemas, Dona Planet 08800900009

(Hindi), 3D

Avengers: Endgame

10:45 AM, 05:30 PM

(English), 3D

Gold Cinema, Paltan Bazaar

09:00 AM, 12:50 PM,

09854066166

04:40 PM, 08:30 PM

Tecno Camon i4

smartphone in the sub Rs. 10,000 segment, the Tecno Camon i4 is one of the few smartphones in this price range to offer three rear cameras. Tecno ships a transparent case in the box along with a 10W charger. The company also offers a one-time screen replacement warranty if damage occurs within 6 months of purchase, a 100-day free replacement guarantee, and extended warranty. Design The Camon i4 has a big 6.2inch display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and thin bezels. There’s a waterdrop-style notch that is referred to as a Dot Notch. The earpiece is pushed towards the frame of the smartphone to extract the maximum possible area for the display. The frame of this phone is made out of plastic and is rounded, which makes it

easy to hold. All the buttons are positioned on the right and are easy to reach. There is a Micro-USB port at along with a 3.5mm headphone jack, the primary microphone, and a speaker grille. At the back, the Camon i4 has a triple camera setup. Right below the camera module is the LED flash. The Tecno and Camon logos are positioned horizontally. Specifications and Software: The Tecno Camon i4 sports a 6.2-inch HD+ (720x1520 pixels) display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It has a screen-to-body ratio of 88.6 percent and a peak screen brightness of 500 nits, which makes it legible when outdoors.

The Tecno Camon i4 comes in 2GB RAM/ 32GB storage, 3GB RAM/ 32GB storage, and 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage variants. The 2GB RAM and 3GB RAM variants are powered by the MediaTek Helio A22 SoC while the 4GB RAM variant is powered by a MediaTek Helio P22 SoC. The phone is a dual-SIM smartphone and has two NanoSIM slots. Storage is expandable thanks to the dedicated microSD card slot, and you can use cards of up to 256GB capacity. There is support for 4G as well as VoLTE on both SIMs. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS/A-GPS, and FM radio. This phone has an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, and a proximity sensor. There’s a 3500mAh battery and support for the company’s own ‘Rocket’ fast charging using the supplied 10W

charger. Performance, cameras and battery life The Camon i4 has enough performance for basic tasks such as using WhatsApp and multitasking with a couple of apps, but bump the load up and you will see that this phone struggles to keep up. The highlight of the Camon i4 is its triple-camera setup. This consists of a 13-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture,

an 8-megapixel ultra wide-angle camera, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The camera app on the Camon i4 is basic and has AI Cam, Beauty, Bokeh, AR, and Video modes to choose from. At the top of the screen you will find toggles for HDR, the flash, and the ultra wide-angle camera. HDR works with the primary sensor only and cannot be enabled while using the ultra wide-angle camera. Verdict The Tecno Camon i4 is priced in a segment where the competition is very fierce. Phones at this budget level have more powerful processors and more RAM than what the Camon i4 delivers. While this phone loses out in terms of performance, the primary rear camera does take decent photos in daylight, and the wide-angle sensor could come in handy for shooting landscapes. Inputs taken by NDTV Gadget.

Fiction

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Crossing a stormy Brahmaputra

had moved out from our family tea garden near Gohpur to Guwahati to focus on our new project there in 1981 but continued looking after the production and development of our tea properties. This required monthly visits to check on the works on new tea planting and general development of the garden and factory. At times my eldest brother also came to assess for himself as we believed that we had to improve our gardens both in crop and quality and the financial inputs and requirements had to be carefully planned and utilised. We had come on one such joint visit early in April of 1983 for this purpose. As we were also doing the livestock project in Guwahati with the induction of broilers and layers and were planning to start ducks also for egg production, we decided to cross the river at Tezpur to Silghat on our return journey to check on the duck breeding farm at Kaliabor. Generally, the ferry crossings are good fun as the river itself has plenty to see and enjoy at a leisurely pace. When crossing upstream the trip will take almost double the time taken for downstream and in winter times, with water becoming shallow with the dry season, the boats could get stuck on the hidden sandbanks and then a lot of pushing and shoving with long strong bamboo poles is needed to free the vessel again. I remember when I must have been hardly five to six years old, the roads were not that well maintained we had to use the steamers of the erstwhile RSN Company to travel to Gomeri Ghat about two nights’ journey away from Guwahati. Those were

