G Plus Vol 7 Issue 22

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

Volume 07 | Issue 22 Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020 Price `10

INSIDE

Coronavirus scare severely impacting business activities in Guwahati

2,67,920 AFFECTED GLOBALLY 1,66,130 ACTIVE CASES 90,603 RECOVERED CASES 11,187 DEATHS

BTC elections postponed

PG 11

PG 04

Assam builds ‘wall’ against coronavirus

Shuts down public hubs to discourage gatherings

Centre Spread Pages 12-13

Rongali Bihu cancelled

in Guwahati this year A

midst coronavirus threat one more piece of news that will upset Guwahatians is that this year all Bihu programmes are decided to be cancelled.

The general secretary of All Guwahati Bihu Sanmilani Coordination Committee, Prince Faijul Haque, exclusively talking to G Plus said, “In a meeting today it has been decided for the time

being that all Bihu functions will be cancelled.” He further added that only on the morning of 13th April, the rituals will be observed, but the other functions in the evening are cancelled.

Haque said that if the situation improves at the end of the month, then committees can take a decision but as of now it has been decided to cancel the functions.

All the Bihu committees of Guwahati had discussed the

issues in a meeting held at the New Guwahati Bihu Sanmilani Office located at Bamunimaidan.

This comes as a blow to the commercial angle of Rongali Bihu as all Bihu pandals rely heavily on donations. The adversely affected would include the pandal workers, organisers, artists who perform and food stall vendors among others who look forward to Rongali Bihu for additional income.

1,003 people in home quarantine, 41 in isolation units in Assam Kamakhya Temple has never been this empty Atiqul Habib @guwahatiplus

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hen China announced the lockdown of Wuhan and most of the surrounding Hubei province due to the rapidly spreading epidemic, the news was greeted with astonishment around the world.

However nearly two months later, most of the countries including the states of India have also stepped up the vigil by examining suspected cases and have also spread awareness drives.

Meanwhile in Assam, the state government has taken up the humongous task of keeping its citizens safe from this deadly virus.

Step by step and in phases so

as not to create panic among the public, the government has restricted the movement of public in commercial establishments and state government offices.

It is to be mentioned that on March 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his address to the nation, said, "The entire nation should follow a Janata Curfew on the March 22 starting from 7 AM to 9 PM." With the aim to fight the novel Coronavirus, PM Modi has declared this curfew calling it a step “by the people, for the people.”

He has asked the countrymen to stay inside their houses during curfew hours, especifically those above 60 years of age.

Full Story PG - 02

Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03

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ill now the Assam government has sent 1,003 people to home quarantine in the state to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). These essentially consist of people who have returned to Assam from coronavirus-affected places.

This apart, 41 people who have shown symptoms similar to that of COVID-19, have been kept in isolation units of different hospitals in the state.

“Out of the 1,003 people who were sent to home quarantine, 164 have completed the 28 day mandatory home quarantine period and have shown no symptoms and are now out of home quarantine,” informed the minister.

It is to be mentioned that no

positive case of the virus has been found in Assam till now.

The minister said that till now 57 samples have been tested from people showing symptoms of coronavirus and all have tested negative.

A total of 39 tests were conducted in Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), 11 cases were tested in Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Lahowal, 3 cases were tested in Jorhat Medical College & Hospital (JMCH) and 2 in Silchar Medical College. All have tested negative.

“It is the responsibility of the parents as well as family members to ensure that anyone who has returned from a coronavirus-affected state should be home quarantined for at least 14 days in a room,” said Sarma adding that during this time the family members should monitor the health of the person

and if they see any symptoms similar to that of coronavirus, then they should informed the health department.

Further, till now 16,508 people have been screened so far in different airports of Assam.

Apart from this, at different places including the railway stations and places with contact tracing, we have screened 62,870 more people have been screened at the primary level.

The minster informed that currently there are four COVID-19 testing centres in the state.

Additionally, doctors, nurses, paramedics, teachers and anganwadi workers are creating sensitisation and conducting awareness drive against coronavirus in villages of the state.

Full Story PG - 03

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Cover Story

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

Assam builds ‘wall’ against coronavirus, shuts down public hubs to discourage gatherings Atiqul Habib @guwahatiplus

Assam Secretariat restricts entry of all visitors

The Assam state secretariat has prohibited the entry of all daily visitors inside the secretariat premises till March 31 as a preventive measure against the spread of coronavirus in the state.

An order was issued in this regard which stated, “The concerned private secretaries of the Hon’ble ministers are requested to issue passes to the visitors for entry in the Ministers’ Colony only after obtaining the permission from respective Hon’ble minister.”

It is to be mentioned that the state secretariat had earlier limited the number of daily visitors to Janata Bhawan 100 people till March 31.

Minister of state for health Pijush Hazarika was seen waiting at the secretariat gate on Wednesday pleading with visitors not to visit the complex as a precautionary measure against spread of coronavirus.

No coronavirus case has been reported so far in the state.

Going by the books of Islam, it is mandatory for people who come to mosque to worship should stand in one line irrespective of social status and offer ‘namaz’ but how feasible it is in Coronavirus time.

Kamrup (M) district admin asks religious institutions to restrict visitors The Kamrup (Metro) district administration has requested the temple authorities of Kamakhya and Umananda temples to restrict the number of visitors entering the premises on a daily basis.

Further, it has also asked them not to organise any programmes in the premises which might attract large crowds of devotees.

Meanwhile, the government

has also asked the Muslim community to avoid offering namaz in community mosques.

But now the question that arises here is whether the Muslims will adhere to it or not.

Going by the books of Islam, it is mandatory for people who come to mosque to worship that they stand in one line irrespective of social status and offer namaz.

According to reports, the Burra Masjid in Ambari had set up screening desks at the gates of the mosques and also provided hand sanitizers and health officials were seen checking temperature of every individual who entered the masjid.

Speaking to G Plus, Nijamul Houque, General Secretary of Ambari Burra Masjid, urged people to offer prayers from home.

Noticeably, with the Coronavirus scare the footfall at the masjid had decreased a lot as compared to previous weeks.

Tempertaure checks at Ambari Burra Masjid prior to the day’s Friday prayers | G Plus Photo

Beauty parlours, unisex salons and bars also asked to shut down

Assam state museum, state zoo, parks temporarily shut down

As a further measure to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in the state of Assam, the government of Assam has issued instructions to all deputy commissioners to close all liquor bar (Country bar) nightclub/beauty parlours/salon (Unisex) immediately.

Meanwhile, the government of Assam has directed all ‘Bars and Pubs’ in Guwahati to remain closed till 31st March.

A notification from EXCOM, Assam states, “All IMFL “ON” shops to remain closed up to 31st March, 2020 with immediate effect and until further orders.”

The Assam State Museum and State Zoo in Guwahati have been temporarily shut down by the authorities.

As per the directive of the government of Assam, the Assam State Museum, all the district museums and other museums under the directorate of museums will remain closed from March 17-31 with a view to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus in the state.

Additionally, it is to be mentioned that parks under Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will remain closed temporarily to public.

Parks including Shraddhanjali Kanan, Nehru Park, Panbazar, TR Phookan Park, Bharalumukh, Sankardev Udyan, Bharalumukh, Bastra Udyan, Sualkuchi and Saraighat War Memorial Park, Agyathuri will remain closed.

It is to be mentioned that even the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has postponed CBSE Class 12, and Class 10 Board exams due to Coronavirus outbreak in India.

The Class 10, Class 12 CBSE Board exams will now be rescheduled after March 31.

The decision comes after the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (HRD) ordered CBSE to postpone exams.

Meanwhile, JEE Mains will also

GMC appeals citizens to avoid spitting, flying squad deployed to detect violators

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) appealed to the people not to spit on roads, pavements or other public places in the city.

The notice stated, “Spitting on the streets might be a cause of the spread of coronavirus. Hence, the people are hereby appealed not to spit and litter the city.”

The notice also stated that any person found spitting would be penalized, “The Flying Squad has already been pressed into service to detect violators of the rule.”

get rescheduled and new dates of would be announced after 31st March, 2020, the ministry said in a statement.

Aadhaar enrolment centres closed

On March 20, the state government decided to close all Aadhaar registration centres across the state till March 31, 2020.

The step has been taken to ensure that the mandatory biometric collection system does not contribute to spreading infection.

A notification from the Commissioner Secretary of the State General Administration department reads, “As collection of biometrics is mandatory for Aadhaar Enrolment/Update and as collection of such biometrics is likely to aggravate the spread of Corona Virus (COVID-19) amongst the inhabitants/citizens of the State, the General Administration Department, Govt. of Assam, in the interest of public services, has decided to close all Aadhaar Enrolment Centres in the State with immediate effect upto 315’ March, 2020 as a preventive measure to arrest the spread of Corona Virus ( COVID-19) in the State.”

It needs to be mentioned here that Aadhaar centres in many parts of the country have already been closed because of the pandemic.

Post PM Modi’s speech, Guwahatians rush to stock up daily needs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on coronavirus on March 19 evening sent Guwahatians rushing to their nearest stores to stock up.

In his speech PM Modi said that on 22nd March, from 7 am to 9 pm, all countrymen have to follow ‘Janta Curfew’ and also urged that if possible, they should call at least 10 people every day and appdise them about the ‘Janta Curfew’ as well as the measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.

March 22 being a Sunday Guwahatians went on a scramble today itself to buy essential commodities including vegetables and meat.

Post the speech, reports came in from several areas of Guwahati like Six Mile, Kahilipara, Beltola, Uzan Bazar that people had already started thronging most of the shops to buy the grocery items.

On the other hand, many of the ration shops in Fancy Bazaar, Athgaon areas are keeping their shutters down. “We have over 50 orders pending and will only open once we’ve delivered the pending orders,” one of the owners told G Plus.

Meanwhile, PM Modi appealed to all not to go into panic buying to store essential commodities as steps are being taken to ensure that there is no scarcity.

However the question that seems to be looming in the minds of Guwahatians is how long fresh vegetables and other items will be available in the coming days given the impact of demand and supply.

Lead Story

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

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Combating Covid-19... from page 01

Hand stamps for quarantine on all incoming passengers at railway stations, airports The Assam government will provide home quarantine stamps on the hands of all incoming passengers from coronavirus affected states at railway stations and airports in Assam from Monday, March 23 onwards.

“All passengers who will enter Assam from states affected by coronavirus, will be stamped at railway stations and airports.

Their stamp will say that I volunteer to be at home for 14 days since Assam needs social distancing,” said Sarma.

It is to be mentioned that this practise is already ongoing in Mumbai. The government has taken the decision to improve social distancing and to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state.

“The society can put pressure if they see a person with a stamp for home quarantine roaming outside,” said the minister.

Crowded places like Fancy Bazar, Machkhowa to be assessed for 48 hrs

Additionally, the state government will assess crowded places like Fancy Bazar, Machkhowa, Hatigaon for the next 48 hours and if need be, the government will shut down these places, said state health and family welfare minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma in a press conference held on March 20.

However, the shutdown will not apply to those shops and commercial establishments which deal with essential commodities.

“We will monitor the situation in these places for the next day or two and I request people to decongest these areas on their own so that we don’t have to close down,” stated the minister in a bid to improve social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state.

Assamese people stuck outside country to be given $2000

In a relief measure, the state government will provide $ 2000 to Assamese persons stuck out of the country.

“Those who have travelled outside the country in the last 30 days for various reasons for attending seminars, exchange students, business related work and even tourists and are not being able to return to Assam as

airlines have shut down, they will each be given 2,000 dollars in their respective accounts,” said sate health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

He added that for this, an email id will be published in the newspaper on March 22.

“Those stuck outside can mail on this email Id, their passport will be checked and they will be provided with the money.”

He mentioned that $2000 is an initial amount and the government will decided on the future course depending on the situation.

“People from Assam whose visas and passports have expired and people are stuck outside, they too can notify the government on the email id and the concerned Indian embassy in the country will be notified,” stated the minister.

Citizens need to be careful till April 5: HBS

The next two weeks will be very critical to maintain social distancing and monitor the coronavirus situation in Assam, said the health minister.

He said that maximum people from Assam who were outside the state have returned to the state till now. “If we suppose that

by March 22, all those travelling abroad have returned to the state, then from March 22, next 14 days will be very critical for us,” mentioned the minister.

“By now, the number of incoming passengers has reduced significantly. If we find no positive cases in the state till the next two weeks, then we might be able to say that we have broken the chain,” said Sarma.

Employees in Assam govt offices to work from home on rotation basis

From Saturday March 21 onwards only 50 per cent employees will come to office on a rotation basis in all government offices in Assam till March 31, in a bid to improve social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

This was announced by state health and family welfare minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma in a press meet on March 20. He said that the rest 50 per cent of the employees will work from home.

“At any given point of time, only 50 per cent employees will be present in office and the rest will work from home,” said Sarma.

Further, he added that it will be the discretion of the head of the office to decide on the rotation.

However, he added that this will not apply to those employed in essential services including the health department, fire brigade and water department.

