Vol 6 Issue 30 by G Plus

HSLC

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

Results

2019

INSIDE

Volume 06 | Issue 30 May 18 - May 24 , 2019 Price `10

City NRC seva kendras and hearing centres in a shambles

PG 08

PG 02

AP cracks grenade blast case: The investigation and arrests Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

ssam Police succeeded in cracking the grenade blast case in less than 24 hours, with coordination from intelligence agencies,

Guwahati for interrogation. He was the lead to reach mystery women Jahnabi Saikia’s house where the whole case came out wide open. Not only did the police find their connection with ULFA, they also found a huge quantity of explosives in the house. Both the accused Pranamoy Rajguru

The blast site on Zoo Road in front of Guwahati Central cyber dome and special police forces. On Tuesday, a day before the blast took place, police had picked up a middle aged man identified as Pranamoy Rajguru from Sivasagar district and was trying to ascertain his actual identity. When the blast took place, the cyber dome of Assam police found that a flurry of phone calls originating from the blast location ended up in a particular number which had links with the already arrested Rajguru’s mobile. Acting on those lines, Rajguru was brought to

City NGO’s bid to popularize rooftop gardening to control pollution

and Jahnabi Saikia were immediately detained and are now in the custody of Panbazar Police and will soon be presented before the judicial magistrate. Further, the police identified one the youths who threw the bomb as Bijoy Axom, but they’re not certain as they already have a bomb maker with the same name in their custody. The police are now trying to find the youth who impersonated as Bijoy Axom to execute the blast and they’re confident of arresting more people within a day or two in connection with the blast.

HSLC results 2019; catch the detailed stories PG 10, 11, 12, 13

Lead Story

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

City NRC seva kendras and hearing centres in a shambles Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee

and windows. When it rains the water enters through the window.

of which only one is working. “We bring our own water or buy them

situation,” said an NRC officer adding, “The building is almost

s the final draft NRC is all set to be published on 31st July, 2019 the Seva kendras and the hearing centres are working at full steam to complete the work before the deadline. But the working condition of some of the seva kendras and hearing centres are far from good. Recently, a notice was issued by the deputy commissioner, Kamrup (Metro), Biswajit Pegu after receiving complaints from the NRC employees working at the hotel Brahmaputra Ashok which was designated as a hearing centre along with the people who appeared for the hearing of claims and objections. A portion of the hotel which was used by the NRC authorities for hearing claims and objections had a water leakage issue and the “dirty” surroundings were causing inconvenience during the hearing. As per the order, the hearing venue at Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok was shifted to Cotton Collegiate School. Speaking to G Plus, a Booth Level Officer (BLO) of a hearing centre at Sri Aurobindo Vidyamandir said that the working conditions are not good and that the officials have no have access to basic amenities. “We are working tirelessly to ensure that all the work gets done before the deadline, but the working conditions are not good. The room designated to us for the work has broken ventilators

Snippets Twin Ugratara idols to be installed on May 23

he Ugratara Temple Management Committee will install two idols of Goddess Tara during the Ugratara Mahotsav starting from May 23. Of the two idols, one is new and one is old; the old one was recovered recently after being stolen in November 2018. Situated in Uzan Bazar, Guwahati, the Ugratara Devalaya is famous for worshipping Sati Devi, the first partner of Lord Shiva.

An overcrowded NRC hearing centre in Guwahati with no sitting facilities for visitors | G Plus photo Resultantly, the files that are kept beside these windows get wet, making it difficult to work here. Another thing is the access to the toilet. It becomes really difficult for us to visit the washroom after 3 pm because the bathrooms are shut after the school gets over and we have to use other places as we don’t have a separate place for us,” said the BLO. Another BLO of the same hearing centre said that they have to purchase drinking water which is supposed to be provided by the authorities and the centre has only one light and three fans

when necessary. The department is supposed to provide us with such basic amenities. The light that you see at the front is the only light for the entire room and especially after dusk it becomes difficult for us to carry out on working. Even out of the three fans in the room only one is in working condition; the other two don’t work,” said the official. Another seva kendra located at Ulubari is in a shambles, the building in which the seva kendra is located is almost in a dilapidated condition. “We have been placed in a pathetic

in ruins, the doors are broken, the ventilators and windows have no panes, the back side of the building is filled with tall bushes that have not been weeded out allowing mosquitoes to breed in the area thereby posing a threat to our health,” said the officer. He further stated that bathroom is in unusable condition and has not been cleaned for a long time. “We even bought the chairs after the chairs given by the administration got broken and were not replaced. We later on bought the chairs with our own money,” said the officer.

“We have to work tirelessly. We call the people who have to be present at the hearing. If we don’t get them through phone we visit their homes to hand over the hearing letter. We were told a year ago that if we don’t get them through phone we need to visit their homes to hand over the hearing letter for which we were told that a yearly amount would be given to us. But I haven’t been paid this promised amount for the past two years,” BLO of the seva kendra told G plus. One of the officers of the NSK (NRC Seva kendra) said that in many cases the officials who went to hand over hearing letters often found that the persons had left the city and gone to other states or back to their native states. Another NSK located at Uzan Bazar area is also similar in condition. Officials stated that water was not provided and the toilet there is unusable and unhygienic especially for the women officials. Further, there is no other arrangement for the same. The official said, “We buy water from outside; the office doesn’t provide us drinking water. The washroom that is available is very unhygienic and unusable. For us males we manage but the women officials face a tough time as there is no space made available for the women in the washroom.” Even the recently shifted hearing centre from Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok to Cotton Collegiate School lacks sitting arrangements for people who come for the hearing, said an official.

District administration turns blind eye to issue

fter listening to the plight of the officials at different NSKs and hearing centres, G Plus caught up with the district administration officer to seek answers for neglecting the issue even after getting a directive. “We are aware of the situation in some seva kendras,” said additional deputy commissioner, Kshitij Pegu, who is also the nodal officer for NRC. “We are also aware of the directive given by the authorities, but to be honest, the situation in Kamrup (Metro) is worse than rural areas because

of lack of space available in government buildings. Most hearings are now being done at government schools which even the school authorities have objected to because it creates a disturbance at the schools,” said ADC Pegu. Pegu further said that some centres have been provided with water. But the administration is also trying to provide the same facility to other centres too. “Washrooms for the officials are those which are available at the centres. If we try to build a new toilet nearby we get objection from the campus authorities. So,

Water seepage on the wall of one NSK in Guwahati | G Plus photo all in all, we are bound because of certain issues but we are on it and if we get reports as such,

I can assure you that we will work to fix the issue as soon as possible,” said Pegu.

Governance

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

City water ATMs start malfunctioning as peak summer approaches Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee

n September 2018 the Guwahati Smart City Limited installed water ATMs across the city to provide the citizen access to safe and clean drinking water. The ATMs dispense water according to the amount of money that has been put in the machine. The ATMs were set up in prime locations to make drinking water available to the people on the go. A total of 20 water ATMs had been set up with each having a capacity of 2000 litres per ATM and with treated water tank capacity of 250 litres per ATM. The technologies used for the treatment in the ATMs are Reverse Osmosis (RO) followed by Ultra Violet (UV). The dispensing capacity of the ATMs are 250 ml for Re 1, 1 litre for Rs 5, 5 litres for Rs 10 and 20 litres for Rs 25. The ATMs were supplied by Swajal which is a Gurgaon based company. The ATMs are located at Gauhati Medical College & Hospital, Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital, Dr B Barooah Cancer Institute, Food Villa Panbazaar, Dispur Circle office, Regional Science Centre, Nehru Stadium, Gorchuk Vegetable Market, State

Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya having a drink of water during inauguration of a water ATM in Guwahati | G Plus photo Zoo, Boothnath GMC office, Nabagraha Temple, Judges Field, Sonaram Higher Secondary School, Dharapur Bazaar, Gandhi Mandap, Nak Katta Pukhri in Panbazaar, DC office, Chandmari GMC Market, Machkhowa Ferry Ghat and Jail Road in Fancy Bazaar. However, reports started coming in about the ATMs malfunctioning in many areas of the city. People complained that the ATMs were not accepting

coins which are shown to be accepted by the machine. Talking to G plus, an official with the Guwahati Smart City Limited said that they have received complaints regarding malfunctioning of certain ATMs in the city. “Yes, we got certain complaints regarding the ATMs not functioning properly, like coins were not accepted, the water that was dispensed was not clean and other minor issues. We are monitoring the reports

with the company “Swajal” who supplied the ATMs. We are working with the company to improve the services more. Because the ATMs were installed in September last, the usage was less due to winter which was approaching and so the machines were hardly used. Now, as the peak summer is approaching the usage will increase and because the system was not used much maybe that’s why there has been a few malfunctions reported. We

Citizens face the brunt due to malfunctioning water ATMs

s peak summer approaches, citizens are facing problems in getting access to drinking water as most of the time the ATMs malfunction. Locals have alleged that no proper maintenance is done to ensure that the ATM is working perfectly as people will be in need of more access to water in the scorching summer heat. One of the users, a street vendor who sits near the food villa ATM, said that at times the machine doesn’t accept coins. “I have been using the water ATM since it was installed and for the past few days the ATM is malfunctioning. It sometimes dispenses water and sometimes does not. The ATM does not accept the new 1 rupee coin and we have to search for the old coin to get a glass of water,” said the

The defunct water ATM at Food Villa | G Plus photo vendor. Another user, an auto driver from the stand near MMCH said that the ATMs malfunction quite frequently and facilities that were provided earlier are now not available. “When the ATM

was initially installed there were cups for drinking water and now they are gone. You won’t get water if you don’t have your own bottle for that. Malfunctioning is quite frequent to be very honest - be it the issue of accepting

coins or dispensing less water,” said Mrinal, the auto driver. Pramod, who is a street food vendor near Cotton University, also expressed the same grievance. “After the ATM was set up at the location, we were happy that we will now have access to clean drinking water easily near us so that we don’t have to buy or have to go and get drinking water from other places. But, during these few months, we are facing problems like coins not getting accepted, the amount of water that is dispensed fluctuates on the same money, there were cups at the ATM for drinking water which are now gone and so is the attendant at ATM,” said Pramod. n

are in touch with the company and reviewing the issue so that it can be fixed as soon as possible,” said the official. The officials were facing problems with the locations for setting up the water ATMs in the city. “We were facing an issue earlier regarding the location for the ATMs; the one in Gandhi Mandap was relocated inside the complex from the outside because the ATM was damaged by some hooligans. But, as of now, all the issues with the locations are fixed and all the proposed ATMs have been installed at different locations,” said the official. The water dispensed by the ATMs in Guwahati is more expensive than other water ATM schemes in the country, like that of the water ATM scheme in the city of Bengaluru where 20 litres of water is dispensed for Rs 5 compared to Rs 25 for 20 litres in Guwahati. However the official with the Smart City Project assured that price change is on the cards and a proposal has been made regarding it. “Discussion is on with the government and the department. The issue has been raised and it is up to the department to decide the prices. However we have forwarded a proposal to the department,” said the smart city official. n

Snippets Assam State Zoo to conduct trek daily

he Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden, which had introduced a trek route inside the zoo premises on weekends, will now conduct the treks every day. The 6 km long trek route is a circular path that takes almost two hours to complete. The trek route features two big lakes and many smaller ones in the area. It should be noted that this is the first trekking route inside a zoo. The Assam zoo occupies a large area, with the animal exhibit covering only 30 hectares and the re maining 145 he ctare s is surrounded by trees and hills. Zoo authorities have mentioned that people are happy to see the scenic landscape and be inside an “urban forest” right in the middle of the city. Notably, the number of participants for the trek has increased threefold. In the future, the zoo is also planning to introduce rock climbing.

