Vol 6 Issue 40 by G Plus

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

INSIDE

Volume 06 | Issue 40 July 27 - Aug 02, 2019 Price `10 70-yr-old’s death: Internal enquiry likely in alleged MMCH ‘negligence’ case

People reluctant to wear life jackets in ferries while crossing Brahmaputra: IWT

Residents lodge strong complaint with GMC over ‘permanent stink’ at Ulubari Volvo Point

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GHY-N/GHY COPS ropeway to be TURN commissioned in LOOTERS September G Plus News @guwahatiplus

Foolhardy attempt by three policemen to loot a Mizo woman off her cash amounting to Rs 20 lakhs lands them in jail after swift action taken by city police. Full report on PG 03

he long pending Guwahati passenger ropeway project connecting the northern and southern banks of the Brahmaputra River will be commissioned in September 2019. The chief executive officer (CEO) of Guwahati Metropolitan Developmental Authority (GMDA), Moloy Bora said, “The trial run is going on and all the work for the safety of the passengers is underway. The ropeway will be commissioned in September.” The project was scheduled to have been commissioned in May, 2011, but work was stopped by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in February, 2011. Permission for tilt rectification of well foundation number 2 (pillar T-2) was not given at Urvashi Island. The GMDA received the permission in 2015, but with a condition of relocating the pillar (T2) 300 metres away from the Urvashi Island. Accordingly the pillar has been constructed at the south bank (near Kamrup Metro Deputy

Commissioner’s office), and construction work for all the four pillars have been completed, a GMDA source said. The distance of the ropeway is 1.8 kilometres with the south bank station situated inside the forest campus near Kamrup Metro Deputy Commissioner’s office and the north bank station at a hillock behind Doul Govinda temple. There are two cabins with a passenger capacity of 30 persons each. Talking about the speed of the ropeway, a

source in GMDA said, “It will take approximately 8 minutes to cover the distance of 1.8 kilometres but the technicians are still working on the speed so it may slightly faster or slower than this.” In 2008 Samir Damodor Ropeways Pvt Ltd was awarded the construction work on turnkey design and execution basis and the same agency has carried out the work. The GMDA source said that though the permission to continue with the ropeway project was received from the Centre in 2015, the then state government did not immediately sanction the funds. After the new government came to power, the project was put on the priority list. The source also said that during monsoon seasons it was difficult to continue the construction activities as the water level of the river remained high causing delays. The ropeway project was earlier assigned to GMDA in 2006. RITES prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) in 2006. The foundation stone of the project was laid on 4/12/2009. The ropeway work was stalled in February, 2011 but work resumed in 2016. n related story on Page 09

City

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

70-yr-old’s death: Internal enquiry likely in alleged MMCH ‘negligence’ case Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

he death of an ailing person from Assam’s Darrang district in front of Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) in Panbazar sparked chaos in the hospital premises on the night of Wednesday, July 24. The deceased, identified as Gokul Sasoni of Udalguri, was admitted to MMCH on July 24 at 4 PM. The hospital authorities prescribed the patient some medicines and asked him to come back on Thursday, July 25 for some tests. Unfortunately, however, Sasoni passed away soon after the treatment. Sasoni’s family members have blamed MMCH for his death alleging that he could not be revived due to the negligence of the hospital authorities. His wife also mentioned that the patient was released from MMCH without completion of his treatment. Speaking to G Plus about the alleged negligence and the action being taken, KK Deka, Assistant Superintendent of

Scene at MMCH as the body of 70-year-old Gokul Sasoni is being taken for post mortem with police assistance | G Plus Photo MMCH said, “If needed, an internal enquiry would be set up at the Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) against the doctor for which the MMCH has already sent a letter addressed to the Principal

of GMCH.” Eye witnesses alleged that Sasoni, unable to walk after his meeting with the hospital staff, sat on the footpath outside the hospital campus and was provided water by locals in the

area, following which he passed away right outside the hospital premises. The incident sparked outrage outside the hospital and led to protest, even as Sasoni’s body lay dead right there.

“70-year-old Gokul Sasoni was admitted into the Emergency ward complaining of weakness. Our doctor treated him for the same, gave gastric injection and tablets for fever. The patient left the hospital post treatment, and soon after, the unfortunate incident took place,” informed KK Deka. He alleged that the public gathered outside the hospital when Sasoni’s wife started crying out loud and soon the hospital authorities too rushed to check the body but the wife and public interfered. “We wanted to carry Sasoni’s body to the hospital to confirm the cause of death but the public did not let us. Then we took the support of police and took the body for post-mortem,” expressed Deka. It may be mentioned that the police has concluded the postmortem on the body and sent it back to his village in Darrang district. Deka also stated that the wife was uncooperative and refused assistance, yet the hospital authorities managed food for her and provided her with a hospital bed until police completed post-mortem. n

Inadequate action taken on medical negligence cases

n a worrying trend, Guwahati has seen a number of cases of medical negligence in the past few months. However, in a majority of the instances the government has failed to take any action in these cases. Various instances of alleged negligence were reported from across the city which brought to the fore the importance of bringing accountability for hospital authorities. In an example of alleged medical negligence a few months ago, a case was registered with the Bharalumukh police station against the Institute of Human

Reproduction (IHR), commonly known as Goenka Nursing Home, for alleged medical negligence. According to reports, a city resident, 31-year-old Nasima Sultana who was pregnant, died a few hours after she was admitted for delivery to Goenka Nursing Home. Sultana was a dietician at a top hospital in the city. Additionally, the increasing number of medical negligence cases being registered in the city against government as well as private hospital authorities is forcing people to seek treatment outside the state for critical

ailments. On the other hand, the magnitude of such cases can also be ascertained by the number of cases received by the district consumer court. Kamrup (Metro) District Consumer Disputes Redressal forum (DCDRF) officials informed G Plus that they receive several cases related to medical negligence in a month. The cases range from wrong diagnosis of diseases to negligence in medical services. Officials of the DCDRF informed that such cases of medical negligence have become very frequent with at least three to

four cases being filed with the consumer forum every month. In an earlier case, a city resident gave his blood sample for testing to a laboratory before donating blood to a friend. However, the reports revealed that he had tested positive for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). After this, the man consulted two doctors and on their advice, gave his blood samples for testing in two different laboratories. Both the results showed a negative result for HIV. “He then filed a case of medical negligence against the

first laboratory in which the DCDRF passed a judgement and ordered the laboratory owner to pay compensation to the complainant,” informed Mohammad Sahadat Hussain, president of the DCDRC. In yet another case, a woman filed a case against a citybased private hospital after her father passed away after being admitted for a week in the hospital. Member of DCDRF, Archana Deka, informed that the complainant’s father was suffering from jaundice and had stopped responding to treatment before he passed away. n

Cover Story

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Guwahati City Police takes swift action against its own personnel Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

he Dispur police have arrested three Guwahati city police personnel for allegedly looting Rs 20 lakhs from a woman on July 26. A woman from Mizoram carrying cash amounting to Rs 20 lakhs was allegedly looted by three police personnel in Guwahati on July 25 evening at around 6:40 PM following which the victim lodged a

complaint in the Dispur police station at 8 PM. The victim, a 23-year-old Mizo woman, accompanied by her fiancé and two other boys were moving in an Innova car with the money. They were accompanied by a local guide named Prakash Sonar who hails from Kohima. As per the complaint, the vehicle in which the victim and her family were travelling was stopped by police personnel in front of Hotel Vivanta by Taj at Khanapara. The police conducted a search during which they came across the

money. They then seized the money and claimed to take it to the crime branch, asking the victim to follow behind. Instead of conducting any investigation though, the police personnel fled with the money. The victim then walked into the Dispur police station demanding to know why the money was taken from her which was allegedly brought to open a gym in the city. The three accused have been identified as Sub-Inspectors (SI) John Pathar and Pranjal

The shame sets in rather late for the cops turned looters

Police solves case overnight

et again, Guwahati city police has proved its mettle with swift action. The complaint against the three policemen was registered at around 8 PM and the police succeeded in arresting all four involved in the loot within a couple of hours. By 6 AM, police also succeeded in recovering the Innova car used by the policemen and the cash amount looted by them. “As they say, there are always two sides of the same coin. In the police force too, there are

good cops and bad cops. We deeply regret the incident that took place and the misconduct of our own people, but that shouldn’t hamper the police reputation among the public. Hence, we tried to crack the case at the earliest,” expressed Commissioner of Police, Deepak Kumar. In an earlier incident too, the Assam Police tracked down a car within minutes. On April 12 last when a car was stolen from near Baihata, 30 kms from Guwahati, the owner of the vehicle tweeted about the theft asking Assam Police

for help. The social media team took action upon the tweet immediately and helped the police track down the car within 57 minutes. In another instance, Assam Police rescued a minor who had posted her intention to commit suicide on Facebook. Police was alerted by Facebook and they saved the girl within 30 minutes after being apprised of the incident. The alertness of Assam Police was also acknowledged by Antigone Davis, Facebook’s Global Safety Head, in a recent interview. n

Bora of Hatigaon police station and Home Guard Bipul Hazarika of Dispur police station. Speaking to G Plus , Commissioner of Police, Deepak Kumar confirmed the incident and said, “The mastermind of the whole incident, Prakash Sonar conducted this loot along with those police officials. As per investigation, it has been found that Sonar gave a tip-off to the home-guard saying that a Mizo family was carrying

a huge sum of illegal money. The home guard then took both the sub-inspectors into confidence and planned to loot the money.” “We have recovered the amount from the accused along with the Innova car that was used in the crime. All the people involved in the incident have been arrested while the driver is absconding. We will take action against all four arrested as per the laws applicable to any criminals,” Kumar added. n

4 Concern

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

People reluctant to wear life jackets in ferries while crossing Brahmaputra: IWT Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

aising safety concerns for the passengers aboard the ferry vessels, the inland water transport department has claimed that most passengers are reluctant to wear the life jackets which have been made mandatory by the government. After the recent floods

“We are providing life jackets and life buoys to the ferries but currently we do not have sufficient number of life jackets. Now, we are in the process of procurement,” Dhruba Jyoti Das, director IWT. which affected the state, the department had restricted ferry services effective from July 11 on the Brahmaputra River due to rising water levels above the warning level, heavy currents as well as floating logs and other submerged materials in the river. However, the ferry services were later resumed from July 22 after the water level receded. But the safety issues remain a perennial cause of concern for the authorities as many passengers do not want to wear life jackets for the duration of their commute. “We have seen that people are reluctant to wear life jackets on the ferries. We are planning to create awareness for them for the same,” director inland water transport department, Dhruba Jyoti Das told G Plus. The inland water transport

department is also planning to announce safety instructions for ferry passengers in order to ensure their safety. “We are planning to begin announcement of security advisory in our ferries and in our ghats. These demonstrations and announcements will be along similar lines of the safety instructions demonstrated in the aeroplanes,” Das informed. He added that since they noticed that the passengers are reluctant to wear life jackets, the officials thus took the decision to make them aware about the importance of wearing life jackets while travelling on ferries. It is to be mentioned that a motorised country boat capsized in the Brahmaputra River in September last year leading to the death of three passengers. After the incident, the state government had made it mandatory for ferries to have life jackets and life buoys on board. It was also made mandatory for each passenger to wear life jackets. Following the incident, the state government had also decided to form a regulatory authority to ensure safety of passengers and for effective public service. Das informed that the regulatory authority has already been formed. “We are in the process of getting fully prepared to strengthen the regulatory authority. Some officials have already been posted while some

Life jackets for passenger use at an IWT ferry station | G Plus photo are in the process of being posted,” said the director. Officials informed that the principal secretary of the transport department will be heading the regulatory body, while deputy secretary will be the secretary. “We have nominated four more officials from the transport department as well as the IWT. We are in the process of nominating other members also,” said authorities of the IWT. Members of this regulatory authority will conduct safety audits to regulate the ferry services. “They will have the task forces at the level of the district magistrate involving the deputy commissioner,” said Das. The director, however, said that the department does not have sufficient numbers of life jackets and buoys as per the

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requirements. “We are providing life jackets and life buoys to the ferries but currently we do not have sufficient number of life jackets. Now, we are in the process of procurement of life jackets and buoys from Assam State Disaster Management Authority,” said Das. He added that the IWT department had procured from their side but that was not sufficient so they are placing their requirements on the basis of vessels which are currently running in the ghats. “This is a continuous process, we will go on procuring as per our requirements,” informed Das. On the other hand, a driver of an IWT-owned ferry vessel in Guwahati reiterated the concern of passengers not wearing the life jackets.

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“They feel that it is a government vessel so they will be safe, but they should understand that life jackets are for their own safety,” Naren Engti, a first class driver of a ferry vessel in Guwahati told G Plus. He further added that the All Assam Inland Water Transport Employees’ Association has demanded new vessels from the inland water transport department as some of the ferries that are operational have old engines. Engti mentioned that part from this, the association has put forth their demand for time-bound promotion of the employees. Moreover, they have also asked the government to recruit more people on the ferry vessels as some of the ferries do not have adequate number of staff.

