G Plus Vol 7 Issue 29 by G Plus

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

INSIDE

Volume 07 | Issue 29 May 09 - May 15, 2020 Price `10 Do the new cases of coronavirus indicate the perils of interstate travel?

ASTC’s digital ticketing system to monitor travel amidst COVID-19 scare

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Ghy restaurants prefer to remain shut through lockdown; cite inappropriate operation timings

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Covid-19

Assam to increase 25 With 8 new cases in a percent excise day, Assam sees sudden duty on liquor spike; 1 more dead G Plus News @guwahatiplus

s the states across India are finding ways to generate extra revenue because of the prevailing special emergency in the country, many states have increased taxes on liquor. Even Assam has thought on the same lines and will increase excise duty slab to generate additional revenue to meet the enhanced expenditure of the government. A highly placed source in the Assam excise department, talking to G Plus said, “We have proposed to increase 25% in MRP across all segments of IMFL, beer, wine and overseas products.” The source claimed that with this it is expected to realise an

additional revenue of Rs 1000 crores including VAT. The entire enhancement over the MRP will add to the state exchequer. The source claimed that this is for the first time that the duty will be increased by this government. The source also revealed that if VAT or any other tax is increased the state will not earn the maximum benefit. With excise duty slab increase, the state will earn all the extra revenue. The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting held today where, after thorough discussion with neighbouring states Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, the 25% increase was decided. The source said that soon a notification will be issued by the excise department to this effect.

ASDMA allows industries to function with full capacity G Plus News @guwahatiplus

n a new order issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on 8th May, all industries including the tea gardens and tea manufacturing industries are allowed to continue operation with full capacity including personnel. As such industries can now operate with their complete staff

instead of the earlier permitted 50 percent. The industries across the state are permitted to have full staff capacity except those in containment zones. However, the permission is subject to maintenance of social distance and hygiene as detailed in the health department’s guidelines. The head of the organization will be held responsible for violation of any COVID-19 protocol.

Assam reported a sudden spurt in the number of Covid-19 positive cases in the last couple of days. On a single day, 8 new confirmed cases were reported, including one dead. Total number of positive cases in Assam now stands at 56. Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

ssam has reported a sudden spurt in coronavirus cases with eight new cases coming to light in a single day and three more samples being found positive the next day. With this, the total number of positive cases in Assam stands at 56, with 34 persons having been cured and discharged. Assam has also reported the second death related to coronavirus with a 16 year old deceased girl testing positive for the deadly virus. “16-years-old Deepika Nath was showing symptoms of coronavirus. She had leg pain and fever and was prescribed medication by OPD of ESI Hospital. She came to B Barooah Cancer Hospital to stay with her grandmother but her symptoms further developed and she passed away after vomiting,” informed health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Apart from Dipika Nath, three more persons tested positive in the capital city of Guwahati. The other three covid positive

patients from Guwahati are Dr Litikesh (post graduate student of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital), Barada Das (a resident of Amiyo Nagar, Chandmari) and Devaraj Acharjee (resident of Baihata who was in facility quarantine at Sarusajai stadium).

Further, Cachar district is turning into the new coronavirus hotspot in the state with as many as eight new cases coming to light from the district in less than 48 hours. Cachar reported its first coronavirus positive case

on May 6 with a Rajasthan returnee testing positive for the virus. On May 7, four more persons in Cachar were found to be positive and then three more on May 8. All of the eight patients in Cachar are travelers of the same bus that brought stranded persons from Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan back to Assam. Addressing the media health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that in a matter of concern, the deputy commissioner of Ajmer sent a bus with 42 people (35 adult and 8 children) without seeking permission from Assam. “The bus arrived in Silchar in Barak valley, and one person was tested positive for Covid-19. This particular person had very high viral load and thus there are chances that he affected everyone on the bus,” Sarma said, adding that after Nizaumddin Markaz in New Delhi, Ajmer Sharif episode has become a matter of concern for Assam. It should be mentioned that four villages of Cachar district have been declared containment zone.

Read Full Story Page No - 03

In The News

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

Do the new cases of coronavirus indicate the perils of interstate travel? Barasha Das @Barasha_mi2

s the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown got extended for a third phase, state borders across the country were opened up to allow stranded people to return to their respective states. “It is clarified that the MHA orders are meant for movement of such stranded persons, who had moved from their native places/workplaces, just before the lockdown period, but could not return to their native places workplaces on account of restrictions placed on movement of persons and vehicles as part of lockdown measures. The facilitation envisaged in the aforesaid orders is meant for such distressed persons, but does not extend to those categories of persons, who are otherwise residing normally at places, other than the native places purposes of work etc., and who wish to visit their native places in the normal course,” the Home Secretary stated in a letter sent to the all state chief secretaries and UT administrators on 3rd May. Likewise, Assam opened its borders for inward traffic from 3rd May onwards. “Inter-state travel across all NE states will be open and no passes will be required for the same,” announced Himanta Biswa Sarma. People of Assam stranded in 6 northeastern states apart from Sikkim were allowed to travel back to the state in their private vehicles without any passes. However, these travelers will be screened at the borders before entering. Alongside, the Assam government also permitted the return of people from the other parts of the country in their private or arranged vehicles, provided a prior permission is taken from the appointed nodal officers and other concerned authorities. As such many from across India, mostly groups of students from different states, entered Assam from the very next day. As reported by Sarma, 3,760 people entered Assam on 3rd May alone. The civil and police

administration along with health workers have set up screening camps at the entry gates at Srirampur in Kokrajhar district and Chagolia-Boxirhat in the Dhubri district to ensure proper screening. From there the travelers are to be sent to the nearest quarantine facility as per their destination. Four quarantine centers have been prepared for the same at Sarusajai Stadium, Jorhat, Tezpur and Silchar, where further testing would be done and further procedures would be prescribed. Ever since, e-passes have been issued by the authorities for people to enter Assam without any daily capping. As of 7th May, 1032 persons have entered Assam. Of these 979 people entered through the Srirampur gate and 53 through Sagolia. From here they have been send to the different quarantined facilities704 came to Guwahati, 126 went to Kokrajhar, 103 to Jorhat, 77 to Tezpur, and 22 to Cachar zonal centers. Meanwhile, relaxations have been issued across Assam for the third phase of the lockdown as 29 of the 33 districts have been demarcated as green zones and 4 as orange zones, without any red zones. People started crowding the public places, and reports of violation of lockdown protocols from various places, be it public transport or markets has become a regular feature.

Coronavirus patients amongst passengers from Rajasthan Amidst this, a bus from Rajasthan carrying 42 passengers entered Assam on 6th May. Random testing of the passengers at the Silchar quarantine facility proved one person positive. He was showing symptoms of Covid-19. Faridul, the patient, who hails from Dhekiajuli area of Sonitpur district, is a wanted criminal with reference to cases of car lifting. There are several cases registered against him at Kaliabor, Thelamara, Geetanagar, Nagaon, Changsari and other police stations. “Faridul is a dreaded carlifter. Many cases have been

Swabs being collected from GMCH healthcare workers for Covid-19 tests registered against him and he was also arrested. His wife informed us that he went to Ajmer ahead of the lockdown,” informed police sources. Upon his return to Assam on Wednesday, Faridul went to Silchar to evade arrest in Sonitpur. Although the others were asymptomatic, all 41 passengers – 35 adults and 7 children, along with the drivers were quarantined. On 8th May, 7 more passengers tested positive from this lot. At a press conference on 7th May, Sarma informed that the Deputy Commissioner of Ajmer in Rajasthan had issued the pass to the group to come to Assam without seeking permission from the Assam government. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs’ guidelines on inter– state travel of migrants, it has been mentioned that “In case a group of stranded persons wish to move between one state/UT and another state/ UT, the sending and receiving states may consult each other and mutually agree to the movement by road. The moving person(s) would be screened and those found asymptomatic would be allowed to proceed.” Concerned citizens have already been questioning about the relevance of allowing relaxations although the fear of coronavirus is still ripe. The

necessity of inter-state travel was also being questioned although the sufferings of the stranded could not be overlooked. Meanwhile, Rajasthan has already sealed its border for inter-state travel. As reported by The Hindustan Times, “Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that interstate movement will only be allowed as per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. He has directed the chief secretary to write to chief secretaries of other states informing them that permission for movement in Rajasthan will be given to those who abide by the guidelines and take prior approval from the state. A person will be permitted to travel out of the state only on recommendation of respective district collector by the home department, and action will be taken against any other official giving permission.” Given the recent positive cases of Covid-19 found in the state amongst passengers from Rajasthan, the questions arise: Will the Assam government question the permission provided by the Deputy Commissioner of Rajasthan without the knowledge of the host state? Was Faridul already symptomatic when he boarded the bus? If so, why was he permitted to travel? Himanta Biswa Sarma has already announced capping

in the number of passes to be issued per day in order to contain the spread of the virus. “All people entering Assam will be tested. The laboratories however can test only a limited number of samples per day. We cannot be allowing people to enter and then wait for their sample test to arrive for days. As such the passes issued for inter-state travel will now be limited depending on the number of tests that can be done on the seven ICMR accredited laboratories of Assam,” said Sarma. Nodal officer for state, GP Singh (ADGP, Law and Order) was not available to comment on the issue and Harmeet Singh (ADGP, Security and Administration) declined to make a comment on the same. Apart from Faridul, Devraj Acharjee who has returned to Assam after staying in Medinapur of Siliguri, West Bengal for few days has also been tested positive. Earlier also, a patient from Kokrajhar district with a travel history of Cooch Behar in West Bengal, had tested positive for Covid-19 which clearly justifies the danger of allowing stranded people back to Assam. Will the state government’s decision of bringing back stranded people from all over the country make Assam lose its credibility as a near Covid-19 free zone?

Cover Story

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

Most wanted car lifter brought from Rajasthan via bus tests coronavirus positive A

Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

ssam’s Covid-19 patient, Faridul Islam, who tested positive at Silchar in Cachar district on Wednesday, May 6 is a dreaded criminal against whom there are several cases registered in different police stations in Assam. He was among the 42 stranded

persons who returned from Rajasthan to Assam. A bus from Rajasthan carrying 35 adults and seven children reached Assam on May 6. Upon random testing, Faridul was found positive. All 41 persons who travelled along with him, along with the driver of the bus, are now under

facility quarantine and so are their family members. Faridul’s wife and two children have been quarantined at Tezpur Medical College and Hospital. “They don’t have symptoms. But we have quarantined them as a precautionary measure,” said a health department official. Faridul, who hails from

Dhekiajuli area of Sonitpur district, is a wanted criminal in reference to cases of car lifting. There are several cases registered against him at Kaliabor, Thelamara, Geetanagar, Nagaon, Changsari and other police stations. “Faridul is a dreaded car-lifter. Many cases have been registered

against him and he was also arrested. His wife informed us that he went to Ajmer ahead of lockdown,” informed police sources. It should be mentioned that after his return to Assam on Wednesday, Faridul went to Silchar to evade arrest in Sonitpur.