4 Concern

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

Over 1 tonne Ganja seized by Guwahati police in 2018 Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

total of 83 cases of Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act were registered for the year 2018 in Guwahati. In connection to the same, the police had arrested 151 people and seized drugs worth Rs 1,49,08,906. Among the total drugs seized were 1070.74 kgs of Ganja, the value of which has been calculated at Rs 64,69,750. The year started with the seizure of 51 kgs of drugs by Gorchuk police on January 9. The largest consignment of cannabis seized by the Guwahati police, however, was on March 19. The consignment containing 784 kgs of ganja was seized by Gorchuk police who arrested one Ajay Kumar, 24, in connection with the same. Earlier, on the morning

of January 9, Gorchuk outpost police seized 21 kgs of Ganja (cannabis) near the ISBT in-gate during regular checking. Police also arrested one Kamal Haque and one Gautam Debnath in this connection. The duo had brought the huge quantity of cannabis from Tripura to Guwahati. Additionally, Gorchuk police also seized 30.8 kgs of cannabis on the same day and arrested two in connection with the same. The accused were identified as Lokaro Boro and Subodh Malakar. Speaking to G Plus, an official of Gorchuk outpost had said, “Cannabis is often brought to the city from Tripura. But they hardly acknowledge where or to whom they sell the cannabis.” Other drugs seized by the city police throughout the year

Seized contraband in police custody i | G Plus file photo includes brown sugar, heroin, opium, rexcod, nitrosun tablets, pink tablets, cutting paper, drug powder and insulin syringe. Guwahati has developed into a transit point for narcotics over

No drug mafia arrested by Guwahati city police

total of 150 people were arrested by the Guwahati city police in relation with cases registered under the NDPS Act in 2019. However, the city police failed to arrest any big drug mafias in 2018 in spite of the narcotics scenario in the state getting grimmer. “The number of NDPS cases has been constantly going up in the last decade. Since 2011, every year over 200 cases have been registered across the state. The number soared to 251 in 2013. In the following years, the numbers came down slightly to 210 in 2014 and 217 in 2015 but it peaked in 2016 with 386 cases getting registered,” official records said. A large number of cases under the NDPS Act were registered in the city in 2018 but the highest were registered at Jalukbari police station (14 cases) that also arrested the highest number of people in connection to the cases (31 people). Jalukbari was followed by Paltan Bazar police station which registered 13 cases

and arrested 29 people while Basistha and Gorchuk both registered 10 cases each. While Basistha police arrested 17 people, Gorchuk police arrested 15. On the other hand, the least number of cases under the Act were registered at Pragjyotishpur, Azara, Geetanagar and

Chandmari police stations

(1 case each) in 2018. Additionally, the Government Railway Police registered a total of 55 cases under NDPS Act in 2018 and arrested 54 persons in connection with the same. Among the narcotic substances seized by GRP were 70 kgs of Tablets, 911 kgs of Ganja, 3.6 kgs of Morphine, 1095 bottles of Phensedyl and over 2000 bottles of liquor. n

the last five years. Being the gateway to the northeast and with an increasing number of people settling from different nooks and corners of the region, the city has become the hub of

criminal activities. Much before Guwahati, Imphal and Aizawl had fallen victims to narcotics due to their proximity to Myanmar which exports heroin from the laboratories mainly located in the mountains of Shan state bordering China. But Guwahati is more precariously perched – it is also near to the mainland which ensures an uninterrupted supply of drugs from different destinations. A wide spectrum of drugs from methamphetamines to the cannabis is sold in Guwahati. Popular among a large section of the young abusers in the city are painkillers and cough syrups which are reportedly manufactured in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Smugglers opt for train network to transport drugs

ith regular trains running between Guwahati and Barak Valley and Tripura, the narcotic trade route has also shifted from Nagaland to Mizoram, revealed sources in the narcotics control bureau. Narcotics such as brown sugar, cocaine and heroin come mainly from Myanmar to India through Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. Drugs enter Assam mostly through the Moreh (Manipur)-Dimapur (Nagaland) route and also from Mizoram through Barak Valley (the most preferred route in recent times). Synthetic drugs come from Punjab and other northern and western states through Cooch Behar in Bengal. A part of brown sugar also comes from Bihar. Though a lot of the narcotics such as brown sugar, cocaine and heroin still come through the Moreh (Manipur)-Dimapur (Nagaland) route from Myanmar, party drugs and the synthetic drugs mostly take the Mizoram route. In December 2015, the first broad gauge train to Silchar was flagged off while in January 2016, the first broad gauge train to Tripura started. With the inclusion of these regions in broad gauge network, there are now six trains to Silchar

in Barak Valley and four trains to Agartala in Tripura plying from different parts of the country via Guwahati. “After the introduction of broad gauge, the narcotics traffic has increased a lot. Most of the peddlers are arrested from trains coming from Barak Valley and Tripura. From what we have apprehended, we have found that the bulk of marijuana comes mostly from Tripura and North Cachar Hills while heroin, brown sugar and morphine comes from Silchar. In most of the cases, these are being freighted from Mizoram,” a source in the Government Railway Police informed G Plus. Additionally, Rajdhani Express (Down) has become a convenient and frequently used train to transport narcotics substance from the northeastern states to other states of the country. “The Rajdhani Express is a fully air-conditioned train. Compared to other trains security personnel tend to give the train a more cursory look. The contention of the peddlers on the train is that the passengers are well off and they would get away unnoticed by being among them. This happens when the peddlers carry small consignments with them. However huge consignments are carried elsewhere in the train,” the source added.

Concern

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

SUMMARY OF DRUGS SEIZED IN 2018 Drugs seized

Quantity

Ganja

1070.74 kgs

Brown Sugar

78.62 grams

Heroin

175.81 grams

Opium

145 grams

Nitrosun 10 tablets

126 numbers

Exiplon Cough Syrup

10 bottles

Dispovan Syringe

7 numbers

Insulin Syringe

10 numbers

Suspected Phychotronic Substances

4.745 kgs

Arodyle Cough Syrup Bottles

17 numbers

Chlorpherniraine Maleate Syrup Bottles (100 ML each)

Punishment Under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act: Possession below 10 grams carries a six-month jail term and fine of up to Rs 10,000. Possession of more than 10 grams but below 1 kg carries 10-year imprisonment and Rs 1 lakh fine while above 1 kg attracts between 10-20 years in jail with fine between Rs 1-2 lakhs depending on the amount of narcotics substance.

1894 numbers

Concor Syrup Bottles (100 ML each)

7 numbers

Rexcod Bottles

22,800 numbers

Kodext Bottles

40,080 numbers

Cefrese Cough Syrup

59 bottles

Pink Colour Tablets

800 numbers

Cutting Paper

60 pieces

Suspected Drugs

765 numbers

Suspected Drugs powder

9.5 grams

Snippets GMC imposes penalty on 26 healthcare trades

uwahati Municipal Corporation’s Health Branch has imposed a penalty of Rs 14,000 in total on 26 healthcare trades. The penalty was imposed after a drive that was conducted on May 10 in city’s Ganeshguri area to check the sanitation issues of various healthcare trades. The drive was conducted under the supervision of senior medical officers. According to reports, the municipal body will continue to conduct such drives

to improve the condition of medical institutions in the city. GMC also issued notices to trades running without valid trade licenses, defaulters who hadn’t renewed trade license and those functioning in unhygienic condition. Further, GMC also appealed to all the traders to ensure cleanliness and hygiene in their respective trades and any violation of the norms will call for measures as per the provision of the GMC Act.

6 Cover Story

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

ULFA-I claims responsibility for grenade blast, city police nabs two Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

ased on a tip, the Assam police launched a search operation in the Panjabari area of Guwahati following the grenade explosion that took place outside the Guwahati Central mall located in Zoo Road area of the city on Wednesday evening. The crime branch team led by Commissioner of Police, Deepak Kumar arrested two activists of the United Liberation Front of Asom, Independent’s (ULFA-I) ‘anti-talk’ faction for involvement in the blast that left 11 people injured. Guwahati City Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar identified the arrested as senior

cadre Pranmoy Asom and his accomplice Jahnabi Saikia. “We had received inputs regarding the movement of senior ULFA cadres from Bagharbari area of the city immediately after the blast. We activated our intelligence to track them and arrested both Pranmoy Asom and Jahnabi Saikia from a house located in Namghar Path, Panjabari,” he said. He further informed that Pranmoy Rajguru alias Pranmoy Asom had joined the ULFA in 1986, while Saikia was a “sleeper agent” in Guwahati who he used to visit frequently. A 9 mm pistol, 25 rounds of ammunition, bomb-making materials, gelatine sticks and 20 kgs gunpowder was seized from their possession. Additionally, police also recovered ULFA pads and letters from the

A scene from the blast site where the ULFA-I caused the mayhem | G Plus photo residence. ULFA-I Commander-in-chief, Paresh Baruah, had taken the responsibility of the blast and claimed that it was an attack on CRPF patrolling party. Eye witnesses informed that the bomb

was lobbed from a motorbike towards the temporary security manned in front of the shopping mall. The blast occurred at around 8 PM, a day after police and Army achieved a major success by

apprehending three ULFA cadres, who had fled from Myanmar along with sophisticated arms and ammunition in Tarani Reserve Forest of Tinsukia district. On Monday, another ULFA cadre who had fled from Myanmar was apprehended in Sivasagar district. Following the blast, high alert has been declared in Guwahati and all entry and exit routes have been put under surveillance. City police have cordoned off the area and started their investigations. A team of forensic experts too have visited the blast site and collected a few samples to conduct forensic examination. DCP Crime, Jayant Singh, speaking to G Plus said, “Prima facie investigation, evidence show that it was a grenade blast but the forensic department is still investigating the spot to be sure. n

11 injured, 2 critical: Govt to provide Rs 50,000, free treatment to all injured

s a consequence of the explosion, 11 people, two of them critically, were injured. Among those injured were two Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel who have been identified as ASI Ramesh Lal (45) and constable Amulya Lalan (30). The other injured persons are father-daughter duo Amit Kanshal (40) and Riya Kanshal (15), father-son duo Sultan Jahidul Rahman and Fardeen Hussain Rahman, Bijoy Kumar Shah (22), Kalyan Baishya (28), Lala Kumar Yadav (16), and Edward Hmar (18). Amit and Riya Kanshal are currently undergoing treatment at Nemcare Super Specialty Hospital. While Riya sustained minor injuries and some burns, Amit sustained intestinal injuries along with eye damage for which he will need to be treated for at least three to four days. Both the SSB personnel, along with Sultan, Fardeen and Bijoy had been admitted to the Gauhati Medical College &

Hospital (GMCH). Four of them had sustained minor injuries and thus were discharged after treatment the next day itself. However, Fardeen is still in the ICU where he is undergoing treatment. Ramen Talukdar, Superintendent of GMCH, informed G Plus, “Fardeen Rahman had sustained severe intestinal injuries and he has already undergone a stomach surgery. Additionally, the left side of his body was highly affected. He has a fracture in the forearm, his left eye is almost completely damaged and his left ear was also injured.” The remaining four injured during the blast were admitted at the Kuntal Goswami Memorial Trust (KGMT) hospital, and were released after due treatment. Meanwhile, the state government has announced free treatment to those injured in the blast. Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (Metro), Biswajit Pegu, has announced that the state

government will provide Rs 50,000 each to those injured in the blast. Visiting the injured at the GMCH, state minister Pijush Hazarika said, “I condemn

the ones behind the attack. Innocent civilians shouldn’t be targeted. This incident shows that Assam is going backward. This is no way to show power; after all killings do not solve

any problems. Free medical treatment with all modern medical facilities will be provided to the injured.”

How the grenade blast was executed: yy During interrogation, one of the prime accused in the grenade blast case, Jahnabi Saikia, narrated the series of events which led to the blast. yy Following is the timeline of events that led to the blast outside of Guwahati Central mall on Wednesday: yy 7:07 PM: Jahnabi Saikia visited the Guwahati Central mall to verify and inspect the spot. She also entered the mall and lingered around for some time. yy 7:21 PM: One of the two youths, who hurled the grenade, picked up Jahnabi on a scooter from the mall and took her to Panjabari.

Lighter and faster yy 7:36 PM: Jahnabi reached Panjabari. The youth packed the grenade to hurl it at the pre-decided designated spot.

