G Plus Vol 7 Issue 6 by G Plus

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

Volume 07 | Issue 06 Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019 Price `10

INSIDE

Govt falters on elevated railway tracks plan; no sign of work after 3 years of vow

PG 04

Lack of policy delays entry of electric vehicles into Assam

Assam govt forms separate committee for picnic management

PG 13

PG 08

Gutka companies Uncertainty

to combat Assam ban looms large on with new packaging careers of 74,000 strategy GU IDOL students With the state government banning gutka and related tobacco products for one year, the Gutka companies are considering new packaging methods with the novel “No Tobacco, No Nicotine” tag to meet the demands. Pg 02.

Is this a new scam brewing? G Plus exclusive breaking story on Pg 05

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Cover Story Snippets

Ban on ULFA extended for 5 years

he Centre has extended the ban on extremist outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) for five years for continuing disruptive its activities, including killings, kidnapping and extortions. In a notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the ULFA has been indulging in various illegal and violent activities intended to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India in furtherance of its objective of liberating Assam. “Now therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by subSection (1) of Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), the Central government hereby declares the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) along with all its factions, wings and front organisations as an unlawful association,” it said.

Congress MLAs wear garland of onions to assembly, protest price rise

he Assam Congress leaders turned up in the state assembly wearing garlands of onion on November 29. This came after the onion prices in Assam including rest of India went sky high price eventually with the common people facing the brunt. Congress MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi said that onions which used to come for less than Rs 40 a kilo have now reached at Rs 100. The chamber of commerce states that the price rise in commodities such as onions will continue till January 2020. Earlier, food and supplies minister Phani Bhushan Choudhury fixed the price of onions at Rs 66 per kilo in the state. The minister said that the current spike in onion prices is due to the excessive rainfall due to which the farmers couldn’t harvest the crop on time.

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Companies adopting new ways to bypass the ban

‘No Nicotine, No Tobacco’ gutka sachets to flood market soon Atiqul Habib @guwahatiplus

he much hyped ban on gutka is back again and is hogging the limelight anew. The Assam government, in its second symbolic attempt, has notified a complete ban on the manufacture, distribution, sale, transportation and display of gutka and paan masala containing tobacco and nicotine for a period of one year. Earlier, the products were banned in 2013 for a period of one year. But the very nature of the ban raises several questions about the government’s seriousness to put an effective full stop to the purchase and consumption of gutka. Earlier, on November 26, a prohibitory order was issued by the Food Safety Department, where under Regulation 2, 3, 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011 R/W Section 26 of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, prohibits food in which tobacco or nicotine are used as ingredients, as they are injurious to human health. “In pursuance of Regulation of 2,3,4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulation, 2011, the manufacture, storage, transportation, display, distribution or sale of gutka, paan masala or any chewing material containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients available in the market are hereby prohibited in the state of Assam for a period of one year under clause (a) of Subsection 2 of Section 30 of Food Safety and Security Act, 2006 in the interest of public health with immediate effect,” the notification read. However, strangely the notification does not spell out the penalty for violation. After the Supreme Court order in 2012 on complete ban on sale of gutka various state governments have followed suit but various

Gutka and paan masala products displayed at a Guwahati paan shop | G Plus file photo research indicate that rampant sale of the product is on despite the order. The components like tobacco were manufactured and sold in separate pouches after the ban. The law has provisions of imposing fines up to Rs 25,000 on the sale of products that are injurious to health. Companies, however, are following the government orders and are not “officially” producing, selling or marketing gutka in the states where the product is banned. The states that have banned gutka include Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Punjab, Goa and West Bengal. Interestingly, the companies have already adopted a new way of selling their products by cleverly bypassing the ban. Instead of the earlier “readyto-consume mixes,” companies are now selling gutka in a new avatar — chewing tobacco and paan masala are now sold in separate sachets. “We are not worried about the ban....it has happened earlier also....many distributors have already started to make new

sachets with a punch line “No Tobbaco, No Nicotine” which will flood the markets very soon,” a leading gutka and paan masala distributor told G Plus under condition of anonymity. When the two packs are mixed, consumers get a substitute for gutka. This sales trick does not violate any law. According to retailers in Guwahati, companies had recalled their gutka stocks immediately after the ban was implemented and replaced those with the fresh product mix and newly packed sachets. Meanwhile, many companies are now planning to offer incentives to salespersons to boost sales of the new substitutes for gutka, according to an industry source. The incentives include cars and bikes, among others. Clearly, the resultant impact will be that the products will be now sold at much higher prices than the maximum retail price. Within a few days after states announced the ban, the Smokeless Tobacco Association, in collaboration with other industry bodies, had issued advertisements saying it was unfair to ban their products when the tobacco content in these was lower than that in cigarettes.

The advertisements mentioned that one pouch of gutka contained 0.2 gram of tobacco as against 0.63 gram in a cigarette. Research showed that sale of gutka declined after the ban as 53.5 per cent consumers reported that they have shifted to other tobacco products. But the gutka ban has been ineffective in the absence of stricter enforcement at producer, wholesaler and vendor level. The financial angle of the ban is also huge. As per a report based on The Tobacco Institute of India, the total tax revenue collected from tobacco products is around Rs 40,000 crores annually. Speaking to G Plus, one of the wholesale vendors of gutka and paan masala under condition of anonymity said, “We have heard about this through media only that it is banned for a year in Assam but whereas we are as of now getting good supply and demand from both the sides.” “These were all political gimmicks earlier also as they tried to do such things but if they ban we will find alternative ways like the companies did earlier - gutka and paan masala in two different packets,” he added. n

Cover Story

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

From Page 02 Allegedly a huge amount of revenue is being generated from the gutka companies in India with new companies joining the league in a routine manner and the amount of labour force involved, it will be difficult for the government to enforce it. One consumer said, “This will be implemented for a day or two. I have seen this earlier also but yes if this time they are strict I think the habit cannot die in one day, hence I will eat zarda paan.” There have been demands to ban gutka because of its association with oral cancer especially in India with 75,000 to 80,000 new cases emerging every year. India has the highest prevalence of oral cancer globally. West Bengal government has also put a total ban on the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of gutka and paan masala in the state for a year with effect from November 7. With this it will be interesting to see how premium companies like the Dharampal Satyapal Group which also have a plant in Guwahati will survive this ban as people here like to consume their signature product “Rajnigandha” along with tobacco-based products like “Baba” and “Tulsi” zarda.

Celebrities Glam up to the Gutka League

The gutka industry over the last 15 years has gone from non-existent to having bottom lines in the hundreds of crores. They’ve done this by capturing the middle and upper-middle class through advertisements and celebrity endorsements. Earlier the Delhi government had urged Bollywood actors not to endorse various brands of paan masala. The government wrote to actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Sunny Leone, asking them not to do promotional advertisements for paan masala varieties, as they are known to contain ingredients which cause cancer. Ajay Devgn, whose paan masala ads (Vimal paan masala) are doing rounds on TV regularly, has been asked to stop endorsing the brand. Shah Rukh Khan also came into the list of people who received the letter, as the actor has also endorsed “Pan Vilas.” Assam’s former tourism ambassador, Priyanka Chopra, is known to make a strong statement with her many brand endorsements. But one of the brands she endorses is Rajnigandha Silver Pearls. Audience always needs to understand that when they see Ajay Devgn promoting Vimal Pan Masala or Priyanka Chopra promoting Rajnigandha Pearls, both of which don’t have tobacco or nicotine, that they are not just selling pearls, they are selling something else too – a brand name that’s also associated with

tobacco-containing products. It is a strategy used by most companies, done with the aim to sidestep laws that restrict the manufacture, sale, and advertising of these products. The above makes it clear that the advertisements of plain paan masala are a surrogate for

promotion of gutka bearing same brand name. The manufacturers have taken advantage of common community thinking that paan masala always has tobacco in it.

Gutka and smoking tobacco seized in Kaziranga

The Bokakhat sub divisional administration seized gutka and smoking tobacco from many

Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta to be Acting DGP Assam

PS officer from the Assam-Meghalaya batch 1988, Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta has been appointed as the new Director General of Police (DGP) In-charge. According to reports, incumbent DGP Kuladhar Saikia is set to retire on November 30. Meanwhile, the state government has

recommended the names of four senior IPS officers, to fill in the post. BJ Mahanta, Mukesh Agarwal and AK Kashyap are three of the four IPS officers selected for the post. The UPSC is expected to take a call on this in a day or two once they decide to sit for a meeting.

File photo of Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta

shops in and around Kaziranga. It is to be mentioned that earlier in November the Bokakhat administration had imposed a blanket ban on the storage, sale and distribution of gutka and paan masala in and around the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) for one year. The subdivisional magistrate of Bokakhat, Vivek Shyam, has imposed this ban in order to preserve the beauty of the Kohora Chariali area. The ban has come into immediate effect from November 6. The notice stated, “Distribution, sale, consumption and disposing empty packets of paan masala, gutka, supari, zarda, tobacco and any such packaged supari-like substances within a radius 300 meters from Kohora Outpost is prohibited with immediate effect.” Reportedly traders are still selling gutka and paan masala in the area illegally and the administration has launched operations to seize all the tobacco related products.

Snippets Assam govt to set up organic markets in the state

n a bid to double the income of farmers, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the government would set up 100 organic markets for selling organic products. In a meeting held at his office in Janata Bhawan, CM Sonowal also directed the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to allot suitable lands in their respective districts. In the me e ting CM Sonowal along with agriculture minister Atul Bora, also discussed ways and means to produce seeds in the state so that the seed requirements of the farmers are met from within the state itself. Taking to the Twitte r, CM Sonowal wrote, “For doubling the income of farmers, the CM asked officials to work on constructing ‘Bipanan-Kendra’ (Market Place) across the state.” Officials were also asked to create awareness on various schemes through social media platforms.”

4 Governance

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Govt falters on elevated railway tracks plan; no sign of work after 3 years of vow G Plus News @guwahatiplus

There are 8 railway level crossings between Kamakhya and Guwahati Railway station There are 13 railway level crossings between Kamakhya and Narengi On an average 82 trains cross a level crossing everyday A gate closes for approximately 13 minutes when a train passes Thus the gates are closed for approximately 18 hours everyday Commuters only get 6 hours to commute through the level crossing gates The TVU ratings calculated every year suggest that there should be over bridges at 12 level crossings and underpass at one crossing G Plus raised the issue in 2016 by publishing a report The report got escalated and the then Union Minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhu instantly sanctioned the elevation of the railway tracks In the 2017 Union Budget Rs 5,000 crores to construct a 12-km-long elevated railway corridor inside Guwahati was announced Sources in NFR said nothing has been done yet and the work has not started

ven after three years of a vow that was taken and a claim that was made, the government has failed to initiate any work on elevating the city’s railway tracks. In 2016, a G Plus report raised the issue of how Guwahatians wasted 18 hours a day at level crossing gates. The same was escalated to the then Union Minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhu, who instantly sanctioned the elevation of the railway tracks running

through the city to eliminate such level crossings. But till date no sign of progress in the workflow can be seen. A highly placed source in the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) talking to G Plus under condition of anonymity said, “Nothing has started till now and we are not even sure it will happen. There is no initiative taken on this till date.” In the Union Budget 2017, an investment of over Rs 5,000 crores

to construct a 12-km-long elevated railway corridor inside Guwahati was announced. But it seems it was just a fake promise. In 2018, the Centre announced the same and immediately the NFR claimed then that the location survey had started and would be completed soon. The NFR had also then claimed that after the location survey is completed, tender would be floated for execution of work. All the level crossings in Guwahati were planned to be

eliminated with the elevated railway track running from New Guwahati Station to Kamakhya Station. TVUs (Train Vehicular Unit) of all the city railway level crossings suggest that the crossings have, since long, required road overbridges/underpasses to eliminate traffic congestion in the relevant areas but the governments (both state and Centre) had not bothered to take any action.