Guwahati : Amiyo Nagar, BBCI staff quarter and 2 GMCH hostels declared containment zones The Assam government has declared the staff quarters of Dr B Barooah Cancer Hospital (BBCI), two hostels (no. 1 and 5) of GMCH and Amiyo Nagar in Guwahati as containment zones. This was done after four new cases were reported in the city on May 7. One of the patients, 16-yearold Dipika Nath, had visited BBCI to live with her grandmother who works in the hospital and stays in the staff quarters located within the premises of the institute. Thus, BBCI has been declared containment zone as a precautionary measure. Dr. Litikesh DS, a post-graduate of Medicine Department of GMCH, who was on screening duty since May 4 had tested positive last night. He is from southern Indian. As he resides in Hostel no. 1 and has visited hostel no. 5 a few times, both have been declared as containment zones.

He also participated in a workshop on 30th April. As such, a total of 388 people including professors, doctors, superintendent and other workers of third and fourth grades have been quarantined. Moreover, GMCH will not take any new patients for the next three days. Their samples have been collected and sent for testing and the results will be declared by midnight. “We have requested many private hospitals of Delhi to help with testing of all health workers of GMCH who were taking care of coronavirus patients. There will be more than 1500 samples so these private hospitals have been asked to help,” said health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a press conference held today. Further, Amiyo Nagar area of Chandmari has also been declared containment zone as a resident of the area, Barada Das, was

tested positive for coronavirus. The district administration has described the boundary area of containment zone. On the north is the boundary of Joypur, on the west is Holy Child High School, on the east in Piyali Phukan Nagar and on the west is Krishna Nagar Indradhanu Club. Das was residing with her daughter near Anuradha Cinema Hall, but went to Kharghuli on May 6. After showing symptoms of COVID-19 she was admitted to MMCH, from where she was referred to GMCH. Her family has been kept under quarantine. While the above three patients had no recent travel

Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (L) visiting the GMCH hostel today | G Plus photo

history, Devraj Acharjee is a patient in Guwahati with travel history. Hailing from Madanpur near Baihata Chariali, he went to Medinapur in Siliguri and returned to Guwahati on May 6. He came directly

to the Sarusajai Stadium via Srirampur with two more people who have tested negative. Devraj is admitted at MMCH and the other two are at Dadara Modal Hospital for quarantine.

4 City

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

ASTC’s digital ticketing system to monitor travel amidst COVID-19 scare Rifa Deka @dekarifa

he Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) has modernized public transportation services within the state by partnering with mobile applications and web portals. Since its inception, the corporation has been expanding its transport operations within the state as well as to its adjoining areas and covers 500 routes on a daily basis. The transport department had suspended all inter-state and city bus services from late March through April to control the spread of coronavirus and to terminate travel within the state through the prolonged lockdown. With the relaxations on the lockdown by the government, ASTC announced that 100 buses would ply in Guwahati from May 4. An additional 200 buses were announced to operate in the city from the day after the announcement was made with continued conditions of social distancing, mandatory masks, gloves and no standing journey of passengers. G Plus got in touch with the Managing Director of ASTC, AP Tiwari, who shed light on the current state of affairs of transportation within Guwahati city and the state. “Since the government has not given instructions to open all shops yet and there are restrictions on the strength of staff operating in offices, there is not much requirement of more buses in the city during this period of pandemic lockdown,” Tiwari said. “This is a very dynamic process to ensure that buses should not be too many or too less than the number required,” he added. The organization had announced earlier this week that buses plying in the city would require passengers to book tickets on the “Chalo” app. The partnership with Chalo mobile application was meant to help commuters know the arrival time

of buses well in advance, so they could plan their travel accordingly and avoid unnecessary crowding in bus stands. Apart from this commuters could also track the live GPS position of buses. Passengers standing in buses would face punitive action and only 50 percent of the seats would be available for commuters while the remaining seats would be kept vacant. Offline ticketing was not allowed and it was also made mandatory for passengers to follow precautionary health measures such as wearing masks and gloves, while boarding these city buses. The imperative and supposedly user-friendly mobile application with 8 language options including Assamese and Bengali apart from the default language English meant that the upgradation of city bus services would not cause problems to those who have smart phones and are tech savvy. Commuters however complained over how the entire system of booking e-tickets was still not inclusive because, not all commuters availing public transport facilities have smart phones and that some commuters possessing smart phones are not digitally literate with senior citizens and visually impaired people topping that list. In response to such complaints, Tiwari said, “There is some confusion among people about online e-ticketing services within Guwahati city.” Clearing the air around this confusion, he added, “Chalo is an app-based solution which has been there for the last one, one and a half years. It is not a new app. It is not like you will be allowed on the buses only if you have this app.” “City bus e-ticket will be available at city bus stops or in buses,” the official had tweeted on May 4. One can now even go and book tickets directly from inside the bus, provided seats are vacant and they will be given tickets by the staff through the Chalo app itself under an Electronic Ticketing System. This came after commuters in the city enquired whether one would be able to travel in and

Travellers waiting at the ISBT Bus Terminus for their onward journeys | G Plus photo around the city in buses without downloading the recommended Chalo app or having to book tickets prior to their journey. Further, ASTC had also initially asserted that people could book their tickets online for interstate and inter-district travel. The transport corporation had scheduled departure and arrival of buses and had uploaded the same on the ‘RedBus’ app and portal to ensure hassle-free ticket booking in advance. Although these services were being offered from various parts of the state for people to travel to and fro with ease, commuters seemed to find the app problematic. Complaining about the inconvenience caused to him, a commuter named Dinender Kumar Das tweeted on 6 May, 2020 requesting authorities to pay attention to the RedBus app’s ASTC bus booking service. The commuter had tried contacting ASTC and also tried to reach out on the 104 helpline number. “For long distances, RedBus app is recommended. It has been with ASTC for the last 2 years. It’s

again not new and the whole idea behind this is to get all details of travellers,” Tiwari said on why the app is crucial for monitoring travel. “For instance, if Guwahati becomes a hotspot later, online ticketing will help the government get access to details of all people who travelled from Guwahati to other parts of the state with ease,” he explained. “The need of the hour is to keep a record of each traveller commuting in the state, for public health purposes and the better good of people,” he added. Besides this, ASTC has also added bus services from hill districts, BTR and Barak Valley May 5 onwards. Earlier, there had been queries from citizens about when bus services would resume for people to start travel from hill districts of the state. Helpline numbers have been provided for people to raise issues, grievances and provide feedback to ASTC on the prevailing bus services. A toll-free number has been given for people to call and inform authorities, along with 5

WhatsApp numbers, meant for texting only. The State Transport Corporation is advancing in its journey to revamp passengercentric services as one of its key initiatives under its Integrated Electronic Ticketing System (IETS) which also includes Electronic Ticket Issuing Machines (ETIMs) and multiple payment modes such as smart card and mobile wallets, not only in Guwahati but across the state. This, people believed, could prove to be troublesome in a region where a relatively large chunk of population remains technologically backward or ignorant. “We are ready to tackle the situation on a case to case basis, whereas, in general we have given a system which can be accessed from any IT system in any computer shop by using multiple portals. We can’t stop this system and you will not find any system which is absolutely perfect. Greater health interest of people is what matters the most at the moment,” said Tiwari.

Guwahatians seek economical bike-taxi services amid lockdown relaxation Due to the new guidelines issued by the state government which prohibits pillion-riding on two-wheelers during Lockdown 3.0, app-based bike-taxi services stand far from resumption. Bike services such as Rapido, Ola Bike and Uber Moto suspended services in the city

last month due to the lockdown clamped to contain the outbreak of coronavirus. The Rapido Bike-Taxi Service app remains inoperative in Guwahati as well as many other states causing inconvenience to commuters seeking pocketfriendly commuting options.

The service provider had earlier made it possible for people to access the service for emergency medical purposes around 5 to 6 kilometre radius of quarantine centres and for those willing to procure essential commodities. This however, had to be suspended after commuters

started using the application for non-essential travel, as per an official spokesperson of Rapido, Guwahati. Other two-wheeler taxi services also remain inoperative due to the freshly issued guidelines by health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, which only allows pillion-riding

either with one female or one child up to 12 years of age. Travellers commuting alone prefer availing two-wheeler services due to its convenient nature and pocketfriendliness over the relatively expensive cab/taxi services which have been resumed from May 4 in Guwahati.

City

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

Guwahati traders prefer to keep shops shut Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

fter 40 days of total lockdown so far as nonessential business was concerned whereby all non-essential shops in Guwahati (and in rest of Assam) remained shut, the Assam government, on May 4, relaxed the coronavirus-triggered norms allowing more shops to open in the state. In spite of the government allowing reopening of

neighborhood and standalone shops, many traders in Guwahati have decided to keep their respective retail outlets shut. “I am really confused at the moment,” expressed a trader of Fancy Bazar while speaking to G Plus. Not without reason; he is obviously faced with many challenges. Adding he said, “I am yet to know when my shop can operate since my building owner is settled abroad and he cannot risk being charged under the Disaster Management Act by giving a decision and letting us run our businesses in his absence

on his premises. And supposing even if he does chalk out a plan, I don’t have the manpower since my staff has gone to their hometowns ahead of the lockdown. So, although the government has allowed for standalone shops to open, I don’t think I will open my shop. Just not worth it!” He added that although his staff members are in Assam and can obviously travel to Guwahati, they are worried about leaving their families in these perilous times. In similar instances, many businessmen have informed G

Plus that they have no manpower

to run their businesses owing to the lockdown. And again, another reason for not opening shops is the prevailing coronavirus scare. “I don’t wish to risk my life. Even if I open my shop twice a week, I don’t think it will get me much revenue anyway; no business sense if you understand what I mean” a trader based at AT Road said. Many opine that by passing the baton of decision making regarding opening of shops to the building owners and asking them to strictly adhere to the one-third

policy, the Assam government has succeeded in continuing to strictly enforce the lockdown by instilling a sense of fear in the traders. It should be mentioned that malls and market complexes continued to remain closed until May 5. The state government allowed for industries, offices in multi-storied buildings, automobile dealerships, warehouses and shops in market complexes to open from May 6 onwards. However, many of those have also kept their shutters down.

To open or keep shut a big question among shopkeepers 5. While the citizens of the state were hooked to their TVs hoping for announcements regarding guidelines for lockdown relaxations, the only announcement they received was that the announcements would take place at 6 PM and that the CM had “given responsibility to health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma” to announce the same. 6. At 6 PM, health and finance minister of state Himanta Biswa Sarma finally announced the relaxed guidelines for Assam. 7. However, there was still no clarity in the guidelines as the authority that would issue the city-to-city detailed guidelines was further passed on. The deputy commissioners (DC) of each district were now asked to identify which shops would open on which days, based on a rotation formula whereby a shop will be allowed to operate only twice a week. 8. Close to midnight, Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (M) urged all traders not to open their shops until 12 noon the next day (May 4) and await his message (order) issuing further clarity. 9. After meeting with market associations, DC Biswajit Pegu held a press conference at around 1:30 pm. 10. Once again, the baton of enforcing the state guidelines was passed on. The DC asked building owners to decide the rotation pattern for the shops in their respective buildings and ensure that no more than onethird of the shops are open at any given moment/day. 11. On May 5, the state government issued further guidelines giving relaxation to industries, offices in multistoried buildings, automobile dealerships, warehouses, market complexes, etc in the state. After these series of events with the final decision being given, there is still no clarity among the traders and shopkeepers. There are many questions that remain unanswered but the highest authorities too seem

confused. The biggest and most disheartening one is, “When can our shops really open?” Many citizens raised their queries on the social media platform Twitter and received mixed responses from the authorities. One such question was whether offices inside a plaza/market complex can operate on rotational basis. While the chief secretary of the state Kumar Sanjay Krishna had said “Yes”, Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) clearly said, “The entire plaza

stays closed for now.” Following this incident, however, the Assam government issued a separate set of guidelines on May 5 giving more clarity to the citizens.