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yy 7:45 PM: The youth took the grenade and left Panjabari on the scooter. He picked up another youth on his way to accomplishing the plan.

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yy 7:50 PM: Security forces were seen carrying on regular checking in front of the mall. From the other side of the road, the youths threw the grenade at the blast site. yy 04:15 AM (Next Day): Police raids Jahnabi Saikia’s house with Pranmoy Rajguru and finds grenade making devices along with explosives. yy 09:30 AM: Police arrests both of them officially in connection with the blast case.

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Buzz

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

City school wins second prize in international competition on sustainable development

hree students from Royal Global School participated in the “La Vie en Green” sustainable development

international competition launched by the French Institute of India during the last week of March 2019 where they won the second prize. Aman Bhuyan, Aditya Gautam Mazindar Baruah and Bonoto Achumi participated in the competition along with three students from René Descartes School, FranceVazeille Nina, Vechambre Antoine and Walilko Léa, under the guidance of their teacher coordinators Suman Bhuyan and Hani Ramade. The competition was held among school students of

grades 10 and 11 from India, France, Morocco and Ivory Coast with the objective to increase awareness about sustainable

While the competition was mainly aimed at fostering good relations between participating countries, it was marked

DBS with Indian Red Cross Society conducts traffic awareness campaign

he Junior Red Cross Club of Don Bosco School, Panbazar along with Indian Red Cross Society conducted a traffic awareness campaign in Kachari Basti on Red Cross Society which is a voluntary humanitarian organization to protect human life and health based in India. The organisation is part of the

development and to promote exchanges between students. 17 teams participated in the event, with each team comprising students from two different schools.

by a vibrant community of youngsters interacting, discussing, negotiating and exchanging ideas regarding the different notions and aspects of sustainable development. n

NSS Camp under GU concludes ational Service Scheme (NSS) special camping programme under Gauhati University (GU) successfully concluded on Monday, May 13 at Sonapur Village near Guwahati. A group of NSS volunteers conducted a socioeconomic survey in a Sonapur Village under the supervision of Dr Ranjan Kumar Kakati, Director, Students’ Welfare, Gauhati University & Programme Coordinator, GU NSS Cell. For the survey, the volunteers collected data in regard to health, sanitation, unemployment problems, drinking water facility, income source of people, agriculture etc. The volunteers also conducted awareness programs for villagers in terms of sanitation, open defecation free areas and entrepreneurship scopes for

villagers. As part of a special camping programme, a lecture on ‘Self Knowledge, Skill Yourself’ was delivered by Dipankar Mahanta to motivate the NSS volunteers. A plantation programme at the university campus was also carried out by NSS volunteers and

government schemes that may be availed by the villagers and since alcohol consumption is a big risk in the area, the volunteers also asked the youth to try and make their village alcohol-free. The villagers showed satisfactory response to the steps taken by NSS Team of Gauhati University

May 7 at around 9 am. A group of 4-5 students conducted this campaign and stopped passing vehicles such as two-wheelers to question and educate them on various trafficrelated rules and instructions. This was done in association with the Indian

City student wins gold in All Assam Ranking TT Championship

class 8 student from South Point School, Guwahati, Hridayjyoti Sarma, has won a gold medal in the SubJunior Boys event in the 13th All Assam Ranking Table Tennis Championship 2019.

around 50 saplings were planted by the group that included the programme coordinator, DSW staff and employees. The NSS volunteers also provided information about various central and state

campus. The National Service Scheme (NSS) is an Indian governmentsponsored public service program conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. n

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. n

The event was organized by the Assam Table Tennis Association. The championship event was held in Golaghat from May 2 to May 5, 2019. Sarma is an avid table tennis player and has represented his school in other such events. n

8 Concern

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

City NGO’s bid to popularize rooftop gardening to control pollution Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee

uwahati is one of the fastest developing cities in the country. With rapid growth of its population, the pace of urbanisation is gathering speed. The flipside of it all is that the green cover within the city and its outskirts has reduced drastically. The state, on an average, has lost 3,085 square kilometres of forest cover in a span of 28 years. Tree felling and large scale deforestation has been identified as the major reason for forest loss in the state. Apart from this, illegal activities such as mining and hill cutting are also responsible for the rise in global warming and change in climatic condition in the state. To tackle the growing pollution level in the city, an NGO called Environ is promoting rooftop gardening and farming to increase the green cover in urban areas of the city. Dr Amarjyoti Kashyap, the chief

functionary of the NGO Environ said that they are planning to promote the concept of rooftop gardening in the city and the state to achieve self sustenance and a green environment. “Rooftop gardening is one of the best solutions to tackle the pollution level in the city. We are living in a concrete environment and trying to popularise the model among the people. If we put the concept into practice, we will see drastic improvement in the climate,” said Dr Kashyap. He added that the people should take up the method to increase the greenery in the city. “If everyone takes up the method then we will slowly see environmental management happening and that will help us get economic benefits from it by planting the plants which will benefit us,” said Dr Kashyap. Not just the regular garden but Dr Kashyap is also promoting organic rooftop farming for selfsufficiency and healthy eating. “Today almost all the vegetables including the green leafy ones contain high amount of dangerous pesticide. Nowadays you cannot buy vegetables from

the market and say that you are eating healthy,” he added. Dr Kashyap has also installed

and later I will bring some other species as well, so that we can get fish from our own mini

A portion of the garden on Dr Kashyap’s rooftop | G Plus photo an artificial fish pond to culture fish on the rooftop. He said, “I always liked to keep fish since childhood and that is the reason why I have installed a rooftop model fishery. Like the way people like keeping an aquarium in their homes, I thought same can be done for farming fish at your home. I have now kept Golden Carp to test the model

fishery and not have to buy those fish from the market which have harmful chemicals in them.” Dr Kashyap’s garden is spread in 400 square feet on the roof. He has also planned to grow a tea plant in his rooftop garden to get fresh pesticide-free domestic organic tea. “I am now promoting domestic organic green tea using solid waste management.

The tea leaves available in the market are sprayed with strong pesticides and chemicals which are absolutely bad for our health. Green tea as we know has numerous health benefits and if we can cultivate it at our home organically, we will get the maximum benefit out of it,” said Dr Kashyap. Dr Kashyap stressed on practising organic and seasonal farming as he said it is very essential in today scenario. Inorganic and off seasonal items are flooding the market which is causing serious health conditions to the people because of the inorganic method that has been used to farm those products. “If all of us start practicing it, then it will benefit everyone both for physical and mental health. People should think rationally. If there is more greenery, pollution levels will decrease benefiting us physically and having a green environment at your home will help your home will help you de-stress, benefiting you mentally. If it is practised, it will be a revolutionary step towards a healthier society,” said Dr Kashyap. n

Solid waste management key to greener environment

uwahati is facing a huge crisis in terms of waste management as there is no concrete method to manage the huge pile of solid waste and segregating it from bio-degradable waste has become a matter of concern for the environment in the city. For example, the dump yard located in Boragaon is posing a continuous threat to the ecology of Deepor Beel. “80 percent of the total generated waste from households is bio degradable

assimilator that would require just one to one and half foot space to set it up. Now, with this process people can start composting their kitchen and other biodegradable waste on daily basis,” said Dr Kashyap. He further said that the compost and liquid that will be generated from the assimilator can be used as organic fertilizer for the garden. “I believe that if we start practicing such methods at our home, I am sure that our future generation will have an access to a greener, cleaner

waste, and if we can manage this waste at our home itself, the waste that we will dispose outside will be very less and those will be dry waste, that will help in reducing the pollution level,” said Dr Amarjyoti Kashyap. He added that people will have to adapt this technique and for that Dr Kashyap has designed a waste assimilator. “Many people will not have the space to practice the traditional backyard composting method to manage waste. For that I have designed a waste

The fish tank on Dr Kashyap’s rooftop | G Plus photo and they will consume healthy organic food,” Dr Kashyap said in conclusion. n

and healthier environment. This method will make the practitioners self-sufficient

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Mostly Sunny

Partly Cloudy

Mostly Sunny

Scattered T-Storms

T-Storms

32°24° C

33°24° C

32°24° C

32°23° C

30°23° C

SATURDAY Scattered T-Storms

31°23°C

In The News

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

Textbook shortage: 20% students yet to receive free govt textbooks Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

ome students of the lower primary government schools in Guwahati are yet to receive free school textbooks which are provided by the state government. As per the school teachers, in the primary classes, at least 10 to 20 per cent students are facing shortage of books. While the session had begun from January, the education department is yet to address the shortage of books, informed authorities. “The students who had taken new admission in schools were not accounted for in the earlier list which schools had sent to the education department regarding the number of books required. After this, all districts had sent fresh requirement of books in their respective schools to the state government, which the department has been unable to supply,” informed general secretary of All Assam Lower Primary Teachers’ Association (AALPTA), Ratul Goswami. He added that the schools

“All the districts had sent their additional requirements as per their shortage in the month of February to the state government. However, the shortfall has still not been fulfilled after more than three months” - Lower primary teacher. have already conducted first evaluation of students while the second set of examinations is slated to be held in June. In the first evaluation, some students had to appear in the exams without any textbooks. “All the districts had sent their additional requirements as per their shortage in the month of February to the state government. However, the shortfall has still

not been fulfilled after more than three months,” informed another government lower primary teacher. In the meantime, the school authorities say that they have been asked by the government to adjust and manage textbooks at the district level. Government school teachers said that in the wake of lack of books, the students are managing to study by sharing books with each other in classrooms. On the other hand, talking to G Plus, state education minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya said that the schools send the department a demand of books according to which the government gives the orders to the Assam Textbook Corporation for printing a particular number of books per subject every year before the beginning of the academic session. “According to this demand, the inspector of schools informs us

about the total requirement of textbooks in each district. Now after the process of printing and distribution of books is over, if the schools demand additional number of books to be sent, then it becomes difficult for us,” said the minister. Bhattacharya added that the government is not at fault in this case. He said that this gap can be easily met by schools themselves by using book banks which exist in each district.

As per authorities, each government school has been asked to create and maintain a book bank to meet the shortage of textbooks if the need arises. “For instance, if we have provided 100 books for a class in a year, after the students are promoted to the next class in the next academic session, we ask the teachers to keep at least 80 to 90 books which are in good condition as reserve which can be used for the next year.” n

Max school bag weight: 5 kgs; Dist, block level committees to keep check on rule Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

he state elementary education department has constituted district as well as block level committees to check the implementation of new rules regarding the school bag weight of students. The state government has directed all the government and private schools to reduce the bag weight of students. “We have formed a district level committee which will conduct surprise checks in schools to check bag weight. It’s a six-member committee of which the DC is the chairman; inspector of schools has been appointed as the member secretary and it comprises six other members,” Buli Gogoi Bhuyan, district elementary education officer of Kamrup (Metro) told G Plus. She added that apart from the district level committee, a team at the block level will check the implementation of the new rules in educational institutions at

“We have formed a district level committee which will conduct surprise checks in schools to check bag weight. It’s a six-member committee of which the DC is the chairman; inspector of schools has been appointed as the member secretary and it comprises six other members,” Buli Bhuyan, DEEO, Kamrup (M). their level and will send regular reports to the district level committee. The education department

has set a deadline of May 30 for schools to reduce the weight of school bags. As per the official order, the HRD ministry has “instructed all the states union territories to formulate guidelines to regulate the teaching of subjects and weight of school bags in accordance with the government of India instructions.” Additionally, the order states that students should not be asked to bring any additional books in order to ensure that the weight of the bag does not exceed the prescribed limit. The weight of the school bags for classes I and II should be 1.5 kgs, while for classes III to V the weight should not exceed 2-3 kgs, for classes VI to VIII the weight should be 4 kgs and for classes VIII to IX, 4.5 kgs. For class X the weight should not exceed 5 kgs. In order to ensure compliance, the notification states that the school authorities must inform the students in advance about the books and notebooks to be brought to school on a particular day. Further, in order to reduce the

classes I and II and classes III to academic burden on students, V students, will be disaffiliated. the HRD ministry’s guidelines mentioned that no homework should be assigned to students of classes I and yy Classes I and II: 1.5 kg II. Further, yy Classes III to V: 2-3 kg it stated that schools yy Classes VI to VIII: 4 kg prescribing yy Classes VIII to IX: 4.5 kg homework and non-prescribed yy Class X: 5 kg subject for