State govt turns a blind eye to railway level crossing issue; Guwahatians waste 18 hours everyday The state government has claimed to be constructing five flyovers over the city roads at various locations to decongest traffic, but has snubbed the long pending issue of railway level crossings where Guwahatians waste 18 hours every day. There are around 13 level crossings between Kamakhya and Narengi and 8 level crossings between Kamakhya and Guwahati Railway station. Railways carry out a yearly survey to find the train vehicular unit (TVU) to understand which level crossings should be converted into road over bridges or underpasses. The railways, before constructing any railway track, study the TVU of every crossing and decide where there should be an over bridge or an underpass. TVU is calculated by an arithmetic formula by studying the number of vehicles commuting through a particular crossing and also the number of trains plying through the same crossings. According to a source in the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR), if the TVU of a particular crossing is found to be more than 1 lakh units, that crossing requires a road over bridge. The source also said that before constructing the broad gauge track line in Guwahati in 1984, the TVUs for all the crossings were studied and wherever it was required an over bridge was made. The source also revealed that the railways carry out a survey every year and TVU is calculated for every crossing. Thereafter, till the next ten years of construction of railway tracks, if it is found that the TVU of a particular crossing requires a road over bridge or

Traffic snarl at a level crossing in Fancy Bazar | G Plus Photo underpass, the railways construct it at its own expense. After ten years the responsibility gets shifted to the government which is the owner of the road, and the yearly TVU calculation survey keeps continuing. Such TVU readings are sent to the state and the central governments. After ten years if it is found that the TVU has exceeded 1 lakh units of a particular crossing, the state or the central government sends a proposal to the railways to construct an underpass or over bridge at the crossing for which the railways bear 50% of the construction cost.

G Plus studied the TVU units to find out which level crossings require an underpass or over bridge. If the TVU is above 80,000 units, the particular crossing requires a road underpass and if it is above 1 lakh units, the crossing requires a road over bridge. According to the findings of the TVUs, of all the level crossings in Guwahati, it was found that only two crossings require road underpass, and all other crossings (11) require road over bridge. The state government should initiate the construction of the elevated tracks, but sources in the railways claimed that the

Assam government has never taken any such initiative. When a train passes through a crossing, the level crossing gates are closed for approximately for 13 minutes each time. Approximately 82 trains passes the level crossings everyday, which means the gates are closed for 18 hours a day. So the commuters waste 18 hours a day at railway level crossings especially in areas like Fancy Bazar, Lakhtokia, Chandmari etc, but the state government is not giving any importance to the issue which the Centre promised to resolve 3 years ago.

Concern

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Uncertainty looms large on careers of 74,000 GU IDOL students UGC does not recognise 21 courses initiated by the distance learning university: CAG G Plus News @guwahatiplus

t’s not very good news for students studying in the Institute of Distance Learning (IDOL) that operates from the premises of Gauhati University and is a distance education arm of the revered university. The careers of more than 74,000 students hang in balance. These are students who have taken admission into different streams of the Institute of Distance Learning (IDOL) as many of the courses have not been approved by University Grants Commission (UGC), a CAG report pointed out. It has come to the fore that without the approval of UGC and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), IDOL has introduced 21 courses. The same has put a question mark on the academic careers of thousands of students.

According to Comptroller and General Audit (CAG), IDOL authorities have collected more than Rs 39.06 crores from the students for enrolling in different distance learning certificate courses. Not only IDOL, the higher authorities of Gauhati University are also involved in the whole mess. According to UGC, no course can be commenced without the approval of the commission but higher authorities of Gauhati University had given a written submission that IDOL won’t start any course without the approval of UGC, a CAG report which was submitted in Assam Assembly pointed it out. In the report it was said that till 2012-13, IDOL was allowed to start only eight courses after it got recognition in 2010. The subjects were MA (English), MA (Assamese), MA (Bodo), MA (Bengali), MA (Economics), MA (History), MA (MSC), (IT) MCG (Modular).

UGC, in a further notification, said that these courses should be allowed to run till 2017 and approval should be sought for further continuance. But overlooking that order the IDOL authorities started 21 courses which enrolled 73,219 students. So CAG has pointed out that since these courses were not approved by UGC degrees or certificates received by the students will be invalid. A student who has obtained a certificate under IDOL which has not been recognised will not be considered by the government for employment as it is not a valid degree or certificate.

Cotton University students demand scrapping of CAB

he students of Cotton University have sought immediate scrapping of the Citizenship Amendment Bill. Showing their resentment against the bill, the students have pasted anti-CAB posters across the varsity campus on Monday, November 25. The posters have been pasted on walls, trees which read ‘Cottonian opposes CAB’, ‘Withdraw CAB immediately‘, ‘Stop doing politics using students’, ‘Jatiya Nayak Hai Hai’, ‘BJP go back’, etc.

The university has been vehemently opposing the Bill since its inception by organising protest rallies to boycott classes. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, and grant Indian citizenship to people from minority communities – Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians – from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to escape religious persecution.

File photo of Cotton College, now Cotton University | Internet photo

File photo of GU IDOL | Internet photo

6 Governance

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Police steps up vigil in Guwahati following terror strike aversion Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

ISIS-inspired terror module busted in Assam on Sunday, November 24 Guwahati police stepped up vigil following the incident Checking intensified on the Guwahati-Goalpara highway 12 teams of black commandoes formed and posted in various areas of the city Police keeping an eye on the activities of Muslim fundamentalist organizations active in the state Sensitive, vulnerable areas identified in Guwahati Increased vigil has led to decrease in the number of petty crimes

he police have stepped up vigil in Guwahati following the arrest of three men carrying improvised explosive devices in Goalpara district of Assam. The Delhi Police Special Cell and Assam Police, in a joint operation on Monday, busted

an ISIS-inspired terror module and apprehended three operatives planning an attack in the state. Explosives and raw materials used to manufacture bombs were recovered from them. Three men Ranjeet Islam, Mukadir Islam and Luit Zameel Zaman were arrested from Goalpara in Assam while on their way to plant an IED at Raas Mela, a local fair, in Dudhnoi village of the district. Police believe the three, all residents of Goalpara district, were inspired from the Bangladesh module of ISIS. Police believe that the intensity of the attack would have been similar to the 2017 Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train bombing. The news of a possible terror attack in Goalpara sent shockwaves across Assam. Following the arrest of the ‘jihadis’, Guwahati police personnel were seen keeping a strict vigil at multiple check-points in the city. “Our team is on high alert and although there’s no immediate threat prevailing in the city, we’re prepared to deal with all eventualities,” Commissioner of Police Deepak Kumar informed. He added that the Guwahati police are in constant touch with Goalpara police as well as Delhi police. The police are

Armed security keeping vigil over the city | G Plus file photo trying to find out whether the three arrested have any acquaintances in Guwahati, which is in close proximity to Goalpara. Additionally, checking has been intensified in the Guwahati-Goalpara highway with police patrolling happening 24 hours a day. Police are keeping an eye on all vehicles and also interrogating suspects. 12 teams of black commandoes have also been formed and posted in various areas of the city for patrolling purpose. Each team has strength of four personnel who ride bikes and are equipped with high end

gears. A highly placed source in Assam Police informed G Plus that the police are keeping an eye on the activities of Muslim fundamentalist organizations active in the state. “Assam has remained one of the primary hotspots for terrorist activists due to its proximity and direct connectivity to the neighbouring country of Bangladesh. The Muslim population in the state is very high which has often led to tensions prevailing between the Hindus and the Muslims. Sensitive issues like the National Registrar of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship

Amendment Bill (CAB) are also furthering such situations,” the Assam police source said. Keeping this in mind, police have identified certain vulnerable areas in Guwahati including Hatigaon, Noonmati and Machkhowa and stepped up vigilance in these areas. This has in turn led to a substantial decrease in the number of crimes being recorded in the city. Recently, G Plus reported that robbery and snatching had increased in Guwahati with multiple cases coming to light from across the city. However, such incidences too have gone down ever since police stepped up their game.

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

Sunny

27°17° C

26°16° C

26°14° C

26°13° C

26°14° C

SATURDAY Sunny

28°18° C

City

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Don Bosco Annual Fest carries the theme ‘Joy of Sharing and Caring’ G Plus News @guwahatiplus

he two-day annual festival of Don Bosco, Panbazar was inaugurated today with a riot of colours. The theme this year is “Joy of Sharing and Caring.” Kamrup (Metro) Deputy Commissioner Biswajit Pegu was the chief guest during the inauguration program along with former principal of Pragjyotish College, Dr Dayananda Pathak as the guest of honour. The function was chaired by Rector and Principal of the school Father Sebastian Mathews and Vice Principal Father, Joseph Mung. Other than the dignitaries, parents, teachers and the students were also present during the occasion. Students of the school from KG standard to class 9 and class 11 were involved in the festival that ended on 29th November.

Images from the Don Bosco Annual Fest Mukesh Mour, the parent of a student at Don Bosco, talking to G Plus said, “The festival gives an opportunity to our children to think and perform creatively. A lot of aesthetics are involved in the festival and we enjoy

seeing the children performing professionally.” It needs to be mentioned that despite several national and international schools coming up in Guwahati, Don Bosco remains one of the most sought

after schools by city parents. Father Sebastian Mathews, Principal, Don Bosco Panbazar speaking to G Plus said, “We make sure that the students are not only academically strong but creatively active. The annual

festival allows children to showcase their creative strength and every child in this world is someway or other creative. We just need to identify the creative talent of the child and support accordingly”.

8 Governance Snippets GU’s 3rd semester Political Science exam cancelled due to question paper mismatch

n a bizarre incident, the students of 3rd semester of Gauhati University who were sitting for their final examination were forced to leave the exam hall on November 29 as a wrong question paper was handed out. Speaking to G Plus, one of the students of B Borooah College said, “We went to give our 3rd semester political science exam but there was no question paper. In political science we have two papers - Indian Politics and International Politics. However not a single question related to International Politics was given to us along with the rest of students in other colleges in Guwahati.” “In the Indian Politics there were 50% questions and rest all were missing,” he added. Reportedly thousands of students from all over Guwahati were impacted by this state of affairs. It is to be mentioned that the final examination was scheduled to get over by December 3 and the out station students are now stuck with confusion over the political science paper as the Gauhati University, as of now, has not put up an official notification on the same as also about the reexamination date. Allegedly, the complete set of the question paper was not printed out due to which this mismatch happened.

Assam govt to set up international standard driving school in Guwahati

he Assam Government has allotted 60 bighas of land to the state transport department to set up a driving training institute of international standards at Amingaon in Guwahati on November 26. According to reports, Pranab Dutta Goswami, the circle office of North Guwahati Revenue Circle handed the land allotment letter to DTO, Kamrup, Gautam Das. It is to be mentioned that the institute is being set up with an aim to produce skilled drivers to prevent road accidents and hereby create awareness among the younger generation.