To open or not to open | G Pus Photo

Janasanyog No. 437/20

There’s massive confusion prevailing among Guwahatians regarding the numbering system under the new norms that allows only one-third of the shops in one row of any market complex or commercial area (be it GS Road or Fancy Bazar or any other such locality) to open on one particular day. Guwahati’s trading community, while continuing to remain confused and seeking clarity on the relaxation guidelines, is rather disappointed with the purported delay in the state government announcing the same with regard to Lockdown 3.0 starting May 4. Retailers and traders were hoping to reopen their shops and so be back in business from Monday, May 4, under the new relaxed guidelines by the government of India for the extended lockdown period till May 17. Yet, to all effects they were at best left hanging by the state authorities who kept delaying the process of issuing clear guidelines regarding the same. Today, there is also a dilemma among business owners with the interpretation of what constitutes a neighbourhood shop and a standalone shop and what all come under the hood of a market complex. Here’s a chronology of events that led to the confusion: 1. On May 1, the government of India announced extension of the lockdown until May 17 and issued a fresh set of guidelines that constituted a number of relaxations. 2. The central government passed the authority to state/ union territory governments to issue further guidelines without diluting the guidelines issued by the government of India. 3. The state government remained silent on the matter or rather sat on it until May 3, the last day of Lockdown 2.0. 4. On May 3 at around 4 PM, the chief minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, announced that he would hold a press conference at 4:30 PM. However, the press conference was delayed by half an hour.

Published by Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Assam

6 Concern

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

Ghy restaurants prefer to remain shut through lockdown; cite inappropriate operation timings Lockdown results in Rs 25 crore loss for city’s restaurant industry Barasha Das @Barasha_mi2

or the third phase of the nationwide lockdown, the central and the state governments have issued certain relaxations. Offices and businesses have been permitted to reopen. Amongst them are the restaurants and other eateries. However, city restaurateurs feel that given the timings that have been allowed for operations, it would be prudent to remain shut through the entire lockdown period. “Ours is a semi-luxury industry. The highest market in Guwahati is for snacks which is an indulgence and not a need. The restaurants come alive in the evening and continue to

People do not usually go out for snacks in the morning hours. Also, they don’t prefer the heavy food restaurants have to offer in the early hours of the day. So the relaxations aren’t of much help to us,” added Kar. be so till late in the night. But the timing given for business does not match. I believe it’s better to remain shut until the convenient timings for business are allowed by the government,” said Ranbir Kar, proprietor of Chick N Chilly, a well known restaurant of the city. Deba Kumar Barman of J14 has a similar opinion. He said, “The government has allowed us to open, but given the rotation rules, we will get just two days to operate per week. Also restaurants need to be closed down as early as 5 pm. It has become highly inconvenient, so we have

chosen to remain closed until the timings are regularised.” Although a certain section of the restaurants have resumed services, most have preferred to remain shut as rather than earning profits, there are more chances of incurring losses. Alternate days of working have added to the customers’ dilemma of visiting restaurants and whether their preferred ones will be open or not? As such customer footfall has been low. Also there is limited supply of raw materials as reported by certain restaurants for them to be fully functional. “The restaurant industry in Guwahati has incurred a loss of around Rs 25 crores during the lockdown period,” informed Deba Kumar Barman, who is also the president of All Assam Restaurant Association (AARA). Ranbir Kar explains, “As a semi-luxury industry, most of our customers are traders, office goers and young adults who prefer to indulge in our delicacies and have some fun time, most not worrying about the expenses. And this happens after work hours. But now, restaurants have to close as early as 5 pm along with the offices. How do we earn?” Restaurateurs have opined that the small roadside eateries and the budget restaurants, mostly the “saah-bhat hotels” will be benefitted from the relaxations. As they are usually standalone, they can open daily and office goers and other workers are bound to have their breakfasts and lunches there. “People do not usually go out for snacks in the morning hours. Also, they don’t prefer the heavy food restaurants have to offer in the early hours of the day. So the relaxations aren’t of much help to us,” added Kar. Not just the lockdown, but the prevailing Classical Swine

Empty shelves in an eatery speak of the current story | G Plus photo Fever which has created confusion amongst the pork lovers has also added to the losses. This has accelerated the downward curve of many staple cuisine restaurants of Guwahati. “As for chicken, we have to understand that it takes 21 days for a chick to hatch from an egg and another 45 days in incubation to growth into the product we can sell. That is a total of 66 days. Now, given the long lockdown period, there is limited supply of chicks with the broiler farms. For them to collect the chick, raise them and finally sell in the market, the whole process would take around two months. For restaurants like us, whose menu is mostly based on chicken products, even if we start functioning, there won’t be enough raw materials,” said Ranbir Kar. The Assam government has added only take-away and delivery of food from the restaurants. But the limited number of delivery boys and

the caution amongst people at having restaurant food has resulted in limited sales. G Plus asked a few restaurants that have resumed operation from 4th May about their sales. It was informed that post the ease of lockdown, sandwiches, momos and rolls have been the most sought after take away food. Apart from that biryani orders are coming up but restaurants are unable to cater much due to non-availability of cooks. Anish Tulsyan, Media Secretary of AARA, who owns the Food Court at Roodraksh Mall said, “As we are located in a shopping mall, there is no question of us opening as of now. I have 15 employees and have been providing for their stay and food, and their salaries ever since the lockdown. But the others had to be laid off.” The All Assam Restaurant Association has requested the Assam government to provide the industry with some special package to survive these crucial times.

The letter submitted to chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal urges the government to issue a circular for the relaxation of rent to all tenants concerned, not only for the lockdown period but also for the next 6 months. The organisation has also asked for low interest collateral-free special bail-out working capital loan schemes, exemption/subsidies from payment of all utility bills for 6 months and extend the validity of all licenses for a period of 12 months from 1st April. Further, deference of the due dates for payment of statutory dues like GST, income tax, etc to maintain the required case flow in the given situation has also been requested. The AARA has also proposed to partner with AMTRON for food aggregator services so that the money remains within the state while saving the restaurant industry from the ever increasing commissions from the already established aggregators.

Poll

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

Yes: 19% No: 81% Total votes: 4.5K

Majority of Guwahatians feel that social distancing has gone for a toss in lockdown 3.0

With the new lockdown relaxations in place do you think social distancing is being maintained by people in Guwahati? Rifa Deka @dekarifa

ocial distancing is crucial in the world’s fight against COVID-19. It is said to be the only way with which we can break the cycle of transmission and stop the virus from spreading further. According to a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) last month, one infected person defying a lockdown could infect about 406 people in just about 30 days. Another study by Harvard University suggests that some form of social distancing may be needed intermittently well into 2022, in the absence of vaccines, to prevent the spread of the virus and prevent future outbreaks of similar diseases. Ever since the first cases of persons infected by the novel coronavirus were detected, the government has constantly told citizens to avoid physical contact and maintain a distance of at least a metre from others. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too, on several occasions, has asked people to maintain distance from one another while addressing the nation, following which celebrities, sportspersons and even the common man have not shied away from preaching about this practice. In such testing times, the question that needed an answer was whether we’re practicing what we’ve been preaching. G Plus conducted a poll on its social media channels and asked Guwahatians whether people are still following social distancing in the city with the new relaxations in place. More than 4,500 people participated in the poll which resulted in only 19 percent of people who thought that social distancing was in fact being practised in Guwahati. A whopping 81 percent of the poll participants voted towards the idea of social distancing being nothing but

an oxymoron in the city. Netizens actively commented on G Plus’s digital channels after casting their votes in the poll conducted on May 5. In response to the question asked in the poll, one Facebook user, Rajeev Singh said, “Only in front of wine shops social distancing is being maintained with utmost discipline.” Anamika Roy wrote on Instagram that she had not seen this kind of crowd even during festive seasons like Durga Puja. “In the Spanish Flu pandemic, the second wave was the deadliest and took the highest number of lives, because after the first wave, people started to come out and celebrate, thinking the pandemic was over for good,” commented an Instagrammer, Jyotish Mazumdar. “Onus lies on every individual to maintain social distancing and people have become more aware and cautious now as compared to the initial days of lockdown. Both lives and livelihoods are important and two critical imperatives for India’s economy,” Rajib Choudhary commented on Twitter. One Facebook user, Paul Nabbasish N, suggested that draconian measures must be enforced and said that Indians are used to living under strict and stringent laws which is why we do not follow rules, unless we are held accountable for our actions. Another user named Arup suggested that if social distancing is not maintained in front of any shop, the shopkeeper must be held accountable for the same. “If this will be the situation, then the government will impose a lockdown again and we will be responsible for that lockdown,” he added on Facebook. For many, social distancing is nothing less than privilege

A thin crowd of people gathering at a city market in Guwahati | G Plus photo with our staggering population density. India, being a densely populated country, the fear of resources getting exhausted also happens to be the root cause due to which people gather outside shops, offices and other places without following social distancing norms. Another reason why people do not follow social distancing is the fact that the foe on the other side of the battleground happens to be an invisible virus. People have certainly started to take things lightly and avoid practicing with the relaxation of rules and the relentless lockdown extension. Post the relaxation in Assam, Chief Secretary, Kumar Sanjay Krishna, in a tweet, warned that citizens indulging in any violation during the lockdown relaxation will be strictly dealt with. “Any violation of the lockdown relaxation terms shall be dealt with strict actions against the individuals, establishments, businesses, car & scooter drivers and passengers

including cancellation of licences. FOLLOW SOCIAL DISTANCING AND STAY SAFE,” Krishna tweeted. With a continuous rise in the number of cases of people suffering due to the

pandemic, it is necessary that people acknowledge the importance of following precautionary measures such as social distancing to contain the virus from spreading further.