Weight of the school bags:

10 HSLC Special

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

St Mary’s School, Assam Jatiya Bidyalaya catapult 4 toppers from the city Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

amrup (Metro) district stood third among all districts with an overall pass percentage of 69.31 per cent. A total of 11,866 candidates appeared in class 10 examinations from Kamrup (Metro) district. Out of this 3,096 students secured first division, while 2,944 and 2,184 achieved second and third divisions respectively. This year’s pass percentage in Kamrup (Metro) district in the HSLC class 10 examinations

improved from last year’s 67.15%. In 2018, out of the 12,300 students who had appeared for the board examinations from Kamrup (Metro) district, 3,889 had secured first division, 3,242 had passed with second division and 1,129 had secured third division in the examination conducted by Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA). Further, similar to last year, Guwahati also saw four out of the top ten

The scene at St Mary’s school on HSLC results day | G Plus photo

rank holders of Assam. Of the rank holders from the city, Pratyasha Medhi of St Mary’s High School, Guwahati has secured the second rank getting 593 marks out of 600. Anushree Bhuyan and Christie Saikia who are also from the same school stood third and fourth with 591 and 590 marks respectively. Further, Priyanka Kalita from Assam Jatiya Bidyalay, Noonmati bagged the fifth position with 589 marks. n

Thus spoke the toppers

t Mary’s High School was the toast of the city this year as three out of the four rank holders from Guwahati emerged from this school. Talking to G Plus, second rank holder Pratyasha Medhi said that she was expecting a good result and that she is happy with her performance. “I am really happy with my result as I have been able to fulfil my as well as everyone’s expectations,” Medhi informed. She added that she resorted to regular study at home and also took tuitions. Medhi emphasised the importance of self study and termed it “as most important” for examination preparations. Apart from academics, Medhi was also actively involved in co-curricular activities. She was National Cadet Corps (NCC) president in her school and apart from this she was also involved

“I prepared for the HSLC examinations by taking a series of mock tests. Apart from this, I also took private tuitions for a few subjects,” Bhuyan told G Plus. The fourth rank holder, Christie Saikia, from St Mary’s toppers with their headmistress St Mary’s High School shared in music, arts and dance. that her strategy was to be conTalking about her future sistent and to study daily. plans, Medhi said, “I want to “I studied daily for around 10 become a successful doctor and hours. I am now planning to take I am also working towards it. I up the science stream and hopehave already enrolled myself in fully become a doctor in the fucoaching for medical.” ture,” mentioned Saikia. Anushree Bhuyan, who seSharing her tips for those apcured the third rank, thanked pearing for their class 10 examher parents and teachers for coinations next year, Saikia said operating with her and supportthat there is no alternative to ing her. hard work. “Honest hard work

58.18% pass Assam High Madrassa Examination

elim Ahmed of Rakhaldubi High Madrassa of Goalpara topped the Assam High Madrassa Examination (AHME), 2019, the results of which were declared along with the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) Examination on May 15. Selim scored 561 out of 600 marks to top the examinations. The overall pass percentage of Assam High Madrassa Examination stood at 58.18% this year. Baksa district emerged

at the top position in Madrassa examination with the highest

pass percentage of 81.01%. Abdul Aziz and Ilias Ali secured the second and third position respectively. While Aziz scored 553 marks of 600, Ali secured 547 marks. A total of 9,127 candidates appeared in the High Madrassa examination out of which 600 secured first division. n

will surely get you the expected results.” Expressing her happiness, Sister Katherine, principal of St Mary’s High School said, “We are very happy and we had expected this result from our students. They were really talented and made use of their talent. The students and their parents were very cooperative when we motivated them.” She further added that 189 students appeared for the HSLC examination from the school and all of them passed. The other rank holder from the city, Priyanka Kalita from Assam Jatiya Bidyalay, Noonmati told G Plus that she had been preparing consistently for the last one year and had expected to pass with flying colours. “I am extremely happy and

Priyana Kalita (C) satisfied with my result and in the future I would like to help society in whatever way I can,” said Kalita. She added that she would like to pursue engineering in the future. Talking about her hobbies, Kalita said that she likes to listen to music and watch television in her leisure. She also mentioned that she likes spending time on social media and loves reading books. n

Darrang boy Abdul Aziz beats odds, shines in AHME

bdul Aziz from Athkuriapara village in Darrang has beaten all the odds and proved his potential in the recently announced results of Assam High Madrassa Examination (AHME) examinations. Aziz, who comes from a financially weak family, stood second in the exams with 553 marks. His village is still deprived of basic necessities like water supply, education, road and electricity.

However, Aziz proved his mettle as he relied on self-study and did not take up any tuition. His family’s primary source of income is farming.

HSLC Special

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

SEBA has drastically changed scoring pattern: G Plus Poll Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

he Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA) declared the results for High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) exam 2019 on May 15, Wednesday. Altogether 3.36 lakh students appeared for the examination in 2019 out of which 2.02 lakh passed the same. Additionally, 48,599 students secured first division, while 71,020 and 82,889 students passed with second and third division respectively. These numbers showcase how the percentage of students passing the examination has improved consistently over the past three years. While 47.94% students had passed the examination in 2017, the percentage increased to 56.04 the next year. The number of students being successful in HSLC papers further improved to 60.23% this year. Further, the highest percentage recorded this year was 99%. Meghashree Borah of Sankardev

Shishu Bidya Niketan, Lakhimpur, emerged as the state topper securing 594 out of 600 marks. Chinmoy Hazarika and Pratyasha Medhi secured the second rank with 593 marks. Further, the third position was shared by Afreen Ahmed and Anushree Bhuyan who scored 591 marks. The poll conducted by G Plus had over 3,800 participants and opinions and comments started flowing in on all our social media channels. Of the total number of 3,800 participants, 65% people said that SEBA has now come at par with CBSE in terms of scoring, while 45% people said that the low overall pass percentage shows that scoring in SEBA continues to be difficult. The majority of participants (65%) are of the belief that SEBA has changed its scoring patterns and it has become easier to score 90%, with more and more people passing the exam each year. Some also suggested that SEBA students score marks by mugging the subjects rather than

With HSLC students scoring as much as 99% this year, do you think SEBA is now at par with CBSE in terms of scoring?

Yes

: 65%

Votes

3800 No

45%%

gaining practical knowledge. “SEBA has definitely changed

its scoring pattern. During our days the topper scored somewhat

around 85%. 99% for a SEBA student back then was beyond imagination,” recalled Rimakshi Choudhury. “SEBA is all about mugging while CBSE demands practical and analytical skills and thinking,” said Biki Das. Respondents (45%) who believed that SEBA is not at par with CBSE in terms of scoring opined that scoring in examinations conducted by the Assam state board continues to be difficult. They also stated that the overall pass percentage in central board is much higher than that in SEBA board. “If you look at the bigger picture, you’ll see that nowadays all CBSE students get 95% marks but in SEBA, only a handful of students score so well,” commented Azad Ahmed. In the same vein, Imran Ali said, “It’s not just about reaching 99%. Please count the number of total candidates in both the boards who score above 90%.” n

12 HSLC Special

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

HSLC 2019 Results at a glance 01

Total number of students applied: 3,42,691

02 03

Students appeared: 3,36,203

60.23 %

Students passed: 2,02,508 Total pass percentage for 2019: 60.23 %

48,599

82,889 Second Division

First Division

Third Division

71,020

Kamrup (M) district Total students appeared: 11,866 First division: 3,096

Male students: 1,60,264

Female students: 1,75,939

Male pass percentage: 62.69 %

Female pass percentage: 57.99%

BEST PERFORMING DISTRICT: Dhemaji, pass percentage: 83.28% Total appeared: 12,650, Passed: 10,535

pass percentage 83.28%

Second division: 2,944 Third division: 2,184

POOR PERFORMING DISTRICT: Hailakandi, pass percentage: 39.01% Total appeared: 6,629,

Pass percentage: 69.31 %

Passed: 2,586

pass percentage 39.01%

HSLC Special

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

HSLC results: 60.23% students successful, pass percentage improves Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

his year a total of 60.23% students successfully passed the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examinations in Assam, the results of which were declared on May 15. The pass percentage of students this year in the HSLC examinations conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA), has improved as compared to the previous year. While the pass percentage for male students stood at 62.69%, the female pass percentage was 57.99% this year. Altogether 3.36 lakh students appeared for the examination in 2019 out of which 2.02 lakh passed the same. Additionally, 48,599 students secured first division, while 71,020 and 82,889

students passed with second and third division respectively. The percentage of students passing the examination has improved consistently over the past three years. A total of 47.94% students had passed the examination in 2017, which increased to 56.04 the next year. The number of students being successful in HSLC papers further improved to 60.23% this year. The trend of pass percentage saw a consistent increase from 2010 to 2013. It then dipped to 61.42% in 2014 from 70.71% which was recorded the previous year. Another dip was seen in 2017 when the pass percentage declined to the lowest in 10 years at 47.94%. Meghashree Borah of Sankardev Shishu Bidya Niketan, Lakhimpur, emerged as the state topper securing 594 out of 600 marks. Chinmoy Hazarika from Jorhat’s Don Bosco High School

- Baghchung and Pratyasha Medhi from St Mary’s High School, Guwahati secured the second rank and scored 593 marks. Further, the third position was shared by Afreen Ahmed of Christjyoti School, Nagaon and Anushree Bhuyan from St Mary’s High School, Guwahati. They both scored 591 marks out of 600. This year, four Guwahati students grabbed spots among the top ten rank holders in the state. Among them were three students from St Mary’s High School and one from Assam Jatiya Bidyalaya. Further, the number of rank holders from the state saw an increase this year to 39 as compared to 37 as per the last year’s class 10 results. Government schools also made their mark as 10 rank holders out of the 39 were from government schools.

Dhemaji emerges as best performing district

n terms of districts, Dhemaji emerged as the best performing district this year with an overall pass percentage of 83.28%. From the district, a total of 12,650 students appeared in the HSLC examination while 10,535 passed. The pass percentage of Dhemaji has improved from the previous year which stood at 79.76% in 2018. Further, the students from Dhemaji excelled with 79 distinctions - the highest among all districts. A total of 1,782 students secured first division, while 4,039 secured second and 4,714 secured third division. Like previous years, this year too, private schools recorded better performance in class 10 results in Dhemaji. Fransalian English School, Jonai recorded a 100% pass percentage. Sivasagar district followed Dhemaji to be at second place and achieved a pass percentage of 70.08% among the districtwise performance. Two rank holders among the top 10 were

from Sivasagar. These included Debashree Saikia (who stood 8th) and Archita Dowerah (who achieved the 9th rank). In Sivasagar, too, privatelyrun schools fared better than government schools. Last year too, Dhemaji had emerged as the top district and Nalbari had secured the second spot with a pass percentage of 79.76% and 69.85% respectively. On the other hand, this year Hailakandi remained the poorest performing district in HSLC results. It recorded a pass percentage of merely 39.01%. A total of 6,629 candidates appeared for class 10 examinations while only 2,586 managed to pass.