grand old days of travel, breakfast on the sundecks and then the senior men and some memsahibs also drank gin and tonic before lunch which my father and his friends also joined in while we had to play in the small wooden cabins. The steamers ran on coal and some also had diesel engines turning the huge wheels on the side forcing the ships to move. I will never forget the sights on the banks, the fishermen on their boats with their catches and especially the man with the huge bamboo pole in the front lower deck of the boat checking the depth of the river and repeating in a sing song voice “ek baam mile na” that is, one bamboo depth is clear. The captain relied on him for navigating clear of the shallow portions; no fancy GPS or radar system, just the good old manpower and his ingenuity. So I never worried or felt any fear of the river though of course during the monsoons or in bad weather the boats never plied and it was all about simply having to wait for the weather to change. Travel was no mad rush to meet a deadline. Hence that fateful morning in Tezpur we loaded our vehicle, an Ambassador car with our faithful driver Gopal and my personal helper Swapan, my elder brother and me. The ferry was a big one having two sections for loading vehicles and the bridge and double passenger decks in the centre with the captain right on top having a clear view. The other section was for bigger vehicles like trucks and tractors etc. The boat started with the sound of the siren

and soon we were in deep waters, going downstream before we had to turn upstream for our journey

I quickly glanced to my side where there was a Station Wagon Jeep belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Tezpur with a priest sitting in the rear seat frantically reading what appeared to me to be the Bible! I somehow managed to get to the small room and got inside where there were some others also including my brother and poor Swapan who had not left his side despite being frightened out of his wits. to Silghat. The hills on our right had hidden the ominous clouds of a northwester brewing and it was too late when the storm suddenly came upon us with the

Ranjan Kumar Choudhury ranjanchou@hotmail.com

gusts of winds making the waves come up. We soon saw the crew don their storm attire of yellow raincoats and they were running around telling the passengers to hold on tight to their seats. One person came to the vehicles and told us to get down and indicated a small room on the deck advising us to get inside and hold on to the iron posts and riveted chairs; they also asked the drivers to sit in the driver’s seat and keep the hand brake on and also press down on the brakes. There was no surety that the wooden blocks placed in both the front and rear wheels would hold. I quickly glanced to my side where there was a Station Wagon Jeep belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Tezpur with a priest sitting in the rear seat frantically reading what appeared to me to be the Bible! His driver was also in the front driving seat with the brakes held down. By this time the boat was lurching up and down and a lot of water was falling all over us. I ran towards the small room but before I could reach it a big wave of water crashed down on me and I managed to grab hold of a wooden log which, by some providence, was there. In the meantime there was a huge wailing and cries from the passengers rising above the din of the water and winds. I somehow managed to get to the small room and got inside where there were some others also including my brother and poor Swapan who had not left his side despite being frightened out of his wits. Then one crew member passed by and told us to hang on tightly as the boat was going to turn towards upstream and this was the crucial manoeuvre which could decide our

fate. I felt the groan of the engines vibrating as the vessel slowly turned and managed to withstand the immense pressure of the pounding waves. Now the storm was on our stern and not on our sides i.e., port or starboard so the boat could be handled properly in a straight line. The intensity of the winds were also receding but the rocking motion made quite a few passengers retch and thankfully the waters washed the refuse clean. After some time the danger had passed and Bordoisila, the wild winds of Assam was on her way spent and now carefree reminding us of the great vagaries of nature and how lucky we were to survive. Meanwhile, we crossed below the Kaliabhomura Bridge which was only being constructed then, and saw the welcome jetty at Silghat. The deck was again full of laughter and all were talking about the great skill of the captain and his crew. Everyone was wet but no one cared now that we had survived the crossing and when the captain climbed down the stairs from his steering cabin on top everyone clapped and patted his back. I remember this short statured youngish man, almost embarrassed at the attention he was getting pass, before us smiling and taking the adulation silently as he knew the close shave that we all had. At Silghat there was a very old inspection bungalow where I had spent many nights to catch the ferry at times; we got there to clean up and wore fresh clothes to go and see the duck farm. Imagine our utter dismay when the much feted farm we had come to see risking our lives turned out to be very dilapidated and run down. The duck houses for rearing were all empty except for one house where there were two drakes and one female duck only for breeding. The expensive hatchery equipment was all lying unused and the dozen odd workers there were very surprised as to why we had come and felt relieved that we were not government officials on inspection. It was sad to see such wastage but this made our resolve to make our new venture a success much more as livestock farming was poised to grow. Later that year, we introduced a new duck breed called Cherry Valley under franchise from our principals which turned out to be quite a success especially for meat purpose. That stormy river crossing will always remain in my mind when we witnessed the fury of nature and the forces of wind and water making our passage over the Brahmaputra a race for life or death. n