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Lack of policy delays entry of electric vehicles into Assam G Plus News @guwahatiplus

ssam government’s slogan of “pollutionfree Assam” looks like a hollow pipedream when you consider the fact that the policy makers have still not able to design a clearcut policy for the emission-free electric vehicle (EV) industry. This, at a time when various state governments are backing the development of electric vehicle (EV) industry to enjoy extensive fiscal benefits offered by the Centre, Assam seems to be moving at a snail’s pace on the EV sector. “We are in the formulation process, various stakeholders are being involved and they will send the policy to the cabinet for approval. No timeline for this has been fixed now,” Biswaranjan Samal, principal secretary, transport department told G Plus. Notably, Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC), under the Centre’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME-1) scheme, procured 15 electric-run buses which were introduced as part of a pilot project and will ply from Panbazar to Kamakhya Temple. Moreover, in the absence of a clear-cut policy and lack of EV charging stations, it appears that it will take some more time for common public to reap the benefits of incentives offered by the government. In many states registration fee of EV is nil or 50 per cent of the normal rate. In the capital New Delhi it is free, in some states parking is free. In the union budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced income tax rebates of up to Rs 1.5 lakhs to customers on interest paid on loans to buy electric vehicles, with a total exemption benefit of Rs 2.5 lakhs over the entire loan period. The minister had also announced customs duty exemption on lithium-ion cells, which will help lower the cost of lithium-ion batteries in India as they are not produced locally. Makers of components such as solar electric charging infrastructure and lithium storage batteries and other

File photo of “unauthorized” e-rickshaws plying and crowding a city locality components will be offered investment-linked income tax exemptions under Section 35 AD of the Income Tax Act, and other indirect tax benefits. It may be mentioned here that Assam Industries & Commerce Minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary, had said electric vehicles should be adopted for the betterment of our future generation and to maintain the ecological balance. Addressing the Assam Electric Mobility Conclave a year back, Patowary had said, “Additionally, this will also help improve India’s energy security by reducing the import dependency for energy.” “Electric vehicles also adhere to the government’s slogan of pollution-free Assam,” he had said. According to studies held by several researchers of international universities, the findings state that adopting electric vehicles (EVs) could improve overall air quality and lower carbon emissions. To quantify the differences between the two types of vehicles, the researchers used an emission remapping algorithm and air quality model simulations. They used these methods to closely examine two pollutants related to automobiles and power emissions: ozone and particulate matter. Both are main components of

smog and can trigger a variety of health problems such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Ozone levels decreased across the board in simulations of warmer weather months, researchers said. In the winter time however, ozone levels increase slightly but are already much lower compared to summer due to a chemical reaction that occurs differently during times of lesser winter sunlight. It is to be mentioned that here in Guwahati the air pollution is deteriorating with each passing day and the Air Quality Index (AQI) is worst at the peak time during the weekdays. Experts in the recently held Northeast Electric Mobility Conclave in Guwahati revealed that Guwahati, with its increasing pollution levels escalated by vehicular emissions and with the setting up of new industries, will soon match New Delhi if some concrete steps are not taken to curb pollution levels. Guwahati’s pollution scenario, escalated by the increasing numbers of vehicles and with the setting up of new industries can soon compete with the Delhi’s air quality, said an environmental expert. According to a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) updated in September

2017, Guwahati stands in the “High” category with 85.6 Pollution Index on a scale of 100. Although the central government has come up with several policies and schemes to boost the demand and manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs) Assam has only prepared the EV draft policy and has submitted the same to the central government. However, before going to the cabinet, claims and objections have to be taken from several departments after which, in the coming days, Assam will be able to present the policy soon in the cabinet. Speaking to G Plus, an official of a leading motor vehicle company said, “The state government has not finalised the policy of the registration of electric passenger vehicles.” “The production of our electric vehicle is limited and the demand is coming more from the south and west side of India and other bigger cities like New Delhi. Hence, the market in Guwahati is very less but it will grow in the days to come,” he added. Further, he said that the state government has to fix up polices and should also promote the benefits of using an e-vehicles. Although there are enquires about the electric vehicles in Guwahati, the customers are not that comfortable about buying an electric vehicle. n

City

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

G Plus Guwahati Theatre Festival to take off on 6th December G Plus News @guwahatiplus

Plus is back with

the fourth edition of Guwahati Theatre Festival (GTF) 2019 to be held from 6th December - 8th December 2019, at Pragjyoti ITA, Machkhowa in Guwahati. The fourth edition of the festival will feature prominent personalities from the Indian film industry like Amol Palekar, Rakesh Bedi, Avijit Dutt, Anant Mahadevan and Dilnaz Irani among others. GTF 2019 will host three nationally acclaimed plays ‘Patte Khul Gaye’, ‘The Devil wears Bataa’ and ‘Kusoor, The mistake.’ The opening play, Patte Khul Gaye is a Hindi comedy directed by veteran theatre actor Rakesh Bedi. It is a hilarious portrayal of the hypocrisy in our society. The play narrates the story of Dr Manoj Rai and his wife Manju Rai who have invited a group of friends for dinner. Manju has been preparing a lavish menu for the past three days. Their close friend Bob is

accompanied by a lady called Shireen, who is extremely rich. A hilarious but witty argument unfolds between Shireen and Manju. Packed with comical situations and entertainment, Patte Khul Gaye is a must watch for comedy lovers. The popular cast of the play includes Rakesh Bedi, Kishwer Merchant, Anant Mahadevan, Avijit Dutt and Rupali Ganguly. Directed by Meherzad Patel, The Devil wears Bataa is a political satire and is slated to be performed on 7th December. This bilingual play is an entertaining and fictitious take on how an orange-faced, blonde-haired, pompous, loudmouthed businessman in the Oval Office and a sharp-witted Sardarji who is the Indian PM, take on their journey of finding their next successors. The Devil wears Bataa features Danesh Irani, Sajeel Parakh, Dilnaz Irani and Darius Shroff among others. The last day of the festival will have a Hindi thriller Kusoor (The mistake) featuring the legendary veteran actor Amol Palekar. The play features Palekar as a retired Assistant Police Commissioner Dandavate who volunteers to serve at a

AGORA to stage Youth Theatre Festival

gora The Space will host “The Playhouse – Youth Theatre Fest 2019” on November 29-30 at its premises in Anuradha Cineplex, Bamunimaidan, Guwahati. The fest is being held in partnership with the G Plus Guwahati Theatre Festival 2019. The schedule for 30th November is as follows: 4.45 pm, Nukkad Natak to performed by students of Sarla Birla Gyan Jyoti and Maria’s Public School. 5.15 pm, When I Killed my Shadow by Roy Brothers. At 6 pm, MOI U by Anurekha Deb and at 6.45 pm, The Lesson by MC Productions. On 29th November, the plays performed were Poruwar Jur by the students of Modern English High School, Arun Das by One Man Team and Gati by Jagiroad College Acting Department. Tickets have been nominally priced at Rs 100 per day.

Snippets Guwahati gets its first road made of recycled plastic

Promo material of GTF 2019 police control room. Adapted by Sandhya Gokhale the play shows a series of twists and turns keeping the audience engrossed throughout the performance. GTF has become a landmark event after its first edition in the year 2016 in the cultural landscape of the region. The purpose of this unique festival is to provide a platform in the region for a diverse range of world-class performing groups

to showcase their performances amongst new audiences infusing freshness and vivacity. Along with the plays, the festival is also organising a theatre workshop for students of classes 7 – 10 which will be conducted by theatre expert Rakesh Bedi. The earlier workshops conducted by GTF had provided learning opportunities to the local youth in the field of performing arts.

n line with the central government’s mission against single use plastic and initiative to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic waste, 1.24 MT of waste plastic has been used to construct a road in Narangi Military Station. This ambitious project has been undertaken at Narangi Military Station where approximately 1.24 MT of waste plastic has been used to construct a road using the technology. In this technology, the road is constructed by mixing shredded plastic waste with heated bitumen. This is a green technology, which aims to reduce menace of plastic waste on the one hand and improve the durability of the roads on the other. The project to use plastic in road building is an initiative to reduce, reuse and recycle waste plastic. The road constructed using waste plastic lasts longer, is cheaper to build and maintain and significantly reduces the amount of plastic going into our oceans and landfills. Utilisation of waste plastic in road construction can help in significantly solving one of the biggest problems of plastic waste management.

10 News This Week

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

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

Premier League Champions Manchester City FC acquires Mumbai City FC

City Football Group (CFG) completed the take-over of controlling stakes of ISL side Mumbai City FC on November 28. According to reports, Mumbai City FC was facing huge financial strain and decided to cut costs this season. This takeover would come as a huge boost in terms of financial support. Mumbai City FC would hope for the same fortunes such as other CFG-owned clubs. CFG agreed on a deal to take 65% majority stake in Mumbai City FC. Meanwhile, acclaimed actor and film producer, Ranbir Kapoor agreed to stay with the club as minority shareholder. Damian Willoughby takes on the CEO role of City Football Group India.

BJP Removes MP Pragya Thakur from Defence Panel

The Centre removed controversial BJP Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur from the Parliamentary Defence Panel after her remarks on Nathuram Godse. According to reports, Thakur had praised Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse as a desh bhakt during a parliamentary session. JP Nadda, BJP working president said that Thakur has been barred from participating in the parliamentary party meetings. Sources say the BJP’s disciplinary committee is likely to expel her from the party. However, on November 29, she apologized saying that she was sorry if anyone’s sentiments were hurt by any remarks made by her, adding that it was “against the law” to label her a terrorist.

Lieutenant Shivangi becomes first woman pilot of Indian Navy to join Ops

Lieutenant Shivangi is set to become the first woman pilot in India to join naval operations at Kochi on 2nd December, two days ahead of Navy Day on 4th December. “Shivangi will graduate to become the first female pilot of Indian Navy. She hails from Muzaffarpur, Bihar and completed her schooling from DAV Public school, Muzaffarpur,” the source told PTI. Shivangi, who had been undergoing training at the Southern Naval Command, will get authorisation on 2nd December to fly Dornier aircrafts. However, the Navy’s aviation branch has had women officers operating as air traffic control officers and as “observers” in the aircraft who are responsible for communication and weapons.

Cartosat-3 successfully launched by ISRO

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on November 25, successfully launched its earth imaging and mapping satellite Cartosat-3. Cartosat-3 was launched along with other 13 commercial nano satellites from the USA. The launch took place at the scheduled time of 09:28 hrs IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Speaking about the successful launch, ISRO chief K Sivan said, “I am happy that PSLV-C47 injected precisely in the orbit with 13 other satellites. CARTOSAT-3 is the highest resolution civilian satellite; we have 13 missions up to March- 6 large vehicle missions and 7 satellite missions.”

PM Modi launches Fit India School Grading System

In a major verdict, CJIRanjanGogoi and Justices AM Khanwilkar and InduMalhotrahave decided to delay the pleas seeking a review of its decision regarding the entry of women into the Sabarimala Temple. They also added that restrictions on women to enter religious places are not restricted to Sabarimala alone and are prevalent in other religions as well. It is to be noted that the verdict did not say anything contrary against the apex court’s September 28, 2018 decision which allows women to enter the temple nor did it stay the earlier judgement. Hence, there is no clarity whether women can enter the shrine, which is scheduled to open on November 17 for worship.

FSSAI releases list of 10 Worst Performing States in Food Safety

As per the list of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the 10 worst performing states in food safety include Assam, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telengana, and Uttarakhand. The list was released by FSSAI and according to it these states are unequipped to ensure food safety, owing to scarcity of staff and food testing laboratory infrastructure. FSSAI analysed a total of 1,06,459 samples from across the country and found over 15.8% food samples as sub-standard, 3.7 % unsafe and 9% mislabelled during the year 2018-19.

Uddhav Thackeray takes oath as chief minister of Maharashtra

Uddhav Thackeray took oath as the 18th chief minister of Maharashtra on November 28. It is to be noted that this is the first time that someone from the Thackeray family has become a chief minister. Shiv Sena has been an active player in Maharashtra politics for over five decades under the leadership of Bal Thackeray. As Thackeray is currently not a legislator, he will have to get elected either to the legislative assembly or to the council within six months of the oath taking ceremony. Furthermore, a floor test will be held in the Maharashtra Assembly by 3rd December, for which the alliance of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP will have to keep its group of MLAs together.