All examinations stand postponed till March 31

State health and family welfare minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday that all exams in the state stand postponed till March 31 to contain the coronavirus spread in Assam and to ensure social distancing.

These will include all Board examinations, examinations of all government and private schools as well as examinations of all state universities stand cancelled till March 31, said the minister in a press meet on March 20.

Govt to limit customer footfall in shopping malls, shops Shopping malls across the state would be given advisories to limit the number of people which they can host at a given point of time.

The number of visitors allowed will depend on the respective sizes of the shops, said the minister.

“Further every shop in and outside the shopping malls are advised only to let 50 people including the staff at a given point. The number may vary as per the size of the shop and directives would soon be issued,” stated Sarma.

All govt offices to mandatorily use hand sanitizer

All Assam government offices will have to mandatorily use hand sanitizers in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The health minister said, "We have asked the government offices they should buy reasonable amount of hand sanitizers, soaps and towels.

In the procurement of these essential items, the finance department will not insist on any bill."

He added that these essentials items should be kept in government offices so that any visitor who comes to the office can be

At a shopping mall in Guwahati | G Plus Photo given this facility.

Shops not providing soaps/sanitizes for customers to be shut down

Assam State Health and family welfare minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that all in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state, all shops which do not provide soap and water, or

hand sanitizers for customers and staff will be shut down in Assam.

In an appeal to all shopkeepers, the minister said that the shopkeepers will have to keep at least soap and water for hand washing as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus in the state.

“All shops will have to provide soap and water or hand sanitizer otherwise we will shut down,” said Sarma.

4 Business Snippets PM Modi appeals to citizens to work from home, urges employers not to deduct salaries

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

Coronavirus scare severely impacting business activities in Guwahati Barasha Das @Barasha_mi2

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rime Minister NarendraModi during his address to the nation on March 19, appealed to citizens to work from home and urged employers to not deduct salaries.

PM Modi urged the public to remain calm and practice all directives being issued by the government, including social distancing and good hygiene. He also said that steps are being taken to ensure that there is no scarcity of essential commodities.

It is to be mentioned that the SAARC nations vowed on Sunday to jointly combat the coronavirus as Modi proposed an emergency fund with an initial offer of USD 10 million from India.

Indian government launches Chatbot on WhatsApp for COVID-19

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he Indian Government has launched an official chatbot on WhatsApp to answer any public queries about Coronavirus.

The chatbot is called “MyGov Corona Helpdesk” and the WhatsApp number given against it is 9013151515.

The helpdesk would provide an automated response to the queries. The news was tweeted by the government regulatory agency, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.

Earlier a national helpline number was also being launched by the government.

Aviation industry the most effected due to COVID-19 scare LGBI sees 30% lesser footfall Airline ticket prices soar rapidly Many trains cancelled Shopping malls see 35% decline in customers Bars and pubs shut operations completely

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he Coronavirus impact has been massive. 143 countries have been affected with a total of 2,67,920 individuals testing positive, of which 1,66,130 are active cases, 90,603 recovered cases, 11,187 fatal cases (as per Microsoft Covid-19 tracker).

The total numbers of Active Covid-19 cases across India are 171, of which 19 have been discharged and 4 deaths recorded. Every state government has taken up preventive measures to contain its spread.

Although Assam has not yet recorded any positive cases of the COVID-19 virus, government authorities have taken up a number of measures to combat the same. Educational institutions, public hubs like cinema halls, swimming pools, gymnasiums, public parks, parlours and bars etc have been shut down for the rest of the month.

Further advisories are being repeatedly issued and many government and private offices have been doing cleanliness drives with washbasins and sanitizers being provided for the use of visitors.

While the public is on high alert and many have stocked up supplies in preparedness of probable shutdown of the state as a measure against the deadly virus, the financial situation of the state along with the country is gradually being impacted.

G Plus took stock of the fluctuation in the business of

A deserted shopping mall in Guwahati | G Plus Photo different sectors of the state in the light of the Covid-19 scare.

Impact on aviation and railways

A major impact has been seen in the aviation sector as people have cancelled travels, even as the government has suspended the movement of traffic to and from international destinations.

Given that many states across the country have recorded positive cases, travel outside Assam has been limited to emergency and urgent needs only.

However, many people, mostly from the virus impacted states and other countries have also returned home. As such, the aviation industry is in a highly volatile state.

Airport authorities at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati said that the number of operational flights has gone down from around 140 per day to 80 per day, and footfall of daily passengers has dropped by 30%.

A scheduled GoAir flight from Aizawl to Guwahati on 17th March was cancelled due to the same reason.

On 19th March, GoAir completely shut down its international flight operations till April 15.

On 20th March Druk Airways stated that it has cancelled all its international flights from Paro and Singapore from 21st March to 29th March.

Authorities informed that such operational back out might be expected if the situation worsens but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

A passenger travelling by Spicejet from Chennai to Guwahati has informed, “The prices of tickets were at a low initially but have seen an extensive rise. The usual prices on this route range from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 6,000. But now these are being sold at Rs. 15,000.”

He further mentioned, “Rumours are going around that many airports in South India will be shut down due to the outbreak. Although the news has not yet been confirmed, people are heading back home at the earliest.”

Like Spicejet the prices of other airlines tickets have also skyrocketed.

Earlier, the Indian government had banned the operation of international flights to India for a week starting from 22nd March.

Meanwhile, the Northeast Frontier Railway has cancelled 24 low occupancy (less than 30%) trains.

The Indian Railways has removed special incentives for the senior citizens, the most vulnerable group of the population, to discourage them from undertaking non-essential journeys.

The price of platform tickets has been raised to Rs. 50.

Consumer market revenue downfall Similar situations are being faced by the consumer market and other stakeholders.

Allegedly, Fancy Bazar, the major shopping hub of Guwahati, has seen 90 percent decline in customers.

Anirudh Siotia, a businessman from Fancy Bazar has informed that the daily revenue has also gone down by 75%. He further added, “The other dependent workers of the market like the rickshaw and cart pullers who cart the daily loads are also suffering and have started offering services at minimal prices. The wholesale market is also going at a loss.”

It has also to be mentioned that the various malls across the city also are witnessing negligible customers.

Abhijeet Thakur, Mall Manager of City Centre, Guwahati said, “The mall can currently be said to be partially open, although we might close down completely if any order or advisory is issued. The head count of daily customers is very low, about 60% low. We are also seeing a decline of Rs 6 lakhs to 7 lakhs on sales per day.”

Saurav Sharma from Times Square, Guwahati informed

continue on next page

Business

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

that while the multiplex has completely closed as per directives of the government, the shops in the mall have seen a revenue drop of 35% approximately. He further added, “Sales would have been even worse if not for the ongoing bihu sale season.”

Sandeep Khaitan, Treasurer of Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Easter Region (FINER) informed G Plus, “The industries that provide inputs to larger industries like steel have slowed down as the demand is low, even from Bhutan. They have asked not to send the materials. Also they don’t have materials to stock.

The day-to-day consumption has increased as people are ‘panic-buying’. The factories like Dabur, Hindustan Lever, ITC etc. are trying to manufacture and dispatch whatever products they can. Many companies like

Calvin Klein are also trying to manufacture hand sanitizers and masks as the demand is high, but the government has not granted them permission.

Further, as it is the month of March, many government transactions are done. But there is a lot of disruption in government activities and people are not sure supplies and payments will be made. Going ahead, if this continues, it might be difficult to continue and there might be layoffs.”

Anuj Kumar Baruah, President of All Assam Small Scale Industries Association said, “Sales have gone down drastically by 50 percent, and going by the trend there is every possible chance that it would slow down further.”

He said that the economy was already slowing down and given the Coronavirus effect, it has hit the market immensely.”

Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a

Political parties’ grassroots level work for 2021 polls stalled amidst Covid-19 threat G Plus News @guwahatiplus

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ongress upset at non announcement of packages by government for daily wage labourers who would incur heavy losses due to the pandemic As the politicos in Assam are gearing up for the 2021 legislative assembly elections, the grassroots level work, which is vital for all political parties one year before the elections, has been stalled due the Covid-19 threat.

A source in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) talking to G Plus said, “All grassroots level work is stalled for the time being. From 18th March to 31st March, no BJP member can enter any BJP office in the state.” He added that though now booth level meetings and similar works are very important for any political party, all the meetings are postponed.

The Opposition on Thursday had urged the Assam State Election Commission to postpone the elections for the Bodoland Territorial Council scheduled for April 4 in view of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Accordingly, on Friday the BTC polls where postponed indefinitely.

Leader of Opposition, Debabrata Saikia, talking to G Plus said that now their party is concerned about the people of the state and not the elections.

He said, “I had requested to postpone BTC polls and now I am worried about the common people.” He said that the Prime Minister in his speech or even the state government did not announce any packages for the daily wage workers who will suffer the most. The Kerala government has announced compensations. Similarly, Assam government should also provide compensations to the public for loss of income, said Saikia.

Other political party workers are also under pandemic threat and are not working for the upcoming elections now.

press conference held on 20th March, said that shopping malls across the state would be given advisories as to how many customers can be hosted at a given point of time as per their respective sizes.

Further every shop in and outside the shopping malls are advised only to let 50 people including the staff at a given point. The number may vary as per the size of the shop and directives would soon be issued.

While bars have shut operations, restaurants see lesser customers

The National Restaurants Association of India issued an advisory to shut down operation of restaurants from 18th to 31st March to combat the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the advisory, restaurant operations in the city continue.

Speaking to G Plus on the issue, many restaurant owners have informed that there is a 30 to 35 percent decline in the headcount of customers on weekdays. Having said that one of the owners informed, “The weekend crowd is usually significantly high, whereas, there is often a slowdown in weekday business. Last week we didn’t see any change in the crowd but we are expecting a substantially low turnout over the coming weekend.”

Vinay Chamaria, owner of Piazza said, “We have limited services to only our regular customers and for those who have made two to three days’ prior reservations. But walk-in customers are not being catered to in order to protect our regular people.”

Talking about the NRAI advisory he further said, “Food is an essential commodity. So it

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is not relevant that restaurants should be shut down.”

However, many other restaurant proprietors have said that they are prepared to shut down operations if the municipality notifies on the same.

It has to be mentioned that most restaurants have taken preventive measures by providing sanitizers for customers and staffs, masks for every staff and immediate leave for those infected even with common flu or other regular health issues.

However, the government of Assam has directed all 'Bars and Pubs’ in Guwahati to remain closed till 31st March.

A notification issued from EXCOM, Assam on 18th March states, "All IMFL ‘ON’ shops to remain closed up to 31st March, 2020 with immediate effect and until further orders.” n

6 In The News

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

Guwahatians cancel travel plans amidst Coronavirus scare, refunds still uncertain Owing to the Coronavirus scare, Guwahatians have become scared of traveling, of being confined into airplanes, trains and cruises. Hence, they are quashing their travel plans and this is coming down heavily on the travel industry.

Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

Guwahatians are cancelling travel plans due to coronavirus scare.

Only essential travelling taking place as people try to unite with their families.

Guwahatians fighting for refund over cancelled plans.

International flights are providing full refund while domestic flights are providing free rescheduling.

Indian Railways have cancelled 155 trains and suspended concessional booking.

Tourism industry hit badly amid coronavirus scare.

F

or a couple who wished to celebrate their 25 year of togetherness in the middle of the sea, relaxing and reminiscing the years gone by, Covid-19 came as quiet a dismay.

When Manoj Jain purchased a week-long trip to Singapore along with cruise through a travel agent, global pandemic was the last thing on his mind.

He bought the tickets in

January 2020. But, as the coronavirus spreads, he was one of thousands of travelers scrambling to change their plans.

Jain had planned to travel with his wife and two children, leaving for Singapore on March 7. As the virus made its way to Singapore, affecting over 80 citizens by February end, Jain decided to cancel his plans.

“Bookings can be made again but life is more important. So, I called my agent for assistance in canceling the plan. But when I asked him to cancel our vacation, we were informed that although the airline company was giving full refund, the cruise would only provide 30% amount as refund while there would be no refund for hotel and sight-seeing,” explained Jain.

He further added that although the trip got cancelled, he is yet to receive the refund amount from the agent who claims to have not received the same from the airline and cruise companies.

Such is the story of many Guwahatians who have had to cancel their travel plans owing to the coronavirus outbreak.

While some were able to reschedule their plans or get refunds, others lost lakhs of rupees instead.

It is to be mentioned here that while international flights have been giving full refund to its customers, domestic flights have not changed their cancelation policies. Apart from Vistara, all domestic airlines are charging cancellation fees from the customers however they are being provided with the option to reschedule.

A scene of emptiness from the usually bustling LGBI Airport | G Plus Photo people have been avoiding travel. In my experience, only those who are away from home are traveling, just to reach back to their home city,” the owner of a leading travel agency in Guwahati informed G Plus.

People are rushing to repatriate their loved ones before coronavirus travel ban.

As the pandemic spreads, parents of students studying in Italy and other foreign countries are panic-stricken and trying to get their children home as the situation worsens.