HSLC year-wise pass percentage 80 70 60

70.71

70.38

62.2

69.63 63.22

62.79

61.42

56.04

60.23

50 40

47.94

30 20 10 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

HSLC year-wise pass percentage

14 G Talk E

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019 T

Fund shortage, ULFA (I)? So our so-called “respectable” morality and societal monitor, the biggest well-wisher of Axom desh, is at it again huh! Reprehensible and incorrigible as ever, the ULFA (I) has again successfully maimed civilians by their clichéd practiced form of warfare against the Indian “colonialists:” lob a grenade within civilian space. And what better target to grab the maximum attention than Guwahati? Thereafter, dear old Paresh Kokaity, from his insulated space, has the gall to call the media and claim responsibility adding in the process that the target was the posse of paramilitary personnel manning the check point at Zoo Road; the civilian victims were the unfortunate collateral damage. Two questions arise here. One is of course the choice of timing (Heck! It’s the month of May and hardly a politically crucial time; aren’t we done and dusted with our voting?) and the other is the choice of target. If the target indeed was the central armed forces personnel, why didn’t the ULFA (I) have the courage to take its fight right into their barracks? That would have made for a far more spectacular piece of news. But such “bravery” is not within the ULFA’s comfort zone I

guess; civilian Guwahati is. Credit goes to the Assam Police for its breakthrough in arresting the culprits the very next day. The arrest of the portly male who could pass off as any Assamese gentleman under normal circumstances and the winsome film actress who has lived off the Assamese audience made for a disturbing sight and the deadly possessions recovered from them made us cringe that these dastards actually walk among us on a normal day. And now coming to the check points that are set up by the police… I wonder on how many occasions these have actually succeeded in netting terrorists. Essentially, they are nothing but serious harassment to the bona fide motorists of the city. This single incident of bombing at a check point makes me wonder whether it would have at all taken place had the paramilitary been in their barracks rather than on Zoo Road. And finally, is this ULFA’s signal that its funds are depleting? Etched in my memory is the time when their bombings stopped after money “apparently” passed hands and the National Games were held peacefully in Guwahati. Remember that? Well I do! Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

Do marks really matter? The results are here and students have the marks to show for it. There are a lot of hoorahs going around and at the same time, a lot of disappointed parents and students. Please take note, that the word “parent” has been used before students. This commentary is not about the CBSE or SEBA results over the years and whether students have outdone the previous batches. To be honest, result day seems moot nowadays. Students are scoring above 99% for God sakes! Even a handwash doesn’t claim to outperform that! The quote, “you can’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,” can’t be emphasized enough. It is time that students, academicians and parents start seeing the bigger picture – no two people are the same. Period! Students grind themselves through tedious hours of “book-worming” because year after year, they’re made to believe that “Life Goals” are achieved only when the report card has the higher numbers. I may not be a parent, but I have sifted through several hundred resumes, sat through numerous interviews and soon enough it was clear that academic brilliance was not directly proportional to success. “Life” and “goals” are unique to each individual, so how can the route to achieving “Life Goals” be the same for everyone? It is more important that parents and teachers groom students for more practical challenges. Results and academics are of course important, but it is certainly not the end of the world if you’ve scored a 60%. Students need to understand the practical application of everything that they learn. I have seen academic toppers fail simple HR and Personal Interviews only because in the quest for learning from the book, they forget to develop a body language or the right attitude to have a conversation. For all those who did well, congratulations! For all those who didn’t, you have an entire life ahead of you. Don’t let marks decide your future. Cheers!

Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_bv

What if???

hat if the BJP sweeps the polls nationally and the party’s nominees and its allies secure all the fourteen seats from Assam to the Parliament? First and foremost, the new MPs will adorn the back benches, while the second timers will find a place in the middle. The allies will not get any ministerial berths, while only one MP from BJP can expect a minister of state, that too around 2021, when Assembly polls are due in Assam. With BJP sweeping, the importance of the 14 Assam MPs will take a backstage and the Prime Minister may not have the time to focus on the northeast as before as creating jobs will be his prime focus. So, he has to transfer the burden to a capable northeasterner. The picture may change if Himanta Biswa Sarma goes to Parliament via the Rajya Sabha. A situation of Sarbananda Sonowal going back to Delhi and a new CM in Assam, with the prime responsibility of getting BJP back to power in Assam in 2021, cannot be ruled out. If the CAB matter crops up again AGP may consider revising its agreement with BJP as it will not get the precious Rajya Sabha seat either. Raising the CAB bogey may be a good ploy to get rid of AGP and consolidate the opposition to Congress/AIUDF combine. Like the recent acquisition of the CAB opponents into the BJP fold, Assam BJP will have to work on the possibility of getting the existing AGP leadership to merge into BJP and wind up AGP, forever. Easy 2021 assembly elections thereafter! For the new MPs, the working of Parliament and Central Secretariat, forming lobbies to push their cases, getting to know the government schemes etc will take a year or two. This will call for rigorous study, hours in the Parliament library, meeting experienced people, handling middlemen and corporate lobbyists, developing personal rapport with the central ministers and bureaucracy, working with the state government to prepare state specific schemes and submit them to central government in time - absolute hard work, which most Assam MPs will not go through, as seen from past experience. Further, the MPs have to reach out to the diplomatic corps to acquaint themselves with the

rA touch of humanity

O pinion Swapnanil Barua

different trade agreements with different countries, to see if Assam can benefit from these bilateral agreements - a task impossible to be done alone. Most successful MPs have their research teams to go through all aspects of governance. The forming and maintenance of these research teams have to borne by the MP himself; very few MPs from Assam will agree to or have the resources for this. The MPs will have to draw on the resources of the different cells and departments in the party headquarters which provide inputs to the party leadership on different aspects of ideology, politics, development plans, international relations, tribal interactions etc. Being a BJP MP will also need the maintenance of cordial/intimate relationships with the RSS and other Sangh Parivar organisa-

The MPs have to reach out to the diplomatic corps to acquaint themselves with the different trade agreements with different countries, to see if Assam can benefit from these bilateral agreements - a task impossible to be done alone. tions. Marrying the demands of the Sangh Parivar and the needs of the state is a tightrope walk; senior leaders of the party have developed this into an art by itself. The maiden speech of an MP is his make or break moment. How he prepares for it, concentrates on his delivery, his dramatics, his clarity of thought, making the most of the brief allotted time, are some of the features that indicate the future prospects of the MP. If a star is born in the first opening, the MP comes under the spotlight. Ministers and bureaucrats come to know of him, he gets media attention and getting things done becomes much easier. AB Vajpayee was one good example of how freshers made immediate impact or why a ten year PM Manmohan Singh never did. Who else is an excellent example of effective eloquence than Narendra Modiji?

Now, what if the Congress comes back to power in Delhi with a healthy strength from Assam? A leadership issue will crop up between the old guard Paban Ghatowar and Bhubaneswar Kalita, for the likely lone ministerial berth. Tarun Gogoi will naturally push for Gaurav Gogoi. This will lead to camp splitting among the Congress MPs. Ripun Bora as a Rajya Sabha MP and party president, will also stake his claim. Irrepressible MGVK Bhanu will use his pan-India Congress links to stick his finger into the ministership game. Why would Rani Narah leave herself out of the race? Ajmal Sahab will have a difficult time staying away or befriending Congress. All this will have its ramifications in the Pradesh Congress which is suffering from multi leadership now. Closer at Delhi Congress MPs will be more accessible to Rahul Gandhi. This will weaken the position of Rockybul Hussein in his bid for state leadership in the 2021 Assembly elections. Alternatively with Ripun Bora, Pradyut Bordoloi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Gaurav Gogoi, Pabansingh Ghatowar likely Congress CM contenders being away in Delhi, the claim of Rockybul Hussein for chief ministership in Assam may brighten. To consolidate its future in Assam, Congress must kill AIUDF. If any party comes to power by a slender margin, coalition politics will come to play. The Assembly by-polls to fill up the constituencies of the vacating MLAs will indicate the shape of politics to come in Assam. We may also see MP elections again if the MLAs prefer to stay MLAs than become insignificant MPs. (The author is a retired bureaucrat and a sports and cultural organiser)

Letter to the Editor

At a time when we see people spreading immense hatred against one another, I witnessed the unusual sight of a Hindu man named Dhan Das selling pork at a distance of about three feet from a Muslim man named Abdul Qader selling mutton at the Zoo Road Tiniali. This is a rare sight to see these days. I found it particularly interesting because we have heard so much about men killing each other over religious differences, over what meat is “Haraam” and what is “Halaal” and here was an example right in front of my eyes where nothing mattered to the two. They were both shopkeepers doing their job diligently side by side and that’s what we need in our society today. This gives me hope that we can overcome the problem of “religious intolerance” which is a grave issue of concern in today’s world. Rifa Deka Royal Global University, Guwahati

In Focus

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

Education minister unhappy with Ghy-based govt schools’ performance in HSLC exams

he results of the HSLC examination 2019 conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) was

declared on May 15, 2019. Following the announcement of the results, Education Minister of Assam, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, in a recent press

conference held in the city, said that he is unhappy with the “poor performance” of Guwahati-based government schools in this year’s HSLC

examinations. “I am quite unhappy with the results of government schools located in Guwahati especially of Tarini Choudhury Govt HS,

MP School, Cotton Kamrup Academy. soon speak with the of these schools to loopholes,” he said.

Collegiate, We will principals check the

Controversy regarding early circulation of results on social media Individuals and groups circulated HSLC 2019 results on social media hours before the official declaration time at 9 am. Bhattacharya said that an investigation will be carried out against such individuals and groups. “Stringent action will be taken against those who circulated

rumours on social media. WhatsApp groups will also be scrutinized in relation to the matter. We will take the help of the cyber crime cell of Assam police to detect the culprits,” he further added. It should be noted that earlier, on February 14, the question paper for the English exam

of the HSLC examinations went viral on the social media application, Whatsapp minutes after the commencement of the exam. Based on media reports, copies of the English question paper were allegedly circulated at Nagaon’s Jajori centre over WhatsApp.

HSLC Results 2019: The city toppers Four students from Guwahati have made it to the top ten list, of which, three students belong to St Mary’s Higher Secondary School and one from Assam Jatiya Bidyalay, Noonmati. Pratyasha Medhi of St Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Guwahati secured the second position with 593 marks.

Anushree Bhuyan and Christie Saikia who are also from the same school, stood 3rd and 4th with 591 and 590 marks respectively. Priyanka Kalita from Assam Jatiya Bidyalay secured 5th position with 589 marks. In general, girls have outshone boys and made it to the top ten

ranks. A total of 3,36,203 students appeared for 2019 HSLC examination and 9,127 for AHM examination at 857 examination centres across the state. Looking to the future, Bhattacharya mentioned that Agriculture & Horticulture, Private Security, Healthcare

Siddhartha Bhattacharya (C) addressing the media to express his unhappiness and Tourism & Hospitality will soon be included in the course curriculum as vocational subjects.

Job fairs will also be conducted for students to promote these vocational courses. n

In a media conference, Assam Education Minister, Siddhartha Bhattacharya, expressed unhappiness with the Guwahati-based government schools’ performance in HSLC exams. Some comments for the minister from G Plus followers: Salma Rahman

Did you notice this only this time? Because for your kind information, for the past many years it has been the same - the results have not been good. Blame it to the facilities, infrastructure, rules, regulations and discipline which has been very substandard and poor, reason being the government had stopped noticing these schools and probably giving them aid as well. There was a time when these schools showed top-notch results and produced great people in our society. But now due to the dilapidated buildings and horrible infrastructure, the schools fare badly. Please do not blame the teachers or students, it’s the government who has stopped noticing these schools and have left them to their undecided future. Rather than being unhappy with the results, kindly do something for these schools and improve their infrastructure for them to fare well and produce great people again.

Kaushik Das

Sir, for your kind information the teaching standard and the present infrastructure of those schools is pathetic. So rather than being unhappy try to improve the condition so that parents get encouraged to let their children to study in the city-based government schools.

Pallabi Goswami Sarma

I feel like laughing after listening to whatever you have said. The whole year you have just done time pass and now suddenly out of nowhere you come and say that you are unhappy with the results. At least this was not expected from you. It’s you who should improve first and then talk about improvement in education sector.

Deep Kalita

Sir, more than you, we ex-students of vernacular medium schools are saddened by the results. It’s extremely high time to take drastic measures to improve the quality of education in the government schools. Else it will be very difficult for middle class people like us to afford the education for our children in private schools. You must be aware of their ever rising education fees. Moreover, education has become a business these days so strict action should be taken immediately.

Neal Das

I, being an ex-Collegiate student can tell that there are no loopholes in the school. Even till now a few of my teachers are still in the school and teaching. They are great teachers and I am sure the current teaching staff is also great. Before blaming the school, try to improve the infrastructure of the school, facilities, additional activities and others. Your role comes first and I feel you are lagging behind.