20 Fun Jayashree Bose

4th & 7th May will be great days for you to schedule important meetings and/ or share ideas with seniors. On 6th May, you need to be wary of dealing with the opposite gender. On 9th & 10th May, you could have a disagreement with seniors or work associates.

On 5th May, connect with your workmates or seniors over lunch/dinner. On 7th & 10th May, you could have a disagreement with seniors or work associates, avoid any confrontations. Don’t make any promises on 10th May as you could be emotionally betrayed by someone at work or your parents on 9th May.

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

On 4th May, catch up with your parents & have dinner/drinks with your superiors or visa versa. Use 4th & 9th May to connect with your boss & share ideas. For good results, host meetings on these dates. 5th May will be a slow day. On 8th May, avoid hosting any meetings.

On 4th May, you could have issues with seniors & parents. On 6th May, you could be betrayed or emotionally hurt by someone in your work environment. On 7th May, be careful of your words & actions as you will create your own problems.

On 6th May, you could have issues with seniors & parents. On 4th May, you could be betrayed by someone at work & emotionally hurt by family. 5th May will be a great day to share ideas with seniors or simply just connect with them, have Sunday coffee or brunch. On 9th May, be careful of your words & actions, as you will create your own problems.

On 4th May, you could have issues with seniors & parents. 6th & 9th May will be great days for you to build a rapport with seniors & people at work, host your important meetings on these dates. On 4th May, avoid making any promises, as you will have to live up to them.

On 6th & 7th May, you will be able to achieve a lot at work, these will be ideal dates for you to share your plans and/or schedule important meetings. On 5th May, you could have issues with seniors and parents. Avoid socializing or making any promises on 8th May.

4th & 7th May will be great days for you to build your relationship with seniors & people at work, host important meetings on these dates. On 6th May, you could have a disagreement with your senior or work associate, not a day to schedule important meetings.

Watch yourself on 7th May, & avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation. On 4th May, you could have a disagreement with seniors or work associates. Share your ideas with them or generally build a relationship on 5th & 9th May, host your important meetings on these dates.

5th, 6th, 9th & 10th May are ideal days for you to mingle with seniors, people at work & build your network. Host meetings on these dates & maybe go for a Sunday brunch/coffee on 5th May. On 8th May, you could have a disagreement with seniors or work associates.

Which cocktail is made by muddling sugar with bitters, adding whiskey or brandy and finally, a twist of citrus rind?

Which tournament became the first sporting event to be broadcasted live on Youtube in 2010?

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

Dilbert By Scott Adams

curio-city

Which prolific Assamese actress came to be known as “Lalita Pawar” of the Assam film industry after her role as a tea garden owners’s wife in the movie “Dr. Bezbaruah”?

Thaler, which led to the naming of Dollar from Joachimsthaler, the silver coin minted in Joachimsthal or St. Joachim’s valley Renu Saikia Old Fashioned Indian Premier League (IPL) Thanos, the Marvel super-villain. Erik Ten Hag

What is the German word for a “person or thing from the valley”?

Identify this trending football coach, the man responsible for taking Ajax Amsterdam to glory at the Champions League this year?

4th May will be great day to share ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them. On 5th May, you could feel seniors and/or parents are ungrateful, they don’t appreciate you. Avoid hosting any meetings especially with seniors on 8th May, as things will not go as planned.

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5 6 6 2 2 9 3 5 6 7 4 5 9 6 8 8 2 1 8 3 Daily Sudoku: Fri 3-May-2019 5 3 2 1

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7 6

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Daily Sudoku: Mon 22-Apr-2019

curio-city

Which character created by writer/artist Jim Starlin first appeared in “The Invincible Iron Man #55”?

5 8

This week, you could have issues with seniors or extended family on 7th & 9th May. On 7th May, avoid trusting anyone with your secrets, as they are bound to betray you. On 9th May, you could have a fall out with a senior or someone at work. 10th May will be great day to share ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them.

