Vol 6 Issue 38

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INSIDE

Volume 06 | Issue 38 July 13 - July 19, 2019 Price `10

58 Ghy restaurants served ‘closure and improvement’ notices

‘Master’ poacher in police net; kingpin identified as Tohiykhu Zhimomi from Nagaland

Barapani ‘oil spills’ return to harass motorists travelling to Shillong

PG 04

PG 03

PG 07

Twin Towers

GMDA

negligence responsible for road collapse Read about the GMDA constructed road near Holy Child School that collapsed from a landslide speaking volumes about the department’s shoddy work.

Full story on Page 6.

at Guwahati a distant dream G Plus News @guwahatiplus

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n contrast to the government’s claim to start the construction work of the twin tower trade centre in Guwahati from July last year, the construction site continues to wear a desolated look.

Not a single post has been erected so far at the site allocated for the tower at Basistha Crossing near NH-37.

National Building Construction Company Limited (NBCC), which signed an agreement with the government of Assam in February last year to build the 65-storey towers, has only put up a signage at the building site to remind people of the future existence of the tower.

Even, the signage was not in a good shape for the last couple of days as the ongoing stormy weather had crumbled and torn the signage apart. The signage remained like that for a while before it was repaired by NBCC very recently.

The people of the region will clearly have to wait longer than they expect to see the twin tower trade centre in its physical form as NBCC continues to hold rounds of meetings with various stakeholders to start construction of the building.

“We assure you that NBCC

is having at the set up tower at

negotiations top level to the twin trade centre in Guwahati the earliest.

However, we cannot say for sure as to when they are going to start construction of the building,” a highly placed source at Assam Industries & Commerce department told G Plus.

Continued on Page 02

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Lead Story

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

One year on, still no construction activity at Ghy Twin Tower site Continued from cover

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ccording to the source, among other stakeholders, NBCC is holding discussions with New York’s World Trade Centre Association, which grants permission to any building that wishes to be used as trade centre and use the name “Twin Tower” against a certain amount of fee.

Construction of the Guwahati twin tower trade centre, which will be built in pursuance of the government of India’s Act East Policy, will be carried out at a cost of Rs 1,950 crores in a selffinancing mode.

Except for the 32-bigha plot, Assam government will not provide any financial assistance to the development of the trade centre. Instead, the government expects to earn revenue and boost business in the state from the centre, which is expected to be completed over a period of five years.

The twin tower project, touted as the new Trade and Business Gateway for SouthEast Asian nations, will feature several modern amenities along with state-of-the-art IT enabled services.

Upon completion, the trade centre will be equipped with convention centre, hotel, shopping complex, service apartments, residential zones,

museum and cinema halls among others.

It will also have basement parking facility to accommodate 4,000 cars.

However, a section of people expressed concern over the idea of building a 65-storey building in a high earthquake prone zone like Assam.

The government of Assam, however, dispelled the fear by saying that there are technologies available to build high rises in earthquake prone areas.

In this regard, the source at the state Industry & Commerce department said, “This issue will obviously be taken care of by NBCC while building the tower. There are so many high rises in Japan, which is one of the most earthquake prone countries in the world. Then, why can’t we build a 65-storey building using

The signboard proclaiming the twin tower construction standing at the site for over a year now | G Plus photo the right technologies?”

Ranel Das, a city-based architect also echoed the sentiment of the government.

Speaking to G Plus, Das

said, “Technically everything is possible. If we use the right technology, it is very much possible to build a skyscraper like the one being planned

by the government of Assam.

There are so many countries in the world that are prone to earthquake and have many high rises.”

Assam received Rs 52,000 Cr worth of investment from MoUs signed during Advantage Assam

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he state of Assam has so far received Rs 52,000 crores worth of investment from the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) signed during Advantage Assam - the global investors’ summit held in Guwahati in February last year to further boost the Centre’s Act East policy.

During the two-day summit, a total of 207 MoUs valued at Rs 79,000 crores were signed between the government of Assam and various industrial units which had come in from various parts of the world to participate in the event.

“If we compare the average investment committed during similar global investors’ summits held in other parts of the country, we see that less than 15% of the investment promised during

Advantage Assam has been grounded so far,” said the source at the state Industry & Commerce department.

According to the source, commitment from the oil sector forms a large chunk of the MoUs signed during Advantage Assam, with Rs 42,000 crores worth of investment has already been grounded in the sector.

One of the investments in this sector includes the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Barauni in Bihar to Guwahati at a cost of Rs 330 crores.

Sun Pharma, which signed a MoU during the Advantage Assam summit, has already inaugurated a Rs 120 crore expansion plant at its site in Mirza in Kamrup district.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has

Advantage Assam, another 34 investors have expressed their interest to invest in Assam and submitted proposals to the Industry & Commerce department.

“The units have grounded an investment of Rs 1,441.37 croress,” said Assam Industry & Commerce minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary, while replying File photo of the Advantage Assam summit attended by PM Modi to a question by AGP legislator, Pabindra Deka in state assembly in September last year. also opened two LPG bottling plants in Patanjali, Dabur, Britannia, Kurlon, North Guwahati (Rs 17 crores) and Silchar Eveready, Marico were among the (Rs 23 crores), as part of its commitment companies which signed MoUs during made during the summit.

Advantage Assam.

“Apart from the MoUs signed during n

City

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

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58 Ghy restaurants served ‘closure and improvement’ notices Mrinmoyee Hazarika @guwahatiplus

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n an effort to improve the quality of food served by restaurants and other food outlets of the city, the food safety department of Kamrup (M) has issued “closure and improvement” notice to 58 food outlets in Guwahati since May last year.

The notices were served following a series of inspections conducted by the officials of the city food

complete their renovation, we will inspect their outlets and based on our inspection results, we will allow them to open their restaurants,” said an official of food safety department of Kamrup (M).

The official also said that during inspection they found that there was insufficient space for processing and storage, poor light and ventilation in the kitchens.

They also found that some of the restaurants did not even have proper space for movement, the floors and walls

against the unscrupulous food outlets, some traders are still continuing to run their businesses in gross violation of the concerned acts.

One such incident of violation came to light during an inspection drive carried out by a team of the state Legal Meteorology department against New Prince Bakery in Bhagagarh area in Guwahati.

The owner of the bakery allegedly used abusive language against the team of officials that was on duty to

safety official.

In addition, the food safety department inspects the packaging and the date of expiry of the food items procured by the hotels and restaurants.

During the drives, which are being conducted by the department regularly, the officials recovered huge quantities of spices that cannot be used as their expiry dates had passed.

The Kamrup (M) food safety department

inspect the quality of food and packaging of the items sold by the bakery.

“There are no details mentioned on the packets of New Prince Bakery. The packaging of any food item should mention the date of expiry, registration number of the producer, ingredients of the food etc. But none of such information was provided

by New Prince Bakery on their packaged food,” said an official of the inspection team. n

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File photo of one of the food outlets that has been served notice safety department across restaurants, hotels, sweet shops and other food outlets.

Sources at the department told G Plus that most of the outlets that received these notices are yet to improve their hygiene and sanitary conditions.

The outlets which have received the closure and improvement notices include Kasturi, Nehar’s Mughlai, Rookman Sweets, Prime bakes, Quick Pick, Punjab Hotel, Samrat Hotel, Puja Bakery, Three Guys etc.

Four canteens within the Gauhati University campus and four hotels at the Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) campus also received such notices.

“Three restaurants inside GMCH are currently renovating and improving their kitchens and other conditions to provide hygienic food to the customers. Once they

were not cleaned properly and no proper drainage system was put in place as per the requirements of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

Insects were found to be roaming freely in some of the kitchens as there were no nets or screens fixed on the windows, doors and other gaps.

“During the drive, we mainly check whether the workers wear appropriate aprons, hand gloves and headgears while preparing food for their customers. We also check whether the food items that are kept for sale are covered properly to avoid contamination.

“However, in some of the places we found that there was zero distance between the kitchen and toilets. We have served kitchen closure notices to those restaurants and hotels,” said the food

has so far issued more than 400 food licenses to various entities, but it has no data on the exact number of restaurants that are currently operating in the city.

However, the department official said that there are a large number of restaurants in Guwahati that are functioning without a food licence.

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4 Crime

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

‘Master’ poacher in police net; kingpin identified as Tohiykhu Zhimomi from Nagaland G Plus News @guwahatiplus

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he “Master” of the region’s inter-state rhino poaching racket was finally in the police net on Wednesday night when the Guwahati police crime branch, in a joint operation with state forest department sleuths

forest department sleuths have taken him into their custody for further investigation.

Rohini Ballabh Saikia, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Kaziranga, said, “He is amongst

support he provides without coming out in front. His arrest is vital to unearth the entire chain of poaching racket,” said forest department sources adding that several poachers who were

and forest department sleuths within a week. On July 6, five of a poaching racket, including one Nagaland-based sharpshooter, were also nabbed in a joint operation by state police

A sharpshooter is called the pilot, the gun is the machine and the bullets are the tablets.

Sharpshooters are mostly from Nagaland. Usually, a pilot is hired for Rs 2 lakhs,” says former poacher turned forest guard. from Kaziranga National Park (KNP), caught the most wanted kingpin from city’s Six Mile area.

Tohiykhu Zhimomi is known as the Master in the rhino poaching racket of the region due to his prominent role as a rhino horn dealer in the entire northeastern region. He hails from neighbouring state Nagaland’s Dimapur town and was taking shelter in the city.

Guwahati Police Commissioner, Deepak Kumar said, “We have inputs of the most wanted poacher’s movements in the city and according to it we along with forest department sleuths nabbed him. He has been handed over to the forest department who is going to interrogate him.”

The Master is wanted in at least seven poaching cases in KNP. Immediately after his arrest, the

The “Master” poacher in police custody and (inset) close up of Tohiykhu Zhimomi, the poacher | G Plus Photo the most wanted kingpins of the region’s rhino poaching and horn selling racket. He is one of those who controls the cross border poaching racket from Nagaland. He hires the sharpshooters usually engaged in rhino poaching and supplies them with firearms too.” Forest department sources added that the arrested accused is also allegedly involved in providing international sellers for the rhino horn smugglers.

“He was out of the catch because most of the poachers don’t know his real name. They know him as the ‘Master’ because of the orders, instructions and

arrested by the department earlier have named him of ordering the rhino poaching.

An investigation has so far revealed that Zhimomi is a rhino horn dealer who provides sharpshooters from Nagaland (where many still practice traditional hunting) to the Assam based poaching rackets.

After the poachers on the ground accomplish the crime, his aides usually take the horns to him which he would subsequently sell across the borders of Myanmar with his networks in Manipur and Nagaland.

It was the second successful operation by the state police

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and forest department from Biswanath district.

“The activities of the poaching rackets usually go up during the flooding season when rhinos which stray out of the park due to rising water become vulnerable to poaching. Master was also planning such attempts of poaching since the Kaziranga Park is now affected by flood water,” said forest officials.

The sharpshooter from Nagaland has been found to be involved in multiple numbers of poaching incidents in the last couple of years.

A former poacher turned forest guard said, “A sharpshooter is

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called the pilot, the gun is the machine and the bullets are the tablets. Sharpshooters are mostly from Nagaland, while those living around the park provide shelter and guidance.

Of late, some of the local poachers have taken to shooting. Usually, a pilot is hired for Rs 2 lakhs.”

Most of the time the gun owner and receiver of the horn is the same person operating from Nagaland.

“Nowadays guns are available on hire for Rs 10,000 a week. The gun stays away from the owner and circulates among different gangs.

But the rent money is always delivered to the gun owner.

The cost of the horn depends on whether it is intact or chipped,” he added.

The rhinos in the Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a tourist attraction, have been a target of poachers, who kill them and sell the horns to the international gang of smugglers.

The year 2013 and 2014 saw the highest number of poaching (27 in each year) followed by 17 in 2015, 18 in 2016 and six each in 2017 and 2018. Three rhinos have been killed this year so far in the park.

During 2017-18, some 75 poachers were nabbed and several arms including .303, AK series rifles, silencers and ammunition were seized by the security forces. Recently, an 82-member special protection force trained to combat poachers was deployed in the KNP.

Health

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

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Alcohol most used psychoactive substance in Assam G Plus News @guwahatiplus

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lcohol is the most used and cocaine the least used psychoactive substance in Assam, according to a survey conducted by the Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in collaboration with the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

According to an article by The Times of India, the recently published report states that 8.8% of the population, which accounts for 27 lakh people between the ages of 10 and 75 years, consume alcohol. Nationally, about 14.6% people in the same age group, which corresponds to 12 crore people, consume alcohol.

It has also been noted that 2.8% of Indians aged between 10 to 75 years, 3.1 crore individuals, currently consume cannabis

products which include bhang, charas or ganja. In Assam, the consumption of cannabis is at 0.5%. However, the state is among the top 10 in the country to house people, approximately 1.9 lakh, who need help with cannabisrelated problems.