Manas Protim

Sir, you are unhappy with the results of these vernacular schools but what have you done to motivate them? Correct and timely motivation will give you better results. Try it once and then we will acknowledge that you are a good education minister. By motivation I mean all round motivation such as infrastructure, facilities, technology driven teaching methodologies etc.

16 Feature

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

My journey to Spiti in 4.2k (Part I)

piti had been a dream destination ever since I was introduced to this charming desert in 2016. I Googled up various places there, the culture and I was very intrigued by it. On a fine Monday morning, I texted my friend saying that we should do a stunning crossover trek to Kinnaur-Spiti, also known as the Pin Bhabha Pass. I knew that this trail would be really enthralling and very adventurous as people usually end up in Spiti via car or bus. I started my journey from Delhi to Kafnu (Kinnaur) along with a friend. Life happens when you come out of your comfort zone and I was ready to embrace the difficulties and challenges. And trust me, the Pin Bhabha Pass trek is not for the faint hearted; it is a very difficult trek. If only I had known, I would have prepared myself better, but since the trek was about the stunning crossover from Kinnaur to Spiti, I couldn’t control my excitement and packed up my bags as well as possible to the glorious desert. The big day approached and I had to cross a steep gully which was nearly on a 75-degree angle. God, I was actually about to climb a glacier! My lungs breathed the wind of the pass, while my eyes felt as if they were popping out because of snow blindness and treading on the snow. There was a sense of sudden rush of blood to the head. Deep down, I felt an adrenaline rush, my foot, palm all carried sweat. It was four hours of treacherous climbing to reach the summit. The trail was slippery and every time I looked down, it seemed like gravity was pulling me back. But there was no option of injecting the notion of fear. The only thing that kept pushing me was the beautiful landscape around me even though enjoying the beauty of nature didn’t suffice my limits of going farther to reach my destination. I was welcomed by two big boulders right beside me (I was moving forward; the boulders were on my right) which were humungous. I didn’t know what to do at that point of time. Everything was so bone chilling cold around me; my legs succumbed to numbness due to the continuous rainfall in the Himalayas and also while crossing the major glaciers. With my injured foot, numb

hands, and my body carrying a 6 kg backpack, my only way to fight this moment was to not

lungs were about to burst. After four hours of struggle and toil, I stood at the top of the pass. My one thought: God had been very kind to me for letting me escape death. Reaching Spiti was not a piece of cake, but once I crossed the Pass and entered Spiti, I got emotional and looked around me. What I saw was spellbinding – a landscape that was pure white heaven. The feeling that my dream of reaching Spiti had come true was so surreal. The vast measureless mountains and barren landscapes of Spiti is something that will be etched in my memories forever. For the next few days, I stayed in the capital city i.e. Kaza where I had pitched my tent as I had decided not to take up a room.

the notion of wisdom, peace and other religious Buddhist chants. The Spiti River is easily visible from Key which gives it a captivating view. I spent most of my time watching the landscape, sitting in the monastery and interacting with travelers from other parts of India. I missed my bus which was scheduled to arrive at 9 am as I didn’t want to make an early exit from there. I was exploring everything around me since there were no means of transportation to get back to Kaza since buses were only available at one time i.e. 9 am. Thus, I hitchhiked until I met a stranger on a bike who gave me a free ride to Kaza bus station. From Key Monastery to Kibber (a small village in Spiti, 5 kms away from Key), I hiked and went

think of what could happen on the way. I had given up thinking about death while climbing the extremely steep Himalayan mountain. Oxygen was minimal, I was panting as if my heart and

After exploring Kaza, I went to Key Monastery by bus. Key Monastery is 14 kms away from Kaza, and 5 kms from a small village known as Chicham where Buddhist monks preach children about

to explore more hidden places. Sunsets are really amazing and eye catching in Spiti. After Kibber, I headed towards Chicham: another village in Spiti where I had no place to stay. While

It was four hours of treacherous climbing to reach the summit. The trail was slippery and every time I looked down, it seemed like gravity was pulling me back. But there was no option of injecting the notion of fear.

Anangsha Alomyan traveling in a bus, my friend asked an aged Tibetan man if we could be accommodated at his place. His soul was embracing, filled with extreme warmth and affection. Spitians are very welcoming; you will see a smile on their faces always. He fed me delicious food (yak and goat meat) and we enjoyed good hospitality for three days. The next day, I took a bus from Kaza to Kunzum Pass to visit Chandratal Lake. In my 22 days of expedition in the Himalayas, I had crossed three passes, several valleys and did two treks - a total of 70 kms. First was Pin Bhabha Pass and second was Chandratal Lake Trek, which starts from Kunzum Pass (9 kms). My Chandratal Lake stories were the most happening ones. Himachal is known as Devbhoomi because of its pure and pristine environment. It is an extremely religious and holy place with a mixture of Hinduism and Budhhism. Especially in Upper Himachal, Buddhism prevails. Camping near Chandratal Lake is an offence. One has to abide by the rules and camp 2 kms away from the lake. I and my friend pitched our tent illegally near the lake, knowing the fact it would lead us to pay a heavy amount of Rs 10k. Either you camp away (with your own tent) from the lake and pay Rs 500 or pay Rs 1k (without your own tent) - a kind of business. I was left aghast as to why would I pay for something which I already have. Well I didn’t really care, but a few tourists complained about us camping near the lake. So, they called the police to check on us and what we were up to. I mean, how dare we were camping near the holy lake! Believe it or not the gaddis (Shepherds) came up to us and tried to refrain these locals who were in charge of the lake, and helped us out to resolve the matter. But they were reluctant for the negotiation and kept on pushing us to pay the money. We said “Hamare pass paisa nahi hai, 10 hazar kaise du aapko?” (We don’t have money, how do we pay 10k to you?) To be continued…

Trotter

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

Man sets world record for highest speed reached on a TukTuk

man who has set a new world record for the highest speed reached on a TukTuk says he is “over the moon” at his achievement. Matt Everard, 46, from Essex, UK, set a speed of 119.583 kmph on a TukTuk at Elvington Airfield. He had been set a target of 110 kmph by Guinness World Records. Though TukTuks and autorickshaws are common in India and other countries like Thailand, they are not as readily available in the UK. Everard bought his vehicle on eBay after

coming home from a “drunken night out.” After buying the TukTuk for 3,000 pounds, he modified it by swapping 350cc engine with a 1300cc fuel-injected Daihatsu

power plant. The record for the fastest auto rickshaw/TukTuk (prototype) is a new one for Guinness World Records. As it required that Everard to have a passenger in the back, his cousin volunteered to sit there. “At a certain speed there was a slight wheel-wobble, but once you went through that speed it kind of evened out again and it was fine. I wasn’t scared,” said Everard. “I’m over the moon, I feel brilliant,” he said on achieving the world record. (Source: ndtv)

Dad trains dog to make sure daughter does homework

his good boy doesn’t eat homework - he supervises it. A father in China has trained his pet dog to watch over his daughter’s homework session, and the internet can’t get enough of the adorable tutor. The dog, named Fantuan, is trained to stand with his front legs on the table while his mistress completes her homework to make sure she doesn’t procrastinate on her phone. “I trained it to guard food

from the cat when it was young,” said Xu Liang of south-western China’s Guizhou province. “Then one day, I found my daughter was

naughty when she was doing her homework. I came up with an idea to let Fantuan watch over its sister, supervise her to do her homework.” And Xinya, who now completes her work with her pet dog watching over her, said she doesn’t mind the company. “It is not as boring as doing my homework alone, and I won’t be distracted as well. It feels like being accompanied by a classmate,” she said. (Source: asianage)

Gujarat boy gets band baaja baaraat and a lavish wedding but no bride

jay Barot’s only wish was to have a grand wedding. The 27-year-old wanted a wedding just like the one his cousin had. While his long-standing wish to have a lavish wedding was fulfilled, his wedding had a missing element. The bride. Barot’s family decided to fulfil the dream of Ajay by giving him a lavish wedding, but unfortunately, it was not possible for them to find a match for Ajay, the reason being, Ajay has learning disabilities.Therefore, they decided to have the wedding without a bride but ensured that all Gujarati rituals and traditions were properly followed. Just like a regular wedding, before the D-day all the mehendi and sangeet ceremonies were held, which were attended by close family and friends. Next day, Ajay looked like a handsome dulha in his wedding attire - a golden sherwani, beautiful pink headgear and red and white rose garland. A grand wedding procession was held after the groom sat

on a horse. Around 200 people, who were part of the procession, danced to the tune of native Gujarati music and drum beats. The family arranged a feast for nearly 800 people in a community hall situated close to their residence. Ajay’s father Vishnu Barot, while speaking to ANI said, “My son was diagnosed with learning disability and lost his mother at an early age. He used to enjoy the wedding procession of other people and asked us about his marriage. We were unable to answer his question as it was not possible to find a match for him. Thus, after talking to all my family members, I decided to arrange a wedding procession for him so he feels like his wedding is being held and his

dream is getting accomplished. I am very happy that I fulfilled my son’s dream without thinking about what society would say.” Ajay’s uncle, Kamlesh Barot, said his nephew is very fond of music, and dancing brings a smile on his face. “He never misses any weddings in our village. After seeing my son’s marriage in February, Ajay used to ask us about his wedding. When my brother came up with an idea to fulfil his son’s wish, we all stood by him and decided to have his varghodo (wedding procession) like any normal wedding, though a bride was missing here. “We sent wedding invitations to our relatives and performed all rituals as per Gujarati tradition in the presence of a priest. What was important for us is to see Ajay gleaming with joy on his big day,” he added. “My brother was lucky that his family supported his wish. We all are happy for him. We did not want to hurt anyone’s emotion. It was just to see him thrilled with joy as he is very dear to us,” Ajay’s younger sister said. (Source: indiatoday)

Malaysian teen allegedly jumps to death after running Instagram poll

alaysian lawmakers called on authorities to investigate reports of a teenager who allegedly jumped to her death after asking her social media followers to vote on whether she should take her own life. Police in Sarawak, on Malaysia’s east, said a 16-yearold girl, who was not named, had run a poll on photosharing app Instagram with the question “Really Important, Help Me Choose D/L”, hours before jumping off the roof of a building on May 13. “According to a close friend of the victim, the ‘D/L’ meant ‘Death/Life’,” district police chief Aidil Bolhassan said. The poll showed 69% of the girl’s followers chose ‘D’, Aidil said. Ramkarpal Singh, a lawyer and a member of parliament, said that those who voted for the teenager to die could be guilty of abetting suicide and urged authorities to investigate the circumstances leading to her death. “Would the girl still be alive today if the majority of netizens on her Instagram account discouraged her from taking her own life?” he said in

a statement. Under Malaysian law, anyone convicted of abetting the suicide of a minor could face the death penalty or up to 20 years’ jail. Malaysia’s youth and sports minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, also called for a probe, saying that rising suicide rates and mental health issues among young people needed to be taken seriously. “It is very unfortunate a young life was lost in this manner,” he said. In February, Instagram banned graphic images and content related to self-harm from its platform, citing a need to keep vulnerable users safe. The changes came following pressure from the parents of a British teenager, who believed that viewing Instagram accounts related to self-harm and depression contributed to their daughter’s suicide in 2017. (Source: guardian)

Student eats free KFC for a year by claiming to be from head office

student was arrested for getting free KFC every day for a year by claiming to be a food quality inspector from the head office. The man, 27, would enter with confidence, wearing a suit and often arriving by limo – driven by a friend who worked as a part-time limousine driver. He managed to fool KFC staff into providing him with free meals by flashing an ID card that read ‘head office’ so he could check the chicken was up to scratch. The man has not been named but has been identified in local reports as a student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. He managed to find different KFC outlets across South Africa and used the same story each time to bag himself hundreds of free dinners. Employees would be told by the conman that he was sent from the KFC headquarters for quality assurance of the food served in the restaurant. A member of staff from one of the KFC branches targeted said, “When he arrived we would all try to act our best so that we didn’t piss off the man from head office. He was so convincing because

he was so confident and even colleagues from other branches of KFC know him. When he came in, he rushed to the kitchen and checked everything, taking notes and then asked for samples of whatever he wanted. He probably worked for KFC before because he knows everything.” Despite being arrested he has been hailed a hero online for his ingenious tactic. Kenyan journalist Teddy Eugene shared the ruse on his official Twitter account which has now had more than 43,000 likes. One person commented, “They should give that man that job already.” Another said. “Not all heroes wear capes.” (Source: metro.co.uk)