Sudoku

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7 5 3 6 2 4 8 9 1 Daily Sudoku: Mon 22-Apr-2019

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http://www.dailysudoku.com/

Word of the week vigesimal knackered adjective adjective [vahy-jes-uh-muhl] [nak-erd]

British Slang.on twenty. of, relating to, or based 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 | May 03 - may 10, 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 | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Vaastu and Sunlight sunlight while an over exposure to sunlight at midday can cause serious damage to skin and health. Observations by Vaastu experts have realised that it is most comfortable and beneficial to expose ourselves to the morning sunlight when it is not too hot for at least 15 to 20 minutes a day. Since UV rays can kill germs and keep water purified, the water sources such as wells,

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

he composition of sunlight is a combination of seven basic colours Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red (VIBGYOR) in the form of white light which is visible to us. These colours have different effects on human beings and animals. There are also invisible colours like the ultra-violet rays that have shorter wavelength. The infrared has the longest wavelength. The wavelength of light is measured in nanometres (nm). Violet starts from 400 NM while red can go up to 700 NM. UV rays can kill several bacteria and help our bodies in producing Vitamin D. The infrared rays are very potent and they can increase heat. The intensity of the sunlight is much less from the East and the North, but it is at maximum in the South and West, where there are more infrared rays and their reflection from the ground. It is very beneficial to expose our bodies to early morning

Recipe: Soya Malai Kofta Sandeep Das

here are some recipes that are classic, and one of such recipe is the Kofta. But, aren’t you bored of eating the same Malai Kofta or Shahi Kofta? Well, that’s why here’s a new recipe for you to try that will give your taste palette a change.

masalas - turmeric powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and mix it. Add soyabean, saute till

For Kofta:

Boil soya and cool drain water. Heat oil, add four chopped garlic pods, one green chilli chopped, fry for a few minutes.

Add 1/2 tsp of each of these

Heat kadhi, add a cup of water, one slice of onion, tomato slices, five garlic pods. Add 10 cashew nuts, one inch of garlic and two green chillies. Boil water, when dry, cool it and make fine paste with the help of grinder mixer.

Ingredients: Soyabean - 100 gm Garlic - 10 pods Onion - 2 large Ginger - 1 inch Tomato - 1 big Green chillies - 3 Cashew nut - 10 pieces Condense milk - 1tsp Garam masala powder - 1 tbsp Cumin powder powder - 1tbsp Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp Turmeric powder - 1 tbsp Sattu - 2 tbsp Salt to taste Oil as required Butter - 2 tbsp Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp

For gravy:

soya’s colour changes, then add salt to taste and cool it. Make a paste of it in the grinder mixer and transfer the mixture into a bowl. Add sattu into soya mixture and mix it, then make it into a ball shape. Heat oil, deep fry the kofta and keep it aside.

ponds etc are preferred on the East and North sides of the house. That is the reason more open space is suggested in the North and East to receive more morning sunlight on the plot. Vaastu recommends that there should be no obstruction, tall trees, hills or compound walls on the North and East sides of the house. More balconies, terraces and open spaces should be there in the East and North sides again for the same reason as above. Also, there should be more windows in the North and East, to allow light into the house. But, there should be fewer windows on the South and West side, and the walls should be thicker to reduce heat. It is advisable to have the kitchen platform on the Eastern side so that the morning sun rays can kill the germs on the kitchen counter and keep food from spoiling. Also, the lady of the house will face the morning sun while cooking and thus benefit from the sun rays. Vaastu recommends tall trees in the South and West to protect the house from the direct sunlight. n

Understanding Time It was felt that the moment was august To undertake a journey that called at first From the hidden bastion of timelessness Moving life like pieces engaged in chess... I remember mornings, where waking ends Sleep covered eyes, searching for friends

Heat kadhi, add butter and cumin seeds and let them platter into a bowl, add all powder spices, mix with a little water and pour into kadhi.

We were together; it was night, memories fine...

Sauté in flames, till there is no fat left.

It was windy and eager smiles were sent

Add the cashew nut paste mixture, sauté and cook till you can smell the aroma.

Breaking the norm, I forget if we ever loved

Add condense milk, stir it and add a cup of hot water, salt to taste and mix well, then wait for some time. Check the seasoning. Pour the gravy into a serving bowl and place the kofta in the gravy. Garnish with mint and condensed milk. Serve with steamed rice.