“I had travelled from Delhi to Guwahati on March 17 to spend some time with my maternal family but as PM Modi announced for a Janata Curfew to be held on March 22, I booked my return tickets for March 21 to get back to my

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“Ever since the novel coronavirus started to spread,

husband and children before situation worsens,” said Sweta Harlalka, a resident of Faridabad in Haryana.

Another travel agent informed G Plus that there have been a lot of cancellations and rescheduling taking place amidst the coronavirus scare.

The tourism industry has been facing a severe blow as all tourist spots also remain shut.

If reports are to be believed, coronavirus has affected the travel and tourism business entirely in a negative way.

Globally, the travel industry has come into a deficit of over $80 billion. The Indian tourism industry has already suffered huge losses and is continuing to do so.

The government of India has taken severe measures to fight

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the disease such as cancelling all non-official visas till April 15 and invoking provisions of Section 2 of Epidemic Disease Act, 1897. Across the country, strict screening of passengers is being carried out at various airports and even at ports.

Indian Railways has suspended concessional booking of all tickets except patients, students and Divyangjan category till further advisory to contain the outbreak of the disease. It has also cancelled as many as 155 trains.

Additionally, a “novel coronavirus” landing page on the Ministry of Health’s website gives the numbers of phone helplines, detailed advice and guidelines. Testing centers are also being increased across the country.

In The News

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

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Why social distancing is crucial for India at this stage Chayanika Das @cdchayanika95

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he entire world continues to live in a nightmare as Coronavirus sweeps through countries and spreads from person to person. The World Health Organization (WHO), on March 11, declared Covid-19 as a pandemic.

There are a total of four stages

India enters Stage 3 of Covid-19 Covid-19 claims 4 lives and 236 cases have been reported so far Indians need to educate themselves on Covid-19 and start maintaining social distancing immediately Prime Minister Narendra Modi declares ‘Janata Curfew’ on March 22 The four stages are – imported cases, local transmission, community transmission, epidemic Citizens still gather in huge numbers despite several warnings by government officials, doctors and experts Indians show how not to fight the disease and India has entered Stage 3 of Covid-19, where Italy was twothree weeks ago. But Indians are still not educating themselves enough on the disease and are taking the matter lightly.

According to reports, a total of 236 cases have been confirmed in India so far with four deaths.

In just 24 hours, 20 fresh cases were reported in India with Chhattisgarh and Chandigarh reporting their first COVID-19 patients on early Thursday.

We have been advised to regularly wash our hands, wear masks if we show symptoms of Covid-19 but what is most important for India right now is social distancing. All we have to do is just stop ourselves from large gatherings so that we could plummet ourselves into the next phase of community transmission.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on March 19, addressed the nation on Covid-19 and declared ‘Janata Curfew’ on March 22. With India having a population of more than 1 billion, is one day enough to contain the situation?

Indians are still gathering in large numbers – vice

Despite so many warnings by the government, doctors, experts and seeing what Italy is going through on television and social media, people in India still choose to live in denial. Many have even called out the country for not testing enough.

Most of the states in India, including Assam, have gone into a partial lockdown phase and has shut down schools, gyms, public pools, theatres, malls. Some have even shut pubs and restaurants.Yet, in Uttar Pradesh, lakhs of people are gearing up to gather for the Ayodhya Ram Navami Mela which is being held from March 25 to April 2.

However, a section of national media has reported that the mela will be called off and a decision would be taken in this regard very soon. At the same time, devotees believe that “this Ram Navami will be different” since it is the first after the Supreme Court allowed for the contentious plot of the Babri Masjid to be made into a Ram Mandir. Many on the other hand believe that the controversial Citizenship Amendment (CAA) law is more threatening that the coronavirus for which they have come out in large numbers to protest.

When India was at Stage 2 of the outbreak, around 5,000 anti-CAA protestors on March 18 gathered at Chennai’s Marina Beach to oppose the law that has been criticized for excluding Muslims — protests for which have been taking place around India since December 2019. While the rest of the country fights to stop the virus from spreading, some citizens come together to make things even more difficult.

On March 17, a 33-day protest by Muslim women at Washermanpet, dubbed Chennai's Shaheen Bagh, was called off in solidarity with the country's fight against Corona Virus.

The central government requested states to enforce work for home for private sector employees, except for those working in emergency and essential services.

"State governments shall issue

Representative Image appropriate directions so that all citizens above 65 (other than for medical assistance) except for public representatives or government servants or medical professionals are advised to remain at home," the government statement noted.

“Similarly, all children below 10 should be advised to stay at home and not to venture out,” it added.

Here’s how containing coronavirus depends on you

When one suffers from a common flu, the symptoms show up in about two days but Coronavirus symptoms take an average of five to six days to appear. So the virus spreads without one’s knowledge.

When coronavirus spreads in a community, around 20% of the cases are severe and may require hospitalization. The numbers can multiply due to which hospitals will start filling up and the severe cases of Covid-19 who can’t receive proper medical attention will be at a higher risk of dying.

It is difficult to stop the virus from stopping it completely but we can slow it down. Here is when each one of us comes in. The only way now to slow the virus from spreading is to limit social contact as much as possible, immediately. This will only work when each one of us understand the gravity of the situation and start social distancing.

Indians teach how “not to fight the disease” While the rest of the world is working on vaccines for the disease, India makes cow urine its cure. On March 17, a BJP activist was arrested in Kolkata for organising a cow urine consumption party where a civic volunteer fell ill after drinking it.

Narayan Chatterjee, 40, a local party worker of Jorasakho area in North Kolkata, organised a cow worship programme at a cowshed and distributed cow urine, claiming that it will protect people from coronavirus or cure those already infected, according to police officials.

In Dankuni, about 20 kms from Kolkata, milk vendors are selling cow urine at Rs 500 a litre and cow dung at Rs 500 a kilogram.

8 City

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

No specific forum in Ghy to file complaints against stale/spoilt raw food Barasha Das @Barasha_mi2

Guwahatians unaware where to complain against spoilt raw and fresh purchases Does posting on social media solve the problem?

No contact number or website for immediate complaint GMC pushes responsibility towards ADC (Health) in spite of Municipal Act bylaws Only one public health laboratory catering to 5 states of the NE region Only 2 food safety officers in city against the required 10 Food officers busy with VIP food check

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uppose you bought fresh meat from the market, and found that the product sold to you is not good enough to consume. It might turn out to be rotten; some even smell of medicine or give off other foul odour or at the very least you feel it’s inappropriate for consumption as it is not at par with the product you consume regularly. This is likely in the case of every raw product that you purchase like fish, vegetables, fruits, grains, and others. Similar situations might arise with products like sweets, dairy products etc that are sold loose without proper packaging.

What is the first step you should take or you usually take in such situations? Where or whom do you complaint about it?

G Plus asked Guwahatians what they do when faced with such a situation.

A certain percent replied that they would go to the Consumer Forum. However, the most prompt answer was, “I will post it on social

media platform and aware others of the product and the shop.”

However, making a post on social media might spread awareness or ignite some discussion amongst the concerned masses, but does that solve the problem? Social media updates do not even reach to most sections of society.

Many citizens are not even aware of the right and immediate step to be taken if they find themselves cheated on their purchases.

Given this situation, G Plus enquired on the same with the Consumer Forum of Guwahati.

AFA Borah, President of the District Consumer Forum, informed that a case could be filed in the Consumer Court regarding any issue faced by a consumer. People can also raise their concern with the zonal deputy commissioner of GMC, commissioner of GMC or the joint director of health services. He mentioned that as per the bylaws of The Assam Municipal Act, 1956, guidelines have been provided for the municipal corporations to take necessary steps to check the quality of raw and fresh food on a daily basis. Also there are various other departments like the Directorate of Health Services, Controller of Legal Metrology, and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, that are suppose to keep check on the various consumer products including the non-packaged ones.

He further informed, “Veterinary doctors working with the Guwahati Municipal Corporation have to check every batch of poultry and other meat products. There are also food safety officers under every health directorate that examines food items. However, in spite of availability of laws and officers inspections are not conducted regularly.”

L R Nampui, food safety official of Kamrup (M), talking to G Plus informed, “In incidents of spoilt food or any other quality issue, people should raise a complaint with the designated officer of the Food Safety Department at the Office of the Joint Director of Health Services, Kamrup (M) for immediate action. The office is located at Kharguli near the Brahmaputra State Guest House.”

However, when asked about the existence of any toll-free number of any other contact number

where immediate complaint can be raised, or even a website for that matter, Nampui said that no such contacts are available as of date although there is an all India portal fssai.gov.in - where complaints can be raised.

As such it can be pointed out that at a time when web portals and immediate contacts have become a necessity in every field, and various government departments also provide permanent and temporary contact details for the benefit of the public, a department dealing with sensitive and essential issues such as food and public welfare does not have an active contact number.

While sources at the consumer court said that all food samples are examined at the Directorate of Forensic Science Assam and other mobile laboratories of the state government, officials of the food safety department informed that the examinations are done only at the State Public Health Laboratory in Bamunimaidan. The laboratory is the only one certified by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and apart from Assam is also being shared by Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Nampui informed that there is a shortage of manpower in the department given the amount of work and the samples and places that are to be inspected across the city. There are only two food safety officers in Guwahati and another two from Amingoan, whereas the requirement is of at least ten food safety officers to maintain such a huge city.

“Apart from inspections of products of public consumption, these same officers also have to cater to the daily food inspections of the Chief Minister, Governor and other VIP guests, apart from licensing food shops, attending public complaints and others. We also have hundreds of applications for new establishments and officers have to check the premises before issuing those. So rather than conducting inspection

Meat sale on a normal day in a Guwahati market | G Plus Photo of all food items per day, we select sections of food products for examination as possible due to lack of manpower,” added Nampui.

Given the very limited number of officers and laboratories, and without the presence of any immediate contact, the natural question that arises is will the food sample of the damaged or spoilt product sustain till the whole process of filing and complaint and examining the same is completed? Then how are the concerned authorities going to charge the seller?

Unfortunately, food officials could not provide any answer to these basic enquiries.

Pallavi Kachari, Collector of GMC said, “GMC is the nodal corporation office that executes the laws in the field. There are laws and bylaws for the matter and GMC is the agency to regulate them all. People can complaint directly to the Commissioner or to the two Joint Commissioners of Health and Enforcement under GMC.” Borah, President of the Consumer Forum said, “There are enough laws and authorities to cater to the welfare of the public. Public awareness must be undertaken and every citizen must stand up for his or her right.

The consumer court cannot take action unless complaints are made. We request public to come forward.”

He has further requested every affected citizen of Guwahati to complain about even the smallest of consumer dissatisfaction, be it over-charging, spoilt product or less quantity.

Further, while higher officials

at GMC said that cases against any raw products should be taken by the Assistant Deputy Commissioner (Health) as the nodal body, the latter pushed the matter towards the Joint Director of Public Health.

GMC confirmed that they have a Veterinary Officer along with a team of other medical officers.

While none of the government authorities are willing to take up any responsibility on the matter, the Consumer Forum officials have assured that they would conduct an awareness program after the coronavirus scare has subsided.

Drives conducted by city authorities to prevent the pandemic from reaching Guwahati Earlier, Kachari had also informed G Plus that on receiving a complaint, an eviction drive was conducted at Kamakhya Gate on illegal meat shops that were selling openly.

It has to be mentioned that the GMC officials along with the Commissionerate of Police has been carrying out massive eviction drives against many unhygienic food stalls, restaurants and others especially given the coronavirus scare from which Assam and the city are till safe.

Talking about the precautions being taken by the food safety department in light of the COVID-19 scare Nampui said, “We have not received any direction from the food safety authority of India but we have been issuing orders from the Commissionerate of Food Safety for checking of meat stalls and other raw materials and also for the inspection restaurants.”

In The News

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

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While govt claims preparedness to fight Covid-19, GMC fails to keep Ghy clean G Plus News @guwahatiplus

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hough the state and the central governments are claiming that they are leaving no stone unturned to fight the Coronavirus, the Guwahati Development Department (GDD) is yet to grasp the gravity of the situation as the city still remains vulnerable to diseases.

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) which is under GDD is alleged to not being responsible enough to keep the city clean during the present scenario. A concerned citizen of Guwahati, Sumit Jain from Shantipur area, has raised various questions regarding the cleanliness of the city.

Talking to G Plus Jain said, “Every morning I travel towards Jalukbari at around 10 am and I see the garbage carting GMC vehicles plying without adequate covers such that the garbage keeps falling out of the truck on the roads.” He said that it not only litters the entire stretch of the road but also makes the roads a source for the spread of various diseases. He said that the issue is also a concern for the traffic police and accordingly he had complained to the traffic department thrice but no action has been taken yet. Jain also added that many GMC trucks do not have proper registration

number plates.

This is just one perspective; similarly there are many other complaints against the GMC. The people of Fancy Bazar keep complaining about the old jail area which always remains dirty.