In The News

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Proposed amendments to RTI Act undemocratic: Activists Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

he central government recently sought to bring about certain amendments to the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005. This has raised concerns among the RTI activists of Guwahati who feel that the proposed amendments to the Act are undemocratic and would go against the interest of those seeking information

of the chief information commissioners and information commissioners on a case-tocase basis. The RTI Amendment Bill, 2019 was passed by the Lok Sabha on July 22 while the Rajya Sabha too passed the bill on July 25. It now awaits the approval of the President Ram Nath Kovind. The currently existing RTI Act of 2005 was formed to provide citizens the right to secure access to information under the control of public authorities. RTI activists have condemned

CICs and ICs are part of an autonomous system which should remain that way. They should not have to bow down before the bureaucrats.” Dulal Bora, RTI activist.

Demostrators protesting against the proposed amendments at New Delhi | Internet photo under the Act. The proposed amendments to the Act state that the tenure of the chief information commissioners (CIC) and information commissioners (IC), which was earlier fixed for five years, will no longer remain fixed. The amendment states that the appointment will be “for such term as may be prescribed by the central government.” Additionally, the central government also seeks to prescribe the salaries of the CICs and the ICs. These provisions have been opposed by RTI activists as they feel that bureaucrats will now have the power to decide the tenure as well as salaries

the government’s step to bring about amendments to the RTI Act. Dulal Bora, an RTI activist from Guwahati told G Plus, “This is an autonomous body which should not be attached to the government and they should not have any control over the officials. The central government has taken a regressive step to clamp down on the rights of the citizens.” Bora added that he is also planning to file a PIL (public interest litigation) with the Supreme Court in the next few days in this regard. “When the government had constituted the body of the RTI Act, they had then announced what kind of salary the officials

will get and the type of power they will have,” Bora said further mentioning that if the amendments are implemented, it would be difficult for the people to get justice if there is binding from the government. “CICs and ICs are part of an autonomous system which should remain that way. They should not have to bow down before the bureaucrats,” he said. On the other hand, peasant leader and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi said that the RTI Act of 2005 had initially come into effect due to the people’s movement itself and it should not be allowed to come under anybody’s control. “The RTI Act is an integral part of the Indian democratic

system. But now the BJP-led government is ending all the democratic institutions and their latest target is the RTI Act. The central government wants to clamp down on the information being given out to the public,” said Gogoi. He added that one of their demands includes that the RTI should be retained in its present form. “After the BJP government came to power, the officials have become reluctant to give out information under the RTI Act. Therefore, we also want that the implementation of RTI Act should be done in a transparent manner,” Gogoi told G Plus. He also made a case for the government to fill the vacant positions in the central as well as state information commissions. Further, talking about Assam he said that in the state information commission, currently the chief information commissioner is the lone serving authority. “In Assam, one will have to wait for a very long time to file an appeal in the information commission. The execution of the RTI Act has become inefficient after the BJP government came to power,” stated Gogoi. On the other hand, the government has said that it does not have any intention of curtailing the independence of the Act. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha when the RTI Amendment Bill was being passed, the minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pension, Jitendra Singh said, “There is no interference as far as the independence of the Act is concerned.” He added that the government will not have unbridled power to amend the rules and that the government is open to suggestions and the amendment is being made with a “clear intention.” n

Snippets Girl gang raped in Jorabat; 3 held

n yet another abhorrent incident, an 18-year-old girl was gang-raped in a truck in Jorabat and was recovered three days later by the victim’s family members. As per the victim’s statement, she was gang raped by three men the entire night in the truck following which she was thrown beside the road. Reportedly, the victim was found crying on the roadside by an old man and with his help, she managed to contact her family. Later, her family took her to the police station, where she narrated the brutal sexual atrocity. The victim hailing from Jorabat on July 21 afternoon, met a lady whom she knew who took the victim to Sonapur. However, while returning the lady refused to go back and asked the victim to go with her son on a truck to Jorabat. The lady’s son identified as Sanjoy Chakraborty (18) and the truck driver drove her to an isolated place near 8th Mile where she was raped the whole night. It is to be mentioned that later, the accused brought two more men who also raped her the whole night. According to police, they were able to nab the prime accused and two suspects on July 25, however, they are looking for the other accused involved in the crime. Police have registered a case - no. 1205/19, under section365/376D of the Indian Penal Code in this regard. Meanwhile, the Jorabat AASU and local people of the area have asked the government to ensure early and stringent punishment to the accused persons.

Uttarakhand CM donates Rs 5 Cr for Assam flood relief

he Assam flood situation, which is still looking grim, has seen a number of politicians and celebrities, both regional and national come forward and help those affe cte d by it. Most recently, Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat donated Rs. 5 Crore to the Assam Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) to help victims of the floods. Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal on his Twitter Handle said, “ Thank you Uttarakhand CM ji for your contribution of Rs. 5 crores towards the cause of relief in #AssamFloods. People of Assam appreciate your great gesture.” It is to be mentioned that CM Sonowal has instructed officials to assess the damage of houses, roads, bridges, embankments, croplands, etc. and submit reports to the state govt for necessary action including speedy relief and rehabilitation.

6 Governance

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

HSRP yet to be completely enforced in Ghy even after 7 yrs of introduction G Plus News @guwahatiplus

he transport commissioner recently directed the transport officials to ensure that all vehicles are installed with high security registration plates (HSRP). Ironically, the authorities, even after seven years of its introduction, have not been able to completely enforce HSRP in Guwahati. Transport Commissioner Virendra Mittal, talking to G Plus said, “I understand the issue and have directed all the officers in all districts to enforce HSRP.” He further said that it is the duty of the transport department and very soon it will be completed. High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) were expected to be installed in all vehicles within a period of two years from the commencement of the scheme in any state. In Assam, HSRP installation started in the month of June 2012. Within June 2014, all the vehicles (including previously registered vehicles) were expected to be installed with these security plates. According to a source in Agros Impex India Pvt Ltd (the company which is responsible for fitting HSRP on vehicles), a significantly lesser number of vehicles installed HSRP in Guwahati.

The source said that approximately 16,858 vehicles were installed with HSRP in 2013, 44,394 vehicles in 2014, 6,626 vehicles in 2015 and in 2016, 74,542 vehicles were fitted with HSRP. Since 2017 there was an increase in the number of installation because the vehicle dealers were directed by the district transport office (DTO) not to deliver any new vehicle without the HSRP installation. Consequently, HSRP installation machines were set up in some of the dealers’ showrooms (20) for the purpose and fitting of the same on vehicles was guided by the company. The source described that initially, after the implementation of HSRP scheme in Assam, the DTO had made a rule that a vehicle’s registration certificate (RC) would be provided to the vehicle owner only after the HSRP was installed on the vehicle. But later, after the change of policy, only if the challan or the receipt of the payment for HSRP was shown to the DTO authorities, the RC was provided to the vehicle owners. The source said that the agents come with the files of many vehicle owners and after the payment of the challans, they collect the RCs of all these owners. There is a big difference in the number of challans

File photo of DTO, Guwahati generated and the number of vehicles fitted with HSRP. Since the commencement of the implementation, the source said that only newly bought vehicles usually go to the District Transport Office to install the security plates. The old vehicles are hardly seen installing such plates by changing their old

plates. Moreover even after a mandate to the vehicle dealers to deliver new vehicles only after HSRP is installed, many vehicles are delivered without the number plates and the transport officials, because of manpower shortage, do not get hold of such vehicles, a source in

the DTO said. A source in the DTO (Enforcement) branch said, “Because of lack of manpower, drives against vehicles without HSRP are hardly conducted.” The traffic police, at times, act against such vehicles but mostly the onus is on transport department.

‘Magic’ drivers in city violating DTO rules, authorities fail to enforce

rom 1st April 2016, old share taxis (mainly trekkers) were banned in Guwahati by the Gauhati High Court and many of these trekker owners started purchasing the Tata Magic to use them as share taxis. Over time the number of such vehicles increased but till date the transport regulations are not properly followed by the Magic drivers. “We sometimes enforce the

transport rules but all the time it is not possible for us because of less manpower,” said a transport enforcement official under condition of anonymity. The seating capacity of the passengers in a Magic vehicle is 7 but they carry up to 10 passengers basically overloading it, expressed a passenger, Nagesh Bhagat from Lal Ganesh. The share taxis are directed to display the fare charts in the

vehicle, but very few share taxis display the same, said a source in the district transport office (DTO). There are always rifts between the passengers and the drivers over the fare but mostly the passenger is helpless and pays whatever the drivers demand, expressed another passenger who travels from Paltan Bazar to ISBT every day. Over speeding, rash driving

and driving without uniforms are also some other issues which the authorities require to check. But this hardly happens. The transport commissioner, Virendra Mittal, assured that very soon strict action will be taken against unruly drivers and if required their permits will be cancelled.

In The News

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

POCSO (Amendment) Bill 2019 passed in RS; Death penalty introduced, punishment term increased Harshita Himatsingka @HHimatsingka

T 24.

he Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, July

The definition of ‘sexual assault’ is being extended to incorporate administration of hormones or chemical substances to children to attain early sexual maturity for penetrative sexual assault. Smriti Irani, minister for women & child development, presented the bill in the Upper House, which aims to make punishment more rigid for committing sexual crimes against children.

It should be noted that to combat the rising cases of child sexual abuse, the union cabinet had approved the amendments earlier this month and the bill will now be sent to the Lok Sabha for approval. Some of the changes included in the bill are amendments to sections 4, 5 and 6 to increase punishment for perpetrators from seven to 10 years, from 10 to 20 years and from 20 years to life imprisonment and death penalty. Section 9 of the Act is also being amended to protect children from sexual offences in times of natural calamities and cataclysms. Other sections where amendments have been made include section 2, 14, 15, 34, 42 and 45 from the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. In addition, the definition of “sexual assault” is being extended to incorporate administration of hormones or chemical substances to children to attain early sexual maturity for penetrative sexual assault. Further, the amendment also seeks to penalize the transmitting of pornographic material to children and proposes to coincide it with the Information Technology Act. Child

pornography initially was based on a very general definition, but now, it has been divided into distinct parts - softsharing, display and commercial use of child pornography. After the passing of the bill, G Plus spoke to Miguel Das Queah, Child Rights Expert and Executive Director of UTSAH Child Rights Org & Juvenile Justice Center, Assam. “Most of the new amendments are to strengthen the substantive part of the Act which deals with only crime and punishment. The only contention that we have as child rights practitioners, is that the implementation of the present Act is in itself a challenge. If you look at conviction rates, pendency of cases, status of compensation, there’s a long way to go,” said Queah. He explained that while this amendment only talks about substantive provisions, the procedural part of the POCSO Act should be given more focus as child sexual abuse and

Representative Image justice cannot be seen from the perspective of crime and punishment alone. “There are two aspects to the POCSO Act. One is the substantive part and the other is the procedural part. Procedural safeguards are important; things like style of police interviews, manner of recording of statements by magistrates, process of medical examination,

timelines of evidence to be recorded, timeline of the entire trial to be disposed, child-friendly court environment etc should be primary,” stated Queah. Thus, the ways in which the child is safeguarded from the process of getting justice should also be looked into. Thereby, Queah believes that there should have been more focus on implementing the present law. n

Child rights activists against death penalty in Assam

hile the majority of the amendment is welcome, the death penalty can create problems in practice as reporting of crimes is a big issue in Assam. “I believe that the idea of death penalty in this narrative would basically decrease reporting (of the crime) as no one would want to send a family member (or a known person) to the gallows. In Assam, 78% of the offenders in child sexual assault cases are known to the victims. They are either teachers (highest reported), neighbours or family members,” informed the child rights practitioner, Miguel Queah. He further added that in cases from the present Act, POCSO 2012, he and his team, who have been providing victim assistance for almost 9 years now, have seen that when the

perpetrator is someone who is known to the victim, the entire community advises against the reporting of such cases, which leads to a lot of witnesses turning hostile. “Death is a punishment given for a crime like homicide. If there is no difference between rape and homicide, and there can be no punishment beyond death, we fear that if there is a case of sexual assault on a child, the accused, to save self, would kill the child as the latter is a crucial witness. The safety of the child would be in question because of the death penalty narrative,” said Queah with concern. He observed that the state and all stakeholders should focus on the implementation of the current substantive and procedural laws. Higher punishment will not solve the problem. People are not worried

about higher punishment. Rather, there is a worry of nonimplementation of the POCSO Act that creates a feeling of disillusionment where people think that a sexual offender can easily get away. This “hang the rapist” idea comes from continued lack of faith in justice. “This is problematic because if implementation is done strictly, then we can see a reduction in crimes as that will act as a deterrent and not death itself,” added Queah. Delving deeper into the matter, he further explained that in Indian society, the honour of a woman is linked to her private parts, and that the larger patriarchal narrative is that if a girl, woman or girl child is raped, then that person is as good as dead. “People feel that the punishment meted out to rape should also be equal to

homicide. This is a narrative that is very deeply seated in patriarchy. Rape is undoubtedly the most heinous form of crime and strict punishment should be given to the offender. But, I think that the focus should be on the rehabilitation of the victim in a way that saves them from taboo and social isolation and helps them bounce back to regular life,” said the child rights expert. Speaking apprehensively, he stated that even though the honorable minister has stated that the death penalty would be at the discretion of the court, and that the court will make a decision in the rarest of cases, Queah still hopes that this does not become an overriding narrative and a part of the public opinion, because it will not only put the security of children at risk, but will also affect reporting.