In terms of opioid use, which can be taken in three forms, opium, heroin and pharmaceutical opioids, Assam has 2.91% users, which is higher than the national prevalence of 2.06% in the country.

In addition, 0.01% of the population in Assam has been found to be cocaine users.

Further, Assam has 17,466 PWIDs (people who inject drugs) against the national figure of 8,54,296.

It should be noted that Guwahati has seen a rapid escalation of a wide range of drugs including ganja, heroin, opium, party drugs and psychotropic substances in the past few years.

Drug addicts and peddlers have found multiple ways to continue

their business rampantly right under the nose of authorities in spite of the efforts put up to curb this addiction that is slowly destroying nations.

In 2016, Assam Police had recorded the highest number of cases under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act over the last decade.

It showed a threefold rise in cases from 121 registered in 2006 to 382 cases registered in 2016.

In the last four years (20152018), a total of 1,410 cases have been registered with the Assam police under the NDPS Act. Interestingly, the number of cases registered in 2018 was 2.5 times the number of cases

registered in 2015.

In 2018 alone, as many as 455 cases under NDPS Act were registered with the Assam police. However, a senior police official told G Plus that the actual cases occurring in the state is much more than those registered.

Over 90% of the world’s drugs are produced in the Golden Triangle (the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet) and Golden Crescent (the area overlapping Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan).

“The business of drugs is sustaining because of the demand-supply forces. Since Assam lies in the centre of the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent, it’s very difficult to cut down on the supply. The Assam Police is thus focusing on cutting down the demand among citizens by means of generating awareness and providing counselling,” informed a senior official in the Assam Police.

6 Cover Story

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

Newly constructed road collapses, triggers landslide in Chandmari hills Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee

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uwahati is surrounded by hills and is very much prone to landslides, especially during the monsoon season.

Incessant rains over the past week have triggered a landslide on patch of a newly constructed road in Amiya Nagar area of Chandmari hill near the Holy Child School.

A big chunk of the side wall along with half of the road collapsed and went straight down. The houses below the slope narrowly escaped from getting hit by the broken wall.

The road was constructed under the local MLA fund by the Guwahati Metropolitan Developmental Authority (GMDA) and was not even a year old. The construction of the road started from 2017 and was completed by mid-2018. The local residents alleged that the government authorities constructed the road poorly by just laying down cement blocks and filled the gaps with river sand. They further alleged that the Public Works Department

(PWD) hired a local contractor who completed the work in haste without even taking any precautionary measures against possible heavy rains triggering the chance of a landslide.

Speaking to G Plus, one of the residents said that the road was initially raw and undeveloped and after repeated request the road was finally constructed on the patch. “The road was constructed after we repeatedly requested the department. Earlier, it used to be a kutcha road, said the resident.

The resident also pointed out that the road was built without a proper survey.” A local contractor was hired for the job and the construction was done without a proper survey of the path; on one side of the road there is a steep slope and they constructed the road without building a proper foundation. They dumped soil over the path and just laid the concert blocks over it, said the resident.

Further cracks have developed on other side of the path which may collapse at any time, making it more vulnerable and prone to landslide; the residents are now leaving in fear. “Already

A view of the landslide in Amiya Nagar | G Plus Photo movement on the road is affected.

Luckily no one was there on the road nor any vehicle was passing over it when the section of the

Negligence responsible for road collapse

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he GMDA’s negligence in constructing and supervision of the road led to the disaster that put the lives of the people at risk.

The unscientific method in which the road was built shows a clear picture of poor construction on the part of the GMDA. Kailash Sarma, Secretary of the NGO Save Guwahati Build Guwahati, while speaking to G Plus said that the poor planning and wrong construction method led to such a disaster in the area.

“GMDA, on its part, was very negligent in constructing the road.

They should have built the guard wall from the bottom in three steps. Without doing that they just built the road and did not take any controlling method,” said Kailash Sarma. He further said that the GMDA only constructed a small wall hanging from the side facing

straight down without any foundation.

“The area is not landslide prone like other hill areas in the city. It was for the first time that such an incident happened here only because of the poor construction of the road. They have constructed a small wall on the side which was hanging and did not have any foundation, which is very risky,” said Sarma.

Kailash Sarma has approached GMDA to look into the matter and

road collapsed in the morning at around 10.30 am and right now the situation is such that anytime the entire road might collapse

Landslides continue to torment city, one succumbs to injuries

I fix the issue immediately as it has disrupted movement in the area.

The GMDA has temporarily made a bamboo bridge. “The entire responsibility goes to the GMDA for constructing it in such a wrong manner,” said Sarma.

putting the lives of the people residing below at risk,” informed the resident.

t’s a double whammy for Guwahati residents as, on the one hand, flash floods continue to torment the public and on the other, residents living in and near hilly areas undergo the perennial fear of landslides during the rainy season.

According to reports, a massive landslide on the Rani-Gorchuk connecting road disrupted the entire stretch of Koinadhora Path. The landslide damaged two houses, and one person was severely injured.

Currently, vehicular movement in the area has been stopped.

In another incident a severely injured man succumbed to his injuries after he was hurt in a landslide at Gorchuk’s Katahbari area. The man,

identified as Narayan Saha, was a resident of Bethani Hill.

According to reports, at around 9 am on 10th July, a huge rock fell on Saha’s house from an adjacent hill.

Saha, who was home when the incident occurred, was severely injured and was taken to Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH), where he was declared dead by doctors.

Saha is survived by his wife and son.

The Assam government had recently banned excavation of land and extraction/blasting of stone within Kamrup Metropolitan District in the light of the present monsoon season because of possibilities of landslides and for greater public interest.

Concern

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

Barapani ‘oil spills’ return to harass motorists travelling to Shillong Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

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everal new incidents of alleged oil spilling on one of the most popular routes in the region have come to the fore after a few Guwahatians complained of Meghalaya locals deliberately spilling “mobil” or motor oil on roads to harass motorists.

In a recent incident, a Guwahati resident was travelling with her relatives to Shillong via

are 2-3 cranes available to rescue the vehicle.

“But this comes at a cost as they charge anywhere between Rs 5000 to Rs 15,000. The gullible victims, having no choice, fall easy prey to this conspiracy,” he mentioned adding that on the same day his relatives had witnessed that five bikes had also fallen into the drain in a similar fashion on that road.

Sources informed G Plus that such incidents of alleged oil spilling occur more on rainy days as chances of cars and bikes skidding becomes higher.

time this happens on the same stretch of road,” said a victim.

Guwhatians are also of the opinion that such incidents are extremely dangerous as some of these seemingly small accidents could also turn fatal.

A few months ago, G Plus had reported on a similar incident where a Guwahati resident who was travelling to Shillong, was involved in an accident when his car skidded off the road and landed in a small ditch. He alleged that some locals are involved in such activity where they spill oil

A car from Guwahati skidding into a ditch from the oil spill near Barapani the Guwahati-Shillong Road (popularly GS Road) when their car lost control and fell in the drain along the side of the road.

“My relatives were travelling to Shillong from Guwahati last weekend. Some unscrupulous gangs of locals spill mobile oil on some selected curves in between Umsning and Barapani. Cars and bikes lose their road grip because of this and crash against the dividers or fall into the side drain. Immediately, a group of locals appear on the scene,” said a Guwahati resident.

He added that as soon as their car fell in the small drain, a group of local boys appeared on site and offered to help and said that there

“This is a racket and my friend was also involved in a similar accident last month while travelling to Shillong. He had to pay around Rs 12,000 for his vehicle to be lifted. These gangs take advantage of people as commuters have no other option but to pay to get their cars and bikes lifted,” said another Guwahati resident.

Sources said that most such accidents occur near the Barapani area on the curves.

“This is definitely happening with the connivance of the locals as well as the police or administration. I don’t believe that they aren’t aware of this. It cannot be coincidence that every

or “mobil” on the roads so as to make the cars skid.

Abdul Hannan, a resident of Guwahati, who was travelling with his wife and his eightmonth-old child to Shillong, told G Plus that the incident occurred at Barapani in Meghalaya.

“I strongly suspect that some locals purposely spill oil on the roads right before the rains, especially on sharp turns, so that the cars skid and land in the small ditches. A few boys then turn up on the spot and demand close to Rs 5,000 to tow out the cars of the tourists,” said Hannan.

He further added that since he and his family members were wearing seat belts, no one

sustained any serious injuries.

His wife however, received a few stitches.

Hannan added that after a while, two men reached the spot in a police car.

“But they were dressed in plainclothes and also had a tow truck with them. They started towing my car without even asking me. When I asked if they have come from the police station or privately, they replied that this was a private car and said that they would charge Rs 5,000 to get my car out of the ditch,” informed Hannan.

The incident occurred in April last and Hannan had uploaded a video on Facebook narrating the incident, which was widely shared.

Hannan also said that after he uploaded the video on Facebook, he received a lot of messages and comments from people saying that they had faced similar ordeals in their commute to Meghalaya in the recent past.

Tanvir Yusuf Ahmed, another victim of a similar incident said, “Five of us were travelling together to Shillong when our car met with an accident as it slipped off the road.

It then came to a halt after hitting a rock.

We later saw that oil was spilled on the road which made the car skid.”

Ahmed added that almost immediately after the accident, a few boys reached the spot with a tow vehicle and demanded money to tow the car away.

G Plus tried reaching out to Meghalaya police for a statement about the incident, but could not establish a connection.

However, sources informed that the police claimed to have put barricades along the stretch of the roads a couple of month ago after receiving complaints to prevent any such incidents. But the recent commuters said that they saw no barricades in the area.

7

Snippets GMC makes segregation of waste at source mandatory, defaulters to face penalty

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he Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has now made segregation of waste at the source mandatory for all commercial establishments, institutions, traders and shops functioning under its jurisdiction.

The municipal body will also penalise for failure to comply with the directions related to waste segregation. Further, if any commercial establishment is penalised twice for the same offence, their trade license will be cancelled by the corporation immediately.

In a notification issued on July 12, GMC mentioned that all institutions and commercial establishments need to maintain two sets of dustbins including one Blue (for dry waste like paper, bottle, plastic etc) and one Green (for wet waste like leftover food, vegetables etc).

The notification also stated that the GMC will check all commercial establishments, shops etc for compliance of the same from time to time.

Centre approves Rs 1201.36 Cr for flood mitigation in Assam

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total of 141 projects amounting to Rs 2,383.11 crore were approved and included under the Flood Management Programme (FMP) to the Assam gove rnme nt for mitigating floods.

It is to be mentioned that the government of India had launched Flood Management Programme (FMP) during XI Plan for providing central assistance to the state government under which Rs 1,201.36 crores has been released till now.

During XI Plan, 100 projects with an estimated cost of Rs 996.14 crores were approved while during XII Plan, 41 projects with an estimated cost of Rs 1,386.97 crores were approved.

This was disclosed in a written reply to AIUDF MP Badruddin Ajmal,

by Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria in the Parliament.

8 Governance Snippets CBI raids NF Railway headquarters in Guwahati

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

Piped gas: Consortium formed for supply in 5 dists including Guwahati Mrinmoyee Hazarika @guwahatiplus

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entral Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, on July 11, raided a total of 14 locations in Guwahati in connection with a Rs 158 crore scam in the Northeast Frontier Railway (Construction) headquarters in Maligaon.

According to reports, officials raided offices, official quarters and private residences of six NF Railway officials, who were allegedly involved in the scam.

Media reports mentioned that CBI registered a suo moto case against six officials of NF Railway (Construction) who were allegedly involved in swindling over Rs 158 crores of public money.

The NF Railway (Construction) is responsible for implementation of all construction works in the eight states of northeast India, parts of West Bengal and Bihar.

The accused officers, from 2014 to 2018, swindled Rs 158 crores by issuing advertisements to a large number of bogus and nonexisting newspapers and magazines in Bihar and Central India.

As per reports, Dilip Borah, a senior public relations officer of the NF Railway is the prime accused in the case.

The CBI seized documents, bank passbooks and computer hard discs from all the 14 raid locations.

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new consortium has been established by three public sector undertakings (PSUs), Assam Gas Company Limited (AGCL), Oil India Ltd (OIL) and GAIL Gas Ltd (GGL) to provide piped natural gas (PNG) to five districts in Assam.

Setting up of the consortium follows a joint venture agreement signed by the three companies on July 11 in Guwahati.

The consortium will be involved in the laying, building and operating the City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks as well as supply PNG to the five districts of Assam including Kamrup (M), Kamrup (R), Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj.

“The Barauni-Guwahati pipeline, construction of which is currently underway, is slated to be completed by December 2020.

“Once the construction is completed, we will start supplying piped natural gas to the industrial, commercial and domestic customers in five districts of Assam in the first phase,” said Assam industries & commerce minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary.

The minister further informed that a company named Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited will supply PNG from Guwahati to seven northeastern states in future, while the consortium of AGCL, GAIL and OIL will supply the gas in Assam.

According to Patowary, the project will generate both direct and indirect employment in the state.