18 Review

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick Director: Chad Stahelski

e w Movi vie Re

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM

n the third instalment of the ‘John Wick’ series, the famed assassin is declared ‘excommunicado’ after breaking the code of the High Table in the Continental lounge. Now on the run with a price tag of 14 million dollars, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) must fend for his life as all the assassins and hit men/women in the world are gunning for him. The ‘John Wick’ series continues to expand on the universe it established in the previous two films by introducing

a whole new set of characters along with some returning vital players. Ian McShane & Lance Reddick reprise their roles as Winston & Charon respectively, with the latter doing a lot more than merely serving guests at the concierge. Watch out for Silat masters Cecep Arif Rahman & Yayan Ruhian in arguably one of the most stunning pieces of fight choreography seen in this series so far, and that’s an extremely high bar to meet. Mark

Dacascos is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the best martial artists. He lends so much charisma to Zero that he often ends up being a scene stealer while gracing the film with yet another breathless and nailbiting sequence. Asia Kate Dillon is menacing as the Adjudicator of the High Table and makes her presence felt. But the real MVP amongst all the new characters is Halle Berry as Sofia, a dog-loving assassin and John’s old friend. It’s safe to say her hounds redeem the death of the puppy which started this whole series, much to the delight of canine-lovers. Driven by the notion of rules and consequences, the plot is as standard and straightforward, so don’t expect anything more profound than what you see. But ‘Parabellum’ more than makes up for what it lacks in depth, in stunning visuals and captivating action. There’s little sense to the proceedings, and yet, you’ll be so utterly gobsmacked by the beauty in destruction, that logic won’t matter. Keanu Reeves puts in the hard work to allow for long takes and steady camera work to make each dynamic movement impactful and register. Helmed by director Chad Stahelski again after ‘John Wick 2’, ‘Parabellum’ plays to the actor’s strengths, allowing him to do what he does best. If the makers maintain this level of masterful execution, Keanu Reeves can continue to play this violent & virtually indestructible killing machine, and action lovers will gladly lap it up till the end of time. ‘Parabellum’ is an essential entry to this series, and one that cannot be missed. Review inputs taken from the Times of India.

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Google Pixel 3a

his smartphone promises to deliver most of the same Pixel experience as the flagship Pixel 3 but at a lower price point. Powered by a mid-range processor, this is a relatively affordable smartphone. It is the company’s first attempt at making relatively affordable Pixel smartphones. The phone is priced at Rs. 39,999. Design and Specifications: The Pixel 3a has a polycarbonate body instead of the glass and metal combination of the premium Pixels. It sports a 5.6-inch OLED display with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The bezels on the Pixel 3a models are quite thick, making the phones look a little dated. The Pixel 3a phone sports stereo speakers, the earpiece sits in the top bezel along with the selfie camera, while the second speaker is bottom-firing, positioned to the

right of the USB Type-C port. A surprising addition to the Pixel 3a series is a 3.5mm headphone jack, which sits on the top along with a secondary microphone. Pixel 3a sports a single 12.2-megapixel rear camera with a single-LED flash. It has a rearmounted capacitive fingerprint scanner that is within reach when holding the phone in one hand. The battery capacity of the Pixel 3a is 3000mAh, and Google ships it with 18W chargers and USB Type-C to Type-C cables. Specifications and Software: The phone is an octa-core processor with two performance cores clocked at 2GHz and six

efficiency cores clocked at 1.7GHz. The Pixel 3a devices both come in one configuration only, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which is not expandable unless you use cloud services. Google has used OLED displays, both with full-HD+ resolutions and an 18:9 aspect ratio. The displays offers three colours modes to choose from. The phone has one Nano-SIM slot but offers dual-SIM functionality using

an eSIM. Currently, eSIM functionality is only offered by Airtel and Reliance Jio in India, and you can convert your physical SIM into an eSIM if

you are using either of these carriers. The phone offers dualband Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo. Verdict: The Pixel 3a is the result of Google’s effort to offer the Pixel experience at a lower price point. Yes, the company has cut a few corners in order to lower the prices and to differentiate this new series from the powerful Pixel 3 devices. The polycarbonate bodies look the same but lack the premium experience that the flagship models offer. Google has also opted for a slower processor, missed out on waterproofing, and dropped wireless charging. However, Google’s software does all the magic, and the phones are capable of delivering a smooth user experience Inputs taken from NDTV Gadget. n

Fiction

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

The Candy Animal

e lives with the tradition of a household that is more than two centuries old, the silverware on the dining table is proof of it, though it is a mere delusion that he thinks he is the self-styled ruler in it. She is from one that was defined by what her parents and her convent school had taught her some twenty-six years ago. She had grown up with a faith that a marriage is a forever thing, a happily-everafter situation that will last without an end. There is nothing much to catalogue now. The game of pretence of a candy animal begins as soon as she enters his household. She thinks that she is the queen of his hearts though she does not know how to achieve it. A strong powerful word should seal the stamp of her happiness quickly on his legendary kingdom of centuries. Their wedding ceremony takes five long days of rituals to complete and it is late when the noises finally die down when he says that he has finally married her. The flame from that firework does not die out very easily but the flame in his queen of hearts becomes a mere flicker beside it. The next day and several days later on, she observes many other women racing to claim him and in this race to his heart, she stands to one side letting all of them pass though he still calls her the queen of hearts. She gives up all other hope because if she goes to him, she will then become a mere queen in a bloody carnival of these extraordinary other beings. And so she walks about alone, as it were, in a desert of her own solitude with no sign of a mirage in the distance to lead her on. She has no cross to bear, her dreams slowly mature into mere daydreams, a sultry sheet of clothes she wears with the rise and fall of the sun, clearing away the dust of the nightfall. He does not see the differences between the colour of her hair and her brown eyes that are slowly beginning to carry the burden of hate for his neglect that is accumulating since the first day that her life with him begins. And so she takes on a rich royal retinue of guards around her to shield her from provocations of many things, each of them take combat

positions to affront him with a single signal from her. There are three clowns, five false Bedouins, one card queen, one demon to plead her not guilty, two minstrels to sing her glory and three scholars of justice and peace to equate a balance over everything that may go amiss. Nonetheless she struggles to be rescued by

flower in a mass grave. She considers renaming herself Perdita, one who is to be saved from a calamity. Yet something still prospers in her, it is a modest hope on her part to be loved, she prays for it day and night though she

meets with only a pitiless perseverance that wants to slip out all feelings of shame. She has not written a single letter to him commissioning her thoughts for a lifetime of fidelity and to him alone, signing yours truly to seal with a kiss and forget about it. No, it has not happened like this. Or does it? Really? She settles down to pass the rest of her days in this borrowed house which has a situation of no profit because his desire to know her stops at the door to her

someone else. She wishes to be carried in the arms of one who truly seek her. He does not doubt her innocence nor does he pity her lack of it though she becomes aware of the massacre of a sacred feeling

Representative Image where an emotion becomes the wilted

bedchamber.

never

goes

beyond it though Rupanjali Baruah she always keeps the door ajar merrymaking has been to see if he is coming. And for others only. She writes about she still laces his tea with two it, catalogues in small print, large spoonfuls of sugar each tearing it into small bits to morning, and sets aside the flush it down the drain perhaps largest slice of fish for him at because she expects her rage to mealtime. However shadows recede somewhat by this act. define anxiety in her soul. She She will not be able to has taken a ride in a caravan restore the old house where where he will not come in the same old feelings survive nor will let others join; she to braise the walls and the is on a tour alone where coat of paint is peeling at the caravan several places. Some weeds are is always growing on the cracked floor, waiting and the beams are rotting at a enough to crumble easily with deserted one gentle push. She sees the station. veins of termite growing long By the and hideous; the red ants will end of the following seven months of living at one post like this, she goes on with the several processes to She considers love him but ends by falling in love with someone else though renaming very briefly. herself It is a wild revelry; an unbridled joyous thing during Perdita, one who the first few days, she takes it is to be saved to be a miracle because she is being loved by another human from a calamity. being so much for the first Yet something still time. She begins to bloom with anticipation and does not wish prospers in her, it is to call herself the candy animal a modest hope on anymore. This too however does not her part to be loved, last long. She is in fact trying she prays for it day to substitute one man with another who does not quite fit and night though she into this riddle. She relents for meets with only a getting herself into it, trying to live in another room, a new pitiless perseverance room with no bedclothes of that wants to slip her own. He is a delicate thin man who spends most of his out all feelings of time browsing through the shame. encyclopaedia; he drinks only distilled water from a small jug, which he shares with no one. easily bring the house down. He finds his way easily inside The evidence is very clear; the the lives of all dead people, and house is becoming just like her. he does not have time to look It is close to dying by the end into the colour of her eyes. of next year. The moon above A past easily mix up with it stands a lonesome luminous a present and she cannot quite witness to all this, helpless to say where she wants to belong do anything. So she goes around then. setting traps to catch the red She has become simply a new ants and by the end of one foetus as small as a coffee bean, whole week, she comes to live and her arms are motionless in surrounded only by a bunch of their raised gesture of appeal. sharp wires and nettles. The Even a rat should see her then. candy animal is reducing to This is to her a mere wake its eleventh diminutive size so and not a visit to remember quickly by such undoing. No because he never gets tired of one will ever see her as she is. his encyclopaedia, he seems to (Rupanjali Baruah is a published be easily tired with her. This author, abstract artist, art critic, is still another delusion. She translator, editor & publisher at is still the candy animal WordSmith Publishers based at coloured with new ink Guwahati, Assam. She has to though the lack of a vital her credit 4 books of English matter is apparent still. poetry, fictions & translations Food, liquor and music and also several published flow in plenty though the writings in national/international urge to be a carouser declines journals on art, poetry, fiction. too quickly. She wears more or The author can be reached less a leftover kind of feeling at:wrupanjalikb@gmail.com) at the end of a party where

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

On 18th May, you need to be wary of dealing with the opposite gender, avoid blind dates. On 21st May, avoid scheduling any meetings especially with seniors as you are bound to have disagreements. On 22nd May, you will be emotionally hurt, either by your parents or seniors. On 24th May, your views might not be accepted by others.

Just avoid dealing with seniors & extended family on 19th, 21st & 22nd May. On 21st May, you will be emotionally hurt by seniors or your parent’s words & actions. On 22nd May, you could have disagreements with your boss. 24th May will be an ideal day for you to mingle with seniors, people at work & build your work network. It will be a good day to host your meetings.

21st May will be a great day for you to share ideas & host all important meetings. 20th May will be a slow day & you could feel your parents or boss don’t appreciate your efforts at all. On 23rd May, avoid hosting any important meetings as you could easily get into confrontations. Be prepared for last minute changes and delays.

Utilize 22nd & 23rd May to connect with seniors & share ideas with them, you could host important meetings on these dates. Avoid scheduling any important meetings on 24th May, as you could get into disagreements. You could have issues with your seniors or extended family on 19th & 21st May. On 19th May, avoid trusting anyone with your secrets.

23rd & 24th May will be great days to share ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them, host your important meetings on these dates. On 18th May, you could have issues with your seniors and parents. On 19th May, be careful of your words & actions as you will create your own problems.

23rd & 24th May will be excellent days to schedule important meetings. Your seniors will be receptive to ideas. On 23rd May, you could feel your seniors and/or parents are ungrateful, they don’t appreciate you. 20th May will be a slow day for you.