Miguel Das Queah “This Act will only succeed if the procedural laws are strictly implemented. Lapse in procedures causes delay in justice for child sexual abuse victims, not the substantive part of the law. I hope there is more focus on the procedural part,” remarked Queah adding, “Even so, with the new amendments, we have to see how it rolls out and hopefully will lead to some positive results.” n

8 Health

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Kamrup (Metro) records 7 JE deaths, state toll reaches 124 Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

apanese Encephalitis (JE) has claimed seven lives in Kamrup (Metro) district till now since the outbreak of the disease in the state a few weeks ago. Officials informed that while the situation has been stable for the past few days in the district, they are taking all necessary precautions to prevent new

As far as Kamrup (Metro) is concerned, the situation is currently stable here as the number of deaths has remained the same for the past couple of days”DC Kamrup (Metro), Biswajit Pegu. cases from surfacing. Kamrup (Metro) has seen a total of 16 cases of the vectorborne disease since the last week of June. “We have received 16 cases in total till now out of which, seven deaths have been reported from the district,” joint director of health services of Kamrup (Metro) district, Ganesh Saikia, told G Plus. Assam saw an outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis and has been grappling with the disease since last month. At least 544 positive cases of JE were reported from across the state. Further, the death toll due to JE climbed up to 124 deaths. Officials informed that they

saw a rise in the number of cases for the disease was reported from June 20 onwards. Japanese Encephalitis is a vector-borne disease which is transmitted primarily through mosquito bites. Some of the major symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, confusion and difficulty in moving. These symptoms typically take between 5 and 15 days to develop and more serious symptoms can also include swelling of the brain leading the patient to coma. Experts say that if the patients do not report the symptoms on time, the disease can prove to be fatal. Some of the majorly affected districts include Jorhat, Golaghat, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur and Kamrup among others. “As far as Kamrup (Metro) is concerned, the situation is currently stable here as the number of deaths has remained the same for the past couple of days,” informed deputy commissioner for Kamrup (Metro), Biswajit Pegu. He added that the JE situation has been stabilised in Kamrup (Metro) and no new cases have come to the fore as of now. “Two patients are currently admitted in the hospital but apart from this, we have not received any new cases for the past one week,” said Pegu. The deputy commissioner further added that the blood sample collection by state health and family welfare department is ongoing in all the circles and blocks. The state government had laid a lot of emphasis on blood slide collection of anyone who displays even slight symptoms of the disease. The officials said it would help in early detection of the disease and would also drastically reduce the risk of

Student activists protesting at the health directorate office death among JE patients. Authorities informed that they are also conducting fogging in vulnerable areas. For this, the district administration has identified certain vulnerable areas in collaboration with the veterinary department. They are laying special emphasis in those areas where pig farming takes place, as pigs are one of the major carriers of the JE virus. Apart from this, in order to curb the number of cases of the disease, the multi-purpose health workers have been involved in creating awareness in villages and taking note of anyone who is suffering from fever or any other symptoms of JE. They immediately transfer the suspected patient to the nearest hospital or health facility for further tests, said officials. After the JE outbreak in

against government failure in containing JE | G Plus Photo

Assam, a team of officials from the central health and family welfare ministry visited the state to take stock of the situation and held meetings with senior health officials. The team reviewed the actions taken by the Assam government and assured of all required help from the centre. Further, they and also asked officials to begin the adult JE vaccination from the month of December. Talking to G Plus assistant superintendent of Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH), KK Deka, said that the hospital has been paying close attention to JE and AES patients. “We had three patients admitted in the paediatrics department and today we received another case,” said Deka. There are many patients who have been visiting Guwahati for treatment from other districts

as well, informed officials. On the other hand, the state has also been witnessing an increasing number of cases for Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). Earlier, health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had announced that the all JE and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) patients admitted in ICUs of all government medical colleges and district hospitals will receive free ICU care. Further, the state government is also providing Rs 1 lakh each to JE and AES patients admitted in ICU of private nursing homes for their treatment. Additionally, the health minister had also mentioned that those JE and AES patients who are unable to avail 108 ambulance service while reaching government hospitals, will be given Rs 1,000 as transportation cost. n

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

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THU

FRI

Scattered T-Storms

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34°26° C

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SATURDAY T-Storms

31°26° C

Cover Story

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Rs 28 crores extra invested in Ghy-N/Ghy ropeway project

he ropeway project was assigned to Guwahati Metropolitan Developmental Authority (GMDA) in 2006 with an estimated budget of Rs 27.73 crores but an extra Rs 28 crores was required to complete the project. The budget of the project has increased from Rs 27.73 crores to Rs 55.73 crores. GMDA had, till 2011, spent Rs 22 crores on the project. A GMDA source said, “By November 2011, imported equipments worth Rs 7.5 crores had arrived,” adding that around Rs 22 crores was spent till then in constructing the foundations of the pillars including the defunct well number 2 (old pillar T-2). Explaining why extra budget was required, the source said that since the work resumed in 2016, Rs 12.24 crores was used for construction of pillars with the new increased height which is 600 metres now. Earlier the height of the ropeway was estimated at 400 metres. And Rs

3.12 crores was used to procure additional ropeway components, the source claimed. He also explained that in the initial estimated budget, the expenses for development of the stations were not estimated. Therefore a good amount of money was required for construction of roads, parking lots and other station developmental requirements, the source explained. The station beatification work is underway on a war footing. n

Dream to reality The ropeway project was assigned to GMDA in 2006 with an administrative sanction of Rs 27.73 crores GMDA was asked to engage IIT, Guwahati or RITES as consultant for preparation of DPR and for project management services RITES prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) in 2006 The alignment was finalized passing over Umananda Island connecting the south bank inside Forest Campus near DC Office and north bank at the hillock behind the Doul Gobinda Temple with due consideration of the heritage status of Urvasi and Umananda islands In 2008, M/S Samir Damodor Ropeways Pvt Ltd was awarded the construction work on turnkey design and execution basis The foundation stone of the project was laid on 4/12/2009 by the then chief minister of Assam and thereafter construction started

The ropeway was scheduled to be commissioned by May 2011, but the work was stopped by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in February 2011 GMDA did not get permission for tilt rectification of well foundation No-2 from Urvasi Island citing introduction of new ASI Act, 2010 By November 2011 all imported equipments worth Rs 7.5 crores had arrived An amount of Rs 22.00 crores was spent till then 72% of the work was completed till February 2011 A proposal was submitted for NOC by GMDA on 15th July 2014 to the competent authority National Monument Authority (NMA) rejected the NOC application they received through the competent authority on 13th October 2014 Competent authority informed GMDA that the application was rejected on

31st October 2014 In April 2015, NMA granted permission to GMDA to go ahead with the project GMDA approached the then Congress government for additional funds to resume the work of the project but failed to get any response The new BJP government, after taking charge, put the project on priority list An additional Rs 28 crores was required to complete the project in all aspects The construction of all the pillars is complete The trial run is going on and technicians are working on the speed and the safety The station completion work is being done on war footing The ropeway project will be commissioned in September

10 Guest Column

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Indian diplomacy: The need for a clear course T he nature and dynamics of geo political scenario of the world are rapidly undergoing a radical transformation. The case for the Indo-Pacific region is more important in this regard. It is one of the world’s most volatile regions and has been dominated by the United States of America for a prolonged period. The Indo-Pacific region is currently involved in the great game of chicken particularly USA, China affecting India at large. The unbalanced multipolarity combined with power transition has seen to be detrimental for the region whereby China is trying to challenge the US’s pre-eminence to balance the main power in Asia as well as the regional powers within the region. It is also to be noted that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to transform India from being a merely an important player into one that is able to define its own priority in the global order.

Under OBOR, China is extending hard loans and credit lines to countries to exert its influence. The OBOR, in turn, creates debt traps. For instance, Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, Gwadar Port in Pakistan, Chittagong Port in Bay of Bengal have already been occupied by China since the respective countries have failed to repay their debts.

crude oil and this will hurt India’s desire to become a 3 trillion dollar economy by the end of this year. US’s threat to impose sanctions on India under CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act) if it carries on its deal with Russia to buy the S-400 defence missile system can be attributed to be the third factor. But India has clearly stated that it will stick to the deal and is absolutely ready to face any challenge under CAATSA which shows India’s strategic autonomy. If India complies with US’s threat then it will have negative impact on the time-tested strategic partnership with Russia which is also the biggest arms supplier of India (around 60%). Apart from the above mentioned irritants, issue of e-commerce and data localisation, 5G trials of Huawei, Harley Davidson have all together amounted to downgrading

through this route. China has eventually transmitted the geopolitics in the region. Roughly 5 trillion dollars of international trade passes through the South China Sea route. Hence, China wants to get full control over this region and India cannot leave its maritime trade to the goodwill of Chinese navy. China’s strategy of OBOR (One Belt One Road) is of extreme importance in this regard. Under OBOR, China is extending hard loans and credit lines to almost all the countries to exert its influence. The OBOR, in turn, creates debt traps which is a reality. For instance, Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, Gwadar Port in Pakistan, Chittagong Port in Bay of Bengal which is near to Vishakhapatnam, have already been occupied by China since the respective countries have failed to repay their debts. The ChinaPak Economic Corridor, or CPEC, is a threat to India’s security since

Indo-US equation

India-US bilateral relations in 21st century have been described as engaged democracies because both countries are found to be crucial to each other’s strategic thinking. Apart from this, closer cooperation is highly required between India and the US for the rule based international order where freedom of navigation can be ensured. But unfortunately in the contemporary geo-political world, a growing asymmetry in the bilateral relationship between India and the US can be witnessed due to Donald Trump’s policy of protectionist administration. In fact, not only India, other allies of US are also being threatened by Trump’s policy which is a matter of serious concern. The recent shift in the paradigm can be attributed to certain factors. Firstly, the removal of provision of GSP (generalised system of preference) which gives the developing counties easier access to the US market at a much lower export duty. India being the largest beneficiary, used to export goods worth $6.3 billion under the GSP regime. It was claimed by the US state secretary, Mike Pompeo that the US had been denied a larger market access in India. In a retaliatory course, PM Narendra Modi imposed tariffs as high as 70% on 28 US products. It is in line with the US’s refusal to exempt India from tariff on imports of steel and aluminium. This course of tariff and counter tariff seems to have put the relations on a rocky road. Secondly, sanctions on Iranian oil import have seen to be a bigger

GUEST COLUMN

Dhritiman Deka India. China has a 4-5 times bigger economy than that of India and 12 times bigger forex. Hence India is left with limited options to safeguard its own interests in this aggressive realm of geopolitics. China has overtaken many countries by cyber warfare and this has instilled fear in the US. We need to prepare for vulnerability and have our force upgraded in domain of space and electronic warfare. India also needs to accelerate the AsiaAfrica growth corridor to counter any adverse situation. Moreover, India’s Act East Policy has always remained the bedrock of India’s vision. Getting too close to the Quad (US, Japan, Australia and India) and involvement with any military alliance may invite serious economic threat from China. So India needs to take every step with utmost care.

Way forward

issue. Iranian oil import stood at 10% of India’s energy needs. This is due to the ongoing disturbances in the US-Iran nuclear deal. It has severely affected India as India is heavily dependent on Gulf countries for its energy needs. Moreover, Iranian oil is much cheaper than the shell oil of US and India used to pay in rupees to Iran. Besides this, the presence of 10 million Indian diaspora in Iran makes a lot of sense in strategic matters. Thus, stability and deescalation in US-Iran tensions is the need of the hour for all the players involved. Otherwise India may experience a huge spike in

of strategic partnership. It desperately requires new drivers if US wants to contain China with the help of India.