“Currently, we are not able to provide sufficient amount of gas to the thermal power projects,

tea gardens, Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer Limited (BCPL) and other industrial units because of shortage of gas supply. Therefore, the pipeline which will connect Guwahati to Barauni will carry enough gas to support the industrial units in Assam. The pipeline will act as the lifeline of industrial development of Assam,” said Patowary.

For the smooth implementation of the piped gas project, the five districts are divided into two geographical areas (GA-2 and GA-3).

GA-2 covers Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts, while GA-3 includes Kamrup (M), Kamrup (R) districts.

As part of the project, approximately 4.16 lakh households will be connected with PNG, while 72 CNG stations will be set up to provide clean fuel to vehicles across the five districts. Around Rs 1,700 crores will be invested in the upcoming years to implement the project.

In the GA-2 districts, around 95,000 households will be connected with PNG and 21 CNG stations will be established at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 500 crores.

In the GA-3 districts, around 3,21,000 households will be connected with PNG and 51 CNG stations will be established at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 1,200 crores.

Meanwhile, GAIL has established an office in Guwahati to implement the CGD Networks and PNG project and is looking after the ongoing work of the Guwahati-Barauni pipeline.

“It was a longstanding requirement that there should be availability of piped natural gas in the city of Guwahati and the

entire lower Assam. Till now this piped gas facility is available in six districts in upper Assam only,” said Aditya Kumar Sharma, MD, AGCL while reiterating the benefit of the upcoming CGD Networks.

Sharma also said that CGD networks will cover both urban and rural areas.

Under the networks, Kamrup (M) and Kamrup (R) districts will be divided into 16 smaller areas called charge areas, while the Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts will be divided into 14 charge areas.

Points:

new consortium to supply piped gas to 5 districts The 5 districts are divided into two geographical areas: GA-2 and GA-3 GA-2 covers Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts GA-3 includes Kamrup (M), Kamrup (R) districts In the GA-3 districts, around 3,21,000 households will be connected with PNG The CGD networks will cover both urban and rural areas

AGCL, OIL and (GGL) form

Weather report for the week Guwahati

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Health

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

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Govt to provide free ICU treatment to JE & AES patients Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

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n the wake of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) outbreak in Assam, the state health & family welfare department has decided to provide free ICU care to JE and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) patients admitted in ICUs of all government medical colleges and district hospitals.

This was announced by state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently during a press conference.

“We will provide complete free ICU treatment to JE and AES patients along with free medicines,” said Sarma.

He further added that JE and AES patients admitted in ICUs of private nursing homes will be provided with Rs 1 lakh by the state government for ICU treatment.

Additionally, the minister also

announced that those JE and AES patients who are unable to avail 108 ambulance services while reaching government hospitals, will be given Rs 1,000 as transportation cost.

The department has also intensified blood sample collection across the state in order to prevent the number of JE and AES cases.

“All surveillance officers involved in blood sample collection will be provided with Rs 5 per sample as incentive to provide them with a sense of urgency,” said Sarma.

He added that blood sample collection and testing is the

Leaves of doctors, paramedical staff cancelled till Sep 30

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s Assam has been witnessing an outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis (JE), with more than a 100 positive cases being reported, the state health & family welfare department has decided to cancel all leaves of government doctors, nurses and paramedical staff till September 30.

This was announced by state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently.

“Doctors, paramedical staff and all health officials will not be able to avail any leaves till September 30, including casual leaves. They will also not be allowed to serve from a different place than their place of posting. It will be considered as criminal dereliction of duty,” said Sarma.

He added that the department will file FIR against those doctors, nurses and other health workers who are not found stationed at their place of posting till September 30.

Sarma further announced that in case of emergency, doctors and paramedical staff will have to approach deputy commissioners of respective districts to avail any leave.

“Since this is the peak season for JE, we will have to remain vigilant till September 30 and take all necessary measures to prevent the disease,” mentioned Sarma.

Talking to G Plus, joint director of health services of Kamrup (Met-

ro) district, Ganesh Saikia said, “We are undertaking mass fogging in affected areas and we are also conducting routine fogging in other areas all 31 wards of the city.”

In the city, the Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) has seen the maximum number of patients coming for treatment with symptoms similar to JE. Officials said that GMCH has been treated as a referral centre by far flung districts of the state, increasing the number of patients there.

For this, the authorities are now diverting the JE cases to Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) which is currently underutilised for treatment to ease the burden on GMCH. n

single most important source of prevention and till now 12.8 lakh samples have been collected in the state.

“We are stressing that people who show even the slightest of symptoms must come for

blood sample testing to any government hospital so that we are able to detect the disease at an early stage,” informed the minister.

He added that till now 1,094 villages have been identified

as affected by the disease and the government has intensified fogging activities in these areas.

The state-wide JE death toll stood at 48, with more than 100 positive cases being reported across the state. n

10 Guest Column

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

Region-based politics over religion-based politics T he term “politics” has more often than not always generated negative vibes among people, which is the sole cause of most people trying to keep themselves away from it as much as possible. It further creates divisions and throws light on how some politicians changed its genesis, from the process of unification to mercenary-based interests. And that is the reason why, rather than uniting people as a single force, politics has only caused some painful separations.

A diverse country like India, since time immemorial, has always tried her level best to completely cover up the “Unity in Diversity” narrative to a large extent. The reason for doing this was because India was aware of the fact that in order to keep this huge nation intact and to maintain peace and harmony among different classes of people, the process of unification was indeed vital.

Politics thus rose up from the flames of nationalism or regionalism and it was the sine qua non for the sole policy of happiness for the people at the cost of nothing. In fact, even the rulers during the ancient times were always mindful of the fact that their administrative actions should not hamper the greater interests of the people.

And that is the reason Napoleon Bonaparte established the highest administrative court in French, Conseil d’ Etat, back in 1799 for the benefit of the people.

Napoleon’s rule somewhere down the line was also a part and parcel of politics. However a

ruler of his caliber never allowed negative vibes to rise up in people’s mind regarding politics, thus displaying the importance of politics in proper running of a nation.

In fact, the Ahom rule in Assam was also a reflection of how politics should be used for ruling a nation in the right manner. A cardinal figure in Assam history, the first ruler of Ahom kingdom, Sukapha was instrumental in uniting the various tribes that inhabited the place during that time. And his process of extracting the good in politics was the prime factor in strengthening the Ahom kingdom which could not be easily defeated by the Mughals.

Thus, even this narrative of history, is a good example of the importance of healthy politics in the running of an administration in the appropriate way.

However, in the above discussion of positive politics, we have nowhere found or used the word “Religion” and that is the sole reason for realizing the salubrious impact of politics.

Thus, separating religion from politics makes politics look more robust and flourishing. But the unfortunate thing is that as people stepped into the 21st century, it was noticeable that religion got intermixed with politics, which degraded it completely. Most of the politicians, especially those in India, intentionally or unintentionally, made religion an inseparable part of politics, and that resulted in a great amount of hue and cry and chaos among various tribes and communities.

In fact, it had its negative impact upon the common citizens also,

as people started dominating over one the other in terms of the religion they practiced. Thus,

Region-based politics should not be misunderstood with regionalism.

While region-based politics delineates about changing the aspect of politics according to regions, regionalism on the other hand, is the conception of preserving and uplifting one’s unique culture, heritage and tradition.

all these slowly destroyed the positives in politics, something which was not visible during Napoleon’s rule in France or Sukapha’s rule in Assam.

Added to this, it is a well established fact that the basic structure of the Indian Constitution enumerated the principles of secularism and it remained everyone’s duty not to violate the same. But sadly, not only the people, but also some of the politicians continuously kept violating it to the extreme. And

the impact of it was so adverse that event chants like “Allah uh Akbar,” “Jai Shree Ram” reached the sacred ambience of the Indian Parliament. Furthermore, people thrashing one another for carrying pork or beef, compelling the other to shout continuously “Allah uh Akbar” or “Jai Shree Ram,” are all derogatory to the secular spirit of India. And people should clearly understand that a particular party in power doesn’t signify exaggerated nationalism or a chauvinistic approach especially for a country like India, where morality and humanity are regarded as two of the most important fundamentals.

However, the modern society requires a complete shift from religion-based politics to regionbased politics. But regionbased politics should not be misunderstood with regionalism.

While region-based politics delineates about changing the aspect of politics according to regions, regionalism on the other hand, is the conception of preserving and uplifting one’s unique culture, heritage and tradition. Thus, things are as transparent as glass. The fact being every region has its own predicaments, and therefore a tendency must arise to give due importance to the problems of a region while formulating a policy.

It is indeed known to one and all that some regions of India have similarity with one another in terms of their problems, be it the grave issue of scarcity of water or the degrading lifestyle of the peasants. So when a policy is made for improving the availability of water, importance

GUEST COLUMN

Bishaldeep Kakati must be given to regions suffering from the same rather than considering the nation as a whole, as that would directly or indirectly solve the issue in the areas concerned. Since such policies no doubt would require expert handling, for that, in India we have the provision of delegated legislation as well.

Moreover, while dealing with problems particular to a region only, consultations must be made with the people of that region who have been affected, before drafting out a policy. And all these solutions are something which are not new, but are already available in the common law of the land, which some of the politicians have forgotten because of their personal interests.

Nevertheless, we can’t even deny the fact that things in theory look much easier than implementing them practically.

But if from nowhere religion could be brought about to the scheme of things in politics, then we surely need to question: Why innovations like regionbased politics are still not given due importance? And the most important fact is that if the politicians try to figure out and realize the importance of this question, only then India would be able to settle down the religion-based conflicts that are increasing day by day and thus can also step on the pedestal of peace, harmony and success. n

Part of Ganeshguri Flyover dangles perilously, endangering commuters G Plus News @guwahatiplus

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f late, the Ganeshguri flyover in Guwahati is posing a real threat to the commuters and pedestrians.

A section of the flyover can be seen dangling dangerously and it looks like an accident is waiting to happen. With incessant rains hitting the city over the last few days along with winds, this portion could

break away and cause grievous injury to passing cars and commuters.

Located in Ward No 19 of Guwahati Municipal Corporation, the traffic junction under the flyover lies at the intersection of two major roads in the city – Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva Path (GS Road) and RG Baruah Road (Zoo Road) both of which see heavy traffic throughout the day.

Further, two lanes from Japorigog–Nayanpur Road and Hengrabari Road also open up

at GS Road under the flyover.

It is to be mentioned that the flyover built in 2006 needs a serious inspection as it plays an important role in connecting the capital. That being the case, a quick repair of the damage is a must to prevent a catastrophe from taking place and ensuring safety of the public. n

Concern

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

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Several locations in Guwahati reeling under water scarcity Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

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ifferent areas of Guwahati have been facing water crisis for the past several months. The situation has become worse over the past few years owing to groundwater depletion.

Some of the major areas affected by water scarcity include RG Baruah Road commonly known as the Zoo Road, Christian Basti area, Hatigaon, Kahilipara and Lakhtokia among others.

Many apartment complexes have become dependent on water tankers for their everyday consumption in the wake of perennial water problems for the past several years now.

Shambhavi Mukherjee, a resident of Hatigaon, said that her apartment complex was dependent on groundwater via a well bore for the past 12 years since the apartment was constructed.

“But the level of water started declining slowly over the years and now we have almost run out of water for the 20 flats in the apartment building,” she informed adding that the residents of the building

complex are finding it very difficult to arrange for water and have to now buy water from private suppliers since the past few months.

Further, the residents of Christian Basti also complained of heavy water bills as a result of depleting ground water. A resident of Christian Basti said that locals living higher on the hills still use water from the natural waterfalls to meet their daily water needs.

According to locals, housing complexes situated on the Zoo Road charge around Rs 5,000 per month towards maintenance including the water bill.

However, without the water bill the maintenance cost ranges anywhere between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000.

Further, more buildings and apartment complexes are being constructed in the area, raising concern about the sustainability of these apartments and the residents’ potable water needs.

As per a report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) published in 2013, the groundwater resources in greater Kamrup – Kamrup (Metro) and Kamrup (Rural) districts - are still under the “Safe” category.

The annual dynamic groundwater resources as in

Photo speaks of the perennial water scarcity that dogs the city of Guwahati | G Plus photo 2009 are estimated to be 1,847.29 million cubic metres while the net annual ground water consumption is 715.97 million cubic metres of which, 43 per cent is renewed every year. But when the rise in water consumption concentrated in the urban areas

is considered, the scenario seems worrisome, said an expert.

According to another CGWB report, the total “annual replenishable ground water resource” in Assam, as on March 2013, was 32.11 billion cubic meters (bcm). Out of this, the

natural discharge during nonmonsoon season stood at 3.21 bcm making the net annual ground water availability at 28.90 bcm. Further, the projected demand for domestic and industrial uses up to 2015 was 0.84 bcm.

Delayed water supply projects add to woes

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everal major water supply projects for Guwahati are yet to see the light of the day, adding to the water woes of the city residents.