I see you too, though I can’t place the time

Then I am faced by an afternoon we spent

For time is unkind, it deletes the laughs... I now realise that all time means sad tales Without you by my side, even morning pales There it’s rung! I finally hear that chime, A thankless task, understanding good old time... Arunav Barua

22 Buzz

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

50th Regional Sports ADBU organises national workshop on research publication meet held at city school and intellectual property rights

n order to provide an in-depth knowledge on intellectual property rights and scientific research publications, the Intellectual Property Cell (IPC) of Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU) organised a day-long National Seminar and Workshop on Research Publications and Intellectual Property Rights at the Tapesia campus of the university on 26 April. The workshop was organised in association with Patent Information Centre (PIC) and Assam Science Technology and Environment Council, Government of Assam. At least 140 research scholars, students and faculty members from Gauhati University, Assam Royal Global University and Assam Don Bosco University attended the programme. The dignitaries who graced the occasion include, Dr Arup Kumar Misra, Director, Assam Science Technology & Environment

Council, Father (Dr) Stephen Mavely, Vice Chancellor, ADBU and Professor JN Vishwakarma,

Director, School of Life Sciences of Assam Don Bosco University. While addressing the gathering, Dr Arup Kumar Misra said, “Innovation doesn’t mean re-inventing the wheels, but using the wheels for best purposes and change. If we want to take India out of an abject poverty, social and economical problems and financial crisis, then we need innovations in different spheres.” Similarly, Father Stephen Mavely, vice chancellor, highlighted that

research with social relevance is important to bring about change in society. As part of the workshop, sessions on a range of topics such as research and innovations, publication of research articles, research funding, patent filing and copyright, tools for plagiarism checking, among other topics were conducted. Siddartha Devnath and Debashis Dutta from ASTEC and Professor JN Vishwakarma, Dr Hridoy J Mahanta, Professor Sunandan Barauh, Dr Samrat Dey, Dr Vikramjit Kakati and Dr Uzzal Sharma from ADBU were some of the speakers. A competition on Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights was also conducted. The workshop was convened by Dr Uzzal Sharma, Department of CSE & IT, ADBU and co-convened by Dr Hridoy J Mahanta, Department of CSE & IT and Ankur Goswami, Department of Civil Engineering, ADBU.

FICCI FLO NE holds free health checkup camp at Harijan Colony

n the occasion of International Labour Day, a free health checkup camp was organised by FICCI FLO Northeast in the Harijan Colony at Harijan Buniyadi Vidyalay, Ulubari under the leadership of chairperson of FLO Northeast, Dr Srutimala Duara. Dr Duara said that a total of 154 patients registered for the health checkup on May 1 and were examined by Dr Reema Das Mallik, Dr Pooja Jaiswal, Dr Shweta Jain and Dr Sharadi Shreemoyee. Free medicines were supplied according to the requirements of the patients. Blood sugar was tested by lab technician, Amit Mazumder and blood pressure by nurse, Lila Goyari. FLO members Prabidita Bharati, Sarita Sikaria, Uma Deora, Juhie Saboo, Latika Jhunjhunwala, Shalini Jain, Phalguni Choudhury Jain, Abanti Chowdhury, Sibani Sarma and Kusum Garodia took active part in the camp. n

he 50th Regional Sports Meet in multiple disciplines was held at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Khanapara in Guwahati. Assistant commissioner of Kendriya Vidyalaya Guwahati Region, VK Singh inaugurated the three-day

sports meet in the presence of Kendriya Vidyalaya Khanapara principal, Dr Sanjay Kumar, among others on Friday, April 26.

A total of 40 schools from the Guwahati region participated in the meet which concluded on April 28.

Shishu Sarothi celebrates 32nd Foundation Day

hishu Sarothi celebrated its 32nd Foundation Day on May 1. Established in 1987, the organisation has grown over the years into a leading regional organisation that has been working tirelessly in the entire northeastern region to bring awareness about the issues of disability. The organisation is dedicated to upholding the inherent dignity and autonomy of children and persons with disabilities. They celebrated their foundation day with the spirit of inclusion by inviting all friends, wellwishers, officials, donors and neighbours and hosted numerous activities and

games and performances by children, parents and staff of Shishu Sarothi. To mark the occasion on their social channels, they used #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs.