SPG Bill passed in Lok Sabha; to cover PM, ex-PM & families for 5 years

Lok Sabha passed the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on November 27. To show their disagreement the Congress MPs walked out of the house in protest. At present, the former Prime Ministers and their families are provided security based on a “security assessment” without any cutoff period. The Bill says that when the proximate security is withdrawn from a former Prime Minister, such proximate security shall also stand withdrawn from members of his or her immediate family. Replying to the debate on the bill, Home Minister Amit Shah said that the bill should not be seen as a political vendetta as the vindictive approach is not the ethos of BJP.

Govt has no plans to censor online content: Sanjay Dhotre

Sanjay Dhotre, minister of state for electronics and IT informed on November 28 in the Rajya Sabha, that the government has no plans to introduce censorship on content appearing on online streaming platforms. “There are several petitions/public interest litigations (PILs) filed against online streaming platforms in the Supreme Court, and High Courts of India on the regulation of video-ondemand contents,” he said. Adding he said, “The government is committed to freedom of speech and expression and privacy of its citizens as enshrined in the Constitution of India.”

Pamela Anderson requests Modi to turn govt events vegan

Pamela Anderson, actress and honorary director of PETA, wrote a letter to PM Modi stating her concerns on global warming, climate change and worsening pollution levels. Through her letter she asked Modi to take a few measures to help replenish the environment like banning animalderived food products from all government meetings and functions, replacing dairy products with soy products and banning meat consumption. Through her letter she explained that raising animals for dairy, meat and eggs contribute to one-fifth of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. Adding she said, “In fact, meat and dairy companies are set to become the world’s biggest polluters, and the United Nations warns that a global shift to vegan eating is necessary to combat climate change. It’s not an option but a necessity.”

City

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Third edition of Zublee Foundation’s Organothon sees massive participation

n 24th November last, Zublee Foundation, for the third time, organized the run “ORGANOTHON” with the motive of raising mass awareness on deceased organ donation among people. The 3rd edition of the run was organized in two categories - Run to Win (Half Marathon, 21 Kms) and Run for the Cause (5 kms). The run to win started at 5:40 am from Sonaram High School Field. It was flagged off by Partha Sarathi Mahanta, IPS, SP,

Kamrup (R). The runners proceeded towards Maligaon Railway Gate via Adabari and took a turn at Lankeshwar DGBR headquarters and returned to the starting point covering a distance of 21 kms. The first three finishers of the Run to Win Category (Male & Female) received prize money worth Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 4,000 respectively along with certificates, medals and trophies. Run for the Cause started at 6:30 am and was flagged off by Dr RK

Talukdar, principal cum chief superintendant, GMCH. All the participants were given medals and certificates. Organothon this year witnessed around 1,300 participants, who were accompanied by volunteers and members of Zublee Foundation. The run was followed by the release of the first episode of a street show video named, “One for the Donors” done by Zublee Foundation to pay tribute to the donor families of India. It was released in the presence of Samir K Sinha, IAS, Principal Secretary Health, government of Assam. Also, the second volume of Zublee Foundation’s newsletter “Immortal” was released by Padma Shri Dr Sarbeswar Sahariah. Organothon was also attended by eminent personalities from the state. The event this year turned out to be a grand success. Zublee Baruah, Chairperson, Zublee Foundation said, “I am overwhelmed to witness such a huge involvement of people with such good response and support

Images (L and above) from Organothon 2019 from people of Assam and also other states. Having support from a few artistes from Assam and Bollywood gives me immense joy and I am also thankful to ROTTO and government of Assam for stepping forward to help us make this event a grand success. I am also extremely grateful to one and all that have supported Organothon since its inception.” “Organothon, which was a

dream two years back, has turned out to be a beautiful event which is growing massively with the support of people each year. We are very proud and happy about that. With the successful completion of three editions, we have already started planning for the fourth edition with a vision of having about 4,000 people’s involvement,” said Priyanka Borah, CEO, Zublee Foundation.

Change of guard at AABSA, announces ranking tournament in Guwahati G Plus News @guwahatiplus

he All Assam Billiards and Snooker Association (AABSA) underwent a change of guard with its newly elected office bearers for the next term and conveyed its plans for the development of the sport in Assam in the near future. The association is already affiliated to the national body. Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), headquartered at Bangalore and the AABSA nominated players would participate in the national tournament to be held early next year. For the development of the sport in Assam, AABSA would form district committees and would allow affiliation to various clubs and bodies which are engaged in the development of the sport. Additionally, AABSA has

organized a 6 Red Ball state ranking tournament from 29th November this year at Guwahati to select players who will represent Assam at the National 6 Red Tournament that will be held in the last week of December. Addressing a press meet to announce the newly elected body of AABSA, its president, Rajib Saikia said , “AABSA is committed to the development of the cue sport in Assam and hopefully within the next few years Assam will be able to produce quality prayers to complete at international level.” The newly elected general secretary, Mukul Gogoi said, “AABSA is planning to take the sport to every nook and corner of the state by introducing it at district levels and will hold clinics at school level to popularize the game amongst the youngsters. Assam has many quality players and AABSA would hold special coaching camps by inviting

Representative Image coaches from outside the State to improve the standard of the sport.” Gogoi further said, “AABSA’s development goals include,

amongst others, to establish an international standard Academy near Guwahati, develop quality prayers and organize national level tournaments in the near

future. Lack of infrastructure is the biggest challenge AABSA faces at this moment and we will leave no stones unturned to overcome this challenge.”

12 Guest Column

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Greatness thrust upon versus greatness achieved M uch to the relief of the teeming millions of beleaguered Indians reeling under skyrocketing price escalation of essential commodities, the nearly onemonth-long “Maharashtra Drama” finally has come to an end, albeit temporarily, after having provided utmost thrill and entertainment. With the political pendulum swinging precariously from one party to the other, even the most apolitical of Indians had castigated the suspense-filled, farcical developments with

Notwithstanding controversies aplenty involving many of the erstwhile chief Ministers of India’s financial capital, none of his illustrious predecessors could cause such huge fracas at the blatant manner in which he remained adamant to grab the post of chief minister. The long drawn ideological hostilities and ideological differences with national political parties like Indian National Congress have been forgotten and sacrificed at the altar of lust for power. Against such sordid background, the million dollar question arises that if indeed Udhav Thackeray

atmosphere of mutual distrust aggravating racial discrimination among various communities besides encouraging and emboldening the anti-socials to take the law into their hands. Consequently, the soft target killing has risen alarmingly and Indians have become victims mostly. Two Indians recently have been killed in a bar in Kansas. The unfortunate incidents have been described as a pointer to such hate campaigns unleashed in Trump’s America. Impeachment proceedings have been initiated against Trump for “abuse of power” and for violating

GUEST COLUMN

their verdict against Churchill in the 1945 general election held almost immediately after the conclusion of the grueling war. The upset defeat was interpreted by the then contemporary election analysts as the expression of the British voters’ belief that Churchill was better as a highly accomplished “wartime Prime Minister” but ill-suited to rebuild the country devastated and wrecked by the world war. Clement Attlee, the successor to Churchill, had failed miserably in bringing about the economic reforms promised to the electorates. The much vaunted

for Literature in 1953. Needless to say, the effort of the British electorate to “thrust greatness” on Clement Attlee had collapsed like the proverbial house of cards. In 1971, the mantle of greatness was thrust upon Idi Amin when he was declared the President of Uganda. In his bid to bring “economic reforms” in Uganda, the military dictator had announced a set of policies that included the expropriation of properties owned by Asians. Uganda’s

policy of “Nationalization,” the slogan of “giving employment to all” had proved hollow. Most importantly, Attlee lacked the charisma, the dynamism of Churchill. To quote, “Attlee was painfully shy and reserved and had the appearance of a bank clerk.” Leaving aside his political achievements and his unquestionable status as one of the all time greatest global statesman, Winston Churchill’s has his own worldwide reputation and identity as a historian and writer having won the Nobel Prize

80,000 Asians were mostly from the Indian subcontinent. Nearly sixty thousand Asians were issued expulsion orders and were forced to leave Uganda in a hurry. However, all his “Don-Quixotic” efforts had ended miserably and Idi Amin is today buried in oblivion. Closer home, we all have witnessed the disastrous consequences on the state in general and young generations in particular when greatness was thrust upon a person to head the august Public Service Commission bereft of even an iota of pretension let alone achievement in academic or professional field. Thankfully, the Apex Court of the country, by its milestone verdict, had stopped the age-old dubious practice of persons heading the cricket bodies of the state and the country without any cricketing background, the only game that serves as an integrating thread and galvanizes patriotism, loud and clear. The history of human civilization is a long and consistent confirmation of the immortal saying of the Bard of Avon that the genuinely great persons alone have left their permanent “foot prints on the sands of time.”

Gautam Ganguly

In the backdrop Udhav Thackeray taking oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra and thus having greatness literally thrust upon him, the author compares various personalities of the world who achieved greatness themselves or were thrust with it. banter and satire. In a rare stroke of fortune, Udhav Bal Thackeray has been sworn in as the 18th chief minister of Maharashtra. Udhav, in fact, has joined a handful of fortunate Indians on whom the mantle of “chief ministership” falls on debut as an august legislator. This gentleman has an innocuous track record of being an amateur photographer and an editor of a not-so-well-circulated Marathi weekly. Intriguingly, while all the past chief ministers had reasonable experience in handling legislative matters besides administrative experience, the present incumbent has the least political and administrative experience worth the salt. It does not require great imagination to identify the ‘Thackeray family’ for being overtly chauvinistic and creating Himalayan controversies by their aggressive comments. The propagator of “Marathi Manush” syndrome, i.e. Maharashtra for Marathi, the patriarch, Bal Thackeray had castigated even Mukesh Ambani for voicing “Mumbai belongs to India.’ To quote him: “Don’t meddle in the path of Mumbai and Marathi manoos.”

deserves the prestigious post or if greatness has indeed been thrust upon him. Time alone will testify the worth of the new political luminary. A lot of eyebrows were raised when Trump had assumed the onerous post of the 45th President of the United States of America. While all the past presidents like George Washington, Roosevelt, Kennedy etc had immense military experience ranging from three years to as many as eleven years before assuming the post of the president of USA, Trump did not have any such exposure! A series of controversies arose following Trump’s somewhat ‘weird’ decisions. To begin with, Trump had imposed ‘travel ban’ on people of seven predominantly Muslim-dominated countries like Syria, Iran, Iraq etc. Then came another executive order aimed at strangulating work-visa programme including the H1B and L1 visas used especially by the Indian IT professionals. The executive decisions together with Trump’s rhetoric on rebuilding a new America smacks of igniting “hate campaign” that have contributed immensely in creating an unfamiliar

established rules that go on to strengthen the initial allegation that President Trump really did not belong to the galaxy of celebrities who donned the post of US President, the most powerful politician of the earth. Notwithstanding Sir Winston Churchill’s brilliantly astute leadership during the challenging times of the World War II and his mind blowing wartime records that had contributed immensely in the annihilation of the “Axis forces,” the entire world was shocked to the hilt when the erudite British electorate gave

In The News

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Assam govt forms separate committee for picnic management T Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

District Picnic Monitoring and Supervisory Committee (DPMSC) to be constituted in Assam

Deputy Commissioner of each district to act as chairmen of DPMSC Environmental safety to be given priority All picnic spots to abide by rules issued by DPMSC Picnic spots in Guwahati lack maintenance Lack of toilets, lights, and other facilities at picnic spots Authorities blame picnickers for lack of hygiene in picnic spots

ost of the tourist attractions in Guwahati are illequipped in terms of infrastructural facilities and lack proper maintenance. “I have been living in Guwahati since my childhood and have visited quite a few of the tourist spots. However, I feel that with the constant rise

he government of Assam has issued a notification for a decentralized and self-sustaining mode of picnic management regulations by means of constituting the District Picnic Monitoring and Supervisory Committee (DPMSC). With picnicking season just around the corner, the government of Assam has directed the deputy commissioners of all districts to act as chairmen of the DPMSC. As per the notification, the DPMSC shall have members from the departments of Home, Forest, Health, Finance, Tourism, PWD along with the Urban Local Bodies, and Disaster Management Authorities. “The DPMSC shall notify the picnic spots within the

district keeping in view the aspects of environmental safety, sustainable tourism, minimum interruption in the residential areas, schools, hospitals and any means of transport along with public safety,” states the notification. The picnic parties shall have to abide by the rules and regulations issued by the DPMSC and disobedience of the same shall lead to penalty. Some of the most commonly visited picnic spots in Guwahati are the Assam State Zoo, Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra and Regional Science Centre. Every year during the picnic season, these spots see a massive surge in the number of visitors which is highest on January 1. The Kamrup (M) district

File photo of a littered picnic spot on the outskirts of the city administration issues separate guidelines for picnickers urging them to cooperate with the

authorities and not pollute the picnic spots by littering or throwing garbage.