Recently, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal reviewed the progress works and projects under the Guwahati Development Department (GDD) and directed officials to commission the first phase of JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) West Guwahati Water Supply Project by September this year.

Earlier the officials had announced that the JNNURM water supply project would be partially commissioned by March 2019. However, the authorities missed the deadline.

After complete commissioning of the JNNURM project under which the entire south west Guwahati was expected to get water, the area is expected to receive 107 million litres of water daily.

Earlier the officials had announced that the JNNURM water supply project would be partially commissioned

by March 2019.

However, the authorities missed the deadline.

On the other hand, the Japan International Cooperation Agency-assisted (JICA) water supply project which was supposed to be partially commissioned by the end of January has also been delayed.

JICA is assisting a water supply project in the northern Guwahati region as well as in south central Guwahati. The project was initiated to ensure

uninterrupted 24X7 water supply to the respective regions of the city. Officials said that the entire project is expected to be to be completed approximately by 2020.

G Plus had previously reported that around 2,000 houses would be benefitted by the first phase of the project and would receive 24X7 water supply.

Officials had earlier informed that the project was slated to begin by the end of January, which again got deferred.

Houses around the Pan Bazar and Fancy Bazar areas of the city were to be benefitted by the first phase commissioning.

The total project cost is estimated to be around Rs 1,450 crores. Out of this, around Rs

File photo of water pipeline laying construction work | G Plus photo 1,300 crores is coming as a loan from JICA and the rest from the state government.

On the other hand, a citybased builder said that the government should think of building some infrastructure

for water related projects.

“The city needs to be properly planned and developed by the authorities so that the increasing number of housing complexes can be sustained in a proper manner,” he said.

12 Governance Snippets Assam Revenue department to start pilot project to reform land registration

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

GMC flying squads to penalise for littering, spitting Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

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he newly-launched flying squads by Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) will now penalise city residents, or anybody for that matter, for littering and

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he Assam Revenue department is set to start a pilot project to rectify property (land) registration documents using Aadhar Card.

This move come s afte r CM Sarbananda Sonowal chaired a review meeting with Revenue Department’s senior officials.

The department will be surveying lands in various places in Assam.

A new system called MIS will be applied for monitoring the process of Patta authorization (document for land ownership).

If the department fails to provide Land Patta on time, the concerned officer may face showcause or disciplinary action.

In addition, the Revenue department will soon publish transfer rules of ‘laat mandals’.

FIR lodged against 10 for a ‘Miya’ poem on Assam’s citizenship issue

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n FIR has been lodged against 10 people, mostly Bengali Muslims residing in Assam and activists, on charges of putting Assamese society in a bad light on the citizenship issue.

The FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint registered by one Pranabjit Doloi against a poem written by Kazi Sharowar Hussein.

As per a report of Indian Express, the poets and activists have be e n booke d unde r Sections 120b, 153a, 295a and 188 of the IPC, read with section 66 of the IT Act. Dharmendra Kr Das, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Guwahati Central was quoted

by Indian Express as saying, “Yes, an FIR has been registered today. No arrests have been made yet.”

Protests erupted across Assam after four people recited the poem in a dialect called “Miya dialect.” The poem has allegedly put the Assamese society in a bad light on the citizenship issue

Flying squads will consist of six multi tasking workers equipped with tools and all necessary equipment to clear out garbage dumped on roadsides. Each team will be headed by a supervisor. spitting on roads, footpaths, road dividers or any other public place.

With a view to make the city cleaner and more hygienic, the GMC launched a total of six flying squads recently.

Apart from spitting and littering, officials announced that the flying squads will also penalise or seize any building material which would be found stacked on footpaths or streets.

These squads were flagged off by Guwahati Development Department (GDD) minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya on

Tuesday, July 9.

Officials informed that these squads will be responsible for attending to various issues of the residents like garbage clearance and drain cleaning.

Further, the squads will also look into the garbage collection system of the city.

These squads will be equipped with a vehicle and all necessary equipment to clear out garbage dumped on roadsides and it will be moving around different areas of the city, informed authorities.

“The squads will look out for any garbage dumped near the roads which was not cleared in the morning, they will clear it on the spot,” joint commissioner GMC, Siddhartha Goswami told G Plus.

He added that they will also attend to any specific complaints of drain blockage while on the drive.

One squad will operate in each of the six engineering divisions.

The division areas will further be divided into six parts each and each vehicle from a squad will visit all parts of a division from Monday to Saturday. Additionally, the squads will try to resolve the backlog problems on Sundays.

The flying squads will consist of six multi tasking workers equipped with tools and all necessary equipment to clear out garbage

Launching ceremony of the GMC flying squads | G Plus Photo dumped on roadsides. Each team will be headed by a supervisor from the GMC. The squads have also been given the responsibility to monitor the work of the NGOs involved in doorto-door collection of garbage in the city.

During the inauguration, GDD minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya announced that now people can also click a photo of any garbage dumped on the roadsides and send it to officials via WhatsApp. “People should inform us whenever they notice garbage dumped on the side of streets. They should help us by clicking pictures and informing us about the location so that flying squads can address the issue,” said Bhattacharya.

He added that Guwahati

generates around 500 tonnes of garbage per day which is currently being dumped at the Boragaon dumping ground after being segregated. But keeping in mind the fragile ecology of the place, the government has asked the district administration for a separate place for dumping garbage.

The current garbage dumping site is posing a threat to all wildlife species at Deepor Beel and the area has been suffering from environmental degradation due to continuous waste dumping since 2004. The continuous garbage dumping by the GMC is causing serious health issues among the local residents, who have demanded that garbage dumping should be stopped immediately. n

Mass awareness campaign on garbage disposal launched

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uring the launch of GMC’s flying squads, a mass awareness campaign was also launched to create awareness among citizens on proper garbage management and disposal of waste. Officials informed that the awareness campaign will be held from July 13 to July 31.

“The campaign will be held in four wards per day with the active participation of NGOs and self-help groups. Apart from this, one officer will also be present in each ward to oversee the awareness campaign,” announced GMC commissioner, Debeswar Malakar.

He further added, “The main

objective of the campaign is to create awareness regarding maintaining cleanliness to the point of not littering with even a single piece of paper.”

The commissioner also urged the people to become accustomed with the segregation of garbage into dry and wet waste before handing it over to the garbage collector.

Further, the awareness campaign will focus on usage of twin bins (blue and green) to store organic and inorganic garbage separately.

Malakar said that the GMC is serious about the initiative as it wants to improve Guwahati’s ranking in Swachh Survekshan.

“In the latest Swachh Survekshan, Guwahati achieved 303 rank out of 4,237 cities that were covered. We want to improve this and are taking a number of steps in this regard. We are seeking cooperation from all stakeholders for making our city clean,” he said.

Additionally, GMC officials mentioned that since they are unable to do street sweeping in all the locations of the city due to lack of manpower, the flying squads will prove to be helpful in cleaning the areas left out of regular cleaning.

Additional commissioner of GMC, Dwijen Singh, mentioned that they are planning to start a shift system for workers involved

The main objective of the campaign is to create awareness regarding maintaining cleanliness to the point of not littering with even a single piece of paper. in garage cleaning in the city.

“The street and garbage cleaning system must start by 3 am so that it is finished by afternoon and the residents don’t face any trouble during peak hours.” n

Sport

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

India’s inglorious exit from WC 2019: An introspection I ndia played superb cricket in the group fixtures of the ongoing World Cup Cricket 2019. It gave great hopes to a billion fans for a 1983 repeat at the Lords Cricket Ground. But the script unfolded differently this time around and we fizzled out - at the most crucial juncture.

On a superficial level, it will seem that 45 minutes of poor batting, moist weather conditions, superb swing bowling

by Matt Henry and Trent Boult were the reasons for our debacle.

batsman, to bat at the No-4 slot.

We tried Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Sreyas Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane at this position for the last 4 years. Ambati Raydu was groomed over the last 2 years to take over the slot and he did a fairly good job. But just before the World Cup, the Chief Selector MSK Prasad endorsed a certain Vijay Shankar to replace Rayudu in the World Cup Squad.

The selector went further and announced that Shankar was a

Victory and defeat: Kane Williamson consoles Virat Kohli But, there are some vital factors which also need our attention.

We will attempt an introspection here on a more analytical level to explore the reasons of where we went wrong which led to a billion heartburns.

The main reason for our debacle was our lack of a quality

3D, multi-dimensional player and would be the most ideal foil for the No-4 slot. Ambati Rayudu was shocked at his exclusion. So was the whole cricketing fraternity.

Rayudu tweeted in protest that he will watch this year’s edition with multi-coloured glasses to spot the #3D talent. Vijay Shankar flopped at the World cup and then 21 year

old Rishabh Pant was hurriedly put in that important position.

We fail to understand why Ravi Shastri and his think tank, could not find a stable No-4 Batsman in the last 2 years with the World Cup in mind.

Jimmy Amarnath and Bishen Singh Bedi, publicly proclaimed that the Indian Selectors Committee, was “a bunch of jokers.” These public statements were made years ago and had stirred up huge controversies at that time. But its truth cannot be absolutely nullified.

Even today, a question always arises in my mind: Who selects the selectors? As of today, MSK Prasad, Sarandeep Singh, Gagan Khoda, Devang Gandhi and Jatin Paranjpyee form the Selection Panel. None of the selectors had successful stints at the International Level when they were active cricketers. The bowling coach, Bharat Arun and the present batting coach, Sanjay Bangar also have not done anything remarkable or memorable to justify their present positions. The million dollar question that haunts the cricket fans is that, why we do prefer very mediocre cricketers to select and groom our players and then expect them to be world beaters.

Why not a Madan Lal, or a Roger Binny or a Zaheer Khan or even an Ashish Nehra?

The middle order was exposed once the stalwarts were back in the pavilion due to the superb

(L_R) Selectors MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi, Gagan Khoda, Jatin Paranjpe and Sarandeep Singh

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Snippets

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Father, daughter die in car crash in Changsari

Mridul Bora

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n an unfortunate incident, a speeding bus rammed into a Toyota Fortuner killing a man along with his daughter in Changsari on July 11.

The deceased father and daughte r have be e n ide ntifie d as Kokrajhar’s Ajay Basumatary and Mirali Basumatary who were travelling to Kokrajhar from Guwahati.

According to reports, the driver of the Fortuner and passengers of the bus have been seriously injured.

The injured driver has been admitted to the Narayana Super Speciality Hospital and the bus passengers have been admitted at Tolaram Bafna Civil Hospital in Amingaon.

bowling of the Black Caps. The decision of sending Dhoni as late as No-7 was also weird.

Why Dinesh Kartick and Hardik Pandya were sent ahead of Dhoni defies any logic. Ravi Shastri did not seem to have any Plan B or a contingency plan, if early wickets fell.

The “bits and pieces” Ravindra Jadeja (according to the “legend” Sanjay Manjrekar) only salvaged some pride and infused a fighting spirit into the Indian team. The team management, key persons of the sports ministry, legendary cricketers should sit with BCCI and find out solutions to these issues which need immediate attention. And we all should remember that every day is not about sunshine and there will be some rainy days too in the future. n

Marwari man ‘declared foreigner’ in Assam

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awan Kumar Rathi was served a notice of being a “declared foreigner” on July 1 by the National Register of Citizens (NRC) authorities.

Rathi was born in Silchar under Assam’s Cachar district and is a resident of the town while his forefathers have an ancestral home in Kalu of Bikaner district in Rajasthan.

It is to be mentioned that Rathi’s name along with his family members had appeared in the first draft of NRC list published on December 31, 2017 but now he has a task to clear his name from the tag of being a “foreigner.”

Rathi said that he has all the documents including his name in the electoral roll, passport, driving license, Aadhar card, land documents, but he has still been declared a foreigner.

Now he is hoping that his name will be there along with other members of his family when the final list of NRC is declared on July 31.

14 G Talk E

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The ‘Duck Worth Less’ method

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s there a blame game on in the midst of the praises for Dhoni and Jadeja?

Maybe yes, maybe no. But I would like to “justifiably” pin the blame for the disastrous Indian loss in the semifinals to New Zealand at Old Trafford in the ongoing ICC World Cup on something from my perspective. And this time it is not KL Rahul!

As a student, I was familiar with the “out of syllabus” syndrome when appearing for my examinations. That made life bloody difficult. Well, if one thinks about it, the Indian team was faced with a similar syndrome when it came to its run chase under the looming rain clouds. To win before whenever the rains would come down India had to necessarily make 148 off 20 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. That was the first target that the openers faced – a massive 7.40 runs per over on a pitch that was evidently not conducive for stroke play. Nowhere during its painful innings against some great Indian bowling was New Zealand even close to achieving this run rate.

In such a lop-sided situation where the odds suddenly got stacked up against the Indians, the pressure clearly showed and the

Indian team faltered and then capitulated against the very incisive New Zealand bowling.

I am not crying hoarse for the first time over a statistics-driven formula that is based on resources available to the team batting second rather than a cricket-driven one which would have justified the realities on the ground.