Entertainment

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

Assam-based filmmaker shines in LA film festival

upam Sarmah, who hails from Jorhat, has won the ‘Best Film for Inspiration Making a Global Impact – Founders Award’ at the Riverside International Film Festival held in Los Angeles, California for his film ‘One Little Finger.’ Sarmah is presently based in the United States of America. His film is a Hollywood feature film written and directed by him. It has been co-produced in India and the theme behind the film is ‘Ability is Disability.’ The film includes 80 people who have various disabilities. The film has officially be e n selected to be screened in various international festivals including France, New York, San Diego, Florida, Los Angeles, New Delhi and other places. It will be premiered in France at Marché du Film Festival de Cannes on May 16 and 17. The film will officially be released in India in September and on August 16 in the United States. “The film aims to bring awareness about the human rights of the disabled and is based on real-life stories,” Sarmah said. Some shots of the film include

role of the disabled is being played by characters that are physically challenged in real life too. Some of the noted actors from Assam in the film are national award-winning actor Moloya Goswami, Jaya Seal Ghosh, Pabitra Rabha, and Surajit Sarmah. Pulitzer nominated Stephen Melillo along with Rupam Sarmah have together composed the background score.

Four Assamese films to be screened at NYIFF

our films by Assamese filmmakers, including a documentary, will be screened at the 19th New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) to be held from May 7 to 12. The films include Bulbul Can Sing by Rima Das, Bhoga Khidikee (Broken Window) by Jahnu Barua, Aamis by Bhaskar Hazarika and Daughters of the Polo God, a

Papon releases title song for Assamese feature film ‘Ulka’

P Jorhat, Sivasagar, Guwahati, Hajo, Rang Ghar, Naamghar, Kamakhya Temple, Kolkata and its surrounding areas. The children of Prerona Disability Organisation (Jorhat) and Monovikas Kendra (Kolkata) have been actively involved with this film. The cast and crew include people from Assam, Kolkata, South India, Mumbai and USA. The

documentary by Roopa Barua. The festival, dedicated to bringing these films to a New York audience, will screen a variety of films that includes 29 narratives, three documentaries and 32 short films.

rominent Bollywood singer and heartthrob of Assam, Angaraag Papon Mahanta has sung the theme/title song of Ulka, penned by Ibson Lal Baruah. Papon has featured in the music video of Ulka along with the cast of the movie which includes Rupam Chetia, Papari Kalita, Nipon Goswami, Baharul Islam, Minu Bania, Arun Hazarika, Ashim Krishna Baruah, Amit Kr Borah, Pankaj Mahanta, Alishmita Goswami, Pleasestone Ingti and others. The song was released on 27th April at RCC4 Boys’ Hall at Gauhati University campus, and online by ‘Times Music’ Worldwide release. Ulka is an Assamese drama movie based on a story which has relevance with a real-life incident. The movie is directed by Pranab Vivek and produced by Bhaskar Upadhyaya under the banner of

Eastern Green Pictures (EGP). The plot in the movie is dramatized in a way of a satirical comedy. The

entire story line of the movie has been curated and delivered with reference to the real life incidents, and to give an essence of crucial self-reflection and realization in our day-to-day lives. The theatrical release date of ULKA will be on 5 July.

Bornodi Bhotiai hits theatres in Assam on May 3

ornodi Bhotiai or The Big River Flows is an Assamese film written and directed by Anupam Kaushik Borah. It is the story of four boys from Majuli, the biggest river island of the world, who love the same girl. The film has be e n scre e ne d at Mumbai Film Festival, among other festivals. According to Borah, uncertainty is one of the most important themes of the film as it speaks to the literal lives of the people of Majuli. Inaction is also an important theme for the same. Curre ntly, the film is only releasing in Assam, but Borah is planning to screen in other states

such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru etc in the future. “The film is about the common folk of Majuli and how they celebrate their life. Majuli is dogged by floods and erosion, but despite all these things, Majulial folk celebrate their life. They have this triumphant way of living their life, this triumph and celebration I’m trying to bring to the screen with humour and some magic. I can guarantee something he re , while watching the film, you cannot stop laughing, but I cannot guarantee you will not cry. So, I invite you to watch this film with your friends and family,” said Borah while speaking exclusively to G Plus.

24 Catching Up

G PLUS | May 03 - may 10, 2019

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