8 G Talk E

| May 09 - May 15, 2020 T

Tax spikes on petrol

he consumer in Guwahati is paying more than almost four times the price of petrol than its actual base price, thanks to tax policymakers for imposing hefty taxes on the essential commodity to spike up government revenue. Sample this: At current international prices, the base price at which petrol can be sent to the retail outlets including freight charges comes to only Rs 18.22 per litre in Guwahati. This means, taking the current price of petrol at Guwahati which is Rs 77.46 per litre, a consumer in Guwahati is paying a whopping Rs 59.24 in taxes per litre which includes central government taxes, dealer commission, VAT and excise which is levied by the state. Apart from international crude oil rates, there are two important factors which determine the fuel cost VAT and Excise duty. Despite falling crude oil prices the oil import bill of Indian oil companies have come down heavily and they are making windfall gains. However, the benefit of falling international prices are not being passed on to the consumer. From 2014, petrol prices have been hiked ten times; only twice it has been slashed in sync with the international crude oil prices. The oil prices

in India are determined by the petroleum companies after it was de-regularised and was market linked. The government however has the authority to impose taxes. The recent sharp hike in prices in India comes despite extremely low global crude oil prices, with Brent Crude hitting a 21-year low, slumping into the negative territory. The cost of Indian basket of crude is now averaged at $ 56.43 per barrel. Every dollar per barrel drop in crude prices reduces India’s oil import bill by Rs 10,700 crores on an annualized basis. Retail prices of petrol and diesel in India track global prices, not crude, but are broadly linked to oil price trends. “The quantum of hike in duties by the government of India (GoI) is unprecedented and is aimed at generating additional revenues at a time when economic activity has been severely impacted by lockdowns owing to Covid-19. Additionally, this is the second time in the last two months that the GoI has hiked excise duty following the increase of Rs 3/litre for both diesel and petrol on March 14,” Investment Information Credit Rating Agency, which tracks global crude oil prices, said in a statement. Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

Guwahati plunges back into COVID-19 paranoia?

t looked like Guwahati was one of the markets which were eager (and hopeful) to recover from the Coronavirus slump that hit markets all around the world. In its small-little ways, local and franchisee retailers, cloud kitchens/restaurant owners, freelancers and other business owners started working on plans to make most of the market waking up from the slump. Food and grocery delivery, AC and Car repairing services, healthcare industry started working on revival plans. Until the 7th of May, things in Guwahati were looking up. But the story of the 16 year old girl’s death, who was the second Coronavirus victim in Assam, changed this attitude within hours. Most people kicked into a panic mode after they heard rumours about the four new Corona-positive people in the city and started contemplating the fallout of it all. When the investigation led to the fact that the victim ‘sold eggs’, a fear ran through the very people who were bullish about their prospects imagining all the ‘fomites’ she could’ve created. The city barely limped back to normalcy, as people were adjusting with ‘9 to 5’ as a new normal. But the news of the new cases has put everyone back on high alert. Maybe it was nature’s way of reminding us that we let our guards down and maybe we’re not ready to relax just yet. Can Governments consider putting Guwahati and similar cities of importance back into red or orange zones? Would it help contain this virus? Humans are used to enjoying freedom and once we’ve tasted it, it becomes difficult lock ourselves back up. Maybe we put ourselves back in lockdown for the long haul and hope that the Government finds ways to protect those running losses, paying EMIs, losing livelihoods. They certainly have received a lot of funds for it… Or maybe Sidharth Bedi Varma the “PM doesn’t CARE.” @sid_bv

WHO to impugn for the COVID-19 pandemic...

t a time when the world is experiencing a hitherto unknown lockdown scenario as a disastrous consequence to the deadly impact of the novel Corona virus that has taken a whopping 2,63,283 human lives so far and more people falling into its vicious trap, day-to-day activities have come to a grinding halt. Ironically, for the first time in the history of civilization, scientists, researchers and doctors, having been shaken and perplexed by the advent of a tiny virus, have given a clarion call for social distancing rather than social cohesion. Notwithstanding the contradictory views of a microscopic minority of intellectuals, the teeming millions of faceless humanity across the world have hailed the decision of Donald Trump, the President of USA, to stop financial aid to the World Health Organization (WHO) for its alleged failure to stop the spread of the deadly Corona virus after it was detected in Wuhan, the industrial town of China, as back in time as in November, 2019. On 14th April last, Trump declared, loud and clear, that the WHO has failed in its fundamental responsibility to contain the killer virus at its source of origin in China and further accused the organization of extending support to the Chinese evil design to conceal the details of outbreak of the virus that has led to the present unprecedented health hazards worldwide. Consequently, the US government has reportedly stopped its contribution of nearly $900 million to the WHO’s budget for the year 2019-20. As a sequel to the bold decision of the USA, Germany, as per reports, has sent an “invoice” to Beijing holding China solely responsible for the colossal damage caused by the Corona virus on its body politic and seeking reimbursement worth $130 billion. A casual glance at the

sequence of events leading to present disastrous global situation highlights the fact that ever since the detection of a mysterious virus infecting a human being on 17th November last at Wuhan, the hydraheaded monstrous virus had kept spreading at galloping speed infecting as many as 381 patients in China by 25th December. Subsequently, the virus got the nomenclature as “novel Coronavirus” and Wuhan has come to be dubbed as the epicenter of the virus. Surprisingly, despite such menacing advancement endangering human life, the world health body did not take any visible proactive steps to track down the virus on its own nor did they challenge Chinese government to spell out as to how the virus had originated and transmitted fast and dangerously. No action was taken to confine the virus within Wuhan or even within China by restricting all human movements. No advice was given to China by WHO to stop all international travels prohibiting entry and exit. Surprisingly, as against the rampaging speed and ferocity with which Corona virus went about infecting country after country successively, the response of the world organization has been agonizingly snail-paced. The WHO declared the outbreak of Coronavirus as ‘global health emergency ‘ as late as 30th January when more than 9,700 persons were affected in thirty six countries. Thereafter, the apex health organization, in its wisdom, took another one and a half months to declare ‘Covid-19’ as ‘pandemic’ (11th March) when more than 500,000 patients from over 100 countries were languishing across the globe. Such inordinate delay and mysterious procrastination has raised obvious doubts about the efficiency, efficacy, sincerity and credibility of the hallowed organization.

rA salute to the tea gardens

O pinion Gautam Ganguly

An objective analysis on the expeditious response mechanism of the WHO in respect of handling previous health hazards or epidemics magnify the inexplicable inaction of the present office bearers in the initial stage of outbreak of Covid-19. In 2009, a new type of influenza virus named “H1N1” had emerged infecting a lot of people in California. The first official report on public domain was on 17th April. On 24th April, fresh cases were reported in Texas that galvanized the WHO to swing into action immediately. On 29th April, “high alertness” was sounded with WHO asking the world to take pandemic preparation. Prompt action by WHO and the US government helped to diffuse a dangerously evolving health scenario by containing the virus from spreading. Similar speedy action was taken by WHO to counter the deadly ‘Ebola virus’ that had broken out in Guinea in 2014 and was spreading its tentacles alarmingly infecting many countries like Liberia etc. Endless instances can be cited to showcase the salutary, expedited action taken by WHO to prevent human disaster arising out of contaminated viruses ever since its inception in 1948. Interestingly, climaxing the horrendous human sufferings caused by the novel Corona virus together with inept handling by WHO, it now transpires that World Health Organization presently is being headed by a Director General who is not a physician, academically and professionally! That reminds us of Shakespeare’s immortal saying, “Some have greatness thrust upon them!”

Letter to the Editor

e know that during this period of lockdown, the tea gardens were also following the relevant rules. All tea gardens remained closed from 24th March to 10th April. After the first lockdown was over the tea gardens reopened on certain conditions according to the circular provided by ABITA. In each and every tea garden the Management has provided the facilities of soaps, water and sanitizers in every section and division for the workers to wash their hands from time to time during work hours. They have made circles for the workers to stand distanced from each other when the ration and salary is being distributed to them. The management has also given the responsibility to the tailors residing in the tea garden to make clean, hygienic and washable masks for all workers and have provided sufficient clean and medicated cloth to them for this. The tailors are getting paid for preparing each mask. So through the columns of your esteemed daily I would like to say that the tea garden is doing everything to ensure the health of its workers. The management is on-duty every time. A salute should go to them as well. Neha Singh, Tezpur

In Focus

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

Assam govt to slap Rs 500 fine for not wearing mask in public

n view of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state, the Assam government has made it compulsory for people to wear masks, failing which they would be fined Rs 500. The order has been issued under the Epidemic Diseases Act in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly disease. “It is not necessary to use readymade mask, people can cover their mouth and face with gamocha or handkerchief also,” informed Himanta Biswa Sarma, the health and finance minister of Assam. He added that all shop owners are to maintain social distancing among customers. Otherwise, apart from 28 days quarantine, further action might be taken against the owner. Guwahatians took to the social media handles of G Plus and shared their views on this decision made by the Assam government. The story garnered plenty of reactions. Christabelle Rebeiro said, “First of all the government should fine people for not strictly adhering to 1 metre of social distancing. The right mask should be worn in the

right manner else, it is absolutely useless.” Expressing his discontent, TusharAgarwal said, “Police themselves are not following the rules. Pillion riding, not wearing mask, etc can be seen around Guwahati. Coronavirus issue cannot be solved only by the citizens; the department must also follow the rules set by them.” Krish Abraham said, “Today I saw several people who were not wearing masks and a few were spitting on the road. What about them? The government must be more active. Local police stations should keep an eye on their nearby areas.” Mohammad Abdullah said, “When will the Assam government distribute masks for the poor people who don’t even have food to eat?” Sharing his opinion, Asish Sinha said, “Is the mask really going to help protect us from the virus in this summer season? Wearing mask reduces the intake of oxygen. Wearing a mask can also be dangerous in this summer while we sweat all the virus comes out through our sweat, but if we put the mask on, the viruses from

sweat can easily go back again inside in our mouth. Wearing a mask for more than one hour can literally impact the shortage of oxygen and it weakens us even more. So after all of this if we get sick the doctors are going to say that we’re COVID-19 positive just by the symptoms and PCR test which is only to find the genetic material not the virus.” Mugacha Brahma said, “A Rupees 20 mask is being sold for Rupees 100-200 in pharmacies, the government should do something about it.” Expressing his concern Nitish Sahu said, “One point worth mentioning will be that wearing a mask for long time is not feasible especially during the summertime because mask inhibits the proper circulation of air and oxygen, the carbon-di-oxide exhaled is not

able to escape properly. You get tired easily because the body is not able to get pure oxygen and not to mention the sweating that occurs inside masks due to current hot and humid conditions. One more point needs a mention that it leads to difficulty in recognizing people and friends because their faces are covered by masks. But, having said

that we have to weigh positive and negative points of wearing a mask in this health crisis and act accordingly.” Jyotishmaan Deka said, “The government made it compulsory but still you can find a number of people without masks. They think everything ended with the lockdown being relaxed.”

Guidelines for opening shops in Kamrup (M) by Assam government confuse Guwahatians. Some reactions… Ashik Shrestha

Subham Singhania

Anurag Hazarika

Bhaswati Chatterjee

Very confusing guidelines issued by the government. Also can the administration spare sometime to check the availability prices of quality masks in the local market? Just issuing guidelines is not enough if steps to ensure it is not taken strategically, and not with a policeman having a baton in hand. In doing all this, so many things are being missed out by our government. If Himanta sir is not being to handle this then other ministers should look into it and action should be taken.

These rules are totally opposite to the Centre’s guidelines and totally confusing. The government should have cut it short and simple. No point opening shop for 2 days a week because we don’t pay salary or rent on basis of days. It will be a total loss. Best of luck with these guidelines to the government. This is anyway not going to help.

Rahul Jain

These are not guidelines, rather mis-guidelines. It’s complete bureaucratic failure. They have forgotten that they are dealing with common people; accordingly the guidelines should be simple and clear without any scope of misinterpretation. The guidelines given are too complicated for the masses to understand. From now on, there will be more chaos on the roads and more possibility of positive corona cases. They were going good until now to be precise.

The government is doing a great job on their part and I have no doubt about that. But to be honest, relaxation is not required right now. Everything will be back to normal and this will increase the risk of coronavirus in our city. We should wait for more time and analyse the situation. I know economically it’s difficult to cope, but if people have adjusted for so many days then I think they won’t hesitate in cooperating for some more time.

Who will bear the loses of the middle class business owners? Lower class people are getting benefits from the government or help from nearby people whereas higher class doesn’t care much. But middle class people, what they will do? They are the worst sufferers right now. As per the guidelines, office in market complex will remain closed. Then why government is opening offices with 50% capacity? The government needs to work to fulfil their pockets, then what about small business owners? Isn’t this a selfish move?