Given the fair chance of chasing down the New Zealand total of meagre 239 in the full 50 overs, it is impossible to imagine that India would have failed.

But when the concentration of the batsmen veers away from the ball speeding so accurately down on you towards the rain clouds and the truncated initial target, I would term this as unfair by all respects.

The way South Africa was “cheated” out of its probable semi-final victory in the 1992 World Cup when rain interrupted play before the last ball of the 43rd over is still fresh in memories.

South Africa had then required 22 runs off 13 balls for victory. DLS thereafter revised the target to 21 runs from only 1 ball because 2 overs were lost due to rain!

Guess it’s time to chuck this worthless method!

Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

Criminalization of politics

T

he credibility of the largest democracy in the world – India- is at stake.

The rising number of members of Parliament (MP) who have criminal cases pending against them in various courts has become a matter of deep concern. Democracy is the best system of governance where people have the right to control its executives through the power of franchise vested in them. But the slowly rising trend of money/muscle power in Indian democracy will, sooner than later, change its basic features.

The 17th Parliamentary election (of 2019) was one of the costliest elections in the world. It was costlier than the last Presidential election of the United States of America. According to sources, the last election expenditure was estimated at around Rs 60,000 crores. It was found that, in their campaigns, 75 to 80 individual candidates spent 50 times higher than the expenditure limit fixed by the Election Commission of India for campaigns in each constituency which was Rs 70 lakhs.

The people of India must know their MPs, whom they have elected by bearing the burden of taxes. According to a survey

by Association of Democratic Reform (ARD), out of 539 MPs who were elected to the Parliament, 233

Cricket musings Hardik Pandya is a name that has gone on the headlines several times recently. Of course he deserved the fame, scoring 226 runs in his debut World Cup season and picking up 10 wickets; the all-rounder made quite an impact with the bat and the ball. Remember the innings where he almost smashed 50 runs in less than half the balls?

But Pandya had grabbed the headlines with his partner, KL Rahul well before the World Cup. This was for their infamous Koffee with Karan episode. The players were under fire for their attitude towards women and their responses in the show. This of course happened in a TV show that survives and thrives on such responses.

While all the controversy around the show was unnecessary, the comments that followed by senior players were on the lines of “Rahul and Pandya having lost their respect forever.”

While the episode made the players overnight villains, the same players were also a part people’s prayers over the past few weeks. The names of Pandya and Rahul were repeatedly muttered under people’s breaths. The same players will have the responsibility as “senior players” to guide the new batch of players who’d possibly replace Shami, Dhoni, Sharma and maybe a few others.

While people will talk about happened in the dressing room that led Dhoni to coming in at number 7 (which may have altered the outcome of the match), it is important to know that public memory is short lived. Indian fans will survive this loss, but not without having created a slew of debates, talk shows and doubts in the minds of ten other people. The opportunity for the Indian cricket team to lift the World Cup will have to wait another four years and who knows, with India hosting it, it could be ours for the taking!

Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_bv

members have criminal cases pending against their names. 116 MPs of BJP, 29 from Congress, 13 from JDU, 10 from DMK and 9 from TMC have criminal cases registered against them which are pending in courts.

It is also to be noted that MPs who had criminal records were numbered at 162 in 2009 and 185

rThe menace of polygamy

The most dangerous thing is that out of 43 percent of such MPs, 29 percent have very serious crimes registered against them that include murder, rape, attempt to murder and molestation. According to the ARD survey, the number of hard core criminals in Parliament has increased alarmingly since 2009. in 2016.

The most dangerous thing is

that out of 43 percent of such MPs, 29 percent have very serious crimes registered against them that include murder, rape, attempt to murder and molestation. According to the ARD survey, the number of hard core criminals in Parliament has increased alarmingly since 2009.

Another most significant survey of ARD is that 2019 saw the election of the maximum number of millionaires. Out of 539 MPs 475 are millionaires. In the 16th Lok Sabha, the figure was 443 and in 15th, it was 315. This is well indicative of the fact that that only the rich can reach the Parliament as its members. The three richest

O pinion Bijaylakshmi Baruah

MPs are from Congress. The richest among them is Nakul Nath, son of Kamal Nath who is worth Rs 660 crores.

From the above analysis, it is very much proven that political parties preferred to nominate persons who have either money or muscle power as their candidates because the chances of such candidates winning are higher than the others.

Though it is well defined in the Constitution that criminals cannot become members of state assemblies or the Parliament, without judicial proof or judgment of the same, it is not possible for the Judiciary to prevent such candidates from contesting.

It is worth mentioning that at present, a charge sheet does not disqualify a person from contesting the elections.

Hence the Supreme Court of India suggested that the Parliament must make laws to keep criminals away from politics. Moreover, pending cases should be disposed as soon as possible.

If this trend is not checked, very soon it will strike at the very roots of the democratic and constitutional ethos and make the citizens of this nation suffer.

To curb criminalization as well as corruption, the Parliament must make laws and make the same on priority basis.

(The author is a freelance journalist and has a master’s degree in Political Science and Journalism & Mass Communication) The views and figures expressed in the article are part of the author’s research work and findings. G Plus has not confirmed the same.

Letter to the Editor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes pride in his government for making resolutions and furthering the empowerment of women in the country. The new government often refers to the term ‘Nari Shakti’. But are women from all sections of the society taken into consideration when we speak of empowerment?

Through the instant triple talaq bill, the government has aimed at empowering and protecting the rights of women belonging to the Muslim community but has failed to address the menace of polygamy.

Even Muslim countries that follow the Shariah Law have taken steps to keep a check on Polygamy like Pakistan for instance. The Islamabad high court Chief Justice Athar Minallah, in a landmark judgement had declared that any Pakistani entering into second marriage must get the approval of the Arbitration Council even if he has consent from his first wife. Any man intending to contract another marriage during the subsistence of an existing marriage must observe the procedure and fulfil the conditions prescribed by the legislature. If he fails to do so, the consequences would lead to imprisonment or fine or both. The powerful clergy in Pakistan had always opposed restrictions on number of wives and yet the country successfully prescribed restrictions over the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

Why then do we turn a deaf ear towards this problem of the minorities? Is Modi Government’s woman empowerment exclusively for the ‘NARIS’ and not the ‘KHATOONS’?

Rifa Deka, Royal Global University, Guwahati, Assam

In Focus

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

15

Guwhatians demand strict implementation of fine for spitting Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

T

he Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) recently announced that it will now begin to fine residents for spitting and littering on roads or any other public place.

This is part of an initiative to keep the city clean, and will be implemented by the recentlyinaugurated flying squads.

While the decision to impose fine for spitting and littering was applauded by a majority of people, many locals also feel that the government should ensure strict implementation of the rule.

“Good initiative but implementation is required.

Immediate action like fine/ punishment should be imposed on these kinds of people who make our city dirty by spitting here and there. Guwahati needs a strong system to make people aware of cleanliness,” said Pulakesh Medhi, a resident of Guwahati.

While a few people were of the view that the government should impose a blanket ban on the likes of paan masala and gutka so as to eliminate the problem once and

for all, on the other hand, some suggested increasing the price of paan masala so as to deter people from buying them.

“Excellent. It should have been started long back. Never in any other city have I seen such

litter from paan stains though consumption of paan masala is dominant in other parts of the country as well. People should be penalised monetarily for that because that’s the only thing they understand and also the officials

monitoring it should be checked from accepting bribes,” said Nabanita Bhattacharjee, another city dweller.

People of Guwahati and the entire state have been infamous for spitting after eating paan

masala and leaving its stains in public places, thus ruining the aesthetic beauty of places and putting a blot on the cleanliness efforts by the authorities.

An incident which highlighted this was when, just a few days after the old Saraighat Bridge reopened following repair work which had been going on for almost three months, it was stained with paan and gutka spits.

Earlier, another similar incident had occurred after the inauguration of Bogibeel Bridge. Just one day after its inauguration, the citizens had put their “stamp” on the new pride of Assam and marked it with paan-stained strip.

The stains appeared to have been sprayed from a fast moving vehicle thereby leaving a modernday graffiti feel on the white side strip.

Both these incidents had drawn a lot of attention on social media where Guwahatians questioned and condemned the lack of civic sense of residents. n

Guwahatians welcome the newly-launched flying squads of GMC that will monitor the city against littering and spitting on roads, footpaths, road dividers or any other public place.

Sanjib Seal

Actually the government should increase the price of guthka. For example: Increase the price of a packet from Rs 5 to Rs 20. In this case the consumption of these tobacco products will decrease. As I don’t see any hope of these products being banned so better increase the price. If seen closely, it’s the poorer section of the population that consumes tobacco the most so the increase in price will affect them a lot.

Nayan Pathak

Rajib Roy

Plastic polythene, water and cold drink bottles, food packets thrown in drains must be fined immediately. Today I complained to one of our neighbours to not do such activities in future or else his photographs will be on the social media. I hope he listens to my warning and doesn’t do such things from next time. And also I would like to request all the people to not throw garbage or plastic bottle on the streets. Please try to make the environment clean.

It’s a total waste. Yesterday I saw a GMC flying squad in Fancy Bazar and I didn’t see anything useful. They were just driving through the area and that’s it. Action should be taken otherwise such initiatives are of no use and people will think that the government is doing all these things just to show off.

Lipe Ete

Abdul Rouf

Chittaranjan Iswary

Great. This was the announcement I was waiting for. Not only fine but their photographs should be published on TV channels on daily basis. Until and unless they are publicly shamed, these people will never understand. Strict action is need of the hour. And if these things are not controlled now, then I can clearly see a dark future of this city as well as our country.

Great initiative but needs to ensure good outcome. Necessary administrative actions must be initiated to ensure good results. Unless acted upon, such initiatives may ultimately become useless. Wish to see more such initiatives and action in future too in our city.

The streets become dirty due to paan shops/tea stalls by the roadside or on the footpaths. Even the dustbins are also not used properly by the dwellers.

They just love throwing garbage here and there and most of the footpaths in Guwahati are illegally occupied by paan shops, tea stalls, pokora/chop/ momo vans etc making the places dirty and unhygienic. It’s so sad to see such a picture being a generation living in 21st century.

16 Buzz

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

Guwahati boy wins silver at Commonwealth Chess Championship 2019

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hrupad Kashyap of Assam Chess Club has won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Chess Championship 2019 that concluded in New Delhi on Sunday, July 7.

Kashyap, a grade IX student

of Sarala Birla Gyan Jyoti School, Amingaon, scored 5 points out of 7 rounds and remained undefeated in the entire tournament. In the final round, he drew his game with Grandmaster Erigaisi Arjun of Telengana who emerged champion in the event.

Kashyap, by virtue of his excellent performance, also gained a total of 66 FIDE rating points from this tournament.

The tournament was organised under the aegis of Commonwealth Chess Association at Hotel Leela Ambience, New Delhi from July 1 to July 7, 2019. n

Summer Tennis Coaching Camp underway at Nehru Stadium

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he 7-day Summer Tennis Coaching Camp, organised by the Guwahati Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA), began on Monday, July 8 at the RG Baruah Sports Complex, Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. The camp will end

on July 15.

Altogether, 31 players from various parts of the region are taking part in the camp.

The students will be taught by renowned coach, Jeet Kataria from New Delhi and he will be assisted by Rupam Gogoi and Mohan Pegu.

The camp was inaugurated by Kalyan Kumar Das, President, GLTA, amidst a gathering of participants and guests. Prior to the inauguration, Madhuryya Hazarika, Vice-President, GLTA, welcomed the gathering. n

Assam boxing team wins ‘Best Team’ title

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he boxing team from Assam has won the title of “Best Team” at the 2nd BFI East Zone Elite Men’s Boxing Championship held in Shillong on July 3 and July 4.

The team won four gold, two silver and one bronze medals at the event.

The winners who won gold include Mridu Paban Baruah, Ansula Basumatary, Som Pradhan and Tanmoy Dowarah. The silver medal winners are Mijing Basumatary and Jupitar Basumatary, while Tridip Kalita won the bronze, according to Hemanta Kumar Kalita, secretary, Assam Amateur Boxing Association. n

Guwahati girl wins silver at national and regional swimming championships

J

ahnabi Kashyap has won silver at the 36th Sub Junior National Aquatic Championships 2019 in the 50 metres freestyle (girls’ category) held from June 26 to June 30 at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Swimming Pool, Rajkot, Gujarat.

She also won four gold medals, one silver medal and a group championship trophy in the recently concluded 28th All Assam State Swimming Championship

2019 held at Sarusajai Sports Complex, Guwahati.

She won gold in the 100 metres freestyle, 200 metres freestyle, 400 metres freestyle and individual medley. She also won a silver medal in 50 metres freestyle.

Moreover, she was adjudicated the Group Champion and got a trophy for the same.

Kashyap is a grade VIII student from NPS International School.