Picnic spots lack proper maintenance, feel Guwahatians in the number of tourists, the places are not being maintained appropriately,” said Sanjay Dey, a student and resident of Guwahati. One of the prevailing problems in picnic spots of Guwahati is lack of toilets or presence of ill-maintained, stinking toilets that mar the overall aesthetics of the place. Bearing the brunt of illequipped toilets, women often have to hold it for a long time as they wait in queues. Further, in most places, there’s lack of sit-down toilets that makes it impossible for the differently-

“No person shall throw or place any rubbish, offensive matter or sewage on any street or in any place that is not earmarked for the purpose,” GMC order abled to use them. While tourists opine that the authorities are responsible for

Lighter and faster

such problems, the authorities instead put the blame on the increasing number of tourists and say that they need to have a better sense of hygiene and cleanliness. Keeping this in mind, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) recently passed an order saying that it will penalize people if they are found littering the streets. This is possible as per Section 299 of the Guwahati Municipal Act 1971. The GMC order states that “no person shall throw or place any rubbish, offensive matter

or sewage on any street or in any place that is not earmarked for the purpose”. Some picnic spots also suffer from the lack of lights, and illmaintenance of roads leading to them. One example of the same is the Hatisila picnic spot which is visited by thousands of picnickers every year. Last year, hundreds of picnickers were left stranded at Hatisila picnic spot located on the outskirts of Guwahati as the rescue operation was stopped due to improper road and poor light.

the QRand code NRL forays into Scan exploration production

fter consolidating its downstream business of Refining ever since commissioning of Numaligarh Refinery in October 2000, NRL is now venturing into upstream business

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of Exploration and Production. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt. of India has accorded its formal approval to NRL for acquiring Participatory Interest in two Exploration blocks in Assam viz. Namrup block in Dibrugarh

District and West Mechaki block in Tinsukia District. The Exploration blocks were earlier awarded to Oil India Ltd. (OIL) by Govt. of India on 1st of October 2018 after nationwide bidding under Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Round-I.

Namrup Block covers an area of 125 SQKM. & West Mechaki Block covers an area of 489 SQKM. OIL would be the Operator in both the blocks. Farm out Agreements for both the blocks were earlier signed with OIL. This would be NRL’s first

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investment in Exploration and Production. With this development, NRL would have a holistic presence across all sectors of the Oil industry viz. upstream, midstream and downstream.

14 G Talk E

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019 T

GTF – Guwahati’s tallest cultural edifice

ome December and Guwahati’s most awaited cultural landmark will be on show once again – for the 4th year in succession. Well, December is coming tomorrow, but the annual G Plus Guwahati Theatre Festival (GTF) 2019 is scheduled for 6th-8th December at Pragjyoti ITA Machkhowa with three massively popular plays from the Mumbai theatre circuit. I had the occasion to announce the festival at a press conference a few days ago and basked in the media’s congratulatory words about managing to bring in the 4th successive edition despite the huge challenges that holding the festival poses. Through this editorial, I want to thank the entire media fraternity for being so cooperative, sympathetic and kind to our efforts in this annual venture of ours and hereby express my gratitude for the wide publicity that it has given on various print and television media. The major challenge about GTF is meeting the costs involved. And these are high by any standards. Ferrying the performing teams from Mumbai by air, taking care of their accommodation and hospitality, food and transportation, remuneration for their delightful performances, costs involving hall rent,

stage sets, lights and sound, et al make for a huge budget that often seems daunting to the organising team at G Plus. The proposition becomes tougher when enough sponsorship is not garnered which ultimately dissolves into keeping the tickets somewhat pricey. This factor is often misconstrued as us catering only to the elitist section of the Guwahatian society. But that simply is not the fact of the matter. It is pure economic constraints and our dire need to cover our costs (at least) that pushes the prices of tickets to the levels at which we are selling. On a very serious note, it would have been delightful for us to bring down the prices of the tickets and each successive year hereafter, we hope we can figure out ways and means to do so. Whatever be the case, the GTF has come to establish itself as the most prestigious cultural edifice of the city and it is important for us, the creators of this edifice, to ensure that it stands tall and erect in the years to come. For the moment dear readers, soak yourself in the delights of great theatre over the next weekend and we assure you it’ll be another festival to cherish. Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

If Gutkha is banned, who is going to spit? Rahul: Oi bhai, what is the bloody government up to? They just banned gutka? What am I supposed to do all day now? Akash: Yeah I know. I feel like a part of me was taken away. I am so used to saying “Rajani-160 diok” at my panwala, I don’t know mai use kaise muh dikhaunga… Debu: Well, for once, you’ll show it without red stained teeth. Rahul: Please, don’t patronize. I don’t know how to just have just Rajanigandha. It has been forever since I did that. Debu: I am just glad that people will stop spitting along dividers, government offices, public toilets, elevators, pavements, roads, public transport, out on the streets from vehicles and all the other creative ways that our people have devised to paint the town red. Also not to forget that people will no longer Google “how to mix Sikhar with 160” and then some guy will have over 1M views on his YouTube tutorial. Akash: I think that with Assam if becoming a hot spot for national and international events, this decision has been bought in quite strategically. Rahul; Dude, I am just thinking about how to get through the coming days. I have told my guy to arrange for some supply. Not sure you long I’ll stay afloat.

Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_bv

Content is KING!

he entertainment palate of this week in Guwahati city has been nonvegetarian basically. Aamis, as you would say in Assamese. The movie of the same name has indeed captured the sensibilities of the city’s intelligentsia and clubs, coffee shops or any decent intellectual gathering have had visibly animated discussions on and about the movie. Some have criticized the movie downright: their gastronomic sensibilities have apparently been badly hurt. Others have found it to be a piece of cinematic masterpiece

resulting from depleting cinema halls across the Brahmaputra Valley which is the only region that Assamese cinema is supposed to do any reasonable business in; and low budgets given that stemming from less audience, the return on investment would also be low. Given this situation, the only option left for Assamese cinema to make a turnaround is by way of providing good original content in terms of a good story and coupling the same with the most skilful filmmaking techniques. One might argue that the

Given the success of the Assamese movie Aamis, the author reiterates his conviction that despite the challenges and constraints faced by the Assamese movie industry, good content in terms and storyline and movie making skills is the way forward. with its perfectly written screenplay building up the movie to engrossing levels keeping the audience spell-bound till the last scene. Whatever be the case, Aamis has turned out to be a hugely successful movie despite being bereft of the superstars of Assamese cinema. So what made it click? Content, of course! For long I have been writing about the challenges faced by Assamese cinema. I have done the rounds exhaustively, interacted with the crème de la crème of Assamese filmmakers and tried to understand and reason out the stiff competition that it faces from Bollywood, Hollywood and the movie streaming platforms on digital media. From all these, one thing stood eminently clear to me. Assamese cinema is facing a double whammy: less audience

rThe last resort

Zubeen Garg movies were a departure from this line of thought as both his movies were mounted on big budgets (with respect to Assamese cinema) and did not have stories that could be critically considered as good content. Of more recent vintage was superstar Jatin Bora’s Ratnakar which also had a reasonably impressive budget as also a reasonably good story. The point here is that Zubeen Garg and Jatin Bora have remained the biggest draws in Assamese cinema and it is, but natural, that their movies find the ticketpurchasing audience with halls

O pinion Swapnil Bharali

seeing a reasonable footfall. However, Assamese cinema is not just about Zubeen Garg and Jatin Bora but a plethora of new talented filmmakers who can offer great cinema with innovative and novel content. Aamis has been a trendsetter in this respect simply because its content is so out of the ordinary. For all you know this hardly is an Assamese story to start with. It is a story for the world to be told to a global audience; we are fortunate to have witnessed it in the Assamese language. It is also worth mentioning the movie Bornodi Bhotiyai in the context of offering great cinematic content to Assamese movie lovers. And so, it is very clear that content is king and it is only good content that will sell in the garb of Assamese cinema. From here on, it would be prudent of the part of Assamese filmmakers to do some serious introspection of the content that they would want to offer in the form of cinema. They would need to detach themselves from their potential product and give their scripts a serious revision with the explicit discerning judgement of whether they are actually offering something good to the ticket-purchasing viewer or if they are just blinded by the emotion of writing a movie that isn’t in reality all that good for the quality demanding audience. It is only then that the momentum set by Aamis in bringing audiences back to the theatres and halls will be kept up. At this point, another dud in the storyline of a forthcoming movie will be a serious setback for the fair name that the industry is making and this is something to take note of.

Letter to the Editor

The latest political turmoil in Maharashtra where the equation is fast changing within minutes gives us a completely different impression about the current set of politicians cutting across all political parties. The leaders of each and every political party are merely concerned about retaining power at the cost of ideologue and integrity. One can only feel pity for the poor grassroots level workers who always face the heat due to misdeeds of the top brass. In one line we can conclude that today’s politics is the last resort of scoundrels. Dr Ashim Chowdhury, Ambari, Guwahati

In Focus

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Tickets prices for Filmfare Awards, slated for Feb next, could go up to Rs 3 lakhs

ill the average Guwahatians be plain lucky this time to witness the galaxy of Bollywood celebrities at a moderately priced ticket in the 65th Flimfare Awards slated to take place in February next year? This is for the first time that the black lady (the statuette that

Rs 3 lakhs held in Mumbai, does not evince much confidence as the whopping prices of tickets, if continues in this edition, might as well stop many common people from walking the red carpet with the Bollywood stars. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced that the Assam government will spend Rs 23 crores for the event.

is given away as the award for various categories) will travel to Assam from Mumbai. However, the cost of tickets to the gala event in its earlier editions, which ranged from Rs 10,000 to

“The government, in organizing the event, is spending taxpayers’ money. So we expect that organizers will keep that in mind while deciding the price of the tickets

so that the average man can see the event,” a retired government official said. In the previous years, Filmfare Awards which was hosted in Jio Garden BKC, Mumbai, saw the ticket prices ranging from a whooping Rs 3 lakhs to a minimum of Rs 10,000. Other price slabs were Rs 12,000, Rs 15,000, Rs 40,000, Rs 50,000, Rs 75,000, Rs 1,10,000, Rs 1,50,000 and Rs 2,25000. It was also announced that 50 per cent of the sale proceeds from the ticket sales will go the chief minister’s relief fund. Sources close to G Plus stated that the award function is going to be held at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Amingaon. However, there is no official confirmation on this yet. With the stadium designed to accommodate 5,000 spectators as per Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) guidelines, it will be interesting to see how the organizers price the tickets in the different slabs. On November 25, the Assam

Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Times group to organize the Filmfare Awards in Guwahati. Reacting to the news, Guwahatians mostly gave a negative reaction and shared their views on G Plus social media channels. Questioning the government, Rajashree Gogoi Borgohain wrote, “How the local community will be benefited? Indirectly hotels will be benefited. What is the induced effect to different stakeholders at the grassroot?” Some citizens jibed the government for spending such huge money for the event. Rashmi Mazumdar wrote, “And we proved for

so many years that we don’t have money to prevent those infamous annual floods!” Some concerned citizens highlighted that the state government should rather focus on other issues than spend money on such high profile events. “The sensible populace of Guwahati is not even bothered to attend such brazen display of glamour when there are other pressing issues for the government to pay heed to. With the traffic resembling that of Beijing and roads resembling the by-lanes of Kolkata, Guwahati is suffocated today,” wrote Abhishek Nandan. Kasturi Das stated, “Please fix the roads and improve public transport first. Brahmaputra Pushkar, Filmfare, making 100 flyovers will not solve the real problems of the people of Assam.” “30 crores for Filmfare; what will be beneficial for us? Will Filmfare people come and help us during floods? Our government is filled with blind people,” added Bhaskar Sonowal. n

Guwahati will host the 65th Filmfare Awards on February 15, 2020. 50% of revenue earned from sale of tickets will go to CM’s Relief Fund. The news drew comments from G Plus followers on its digital channels. Roy Arnob

Filmfare Awards is considered as Bollywood’s Oscar. And it’s a gigantic event. From Mumbai to Guwahati is something out of the blue. And this is happening for the first time so it’s definitely a very big thing. It’s definitely going to popularise the name of the city globally. I don’t understand why people of Guwahati have problem with everything. It’s a nice thing for our city and our people should welcome it.