Chinese aggression China’s rise is radically changing equations in the whole Indo- Pacific region. Chinese strategy in this region is not favourable for India. It is encircling us and thereby limiting our outreach. The old system of central command, Pacific command, African command is no longer the dominant narrative. The dominant narrative is China’s $2.5 trillion trade taking place

it will pass through the Gilgit Baltistan region. Moreover, the CPEC will also make Pakistan dependent on China since it would cost around $30 billion. The European countries are also accepting Chinese loan which, in turn, will make them follow the Chinese line. It is evident from the recent developments that China’s outreach is growing at the cost of other countries. A significant driver of change in Indo-Pacific political geography has been the string of infrastructure projects in the subcontinent. These projects are giving China strategic access points in the oceans surrounding

With the desire to become a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024 India has to ensure geopolitical stability at home. India must adopt a slew of balancing acts which is the most appropriate strategy to adopt under the present circumstances. India should not upset both Washington and Beijing. Besides this, India cannot even afford to drive Moscow into China’s hands. With sheer audacity Indian diplomacy should take steps to increase engagement with ASEAN countries and Central Asia including Chabahar Port project. The ultimate requirement of the moment is to bridging the trust deficit and to exploit the fissures between China-Russia, RussiaPakistan and so on to prevent Russian support to China and Pakistan and Chinese support to Pakistan to keep the Afghanistan issue at check. The BIMSTEC initiative, International North South Trade corridor are also of great significance for India’s strategic and national interest. To stride the path of growth and to develop leverage in its dealings with its friends and adversaries India has to change its foreign policy substantially which is gradually becoming a reality and to define foreign policy on its own term. (The author recently graduated from Cotton University in Economics. He is currently preparing for International Relations and various other entrance examinations)

In The News

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Lok Sabha passes Triple Talaq bill, Muslim women rejoice Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

wo years after the Supreme Court delivered a landmark verdict on Triple Talaq, striking it down as unconstitutional by 3:2 majority, the Triple Talaq Bill or the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill has been passed in the Lok

Triple Talaq is not an issue of politics, prayer or religion; it is an issue of justice, dignity and empowerment of women,” Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Sabha and is set to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha. While some say that the bill interferes with the personal law of the Muslim community, the Muslim community of Guwahati seems largely to be in favour of the Bill which seeks to make instant Triple Talaq illegal and a punishable offence. The Lok Sabha on Thursday, July 25 passed the bill to ban

instant Triple Talaq with up to three years’ jail for Muslim men who indulge in instant divorce even as the opposition called it a discriminatory legislation and Bharatiya Janata Party ally Janata Dal (United) staged a walkout. While moving the Triple Talaq bill for consideration, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Triple Talaq is not an issue of politics, prayer or religion; it is an issue of justice, dignity and empowerment of women.” Stating that the legislation was needed for gender equality and justice, he argued how Muslim women are being divorced by “Talaq-e-Biddat” despite the August 2017 Supreme Court verdict, striking down the instant divorce. “Since January 2017, as many as 574 triple talaq cases and since the Supreme Court order, more than 300 such cases were reported by the media,” stated minister RS Prasad. Muslim women of Guwahati rejoiced when the bill was earlier passed in the Lok Sabha last year. “Talaq-e-Biddat was never in favour of the women. If the bill is rightfully enforced, Muslim men will not be able to misuse the law for their own benefit and we’ll be provided with allowance in the form of maintenance which was not the case earlier,” said a woman on the condition of anonymity. Now that the Bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha, she said, “It’s been two years since the SC

Union Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, speaking in Parliament on the Triple Talaq Bill gave its verdict against Talaq-eBiddat. Since then, we had been waiting for the formation of a strict law. Three years of jail term sounds good but first, it has to be passed in the Rajya Sabha as well.” In the same vein, Baharun Saikia, an advocate of Gauhati High Court who has herself been a victim of Triple Talaq expressed, “We the victims of Triple Talaq have high hopes that the bill will be passed at the earliest. Once the

Triple Talaq Bill not about women empowerment, feel some

he proposed Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill has provisions for imprisonment and fines for anyone invoking it. It also deals with subsistence allowance to a Muslim woman and her children from the estranged man as well as custodial rights of minor children. However, some feel that the proposed Bill comes with certain loopholes and does not empower women in the true sense. Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, a senior advocate at the Gauhati High Court told G Plus, “Sometimes, women misuse the law to harass their husbands and in-laws. And that is my only problem with such womencentric laws. But if the law that comes into effect can avoid such lacunas and be all

inclusive, I will welcome the law.” He further attacked the BJP government stating, “There are many other women issues that need to be focussed on including health and education. Instead, the ruling party is busy focusing on this Bill that’s dividing communities and driving people away.” Speaking to G Plus about the loopholes in the proposed bill, Advocate Baharun Saikia said, “The only loophole I notice in the Bill is the women community’s demand for the child’s custody. A kid belongs to both parents and they both must have complete rights to fight for the custody of the child and for visitation rights. And if the child is a major, above 18 years of age, he/she must be allowed to decide who he/she wants to stay with.” n

bill is passed, the law will become fair for women as the men who practice Triple Talaq will not be able to declare talaq without proper reasoning.” The Gauhati High Court as well as the Family Court has seen cases of misuse of Triple Talaq. While most of these incidents go unreported, there are some women who gather the courage to approach the court and file a case against their spouses.

A case had been registered at the Family Court in 2017 wherein a woman reported that she had gone to her father’s house for some time and when she returned, her husband had already married another woman claiming that he had sent a letter addressed to her announcing talaq. In another case registered nine months ago, a woman had been sent an e-mail by the husband that carried an announcement for their talaq. n

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi opposes Bill

he Congress and opposition parties have spoken in one voice against Triple Talaq Bill. Among other members of the Congress party, Kaliabor MP Gaurav Gogoi has also opposed the Bill stating that the SC had not asked the government to make triple talaq a criminal offence. Gogoi claimed that the government’s intention by introducing such a bill was to “demonise and penalise Muslim men.” He added that the government should take views of organisations like the Muslim Personal Law Board in account and “shape the bill more in accordance with the constitution.” “If you want to protect Muslim women who are divorced by their husbands, you should also give protection to Hindu and Parsi women who are deserted by their husbands,” he further added. Similarly, Congress party’s Jothimani

said the BJP sought to divide and rule Muslims through this Bill. The party’s leader in the House, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said that existing laws related to domestic violence and dowry were enough to prosecute marital discord in Muslim families. The Congress demanded that the bill be sent to the Standing Committee for review, saying it targets Muslim community of the country. n

12 In The News Snippets Hotel toilets in Guwahati now public toilets for women & children

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

PUBG MOBILE LITE

launched for the Indian Market The faster and lighter version of the blockbuster hit is a 400 MB download and supports mobile devices with less than 2 GB RAM

MC Commissioner Debeshwar Malakar announced that all women and children will be able to use washrooms in any restaurant or hotel, even five star hotels, in Guwahati for free. The decision was announced on Thursday, July 26 and will be in effect from Friday, July 26. Debeshwar said that this has been done in an effort to make the city woman and child friendly in addition to working in tandem with the clean India movement. As per reports, the GMC Commissioner said that although 33 bio-toilets have been installed in the city, that is not enough to serve the purpose. Hence, to accommodate more, this decision has been taken. It is to be mentioned that as per the Centre’s guidelines, the toilets of hotels and restaurants, irrespective of their star category, have to allow the general public to use their facilities. The provision for the same has already been included in their trade licenses. The GMC Commissioner also said that if any hotel, restaurant or shopping mall authority refuses to provide the service, then penalties would be levied. Speaking to the Times of India, some corporation officials mentioned that this provision was not yet available for men and a decision for the same would be taken later.

Miscreants loot jewellery shop in broad daylight in Guwahati

n yet another case of daylight robbery, miscreants looted MK Jewelers near Bharat Seva Ashram at Kalapahar in Guwahati on Friday, July 26. According to reports, the miscreants got away with some cash and jewellery worth several lakhs of rupees. Locals said that the miscreants entered the shop with two pistols, one dagger and were wearing helmets when they entered the shop. Meanwhile, police reached the spot and started investigation the matter.

lighter and faster variant of PUBG MOBILE called PUBG MOBILE LITE hits the Indian market today and is available for download and play from the Google Play Store. Considering the popularity of the blockbuster PUBG MOBILE, the developers have designed PUBG MOBILE LITE to be compatible with more devices. With the core idea of being able to play anytime, anywhere and on any device, the developers have launched this version optimized for

low-end smartphone devices with a lower RAM, to offer an uncompromised gameplay experience to all its fans. Built with Unreal Engine 4, this version of PUBG MOBILE is compatible with even more devices and optimized for devices with less RAM without compromising the gameplay experience that has attracted millions of fans around the world. PUBG MOBILE LITE features a smaller map made for 60 players, which means faster-paced games that last 10 minutes while still keeping the traditional PUBG style of play! With an installation pack of just 400 MB and built for devices having less than 2 GB RAM, the LITE version is set to run smoothly for all players. Keeping in mind

Upgrade to Winner Pass: The Winner Pass replaces the Royale Pass and will have much faster achievement unlocks and will span a month, with fantastic rewards on offer.

that more than half of the smartphone users in India use an entry-level smartphone, the specifications that the LITE version of the game is designed to accommodate exactly that.

New players joining in will be eligible for various rewards, in the form of new gears and vehicles.

Some key features on PUBG MOBILE LITE include: Enhanced Aim Assist: With the all new auxiliary aim assist, in order to make aiming simpler and comes in extremely useful while playing in weak network environments. The intensity differs between the crawling and standing positions, simplifying the control while preserving the unique PUBG MOBILE experience.

Bullet Trail Adjustment: PUBG MOBILE Lite will feature increased bullet speed and no bullet drop effect, for a clearer shot which is specially made to account for weak network environments. Weapon Suppression:

Recoil The

adherence mechanism also suppresses the weapon recoil to a certain amount, which facilitates game-control and makes for a better experience in weak networks. Different guns have different gun pressure effects, highlighting the different experience of each weapon. Extended Time to Kill: The update will also appropriately increase the ‘Time to Kill’ which would enhance players survivability during firefights and encouraging aggressive play. Location Display: The map will expose a shooter

within the mini-map’s range, providing simplified battle info extraction and increased battle speed. Heal yourself while moving: Players will now be able to heal themselves in all stance except for when they are prone. This is particularly useful in high latency conditions where movement actions might inhibit the healing mechanic in game. This will help speed up the game pace and increase survivability.

Building Areas/ Supplies optimization: Complementing the smaller maps, building density and loot frequency has been increased to expedite the looting process and enhance the battle progression. Map Quality Optimization: The game will also feature optimized map quality and the parachute loading screen. RPG and New Firearm integration: With the LITE version, players will now get to experience a new weapon in select game modes only, allowing a chance to form new attack and defense tactics.

City

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Residents lodge strong complaint with GMC over ‘permanent stink’ at Ulubari Volvo Point Gunjan Sharma @guwahatiplus

lubari Volvo Point has been consistent in greeting all its passers-by with a pungent smell for almost two-three years. The area is home to a number of restaurants, hotels and guest houses which are mostly occupied by national and international tourists. Residents claim that the area

“The GMC officials will be visiting the site on 27th July along with the Flying Squad and they will take the appropriate step and the garbage will be removed immediately,” GMC Commissioner Debeswar Malakar, reacting to the complaints. has acquired a permanent stink because of the dustbins which are always full of garbage. According to a nearby tea stall owner, this place has been stinking for almost five years. “The municipality workers dump all the garbage here every day and the GMC truck collects the garbage from this point in

The stink raising garbage dump at the Ulubari Volvo Point | G Plus Photo the morning and at night. Yet the stink remains,” she said. Currently, a fair (mela) has been put up on the ASTC ground which is right next to the dustbin. In spite of the garbage dump, the entrance to the fair is lined with moveable food carts which raise numerous questions of hygiene. Speaking to G Plus, a resident of Ulubari, Sehnaz Begum said, “This area has become very unhygienic. People can’t pass by the place without covering their nose. The concerned authorities should take some stringent steps. But apart from the authorities, it’s also the responsibility of the people not to throw garbage on the side of the road.” Another local informed that

the dumped garbage also poses a risk for the pedestrians as it becomes very difficult for them to walk as the strewn garbage spreads to a part of the busy road. The constant movement of heavy traffic adds to the problem as the pedestrians feel this might also lead to accidents. Another resident, Subhrajyoti Basak said that the problem is the smell spreads and the more garbage you throw around it, the more pungent a stink it produces. The atmosphere in the area is unhealthy. “It’s an ASTC parking stand now and not a barren land. That means people will be there even if there’s no mela. The authorities should take a note of this and take some action to

eradicate the problem. And when there is a dustbin people should be careful enough to throw the garbage inside it and not around it,” said Basak. Another resident suggested that the GMC truck which collects garbage from the dumping place has no coordination with the collectors as far as timing is concerned. If the timing of the collector and the truck is coordinated, the garbage piling up may be avoided. In addition, any unauthorised person should not be allowed to dump garbage after a scheduled time. A CCTV camera is a must in the area in order to monitor the daily happenings of Volvo point. “The GMC officials will be

visiting the site tomorrow (27/07/2019) along with the Flying Squad and they will take the appropriate step and the garbage will be removed immediately,” said GMC Commissioner Debeswar Malakar, reacting to the complaints. The GMC launched flying squads for garbage and drain cleaning in different parts of the city on July 9. Officials informed that a total of six flying squads will look into garbage and drainage complaints. One squad will operate in each of the six engineering divisions. The divisions will further be divided into six parts and each vehicle from the squad will visit all parts of a division from Monday to Saturday, said authorities. It must be noted that according to the GMC website, the corporation is divided into 31 wards and there is one NGO each assigned with the job of Primary Collection and Street Sweeping within the respective wards. These NGOs deposit the collected waste to the nearby secondary collection bins. The work of Primary Collection is monitored by the Junior Technical Officers (JTO) and Sanitary Supervisors of the ward. The NGOs are also responsible for the collection of monthly “User Charges” from the households and commercial establishments as per the notification of User Charges issued by the Corporation from time to time. The NGOs use tricycles, thelas, hydraulic mounted trailer auto tippers, etc for the collection of household and commercial establishments’ wastes. n

Lokendra Pratap Sahi delivers 4th Pulin Das Memorial Lecture

minent cricket journalist, Lokendra Pratap Sahi, delivered the 4th Pulin Das Memorial Lecture to a packed audience at a premier city hotel on 26th July last. The annual lecture series is held under the aegis of All Assam Sports Journalists’ Association (AASJA) of which, Late Pulin Das who worked as a sports journalist with The Assam Tribune, was the founding president. Besides being a journalist, Late Pulin Das was a legendary sportsman and played recreational tennis at India Club,

Guwahati till he was 95 years of age. He passed away at the age of 97 three years ago. Prior to his address, the gathering was welcomed by Subodh Malla Barua, President of AASJA. Short speeches suiting the occasion were also made by Pramadhar Sarma, eminent sports organiser and veteran sports journalist and Kalyan Das, eldest son of Late Pulin Das and himself a former national level tennis player besides being a sports organiser. The occasion was conducted by Prarthana

Hazarika and the vote of thanks was delivered by Bidyut Kalita, Secretary AASJA. The keynote address was delivered by Sahi was on the topic “State of affairs in contemporary cricket and its future” where he spoke at length on the game as it is played today, the career options that it offers to players, the importance of keeping the test cricket format alive by each test playing nation compulsorily hosting day-night test matches to ensure footfall at the stadiums and how, in India, smaller

cities like Guwahati can play a pivotal role as test cricket venues rather the bigger metropolises where interest in test cricket is dwindling. He further spoke on integrity of players being of paramount importance for the sport to have growth and a clean image besides taking an educated pot shot at how cricket is being run current by the Committee of Administrators at the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Sahi thereafter responded to

questions from the audience and expressed a keen interest to take a look at the Barsapara cricket stadium and its infrastructure.