10 News This Week

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

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

Don’t decide zones in PMO, give power to states: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on May 8 hit out at PM Narendra Modi and said that decision to categorise zones on the basis of the COVID-19 situation should be left to the states and districts and should not be made in a centralised manner. While addressing a press conference he said, “I request the government that they view state governments and the district magistrates as partners and that they do not centralise the decision making. The Prime Minister has his own style, but in my view, in such a situation a strong Prime Minister along with a lot of strong Chief Ministers and a lot of strong collectors are needed. I want us to tackle the disease at the local level itself.”

JEE Advanced Exam will be conducted on August 23

The JEE Advanced Exam will be conducted on August 23 as per an announcement made by Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal on May 7. The exam was scheduled to be held on May 17 but got postponed due to the nationwide lockdown. About 25 lakh candidates were uncertain about when the examination would be held. The minister had earlier announced that the examination would be held this year between the dates 18 and 23 of July. Prior to this, the National Testing Agency (NTA) had also deferred JEE Main 2020 Examination. The JEE exams were postponed due to the extension of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Delhi govt imposes ‘Special Corona Fee’ of 70% tax on MRP of liquor

Delhi government has decided to impose a 70 percent ‘Special Corona Fee’ on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of liquor in the national capital effective May 5. The decision has been taken in order to boost government revenue, which has been hit hard due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown. “70 per cent ‘Special Corona Fee’ has been imposed on the MRP of liquor bottles. The new rate will be applicable from Tuesday,” said a senior official. Meanwhile, Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh government will take a cumulative decision regarding the increase in liquor taxes.

Centre to operate 64 flights to bring back 15,000 stranded Indians from abroad

The central government is considering operating Air India flights to bring back Indians stranded abroad during the current Covid-19 pandemic. The union government will be operating 64 flights of Air India and its subsidiary, Air India Express to repatriate Indians from 7th May to 13th May. Indians stranded in 12 countries which include the UAE, UK, US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman are to avail the benefit, informed officials. Around 15,000 people are to be benefitted. As per the union home ministry, only asymptomatic Indian nationals would be allowed to travel back to the country.

CBSE class 10 board exams suspended nationwide except for students of NE Delhi

The central government announced that the class 10 examinations of CBSE Board, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis, will not be conducted now. A notification issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development stated that CBSE class 10 board examinations will not be conducted in any part of the country, except in and for North East Delhi students. CBSE will conduct the board exams of the major subjects that got postponed for a certain section of Delhi students due to the North East Delhi violence that had broken out in February 2020. An adequate time of 10 days will be given to all students for preparation of the exams.

Most wanted Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist killed in encounter

Most wanted terrorist Riyaz Naikoo was killed in an encounter along with his two associates by a joint team of security forces in Kashmir’s Pulwama district today, May 6. He had been cornered by security personnel on many occasions but he managed to escape. Prior to his killing, the leader of banned terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen of Kashmir valley, had been trapped in Beighbora village earlier today. Naikoo had taken over as chief of the terror group after its Kashmir outfit’s commander Burhan Wani was killed in 2016. In a state where the career span of a terrorist exhaust in about 4 years, Naikoo managed to last for a period of 8 years.

Tragic gas leak kills 7 in Andhra Pradesh

A toxic gas leak from the chemical plant of a company in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam killed 7, triggering panic among citizens. The leak occurred in the wee hours of the day at around 3 am at LG Polymers Industry at RR Venkatapuram. Workers in the plant were making preparations and gearing up to reopen the plant when the gas began to leak. Fire engines and ambulances reached the spot to control the situation and around 200 people were rushed to the hospital. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was also called in and the death toll was confirmed by Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police, Gautam Sawang. The total number of people who have fallen sick due to the reported gas leak is estimated to be well over 1,000.

Train runs over migrant workers in Maharashtra; 16 killed

UPSC Exams stand postponed due to lockdown

A cargo train ran over migrant workers in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad this morning killing at least 16 of them. These workers were attempting to cover a distance of over 170km and had stopped to rest near the tracks after having covered 45 kms. They were asleep when the unfortunate incident took place. The driver honked to alert the migrants and stop the train but failed. The deceased were part of a group of 20 migrants who were heading back home to Bhusaval in Madhya Pradesh from Maharashtra’s Jalna. The migrants were aged between 20 and 35 years and worked at SRG Company in Jalna, Maharashtra.

The Union Public Service Commission has postponed the annual civil service and forest service preliminary examinations that were scheduled to be held on May 31. As per a notice issued by the Commission on its websites upsc.gov.in, the new date will be announced on May 20. It further stated that the commission would announce the new schedule at least 30 days prior to exam date for candidates to prepare themselves. The personality tests which are the personal interview session of the previous year, Civil Service Examination 2019, Indian Economic Service and Indian Statistical Service, have also been postponed.

Indian Railways turn 5,231 coaches into Covid Care Centres

To meet the demand of Coronavirus Cases in India the Indian Railways has kept 5,231 coaches ready be used as Covid care centres. These coaches can be deployed across 23 states in the country and in major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Nagpur, Pune and Lucknow. A railway ministry spokesperson said, “The coaches can be used for very mild cases that can be clinically assigned to the Covid care centres as per guidelines issued by the health ministry. These coaches can be used in areas where state has exhausted the facilities and needs to augment capacities for isolation of both suspect and confirmed Covid cases.” 158 stations are ready with watering and charging facility and the remaining 57 stations are ready with watering facility for these centres.

Trotter

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

Restaurant serves solo 5-year-old caught driving family car to buy a diner only, delivers Lamborghini food via rope

eople across the world have adopted social distancing as a way of life amid the ongoing corona virus pandemic. Shops encourage people to queue up maintaining a three feet distance, while eateries urge customers to leave every other seat empty when they sit down for a meal. One pop-up restaurant that is all set to open in Sweden, however, will take social distancing to a whole new level by serving solo diners in the middle of an empty field, delivering food to them via a rope. The appropriately-named “Bord for En” or “Table for One” will open on May 10 and run till August 1, reports a daily. Located in a lush meadow in Varmland, the restaurant is the brainchild of couple Rasmus Persson and Linda Karlsson. They came up with the idea after a lunch with Linda’s parents, where Rasmus, a former chef, served food through a window. “We should make this available for everyone,” Linda said adding, “It will be the only COVID-19-safe restaurant in the world.” And so Bord for En was born. The single-table restaurant will practice

social distancing by serving only solo diners. No wait staff will be needed at this restaurant, for food will be delivered to the table straight from the kitchen, through a basket attached to a rope. “We want to be able to concentrate on that sole guest when preparing the meal. But also, it is a way for us to be able to control that the guest’s experience will be totally COVID-19-free,” says Linda. She also added that the restaurant would welcome everyone, irrespective of their “financial situation”, and allow guests to pay the amount they want for the three-course meal they are served. (Source: ndtv)

he’d take the car and go to California to buy one himself. He might have been short on the purchase amount, as he only had $3 dollars in his wallet.” The incident surprised many, collecting a ton of amazed reactions on the microblogging platform. Many wondered how the boy managed to drive the car and made it so far without hurting himself. Adrian’s family was contacted after the boy was pulled over and reached the spot to take custody of the boy. They say they have no idea how the five-year-old managed to drive the car across town and reach the highway. (Source: theindianexpress)

Mum drinks sperm smoothies to fight off coronavirus

Bizarre apartment has a toilet in its kitchen

pen plan living gets a whole new meaning with this residential property that is up for rent in Sydney, Australia. A small studio apartment in the suburbs of Sydney - a city known for its expensive real estate - has created a big buzz online. Reason? It comes with a unique space-saving plan: A bathroom in the kitchen. The apartment in Surry Hills, which has been listed for rent, features a toilet and a shower located inside the kitchen, with only glass walls separating it from the cooking area. The listing from Exclusive Real Estate promises that the bathroom is “Italian designer tiled” and the “modern kitchen” comes with induction cooking. “This studio apartment will suit the urban dweller who craves simplicity and style that this apartment has to offer, as well living in the vibrant and culturally diverse suburb of Surry Hills,” it reads. If you are okay with the unique layout, you can rent the apartment for $380 (approximately Rs 18,000) per week.

Utah Highway Patrol trooper thought the driver needed medical attention when he saw a car swerving wildly on the highway. When he pulled the car over, he was surprised to see a five-year-old boy driving the vehicle. According to a daily, Trooper Rick Morgan said the boy didn’t respond to his lights but pulled over when he heard the siren. “I approached the vehicle and I was expecting to find somebody who needed an ambulance or paramedics,” Morgan said. Instead, he found five-year-old Adrian behind the wheel. He was sitting on the edge of the seat to reach the brake pedal so he could drive the car. It turns out the young boy had managed to get his hands on the keys to the family car after an argument with his mother, who refused to buy him a Lamborghini. Angered, he decided to drive to California from Utah to buy the luxury car himself, with $3 in his pocket. Utah Highway Patrol wrote about the incident on Twitter while sharing a photo of the young driver. “His story is that he left home after an argument with Mom, in which she told him she would not buy him a Lamborghini,” they wrote. “He decided

A photo of the bizarre apartment was shared on Twitter by user Joan Westenberg. “Sydney real-estate is a literal toilet in your literal kitchen going for $380 a week in Surry Hills,” she wrote while sharing the picture. Despite the negative reviews, property manager Emma Mattiuzzo of Exclusive Real Estate says there has been “reasonable interest” in the apartment, reports a daily. Singles, couples and even two brothers have expressed interest in renting the studio apartment. (Source: ndtv)

mother-of-two believes that drinking smoothies with a shot of sperm have helped to boost her immune system and is helping prevent coronavirus. Tracy Kiss, 32, says she’s not had a cold or flu for three years because of her concoction which is made using donations from her boyfriend and she takes three shots a week. Tracy, a personal trainer from Aylesbury, said, “I found a free and vegan-friendly alternative method to boost the body’s immune system. You don’t always know what is in pharmaceutical medicine – it is much better for the body to drink something that doesn’t contain chemicals. It isn’t much different to a mother breastfeeding her newborn to give them the nutrients they need. It isn’t for everyone but it is packed full of vitamins and I haven’t had a cold or flu ever since drinking it in 2017 – I also put it on my face to clear up my skin.” The remedy has not been verified by the World Health Organisation. The NHS and UK government advise people stay at home to avoid getting the virus. Tracy continued, “It is best to consume semen as close to production as possible to get the most nutrients and benefits. But I often store it in the freezer in an ice cube tray as my partner, who does not wish to be named, and I are in a long distance relationship. The quantity depends on how hydrated my boyfriend is on the day. I sometimes have a shot or disguise the taste in a smoothie with fresh berries and bananas. I am strictly looking at this from a health perspective. I think

a lot of people try new ways to boost their immune system when they start presenting symptoms but that is too late – you must make immune system strong prior to an illness to ensure you can fight it off.” Tracy believes semen consumption will prevent coronavirus as she leads an active, healthy lifestyle and the supplement has helped her immune system. She adds, ‘The smoothies aren’t any different to drinking honey and lemon water when you have a sore throat. It is just another natural remedy but completely free – you don’t have to have a partner, you could just ask a male friend who is healthy. Most people think I am joking because it seems too good to be true that I am being so open about a ‘taboo’ subject but I am not. I am going against societies’ ‘norm’ to educate and help other people who are missing out on nutrients. I want to make a difference which is why I am sharing this home remedy.” (Source: metro.co.uk)