Former councilor of ward number 9, Rajkumar Tewari (Fancy Bazar area falls under the ward), talking to G Plus said, “Since 21 months the GMC has not conducted the corporation elections which has stripped us off the power of maintaining cleanliness in the area. The GMC officials do not listen to us anymore.” He also said that the old jail area is never cleaned by the GMC workers. Many drains in the area are overflowing and there is garbage all over. The old jail area is also a urinating point for people and it is never cleaned even as people continue with the practice. The area is extremely vulnerable to diseases.

The non government organizations (NGOs) hired by the GMC for door-to-door garbage collection are also not working properly according to him.

Many areas in the city have complaints that the NGOs do not collect garbage regularly.

Deepa Das of ward number 27 (Jyotikuchi area) talking to G Plus expressed that the NGOs visit the area once a week to collect garbage. Thus, the residents are compelled to throw the garbage in vacant plot of lands or the drains flowing nearby. The area

A GMC dumper freighting garbage without covers in the city | G Plus Photo thereby becomes vulnerable to diseases.

The Prime Minister of India, while addressing the nation, has asked the citizens to give utmost importance to cleanliness. The state government has asked all the business establishments, government offices and other stakeholders to keep everything clean. But the GMC has somewhat been at the

G Plus launches #MatCorona Awareness Campaign for Coronavirus

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s the Coronavirus panic spreads across the globe, in a bid to increase awareness about the disease and to aware the citizens, G Plus has launched the ‘MatCorona’ campaign across the city.

The campaign will be executed using various means such as digital media, social media, outdoor & print media with an aim to reach over a million people within the city and outside as much as possible.

In this time of crisis, it is important to follow several rules and understand the importance of

social distancing. Social distancing is a practice of maintaining a greater than usual physical distance from other people or of avoiding direct contact with people or objects in public places during the outbreak of a contagious disease in order to minimize exposure and reduce the transmission of infection.

The campaign aims at explaining the citizens that in times of crisis it is important to avoid public places, public gatherings and restrict oneself only to essential movement so that as potential carriers, we restrict the spread of this disease.

receiving end of allegations of not keeping the city clean.

A doctor, Manoj Kumar Singh, talking to G Plus said that there are no Covid-19 positive cases in the state, but it is important that the citizens follow the government’s directives on cleanliness. He said

it is important for city authorities to keep the city clean.

The GMC claimed that they have formed flying squads to check littering, spitting and urinating on the roads and across the city, but it looks like their claims are not visible on ground.

10 News This Week

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

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

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IndiGo announces salary cuts for employees

Recording a drop in revenue due to coronavirus scare, IndiGo airlines has announced that it will cut salaries of most of its employees from April 1. IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta, will take a 25 per cent cut in salary for himself, while senior vice presidents and above are taking a 20 per cent pay cut while vice presidents and cockpit crew are taking a 15 per cent pay cut. “We have to pay careful attention to our cash flow so that we do not run out of cash,” Dutta said adding that he knew how hard it was for families to take a cut in “take-home pay”, as per reports.

CBSE board exams postponed, to be rescheduled after March 31

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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has postponed CBSE Class 12, and Class 10 Board exams due to Coronavirus outbreak in India. The Class 10, Class 12 CBSE Board exams will now be rescheduled after March 31. The decision comes after the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (HRD) ordered CBSE to postpone exams.

Meanwhile, JEE Mains will also get rescheduled and new dates of would be announced after 31 March, 2020, the ministry said in a statement.

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Withdrawal of senior citizen concessions in Railways to dissuade travel

In order to contain the spread of COVID-19 virus and to minimise the travel related risks to elderly citizens, Indian Railways has taken steps to discourage senior citizens from undertaking non-essential journeys by removing special incentives which presently exist for their travel. Indian Railways has done this by withdrawing concessional booking of tickets to senior citizens for Unreserved & Reserved segment from 00:00 hrs of March 20 till further advisory. This step has been taken to discourage them from making non essential journeys. It is to be mentioned that a large number of requests are already being received by Indian Railways for cancellation of tickets booked by senior citizens and provide waiver of cancellation fee.

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Nirbhaya Case: All 4 convicts hanged

The four convicts in the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student have been hanged at Delhi’s Tihar Jail at 5:30 AM on March 20. Reportedly, hundreds of people carrying the National Flag and shouting slogans of “Long live Nirbhaya” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”, gathered outside the Tihar Jail, with some of them distributing sweets after the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case were executed. Meanwhile, the bodies of the four Nirbhaya convicts were later moved to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.

The post-mortem examinations were scheduled to begin at 8 am. The bodies will be handed to the families of the four convicts once the post-mortem examinations are completed.

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PM Modi declares Janata Curfew on March 22

“The entire nation should follow a Janata Curfew on the 22nd of March starting from 7 AM to 9 PM,” emphasised Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to the nation on March 19. With the aim to fight the novel Coronavirus, PM Modi has declared this curfew calling it a step ‘by the people, for the people’. He has asked the countrymen to stay inside their houses during curfew hours, specifically those above 60 years of age. PM Modi has also said that the step is being taken to ensure that India is prepared to fight the pandemic disease. He added that the key to fight the disease is to be patient and maintain social distancing.

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Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor tests Coronavirus positive

Bollywood Singer Kanika Kapoor tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday, March 20. She has been admitted to the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) hospital in Lucknow. Reportedly, the 41-year-old singer was in London for a while and returned to Lucknow on March 15. She also refrained from informing authorities about her travel history. Upon arriving in Lucknow, Kanika hosted a lavish party for her friends and family at a five-star hotel.

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MP CM Kamal Nath announces his resignation ahead of trust vote

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath announced his resignation ahead of the trust vote which is to take place at 2 PM on Friday, March 20.

He said that he will meet and submit his resignation letter to the Governor. Addressing the media, the CM stated, “I have decided to tender my resignation to the Governor today. The people of this country can see the truth behind the incident where MLAs are being held hostage in Bengaluru...The truth will come out. People will not forgive them,” he further added. The Supreme Court, on March 19, had ordered the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh government to face floor test on Friday, March 20.

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Union health ministry launches COVID-19 tracking website

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Total number of active COVID-19 affected cases rises to 236

The union health ministry has launched a web portal for tracking COVID-19 across India state-wise.

The website is accessible at https://www.mohfw.gov. in/, provides up-to-date infection statistics for each states. The website provides helpline numbers along with the total number of patients including foreign nationals which is updated every 4 hours. The total number of coronavirus cases in India is at 169 on Thursday after 18 fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, according to the union health ministry.

As the novel coronavirus continues to claim lives across the world, the numbers recorded in India are comparatively minimal as the government is on high alert and preventive measures taken. Going by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data, the total number of active COVID-19 cases in the country is 171 as on March 20 (till 9:00 AM). While 19 patients have been discharged or cured in the country, one patient has migrated and four deaths recorded. As per media reports later in the day, the total active cases have risen to 236 in 20 states and union territories.

Maharashtra is the most effected with 52 such cases.

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US records highest number of deaths in 24 hours

US recorded its highest number of deaths in 24 hours, that is a rise by 53 to 150. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 19 reported 10,491 active cases of coronavirus. This is an increase by 3,404 from the previous count. Number of states in the US have issued restrictions on public gatherings and venues, including gyms, bars, and restaurants. President Trump on March 16 issued orders to limit the gathering of people to 10 numbers at least for the next two weeks.

In The News

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

Covid-19 scares everyone from political to cattle class, BTC elections postponed G Plus News @guwahatiplus

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he Coronavirus scare has not left anyone untouched.

Starting from the lowest strata to higher ones, all appear to be coming under its vicious grip and the political class is no exception.

The all important BTC elections in lower Assam slated to take place on April 4 was postponed indefinitely driving home the point that the virus which has spread its tentacles across the world is consuming whatever is coming its way.

It also gives credence to the fact that no one is immune be it the privileged political class or the struggling cattle class. Though in India we are still in a relatively safer zone compared to other countries, the community transfer of the virus will spread havoc considering the 1.21 billion population of the country.

There is also a growing demand for the current Parliament session to be

deferred considering the threat perception.

The pressure mounted on the government on Friday to end the ongoing Parliament session at the earliest after several politicians quarantined themselves. The session is scheduled to end on April 3.

Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje tweeted that she and her son Dushyant Singh have gone into self-quarantine after attending singer Kannika Kapoor's party in Lucknow last week. They, however, have not tested positive - yet.

Earlier in the day, Kapoor quarantined herself after testing positive for coronavirus. In a statement released on Instagram, the 41-year-old singer said she developed signs of flu in the last four days.

Kapoor had landed in Lucknow from the United Kingdom in the second week of March and had attended at least four parties in Lucknow between March 14 and 16 and also stayed with her family in Kanpur. There are allegations

that she was not screened for coronavirus at the Lucknow airport.

Raje and Singh, along with several other politicians and bureaucrats, had attended the party at a hotel in Lucknow on March 14. Kapoor was present there as was Uttar Pradesh health minister Jai Pratap Singh, who has also quarantined himself.

The party was hosted by a nephew of former Bahujan Samaj Party MP, Akbar Ahmed Dumpy.

Singh is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member, and had actively participated in parliamentary proceedings and meetings after his return from Lucknow.

Coming back to Assam, the postponement of Bodoland elections till further notice gives us a signal that though till now a single case has been tested positive in the state, the government is taking no chances.

And as responsible citizens in this hour of crisis we need to be with the government at every step which would save us from the pandemic coronavirus.

Representative Image of the all-important voters’ ink | G Plus Photo

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Cononavirus scare: Gyms in residential colonies and apartments to be closed

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n a bid to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in the society, the government of Assam has directed to take all necessary steps/surveillance in identifying all the Gyms operating in residential colonies/apartments and buildings within the state.

The notification also states to ensure the closure of all Gyms immediately as a part of preventive measures being taken up to combat the spread of the disease viz COVID-19 effectively.

Earlier, State health and family welfare minister HimantaBiswaSarma tweeted on 19th March, “From today we are closing all museums,

libraries, coaching centres, beauty parlours and barber shops till 31st March 2020. We are constantly monitoring and reviewing the evolving situation and will take all necessary steps to protect and safeguard public health.”

The state government has decided to close all Aadhaar registration centres across the State till March 31, 2020.

Assam govt orders closure of Aadhaar centres across state

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he step has been taken to ensure that the mandatory biometric collection system does not contribute to spreading infection.

A notification from the Commissioner Secretary of the State General Administration department reads, “As collection of biometrics is mandatory for Aadhaar Enrolment/Update and as collection of such biometrics is likely to aggravate the spread of Corona Virus (COVID-19) amongst

theinhabitants/citizens of the State, the General Administration Department, Govt. of Assam, in the interest of public services, has decided to close all Aadhaar Enrolment Centres in the State with immediate effect upto 315’ March, 2020 as a preventive measure to arrest the spread of Corona Virus ( COVID-19) in the State. It needs to be mentioned here that Aadhaar centres in many parts of the country have already been closed because of the pandemic.

12 Centre Spread

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

COVI 01

Imported and sporadic cases

The first stage occurs when those who have a travel history of visiting countries affected

by COVID-19 test positive for the virus upon arrival. In this initial stage, the virus is transmitted by people

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Local transmission

In the second stage, people come in contact with those who have travelled from affected countries.

Local transmission occurs when the source of virus transmission is known and can also

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be located. In this stage, people with a travel history to affected countries and those in close contact with such people begin testing positive for the virus. As per authorities, India is in the second stage currently.

Community transmission

The third stage of community transmission is seen where by now several areas become affected and the source of the infection can no longer be located. Large scale spread of the virus takes place in this stage.

This happens when a person tests positive for coronavirus even after

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travelling from abroad. Currently, no positive case has been reported in Assam till now and the health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Assam is not even in stage one yet.

having no exposure to an infected person or has no history of travelling to an infected nation. Countries like Italy and Spain have reached the stage of community transmission.

Once in this stage, the authorities should strongly take steps to seal their country’s borders to contain the spread of virus.

Epidemic

This is considered as the last stage of an outbreak and occurs when the disease is termed an epidemic, or a very severe outbreak

with no visible end point of the ongoing transmission. China is currently in this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The different stages of India and the rest of t

With the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbrea Assam government have taken various me Looking at the significant increase in the numbe Health Organisation (WHO) had de

Measures taken by different countries

Various countries have taken several measures to contain the spread of the virus. The US has declared a national emergency to handle the outbreak and has imposed restrictions on several countries. Many countries are under lockdown including China, Italy, Spain and France.

On the other hand, several nations have sealed their borders, restricted entry of tourists and have imposed travel restrictions.

Steps taken in India

The Indian government has suspended all tourist visas and has launched helpline

Centre Spread

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

ID-19

a pandemic and where the world stand today

ak in India, the central government as well as the easures to contain the spread of the virus. er of infected persons across the globe, the World eclared coronavirus as a pandemic. numbers for all states too. A total of 206 positive cases have been reported in India till Friday afternoon. Screening at airports and railway stations has been strengthened.

Further, advisories and guidelines for prevention have also been issued to different departments.