14 G Talk E

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019 T

Wrath of Nature

hey often say that public memory is short. Well, I beg to differ although I am as much public as anyone else! When it comes to our floods and the annual misery that it brings to our lovely state, I just cannot help recall a headline in Business Standard from June 17, 2016 which read, “Assam to take a leaf out of China’s flood control measures.” The story went on to state that, “Assam has decided to constitute an expert committee which will be tasked to go to China and study the Yellow River (Huwang He) management strategies. It would be then required to suggest ways to replicate the same in Assam to tame river and use it as a deterrent for flood and erosion.” Three years down the line with the worst ever flood situation that I can recall I wonder if those experts visited China for the all-important study and if so, what has been replicated? Again, an entity that I recall with not too much fondness is the Brahmaputra Board. From the home-page of its website, I quote verbatim, “Mission: Regulation and development of Inter-State Brahmaputra & Barak River Valley by planning and such other measures so as to achieve development and utilization of water resources of Brahmaputra & Barak Valley for irrigation, hydropower, navigation and

flood management. Vision: Integrated Management of Flood and River Basins of interstate/international rivers of NE Region by involving expertise of domain experts, state of art knowledge & technology, working closely with State Governments and other Stake Holders.” This Board conducts highpowered meetings at upmarket venues and advertises for filling up posts in its top management cadre. I am not sure for what though. Do I need to elaborate any further? Chinese rivers have been checked out, a Board completely dedicated to the study and control of the Brahmaputra floods is already in existence and yet, broken dykes and unrepaired embankments ensure that beleaguered rural Assam gets completely swamped by swirling flood waters such that the CM’s Relief Fund is the top advertisement of the day. These situations just reinforce the conviction of chronic sceptics like me – intent does not miraculously translate into results on its own and human misery is but a mere goldmine to extract wealth and political mileage from. There is no escaping the wrath of Nature for the sins of man in Assam. Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

Discarding the LIFE JACKETS Citizens of Assam blamed the Inland Water Transport (IWT) department and the Assam state government after a boat capsized in 2018 killing three people while many went missing. Only 22 passengers had valid tickets and the boat was overloaded with 18 motorcycles also on it. The transport department thereafter decided to take various precautions to save the lives of passengers. Accordingly, new vessels were ordered to replace country made boats but many country boats continue to still ply. While the government has the habit of delaying things as they require a lot of time for planning and research, the department went ahead to provide life jackets to all the passengers. At present any vessel under IWT moving from Fancy Bazar to North Guwahati has adequate life jackets for the passengers. The irony is that the passengers do not want to wear them. The IWT might still be using old vessels with old motors but the life jackets are vital in case of accidents on the Brahmaputra. The citizens are quick to blame the government through social media whenever the authorities are at fault, but the irresponsibility of the relevant populace reflected in this instance throws up great concern. During heavy rainfall the citizens do not want to vacate the illegally made houses on top of hills, and when a landslide occurs the authorities are quick to be blamed for the mishap. Similar examples of irresponsibility of the general public are galore and so are instances where the authorities are always slammed. When will the mindset change and when will people learn to respect their own lives? The Guwahati Municipal Corporation is always blamed for not cleaning the drains in Guwahati, but who throws garbage in the drains? It is high time that the law is enforced for public who are not being responsible enough towards their own lives. Someone not wearing a life jacket should be barred from travelling on a ferry.

Lighting rural homes: An alternative strateg y

e city folks get terribly upset when there is load shedding and are forced to make do with inverters to supply to a restricted load and rightly so. But do we ever pause to reflect that a large number of distant villages and remote areas do not have any access to electricity even today? The promise to light all homes by 2019 is with good intent and we hope it comes true. But, let us look at the practicality of this intent in the backdrop of our capability, true desire and the effort being made to turn this noble intent into reality, at least in Assam and the northeastern states of India. Recently, I had the opportunity to share the dais with a minister at a conference in Guwahati. In response to a point made by a stakeholder that his business, located near Guwahati, was suffering due to erratic power supply, it was indicated that while Assam is in a position to import the shortfall in power availability, the supply and distribution network is the constraint – precisely what I wish to highlight here. It is one thing to draw a power supply line to a remote location but another factor altogether to maintain and sustain the network consisting of lines, sub-stations and transformers. The harsh terrain of this region, coupled with natural calamities, do not make it easy to maintain these grids. Moreover, in view of the sparse population in the remote locations and hence low demand, grid based power supply is economically unsustainable. Thus, sustained power reaching the remote locations of Assam early enough appears to be a pipedream. While a serious and sincere effort to reach electricity to remote households must continue, a different strategy/approach would be more pragmatic to meet their power requirement in the interim period. People in remote areas use crude wicker lamps (bottles with wicks inserted through the stopper go as kerosene lamps) for meeting the lighting needs. Inhalation of smoke emanating from incomplete combustion of kerosene is highly detrimental to health. During

Remote villages would be well served by solar lanterns, solar homelighting systems and micro-mini solar grids. Such solar solutions have had wonderful success stories across the globe. the winter season, with doors and windows closed, the environment inside the house becomes highly polluted and this air is inhaled by the inhabitants with consequent adverse impact on their health. It is reported that in India, about 2.5 million people, including 3,50,000 children, meet with kerosene related accidents. Providing a clean, safer and better source of lighting would obviate the above problems while having the undernoted additional benefits: (i) Womenfolk may engage in income generating activities like weaving, making incense sticks, and food products like pithas, pickles, fruit juice etc after completing their daily household chores, thereby supplementing the family’s income; this income is essential as the family’s generally small agricultural land holding is not adequate to support a family to meet the obligations of higher education of children, medical requirement etc. (ii) Children may study after sunset under improved lighting. Improved education would provide these children with a more level playing field in a growing competitive environment. Grid based power, on steady and sustained basis, may reach remote villages sometime in the distant future. In the interim period, these communities would be well served by small solar solutions such as solar lanterns, solar home-lighting systems and micro-mini solar grids. Such solar solutions have had wonderful success stories across the globe. They are likely to work here as well. And so, the government may consider the following strategy to electrify remote villages. Identify clusters of villages, each

rContinuation of illegal migration

O pinion Barun Barpujari

cluster with household population of say 500 or more and create circles of off-grid solar power generation and distribution facilities. A micro-utility company may be awarded, through auction, an 11year license to create the facilities and serve the opportunity on monopoly basis – one year to create the infrastructure/facilities and 10 years to service the opportunity. Price of power delivery may be determined by the micro-utility. In order to keep a check on the price, an individual in the village may have the option of putting up his own rooftop solar solution. Developing the ecosystem for smooth functioning and maintenance of the solar systems is also an important aspect that would need to be kept in mind. The success of such initiatives depends on developing a robust ecosystem. It is also important that the beneficiaries be brought out of the expectancy of receiving all conveniences for gratis. Nothing should be given free for people to realize the value the goods or services provided. Meanwhile, the corporate sector operating in Assam and NER may be encouraged to take up electrification of remote villages through solar solutions as part of their CSR initiative. Some time back, installation and commissioning of a 35 KW grid interactive solar PV power plant along with some other renewable energy facilities at Raj Bhawan made news. While AEDA need to be applauded for this effort, it would be more meaningful if the government directs its efforts towards systematic electrification of remote villages through solar solutions, as mentioned earlier in this article. Food for thought! (The author is a former Executive Director from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and is presently a consultant in the social sector)

Letter to the Editor

The Ministry of Home Affairs has clearly stated through a written reply in Parliament that illegal migrants have yet again been setting foot into Indian territory through the riverine borders which India shares with Bangladesh. The BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception technique) was launched on the Indo-Bangla border by the former Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the month of March across a 61 km long stretch of border in Dhubri district of Assam. It is stinging, that there is still no accurate central data on the exact number of such illegal migrants. In spite of regular border patrolling and guarding the border, we can still see illegal infiltrators sneaking their way into Indian lands. As per the constitutional scheme, Indian government’s first and foremost duty and obligation towards its citizens is to ensure that the demographic and social structure of our country is not threatened by the influx of illegal migrants and that India stands tall as a sovereign nation. Rifa Deka Royal Global University, Guwahati, Assam

In Focus

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

GMC to award Rs 500 to citizens for sending pictures of people openly littering

uwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has come up with a new plan that involves the active participation of citizens in keeping the city clean. Authorities from the organisation have appealed to citizens to WhatsApp pictures of people throwing waste openly on the roads to win prize money worth Rs 500. These photographs can be mailed to gmcpgo@gmail.com. The corporation also issued phone numbers where officials can be contacted. They are 8811007000, 7399003001, 7399003002, 7399003003 and 7399003004. Several people were happy with the initiative and have lauded GMC’s efforts, stating that as long as GMC does its job properly, the public will pitch in to keep the city clean as well. “Great step. But GMC should do its work first properly and check if their employees are doing their job of clearing waste properly,” wrote Amar Deep, a resident of the city on Facebook. Dhriti Borkakoty Hazarika, another resident of Guwahati stated, “There should be at least 3-4 bins per km so that it’s

convenient for people.” While others, who were not convinced, noted that civic sense has to come directly from the citizens and that government authorities should not have to bribe people. “Alluring citizens by money, how long will it last? People should have consciousness and civic sense on importance of cleanliness,” noted Thakhuma Nampui. In efforts to keep the city

clean, GMC also recently made segregation of waste at the source mandatory for all commercial establishments, institutions, traders and shops functioning under its jurisdiction. The municipal body will 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. Another initiative launched by GMC includes launching flying squads for garbage and drain cleaning in different parts of the city on July 9. Officials informed that a total of

six flying squads will look into the garbage and drainage complaints. One squad will operate in each of the six engineering divisions. The divisions will further be divided into six parts and each vehicle from the squad will visit all parts of a division from Monday to Saturday, said authorities. The 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. These flying squads will consist of seven members including six labourers and one supervisor. “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. n

The recent announcement by GMC to award Rs 500 to citizens for sending pictures of people openly littering has drawn a fair number of comments on the social media handles of G Plus. Abhijit Biswas

Rakesh Bhajanka

Nirmal Dudhoria

San Deep Roy

It’s a good step. Also announce some award for citizens who will notify where the pickup is not done on regular basis. It will help the department more I feel. Also has anybody seen the same issue in their localities? Because it’s happening in my area.

A lot of street vendors do not have dustbins for their use. With them this is a common problem in our city. If someone asks them to put a dustbin near their stall they refuse and say that they are giving money to GMC for vending in that particular spot and so the GMC will remove the garbage there. And till date I have never seen such areas being cleaned. This thing is repeating and finally the conclusion is that Swachh Bharat is a distant dream for this city.

Utpal Malakar

For buses also the same thing should done. Why are there no time tables for buses? In one stoppage four buses stop together. In one stoppage only one bus should be stop at one time. Time should be maintained. Other metro cities follow this rule. I don’t know why in Guwahati this rule is not followed. Of course the GMC initiative is a good one but this thing should also be taken into consideration as soon as possible.

This step is a blunder by GMC. Because if in reality people start posting or sending pictures then this GMC department will have to take a loan from World Bank to pay these people. Also these dustbins provided by GMC are never cleaned and it stinks so badly that eventually it pollutes the environment. Also when they do, they do it during the peak time leading to traffic jams around the city. Kindly work properly rather than coming up with these deals of Rs 500 with the citizens.

GMC people should first do their own duty properly. Did these GMC guys ever do an inspection on why garbage is not picked up till the afternoon in the city? I think it should be cleared in the morning hours right? Why does the dumper carry all the garbage during the rush hours? It creates so much traffic jams every single day. Why don’t they put dustbins everywhere in the market and residential areas? It’s very easy to declare surprise agenda in front of media but what about your own basic responsibilities?