12 Guest Column

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

The somewhat educated Junglees D r. Bhupen Hazarika in his inimitable style of rendition used to give a wonderful prelude to each of his immortal songs in all of his live functions. What inspired him to sing “Bistirno Parore”, where he wrote “Sagar Sangamot”, how he wrote “Moi Eti Jajabor” were so much a part of his extraordinary musical performance that the audience was left utterly awestruck. In one of his performances he

The author offers a humorous tale from his college days when poorly informed mainland Indians wondered how people in Assam and the northeast lived in the ‘jungles’ alongside wild animals in urban settings. chose to sing a lesser known song of his, the lyrics of which were “Jongli jongli duniai koi jongholai mur ghor, mukta hawa mur bondhu, nagar jibon mur por.” (Junglee junglee the world calls me, jungle is my home, free air is my friend and the city life is my foe). Before the song he informed the crowd that he wrote this song out of sheer anger arising from the ignorance of people in the rest of India about Assam. Even in the late eighties people in India had some vague or no idea at all of Assam and the Bard of the East had to confront questions like “How do you live in the jungles?” “Don’t the animals harm you?” “How can you write such poetry and compose so melodious music in the jungles of Assam?” This song vented a lot of his exasperation and took a dig at the city dwellers of India on missing out the bliss in the blue hills and the green jungles

of our blessed land. We the lesser mortals have undoubtedly faced similar if not identical questions from people while travelling outside Assam. At times, the irksome queries drive you to the edge. One of my contemporaries at a campus interview in a prestigious institute of India was taunted by being asked how come they are interviewing someone from the jungles in an esteemed institute in the heart of a city. The question was perhaps to unnerve him; but the interviewers were on the receiving end when my friend replied that tigers in the jungles of Assam are not afraid to tread on cities of India; he walked away with the job in his pocket. My own share of experiencing this breed of ignorant people was a hilarious one at Delhi in 1988. My friend Jayanta Barua was not only an avid quizzer but also a rare exponent of wit and humor. We together were selected as a team from Assam Engineering College to participate in Siddharth Basu’s Quiz time ’88. The recording for the East Zone finals were scheduled in March ’88 at Delhi. Along with the other teams we were put up in a guest house in Connaught Place. The hospitality team was very courteous but did not know which zone Guwahati belonged to. One of the staff members even took out an atlas to know where Guwahati was. Jayanta, with his usual humor, informed that we belonged not only to the same planet but also the same country and our names should be where the qualifiers from Calcutta were. That helped and we were led to our room by a person who spoke chaste “Hinglish” – every three English words were punctuated

by a Hindi word. He proudly declared that he had read about Assam and its rich flora and fauna though he had never visited any place beyond Patna in eastern India. He expressed his desire to know more about the place we had come from during our stay in Delhi. We promised to do so and bade him goodbye to rest for a while after the arduous train journey we had undertaken. No Rajdhani Express plied then. The next two days we were busy fighting out to qualify for

colleges of India praised our late burst and the underdog tag changed to “Dark Horse” that almost turned the tables on the favorites. On returning to the guest house we found our “geography student” along with two more “Hinglish” speaking youths eagerly waiting for us to be enlightened on the “jungles” we came from. We were in no mood to oblige them after our narrow miss to grab the limelight. Offering us some tea they brought up the subject by

GUEST COLUMN

Tridib Borah of tea to my mouth as Jayanta continued to explain that the animals of Assam were much more intelligent than those found in the rest of India; our agreement with the animals is that they walk on the footpath on right side of the road and we humans walk on the footpath on left side of the road. This way perfect harmony exists

For once the mainland Indians could have been right: The pachyderm that walked on GS Road | G Plus photo the national finals with REC Rourkela, Calcutta Medical College, St. Xaviers Calcutta, Jadavpur University etc. Despite being the underdogs from Assam we came a close second to St. Xaviers Calcutta. The rapid fire rounds which were new to us somehow clicked for us and we came from behind to level scores but alas fell short by a fraction which even disappointed the famous Siddharth Basu. We got a gut feeling that the entire team in the studio would have loved us to win. Over lunch, the other participants from different

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asking if it was true that wild animals and people in Assam moved around freely. Before I could cook up an excuse to explain later, Jayanta’s wit struck at lightning speed as usual as he said, “What you have heard is absolutely right.” The youth gleefully exchanged glances with his mates. One of his mates immediately wanted to know how come the animals did not attack the humans. “We have got an agreement with the animals” was my witty quiz partner’s prompt reply. I covered my expression of intrigue by bringing the cup

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between man and animal in our enchanted land. All three listeners looked at me; for once I could live up to my friend’s incurable wit and humor by keeping a straight face without betraying the prank played upon them. They left us saying, “We have to visit Assam and see for ourselves.” Indeed we could not vent our frustration with sweet poetry and music but could give them the message that lacking knowledge of your country is not blissful ignorance. Email: tridib23borah@gmail. com

Guest Column

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

Local Economic Development of North East in the context of COVID19 A nd oft-asked question: why northeastern states particularly Assam - fail to attract investments while states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka attract big investors from among local industrialists as well as MNCs? Established industries like Tea, Oil and Coal are basic legacies of the British Era which are successful business enterprises while other agrobased industries like sugarcane, horticulture, dairy and fishery as also manufacturing etc have not done well in an organized manner on a large scale. The only industry that is doing well to some extent is the cement industry due to local availability of limestone.

The author writes that while Covid-19 disease is here to stay how we can go ahead despite the new threat to humanity is the future road. He also discusses the opportunities presenting itself for the NE region that cannot be allowed to go waste. Thus, there is a need to have a hard look at the dynamics of the economies of northeast. To do so requires an understanding of the local economic development. Local Economic Development study deals with the question of why economic development takes place within a particular region of a country and not in others. The structural adjustment policies of the 1980s and 1990s brought about great economic benefits to states of western as well as southern India while northeastern states remained in isolation from these positive influences, alienating the local inhabitants to be discontent and remain in unrest for more than three decades. In the northeast, the markets that were expected to come up after the structural adjustment didn’t happen spontaneously. The central and

the state governments tried to offset lack of eco-development by giving special government grants for infrastructure development as well as concession in the North East Industrial Policy and other such fiscal instruments. The government grants into the region led to infrastructure being created to some extent which did not synchronize with the economic development required for the region while the economic and fiscal incentives for industrialization was limited to a few firms and groups of people who readily took these concessions but did not translate the same for creating industrial bases as in other parts of India. The government-built industrial estates were set up haphazardly without proper logistical and infrastructure support leading to their remaining defunct and not becoming the economic nucleus for local economic development of the area. In the meantime, globalization after structural readjustment in the last two decades relating to international capital flows, international labour migration and worldwide value change happened rapidly in the west and in countries like China. Nationally, the foreign direct investments, which is an important impetus for growth, continued in those areas only where the natural flow on these investment were so long concentrated in the metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and towards the East it was confined to Kolkata. The northeast remained outside these investments. The inward investment in the metros increased exponentially because of favorable investment, climate and these cities of India were linked to other such cities of the world like London, Paris, Berlin, New York, Tokyo etc. This brings to the question of the role of decentralization and how effective regional governments are to attract investments through the route of Department of Economic Affairs of Government of India. The functions of the government are of three types: allocation of resources, through infrastructure development, extending delivery services empowering of people etc. Government also collects resources through customs, duties etc notwithstanding the

GUEST COLUMN

Moloy Bora

Internet photo of a cement factory in Meghalaya fact the government of India has the policy of ten percent of fund allocation of the various ministries. The lack of capacity of governments of the NE to spend allocated fund is also responsible for lesser fund flow leading to lower levels of government investment in the region. The economics base of getting Government to augment its own resources is also very meager, due to inherent lower investment and the capacity of the region to generate revenue. It is high time that we look at the informal sector properly and create an effective collective mechanism which is just and equitable. The informal sector in north east which is huge must be made to come into the fold of accounting and encouraged and nurtured to grow from strength to strength. Now the situation regarding the dynamics of economic development will undergo a sea change with the global crisis of Covid-19 pandemic. The migrant workforce of Assam and the northeast who have been working in the metros will be coming back. These migrants who are from the northeast are mostly from the service sector, the IT sector and some of them in the construction sector will be an opportunity as well as a challenge for local Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to employ them. They

are bringing with them the knowledge of exposure to newer technologies for government development. Government in the works department as well as builders, the service sectors (when they open) should take the opportunity for their gainful employment. As pointed out by our Hon’ble Prime Minister in his speech, there is an urgent requirement of self-sustaining smart cities and cluster of villages. These smart enclaves made by private investors are to be encouraged fully as government may not have sufficient funds in the short term. The industrial park which were built for clustering an efficient use of resources should be built and whether these industries can be made functional by attracting appropriate investors is to be relooked, and hard decisions taken on their viability or otherwise. The gains from Investor Summit in February 2018 needs to be properly assessed and dialogues started with the industries, few of which are sure to get out of the metros and move to newer safer areas. The Government of India is working towards creating rupees 40,000crores corpus to provide special guarantee funding to MSMEs which in case of Assam and northeast falls under informal sector. There is also the plan of 1 lakh crore fund for MSMEs for the revival. Mumbai region has already taken steps for

receiving this revival package. Our Hon’ble Chief Minister, Assam had a discussion with the leading industries and it’s time to take it forward in a uniform fastpaced manner. Dialogue between government and MSMES will have to be broad-based and continuous. MSMES should get into a huddle immediately to talk this through. All said and done, the Covid-19 virus is here to stay. It will cost immensely for humanity in terms of lives and livelihoods as other such pandemics like plague in the middle ages, cholera, kala azar, tuberculosis etc had done in the past. How we can go ahead despite the new threat to humanity is the future road. The opportunity presenting itself for the north east region cannot be allowed to go waste both in encouraging MSMEs of the region and getting a share of the direct foreign investments for infrastructure development which is required as the gate way to South East Asia under the Act East Policy. We cannot let the Act East policy be diluted because of the pandemic. (Moloy Bora, IAS is the CEO of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and previous Secretary to the Govt of Assam in The Department of Industries & Act East Policy Affairs and Managing Director, Guwahati Smart City Limited. Email: moloybora@gmail.com)

14 Feature Snippets BBCI Staff Quarter and 2 GMCH Hostels Declared Containment Zones

he Assam government has declared the staff quarters of Dr B Barooah Cancer Hospital (BBCI) and hostel no. 1 and 5 of GMCH in Guwahati as containment zones. This was done after four new cases were reported in the city on May 7. One of the patients, 16-yearold Dipika Nath, had visited BBCI to live with her grandmother who works in the hospital and stays in the staff quarters located within the premises of the institute. Dr. Likhitesh DS, a postgraduate of Medicine Department of GMCH, who was on screening duty since 4 th May had tested positive last night. He is from southern Indian. As he resides in Hostel no. 1 and has visited hostel no. 5 a couple of times, both have been declared as containment zones. He also participated in a workshop on 30 th April. As such, many doctors along with the superintendent and other workers of third and fourth grades have been quarantined in total, 388 people. Their tests have been taken as priority and the results will be declared by midnight. “We have requested many private hospitals of Delhi to help with testing of all health workers of GMCH who were taking care of coronavirus patients. There will be more than 1500 samples so these private hospitals have been asked to help,” said health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a press conference held today. Coming back to the patients, the other two Covid-19 positives are Boroda Das of Kharghuli and Devraj Acharjee. Das was residing with her daughter near Anuradha Cinema Hall, but returned to Kharghuli on 6 th May. After showing symptoms of COVID-19 she was admitted to MMCH, from where she was referred to GMCH. Her family has been kept under quarantine. Devraj Acharjee, on the other hand, is a patient in Guwahati with travel history. Hailing from Madanpur near Baihata Chariali, he went to Medinapur in Siliguri and returned on 6 th May. He came directly to the Sarusajai stadium via Srirampur with two more people. The other two tested negative. Devraj is admitted at MMCH and the other two are hospitalized at Dadara Modal Hospital for quarantine.