In Assam, no positive cases have been reported till now but the government has taken several preventive steps to prevent coronavirus spread. All educational institutions, gyms and swimming pools have been shut down in Assam. Further, parks, museums, public places have also been closed.

Mandatory screenings are being conducted at airports, railway stations and other places of importance.

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HEADACHE FATIGUE

RUNNY NOSE

COUGH

SORE THROAT

VOMITING

FEVER

SHORTNESS OF BREATH

SNEEZING

Post-peak period As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), during the post-peak period, pandemic disease levels in most countries with adequate surveillance will have dropped below peak observed levels. The post-peak period signifies that pandemic activity appears to be

decreasing; however, it is uncertain if additional waves will occur and countries will need to be prepared for a second wave.

Suggestions by WHO: Plan and coordinate for additional resources and capacities during possible future waves.

Post-pandemic period In the post-pandemic period, influenza disease activity will have returned to levels normally seen for seasonal influenza. It is expected that the pandemic virus will behave as a seasonal influenza A virus. At this stage, it is important to maintain surveillance and update pandemic

Use mask

Wash hand

preparedness and response plans accordingly. An intensive phase of recovery and evaluation may be required.

Suggestions by WHO: Review lessons learned and share experiences with the international community and replenish resources.

Avoid contaged people

Avoid agglomerations

14 G Talk E

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| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020 T

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The govt’s commendable job

esieged as the world is by an invisible microbe with advanced European countries resorting to lockdowns in its battle against the Coronavirus, the steps taken by the Indian government with the country’s Prime Minister leading the charge in combating the Covid-19 is eminently laudable.

The trickle-down effect of the same has been the compassionate but tough stance taken by the state government led by health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma whereby Assam continues to remain at Stage 1 of the pandemic. The phasewise step-by-step closure of places where people normally tend to gather – the bars, pubs, salons, government offices et al – is what was needed to create the proper awareness about the gravity of the situation among the masses.

The latest announcements or rather decrees that demand that all passengers in public buses have to be seated and cannot travel standing, the postponement of all exams beyond 31st March etc are bold and laudable steps that people need to accept without conditions.

The government can do only so much and in this instance it has been doing a lot. It is now for the people to accept the demands and requests of the government with full

cooperation and without casting aspersions. Also, the situation demands people to be more aware and properly informed of the danger that is threatening the existence of humankind and not be cynical of the efforts that the government is putting in. It is to be clearly understood that March 31 is the observation date and not a day after which life will return to normal.

The future is clearly hazy – no pun intentions here. A lot more disruption in normal life should be the honest expectation of everyone and learning to be socially distant just has to be accepted.

Having said this, here is a word for the cynics who, despite their enormous knowledge, education etc continue to display foolishness publicly – yes on Facebook!

Posting photos of enjoying parties and being in gatherings make such people targets to be shunned and not “liked.”

Beyond this, comparing Covid-19 to other contagious diseases like leprosy only reflects foolishness that was previously not expected of them. In this age of information at finger tips, it is imperative that every person on earth is informed and aware of what needs to be done and not done.

The peril is for every human; it needs to be driven home!

Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

Danger from the Coronavirus-ignorant lot

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midst the growing tensions for the Coronavirus, there are two kinds of people you typically might have met. There are the ones who have taken this outbreak extremely seriously and the ones who continue to be ignorant.

While we all dislike the “cough cough” disclaimer before our phone calls, it is important to see the bigger picture because the implications of a viral outbreak are far-reaching, and I am concerned that people are unable to fathom the possible impact.

Although the government of Assam has so far done a commendable job at limiting the spread of virus by strongly putting several checks in place, there is still a large group of people among us who seem to be taking these precautions lightly.

That being said, there is also the question of “not enough tests” being done. India is only testing patients who have been in touch with an infected person or who have travelled to high-risk countries, or health workers managing patients with severe respiratory disease and thereby developing symptoms.

Although it is reassuring that at this point there is no community outbreak, our densely populated country is susceptible to having an ‘un-manageable’ number of cases. However, the low number of cases paints a more satisfying picture. The core problem is simple – the negligence of one is dangerous for us all. For instance, Kanika Kapoor’s party hopping could have much larger implications than she realizes. This is also true for a lot of other instances where people have attempted to escape quarantine. This negligence thereby affects the “R-Naught,” the technical definition of which is the average number of people who will catch a disease from one contagious person. It specifically applies to a population of people who were previously free of infection and haven’t been vaccinated.

Watch the Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion,” you’ll understand what I mean.

Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_bv

COVID-19: Distress signals

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he coronavirus has taken the world by storm. And there’s only one thing we as individuals and citizens of the world can do; take precautions and help the government while it is trying to help us.

The cases infected by the virus in India have climbed to more than 150 as of writing this

The author attempts to put in perspective the methods to deal with the Coronavirus as also to bust some myths surrounding the issue.

article, with Maharashtra being the worst affected.

Though Assam does not have a single case of infection so far, the government is taking all kinds of precautions for the benefit of the people; our duty is to support the government the best we can.

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus.

This virus is covered in spikes and it uses the spikes to invade. Until December 2019 there were only six coronaviruses. COVID-19 is the seventh. And all coronaviruses go for the lungs. The symptoms are a dry cough, fever and may be fatal viral pneumonia and this makes it all the more difficult to track the outbreak.

The COVID-19 has travelled person-to-person, the prime reason why it has spread faster than any other virus and global health experts may sound cynical but they say this is not the last outbreak we are going to see. There is more to come in epidemic form.

And when we are witness to an epidemic of this proportion, who should we blame? Us, of course! Over the years, the way we have treated the planet, this was meant to happen. The more we abuse Nature these epidemics will only gather momentum.

Ever since the outbreak in Wuhan, China, my messages have gone up manifolds in my inbox with all kinds of theories, memes, et al. Jokes apart but this is no laughing matter. We have to deal with the situation and we have to bust the myths doing the rounds.

Myth 1:

Coronavirus will go away in summer when the temperature will rise.

The truth is, it is the wrong story going around. Ask yourself: Did previous pandemics follow weather patterns?

Myth 2:

In summer, mosquitoes will increase the spread of the virus.

Absolutely not! The infection spreads through respiratory droplets, not through mosquito bites.

Myth 3:

Hand sanitizers are better than soap and water.

Nope. Normal soap and water too does a great job of cleaning your hands and killing the virus.

Myth 4:

To prevent COVID-19, it is essential to clean every inch of your home.

Give yourself a break. Until and unless you are looking after a COVID patient at home, your home is far from any risk.

Myth 5:

What’s this big hullabaloo about social distancing? The virus won’t cause any harm.

Do us all a favour please.

rHANG THE CROOK! BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ‘SOCH’?

O pinion Tinat Atifa Masood

The WHO and the Government of India, both, have asked all of us to follow stringent rules and staying away from crowded places is one of them. Think of being more humane and become more sensitive towards other Earthlings.

Assam and the northeast do not have a single case of infection so far. The onus again lies with the people to take care of the situation while the government does its own duty.

Wash your hands frequently.

Don’t touch your eyes, mouth or nostrils unnecessarily. Stay away from socialising for a couple of days. Don’t spit around, keep exercising, jog, run and of course be kind, spend more time with your family, read, write, compose songs, sing along, dance, do some gardening, eat healthy food and of course help people who need you the most. Leave the masks for the doctors and nurses. Don’t hoard everything from the supermarket shelves; spare some for others too!

And about America and China spreading this virus, don’t believe everything you read.

Right now, think of how we can prevent the country from moving to Stage 3 from Stage 2, where we are right now.

In short, slow down and let the Earth breathe easy, while you show some responsibility.

Smile, stay calm and take it easy; all this will pass!

(Tinat Atifa Masood is a writer and poet based in Guwahati. The views expressed are her own)

Letter to the Editor

India could not have woken up to a better morning. I had never imagined that I’d personally be so elated by the news of anybody being killed. Whatever the nature or magnitude of a crime, I’ve always had reservations about capital punishment, but this is different. Nirbhaya’s story was horrifying enough even without the details, add to it the description of how they pulled her insides out, leaving just 5% of intestine in her body and why they did that. I do not think that even Jesus of Nazareth, had he been the judge, would have pardoned these monsters.

Then there are people like AP Singh and ML Sharma, their defendants who kept trying to delay the inevitable until every possible loophole in our extremely compassionate legal system was exploited and exhausted. Also, there’s a reason I mentioned the ‘Why’ in the same breath as the ‘What’ - because it airs some inexplicable mysoginistic views which are vital to be discussed in order to address and change them, because the reason behind both, the gangrape, and the lawyers of the rapists defending them with their heads held high is the same - the belief (in their own admission) that decent women do not roam around freely at night, and most certainly not with a male partner who’s not either her father, brother or husband.

M.L Sharma and AP Singh’s sophisticated comparison of women to flowers and diamonds and that they would have burnt their own daughters alive if they went out with boys, transpires an unsettling disgust, equally disturbing as the raw, uneducated violence of the rapists, if not more.

If educated men of law think and act like this, how are they any different from the beasts they are representing?

Yes, it is our duty to punish the guilty and we have done that today, but there’s a larger question that presents itself before us - Who or what is the real enemy of humanity? Is it the perpetual rapist? Or is it the lawyer shamelessly defending him? Or is it our society itself that produces such products of poor education, of centuries of ignorance and patriarchy, and of violence and impunity? Think about it.

- Fahd Alam Hazarika, Guwahati

In Focus

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

15

Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi takes oath as RS member amidst uproar F ormer Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi took oath as Rajya Sabha member on March 19.

He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by President of India Ramnath Kovind.

There was uproar in the house when Gogoi took oath and the opposition members staged a walkout.

The former CJI delivered the landmark judgement like on Ayodhya Ram Temple site and was the architect of NRC in Assam. Justice Gogoi, the first person from northeast who was appointed as the Chief Justice of India on October 3, 2018, retired on November 17, 2019.

Guwahatians took to the social media handles of G Plus and shared their views on the appointment of Ranjan Gogoi as Rajya Sabha member.

Appreciating the step taken by the President, Ajit Kumar Mahanta said, “There has been a gap between government and judiciary in thought and implementation. By his presence it is expected the gap will be removed and governance will become better. Best wishes for a very positive fruitful tenure

with great service to the country.

Shutting the critics Sumit Singh Baruah said, “People who are complaining here, what's your complaint about? He has been nominated; he did not forward his name himself. And people who are calling him Modi's puppet, remember he was the most vocal critic of the NDA government since 2014 from the judiciary. And why are people complaining? Because he gave the Ayodhya verdict in favour of one particular party? If you cannot respect the judiciary's decision, then kindly do not talk about the right to equality and right to freedom granted in the constitution of the country.”

Disagreeing with the appointment of Gogoi as RS member Dibyajyoti Das said, “One more dishonest member added to a parliament full of it.

He will fit in perfectly.”

Hemanta Pathak said, “When Rajan Gogoi accepted the position of RS member he lost all respect. He was the CJI and now a mere member of RS. A person who gets an immediate plum position post retirement is someone who probably sold his soul.”

Ranjan Gogoi Another netizen Arindam Baruah said, “Ranjan Gogoi was in the panel of judges on the case where he was charged with rape allegations. No proper case was filed against the woman but she lost her job, her husband was terminated from job and one more relative lost his job without

any proper investigation.”

Appreciating the step however, Ashok Bhattacharyya said, “Rajya Sabha is the upper house.

Generally members should be elected from non-political arenas particularly from among intellectuals, educationists.

That was the aim but gradually

it became asylum of defeated politicians. What was the use of nominated members like Rekha and Sachin? Ranjan Gogoi may do better job than others.

Nobody raised questions when Gen VK Singh was appointed as a Minister of State after retiring as COAS.”

Assamese people stuck outside country to be given $2000 Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a press meet on March 20 said, “Those who have travelled outside the country in the last 30 days for various reasons like attending seminars, exchange students, business related work and even tourists and are not being able to return to Assam as airlines have shut down, will each be given 2,000 dollars into their respective accounts.”

Pritam Das

This is only for the people there in foreign countries for 30 days or short period of time, such as educational/training/or travel related. Not for people who are permanently in other countries. Also it’s not for permanent students who are living for more than 30 days. I hope people understand this.

Shouvik Sen

They are affluent enough to be living in foreign countries.

Say Rs 1,30,000 of freebies to the affluent, not $2000. Give the same number of loans to unemployed people here when the emergency is off. Life is precious for all and government should look after the people who are living here right now. They should be the first priority.

Shreya Dhar

Very good step indeed. All the people who are stuck outside are our people.

They are our responsibility and it is important to keep them safe. It’s a good step taken by Himanta Biswa Sarma and I hope it really helps. Every life is precious and these small steps will really help.

Arunava Das

Arunava Das I don’t think they are worrying about money at the moment. So be it 2000/4000 or whatever it will not do. Instead GoA must arrange for their evacuation with utmost priority and if anyone is having issues with their passport it is our GoA to solve it now and get things done for our brother and sisters. And if GoA meant Assamese only then it’s hilarious because only Assamese people do not reside in Assam.