Mohammad Khan

Krishna Prasad Guha

Manjit DM

We don’t want film festivals. It is for the intellectuals and for rich Guwahatians and politicians. We want water supply project to be completed early so that Guwahatians of all areas get safe drinking water. The joy however will not be realised by the lovers of film festivals as they are getting water from govt water supply. Harsh but it’s the truth. Film festivals look glamorous from far but the actual reality is our lives which is full of struggles.

Tushar Bagaria

The main agenda of the government is not to make the citizens witness the Bollywood stars but to increase tourism in the state. Do you even realise how many sectors will be benefitted? I don’t know what the expectations of the people are. Think of the bigger picture. Good days are coming and we should welcome it with open arms rather than criticise everything.

If Filmfare Awards is going to happen in Guwahati then firstly the Assam government should clarify how much they are going to spend out of the common taxpayer’s money promoting and hosting the event and the amount of exemptions in the form of tax and other revenues awarded to the organisers. I don’t want the money of hardworking tax payers of our country to go to politicians’ pockets and get wasted. Rs 23 crores will be spent by the Assam government. Well, if those tickets remain unsold then what will be the earnings and what fund will go to the chief minister fund? What a brilliant step taken by the government to invest public money on those foolish things! I suggest at least think of the economy of Assam. We the public of Assam are suffering a lot. An award function will not bring any changes to Assam. And anyway what about the funds that was collected from the people of Assam during the floods? Did they utilise it or everything is in CM’s pocket?

Rishi Kant Borphukan

Already once damage had been made by making Priyanka Chopra the brand ambassador of Assam Tourism and now this. We are zero in the name of development and every other month this government is coming up with some festival. What is the outcome? All I see is more traffic jam and chaos in the city. God knows what they are up to.

16 Buzz

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

City prep school celebrates 5th annual day with fanfare

ivers Preparatory School celebrated its fifth annual day function on Saturday at Srimanta Sankaradev Kalakshetra’s Nilamani Phukan Auditorium in Guwahati. The students presented musical items, dance, recitation and skits on the

occasion, in presence of a sizeable audience consisting of parents and invitees. The school caters to the children of low-income families at an affordable price. Since the last two years, EducationToday.co has been ranking the school as number 1 in the “Value for Money” under category “Top

Parameter Wise Montessori Schools in India.” Seema Hussain, Correspondent, The Week Magazine, was the chief guest at the function. She lauded the efforts of the school in bringing quality education to the children of BPL and other deprived families at an affordable cost.

Subhrajit, Deepanjan win Pulin Das Memorial Sports Quiz Competition

ubhrajit Bhattacharya and Deepanjan Deb clinched the 3rd Pulin Das Memorial Open Prize Money Sports Quiz Competition, held in of Guwahati’s Kumar Bhaskar Natya Mandir, on November 24 last. The competition was organised by Guwahati Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA). Shoubhik Bhattacharjee and Mridul Ram Kalita bagged the second prize while Raktim Ranjan Baishya and Tribun Jyoti Sarma

won the third prize. The competition was conducted by renowned quiz masters, Dipankar Koushik and Dilip Kumar Sarma. A total of 35 teams participated in the first stage of the competition held as preliminary screening round from where six teams were selected for final round. The top three winning teams were rewarded with cash awards of Rs 12,000, Rs 8,000 and Rs 6,000 respectively along with trophies.

Assam boy in world cup winning Indian Roll Ball team

Shyamanga Protim Kashyap (L) and Rituraj Khaund, founder and co-founder respectively of the Trig Empowering Institute (TEI), Guwahati seen presenting the maiden “Empowering Northeast Award – 2019” under the theme of Women Empowerment, to Runa Rafique in recognisation of her being an embodiment of the modern empowered woman in the Second Anniversary of TEI at Hotel Palacio, Guwahati on November 26, 2019.

ssam’s Kargil Barman represented the Indian team which won the 5 th Roll Ball World Cup, held at the ICF Indoor Stadium in Chennai on November 20. The Indian men’s team beat Kenya 9-3 to lift the trophy. On the other hand, the Indian women’s team lost to Kenya 2-3 and ended as runnersup. Assam’s Bhumidhar Barman was the manager of both the teams. The Assam Roll Ball Association, on November 23, felicitated Kargil and Bhumidhar for their achievement in the championship.

Feature

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

A common goal of a simple couple “Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets,” - Oscar Wilde

Banasree Bhuyan

irst of all I am not a writer who can dive into the ocean of words and pull out beautiful lines to describe everything. I am just a traveller who loves to explore new places and eat new food. At the beginning of the year 2019, I and my husband decided that this year we will travel as much as we can, near or far and at this very moment, I have completed trips (7 domestic + 1 International) and my husband has completed 9 trips (8 domestic + 1 International). Ours is a typical Indian arranged marriage and if anyone meets us, the first thing you will notice about Udaipur us is that I and my husband are extremely different. It’s like north and south poles. However, the only common thing between us is the love for travel and eating good food. Both of us can run for this. I still remember I used to share every detail with my mom whenever I returned from a trip and she always used to tell me, “If you have seen any good things or if you have good memories/ experiences, then write it somewhere.” This inspired me a lot. Secondly, travel brought to us new bondings, introduced new people to us. We made new friends and adopted the different cultures. People easily assume a lot of things about others (city or state), but when you are there it is then that you realize how much your assumptions were wrong. Friendships also get much stronger when you visit your friends’ places – the ones who stay far away from you. After completing Pune, Udaipur, Armenia, Landsdowne, Bangalore, Udaipur Agra, Assam and Amritsar I have realized that travelling actually helps in office work, happen. There are two benefits. meeting family, old friends and Firstly, your trip will be fixed as making new friends. you will never cancel the tickets Working in a small private firm, because you have spent money it is not easy to take leaves each and secondly, it will always be month. But this year I made some cheaper instead of the last minute good calculations and used my bookings. leaves very systematically. In a few words: If anyone asks me about Pune: Husband had spent 3 travelling tips my first advice years of his beautiful college life; always will be, just book your hence it was worth visiting and tickets when you think of meeting old friends who were so travelling or else it will never

Golden Temple, Amritsar

Wagah Border welcoming and unforgettable. Udaipur: The maintenance of the palaces and all belongings till date is phenomenal. The evening boat ride with the awesome coffee still boosts my energy. Armenia: A very beautiful country with beautiful people. This country gave us an awesome experience. Tasted new food, met new people who will always

be in our heart. If possible, I will definitely visit again. This country is also known as a free land of water. Lansdowne: It was only for one night. But with eight people in one room none can beat the happiness. Bangalore: The trip was to meet friends and family visit. The bonding is getting stronger and happier.

Agra: Night View of the Taj Mahal - it was a wow moment. Not crowded at all, silence everywhere and so many soldiers around definitely gave me the VIP feeling. Assam: Home state. Always will be the most awaited trip for us and for our parents. Amritsar: Feeling of being a true Indian. Salute to those who sacrificed for their country. n

18 Review

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Starring: Vidyut Jammwal, Angira Dhar, Adah Sharma Director: Aditya Datta

Commando 3 In his last outing, Commando Karanvir Singh Dogra (Vidyut Jammwal) found his way to foreign shores to follow the trail of ill-begotten wealth of the powers that be. That was quite an adventure what with several twists. Turns out, his adventure in the third edition is not half as much fun. This once the discovery of a few misguided young men, indoctrinated by Jihadis who are planning a destructive coup to instill fear among Indians, sets the ball rolling for our hero. Trite as it is, you know that Jammwal’s smooth as panther stunts will be the most watchable part of the film. Despite his elegant glides and

save, the film suffers abundantly from sheer lack of imagination. Even its eclectic ensemble of actors -Adah Sharma (Bhavna Reddy), Angira Dhar (Mallika Sood) and Gulshan Devaiah (Buraq Ansari) pulling off some very cool stunts, the film fails to score. The hackneyed plot around Islamic terrorists with nefarious motives seems to have run its course what with several films in the past with a similar premise. In the cinematic world run by superheroes, it is increasingly difficult for the audience to be impressed by the exploits of regular, on-screen heroes and therefore a good story

Realme 5s

and screenplay become a dire necessity. In the earlier edition Adah Sharma’ comic turn worked well but in this one, the screenplay does not allow her enough room to add value. The film’s dialogues designed to be paeans to the patriotic spirit are tiresome at best and pointless blood-letting, one has observed makes little impact (on the auds) unless the story has an emotional connect. Commando 3’s biggest virtue is that while drumming up the patriotic bluster it does try its best to make a distinction between terrorists and Muslims as it were. Sometimes painstakingly so. But that’s obviously not good enough to salvage a poorly packaged film. Its sheer lack of mystery doesn’t help the film’s cause the least bit. The culprit or the mastermind behind the deceitful plan is made known to the audience early on, weakening the narrative. Even the trope of an invincible, devious villain proves ineffective because of an underwritten character. Gulshan Devaiah despite his cold-blooded actions is not chilling enough. The probable subplots hinted at—rivalry between Mallika and Bhavna or possibly even a double cross on the part of multiple investigative agencies driven by their own motives-- are left untapped. Roadblocks are predictable enough, overcome just too easily by Dogra and there are no cliffhanger moments so essential to actioners and thrillers. Director Aditya Datta is unable to plot and pace this film effectively and at over two hours, Commando 3 feels like an inordinate stretch. This one, certainly fails to pack a punch. (Review from News18) protection for the screen, which is good.

Specifications

Internally, the Realme 5s has the same guts as the Realme 5. You get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC, and two variants — one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage (Rs. 9,999) and the other with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (Rs. 10,999). We had the latter variant for review. You also get dual-4G VoLTE support, dualband Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5, and the same suite of sensors as the older model. It comes with a 5,000mAh battery but just like last time, there’s no fast charging. The Realme 5s runs on ColorOS 6.0.1, and our review unit had the October security patch. Even though we’ve already seen version 6.1 of this UI on the Realme X2 Pro, this version also features a system-wide dark

As its name suggests, Realme 5s is a tweaked version of the Realme 5, with the big changes being a 48-megapixel primary camera and a new ‘Crystal Red’ colour. Besides these two things, the phone is pretty much identical to its predecessor. The Realme 5 has now dropped to a new lower price of Rs. 8,999, so the Realme 5s takes its spot at Rs. 9,999. It’s time to see whether the Realme 5s makes sense at this price, keeping its new competition in mind.