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

Buckle up: Save regrets, save lives G

BIRAJ DAS

ood heavens!” I exclaimed, as the sight of the whirling sky and objects beyond the windscreen of my car sent a chill down my spine. I felt as though I was inside a cockpit, holding the throttle of a stunt flying aircraft. It felt as though everything stood still, as I watched my broken windscreen; pebbles scattered all around it. I crouched as my heart hammered, panicstricken. I was sandwiched between the soft cold soil and the hard metal of my car. I felt a sudden and violent jolt of pain as blood oozed out of my body.

The author writes about the importance of fastening the seatbelts while undertaking a journey by car and narrates a personal incident to drive home the point. I lay there even as some adolescents got busy recording a video of the entire scene as if I had deliberately done this. My head began to spin; I was in a state of shock, unable to figure out what had actually happened in that split of a second. I felt numb as fear and confusion overcame me. After a while, the realization of having just met with a road accident hit me. The entire vehicle had turned turtle as I remained cocooned to the driver’s seat. I was all alone inside that ill-fated vehicle and was the sole bearer of the brunt of this impact. I tried my best to step out of the vehicle but couldn’t as the door was jammed. It seemed to take forever for me to open the car door. So I kicked at the already shattered windscreen and managed to get myself out of the wreckage. The doors of the vehicle didn’t open as the frame and structure of the car was totally deformed by the brunt of the accident. A few boys who appeared to be kind of underprivileged helped me get out of the destroyed vehicle and they deserve a special mention here. The video-recording adolescents I previously mentioned about were also present at the scene. However,

they seemed to be busy with their paparazzi-like activities. It was much later that I learned that those underprivileged boys who had helped me get back up on my feet were actually Safai Karmees. In school we were taught that “Outer appearances and riches do not make a monarch and one’s level of wisdom is not measured by just formal education” and the lesson learnt in school became clearer to me. Visiting holy places of worship had always brought unto me a sense of tranquility and bonded me momentarily with some supreme source of energy which was extremely impossible to comprehend. This however, comes purely out of my belief systems and faith; I have no scientific explanation for the same. On 13th April 2019, at around 10.30 am, on the way to the Sai Temple at Byrnihat, a speeding had truck rammed into my car near Forest Service College on the GuwahatiShillong (GS) Road. The truck driver disappeared from the spot of accident immediately – a hit and run case. My vehicle flipped 180° and spun around 4-5 times before landing on the other side of the road facing towards the Guwahati side of the divider. My car was completely damaged but despite severe injuries, I somehow survived. Fortunately, there was no liability on my part of injury, death or property damage. It

was after this accident that I realized how precious my life was, not just to me but also to my family members, friends and dependents. I also learned that although small in number, there still are people who get some sort of sadistic pleasure in causing further damage to people who are already in distress. Having said all that, the question which still remained unanswered in my head was how did I manage to survive after having met with such a deadly and virtually fatal accident? I have never disregarded the importance of wearing a seatbelt while driving and that is why perhaps, I am alive today. Had I not buckled that seatbelt up, I probably would have been tossed out of my car that day by the force of the impact of the collision which further would have resulted in graver injuries or worse, I could have been dead right there on the spot. People must understand that the force with which these collisions happen puts enormous strain on the body of the persons seated within the vehicle. It is downright scary to even think of the consequences of not wearing seatbelts. This is a fact proven by extensive R&D and countless dry-runs. Seatbelts are designed ergonomically to protect the person seated inside. Sadly, most citizens hardly look at the act of wearing a seatbelt as a life-saving mechanism

while commuting. They wear seatbelts just to abide by rules and to avoid violation of the Motor Vehicle Acts. Driving without wearing a seatbelt is suicidal and I have pretty much explained the reason behind that by now. Apart from all that, I have no scientific proof of this, but my feelings and my memory narrate another version of that same incident, hinting that my survival might be no less than a miracle. When I drive, I usually have a habit of chanting the Hanuman Chalisa, or any other Mantra for that matter, out of those taught to me by my father. It is not customary that everybody must do what I do; each person’s practices would differ based on their own religious and other beliefs and preferences. Doing so helps one connect with the supreme guardian of the universe. Metaphorically, it is a connection similar to that of the Global Positioning System (GPS) that guides us on earth, 20,200 kilometres away from the NAVSTAR satellite up in space. Life is valuable; it is the only currency that never loses its value and yet we put not just one but the lives of several others at risk by not valuing our own. Therefore, I believe that it is always important to keep in mind that, “Seatbelts save regrets and save lives”. E-mail: birajdas@gmail.com

Fiction

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

The Raid (Part 1) T he sun was well on its way to the west, spraying the eastern sky it had abandoned with flamboyant hues of dark orange, purple and red, splashed liberally with the brightest of yellow and speckled with fluffy white clouds tinged with grey. The smooth newly pitched road that forked off from National Highway number 37 toward Nikamul Satra in the Nimatighat area was lined on both sides with huge red Krishnasuras and pink Radhasuras, yellow Sunarus and purple Nahars beyond which the ripe, golden, rice stalks bent under the weight of the grains they carried and swayed slightly in the light breeze. Except for a few bikes and tempos, the lane was almost devoid of traffic. Dusk was falling and a chill tempered the atmosphere. Smoke and the sweet smell of food being cooked wafted up from the homesteads beyond the fields. People had returned from work and were now sitting huddled around fireplaces munching on roasted potatoes while waiting for dinner. The womenfolk busied themselves hustling around the kitchen, cooking dinner. Soon they would be ready to wrap up a tiring day. Excise inspector Bismita Baruah stared out of the window of the front seat of the government jeep speeding towards Nikamul Satra. The spectral vision which would otherwise have given her the greatest of pleasure passed by without registering in her mind for her mind was somewhere far away with her two boys, Darpan and Darshan. She was sorry that she was not able to give them the time that should rightfully have been theirs. Her duty took away that right from them. What added to the pain was that her boys understood her sacrifice and were willing to sacrifice their rights. “They must have gone for their tennis class now,” she thought. “It will really be late by the time I reach home. I hope Dipankar is home soon and would help them with their homework and put them to sleep. Thank God it’s Saturday tomorrow and I can spend two days with them.” Sometimes she worried that something would happen to her and she wouldn’t be able to see her boys grow up to be the men she had nurtured them to be. How would Dipankar cope with them all alone? These and a myriad of such dark thoughts assailed her throughout the journey. It almost made her want to turn back towards home and hug her boys to her bosom. But then another vision intruded - the vision of the boys, who must have been the same age as her sons, lying in an inebriated state in the prison cell of the police station where she had been summoned three days ago. One of the boys was vomiting copiously

while his two mates were slumped in a corner, oblivious of the world. The vision stopped her cowardly thoughts in their tracks and her mind went back to the scene in the police station three days ago. Two more young lads, dressed in simple jeans, T-shirt and sandals, sat in front of the police inspector, RatulDeka, who had summoned her. These two lads were totally sober, well-mannered and were talking animatedly with Inspector Ratul. “Sir, Baruah ma’am is here!” the head constable announced. The tête-à-tête broke up and Inspector Ratul rose to greet Bismita. “Good Morning, Baruah Baideo! Please take a seat,” inspector Ratul indicated the empty chair beside the youth with unkempt hair and red checked shirt. “This is Raja,” Inspector Ratul introduced the youth in the checked shirt and continued the introduction pointing to the youth in a white kurta pyjama, “And this here is Rafiq.” Both boys rose and shook hands with Bismita. Raja was a lanky teenager while Rafiq seemed slightly older and more muscular. “Mohi kai, get another cup of tea for Baruah Baideo,” Inspector Ratul ordered the elderly orderly. “Red tea, without sugar,” Bismita added with a smile. After tea, Inspector Ratul, tactfully took them outside and led them to a secluded spot at the backyard of the station. “It’s better to speak here where there are no ears to overhear us,” he explained. “Why this secrecy?” Bismita asked, puzzled. She knew it had to do with illegal manufacturing of local beer, but that was in her normal line of duty. She had conducted numerous raids since she joined the force 6 years ago. It had never needed secrecy. “Baideo, these boys are from Nikamul Satra near Nimatighat and they have come to me with information regarding an illegal beer manufacturing unit in Nikamul. I thought it prudent to inform you. Hear them out, and you’ll understand the need for secrecy,” Inspector Ratul explained. Bismita had been hearing rumours about the village and it was gratifying to have evidence in support of the authenticity of the rumours. Without solid proof her hands had been tied and she had been unable to carry out a full fledged investigative raid in the village. With interest writ large on her face, she turned towards the

youths. ‘Come on! Tell me what you know.” She prodded the boys, with impatience. Raja and Rafiq looked at each other and with a flick of his eyebrows, Rafiq indicated Raja to go ahead. “Ma’am, we have come here with the hope that action will be taken against the sinister gang operating a hooch manufacturing unit that has come up in our village and destroying not only the peace in our neighbourhood but also our youths. These gangs are very professional and sinister, unlike our people. We have come here in-spite of knowing there may be dangerous repercussions for us,” Raja began with great trepidation. “Don’t worry. If we have solid evidence indicating them, they’ll fall under our net and we’ll see to your safety after that,” Bismita assured them. “Thank you, Ma’am, for your assurances. We have been hearing about your raids and the course of action you take with these illegal manufacturers. So, seeing the conditions of the youths of our village, we came to you as a last resort. All our hopes are pinned on you,” Raja said with relief and began to narrate the tale that brought them to Bismita. “Nikamul used to be a sleepy little village, small with around 100 families. Most people here are self-sufficient without much need. Everybody knows everybody else and comes together in times of need of even a single family. There are 3

namghars and behind the one on the east is a forest passing which one can reach the Brahmaputra. An abandoned shed of the forest department deep inside this forest has become the hub of illegal activities. This shed had previously been occupied by a sadhu. It is said

that the sadhu’s death went unnoticed for a week and only crows and vultures circling over the area caught the attention of the people of the village who then discovered the sadhu’s body lying in a state of decomposition and foul smell emanating from it. After that, other homeless people tried to take shelter there but were chased away by strange happenings which made people believe that the shed was haunted by the sadhu’s ghost. People said that sometimes the ghost of the sadhu would cackle with laughter or growl like a lion. Sometimes, strange mantras being chanted in a sing-song voice was heard. Many people who went to the forest, for some reason or the other, would see the burning yellow eyes of the sadhu, peering at them from behind the bamboo and the Sal trees,” Raja paused for breath and Rafiq took up the narrative. “But, almost a year ago, a group of men from the other side of the forest has sporadically been seen in the forest near the shed. After their appearance our boys have, day-by-day, been seen to come under the influence of alcohol. They are bunking schools and colleges, picking up fights and were even found to be drinking on the footsteps of the namghars. They behave badly with the elders who try to stop them. One of the namghars has been taken over by these unruly youths and the people of that ‘khel’ (a village unit based on the location of a namghar, particularly found in

Upper Assam villages) now go to the namghar of the other two khels. The menace seems to be increasing day by day.” “These people from the other side of the forest are very cunning.