Rahul Jain

Assam border should be closed down or the new arrivals should isolate themselves for 10 days to prevent the Corona virus. Although Assam right now has zero positive cases, we have to be alert and take all precautionary measures to make sure no one falls victim during this time.

Anurag Chakraborty

Do only Assamese people belong to Assam? What about the rest who were born here and their families staying in Assam but are not Assamese? This is wrong Mr Sarma. This is how division starts and people start hating each other. Being a minister you should be responsible in what you are saying in public.

16 Buzz

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

City colleges make hand sanitizers

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midst the coronavirus scare, different educational institutions of Guwahati have prepared hand sanitizers.

The list of institutions include chemistry department of B. Borooah College, chemistry department of Cotton University, department of botany, Pragjyotish College, chemistry department of Royal Global University and chemistry department of Pandu College among others.

Rupanjali Baruah’s novel ‘The Road Alone’ launched

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uthor and artist Rupanjali Baruah’s novel, ‘The Road Alone,’ was launched at an event held in Gauhati Artists’ Guild gallery on March 14. The novel was released by eminent poet, IAS Retd excommissioner Shantanu Thakur.

The book launch was followed by an abstract art exhibition titled ‘Tryst with Color’ by Baruah. The art exhibition was inaugurated

by eminent artist and film maker Pulok Gogoi and noted graphic artist Dilip Tamuly. The event was attended by well known artists like Noni Borpujari and writers, art and book lovers of the city.

‘The Road Alone’ set in the 1980s is a contemporary fiction on a slice of events that shook the social fabric of Assam that saw the mass exodus of Assamese youths lured to leave their hearths in search

of an elusive freedom that they never found.

‘Tryst with Color’ is an abstract art exhibition that showcased 38 of her new creations. Most of her artworks are centred around the concept of an elusive window through which the artist tries to capture a glimpse of her eternal search for light of enlightenment.

The art exhibition continued till March 19.

Don Bosco Guwahati Alumni unit to distribute free surgical face masks and hand sanitizers

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on Bosco Alumni (DBA), Guwahati Unit, is envisaging distributing free surgical face masks and hand sanitizer to the public as part of our social commitment towards awareness of COVID – 19 in Guwahati.

The distribution will take place at ABC point on Saturday, 21st March, 2020 at around 10 AM. Don Bosco Alumni is an association of the past pupils of Don Bosco School. It is a platform where the past pupils come together and try to contribute their bit to the society as well as their alma mater.

It is to be mentioned that the Don Bosco Alumni has been holding numerous regular programs viz.

BoscoJayanti – where the under privileged children are treated for a day out, Felicitation of toppers, Table Tennis & Badminton Championships,

Nostalgia- reunion of past pupils, Bosco Diwali Fest – a day of fun & frolic, X’mas Jingle Mingle – celebration of Christmas in a unique style.

It is to be mentioned that the state of Assam has stepped up efforts to make sure that each and every public joint and forum be made hygienic so that the spread of any infectious diseases can be minimized.

Coronavirus: Barber shops, coaching centres to remain shut till Mar 31

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he Assam government is shutting down all barber shops, libraries and coaching centres from Thursday March 19 till March 31.

It is to be mentioned that the government has already ordered closure of all museums, beauty parlours, educational institutes, swimming pools and gyms in order to control the spread of coronavirus in the state.

“From today we are closing all museums, libraries, coaching centres, beauty parlours and barber shops till 31st March 2020.

We are constantly monitoring and reviewing the evolving situation and will take all necessary steps to protect and safeguard public health.”

He further wrote: “Assam has put in place finest precautionary measures at the airport to screen passengers

Further, parks will also remain closed temporarily to public to keep public of Guwahati safe.

State health and family welfare minister HimantaBiswaSarma tweeted on Thursday March 19,

for #CoronaVirus.

Along with officials, inspected the Guwahati Airport facilities including body scanners in place, today. This is being done for safety of all & I solicit your cooperation.”

Trotter

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

Man wears huge cardboard disc to keep people away amid coronavirus fears

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s more and more people quarantine themselves amid coronavirus fears and public health officials recommend social distancing, a man in Italy was spotted wearing a giant cardboard circle around his waist to keep people away.

In a video shared on social media, the man can be seen strolling along the streets of the country - which is now under lockdown - wearing a huge orange disc around his waist to enforce social distancing. According to The Independent, the video was filmed in Rome. When asked by the person behind the camera why he was wearing the disc, the man responds: "For coronavirus".

Since being shared on Twitter, the video has collected over 21,000 views and a number of amused comments.

"How will he enter the door?" wondered

Woman’s shameful spa experience ends with her walking the streets naked

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reating yourself to a spa break is the perfect way to unwind and escape from the stresses of day-to-day life. But for Anbara Salam, her nice relaxing day out ended up being the complete opposite, and she says it was the most embarrassing moment of her life.

It all started when she arrived at a spa in Germany with her boyfriend.

They were quickly told that the site's rules meant that while swimming suits were allowed in the pool, in the sauna you had to be naked. So she went to get undressed and grabbed a towel on the way to meet her boyfriend in the sauna. All fine so far. But she ended up going through the wrong door, and finding herself locked in the fire escape area - with just a tiny towel to cover her dignity. But that’s not even the worst part.

In an attempt to get a passerby’s attention, she banged on the door and yelled for help, but it was no use. “Fully crying, I run downstairs, trying to work out which part of me I should cover with the lil towel - my face? A single buttock?”

After another failed attempt on the floor below, she reached the ground floor and found an open door into “a terrifying machine room with massive fans & pumps & 'electrocution' symbols on everything”.

She said, “Friends, there's nothing quite like running, naked & crying, around an industrial machine room. I spot a service lift. Out of sheer panic, I run into the lift, covering each boob in turn, mashing the buttons.”

Finally, a German man starts speaking on the loudspeaker, which, since she doesn’t speak German she assumes he’s saying, “The naked girl in the fire escape lift please stops mashing the buttons.”

When the lift doors eventually open, a spa

Mum upset as husband plays golf rather than see their premature baby in hospital

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one Twitter user. "Wonderful step," said another.

Italy has been struck by the worst European outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic, with more than 17,000 cases and 1,809 deaths. The country has implemented a nationwide lockdown in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19.

(Source: ndtv)

n "exhausted" mum-of-three was furious after her husband opted to play golf with the boys instead of visiting his newborn son in the hospital. She claimed he hadn't seen their little boy for days, and didn't understand why he would rather spend time with his golf friends than bond with him.

Her upset has caused a huge debate online, with people offering differing opinions on the sensitive situation.

She didn't exactly have a textbookperfect pregnancy after her amniotic sac ruptured 30 weeks in, leaving her confined to a hospital bed for a month.

At 34 weeks she delivered her baby, and was rushed to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit.

When she was discharged, she stayed at home to care for her other two children, whilst her husband went to work - leaving very minimal time for her to visit her newborn at the hospital.

In a bid to bond with her son in any

way she could, she said, "I am pumping breast milk every three hours because I feel like this is the only way that I am able to help my baby at this point". Trying to balance a new-born in the hospital and two children at home, whilst trying to grieve for a loved one, definitely put strain on the relationship.

But when her husband decided his weekly golf meet-up was more important than bonding with his son, things went from bad to worse.

She had expected him to go straight to the hospital after the funeral, and when he hadn't she confronted him.

She took to Reddit to ask users whether she had a right to be upset with him, and whilst some users suggested a compromise, others agreed with her husband. One said, "Can he go every other week? Like a midway compromise.

If he usually goes once a week... I feel like right now you guys are in a situation where 'the usual' just isn’t going to work out.”

(Source: mirror.co.uk)

Indian 'corona' shop gains selfie fame amid virus pandemic

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employee, which she described as “the most dressed man to ever be wearing clothes”, is standing there, with no towel in his hands.

She starts following him through the fire escape passage, but realises the only way to get back to the spa is to leave the building, walk down the street, around the corner and through the reception where a queue of people wait...

At this point she’s crying hysterically and cowering at the side of the pavement.

With nothing to lose, she drops the wash cloth, puts her shoulders back, her head high and follows her saviour down the street - whilst ignoring the people staring and pointing.

“I am transcendent with shame.

Untouchable.”

When she reaches the reception, it’s busy.

So busy in fact that the employee has to yell at people so she can get through the crowd.

As she waits at the reception desk for him to explain the situation - she assumes - an elderly lady hands her a lobster-shaped pool float to cover her modesty. When she finally found her boyfriend in the cafe, she was relieved and ran to him sobbing.

But, instead of asking if she was okay, he was grumpy because he’d been left waiting for an hour.

(Source: mirror.co.uk)

17

clothing store named "Corona" in a small town in India has become a hotspot for selfies as the deadly new corona virus pandemic sweeps the world. The shop owner, who gave his name as Pareed, said people were flocking to his store in the southern state of Kerala; many take photos in front of the outdoor sign and ask him questions about the name.

"When I started the store 27 years ago, there was no internet," said Pareed, who owns the store in the small town of Muvattupuzha. Locally the shop owner is known as "Corona Pareed." "I really liked the word 'corona' when I saw it in

the dictionary. It had a reference to the sun, among other meanings," he told.

The 60-year-old said his new found fame however has not boosted sales.

"Business in general is down since Kerala is quite strict about movement these days. So people are not exactly stepping out to shop for clothes," Pareed said.

Kerala authorities have closed schools, postponed government events and called for residents to avoid large gatherings.

Twenty-seven people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Kerala out of 151 cases across India, according to the national government.

(Source: afp)

18 Review

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

WHO Myth-busters There is a lot of false information around. These are the facts.

People

of all ages CAN be infected by the coronavirus. Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.

Cold

weather and snow CANNOT kill the coronavirus.

The

coronavirus CAN be transmitted in areas with hot and humid climates The

coronavirus CANNOT be transmitted through mosquito bites.

There

is NO evidence that companion animals/pets such as dogs or cats can transmit the coronavirus.

Taking

a hot bath DOES NOT prevent the coronavirus

Vaccines

against pneumonia, such as pneumococcal vaccine and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine, DO NOT provide protection against the coronavirus.

There

is NO evidence that regularly rinsing the nose with saline has protected people from infection with the coronavirus.

Garlic

is healthy but there is NO evidence from the current outbreak that eating garlic has protected people from the coronavirus.

Antibiotics

DO NOT work against viruses, antibiotics only work against bacteria.

To date, there is NO specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat the coronavirus.

Hand

dryers are NOT effective in killing the coronavirus Ultraviolet

light SHOULD NOT be used for sterilization and can cause skin irritation Thermal

scanners CAN detect if people have a fever but CANNOT detect whether or not someone has the coronavirus Spraying

alcohol or chlorine all over your body WILL NOT kill viruses that have already entered your body

Here’s All You Need to Know About the Best Club & Lounge in Guwahati!

Gunjan Sharma @guwahatiplus

G

uwahati is fast evolving to become one of the most exciting cities as some of the best restaurants, pubs, lounges, food joints are now in town.

That being said, Exoro is one such happening place in Guwahati which was voted the Best Club/Lounge in the city at the Guwahati Food Awards 2020.

A European themed lounge with uniquely styled seating options, good food across various cuisines and some of the best cocktails in town, Exoro has become a crowd favourite in a short span of time.

The lounge has three types of seating. One is the terrace which gives you a beautiful view of the city, second is the sofa seating space and the third is a private room/PDR for small parties.

In the terrace area, they have a unique set up of ‘Terrace Beds’ where you can stretch their legs

and sit comfortably.

Their boat-shaped bar is beautifully crafted to suit the ambiance and gives you a great view of the entire lounge while you enjoy your drink.

Coming to the food, they have an extensive menu inclusive of Indian, Chinese, Pan Asian and Continental dishes.

Their Lasagne, Chicken Tikka, Ricotta & Cottage Cheese Steak Sizzlers are among some of the must-try dishes.

Their liquor menu has a unique range of cocktails and mocktails from around the world. Cocktails like One Night in Bangkok, Mole cular Cocktails like Volcano Shots are a musttry. Keeping in mind the nonalcohol drink lovers they also have quite a range of mocktails, with Sundowner being a crowd favourite. Don’t forget to also ask for the Bartender’s Special because he whips up something completely unique each time!

Just for the information, Sundowner, is a refreshing drink made with fresh pineapples and coriander that helps you calm

down after a long and stressful day. Another new addition is the Non Veg Cocktail which is made of fresh Basa Fish. They use high-quality products and fresh fruits for all their drinks and food.

For your perfect Sunday outing, the y have re ce ntly launched a Sunday special buffet lunch @ Rs. 699. The buffet includes four starters, 7 main course dishes, desserts

and a complimentary glass of beer. Continuing with offers they also have happy hours on Monday-Friday from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Exoro will soon be launching Hookah too.