Design The physical design and features of the Realme 5s are identical to those of the Realme 5. This new phone feels the same in the hand, measuring 9.3mm in thickness, and features the same diamond-cut pattern on the back. Button placement is good and you get a triple-slot tray on the left for two Nano-SIMs and a microSD card. The back is still polycarbonate, which picks up smudges easily and can get

permanent dings in it if you’re not careful. The 6.5-inch display has a screen protector pre-applied. The notch isn’t very prominent and the bezels on the sides are relatively slim but this phone has a noticeable chin. Sadly, the resolution is still HD+ (1600x720), which is fine for everyday viewing but not as sharp as a full-HD+ display, which we’re seeing increasingly at this price. There is Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ scratch

Cinepolis, Christian Basti 09435025808 Frozen 2 (English) 09:00 AM, 11:10 AM, 08:50 PM Frozen 2 (Hindi) 04:00 PM, 06:25 PM Bala 09:20 AM Commando 3 09:25 AM, 12:20 PM, 03:15 PM, 06:10 PM, 09:05 PM Aamis (Assamese) 10:20 AM, 06:05 PM Knives Out (English) 12:10 PM, 06:20 PM, 08:30 PM Hotel Mumbai 12:45 PM, 03:30 PM, 09:10 PM The Warrior Queen of Jhansi (English) 01:35 PM Pagalpanti 03:00 PM

Anuradha Cineplex, Noonmati 0361 2656968 Commando 3 10:30 AM, 05:30 PM Aamis (Assamese) 01:00 PM, 08:15 PM Frozen 2 (English) 03:15 PM

Grande Cines, Paltan Bazar 09854017771 Commando 3 10:30 AM, 01:00 PM, 03:00 PM, 06:00 PM Hotel Mumbai 10:45 AM, 03:30 PM, 08:45 PM Frozen 2 (English) 01:10 PM

mode and Google’s Digital Wellbeing. The phone comes with plenty of preinstalled apps, of which the third-party ones can be uninstalled. Since the software is pretty much identical to what we’ve used before, you can read about in more detail in our Realme 5 review.

Verdict

The Realme 5s is a very minor refresh of the Realme 5. We feel that Realme could have done a lot more with the 5s to make it more competitive. The Realme 5 was a good phone when it launched a few months ago, but in that short span, we have new options such as the Redmi Note 8 and the slightly pricier Vivo U20, both of which offer more, especially higher resolution displays. (Review from NDTV Gadgets)

Frozen 2 (Hindi) 05:30 PM

PVR Cinemas, Dona Planet 08800900009 Commando 3 10:25 AM, 01:15 PM, 06:30 PM Hotel Mumbai 11:15 AM, 04:20 PM Frozen 2 (English) 02:00 PM, 07:05 PM, 09:25 PM Aamis (English) 09:20 PM

PVR Cinemas, CITY CENTRE 0124 470 8100 Frozen 2 (Hindi) 09:15 AM, 04:20 PM Frozen 2 (English) 11:35 AM, 06:40 PM Commando 3 09:45 AM, 12:35 PM, 03:25 PM, 06:15 PM, 09:05 PM Hotel Mumbai 10:15 AM, 03:55 PM, 09:30 PM Knives Out (English) 10:30 AM, 03:55 PM, 06:45 PM, 09:35 PM Aamis (Assamese) 10:40 AM, 03:55 PM, 06:20 PM Yeh Saali Aashiqui 01:00 PM Bala 01:05 PM, 08:45 PM Ratnakar (Assamese) 01:20 PM The Warrior Queen of Jhansi (English) 01:55 PM, 09:00 PM Marjaavaan 06:40 PM

Trotter

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Rajasthan teacher suspended for performing ‘nagin’ dance

government school teacher has been suspended for performing the ‘nagin’ dance during a training programme organised for teachers. The incident took place 10 days ago in Jalore, Rajasthan. Footage from the training camp shows three teachers dancing, reportedly during a break. One of them is the master trainer who had been sent to conduct the training. After the video went viral online, one of the teachers was suspended. The other two have been issued show-cause notices.

“We have suspended a teacher who organised the dance and have issued show-cause notices to two others as they are new recruits and may not be aware of the rules. There is no harm

in organising dance and playful activities, but a code of conduct should be maintained,” said Jalore district education officer Ashok Roeshwal. However, some teachers in the department have objected to the suspension order. “They were just enjoying with other teachers during the break time,” one teacher said to a national daily adding, “What’s vulgar or harmful in this? Can’t a government employee have a good time with colleagues? This is not justified.” (Source: ndtv)

Thieves steal onions worth Rs 50K from Bengal shop, leaves cash box intact

ith the prices breaching the Rs 100 per kilo mark in West Bengal, onions have seemingly become more alluring for thieves than cash, at least going by the claim of a vegetable seller whose shop was burgled in the state’s East Midnapore district. Akshay Das, who has a shop in Sutahata, found things scattered all around when

he opened his outlet on 25th November. Realising that thieves could have sneaked into the shop on 24th November

night, Das was in for a shock when he counted his losses. While the money kept in the cash box was intact, several sacks containing onions were missing. According to Das, the thieves had escaped with onions worth Rs 50,000, besides some garlic and ginger. “They didn’t take a single paisa from the cash box,” he said. (Source: indiatoday)

Bengaluru-based startup Wakefit paying for a good night’s sleep

et paid Rs 1 lakh to sleep for nine hours in the comfort of your own home? It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? That is exactly the deal that startup Wakefit will offer a few lucky interns. The sleep solutions company has announced an internship programme called the ‘Wakefit Sleep Internship’, through which selected candidates will be asked to sleep for nine hours a day for 100 days. “Think you can avoid binging on your favourite shows every night and just sleep for 9 hours instead? Then you could be the ideal candidate we are looking for,” Wakefit writes on its

website, inviting applications for the internship programme. The job description, they say, is “just sleep”. Ideal candidates should be able to fall asleep within 10-20 minutes of hitting the pillow and possess the “innate ability to fall asleep at the slightest given opportunity.”

Preferred qualifications for this internship also include the ability to resist binge watching shows at bedtime and “the ability to blissfully ignore phone notifications at night.” Wakefit will monitor the sleeping patterns of their interns, who will be sleeping on the company’s mattresses. Interns will be given a sleep tracker that will monitor their sleep before and after using the mattress. They will also be offered counselling sessions. Candidates selected for the internship will be paid a stipend of Rs 1 lakh after the data is shared with Wakefit. (Source: news18)

Mum unhappy with £600 electric bill gets another for £20,000 after complaining

aroline Leitch, 55, got in touch with SSE Electricity when she noticed her meter reading was lower than the figures she’d been quoted by the company. The mother, who lives in a council house in Branston, Lincolnshire, thought the company’s electricity estimate was not correct and hoped her £623.68 bill would decrease. But she was shocked when she logged into her account and saw that the amount she owed had shot up to a staggering £20,348.39. Caroline, who quit her job as nurse in 2016 to look after her two children, insists she has no idea where the figure has come from and has no way of paying it. She said the news is especially stressful in the runup to Christmas, adding, “I was shocked because I have no money to pay the debts.

Migration goes up despite Brexit but number of European arrivals drops. Paying a £20,000 electric bill is not going to happen. I laughed because of the shock. I am really struggling. I am a single parent of two children and I have no idea how I am going to pay.” Caroline says she has emailed the company head office but after two days still hasn’t had a response and is worried about the outcome. The former nurse said she left her job when her two children were going through a tough personal time and had to “choose to put my kids first” over doing the long hours. (Source: metro.co.uk)

Customers gift car to waitress who had to walk 22 km to work every day

waitress in Galveston, Texas, was gifted a car by two strangers she served at breakfast. Adrianna Edwards works at Denny’s, an American restaurant chain. Almost every day, she had to walk about 14 miles (22.5 kms) to get to work. “I have bills to pay,” Edwards told a daily. “I’ve got to eat. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.” It seems like her days of walking to work are finally over. Recently, a couple eating at Denny’s found out about Adrianna Edwards’ story. After learning that she was saving up to buy a car, they decided to do it for her. The couple, who wishes to remain anonymous, went to Classic Galveston Auto Group on Broadway Street and purchased a car for their waitress. Hours later, they returned at Denny’s to surprise Edwards with a 2011 Nissan Sentra. “She teared up,

which made me happy that she was so moved by that,” said the woman who bought the car. The generous gift has cut down Adrianna Edwards’ commute to 30 minutes from five hours. The car was gifted to her with no strings attached and just one request - that she pay the kindness forward. It’s a request that Edwards plans to honour. “I still feel like I’m dreaming,” she said. “When I see somebody in need, I’ll probably be more likely to help them out and to do everything that I can to help them out.” (Source: ndtv)

20 Fun Jayashree Bose

1st and 6th December will be great days for you to share your ideas with your seniors, connect with them. 6th December schedule your important meetings. 30th November you will be emotionally hurt by your colleagues or superiors. 2nd December you could have a fall out with a superior or someone at work. 30th November, 1st, 3rd and 4th December will be great days for you to connect with your senior and share your ideas with him/her, you could host your important meetings on these dates. You could have issues with your seniors or your extended family on 2nd December, don’t get into a confrontation. 5th December be careful while dealing with the opposite gender.

Lay low on 30th November, you are bound to have disagreement with people at work or there could be changes in your work place. Avoid making any promises on 30th November and 3rd December, you will have to live up to them. 2nd and 5th December will be great days for you to connect with your senior and share your ideas with him/her, host your important meetings on these dates. 1st, 2nd and 5th December will be great days for you to share your ideas with your seniors and build a relationship with them. Host your important meetings on 2nd and 5th December. 3rd and 6th December you could have issues at your workplace with your seniors or clients. Avoid getting into a confrontation.

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

The first half of your week will be slow, the second half will be great. For good results host your meetings, share your ideas with your superiors, network with your business associates on 3rd, 4th and 6th December. Avoid any Sunday meetings with your workmates and/ or extended family, it will be a disaster. This week will be good for you. 1st, 2nd and 6th December will be excellent days for you to schedule your important meetings. 1st December you could have a small get together with your colleagues, seniors and parents. Avoid hosting any meetings especially with your seniors on 4th December. You are bound to have disagreements.

Sudoku 6

1 3

3 2 6 52 1 5 1 5 4 43 9 51 6 9 2 85 6 4 6 3 4 3 1 1 7 45 Daily Sudoku: Fri 29-Nov-2019 2 5

1 3 81 1 62 99 4 6 76 7 3 4 2 7 9 4 8 9 3 8 1 2 3 very hard 3

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

Daily Sudoku: Fri 22-Nov-2019

You have a great week ahead of you. 30th November, 3rd and 4th December will be great days for you to share your ideas with your seniors or simply just connect with them. You could schedule your important meetings on these dates. Watch your words and actions on 5th and 6th December, you could have disagreements at work.

Not a great week for you. 4th December will be a great day for you to build a rapport with your seniors and people at work, host your important meetings on this day. 3rd and 6th December avoid making any promises, you will have to live up to them. 5th December you will be betrayed by someone you trusted.

A slow week for you with not much achievements. You will have issues at work or with your superiors or clients on 4th December, try not to get into a confrontation. 5th December will be a great day for you to build a rapport with your seniors and people at work, host your important meetings on this day.

Watch your words and actions on 2nd December, you could create your own problems. 3rd December you will be emotionally hurt either by your parents or your seniors. 6th December will be a great day for you to connect with your senior and share your ideas with him/her, host your important meetings on this day.