16 Buzz

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

City school to host academic initiative of ‘Save Water’ campaign

esonance Brand Communications, a Guwahati-based brand service firm, has launched a campaign that aims at making different segments of society aware about the evils of misuse of scarce water resources as water crisis has engulfed major cities of the world including Chennai in India.

The academic initiative of the campaign will be kickstarted at Bethany School Garchuk in the city on Saturday, July 27 in the presence of teachers, students and a bevy of professionals. The campaign is being supported by the Stars of North East (SoNE), a talent hunting platform of the northeast. The above issue will

be incorporated in “StarTalk8,” a serial event of SoNE that focuses on burning issues from time to time. Anisul Hoque, founder & director, Resonance Brand Communications, will make a presentation on the theme “Know water, to avoid no water” on the occasion. Three outstanding achievers – Ameera Yasmin (eminence

Local NGO comes to aid of Assam’s flood victims

Students rally together to help victims of Assam Floods

F S

tudents from Sarala Birla Gyan Jyoti School, Guwahati came forward to help victims of the Assam floods on Thursday, July 24. The students collected and distributed food items, clothes, medicines and sanitary aid in large numbers in a nearby flood affected village at Binapani, Athgaon. It should be noted that in Kamrup (Metro) district, a total of 66,854 people were affected

in legal field), Reshma Qureshi (outstanding result in LLM exam of Gauhati University), and Saikh Md Sabah Al-Ahmed (winner of Reuel International Award 2019 for the category “Best Upcoming Poet”) will be felicitated on the occasion. The felicitation is being extended jointly by Unity Law House & Unity Education Foundation.

in different areas of the district till Friday, July 19. Further, a total of 34 villages remained affected by the floods in Sonapur, Dispur and Chandrapur revenue circles.

Assam girl wins Gold at athletics meet in Kyrgyztan Tunlai Narzary from Kokrajhar has bagged a gold medal in Shot Put at the 22nd Tatyana Kolpakova Memorial International Athletics Meet in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Narzary recorded 13.83 m in women’s Shot Put at the international event. Previously, she’s taken part in many events. Last year, she won a gold medal in Shot Put at the 1st North East Olympic Games held in Manipur. Currently, she works with the 10th Battalion of Assam Police.

eeding India, Guwahati Chapter, has been helping 1,000 families with food materials, torches, sanitary pads, antiseptic lotions, mosquito repellents, clothes etc, in Morigaon district of Assam, including the badly affected Bhuragaon area. Volunteers of Feeding India, Guwahati, completed their 1st Donation Drive of Flood Relief Campaign on Sunday, July 21, where over 750 relief kits which included rice, dal, chidwa, mudi, jaggery, biscuits, water bottles, soap, detergent, antiseptic lotions, mosquito repellent, sanitary pads, torch lights, potatoes, mosquito coils, candles, match boxes and a few essential medicines were distributed along with over 2,000 clothes to affected people. These donation drives are to be followed by more drives this week and next week in districts across Assam. It should be noted that these donations were made possible with the help of materials collected from residents of Guwahati in just a week from 15 drop off points

across the city. After collecting the materials, they were packed by the volunteers and made ready to be distributed. Feeding India runs the largest youth-run network towards solving hunger and food waste.

More than 25,000 volunteers, also called Hunger Heroes, collect and donate leftover food in 75+ cities. The Guwahati Chapter started in 2017 and has over 400 volunteers, mostly school and college students. It is headed by Sachin Jha, a 25-year-old from Guwahati.

Feature

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

The glorious upsets of Wimbledon

he Wimbledon tennis tournament, which had originated in 1877, is today undisputedly regarded as the world’s most prestigious and premier Grand Slam event. The annual sporting extravaganza began on 1st July this year. Despite the massive cricket world cup fever, there was

Two-time defending champion, Boris Becker, was shocked to the hilt when 70thranked Australian Peter Doohan trounced him in the second round of the 1987 edition of Wimbledon. The British press promptly nicknamed Doohan as “Beckerwrecker.” huge crowd attendance in all the Wimbledon matches including the finals between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on 14th July. This was despite the fact that England was playing the finals of the quadrangular ICC cricket mega event after a gap of 27 years in its own backyard which, by itself, spoke volumes of the unrelenting passion and love for tennis among the English sports lovers. Over the years, with the mind

to have qualified in Wimbledon tournament, annihilated fivetime Grand slam winner, Venus Williams in straight sets. Incidentally, both Venus and Serena Williams are the “idols” of the American teenager. And then, an unseeded Reilly Opelka went on to trounce Stanislas Wawrinka, three-time Grand Slam champion, in the second round. It is such upsets that make the Grand Slams exciting and a feast for the eyes and minds. However, the euphoria of the 21-year-old American was short-lived when he lost to the experienced M. Raonic in the third round. Taking a journey down memory lane, connoisseurs of tennis can never forget the day when Boris Becker, a 17-year-old unseeded teenager from Germany, had caused a major upset in the “post World War II period” of Wimbledon history to lift the men’s Champion’s trophy in 1985. Becker repeated his ace performance in 1986 to win once again. However, in sheer irony of circumstances, the two-time defending champion was shocked to the hilt when 70th-ranked Australian Peter Doohan trounced him in the second round of the 1987 edition of Wimbledon. The British press promptly nicknamed Doohan as “Becker-wrecker.” The performance of Richard Krajicek is even more remarkable. Krajicek was holding the 17th position in ranking and was not in the original list of players playing in the 1996 edition of

such a splendid manner as they have done to Federer. The likes of Sir Garfield Sobers, the cricketer, or the football wizard Pele were also equally prominent and admired across the world. But their achievements did not create such frenzy of admiration as was witnessed at the feat of the Swiss

Gautam Ganguly for Federer alone. However, his fans were shocked to watch the

A panoramic view of the Wimbledon Tennis courts worldwide showering accolades, commendation

of and

maestro following the Australian Open triumph in 2018.

maestro losing two championship points and thereafter conceding

Venus Williams and Cori “Coco” Gauff

Boris Becker and Peter Doohan boggling development of science and technology, craze for tennis encompasses a wider range of admirers who now can watch the great players in action sitting before their TV sets - a luxury which was unthinkable 30 years back. Empirical experiences reveal that upsets caused by so-called low ranking or “unseeded” players contribute in the burgeoning popularity of the Grand Slams as well. The first major upset of Wimbledon 2019 was when 15-year-old American, Cori “Coco” Gauff, the youngest ever player

to name a few all time greats of men’s tennis, had enjoyed tremendous support and adulation in their hey days. But the popularity and fan following of Roger Federer across the world is monumental, overwhelming and unprecedented. There was spontaneous

the Wimbledon tournament. He got the entry at the last moment replacing 7th ranked Thomas Muster who had pulled out of the competition due to an injury. It is now part of history that Krajicek had made optimum use of his golden opportunity to play and effected the mother of all upsets to emerge as the Wimbledon champion. However, dame luck was not in his favour any more and his Wimbledon 1996 feat remained a flash in the pan. Arthur Ash, Rod Laver, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras,

praise mingled with astonishment at the towering achievement of Roger Federer - described as the “greatest tennis player of all time” - winning the Australian Open, 2018 emphatically to emerge as the only player to lift 20 Grand Slam singles titles - the most in history by a male player. Federer held the world No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for a record total of 304 weeks erasing all hitherto existing records. Admirers of sport can never recapitulate any instance of entire sporting connoisseurs rising to one man to offer love and admiration in

Federer had a fairly easy ride till the semifinals of the just concluded Wimbledon tournament, 2019. Except losing one set in the first round match against Harris and one set against Nishikori in the quarter final, he had beaten all his opponents in straight sets in his run up to the semifinal. The expected tough semifinal against Nadal was won with relative ease that raised hopes in the minds of teeming millions of his fans of a 21st grand slam title. The five-setter final against Djokovic was pulsating, nail-biting. The partisan crowd was cheering

the match. A rare faux pas! The sight of a sheepish Federer in the post match customary speech was an enormous disillusionment for his countless followers even as the camera zoomed in on his twin kid daughters and their vacant, disheartened look. “Old order changes yielding place to the new,” goes the saying. Notwithstanding the scintillating performances of the celebrities, watching underdogs displaying stellar performances has a great moral-boosting effect besides enriching the tennis world with fresh and young blood. n

18 Review

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Starring: Rajkummar Rao, Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Sheirgill, Amyra Dastur Director: Prakash Kovelamudi

brutal childhood trauma leaves Bobby (Kangana Ranaut) diagnosed with acute psychosis in her adult years. And after doing time at an asylum for assaulting a coworker, she is let off on the condition that she will stick with her medication. Bobby is a dubbing artist for movies, where she is the voice of the female lead characters. And interestingly, her mind is a medley of all the characters she has voiced. For every time she dubs, she gets obsessed with her onscreen avatar and imagines herself in place of the character. This obsession is dealt with a narrative treatment that’s cool and quirky. To bring out this element of madness in her further, there’s also a busy wall in her house that’s has photographs of her dressed as every character she has dubbed for. And deep down, Bobby yearns to be an actor herself, something that her manager cum so-called boyfriend, Varun (Hussain Dalal), is unable to pull off. So he ends up grocery shopping with her more often than ‘getting lucky’ on actual dates. When he protests, she tells him without batting an eyelid, “Tum aloo ke jaise nahin ho sakte... easy going and adjusting. Be like aloo.” In the midst of this existence, enter Keshav and Rima (Rajkummar Rao and Amyra Dastur) as her new tenants and a much in love couple. And Bobby gets drawn to their love story which in her world is too good to be true. But then a murder breaks this momentum and Bobby believes Keshav is the culprit. Is it her overactive imagination or has her anxiety and psychosis led her to do this instead? The characters here are twisted… and you are left wondering, try-

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Judgemental Hai Kya ing to figure which of the two has blood on their hands. Bobby is always in a zone – that’s funny and alarming - and in her contorted world, she imagines characters and hears voices. Interestingly, the story leads to a frenzied turn of events, with Bobby’s imaginary world often blurring into shocking reality. Prakash Kovelamudi’s narrative style is quirky, edgy and one that absorbs you instantly. The mood is set with shots in dappled light, play of light and shadows and high contrast shots. The stylisation of the scenes, characters and sound design ensures that the atmosphere remains intriguing throughout the story. To give it another dimension, the film brings in an underlying motif of the Ramayana, albeit with a modern day twist. At one point in the film, Bobby tells Keshav, “Ab Sita Ravan ko dhundegi.” ‘Judgementall Hai Kya’ keeps you engaged all though the screenplay in the second half does go a bit awry at times with some portions stretched and the climax, some-

thing that you’re waiting for, is hurried. However, the performances are consistent throughout and it’s delightful to see such talented actors feed off each other. Kangana Ranaut is brilliant as Bobby as she seamlessly gets under the skin of her character, nailing the quirks and nuances. Even her styling makes a statement without going overboard. Rajkummar Rao fits into his slightly macho, edgy persona like a glove. We haven’t seen him in a role like this before and he pulls it off fantastically. Jimmy Sheirgill impresses as he breaks out of the one note characters he has been playing lately. Amrita Puri too holds her own very well. And Hussain Dalal brings in the comic quotient quite effectively. ‘Judgementall Hai Kya’ keeps the element of suspense alive all the way till the end, as it pushes the envelope as a dark, psychological whodunit, with a social message weaved in that can’t be ignored. (Review from Times of India)

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Realme 3i

his new phone is a variant of the Realme 3. The sub-Rs. 10,000 phone segment is already pretty saturated with a lot of overlap in prices, sometimes between rivals and at times between models from the same manufacturer. In the box, the Realme 3i ships with a silicone case, a 10W power adapter, a Micro-USB cable, a SIM eject tool, and warranty and quick-start guides.

Design: The physical aspects of the Realme 3i are identical to the Realme 3, right down to the last millimetre and gram. It’s comfortable to hold as it’s not too heavy at only 175g, and it’s easy to grip and use with one hand. The main aesthetic difference is the use of a matte finish with a diamond pattern on the rear, similar to the C2. In the front, there’s a 6.2-inch HD+ (720x 1520) panel with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The bezels are fairly slim but the chin is quite noticeable at the bottom. The phone also has a dewdrop notch, which makes it look

relatively modern. The display has good brightness, colours are punchy, and viewing angles are quite good too. The low resolution isn’t a big issue but you will notice a slight lack of sharpness when comparing this display to one with a higher resolution. The power and volume buttons on the Realme 3i have a decent response and are ergonomically placed. There’s a triple-slot tray on the left, which can accommodate two 4G Nano SIMs and a microSD card, all at once. Dual VoLTE is also supported. At the bottom we have a speaker, Micro-USB port, and 3.5mm headphone jack. The diamond pattern finish offers good grip, and smudges aren’t easily noticeable, unlike on the Realme 3, which has a glossy texture. The fingerprint sensor is easy to reach and works well. There’s face recognition too, which just like previous Realme phones, works really quickly.

Specifications and Software:

Rs. 7,999, while the other with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage is priced at Rs. 9,999. Other specifications of the Realme 3i include single-band Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB-OTG, FM radio, and the usual variety of sensors that we’ve come to expect.