Speaking to G Plus , Dishank Sharma of Exoro said, “I belong from a family of hoteliers from Arunachal Pradesh. I am happy to continue my family’s legacy here in Guwahati with Exoro. We

are very happy with the response that we have re ce ive d since we started. In the past three months, our footfall has crossed more than 23,000 people. We will keep trying our best to get better and serve our guests with the best food and drinks. After winning the best club/lounge at the Guwahati Food Awards(GFA) 2020 we will try our best to become the Restaurant of the Year in the next edition of GFA.”

Feature

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

Work from Home W

ith the ongoing global crisis perpetrated by the Covid 19, working from home is the new normal. While this may be a novelty to one set of people, it is not really uncommon and is even popular among many.

Let us just be thankful we have not been pushed to war; all we now need to do is work from home.

For people who are used to working in structured organizations, for one’s work to be meaningful (read productive), this new mode of working may require a few adjustments.

Having taken a decision to work from home or being pushed into it is really quite irrelevant. What matters here, is the need and an urgency to be productive.

For those in larger cities, working from home may be rather daunting. So it is important to set a few parameters for oneself to remain productive. On a different note, I would like to point out that there is bound to be a paradigm shift in measuring productivity too. But we will leave that for another discussion.

Here are a few rules that have worked for many while

working from home, including myself.

Time management is of utmost importance while working at home. For some, it may appear that working from home may mean “work anytime.” There is nothing more avoidable than this. If you work along with a team, you may have little choice but to work around the same time as the others in the team. But for those with jobs independent of team members, it is very important to set parameters.

Like at an office, you should have a time at which you work.

It could be any time from 5 am onwards or 9 am onwards but it is really important to stick to it. The work time must not eat into time reserved for other activities nor should you end up with too many “other” things to do that work suffers.

Create at least one or two dedicated spaces or seats from which you will work. Although you may feel that you now have the freedom to work from anywhere in the home; this may not be the best idea. Trying to work from the bed, recliner or sofa, wherever and whenever is avoidable. A dedicated space creates a mindset of being in the work mode and it also sends out a message to others at home that you are working and an invisible “Do not disturb” board is put up. This not only tricks others but also tricks one’s mind to believe that work hours are on. Having an alternative or two within the home for different types of work or for different times of the day can be refreshing as well as energizing.

Your workspace at home should be self-sufficient.

Ideally, the space one works from at home should be as free as possible from clutter and distractions. To minimize

distractions, the space should be somewhat self-sufficient, like having connectivity, a bottle of water and bare minimum of office supplies like pens, staplers, a place to rest a cup and whatever else that you need to be productive at work and not end up taking unnecessary breaks to get supplies for yourself. Once you seat yourself here, you are at work. It goes without saying that one still has the option of recliners, sofas and beds to work from. These should be reserved for tasks that require less concentration, like reading

With working from home catching up due to the Coronavirus scare, the author lays down some pertinent ground rules to be at one’s productive best when working alone from home.

a report or journal or taking a longish phone call. This will not only help in concentrating but also help to maintain a good posture, the benefits of which are innumerable.

Self-restraint and avoiding distractions: Not everyone has the will power required to avoid distractions. TVs, smartphones, social media, the fridge are some of the biggest lures for distraction. For some, the bed or an unread book could be the predominant distraction.

It is therefore very important to have a routine for doing different types of work, for having your meals, catching a

nap or even to manage sleep hours so that one doesn’t end up indulging in all possible distractions.

Self-restraint becomes somewhat easier when one has a timetable for an activity.

Use alarms wisely. Don’t stumble into con calls and video conferences. In case of group activities like a con call or a video conference, it is a good idea to set reminders and alarms. By using an alarm, with a few extra minutes lead time, before the start of the call, one can enhance the value of the call,

not only for themselves but also for all others participating.

This is not only professional behaviour, but it also allows avoiding technical glitches and helps optimize everyone’s time.

Give yourself a holiday too. Small amounts of social interaction, whether with family members, pets or even friends should be interspersed in any timetable. These could even be a call to colleagues or friends over the phone just to catch up with what’s

going on beyond your own new world and what the TV news has to offer.

This can help immensely in creating a yardstick since it can get lonely especially for those who are new to this mode of working and sets boundaries while helping you to remain focussed.

Finally, being organized while working from home is the key to your success. Good time management will help you to work efficiently, create time for yourself and to carry out activities you may have

19

Sibani Sarma never imagined possible after joining an organization. In fact, after a work from home stint, you may never look back at returning to an office space as you can easily get used

to the productivity and the freedom while working from home.

(Sibani Sarma is an architect and founder of Gallopper based in Mumbai. She helps designers in curating projects and creating well researched marketing, branding, promotional, advertorial articles for designers and building product manufacturers through print and visual media.)

20 Fun Horoscope of the week

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020 These predictions are based on the month of birth, and are about an individual’s work environment, parents and extended family.

Jayashree Bose Certified Feng Shui, Chinese astrology, date selection consultant & author, www.facebook.com/geoprinciples

23rd and 26th March will be great days for you to share your ideas with your seniors or simply just connect with them. You could schedule your important meetings on these days. On 25th March you need to be wary of dealing with the opposite gender. Other days will be good for you.

Excellent week ahead. 22nd, 24th and 27th March will be great days for you to connect with your seniors. You could host a Sunday brunch or coffee on 22nd. You could be emotionally betrayed by someone at work or your parents on 26th March.

23 rd March will be a slow day for you, don’t make any promises.

Use 21st and 23rd March to connect with your boss and share your ideas, for good results host your meetings on these dates. Maybe you could host a Saturday night dinner. 24th March will be a slow day. 27th March you could feel that people around you are ungrateful.

21st March will be a great day for you to connect with your senior and share your ideas with him/her; you could host your important meetings on this day. You could have issues with your seniors or your extended family on 22nd and 26th March. 26th March avoid trusting anyone with your secrets.

22nd March will be great day for you to share your ideas with your seniors and build a relationship with them, invite them over for a Sunday brunch or coffee. 25th March you could be betrayed by someone in your work environment. 26th March be careful of your words and actions, you will create your own problems.

This week just lay low; catch up on your personal work. 23rd March will be great day for you to host your important meetings. 24th March you could feel your seniors and/or your parents are ungrateful, they don’t appreciate you. Avoid hosting any meetings especially with your seniors on 21st March; you are bound to have disagreements.

A mixed week for you. On 23rd March you could be betrayed by someone at work and/or emotionally hurt by your family. 21st and 24th March will be great days for you to share your ideas with your seniors or simply just connect with them. You could schedule your important meetings on these dates. Avoid connecting with your parents and/or workmates and/or seniors on 22nd March.

21st and 25th March will be great days for you to build a rapport with your seniors and people at work, host your important meetings on these dates.

23rd March avoid making any promises or hosting any meetings. 22nd March 3 you will be emotionally betrayed/hurt by someone from work or extended family.

22nd March, 25th and 26th March will be ideal days to share your ideas with your boss or connect with people at work and family. Host your important meetings on these dates. Avoid socializing or making any promises on 21st or 24th March. Avoid hosting any meetings on 24th March you are bound to have disagreements.

23rd March and 26th March will be great days for you to build your relationship with your seniors and people at work. If you are in a habit of grabbing a drink with your senior’s then avoid doing so on 22nd March.

25th March you could have a disagreement with your senior or work associate, not a day to schedule important meetings.

Share your ideas with your seniors or generally build a relationship with people at work on 24th March and 25th March, host your important meetings on these dates. Watch yourself on 23rd March and 26th March, avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation. 26th March you could have a disagreement with your senior or work associate.

24th March and 25th March are ideal days for you to mingle with your seniors and people at work and build your work network. Be careful with your words and actions 4 on 21st March you will create your own problems. 27th March avoid pre-planning, just go with the flow. Avoid hosting important meetings on 27th March; you are bound to have disagreements.

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

Dilbert By Scott Adams

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4 8 5 8 7 9 7 4 1 3 7 1 5 9 93 7 8 6 Daily DailySudoku: Sudoku:Fri Fri20-Mar-2020 13-Mar-2020

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2020. All rights reserved. (c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2020. All rights reserved.

6. Identify this very much in news individual, leading the worldwide battle against Covid 19?

Sudoku

medium very hard

last week solution 39 68 74 86 56 97 83 34 25 42 11 59 71 25 37 93 82 54 66 45 48 13 99 77 14 86 55 68 67 71 28 12 93 39 42 21

95 7 4 2 35 12 1 2 86 97 78 3 6 68 43 84 6 1 94 26 29 8 3 19 71

11 54 79 85

37 61 2 5 43 52 68 37 9 37 14 22 43 4 8 5 69 93 56 5 7 71 88 46

Daily DailySudoku: Sudoku:Fri Fri20-Mar-2020 13-Mar-2020

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2020. All rights reserved. (c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2020. All rights reserved.

5. Which country was created in the early 19th century as a settlement of American Colonization Society?

curio-city

4. Which cricketer has the record for scoring most runs in a Test Match innings in boundaries and over boundaries?

adjective British Slang.

Slang. exhausted; very tired restless or frantic because of confinement, routine, etc.: I was stir-crazy after just two months of keeping house.

1.

2.

3.

3. Which famous Assamese song was first published in 1909 in the magazine Bahi and subsequently included in the book Kadamkali?

[ stur-krey-zee ]

adjective [nak-erd]

4.

2. Which Popular Chicken snack was invented by Hotelier AM Buhari and was named so because it required a certain number of peppers to cook?

stir-crazy

5.

6.

1. What do we measure with the Ulmer scale?

Word of the week Word knackered of the week

Bankability of Movie stars, especially in Hollywood Chicken 65 O Mur Apunar Desh, the Assamese state song, written

by Laxminath Bezbaroa John Edrich, hit 52 FOURS AND 5 SIXES, in his innings of 310 not out against New Zealand at Headingly in 1965.

Liberia Tedros Adhanom, the Director General of World Health Organization

curio-city

medium very hard

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Fiction

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

An unforgettable Jatras and a marauding elephant I n the mid sixties when the cinema shows were not common in the rural areas all the tea gardens celebrated the festivals of Durga and Kali Pujas with the holding of the Jatras which were basically the open air theatres. It took some preparation to construct the raised platform of a wooden stage with a CI roof for the actors to ply their wares, and a green room attached to the site for changing costumes and applying the exaggerated paints and colours on their faces. In addition there was also the sitting area with a covered tarpaulin for the VIP guests and then the area was also segregated for the men and women to sit separately.

The football field which was generally the site for this extravaganza had a festive look much before the event adding to the joy in the air. Shops and tea stalls were erected a couple of days prior to the event while children ran around the field bursting crackers and coaxing their parents to buy them some trinkets and candies. Merriment was evident on the faces of the workers who had received their annual bonus payments before these festivals and everyone looked forward to a few days of fun and joy which was a very welcome feature in their hard working lives. Of course there would be some absenteeism during the days before and after these Pujas but the management took this as a necessary evil of the heavy drinking indulged in by the workers to let off some pressures.

While some commercial parties had started operating mobile vans carrying the projectors to show movies on a cloth screen in the concentrated tea garden areas of Upper Assam, but it was at a nascent stage. Firstly the equipment broke down often, the old spool movies were not very clear and the choice of the movies were minimal, mostly in black and white. It was a mixture of one movie and perhaps two Jatras or Bhaonas; this latter item was a mute theatre where the actors did not speak but rather danced rhythmically to the accompanying music enacting stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

It was beautiful to watch the actors brightly painted up with flamboyant costumes and the theme was always good triumphing over evil. The Jatras and the Bhaonas ruled the roost at our garden near Gohpur till the early seventies by which time the movies became more

sophisticated and less expensive to exhibit. Slowly the system of bringing the Jatra troupes from the Lower Assam towns of Nalbari and Pathsala got completely stopped. The theatre groups would make these towns their home during the off season during which time they planned and prepared for performing for the main season time from October till the winter months. I miss these Jatras as it was great fun to watch live and I remember in particular one famous actor of the time called Dharani Barman who used to hold the audience spellbound as he thundered about on the stage as a king or a brave warrior and at times, as a God who had come down to slay the evil demons.

The Jatras continued in the tea gardens located in the Lower Assam areas as here the mobile movies had not started till very late. The Jatra theatre had also become more sophisticated with more social dramas being enacted besides of course the old favourites from our Indian mythology. Also, there was an influence from the more evolved Bengali Jatras from

Siliguri side which also came to perform in the western towns of Assam.

At Fatemabad tea garden we had to stage the Jatras till the late nineties after which the movies took over and the Jatras

On one side was this small pit inside which the whole woman was brutally compressed‌ stamped to death by the elephant. It was one of the most pitiful sights I had ever seen and one which appeared in my nightmares often.

had evolved into full scale modern theatres, now coming to the main urban centres of Guwahati, Nowgaon, Jorhat and all the other bigger towns of the state. The town of Pathshala had a lot of families whose main business was this only and they vied to produce better and more innovative displays on stage. It has become much more glamorous and is on a much larger scale with higher payouts.