Feature

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

Bhramyaman theatre: A connoisseur’s perspective

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housands of admirers were startled and appalled to go through the 29th June edition of G Plus laying bare and upholding thoroughly the despicable incidents that have plagued the Bhramyaman (or mobile) theatres

At the onset of the 2019 season of Bhramyaman Theatre, the author reminisces on the classics that were staged. He writes: “At a time when the whole world was overwhelmed by the multi-million-dollar Hollywood movie, we witnessed a helicopter landing and the vast Atlantic on the small mobile theatre stage! The theatrical adaptation of ‘Titanic’ has received unanimous accolades across the country and even in Hollywood.” of Assam, one of the state’s pride possessions, the epitome of the state’s rich cultural heritage as also a greatly successful industry, if it at all can be termed as one. G Plus, of late, has been highlighting pertinent issues impacting the well-being of the state and country in an objective manner. Abundance of commendation has flown spontaneously to the weekly for exposing none-too-relishing inside stories that have swept the mobile theatres of Assam. It needs no reiteration that the Bhramyaman theatres have been the heartthrob, the indispensible part of sociocultural life and a prolific source of entertainment for the theatregoers of Assam especially from the decade of the 1970s. However, in the midst of these ongoing unfortunate controversies unearthed by G Plus ranging from plagiarism to ill-treatment of the artists, and because it is the onset of fresh new season of mobile theatre, I would want to take a journey down memory lane to pay homage to a number of spirit-uplifting, superb dramas staged during the last few decades that have remained permanently etched in my memory.

Time was when the ushering of the winter season was welcomed in our state for providing respite from heat and humidity besides igniting

the passion of theatre aficionados to watch plays performed by different mobile theatre groups and to derive immense aesthetic pleasure in an all-pervading festive atmosphere.

The highly professional mobile theatre groups, with their scintillating performances, provided entertainment to the connoisseurs of dramas spread across length and breadth of the Brahmaputra valley through the

groups that had culminated into producing a number of breath-taking and stupendous plays ranging from Miri Jiyonri, Mahabharata to Shakespeare’s immortal creations from mid 70s onwards. Consequently, long queues of admirers in front of the ticket counters, hiring of buses to go to nearby places to watch popular plays and umpteen such activities were the familiar scenes during

Dr Bhabendra Nath Saikia’s unmistakable mastery and deft touch. Written and directed by the hugely respected Dr Saikia, the play was exciting and had kept the audience on tenterhooks till the end. Suren Mahanta in the role of police inspector was simply superlative.

Staging of Mahabharata, the epic, was a roaring success and heralded a new horizon in technical

entire winter season. While the city of Guwahati had always been a reservoir of various recreational avenues with abundance of sports and cultural activities at any given time, the mobile theatre groups, Bhramyaman Natok Gosthi, became as inseparable as the dear annual festivals for the entertainment-starved suburban populace during the early 70s to mid 90s.

“A nation is known by the stage,” goes the English saying.

High dramatic sensibility, lofty artistic taste of the audience of Assam coupled with their euphoric response had a telling impact on the quality of mobile theatres in the formative years. Any performing art has always thrived on the positive response and patronage of its clienteles across the world.

The connoisseurs, irrespective of educational, financial, linguistic, cultural differences, were conspicuously present in the theatre pandals enjoying the theatrical elixir to their heart’s content. One saw the gradual ascendency of the mobile theatre

the winter season from Sadiya to Dhubri (Barak Valley excluded).

Traveling down memory lane, I fondly remember the sheer brilliance with which Shakespeare’s “Othello” was presented in 1979 by Kohinoor, keeping close vigil on the minutest details. We were overwhelmed by the quality of faithful recreation of this classic of William Shakespeare. The professional skill and competence with which the audience was transported to the Shakespearian age was mind blowing. Tohfique Rehman in the role of Othello was just superlative and so was late Mahananda Sarmah in his role of Lago. The oftquoted, immortal Shakespearian dialogue in the climax scene, “Put out the light and then...” was brilliantly translated. The fact that the whole set of packed audiences, many of whom unfamiliar with the drama, were kept glued to their seats, magnify the extent of brilliance of the venture.

“Andhakup,” a suspense thriller from 1982, remains etched in memory primarily due to maestro

excellence for the mobile theatre groups. Watching the Kurukshetra war on-stage was simply pulverizing for the connoisseurs.

The sight of two arrows hitting each other coming from opposite directions and resultant flash of lightning was spectacular. Lord Krishna in his chariot, giving advice to Arjuna, had caught the imagination of the audience. It can be safely asserted that no Indian state could even dream of staging Mahabharata in this technically superb in 1983.

A milestone play titled, “Xurongor Xeshat” (At the end of the tunnel), became hugely successful in the year 1984.

Superlative acting by all artists, outstanding screenplay, awearousing background music all combined together to make the highly tense drama magnificent and unforgettable. Even when Akashvani Guwahati (All India Radio, Guwahati) used to broadcast this drama, it was immensely popular. The visual impact of this drama was as enormous as that of all-time hit films in Indian celluloid

17

Gautam Ganguly like Dr Bezboruah, Sholay etc.

Those of us who are always wailing and lamenting for “what we lack in our state” and look for in neighbouring states, need to be assured categorically that mobile theatres and their visual extravaganzas have been the embodiments of rich Assamese culture and aesthetic tradition.

“Jatra,” Bengal’s popular form of entertainment once upon a time, devoid of modernity, bereft of technology besides being too rustic, had little impact on the modern populace and died its natural death. Mobile theatres in Assam, in contrast, have been going from strength to strength keeping perfect balance between modernity and tradition, adapting itself with requirement of the times.

As an ardent connoisseur, I feel that the first phase of the glorious journey of Assam’s mobile theatre had reached its sky-rocketing climax with “Titanic,” directed by Hemanta Dutta. At a time when the whole

world was overwhelmed by the multi-million-dollar Hollywood movie, we witnessed a helicopter landing and the vast Atlantic on the small mobile theatre stage!

Theatrical adaptation of Titanic has received unanimous accolades across the country and even in Hollywood. Hemanta Dutta’s own performance in the role of captain of the sinking Titanic had been stunning.

At the risk of being branded as an “old timer” suffering from the generation gap syndrome, I would prefer to watch the old classics on the mobile theatre stage rather than the present effort to pamper and cater to the Bollywood infatuated audience’s steeped in decadent taste and culture while offering my humble tribute to Achyut Lahkar, Ratan Lahkar and Krishna Lahkar, the stalwarts, the doyens of Assamese mobile theatre.

(The author is a retired Deputy Commissioner and Joint Secretary, Govt of Assam. He is a die-hard sports addict and a connoisseur of art and music)

18 Review

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Mrunal Thakur, Aditya Srivastava, Pankaj Tripathi, Virendra Saxena Director: Vikas Bahl

Movie Review

Super 30 Rana Pratap Saikia

S

uper 30’ is the latest Hrithik Roshan star-vehicle, which is directed

by Vikas Bahl (of ‘Queen’ fame). In a nutshell, it is the tale of the brilliant mathematician Anand Kumar, who helps 30 underprivileged yet brilliant students prepare for the dreaded IIT entrance exams.

This 155-minute affair is not your usual song-and-dance romp, but rather, features its star it his most dramatic. Even when the characters break into song and dance (such as the hilarious ‘Basanti no Dance’), it is with a motive to educate.

Although Hrithik is nearly unrecognizable in his bedraggled, dishevelled, and ‘bronze-ified’ avatar

(with a thick Bhojpuri-ised dilect used for good measure), and to his credit, the superstar is entirely believable at all times. His humaneness and gravitas in assaying this role reveals the man beneath -- the bone, muscle, and sinew construct -- individual who Hrithik perhaps actually is away from the glare of the paparrazi camera flashes and the makeup van. Truly a return to form for the charismatic actor who has been hampered by some questionable movie choices in recent times. Hrithik’s dedication also seems to have rubbed off on his co-stars and they all feed off of his aura.

The star’s transition from ‘pappadwalla’ to mathematical genius is almost seamless and exacts the kind of clichéd eulogies that you would expect from a movie review: ‘outstanding’, ‘fantastic’, ‘extraordinary’, et al.

This movie has an almost Wordsworthian tendency to applaud the “rustic” nature of the protagonists, but it is also an ushering of the same ‘rustic’ India into the contemporary mainstream and the hallowed hallways of the IITs and the IIMs. This film might be instrumental in dispelling the myth around the hallowed IITs and IIMs, and perhaps make them emotionally more accessible to the public at large.

This is a performancedriven film for a masses, but it’s outstanding performances (especially from the lead star) are somewhat bogged down by unnecessary drama symptomatic of Bollywood affairs. Moreover, despite the best of intentions, the movie’s deification of the central character feels like a lost opportunity to truly explore the possibilities of a character as celebrated (and also reviled) as Anand Kumar.

Needless to say, the runtime of 155 minutes also hampers the flow of the movie. This is perhaps where the movie falls well and truly behind Bahl’s tour-de-force ‘Queen’, the subtle feminist drama that is injected with enough standout moments and witty dialogue to keep the audience interested throughout.

However, despite its shortcomings from a storytelling point-of-view, it (barely) succeeds as a social commentary (and critiqué) on the contemporary Indian education system. A must-watch for Hrithik fans and those fans of cinema who like something ‘hatke’. Also, watch this film for Hrithik’s redemptive performance, and also for his ‘bravery’ to experiment with outof-the-box roles (and often to disastrous results). n

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Xiaomi Redmi 7A

T

he Redmi 7A is the latest entry-level phone from Xiaomi and its targeted at first-time smartphone buyers. This phone brings a ton of upgrades, both minor and major, over its predecessor without the price hike that often comes with a new-generation device. Starting at Rs. 5,999, the Redmi 7A aims to further solidify Xiaomi’s dominance in the entrylevel segment.

Design: The Redmi 7A opts for a clean unibody design. The phone is a tad narrower and shorter than its predecessor, but at 9.55mm, the Redmi 7A is thicker than a lot of other phones out there.

The Redmi 7A is quite comfortable to hold. The rounded corners and matte finish on the back feel good in the hand.

The rear panel is made of thick

polycarbonate and feels sturdy.

It is non-slippery and also doesn’t smudge easily. The Xiaomi Redmi 7A comes in three colour options – Matte Blue, Matte Black, and Matte Gold. The phone boasts of a layer of nano-coating material for protection against accidental liquid splashes, but it is not IPrated.

Xiaomi is also offering a twoyear warranty on this phone, which is a first for a Redmi model in India. On the Redmi 7A, the speaker has been moved to the bottom, and it now sits alongside the Micro-USB port.

The power button and

volume rocker are positioned comfortably on the right and provide decent feedback on being pressed. On the left side, one can find the 2+1 card slot that can house two Nano-SIMs as well as a microSD card of up to 256GB capacity simultaneously. Storage expansion will likely come in handy as the 16GB of storage on the phone’s base variant might run out quickly.

Specifications and Software: The phone packs a 5.45-inch HD+ (720x1440 pixels) display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The display is certified by TUV Rheinland for reducing eye fatigue caused by blue light emission, for a more comfortable reading experience.

It packs an octa-core processor, drawing power from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 SoC which has eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2GHz. It also

marks a significant upgrade over the quad-core MediaTek Helio A22 ticking inside the Redmi 6A. The phone comes in two variants with 16GB and 32GB of internal storage, but the amount of RAM remains the same at 2GB. This phone sports a 12-megapixel Sony IMX486 sensor with larger

1.25micron pixels. The phone comes equipped with a 4,000mAh battery, and the retail package includes a 10W charger along with a MicroUSB cable, SIM eject tool, and some paperwork.

Connectivity options on the Redmi 7A include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The phone measures 146.30x70.41x9.55 mm and tips the scale at 165g.

Verdict: The Redmi 7A is a major upgrade over the Redmi 6A with improvements in almost all areas.

The design is fresh and the build quality is better too. The display is also decent for the asking price and the rear camera performs well under daylight.

(Review from NDTV Gadget)

Trotter

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

Man wears 15 shirts to avoid paying excess baggage fee

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man put on 15 shirts to avoid paying excess baggage fee at an airport. The hilarious moment was captured on camera by his son. John Irvine decided to wear eight kilograms of clothing to bring down the weight of his luggage and avoid coughing up 96 pounds, reports a daily. The 46-year-old from Scotland has now gone viral for his stunt.

The video taken by his son Josh shows him putting on layer

after layer of clothing in front of a bemused audience at Nice Airport, France. The video was shared on Twitter, where it has garnered over 7 lakh views and a ton of amused comments.

Josh said that his father is a bit of a “comedian” and was making the airline staff laugh.

“He’ll try anything.” Wearing 15 layers of clothing, however, made John Irvine look slightly suspicious to security staff, said his son. “They told him to take off some tops and he kept taking

A

the rest of his life in jail, WCVB reported. She said, “We feel that this criminal deserves to spend his life incarcerated so at the very least, it serves to keep him off the streets. He should never have the opportunity to kill again, to rob another person of their life like he did Lee Manuel, in such a horrible and sad way.”