Nisha Mahanta Bordoloi

They leave no traces of their deed when they are not there. Raja and I have been keeping an eye on the shed from a distance. And we have noticed that they mostly come on Mondays and leave by Wednesday leaving no trace of their existence behind. On these days, we have also seen Madhu Kalita, who owns the only ‘gelamaal” shop (ration store) of the village, coming in at around midnight carrying the bottles and keeping them hidden inside his granary,” Rafiq finished with a sigh. Bismita was listening with rapt attention and getting angrier by the minute. “So, why has nobody complained to the police?” she asked as Rafiq finished narrating the account, even as she knew what the answer would be. “Madhu Kalita also seems to be their informer and nobody can go to the police to complain about them,” Raja answered. “Once, around 3 months after these mysterious people appeared and the boys had started drinking, Prayag Das Sir, the headmaster of Nikamul Higher Secondary School, made a complaint to the gaonburah (village head). Later, some goondas beat up his 10 year old son in school and left him lying there as a warning to the others. After that nobody dared to take any step against them. We had been lying low, waiting for an opportune time. Yesterday Madhu Kalita went to Guwahati and we have come to know that he is going to stay there for a week. And then these guys got sick drinking hooch. We felt this was our god-sent opportunity and so we came to Inspector Kalita immediately on the pretext of bringing the boys to the civil hospital for treatment,” said Rafiq. Enraged by the account and by the sight of the boys lying in the prison cell, Bismita immediately agreed to investigate and conduct a raid. Moles in the police department made it imperative that Bismita act fast to maintain secrecy. She gave the boys her number and asked them to call her immediately they saw some action in the shed. And that’s how she came to be here in this remote part of Jorhat fearing for her life and future of her two sons, yet knowing she could not let her selfishness come in the way of her duties.

(To be continued…)

16 Fun Horoscope of the week

| May 09 - May 15, 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

10th and 13th May will be great days for you to connect with your boss and your business associates. Host an online get together meet for your workmates and/or extended family, people will love it. 12th May avoid dealing with the opposite gender. Be careful with your words and actions on 15th May, you could get into a confrontation.

10th May will be a slow day for you. 9th, 11th and 14th May will be ideal days for you to build your relationship with your seniors and share your ideas. Avoid hosting important meetings and presentations on 13th May. You could get into a disagreement with someone at work, probably your seniors. On 15th May you will be emotionally betrayed by a sibling or a colleague.

This will be a slow week for you. 10th May will be a great day for you to connect with your boss and business associates. Host an online Sunday get-together (a video call) for your workmates and/or extended family, it’s bound to be a hit. 11th May will be a slow day for you. 14th May you could feel your parents or your boss don’t appreciate your efforts at all. Other days will be average.

Not a great week ahead, however it will be an eventful week. 9th May be careful while dealing with the opposite gender. 12th May will be a slow day. 13th May, someone from work or your extended family could betray you; also avoid trusting anyone with your secrets. 15th May you could have issues with your seniors or your extended family.

On 9th May will be a great day for you to connect with your boss and your business associates. 10th May you could have issues with your seniors and/ or parents. 12th May you could be betrayed or emotionally hurt by someone from work and/or extended family. On 13th May be careful of your words and action as you will create your own problems. Other days will be average.

10th May will be a great day when you should meet up with your colleagues or share your ideas with your seniors. 10th May host an online video meet for your workmates and/or extended family. 11th May you will feel your seniors or colleagues don’t appreciate your efforts. Other days will be average to good.

Avoid sharing your ideas with your seniors on 9th May; you could get into a disagreement with them. 11th May will be a great day for you to share your ideas with your seniors or simply just connect with them. On 10th May you could be betrayed by someone at work and/or family. 15th May be careful of what you say, you could create problems for yourself.

This week you will have a bad start but your luck will generally pick up by the end of the week. Avoid planning any event with your work buddies or seniors on 9th and 10th May. You might have disagreements with them. On 12th May your boss will be more 3 receptive to your ideas. Avoid making any plans for 15th May. Rest of the days will be average for you.

You will have an amazing week compared to last week. Use 9th, 12th, 13th and 14th May to host all your important meetings or just connect with your business associates. You need to avoid all kinds of interaction with your seniors on 11th May. Avoid making any plans on 15th May; you will have to do last minute adjustments.

10th, 13th and 14th May will be great days for you to build your relationship with your seniors and people at work. 10th is a perfect day for you to have an online meet with your extended family or your workmates. Host all your meetings and presentations on 13th and 14th May. 12th May you could have a disagreement with your senior or work associate or parents.

You will have a good week ahead. Don’t make any promises on 10th and 13th May. You will have to live up to the promises you make, so be extremely cautious. Avoid getting into a confrontation. Share your ideas with your seniors or generally build a relationship with people at work on 11th and 12th May. Avoid scheduling important meetings on 13th May.

You have an amazing week ahead of you. 11th and 12th May are ideal days for you to mingle with your seniors and people at work and build your work network. Avoid everyone and anyone on 14th May, you are bound to get into a disagreement. Avoid 4 hosting any meetings on the 14th; you will get into a confrontation.

What hopefully epoch making event is taking place here in this picture? Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Dilbert By Scott Adams

Sudoku 1 7 6 35 69 8 4

9 7 4

28 3 4 7 1 2 1 9 7 5 8 1 9 6 1 3 3 6 7 9 5 9 43 2

Daily DailySudoku: Sudoku:Fri Fri8-May-2020 24-Apr-2020

5 5 4

8 2 3 1 6 9 88 5 82 1

Haradhon-Rongmon Katha, a song written in 1960 about an Assamese and a Bengali peasant who had lost their homes in race riots in Assamese and Bengali, was instrumental in stoppage and subsequent healing of the strained Assamese-Bengali relationship. Who were the two musicians who wrote the song?

medium very hard

last week solution 53 19 92 28 71 48 67 12 86 35 24 91 69 83 56 77 48 94 15 89 32 27 71 54 95 72 43 66 24 66 89 35 17 51 38 43

45 4 3 17 78 56 3 8 9 43 69 7 81 35 38 1 9 2 54 2 6 73 17

66 52 24 41

35 13 5 4 6 99 88 87 9 1 45 82 13 91 8 5 34 21 77 74 2 58 66 99

Daily DailySudoku: Sudoku:Fri Fri8-May-2020 24-Apr-2020

curio-city

Which deadly disease derives its name from the Swahili word Ka -dinga pepo meaning ‘evil spirit’?

noun a yard or garden.

1. Chiki, made of sesame and jaggery

British Slang. exhausted; very tired

2. He played the child Apu in Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali

Which famous person’s last job was as the Head of the Royal Mint in England?

3. Isaac Newton

[ gahrth ]

adjective [nak-erd]

4. Dengue

Which famous character from the world of cinema was played by Subir Banerjee?

garth

Bhupen Hazarika and Hemango Biswas

Word of the week Word knackered of the week

The Sindhis call it Laee. Which delicious sweet eaten mainly during Makara Sankranti are we talking about?

6. Dr Elisa Granato receiving the first test dose of the

Covid-19 vaccine at Oxford

curio-city

medium very hard

http://www.dailysudoku.com/ http://www.dailysudoku.com/

Lifestyle

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

Vaastu rules for storage W

henever there is an extra item in the house, we need to store them in a separate place from the main area of usage. Such items need to be stored in a particular direction in the house where the store room should be created. As a general rule, one must remember that East, North and North East zones should always be kept open and light, it is not advisable to construct a store room in these directions. North West: This direction is considered good to store grains for animals. This will help the owner economically and earn respect in the society.

Between East and South East: This area is considered auspicious to make curd. Food items like fruits, vegetables, rice, pulses, grocery, etc, should be stored in a rack constructed in this direction. Between South East and South: If items like ghee and oil are stored in the kitchen in this direction, it is said that the house would always be full of food and

will never run out of stock.

South West: Heavy items like blankets, mattresses, suitcases, bags, folding stairs, ladders, drill machine and other equipment can be stored in this direction. Storing cereals and grains in this direction may cause pests to attack them. Waste materials and construction materials should also be kept at southwest as they are heavy items.

West: Rough papers, old newspapers, old furniture, utensils of large size, shoes, etc. can be stored in this direction. South: Wooden material, furniture, hoardings, banners, electronic equipment like motors etc. can be kept here.

CAR PARKING RULES Vehicles, like any other living being, are also affected by the cosmic forces. They should be kept in the right way and facing the proper direction. Otherwise, they give troubles and cost money and problems for the owner. The best place to park a

Oats Khichri

1 and 1/2 cup oats 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 Onion chopped

2 green chilled chopped (optional) 1 chop tomatoes Two pinch of Turmeric optional Cumin powder1/2 tsp Carrots 1 chopped in small sizes

Frozen Peas or fresh peas3 tbsp 1 and 1/2 tbsp olive oil or refine oil Salt to taste

Method Chop carrots into small size and boil in water along the peas and keep them aside. Heat oil, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When it crackles add the chopped onions and cook it for a while and add the tomatoes and the spices. Wait for few minutes and let it cook. Now add the oats, vegetables and mix it properly. Add a glass of water or as required. When cooked,add the coriander leaves and serve hot.

Hemanta Kumar Sarmah

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

parking and un-parking the vehicles in this area, it may lead to negative energy and ups and downs in your business.

vehicle is North West zone. If there is no space in the North West zone, park the vehicle in the South East zone. East and North should be reserved for smaller vehicles, while South and West for big ones. Parking big vehicles an SUV or a big car constantly in the North East may create Vaastu Dosha and be a reason of your financial losses, leading to mental stress as well. Covering the parking lot in this zone will

worsen the situation. Two-wheelers which are used daily can be parked in the North East zone if there is no other space available. However make sure not to park them in extreme corners and not to keep them there more than 24 hours to keep away negative energy. If you have a porch in the South West zone of your house, you can park largesized four- wheelers there. These are considered lucky and may help you in profits. However, if you keep

Easy to make recipes with Oats ats are among the healthiest grains on earth. Apart from being a gluten-free whole grain they are alsoa great source of important vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Oats have various health benefits like weight loss, lower blood sugar levels and a reduced risk of heart disease. Here are two easy to make oats recipe that you can try at home!

pinch Yoghurt 1 and 1/2 cup Little water 1 tbsp Cube ice optional

Never park your vehicle facing south. This increases the maintenance of the vehicle and leads to unproductive journeys. If you wish to construct a metal or fibre shed to protect your automobiles, never do so in the North East zone. Also make sure the shed does not touch the building. The slope of the shed should always be in the North or East direction. If the provision for the parking is done in the basement, make sure that its entry is from the North, East, North West, North or East direction.

Shimu Dutta

(Shimu Dutta was born in Guwahati and is currently based in Kolkata. She is a culinary expert, recipe developer and also takes interest in culinary history. She has appeared in television cooking shows, and has done many workshops in India and abroad.)

Honey 1 tbsp or as required

Method: Put all the ingredients in a blender and churn it. Serve it cool.

Oats Smoothie Oats 1 cup Banana 2

Cinnamon powder 3

Representative image

18 Catching Up

| May 09 - May 15, 2020

PIC OF THE