Verdict:

The Realme 3i has a MediaTek Helio P60 processor in place of the Helio P70 that powers the Realme 3. The Realme 3i variant with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage costs

The base variant at Rs. 7,999 is a decent pick, as it’s Rs. 1,000 less expensive than the Redmi 7, with the same amounts of RAM and storage. The 4GB version of the Realme 3i is a little tough to recommend, as even though it’s still priced lower than the Realme 3. All of these alternatives offer slightly better features such as higher resolution displays, better cameras, and more powerful processors. If you’re on a strict budget and can live with the average rear cameras, then the 3GB version of the Realme 3i is still worth considering. (Review from NDTV Gadget)

Trotter

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Model ditches boyfriend Bollywood actor Rahul Bose shocked at being charged Rs 442 for fear of losing Instagram followers for two bananas by 5 star hotel

tweet by Bollywood actor Rahul Bose has made a stir on the internet. Bose, who is currently in Chandigarh for work, mentioned in a tweet that he was charged exorbitantly for two bananas, which he ordered during his gym session. Bose was charged Rs 442.50 for two bananas and he couldn’t resist posting a video about the exorbitant bill. In a clip, Bose said that after working out in the hotel, he asked for two bananas and when he got back to the room, he saw a “Fruit Platter” waiting for him. Yes, the bananas were mentioned as “Fruit Platter” in the bill.

“You have to see this to believe it. Who said fruit wasn’t harmful to your existence? Ask the wonderful folks at @ JWMarriottChd #goingbananas #howtogetfitandgobroke

#potassiumforkings,” he captioned the video. “They’re just too good for me,” Rahul said at the end of the clip. Leading to the outrage on the internet, Deputy Commissioner and Excise and Taxation Commissioner Mandip Singh Brar ordered a high-level investigation into an “illegal and exorbitant charge of GST” by Hotel JW Marriott on two fresh bananas, for which actor Rahul Bose was given a bill of Rs 442.50. (Source: tennews)

Teenager steals planes for joyride, offered flying lessons

Chinese teenager broke into an airport and took two planes for a late-night joyride. He has now been handed a hefty fine, along with an opportunity to learn how to fly. On June 15, the unnamed 13-year-old sneaked into his local airport in the city of Huzhou, in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. CCTV footage shows him piloting an aircraft and crashing it into a guardrail. He then moves on to another airplane and taxis around with it before leaving.

Footage of the incident has gone viral on Chinese social media platforms.

According to a daily, while the teenager caused damages worth 8,000 yuan, he himself was unharmed. Authorities have been fairly sympathetic of his misdeed and impressed that he managed to control the plane without any prior training. (Source: vice)

Couple aged 23, born hours apart at same hospital, gets married

t’s a tale so romantic, you’d think it was the premise of a Disney film. A couple born just hours apart in a Lancashire hospital have married one another at the age of 23. James Barsby and Amy Gaffney were born five and a half hours apart at Queen’s Park Hospital, Blackburn in 1995. The duo, both of whom are twins, grew up in Clitheroe and attended the same school. But they remained distant acquaintances until year 10, when they developed a close friendship and started dating. The couple married at St Peter’s Church in Salesbury and celebrated their honeymoon with a trip to Slovenia. Speaking about their

relationship’s uniquely early beginning, Gaffney said, “It makes it more like it was just meant to be. I wouldn’t have it any other way, even if it means I can’t have my own birthday. Growing up, we’ve always shared our birthday with our twin brothers,

now we share it with each other.” Gaffney revealed that Barsby proposed while the two were on holiday in Lanzarote. “It was really cute – he did well,” she said. “He got down on one knee and asked me. There was no way I was going to say no. I kind of guessed something was happening when he was leading me to a romantic, secluded spot, but I was very happy.” After both studying medicine at university, the couple are set to begin roles as junior doctors at the same NHS Trust. (Source: independent)

self-proclaimed Instagram model with a following of 4,50,000 decided to break up with her boyfriend who wanted her to post his pictures too on her account on the photosharing platform. The 22-yearold woman who uses IGAZmodel as her Reddit account, wrote on the websitethat she has a “pretty successful Instagram account” and posting pictures with her boyfriend would affect the engagement with her followers resulting in loss of money. The model broke up with her boyfriend while vacationing with him in Mexico after he demanded to be part of her social media photos. “We can take as many private pics as he likes, we can do pics of us hiking, having sex, laying by the pool, I don’t care but I need to keep my (Instagram) separate,” she wrote on Reddit. The woman, who hasn’t revealed her identity so far, said that while holidaying in Mexico, her boyfriend started questioning why she refrains from posting pictures of the couple together. Citing reasons involving lowered post engagements and losing on sponsored posts, she tried explaining this to her boyfriend

whose name and age also remain undisclosed. “It’s just a fact. I need these pics from this vacation to be able to sell stuff. It’s just the way my ‘job’ works,” she wrote on Reddit. “I’m really upset because I paid for this entire vacation only to be ignored and treated pretty crappy,” she added. She later updated her post to confirm she had not heard from her boyfriend after the split and thanked Reddit for giving her support to be “totally fine with that.” A Reddit user said: “You’re going to make more money when he is not in the photos with you. That should be enough of an explanation for him to understand the situation and the fact that he is getting angry about it is very worrying and is a bit of a red flag for me.” Some users asked the model to create a separate, private Instagram account. (Source: ndtv)

Nike’s ‘rarest’ pair of sneakers ‘Moon Shoe’ sells for record $437,500

new world record for a pair of sneakers was set at auction when an avid collector splashed out $437,500 on Nike’s 1972 “Moon Shoe.” The sale smashed the previous record of $190,373 spent in 2017 on a pair of signed Converse worn by Michael Jordan in the 1984 Olympic basketball final, the New Yorkheadquartered auction house said in a statement. Canadian collector Miles Nadal was the successful bidder in the online auction, adding to the 99 pairs of other hard-to-find shoes that he had bought in a private sale last week. “I am thrilled to acquire the iconic Nike “Moon Shoes,” one of the rarest pairs of sneakers ever produced, and a true historical artifact in sports history and

pop culture,” Nadal said. Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman designed the flat racing “Moon Shoe” which was made for runners at the 1972 Olympic trials. It’s said that just around 12 pairs were manufactured and that the set sold was “one of only a handful of pairs known to exist.” The auction house joined up with streetwear marketplace Stadium Goods to sell 100 of the rarest sneakers ever made. The 61-year-old Nadal spent $850,000 buying 99 of them privately with organizers holding back the “Moon Shoe” for a public sale. Nadal plans to display the footwear, which includes Nike sneakers based on those worn by Marty McFly in hit movie “Back to the Future II,” at his private museum in Toronto. (Source: ndtv)

20 Fun Jayashree Bose

30th July will be a great day to schedule important meetings or share your ideas with seniors. On 29th July, you need to be wary of dealing with the opposite gender. On 1st & 2nd August, you could have a disagreement with seniors or work associates. On 27th & 31st July, avoid scheduling important meetings. 2nd August will be a great day to share ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them. You could have issues with your seniors or extended family on 30th July & 1st August. On 30th July, avoid trusting anyone with your secrets, as they are bound to betray you. On 1st August, you could have a fall out with someone at work.

On 28th July, connect with your workmates or seniors over lunch or dinner. On 30th July & 2nd August, you could have disagreements with your seniors or work associates, avoid any confrontations. Don’t make any promises on 2nd August. You could be emotionally betrayed by someone at work or your parents on 1st August. On 27th July, you could have issues with your seniors & parents. On 29th July, you could be betrayed by someone in your work environment. On 30th July, be careful of your words & actions as you will create your own problems. Don’t over plan for 27th & 31st July, as there will be changes.

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

Use 1st August to connect with your boss & share ideas. For good results, host your meetings on this day. 28th July will be a slow day. On 27th & 31st July, avoid hosting any meetings as there will be unnecessary delays. On 31st July you could feel others are ungrateful, remember it is just a feeling. 1st August will be great day to share ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them. On 28th July, you could feel your seniors and/or parents are ungrateful, they don’t appreciate you. Avoid hosting any meetings especially with your seniors on 31st July, as things will not go as planned.

Sudoku 5

6 8 2 4 5 2 7 4 38 9 4 3 11 2 79 8 5 3 6 82 7 9 2 4 6 1 8 93 7 3

7 62 2

7 2 26 4 8 5 2 4 4 1 Daily Sudoku: Fri 26-Jul-2019 2 6 1 8 3 Daily Sudoku: Fri 19-Jul-2019

28th July & 2nd August will be great days to share your ideas with seniors or simply just connect with them. On 29th July, you could have issues with seniors or parents. On 1st August, be careful of your words & actions, as you will create your own problems. On 27th July, you could be betrayed by someone at work & emotionally hurt by your family.

On 27th July, you could have issues with seniors & your parents. 29th July & 1st August will be great days to build a rapport with seniors & people at work, host your important meetings on these dates. On 2nd August, avoid making any promises, as you will have to live up to them.

On 29th & 30th July, you will be able to achieve a lot at work, as these will be ideal dates to share your plans or schedule important meetings. On 28th July, you could have issues with your seniors & parents. Avoid hosting any important meetings on 31st July, as there will be last minute changes.

30th July will be a great day to build your relationship with your seniors & people at work. Host your important meetings on this day. On 29th July, you could have a disagreement with your seniors or work associates, not a day to schedule important meetings. On 27th & 31st July, you will face delays & obstacles.

Watch yourself on 27th July, avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation. On 30th July, you could have a disagreement with seniors or work associates. Share your ideas with seniors or generally build a relationship with people at work on 29th July & 1st August, host your important meetings on these dates.

28th, 29th July, 1st & 2nd August are ideal days to mingle with your seniors, people at work & build your network. Host your meetings on these dates & maybe a Sunday brunch/coffee on the 28th July. On 31st July, you could have a disagreement with your seniors or work associates.

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

hard

last week solution

5 9 6 8 26 11 7 5 24 88 43 3 7 99 94 79 8 2 65 4 9 6 5 1 1 7 7 3 3

3 2 5 8 8 7 2 5 6 4

2 6 1 3 4 4 9 9 5 8

3 7 2 1 85 76 49 38 42 11 65 26 31 53 76 14

6 7 3 1 2 4 7 6 3 9 5 9 1 6 4 2 7 8 1 5 Daily Sudoku: Fri 26-Jul-2019 2 6 1 8 7

9 4 8 2 5 8 4 6 2 9 3

1 8 3 9 7 3 8 1 4 2 5

5 5 7 4 2 6 3 8 9 7 9

Daily Sudoku: Fri 19-Jul-2019

4 93

57 82 8 7 9 1 6 2 5 3 1 6 hard 4

Horoscope of the week

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

hard

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

The Three Musketeers

Louisiana

Assam Pedas

Which political figure, currently in the news, is the incumbent MP of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in UK?

“Twenty Years After” and “The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later,” are sequels to which work of adventure, published in 1844?

Identify this rockstar from this image during his teenage years. Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Dilbert By Scott Adams

Boris Johnson, the new British PM

Officially called the “Pelican State,” which US state has its capital as Baton Rouge and New Orleans as its biggest city?

curio-city

Oxford University, the oldest university in the English-

What is the name of a spicy and tangy fish stew dish made with Minangkabau fish, very popular in South East Asia?

speaking world

“The Lord is my Light,” is the motto of which educational institution established in 1096 AD, the oldest such in the English-speaking world?