Borges and Lee were both students at Lawrence High School when Borges killed Lee. The teenager’s dismembered body was found along the banks of the Merrimack River by a dog walker. His head was found nearby, but Lee’s hands, which had also been chopped off, were never recovered. An autopsy revealed Lee’s recovered remains had suffered 76 wounds.

His body had been so badly defiled that the medical examiner was unable to say

them off because they were wondering what he was hiding.”

(Source: ndtv)

whether Lee had been slashed and decapitated before or after he’d been killed. Paying tribute to Lee in a victim impact statement read in court, his mother said, “There are no more dreams for the dreamer, the brother, the writer and the poet that was Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino… He has been the soul of this family since he was born. We are the living dead after he was brutally ripped from our side.”

(Source: metro.co.uk)

Photographer, 24, lives as adult baby, even uses diapers instead of toilet

A

24-year-old photographer lives as a full-time adult baby and even poops and pees in special adult baby diapers he buys online. The snapper, called David, embraced the adult baby diaper lover (ABDL) community five years ago after a tough childhood which saw his parents abandon him aged five. David, who lives in a southern US state, spent 13 years in care, and says spending his days eating baby food, watching cartoons and playing with toys helps soothe the trauma of that difficult time.

David said, “I spent my early years in and out of foster homes and was abused. I feel like I didn’t have a childhood, so I might as

well get one now.”

He added, “I’ve been an adult baby for about five years. Honestly I heard about it online, tried it. And I fell in love with the lifestyle.” David begins his day by taking off the onesie he wears to bed, and choosing one of his 15 “child-esque” outfits to wear. He works from home as an editor and 3D-animator, leaving him free to

Women’s stolen wallet discovered in school vent after 75 years

A

15-year-od jealous boy beheads schoolmate for talking to his girlfriend 15-year-old boy who beheaded a 16-year-old classmate for spending too much time with his girlfriend has been given two life sentences. Mathew Borges, now 18, was handed the two 30-year prison terms, to run concurrently, after being convicted of the first-degree murder of Lee Manuel ViloriaPaulino at a court in Lawrence, Massachusetts. A judge refused to set a minimum prison term because of Borges’ age when he committed the crime in November 2016, meaning he may be eligible for parole in years to come. Any adult convicted of firstdegree murder in Massachusetts is automatically sentenced to life behind bars. Borges’ lawyer claimed the killer was “not irredeemably depraved.”

But Lee’s mother Katiuska Paulino called for him to spend

19

indulge the pastime in privacy.

David explained, “I normally eat baby food, watch cartoons and all the fun stuff. Since I work at home I never have to worry about stopping at any point of the day.”

David says he enjoys Gerber-brand baby food, and is particularly fond of the firm’s fruitbased and chicken meals. He enjoys watching kids cartoons including Gravity Falls, Powerpuff Girls and Avatar, and playing with toys. The photographer goes through one or two adult baby diapers a day. They cost $30 for a packet 10 diapers online – with David saying that reverting back from the toilet to diapers was one of the harder aspects to master.

(Source: metro.co.uk)

Missouri woman has been reunited with her stolen wallet 75 years after it went missing when it was discovered along with 14 others during a renovation at her old high school in a neighbouring state.

The pastor of City Hope Church, Seth Baltzell, wrote on Facebook that the discovery was made amid demolition work at the old Centralia High School in Centralia, Illinois. A stash of 15 wallets from the mid-1940s was found stuffed inside a heating vent. “While someone took the cash they left behind all the pictures, information and other documents,” Baltzell wrote.

Baltzell, who is moving his church into the school, said the wallets too appeared to have been from mostly women and school IDs showed they were from the mid-1940s.

“There are lots of things like pictures of soldiers,” he said. After posting the photo and names of people that were discovered inside the vent, Baltzell’s Facebook post received

over 1,100 shares.

He was later contacted by the family of 89-year-old Betty June Sissom, who grew up in Centralia and now lives in Chesterfield, Missouri. “I remember it was red and I remember I lost my wallet...I can’t believe this from all these years ago. That’s me with a little boy by the name of Jimmy Kane and I had a crush on him,” Sissom told the television station. “Oh my goodness, look at the boys’ pictures I have. They took all the money, huh?”

Sissom said even without finding money inside, being able to get her wallet with some photos back was “unbelievable.”

“This is exciting,” she told KSDKTV adding, “I can’t believe after all of these years.”

(Source: foxnews)

Companies begin clamping down on mobile phone usage during office

W

e’re all superreliant on our mobile phones these days. But while it’s now commonplace to see people on the street using theirs on the hoof, turning to your phone when bored at work could land you in trouble.

An idle scroll through Facebook or Instagram , or texting your mates during that post-lunch lull could result in your phone being confiscated, as companies start to clamp down on mobile usage.

In fact, one company director revealed he refused to take on staff who would not hand in their devices when in the office.

Sounds a bit extreme, but Mr O’Shaugnessy says he had his reasons.

It was after seeing how staff members were completely addicted to using social media on

their phones that he implemented

the policy. O’Shaughnessy said, “We’ve had girls having complete meltdowns when they’ve come to work and been told they need to put their phone in a box.” Others have said it’s almost breaching their human rights. It’s almost like a separation anxiety. When we didn’t have this policy in place people would be checking social media updates during staff meetings. They’re utterly addicted to their phones.”

(Source: mirror.co.uk)

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

Sudoku

Use 13th July to connect with your boss & share ideas. For good results, host your meetings on this day. Maybe you could host a Saturday night dinner. 16th July will be a slow day. On 15th July, just go with the flow & don’t over plan. On 19th July, you could feel that people around you are ungrateful.

18th July will be a great day to share ideas with your seniors or simply just connect with them. You could schedule important meetings on this day. On 17th July, you need to be wary of dealing with the opposite gender.

On 15th July, avoid pre-planning, just go with the flow.

14th & 16th July will be great days to connect with your seniors. You could schedule a Sunday brunch or coffee on 14th July. You could be emotionally betrayed by someone at work or your parents on 18th July. 15th July will be a slow day for you, don’t make any promises. On 19th July, just go with the flow & avoid over planning.

13th July will be a great day to connect with seniors & share ideas with them, you could host important meetings on this day. You could have issues with seniors or extended family on 14th & 18th July. On 18th July, avoid trusting anyone with your secrets.

14th July will be great day to share ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them, invite them over for a Sunday brunch or coffee. On 15th, 17th & 18th July, you could have issues with seniors & your parents.

On 17th July, you could be betrayed by someone in your work environment. On 18h July, be careful of your words & actions, as you will create your own problems.

This week just lay low & catch up on your personal work. On 16th July, you could feel seniors or parents are ungrateful, they don’t appreciate you. Avoid hosting any meetings especially with your seniors on 13th July, as you are bound to have disagreements. Avoid scheduling any meetings on 19th July, you will face obstacles.

On 15th & 17th July, you could be betrayed by someone at work or emotionally hurt by your family. 13th & 16th July will be great days to share your ideas with seniors or simply just connect with them. You could schedule important meetings on this day. Avoid connecting with your parents, workmates or seniors on 14th July.

13th & 17th July will be great days to build a rapport with seniors & people at work, host your important meetings on these dates. On 15th July, avoid making any promises, as you will have to live up to them. Also avoid hosting any meetings on 15th July as you will have disagreements.

14th, 17th & 18th July will be ideal days to share your ideas with your boss, connect with people at work & family, host important meetings on these dates. Avoid socializing or making any promises on 13th or 16th July. Avoid hosting any meetings on 16th July as you are bound to have disagreements.

18th July will be a great day to build your relationship with seniors & people at work.

If you are in a habit of grabbing a drink with your seniors, then avoid doing so on 14th July. On 17th July, you could have a disagreement with your seniors or work associates, not a day to schedule important meetings.

Share your ideas with seniors or generally build a relationship with people at work on 16th & 17th July, host important meetings on these dates. Watch yourself on 15th & 18th July, avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation. On 18th July, you could have a disagreement with your seniors or work associates.

16th & 17th July are ideal days to mingle with your seniors, people at work & build your work network. Be careful with your words & actions on 13th July as you will create your own problems. On 15th July, avoid pre-planning, just go with the flow. Avoid hosting important meetings on 19th July, as you are bound to have disagreements.

In Scotland they are known as the “Honours of Scotland,” by what name are they known in England?

3.

Nyishis are the original inhabitants of which state capital of the Northeast?

4.

Gairsain, a hill town in North India is being developed as the new capital of which state?

5.

Which popular food item, that derives its name from the Sanskrit word for “fragrant,” was first mentioned in romantic work “Heer Ranjha”?

6.

Identify this cricketer, the first to score a century in the World Cup.

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

Dilbert By Scott Adams

1 6 9 4 4 5 38 6 35 4 71 6 3 2 66 2 5

very hard

hard

last week solution

8 4 9 6 22 39 6 7 47 53 75 1 1 69 34 68 2 6 91 9 1 1 8 6 9 4 7 7 6

5 6 8 7 9 3 1 1 2 4

7 5 4 2 5 4 8 8 3 9

5 3 7 2 31 54 19 68 88 22 96 44 77 19 24 55

3 4 8 9 2 6 1 6 4 2 2 5 5 3 5 2 8 9 3 1 Daily Sudoku: Thu 11-Jul-2019 5 2 3 7 4

8 4 5 3 1 7 7 9 6 8 6

1 85

73 38 6 2 7 2 7 9 9 4 3 7 8 1 9 6 3 6 1 4 2 5 very hard 1 9

1 3 3 5 8 6 2 4 5 7 8

Daily Sudoku: Thu 4-Jul-2019

hard

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

Word of the week federalese knackered nounadjective [fed-er-uh-leez, [nak-erd] -lees]

curio-city

2.

9 3 75 1 4 5 5 8 9 18 4 1 9 5 47 1 7 9 8 9 Daily Sudoku: Thu 11-Jul-2019 2 3

1 5

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

1.

2.

Which object of desire in the world of sports is designed by Garrard and Co, crown jewellers of London?

The ICC Cricket World Cup Crown Jewels, the 140 royal ceremonial objects kept in the Tower of London, which includes the regalia and vestments worn at their coronations by British kings and queens and the Kohinoor.

Itanagar Uttarakhand Basmati Rice Dennis Amiss of England. He was also the first cricketer to score a century in ODIs.

1.

6

Daily Sudoku: Thu 4-Jul-2019

3.

4.

5.

6.

curio-city

5 3 2

awkward, evasive, or pretentious prose Britishthe Slang. said to characterize publications and exhausted; very tiredbureaus. correspondence of U.S. federal

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

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2019. All rights reserved. (c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2019. All rights reserved.

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

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2019. All rights reserved. (c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2019. All rights reserved.

Horoscope of the week

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 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

Fiction

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

Aftab Singh and Manik’s medallion

A

ftab Singh and his petite wife Shalini were a great couple in Tea who had blended in with the local people coming out of the self-imposed confinement that most tea planters who come from outside the state are guilty of. They made the most of the tea social world and were in fact the soul of the parties that were held in the different garden bungalows back in the 1970s. With no TV, mobiles and the like, one had to mix in clubs and parties to keep abreast of the things happening around you and the world outside tea. But in addition, Aftab took a keen interest in the immediate vicinity of the gardens where he was posted and because of his keen interest in sports, was often invited as the chief guest for football and volley ball tournaments in local schools and colleges. His wife Shalini, who used to raise some cattle and poultry, always used the local veterinarian services for looking after her little enterprise and thereby made friends with the local persons for this small scale livestock farming she was doing.

Perhaps the reason for Aftab to take to the tea life was in no small part due to his late father, Kishan Singh, who had served extensively in the Army’s engineering corps in the northeastern states like Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. His stories of this lovely land and amazing people must have inspired Aftab.

I first met this couple in the garden called Harmutty near Banderdewa at the bungalow of my friend Alok who had invited a small group over for a Sunday lunch

party.

They worked in the same company that had a few gardens in the North Lakhimpur area Dejoo, Koilamari and Harmutty. They also owned some more gardens in the south bank and in the Cachar areas.

It must have been sometime in late summer with the Dikrong River below his bungalow in full spate and I was admiring the sight hoping to catch plenty of fish when the season started in a couple of months’ time. Aftab and I got talking and realised that we

were both keen on angling. He knew fly fishing which I had never tried out and we made plans to fish sometime together in November.

But then, after a few weeks, I heard from Alok that Aftab had been transferred to a garden called Duriabam, near Jorhat, on a promotion as a Manager due to a sudden vacancy. Thus we actually met again much later after about four years when he returned as the Manager of Dejoo Tea Estate.

We met up often and started going out on night camps to the rivers there like the Dikrong, Boroi and the Ranganadi. These were all small rivers especially in the winter months when angling was possible and Aftab used to catch a lot of trouts by fly fishing.