On 18th May, you could be betrayed by someone at work & emotionally hurt by your family. On 21st May, be careful of your words & actions as you will create your own problems. 22nd May will be a great day for you to share ideas with seniors or simply just connect with them. You could schedule your important meetings on this day.

18th & 21st May will be great days for you to build a rapport with seniors & people at work, host important meetings on these dates. Avoid scheduling any meetings on 20th May, results will not be as you expected. 22nd May will be a slow day for you.

18th & 19th May will be ideal days to share ideas with your boss or connect with people at work & family. Host your important meetings on 18th May & probably have a Sunday brunch with your business network. Avoid socializing or making any promises on 20th May. 23rd May will be a slow day for you.

On 18th May, you could have a disagreement with your seniors or work associates, not a day to schedule important meetings. 19th May will be great day for you to build a relationship with seniors, people at work & extended family. On 24th May, be careful of your words & actions as you will create your own problems.

Watch yourself on 19th & 22nd May, avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation. Share your ideas with seniors or generally build a relationship with people at work on 18th & 21st May, host important meetings on these dates. You could feel emotionally betrayed by seniors or extended family on 24th May, not a day to share secrets.

18th, 21st & 22nd May are ideal days for you to mingle with seniors, people at work & build your work network, host important meetings on these dates. Avoid everyone & anyone on 20th May, you are bound to get into a disagreement, don’t be drawn into a confrontation. On 23rd May, you could have issues at work, or feel emotionally hurt.

What name was given by Casimir Funk to a set of essential micronutrients, all of which were identified between 1913 and 1948?

Which word meaning “Rebirth” was first used in the 18th century and popularised by historian Jules Michelet through his 1855 book, Histoires De France?

Identify both figures in this miniature.

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

Dilbert By Scott Adams

curio-city

It was first developed and produced by the National Biscuit Company (now known as Nabisco) in 1912 at its Manhattan factory in present-day Chelsea Market complex. What biscuit is it?

These were the codenames of the beaches in Normandy where the Allied forces made the D-day landings during the World War II. Oreo Vitamins Renaissance Meghalayan age Jahangir with a portrait of Akbar

What is common between these words: Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, Sword?

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

According to the Geologic time scale, what is the latest age or uppermost stage of the Quaternary?

3 4

8 2

3 2

6 7 4 5

5 4 6 3 7 1

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

9 2 7

5 9 5

1 6

Daily Sudoku: Tue 14-May-2019

5 7

2 9

1 3 2

9 very hard

Daily Sudoku: Thu 9-May-2019

curio-city

Sudoku

medium

5 last 8 7week 3 6solution 1 4 9 2 1 4 6 8 9 2 7 3 5 2 1 3 9 8 5 4 6 7 3 9 2 5 7 4 6 1 8 4 8 6 3 7 2 9 5 1 9 2 1 6 8 5 3 4 7 9 5 7 1 4 6 3 8 2 6 3 8 1 4 7 2 5 9 7 4 8 5 3 1 6 2 9 7 5 4 2 3 9 8 6 1 1 3 9 6 2 8 5 7 4 2 7 9 4 5 3 1 8 6 6 2 5 4 9 7 8 1 3 4 6 5 7 1 8 9 2 3 3 7 1 8 5 9 2 4 6 8 1 3 9 2 6 5 7 4 8 Sudoku: 6 Tue 4 14-May-2019 2 1 3 7 9 very5hard Daily

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

medium

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

Word of the week alameda knackered noun adjective [al-uh-mey-duh] [nak-erd]

British Slang.with trees. a public walk shaded 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 18 - May 24 , 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 18 - May 24 , 2019

Tensions in the house due to bad Vaastu Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.

here are certain Vaastu defects which can cause a lot of tension in your household. Thus, you must take precautions whenever these defects exist. Here are some general rules you can follow to keep things in check:

When the Northeast corner is cut off, it may bring check

in progress, and money and loss of offspring. The northeast corner should not be rounded as it will hamper progress. Pyramids can offset this defect. The master bedroom should not be in the northeast corner. It may cause mental or physical disability. Presence of the kitchen in the northeast also causes mental tensions besides heavy expenses.

Help of Guruyantra, Agniyantra and pyramids should be taken. A staircase in the northeast causes monetary and health problems leading to mental agony. Pyramids and black tulsi plants should be used.

not fall have stagnation of energy and there is tension besides ill health. In such cases, openings should be made to allow sunlight to fall or mirrors should be

used to reflect sunlight into the house. Defects in the southwest bring troubles for the master of the house, which in turn affects all members. There should not be a puja room in the southwest. Clutter and unused old items in the house stagnate energy and cause tensions. They should be thrown out/ sold off.

Toilet in the east causes tensions for the family members. Houses where sunlight does

Possible effects on health: If the northeast is kept heavy with a big construction or toilet, the natural energy for all-round development is blocked. Some mental problems, insomnia, tension and general illness may affect the inmates. We know that the southeast

is the direction of fire. If the bedroom is placed here, high blood pressure, mental tensions, and restlessness will exist. If a water body is kept in the southeast, it will affect children’s health and cause kidney problems. A defective southeast is also

bad for the heart. Sleeping in the northwestern room will cause insomnia and flatulence. A water body in the northwest also causes mental tensions, anxiety and premature ageing.

If there is a construction or water body in the centre or the brahmasthan, then there will be stomach problems and tensions besides insomnia.

If the west is kept lighter and vacant, the physical

A water body in the west affects virility and causes

Ramadan Special Recipe: Kathal Biryani with Bundi and Mint Raita Shimu Dutta

iryani in any shape or form is considered delicious and we are sure you’ve tried the regular paneer or mutton biryani. However, here’s a unique recipe to try that is both healthy and delicious.

Ghee: 4 tbsp or as required Garam masala, Cloves, Cardamom, Black pepper, Cinnamon, Bay leaves, as required.

Kathal: 1/2 kg Rice: 3 cups Ginger garlic paste: 2 tbsp Garam masala: 1/2 tsp Yogurt: 1/2 cup Tomatoes: 3/2, chopped Coriander leaves: 1 bunch Mint leaves: 1 bunch Green Chillies: 10/12 Onions: 5/6, fried

Method: Boil rice with a little salt and keep aside.

unsteadiness. It affects the health of male members. Presence of a water body in the south causes health problems for ladies and mental tensions. An extension or a water body in the southwest will affect the owner and his/ her eldest son’s health.

Did you hear the moon cry? I did, it was the wind I thought, Never heard a more woeful sound The windows rattled and whispered A cry more a moan than a human voice

Then pour ghee in a karahi or pan and add the khara or whole masalas. When it splutters, add ginger garlic paste and a little water.

I looked at the moon, wasn’t left with choice

Add chopped tomatoes, yogurt, salt and stir fry for some time.

For the moon was coloured the colour blue...

Add the kathal pieces and cook in a pressure cooker for one whistle and switch off the gas. Cover the lid and cook for some time in steam. You will know the kathal is cooked when the gravy is of semi-thick consistency.

Ingredients:

body is weakened and chronic diseases set in.

In another saucepan or pan, arrange the kathal, green chillies, green leaves and fried onion. Garnish with green chillies and a little pudina. Serve with Bundi Pudina Raita.

That was the moment I realised it true

Or, was it me that heard my own heart, Under a blue moon that begged for a start Whispers are voices that never really speak If the moon cried, would the wind sadly squeak? I lay on my bed, waiting for I don’t know what Far from me, the moon journeyed apart Like me, did you hear the moon cry? Arunav Barua

22 Entertainment

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

Papon’s voice features in Netflix Original movie ‘Music Teacher’ Kalyan Kumar Kalita

ngaraag Papon Mahanta sang three songs in the movie ‘Music Teacher,’ out of which two are evergreen songs of 80’s. The movie ‘Music Teacher,’ has been written and directed by Sarthak Dasgupta, and was released on Netflix’s official site on April 19. The film stars popular artists like Manav Kaul, Amrita Bagchi, Divya Dutta and Neena Gupta, and the music for the film has been composed by Rochak Kohli. The film includes two evergreen songs titled ‘Phir Wahi Raat’ and ‘Rimjhim Gire Sawan.’ Among these, the song ‘Phir Wahi Raat’ has been rendered by Papon and ‘Rimjhim Gire Sawan’ has been sung by Papon along with Shreya Ghoshal. Both these songs have been released on social networking site s and have be e n highly appreciated by music lovers everywhere. In addition, music directors and singers of Bollywood have also expressed their feelings on Twitter after enjoying both

these songs. The two songs were originally composed by renowned music director RD Barman and rendered by legendary singer, actor and music director Kishore Kumar. The film is based on a disillusioned music teacher whose musical aspirations have been put on hold as he struggles with regret when his star pupil, now a successful singer, comes to town. The film’s lyrics have been penned by Gurpreet

even Radio Jockeys (RJs) from Assam have been nominated for the ‘Most Popular RJ of the Year’ award for Excellence in Radio Awards 2019 conducted by India Radio Forum (IRF). The RJs nominated are from different radio channels such as Big FM, Red FM, Radio Mirchi and for the first time in 10 years, AIR Akashvani. The Excellence in Radio Awards 2019 has declared 45 categories till now and the category for most popular RJ is based on public voting. The nominated RJs include: Big FM’s RJ Sujita, Big FM’s RJ Aliya, Big FM’s RJ Shubhankar, Red FM’s RJ Mandy, Red FM’s RJ Pahi, Radio Mirchi’s RJ

Saini and Adheesh Verma whereas background score has been done by Andrew T Mackay.

Rima Das’ Bulbul Can Sing to screen at 14th Habitat Film Festival

widely critically acclaimed film, Rima Das’ Bulbul Can Sing will be scre e ne d at the 14th Habitat Film Festival in New Delhi. Das’ film has already been screened at international platforms such as Toronto Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival. She is currently in 2019

Seven RJs from Assam nominated for ‘Most Popular RJ of the Year’ award

Cooldeep and AIR (Akashvani) Guwahati’s Rhituparna Das.

Representing NE India, actress receives accolade at Tribeca Film Festival

ikkim-based actress, Geetanjali Thapa received ‘Special Jury Mention’ at the 18th Tribeca Film Festival held in New York for her role as Riz in the film, ‘Stray Dolls.’ The film was screened in the US Narrative Competition category

was honoured with a Special Jury Mention “for her always surprising and deeply engaging work in Stray Dolls.” He r film te lls the story of a girl named Riz who leaves India to get away from a life of petty crime and arrives in the United States where she gets a

at the film festival which was held from April 24 to May 5. The jurors for the 2019 US Narrative Competition included Lucy Alibar, Jonathan Ames, Cory Hardrict, Dana Harris, and Jenny Lumet. According to the jurors, Thapa

housekeeping job at a motel. Earlier, Thapa had also won the Mega Miss North East 2007 beauty pageant held in Guwahati and she won the National Film Award for ‘Best Actress’ for her performance in the film ‘Liar’s Dice.’

Cannes Film Festival, her fourth year at the festival, and has participated in the inauguration of the India Pavilion, which is said to be a

“home away from home for many Indians” at Cannes. This year, Habitat Film Festival will feature over 40 films in 19 languages across a ten-day period

starting from May 17. Some of the regional languages that the festival is highlighting from the northeast region include Assamese, Garo, Khasi and more. The aim of the festival is to bring “meaningful films from across the country.”

Event

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019

I.C...e.e Live A tribute night to Boney M by Joshua and The Note Ninjas Venue: India Club, Guwahati | Date: 11th May, 2019

The elite of Guwahati in

party mode

Amlandeep Das singing with Joshua

a Ghulam and Jasmine Kibriy

jit Baruah, L-R Amlandeep Das, Vikram s Da n apa Sw a, Ghulam Kibriy

ram

Deepjyoti Baruah, Sunu & Vik Barkataki

Altaf Hussain, Rajiv Dutta and

revelry Rajiv Dutta (R) with a friend

Arzoo Ahmed and Lomi Choudhury

The party is on

ote Ninjas

eN Joshua with Th

24 Catching Up

G PLUS | May 18 - May 24 , 2019