John Lennon, of the Beatles

curio-city

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

Word of the week tripping knackered

adjective [trip-ing] adjective [nak-erd] proceeding with a light, easy movement or British Slang. rhythm.

exhausted; very tired

Crossword Across

Down

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

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 27 - Aug 02, 2019

The dashing pilot who opted for modelling I n the late 1960s when I had started to work in our family tea gardens I used to accompany my brother on his visits to a small tea garden we had next to the coal town of Margherita. That was the headquarters of the erstwhile Assam Railways & Trading Company (AR&T Company) and the town itself was primarily the establishment of the offices, houses, schools, hospital and market place etc. It was indeed one of the quaintest towns I had seen in Assam. I found out later that this name “Margherita” was given by a group of Italian engineers in 1881 in honour of their Queen Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna after they had built the railway line to the town. We had a very small tea garden there which was spread on two parts of land; the factory, office and bungalow was in a plot at the edge of the town and the tea plantation was about 3 kilometres inside on an undulating plateau. It was very well-drained and the soil was ideal for tea cultivation and in fact the crop per acre was the highest amongst the other tea gardens we had in our company. That area was also the stronghold of the earlier Mcleod Russel premier tea gardens which were lucky to be located in probably the best tea growing areas of Assam. Next to one side of our tea garden was a patch of deep forest where elephants used to roam and feed freely without any conflict with man. The forest there was also full of wild fowl and also had a large number of the Kalij Pheasant called “Doric” in the local parlance. Actually I was introduced to this area for hunting these wild birds by my late brother–in–law who was then posted and working in the oil town of Digboi. He was an avid bird hunter specialising in the areas next to villages and gardens avoiding the deeper and denser

jungles as he did not possess a big game rifle and had a shotgun only. He had perfected the art of finding out the trees where the wild fowl roosted at night and marking these trees with white lime powder he used to come at night and with a torchlight knock off a couple of birds with maximum gain and minimum effort! I was always very happy to come to this area on our visits after work in the evening and did get a number of wild fowl and pheasants flying in the air when they were flushed out of the tea areas. Spending a night or two with our sister and brother-in-law in Digboi, was also something I looked forward to as they were a very fun couple and loved to go out on picnics and fishing trips though he never had the patience for angling. But in the clear waters he did try to shoot some fish with a round of birdshot after we had closed shop as he was not allowed to disturb the water when we had our rods out. I think he did get a fish once only as it was difficult to get the shot in the water due to the refraction angle and his beer intake! After joining up at our garden near Gohpur we used to have our own company internal meetings at our bigger garden adjacent to the Manas Game Sanctuary about 20 kms from the town of Barpeta Road. After the meeting my brother and I had to proceed to the tea garden near Margherita to check on the production standards and accordingly we started very early in the morning and were planning to go up to Digboi to stay at our sister’s place there. It was just after Bohag Bihu in April and while we were taking the Guwahati by-pass road which was much smaller then with both sides having a lot of paddy fields when suddenly the heavens opened up with torrential rain. We had to

In the torrential rains our driver almost panicked and lost control of the car but I urged him to stop and then only saw that a helicopter was in distress and was flying very low to the ground attempting an emergency landing. I got outside with an umbrella and on the other side of the road the pilot had managed to land his copter in the field.

move very slowly as the driver was having difficulty navigating in this sudden extreme weather conditions when suddenly we heard the loud sound of rotors directly above our car. The driver almost panicked and lost control of the car but I urged him to stop and then only saw that a helicopter was in distress and was flying very low to the ground attempting an emergency landing. I got outside with an umbrella and on the other side of the road the pilot had managed to land his copter in the field; he jumped out and was relieved to see that we had stopped and ran up to my side. I

Ranjan Kumar Choudhury ranjanchou@hotmail.com

opened the door and both of us got into the rear seat where he explained that he was flying an Oil India helicopter with an engineer to inspect the oil pipeline. His beat was all the way from Narengi to Siliguri in north Bengal and as they had got caught in the bad weather they were forced to land for safety and seeing us he wanted our help to inform his headquarters and was sorry for frightening us with his low flight. In those days there were no mobile phones and I managed to scribble down the phone number he gave me and also the contact person. There was a milestone where we had stopped with No. 9 written on it which was the reference point we were to convey about his position. By that time the rains had also lessened but there were a lot of low clouds for which flying immediately was out of the question and after the pilot thanked us profusely we made our way to the petrol pump ahead to use their phone to convey about the pilot and his abandoned mission. The pilot was quite a dashing young man and I never thought that we would ever meet him again; both my brother and I remember that incident which we used to tell all our friends and relatives. About two years later I had come one day again for our monthly meeting, this time at our head office in Guwahati and on these trips I used to spend an extra day or two to meet up with some of my old school and college friends. A very close and late dear friend of mine right from school days had started working in the tea broking business and he used to stay in a house which belonged to one of my cousins in the

Uzanbazar area of the city. They had a bachelor’s establishment where another tea broker and a pilot were staying. My cousin always complained to me about their late night parties with loud music, ladies and dancing till the wee hours of the night and had asked for my influence with my friend to either stop this or look for other premises. Of course I did tell my friend and we both had a good laugh but even though he had called me over many times to party with them somehow I was not able to manage the time. This one time I took up his invitation and landed up around 8 in the evening. It was then that I saw my helicopter friend all spruced up for the night’s affairs. We both related our acquaintance from that rainy day and struck an instant friendship oblivious of the other people who were surprised at how we knew one another. It was a great evening with a lot of fun, dancing and laughter when around 11 pm I proposed to take them out for dinner to a dhaba on the other side of the river across the bridge which I used to frequent once in a while. About 16 of us in three vehicles drove down and had a lovely repast dining on roti and chicken fry resting on the charpoys. We returned to the flat around 3 am and then only I remembered my cousin’s complaint; but we were all young then and restarted the party with The Doors, Tull and the Beatles giving us company on the speakers. Finally all of us, the young men and women, left the premises at dawn and I accosted my cousin on the road outside. He was perhaps more surprised than I was and telling him that I had to stay behind to control the noise we departed to our respective homes. He never spoke about this matter of helping him to evict his tenants again to me as he must’ve concluded that I was part of the brash party gang. I met my pilot friend a number of times after that but then I heard that he had left for Delhi to give a shot at modelling as a career and he did embellish some magazines for men’s clothing and accessories. He had been working with Oil India Limited as a helicopter pilot and probably resumed flying again with a private firm and I am sure he has done well for himself. It is indeed a pity that I did not keep in touch as my work load had increased over time and we all have to move along in this journey of life. n

22 Lifestyle

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Vaastu: The month of Shravan Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.

indus have great regard for the month of Shravan because Lord Shiva is worshipped through the entire month. People offer milk and water at Shiva temples. The “Bole Bom” ritual has gained popularity in north

and eastern parts of India too. This year, the month of Shravan started from July 17 and it will end on August 15. According to Vaastu, Mercury (Budh) is responsible for career. Green colour is related to the planet mercury. Wearing green colour in the month of Shravan enhances intellect and prosperity. Red colour is lucky for married ladies in terms of happiness and luck. So ladies are advised to

Shravan is considered to be auspicious. It acts as a protective shield against planetary mal-effects in one’s chart and helps to attain peace and harmony.

wear red bangles or saree in this month.

Here are some points to keep in mind during the month of Shravan: The eastern portion of the house should be given importance during the month of Shravan as it is ruled by Lord Shiva. Place a statue of Ardhnareshwar (a composite androgynous form of the Hindu God Shiva and his consort Parvati) made out of a single piece of white marble placed in the eastern side of the home during Shravan. Worshiping the statue ensures abundant blessings in relationships. According to Vaastu, a water body, like a mini water fountain, should be installed in the eastern direction. It should be circulating so that it does not stagnate. Fresh water flowing from the fountain in the east can make a

person more proactive, enabling him or her to make wise decisions in life. The holy month of Shravan is the best time to nurture and grow a Tulsi plant in the northern corner of the house. This will ensure an abundance of blessings. One should meditate in the east for peace and harmony. The Rudraksha is associated with Lord Shiva and it literally means ‘the eye of Shiva.’ Wearing a Rudraksha during the month of

One should fast and perform puja during the month of Shravan to rid the home from the bad karmic cycle of debt. Perform puja by offering cold milk, water and bilva (Wood apple) patra leaves along with yoghurt and honey on the Shivlinga on Mondays to gain peace and prosperity. Apart from the regular fruits and flowers, offer Datura flowers to Lord Shiva. It helps soothe a troubled mind. As snakes are Lord Shiva’s favourite animals, the Nag Panchami is celebrated with reverence by Hindus. Chanting the Mantra “Aum Navakulaye Vidyahe Vishdantaye Dhimahi Tanno Sarpa Pratchodayat” 11 times during Nag Panchami is supposed to be extremely lucky.

Love and Relationships shri shri ravi shankar Founder- Art of Living Foundation.

ove is not an emotion; it is your very existence. One can go on speaking about love and reading books about it, but love doesn’t happen like that. In a relationship, we think of love as an emotion. We begin by saying, “Oh I love you so much!” Then start demanding‘Look, I love you so much, what have you done for me? Don’t you see I love you so much, don’t you understand?” Our tone changes from love to demand. Demand destroys love. In relationships, one is mainly caught between two things- Love and respect. Love cannot stand distance. One cannot tolerate any secrets in love. In the process, one violates boundaries. Although there are no boundaries in love, one forgets another aspect, respect. Every ego expects respect. When there is a fear of losing respect, one tries to create a barrier and it is this distance that is not accepted by love. Respect needs a distance, unless one is like a child. When one is totally out of the small mindedness then it is not a bother. When one is like a spring of love, then there is no distance at all. Untill then, there is a barrier, there is an ego

and that ego demands respect. At the same time, too much closeness is also not accepted in respect-should it be love? When you gain love, you are looking for respect, when you have respect you are looking for love. This goes on in life so subtly, we don’t even take notice of it as we are so caught up in the external happenings and

events. We hook everything to an event but do we look inside ourselves at what is happening there? For relationships to be long lasting, one needs to respect these two things. The ancient rishis devised a plan for this. They knew that not everybody can be in a state of total bliss without being mindful of whether someone respects them or not. They made a rule, although one loves someone very much, for one month in a year he/she has to keep apart, give space. This is followed in some parts of India where the wife goes to her mother’s home for one month in the rainy season. Tradition says that husbands and wives cannot cross the same door during that one month. With distance, love grows. When one is with their partner all the 24 hours, there is no point. There is no communication unsaid, there is no longing. Love and longing have to go hand in hand. Longing enriches love, and love enriches the longing. Both have to be there. In order to create that longing, a distance

needs to be created. One needs to know the contrast and needs to have experienced the contrast in order to experience anything. Life is a multitude of such contrasts. Relationships also inflict pain. When one goes through that intense pain, either one can go into a negative state or he turns that into a prayerful state. He increases the power of prayer within himself. Pain makes prayer more powerful, because when there is pain, one goes deep within himself. When one experiences any pleasure, he automatically closes his eyes. Like when you smell a flower or when you taste something very good. It indicates that the pleasure is coming from somewhere deep within. The external object was just a mirror to bring that out. It was just an apparatus to kindle something that is within. That’s why Jesus said the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven is within oneself.

Buddha said the world is full of sorrow only because when one knows that sorrow, he begins to search deep within himself. Krishna says in a beautiful couplet in the Bhagavad Gita, that intelligent people do not see the sensory; they do not get carried away by the joy in the senses. The sign of intelligence is that one seeks the source from which joy comes and once you are in touch with it, there is no fear whatsoever. There is no hatred, jealousy, anger in life. One enjoys the pleasure in the world but does not get immersed in it. When one is in a relationship without the feverishness, then it sails smooth. Feverishness destroys relationships. Feverishness takes one away from his centre. And once one has moved away from the centre, your partner loses respect for you. When respect is lost, the charm he/she saw in you is lost even without their knowledge.

Entertainment

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

Assam girl featured in Akshay Kumar’s new show saluting heroes of #NewIndia

9-year-old Jebin Kausar, a resident of Murajhar in Hojai district of Assam, was recently featured in a show hosted by popular Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. The show, called “Short Stories of a #NewIndia with Akshay Kumar,” features individuals who have overcome many difficulties in their lives to reach new heights and be successful. In the show, Kausar was interviewed along with her father and brother. The 19-year-old lost the ability to move both her hands at an early age. However, she learnt to write and draw with her feet. Most recently in 2017, Kausar was featured in several local news channels when she scored good marks and stood first in the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) exam in her school. It should be

rominent dancer and choreographer Jatin Goswami, an exponent of Sattriya dance, has been selected for the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellow or Akademi Ratna

awarded the fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, in 2008 for his contribution to Sattriya dance. It should be noted that the fellowship is a most prestigious and rare honour which is restricted to 40 members, at any given time.

awards along with three others. Goswami is the founder and director of Sattriya Akademi, Guwahati and a former member of the General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akade mi. He was also

The honour of being an Akademi Fellow brings with it prize money worth Rs 3 lakhs. The Awards will be conferred by the President of India at a special investiture ceremony.

Higher Secondary final year at the Mariam Ajmal Women’s College in Hojai.

Assamese short film selected for International Film Festivals in Portugal & Spain

ssamese short film, Saoli, directed by Kuldip Medhi, has been selected for the competition section of the 5th Figueira Da Foz International Film Festival 2019 in Portugal and the 14th Marbella International Film Festival 2019 in Spain. The 5th Figueira Da Foz International Film Festival 2019 will be held from September 5 to September 15 in Lisbon, Portugal while the 14th Marbella International Film Festival 2019 will be held from October 2 to October 6. It should be noted that the film has also been selected for

Prominent Sattriya exponent selected for Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellow

P noted that Kausar wrote her exam papers with her feet. Presently Kausar is a student of

Fashion & innovation celebrated at the JD Annual Design Awards 2019

several film festivals in India and also won awards at festivals such as the Ahmedabad International Children Film Festival 2019, Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2019 in Mumbai, Crown Wood International Film Festival in Varanasi and many more. The movie narrates the story of a girl from Assam who has a dark complexion and it delves into her emotions of feeling inadequate and her insecurities because of the same.

D Institute of Fashion Technology held the JD Annual Design Awards 2019 at ITA Machkowa Centre, Guwahati on 20 July 2019. The JD Annual Awards, held annually, showcased 70 designed garments by over 50 students of the institute. 30 students of interior design displayed over 15 artistic interior exhibits. This year’s theme was “Switch,” signifying a shift from the existing perceptions and exploring the unknown. The event had eminent personalities in attendance

such as Harsh Dalal, director, JD Institute of Fashion Technology India, Prashantt Ghosh, fashion designer and choreographer and interior designers Neera Kar and Alpana Baruah. The exhibits were inspired by this year’s theme across diverse disciplines such as fashion designing, interior designing, jewellery designing and textile designing. They included fashion collections, exhibits, installations as well as a 3-D walk-through showcasing the students’ creativity to a panel of distinguished industry experts.

24 Catching Up

G PLUS | July 27 - Aug 02, 2019

PIC OF THE