Though I tried I never could master the cast and gave up trying this method of fishing. I knew the Boroi River quite intimately and on one of those camps, listening to our favourite Joan Baez song “Diamonds and Rust,” Aftab told me the story of how his late father Kishan was indebted to a local farmer sometime in the early 1960s. This farmer, who he remembered as one Boloram Das, was an Assamese doing rice

of the stay guard the before proceed The very

cultivation and who had his farm and house next to the national highway near the Gai River in Dhemaji.

His father was in charge of a convoy carrying artillery guns to the border outposts somewhere in the then NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh) when, due to a major breakdown of a truck, some members unit had to behind to and repair vehicle they could further. area was isolated and they had to search for food and water when

Around 11 am I was informed that he was seen inside the thatch bari but he was in a violent mood as he had a big dao and was threatening to kill anyone who would try to capture him.

I had to decide whether to call the police or try and see if I could get him out safely. their stocks ran out and Boloram helped them a lot; in fact he opened his house and granary to them, gave them water and fresh milk etc. The two men, Kishan and Boloram conversed in broken Hindi and for some reason got along very well. Kishan was also offered a bed and separate room in his house which he gladly accepted instead of the tent on the road. After about a week, when reinforcements arrived with the spare parts, the truck was repaired and the Army men thanked the farmer who refused any payments stoutly and smilingly bid them good bye.

Kishan was moved by the honest farmer and his kind open hearted hospitality and every time he had the opportunity to pass this way, he always stopped awhile and gave him some food presents from the Army canteen. Finally, when Kishan’s unit was moved again to another posting, he said his last farewell to his humble but true friend and gave him a medallion which he had won in wrestling in his village in the Punjab as a young lad. When Aftab joined tea in Assam his father had told him about Boloram and if ever he got the chance to try and meet Boloram and his family and to convey his best wishes/greetings to him. However Aftab never got round to doing so as it was not on the regular tea route for him.

Our friendship continued and we met up frequently before one day it was my time to move out to our Guwahati office as we were planning to start some other agro business activities besides tea. I moved out in May 1981 and started visiting the garden every month only. Gradually with my commitments to the other business activities I had to travel a lot more and I did get to see Aftab and Shalini once when I went to see them at Dejoo. We kept in

21

Ranjan Kumar Choudhury ranjanchou@hotmail.com

touch dinner and whenever passing Guwahati day in 1990’s, up

over drinks he was through when, one the early he rang

telling me that he was taking premature retirement from tea and would be going back to look after their farm land near Amritsar . His voice sounded very excited and happy and I thought it was because by that time the insurgency all over the state was taking a big toll on the tea industry and he must be happy to leave. He insisted to keep the date of his arrival at Guwahati free for him and we had them over at our house for dinner. Our respective wives had also become good friends by that time and we had a lovely evening reminiscing the good times. Before leaving he then told me about being a judge in the garden football tournament recently, and when it was time to select the best player he selected a young man of around 19 years who was representing a club from Dhemaji.

The boy’s name was Manik and when presenting the prizes he saw that the young footballer was wearing a very familiar medallion with the Sikh impression of “Wahe Guru.” It struck him that it could well be the one his late father had gifted Boloram. Aftab excitedly asked him how he got the medallion and he replied that his father, who had passed away a few years ago, had given it to him to wear for luck. His father had also told him that it was given to him by a dear army friend and he had kept it like a family treasure.

Aftab simply could not

believe his luck.

He remembered his Dads words and ascertained from Manik that he was indeed Boloram’s son and he affirmed that he was his third son. He just hugged him and cried for joy. Everyone got stunned by this sight and later only they realised about the story and how they were linked by their late fathers. Aftab took the boy to his bungalow afterwards and took his address and told him to continue with his football and that he would help him financially to realise his dream. He paid him a tidy sum to help him and had an emotional farewell stating that he looked forward to meeting him sometime when he attained stardom as a footballer. I was happy for Aftab and Manik Das and it was a very moving coincidence.

This story of Aftab and his late father’s medallion really inspired me to believe in some divine force that deals the cards with which we all have to play out our lives. Doing good deeds for others on sheer humanitarian grounds is the best way to celebrate life. The rewards will come your way when you least

expect them. Manik went on to play football for the Assam Police, excelled in the state and national police meets and Aftab did meet him many times when he played in Delhi and Chandigarh. We still meet up with Aftab and his wife in Delhi or Gurugram whenever possible and are in regular touch over the telephone keeping our memories alive, with refrains of diamonds and rust. As for the two old departed friends, I am sure they are enjoying their “doi chira” together, wherever they may be. n

22 Lifestyle

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

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

V

aastu is made up of certain rules which, when used effectively, helps you live your best and most prosperous life.

Thus, here are a few rules to follow that will help you lead a better and more organised life.

Never use bright colours such as red, purple or pink for painting your house. This may aggravate the sickness star if any, and bring in disaster. Do not keep too many crystals or clusters in your house. That also has the same effect as mentioned above.

Do not keep any water fountains, fish tank or even the picture of water in your bedroom. It will destroy your health as well as your wealth.

Water bodies should be used with caution.

Do not keep your mandir/ altar under any beam or cupboard. It will always put you

under stress.

Do not keep heavy objects, dustbins and shoe racks in the northeast and north of your house. Always keep northeast and north clean and light. Heaviness here will block your finances.

Do not keep bonsai plants in the house or they will hamper the growth in one or more respective areas of your life.

Do not face south while cooking, or your mind will be filled with negative thoughts.

Do not select a house which has a southwest entry even if you are getting it at a lower price.

Avoid that place to sleep

where your cat loves to rest.

That place most probably has a problem of geopathic stress.

Do not give a room to your servant which is in the southwest of your house or the servant will dominate you.

Do not sleep in front of the mirror. The part of your body which is reflected in the mirror becomes vulnerable and may require surgery in coming years.

Do not keep paintings of Mahabharata, Titanic or a sinking boat in your house or office, as it may cause

Tamarind – A nutritional powerhouse Nisha Manikanthan

T

amar hindi or Indian date was the evocative name given by Persians and Arabs to the commonly found tamarind. Within the brittle, brown pod is a fleshy acid fruit that contains tartaric acid and pectin.

Some of its alternate names include Tamarindusindica, its botanical name, Amlaka in Sanskrit and Imli in Hindi.

Practical Applications: Digestive disorders: An infusion of the pulp prepared by softening it in water can be consumed to overcome bilious vomiting, constipation, indigestion and loss of appetite.

a teaspoon of black pepper powder for a few minutes.

Apart from being a perennial favorite, rasam is a muchfavored home remedy for colds in south India.

Dysentery: The tamarind drink is extremely helpful in treating dysentery.

near the bedside for emergency. This is a negative attitude and this practice should be avoided.

Anthills and beehives are areas which have geopathic stress. Before constructing anything on these areas, get the required Vaastu treatment at first.

Never keep salt and turmeric powder side by side in the kitchen as it causes quarrels among family members.

Do not keep medicines in the southwest. Always keep them at the northeast.

Lot of people keep medicines

Keep the dustbin in the kitchen and the broom hidden from eyesight.

Do not throw garbage at night. Do it in the morning only.

Why Me? Of all the people that you could have chosen, All the times that held gentle importance It had to fall upon me, the song and burden In hind sight, the going was easy at first glance Random warnings didn’t suffice to stop Even when it occurred, wondered what to drop Had a choice between me and them, didn’t you?

Perhaps I was caught unawares, perhaps not, I remember it was a time when thoughts flew Now, the question requires time and thought I wondered how to give up trying, even attempt

Benefits:

Tamarind is commonly used as a flavoring in regional cuisine in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh when preparing Rasam, Sambhar, Vatha Kuzhambu and Puliyogare and so on. Also, no mouth-watering chaat is complete without the ubiquitous imli chutney. Even tamarind flowers are used to make delicious dishes.

Its leaves are cooling and antibilious, and help to destroy worms in the stomach. Further, the leaves are also useful in treating jaundice, while the bark serves as an astringent. The pulp of the fruit is digestive cooling, laxative and antiseptic.

never ending fights between a husband and wife and even problems in your business respectively.

Though the promised reward was a strong tempt Featherbrained I was to have fallen in the trap I was chosen without having made the choice I recall now that time had been missing, a gap, Scurvy: Caused due to a deficiency of Vitamin C, scurvy results in spots on the skin, spongy gums and bleeding from the mucous membranes. Tamarind pulp, being rich in Vitamin C, is valuable in preventing scurvy.

Inflammation of joints: Crush tamarind leaves in water and make a bandage.

Applying this to the inflamed part of the joint and ankles lessens the swelling and pain.

Common Cold: Prepare tamarind-pepper rasam by boiling diluted tamarind with

(The author is a Senior Ayurveda Consultant of the Art of Living, www.artofliving.org)

If asked now, I would say that I did rejoice Left to myself, I try to walk the path and see All I am left with is the question; why me?

Arunav Barua

Entertainment

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

23

Assamese cultural icons in Indian 10-year-old from Assam selected for Top 15 in army’s tribute to Kargil heroes reality singing TV show

S

inger Zubeen Garg, producer Jatin Bora and director Juana Jain are representing Assam in a song made by the Indian Army to honour Kargil martyrs and war veterans.

The song was released by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat at a function organised

in New Delhi on Friday, July 5 as part of the 20 th anniversary celebration of Kargil Vijay Diwas.

The song has been directed by Assam’s Juana Jain (daughter of late Bhupendra Nath Bhagabati and Dr Nilima Bhagabati) and her husband Ajay Kumar.

The tribute song has been composed by Sammer Anjaan and sung by Shatadru Kabir.

It also features actor Aimee Baruah and boxer Mary Kom who represent the northeast region and other Bollywood celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Shetty, Salman Khan, Vicky Kaushal and more.

Kathak exponents perform at cultural recital held in Guwahati

P

rayas, an organisation in memory of Tabla Wizard, Pandit Chaturlal, held a cultural programme featuring Kathak exponents, Pandit Deepak Maharaj and Meghranjani at Sri Sri Madhabdev International Auditorium on June 28.

Pandit Deepak Maharaj, the younger son of Padma Vivhushan Pandit Birju Maharaj, started his recital with the “Ardhanareshwar” (Ardha – half, Nari – woman, Ishwar – Lord) invocation of Lord Shiva.

He followed his recital in Vilambit Laya in Teentaal of 16 beat cycle with some upaj, thaat, amaad as a repertoire in Kathak and later shifted to Taal Dhamar, a 14-beat time cycle and performed many Tukda, Paran, Tihais and footwork.

He concluded his performance with the Makhan Chori Abhinay, little Krishna stealing butter when his mother left home after making butter and he gets caught by Yashoda.

He was accompanied

by Pranshu Chaturlal playing the tabla, Ramen Deka for the vocal and lehra and Ghulam Waris for the Sarengi.

At the e ve nt, anothe r well-known Kathak dancer, Meghranjani, daughter of Marami Medhi started her one hour recital with a Devi Stuti, “Jai Jai Jaga Janani Devi.”

She followed her recital in Teentaal of 16 beat cycle with 45 minutes of complete pure dance starting with upaj, thaat, Amaad in Vilambit Laya and further moving to Madhyalaya with tukda, tihai, footwork and druttlaya, the fastest Laya in Kathak dance where she

A

10-year-old boy from Assam, Harshit Nath, has been selected in the Top 15 in singing reality TV show, Sony TV’s “Superstar Singer.”

The judges for this singing show include Himesh Reshamiya, Alka Yagnik and Javed Ali. In addition to the judges, the

Assam filmmaker’s short film nominated for L-OIFF

A

ssam filmmaker, Pritam Milan Laskar’s short film, “Chimera” has been selected for the Lift-Off Global Film Festival, London and Los Angeles.

The film has been officially selected and has qualified for the first round. Online voting for the film will begin once it clears

performed 48 chakkars, mayur and ghunguroo gat chal, many badam tihais, paran and finished with some jugalbandi footwork with the tabla player.

She completed her recital with two Ram bhajans, “Jagiye Raghu Nath Kuwara” and “Thumaka Chalata Rama Chandra.”

She was accompanied by Pranshu Chaturlal playing the table, Joyprakash Medhi for the vocal and Lehra, Ghulam Waris for Sarengi and Debarati Sengupta for the Padhant.

show also includes four mentors, called “captains” who will train the singers during the show. The captains include Nitin Kumar, Salman Ali, Jyotica Tangri and Sachin Kumar Valmik.

Earlier, Harshit had also taken part in Rang Channel’s reality singing show, “Jhankar Little Champs.”

Round 1.

The short film is a psychological film made under the aegis of Incognito Creative Art Society.

The movie has been directed, written, produced and edited by Laskar, while the cinematography has been done by Rishab Jaiswal.

Ashif Ahmed is the sole actor of the film.

24 Catching Up

G PLUS | July 13 - July 19, 2019

PIC OF THE

Most shared story of the week

WEEK

#NEWS | A Junior College in Udalguri, Assam is going an extra mile of educating students by teaching them how to sow crops.

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Beseeching the Gods to keep the water level down | Photo Surajit Sharma

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