I remember an incident that occurred in

Fatemabad during one such Durga Puja time. The Jatra was going on quite well with the people fully engrossed when our garden assistant manager quickly came over to us and signalled an emergency. My brothers and I moved out of the gathering quietly when he told us that an elephant herd had come to a workers’ colony on the side of the Manas sanctuary and had broken a number of houses and had trampled an old woman to death. Because of the festivities there were only a handful of women, some old men and small children in the houses and by bad luck a woman had come outside hearing the sounds when one elephant just picked her up and under his massive front foot literally smashed her to a pulp. Immediately swinging into action we picked up my gun and some shots from the bungalow

with the aim to try and scare off the elephants if they were still there. Some forest guards who were also informed were there with mashals and guns and we went to see the site of the attack.

It was in front of her house and the courtyard was full of the elephant tracks and broken walls and sticks strewn about. On one side was this small pit inside which the whole woman was brutally compressed. It was one of the most pitiful sights I had ever seen and one which appeared in my nightmares often. Normally, elephants are truly gentle giants unless they are in musth or have become rogue after being forcefully banished from their herd usually due to rivalry with other bull elephants for mating rights. As the forest personnel did not have any knowledge of such an elephant in our area, we came to the conclusion that this must have happened as the poor woman came outside just at the same moment the elephant approached her house. The incident had occurred around 8 pm when the Jatra show was on and we were informed about an hour later; it was going to be 9.30 then and a lot of flares were lit around the colony by then and the marauding herd would probably not come again that night. Leaving the five forest guards behind we returned to the Jatra show when the second play was about to start. We quietly explained the situation to the organizers of the Jatra and told them to continue the programme for the night and close as quickly as possible.

The assistant manager was also advised to tell the people to return home

21

Ranjan Kumar Choudhury ranjanchou@hotmail.com

in groups and make as much sound as they could; our garden workers had no problem as their houses were nearby but at least sixty per cent of the audience were all from the villages and some had come walking about five to six kilometres. The garden puja festivities were their nearest entertainment so every year they used to attend regularly. We had to inform them about the elephants and most of them in fact dozed off in the venue only returning home when it was dawn and they could see properly. The mood became quite sombre the next day, which was a paid holiday, when the news of the killing of the old woman had spread and a lot of the workers came to see the site of the scene.

By this time the body had to be sent off to Barpeta Road police station for the post mortem and other formalities. That evening we decided to carry on with the two more Jatra shows which the workers wanted but to their credit the committee made everyone stand for two minutes silence in the memory of the victim with prayers for her soul.

In tea gardens the unexpected would always happen but life had to carry on. It was mostly hard work and some amount of play like the festivals and football matches. The workers faced all problems with maturity and it was only much later when politics entered for the block votes that the peaceful mosaic of this well established rural industry changed.

22 Lifestyle

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

Use of Rudraksha in Vaastu

R

udraksha means the eye of Rudra [Shiva] which is considered to be the most potent manifestation of the Cosmic Force.

Rudraksha is often believed to symbolize the link between the earth and the heaven. These beads are the seeds of the rudraksha fruit obtained from rudraksha trees.

Rudraksha is the most powerful and awesome bead and it can help you achieve a healthy mind, body and soul. It can bring wealth and make one highly successful in life.

The rudraksha tree is full of spiritual myths and legends. Its berries are said to represent the tears of Rudra and have been sought for their supposed medicinal and

Hemanta Kumar Sarmah

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

Placing rudraksha at home attracts spiritual gains as well as removes many Vaastu defects.

Installing a Ganesha rudraksha at the main entrance door brings in positive energies. magical properties. It is written in The Rudrajabalopanishad that Lord Shiva was in the state of meditation for many thousands of years. When he opened his eyes from his prolonged samadhi, he beheld the whole vast sufferings and pangs of the unenlightened beings enmeshed in their struggle and confusion, and lacking any way of recognising their plight and the possibility of evolving themselves out of these seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Out of compassion, tears came to his eyes, and these fell to the

earth giving rise to a tree called Maharudraksha. Rudra is the name given to Shiva in his destructive aspect and in Sanskrit it means 'howl' or 'cause of tears'.

Wearing or keeping rudraksha beads at home is considered auspicious. There are different types of rudraksha with specific number of faces which have different effects.

A rudraksha tree should be grown in northeast corner of the garden as it is ruled

by Lord Shiva.

Wearing a mala (bead) of rudraksha controls blood pressure.

CAUTION The rudraksha bead should be kept aside while going to the toilet or crematorium.

Women should not wear rudraksha during the four days of menstruation period.

How to boost your immunity?

Sohini Chakraborty Chatterjee

I

n this alarming situation of corona pandemic all over the world, apart from following all the safety measures like washing our hands frequently with alcohol based sanitizer, covering our face while coughing or sneezing or avoiding mass gathering etc we also have to build up our own immunity to prevent all kinds of diseases.

Immunity is our body's own protection or security system to fight invading microorganisms like bacteria, parasites etc. This keeps us away from all kind of disease, thus to make our immunity system strong, we must include certain kinds of foods in our daily diet.

1. Citrus fruits :

These contain maximum amount of Vitamin C, which is the main antioxidant available to fight with all kinds of diseases. When we catch a cold, it is recommended that we should have Vitamin C, as it helps build up our immune system. Vitamin C increases the production of white blood cells and these are key to fight infections. This supports various mechanisms to produce both innate and adapted immunity.

Some popular citrus fruits include amla, oranges, grapefruit, kiwi and lemons.

Because our body doesn’t produce or store it, we need daily vitamin C for continued health.

With such a variety to choose from, it’s easy to add a squeeze of this vitamin to any meal. Doctors have been recommending Vitamin C during this time of widespread infections.

2. Curd or Yoghurt or Buttermilk:

These contain protein as well as pro-biotic making them essential to add in our diet. These contain protein as well as ‘live active cultures’ or dose of beneficial microorganisms.

Protein builds up immunity by producing antibodies which are protein in nature, whereas probiotic keep our gut healthy by inducing a number of signalling pathways.

Thus at least 2 servings of 150200 gm serving of either of these is advisable daily. Even adding fruits with greek yoghurt makes it both healthy and tasty too!

3. Ginger and Garlic :

These two common kitchen ingredients of India are potential immunity boosters as well. Ginger is a strong antioxidant that has been shown to naturally boost the immune system. Ginger helps to kill cold viruses and has been said to combat chills and fever. It is also a great detox. Ginger root

helps relax the intestinal tract and eliminate intestinal gas.

Garlic, this member of onion family contains a compound known as allicin which triggers our immune system in the right way. This allicin quickly converts into sulphur containing compounds thus increasing our immunity.

Thus ginger concoction or raw garlic (chopped or crushed) should be taken daily at least once.

4. Vegetables:

Though all the vegetables have got lots of essential vitamins and minerals to make our body strong and healthy, there are these top immune boosters Spinach: This is almost the king of all the green vegetables containing almost all immunity inducing properties. Spinach, kale these contain lots of vitamin C improving immunity, even helps to produce another super antioxidant vitamin E. Large amount of folate present in it makes it more essential for building up immunity.

Broccoli: Most of the cruciferous vegetables especially broccoli contains active compounds to fight against diseases.

Sulphoraphane is found to induce various enzymatic reactions thus improving active

fight against microorganisms.

These also contain choline to help in maturation of immune system.

Red bell pepper:

The amount of vitamin C present in red bell pepper is twice the amount present in citrus fruits. Moreover, it contains large amount of vitamin A or beta carotene making it indispensable for healthier immune system.

Thus this food contains double dose of immunity boosters.

So all of these vegetables and other vegetables like carrot, beetroot, onion, peas, and beans all should be present in our daily diet at least in 3 servings.

5. Almonds:

Almond is considered one of the healthiest snacks of daily life.

But it is also a natural immunity booster due to the nutrients present in it.

It contains vitamin E which enhances the first line of defence or cellular immunity against invading microorganisms.

Almond has also got protein in it to produce antibodies to combat antigens.

Moreover, presence of iron in it makes it more important for immune function. Iron helps in maturation of lymphocytes.

Thus 2-3 soaked almonds daily will surely help us to fight against all kinds of infectious diseases.

Apart from these Vitamin D rich foods like fatty fish liver oil- egg yolk, mushrooms, whole grains, oatmeal are also effective to fight against all kinds of diseases. Thus inclusion of all these food items in our diet is inevitable to remain healthy. Moreover, we must avoid sugar or sugar containing foods -beverages to keep our body disease free.

In The News

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

Rs 53,370 Cr provided for infrastructure & development of NER

U

nion Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh said that at present, two (02) major schemes are being implemented in North Eastern States by North Eastern Council (NEC).

In the financial year 201920, Rs. 53,370 crore has been provided under Revised Estimates which is being used for infrastructure and socio and economic development of

North Eastern Region.

The normative allocation criterion takes care of poorest/most backward amongst North Eastern States and allocates more funds to that State.

The State Component of outlay of NEC under “Schemes of NEC” is divided between NER States based on normative allocation percentage decided based on area, population, human development index, road density, percentage of census villages electrified,

number of hospital beds per 1000 persons, percentage of households having safe drinking water and completion rate of projects.

Government accords very high priority to holistic development of North Eastern Region.

All the central Ministries/Departments are mandated to spend 10% of their gross budgetary allocation on Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the North Eastern States.

Coronavirus: Busting some myths COVID-19 virus cannot be transmitted in areas having hot and humid climates

Taking a hot bath prevents the new coronavirus disease from being contracted

From the evidence so far, the COVID-19 virus can be transmitted in ALL AREAS, including areas with hot and humid weather. Regardless of climate, adopt protective measures if you live in or are travelling to an area reporting COVID-19. The best way to protect yourself against COVID-19 is by frequently cleaning your hands – preferably with soap and water or with sanitizers.

Taking a hot bath will not prevent you from catching COVID-19. Your normal body temperature remains around 36.5°C to 37°C, regardless of the temperature of your bath or shower. Actually, taking a hot bath with extremely hot water can be harmful, as it can burn you.

Cold weather and snow CAN kill the new coronavirus.

There is no reason to believe that cold weather can kill the new coronavirus or other diseases.

The normal human body temperature remains around 36.5°C to 37°C, regardless of the external temperature or weather. The most effective way to protect yourself against the new coronavirus is by frequently cleaning your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or washing them with soap and water.

The new coronavirus CAN be transmitted through mosquito bites.

To date there has been no information or evidence to suggest that the new coronavirus could be transmitted by mosquitoes. The new coronavirus is a respiratory virus which spreads primarily through droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose.

23

Production of ‘Bridge’ - a film showcasing effects of flood completed

A

full length Assamese film has been made to showcase the effect of flood on society, finance, education, communication as well as on health. The film titled ‘Bridge’ is directed by Kripal Kalita and produced by Rama Kumar Das and Sabita Devi under the banner of ‘Kristipathar’.

According to the director, ‘Bridge’ is a colourful canvas of an unusual struggle and empowerment of a teenage girl residing on the bank of a tributary of the river Brahmaputra. The key roles in the film have been portrayed by Shiva Rani Kalita, Partha Protim Bora, Anindita Das, Swapnil Nath, Kripal Kalita, Reena Bora, Suren Mahanta, Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, Bhupen Sarma, Rohini Kumar Deka, Gopamoni Gogoi, Dipen Chutia, Dhanjit Sarma, Sashindra Bhuyan and Biswanath Biswas among others.

Speaking about the film the director said, “Through this film an attempt has been made to draw the attention towards the agony of the people

losing everything every year and the daily troubles and hindrances faced in the development of the helpless, poor, honest and simple people residing in the interior parts of the green valley.”

24 Catching Up

| Mar 21 - Mar 27, 2020

PIC OF THE

Most shared story of the week

WEEK

#NEWS | GMC recently conducted an eviction drive of poultry shops, as well as restaurants, lodges and hotels in Guwahati.

2K

133

@guwahatiplus @guwahatiplus

All prayers count | Photo: Surajit Sharma

Vishwakarma Temple, Guwahati

T

he Vishwakarma Temple, located at the foothill of the Nilachal Hill is one of the very few temples in the world dedicated to the Hindu ‘architect’ god, Lord Vishwakarma.

Established in 1965, it is a oneof-its-kind in the entire northeast. It was constructed sometime between 1959 and 1960 alongside the first motorable road to Kamakhya temple.

As per information, as portions of the foothill of the holy Kamakhya Hill had to be blasted during the construction of the road, the people proposed the establishment of the idol in order to please the angry Gods. The temple was constructed

by Late Mahabir Prasad Dhirasaria, one of the three contractors of the road and the land was donated by Late Pt. Bhabakanta Sharma.

On the day of Vishwakrma Puja, that is on September 17 ever year, hundreds of devotees throng the temple seeking blessings.

The temple also regularly sees devotees from across the country.

The exact address of the temple: Mahapurush Damodardev Path, Kamakhaya Gate, Nursery, Guwahati, Assam 781009.

Printed & Published by Sunit Jain on behalf of Insight Brandcom Pvt. Ltd. and Printed at Janambhumi Press (P) Ltd., Kalapahar, Guwahati and Published at 4A, Royale Arcade, Ulubari, Guwahati - 781007, Editor: Swapnil Bharali.

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