Watch yourself on 30th November and 6th December, avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation. You could have disagreements with your seniors or work associates, this is not a day to schedule important meetings. 2nd December you will be emotionally hurt either by your parents or your seniors. 3rd December will be a slow day for you.

30th November is an ideal day for you to mingle with your seniors and people at work and build your work network. 1st December you will be emotionally hurt by your colleagues or superiors. Be careful with your words and actions on 4th December you will create your own problems.

easy

last week solution

9 8 1 3 6 69 27 38 53 72 76 52 41 85 94 14 73 85 47 38 43 38 22 99 51 51 69 97 22 16 85 96 54 68 43 38 14 63 71 27 27 45 76 14 89 Daily Sudoku: Fri 29-Nov-2019 2 1 9 6 5

4 5 7 1 59 48 6 2 76 33 9 6 62 99 1 8 47 61 5 7 4 3 7 9 2

2 14 81 25

76 84 53 12 97 55 68

38 21 94

Horoscope of the week

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

5 13 26 39 8 very hard 3 8 7 4

Daily Sudoku: Fri 22-Nov-2019

easy

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

Dilbert By Scott Adams

Nanotechnology

Identify this world famous art gallery?

British Slang.

exhausted; tired frenzied; agitated;very unrestrained.

curio-city

Who is the first NBA star to be elected MVP, unanimously?

Pain

adjective [nak-erd] kor-] adjective [kawr-uh-ban-tik,

What cocktail do you get if you drop a shot glass of Irish Cream with whiskey in a glass of stout?

Muga silk

corybantic knackered

Antheraea Assamensis,a semi domesticated multi-voltine insect is the source of which rich Assamese product?

Irish Car Bomb

Visual Analog scale is used to measure what?

Stephen Curry

‘There is Plenty of Room at the Bottom’ by Richard Feynman in 1959,ushered in the concept of which much in vogue technology?

Uffizi at Florence

Word Word of of the the week week

curio-city

Across

Crossword Down

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

2 Fit (3) 3 Person whose speech is not well organised (7) 4 Married partner (6) 5 In which position? (5) 6 Acquit — clear (9) 7 Entertainment area with coin- operated machines (5,6) 8 Narrator (11) 12 TV show (9) 16 Issue (7) 17 Male domestic servant (6) 19 Bathroom basin (5) 23, 21 UK resident who the tax man accepts as having their "true" home elsewhere (abbr) (3-3)

Last week’s solution

Fiction

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Zerine Wahid

Fiction Carrying the large cage outside the shop, she did something which no one expected, least of all the staff from the shop. She left the cage’s door wide open for the birds to escape.

The Nestlings T he surge in traffic intensified with the advent of the twilight hour as most of the office goers were homeward bound. The streetlights hadn’t been switched on and there were still a few more minutes to go before total darkness descended. The cars too had not switched on their headlights as yet, at least not all of them, only the few cautious ones. Ayesha had just stepped outside and was about to cross an intersection, trying to remember the list of groceries that she required for dinner that night. As she crossed the street, adjacent to her apartment, she was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts by the loud screeching of motorcycle brakes, stopping just a couple of meters from where she stood, frozen. Embarrassed at her carelessness, her eyes voluntarily moved towards the biker expecting a reprimand or a glare, shameful enough to push her further into a deeper sense of guilt. She meekly turned towards him; his eyes peering from within the helmet greeted her with a smile instead. The crinkled folds from the corner of his eyes made her sense it. The young man, still waiting, nodded sideways, gesturing her to cross the street. Ayesha decided to return the favor, smiling back at him. Going on thirty-three and yet to find her Mr. Right, Ayesha’s parents were on tenterhooks, especially her mom. Her father was the only one who tried to understand her current priorities in life, at certain times, at least. She could simply not imagine herself giving up on her dreams and settling down to domestic bliss just like the scores around her. She always knew she was different and that she was still struggling with the convincing bit. Not knowing how long she would endure intrusive queries into her private life, it prodded her to push herself all the more, putting in extra hours at work, just so that she could evade the perennial question and prove herself worthy of the struggles that she was subjecting herself to. Ayesha was busy running her small startup of twelve employees in Kolkata, a city far removed from her former sheltered small-town life in the northeast, when not fending off frivolous marriage proposals. Her company produced home décor products and delivered within the country as also to a few other European countries, apart from the US. It has been generating profits only since the last three months. Nevertheless, she was happy for the time being. Living in the moment, struggling, stumbling and picking herself up, perhaps this was what bliss was. No one to blame, but taking total

responsibility of herself. She recalled the long grueling hours from the initial days. The endless paperwork required for the multiple official permissions, skyping with the overseas clients, trying to convince them that her firm could deliver within the timeline while adhering to the strictly set quality standards as well as the constant networking with her suppliers. Heaving a sigh, she realized she could do it after all, notwithstanding the doubts from her own family, as well as the extended ones. They all felt she was wasting her time. Hurrying towards the bank that day, before the staff disappeared for lunch, her attention was caught by a pet shop just beside the pavement. As she passed by, the colorful lovebirds inside the large metal cage made her pause and linger. Leftover bird food lay littered and few water bowls upturned, soaking the rice sack kept as cover to keep the cage floor clean, as the brooding birds perched upon from different vantage points. It seemed as if the birds were communicating silently within themselves, a language of utter despair and helplessness. Confused with all the noise and attention that they were getting, a feeling of wretchedness swept over Ayesha as she stood watching, rooted to that spot on the pavement. She was unable to move on for the rest of her errands. A sudden shove from behind her, startled Ayesha. Standing in the middle of the pavement, unaware of the fact that she was blocking the way for the others, preventing them from moving forward. Reluctantly, she trudged along with the rest of the pavement walkers, setting out for her next ‘to do’ on the list. She left the bank and was on her way to visit one of her raw material suppliers. Acting on the basis of a complaint from one of her clients, she had come prepared to give him an ultimatum; this particular supplier had compromised on the quality of his cane materials. As she entered the shop, Mr. Sharma had already left for lunch. An attendant offered her a glass of water while she made herself comfortable on a red plastic chair. As she took in her surroundings inside the cramped office, sitting for a good twenty minutes, Ayesha couldn’t help notice the exotic parakeets in their different modes of flight. The picture was from some lush Central American forest, on a calendar behind Mr. Sharma’s faux leather revolving chair. She had been reminded of birds too many times that day. Watching her mother put finishing touches to her makeup, little Ashu was lost in thought.

She liked to watch her mother get dressed up for occasions, often wondering when she would be old enough to apply makeup herself. That Sunday, as she observed Mrs. Hina readying for a ladies’ lunch at their home, Ashu sat behind her mother, on the edge of the bed, staring wide eyed. Distracted by a commotion from outside the window, adjacent to their bed, Ashu slid down from the large bed and drew aside the floral curtains for a clearer view. It was still unclear as to the reason behind the commotion. Besides, the conversations were unintelligible. She stood silently; her tiny hands placed upon the window sill for a few minutes until things began to get clearer. A couple of young boys had climbed up to the gulmohar tree on the edge of their garden. Watching still, as her mother continued with her makeup behind her, Ashu was too choked up with emotions as she continued peering outside. Unable to speak in order to raise an alarm as the boys and their intentions became clearer to her. Tears welled up in her eyes until she could see no more. Mr. Sharma came back from his lunch to find Ayesha staring at the calendar. He found it amusing that she was so engrossed in the picture that she hadn’t noticed him come in and sit on his chair opposite her. Only a small cough from Mr. Sharma brought her back to earth. Ayesha, embarrassed at this mock intrusion, quickly got down to business. Paying more attention now as they spoke on the protocols of business dealings,

Ayesha left satisfied. Once outside, she decided she has had enough errands run for that day. Besides, she was ravenous. It was almost half past two in the noon. As she walked in the heat to look for an eatery, it brought her back to the same spot, in front of the pet shop where the caged birds had distracted her earlier that day. Ayesha thought

of doing something she had never done before. She went inside, and inquired if she could buy all the birds. There were at least eight imprisoned birds and they all came with a price. Hurrying with the payment without a second thought, worrying that the pet shop owner might change his mind, Ayesha was soon over with the exchange. Carrying the large cage outside the shop, she did something which no one expected, least of all the staff from the shop. She left the cage’s door wide open for the birds to escape. Watching them fly away to freedom in different directions, Ayesha stood gazing up at the skies for a long time, her hunger forgotten for the moment. Ashu had been keeping watch over them as if their presence within their garden made it duty bound for her to keep an eye over them. Every day after school, she had stood beneath the tree to hear their chirpings as the parents took turns to feed them. She stood mesmerized and was held in awe each time to see how much the nestlings were being fussed over, just like human babies. “Dear, please help me set the napkins kept inside the cupboard, I’ll need at least six of them,” Mrs. Hina asked of her daughter. She had been busy supervising the house help since morning in preparing the dishes for cooking. Pomfret marinated in mustard sauce, turmeric and salt for baking. Chicken tendered in curd before being deep fried. Then there was pulao with peas. Fruits and cream for dessert and a host of other side dishes. Their house was a flurry of activity. Ashu’s mother was expecting guests that afternoon. The aroma from Mrs. Hina’s kitchen wafting outside their home often distracted the passerby. Neighbours often inquired what special dish was being cooked. The boys had scooped up the nestlings one by one and shoved them deep inside their pant pockets, taking opportunity when its parents were not at vigil but had flown to get food for its babies. Ashu knew about it but had witnessed it for herself the first time and the very notion was shocking to her. Nestlings were a much sought-after delicacy for certain sections of the local population in the Northeastern part of the country. The deed done; the boys disappeared into the vicinity as swiftly as they had come. Ashu stood numb, still watching from the window without a word, looking up towards the empty nest, oblivious that her mother had been calling out for her help in handing over the brooch lying on the dresser next to her. (Zerine Wahid is an upcoming poet and short story writer based in Guwahati city)

22 Lifestyle

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

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

olours play a big role in our lives. If a colour is not suitable, it can cause adverse effects. Likewise, wrong Vaastu can be corrected to some extent by providing the right colour. Colours like red, orange, yellow etc are potent colours and so very deep shades should be avoided. Blue and green are associated with water and nature and hence

they are suitable in the east, north and the northeast. PINK: Pink is the symbol of love and so it can be used in bedrooms of married couples. It also has healing properties and it can reduce body pains. WHITE: White is universally accepted as the symbol of peace. It is good to use white in the kitchen, puja room and bathrooms. Rooms in the south should also be painted white. When in doubt, one can always go for white. YELLOW AND SAFFRON: Both these colours are symbols of

sacrifice. Yellow also has the property to regroup or join. This colour increases the intellect and it

can be used as a treatment for arthritis. RED: This is good for people having low blood pressure. On the other hand, people suffering from high blood pressure should not use red colour. It also has aphrodisiac property. BLACK: It signifies loneliness as it is devoid of any colour. It is lucky for only those who have good or bad influence of Saturn. BLUE: It is opposite of red and it brings coolness. It can heal bodily pains. Blue is also suitable for high blood pressure and fever. Blue colour can inhibit enlarged

Chakras. GREEN: It is associated with nature and the human heart. It can reduce aggressive behaviour. Those suffering from heart diseases can use light green colour. It is also suitable for children’s room and the study. VIOLET: It is a spiritual colour. It can reduce depression. ORANGE: Orange colour can be used in kitchens situated in the southwest by mistake. It can increase ambition in men. It can also dispel negative energies. ROYAL BLUE: It can increase integrity and unity.

Suitable colours for different business Certain colours are more suitable for specific offices. For example, a builder or property developer should go for white colour in his office. Computer firms can go for any light colour except black. A chartered accountant or an audit firm should use white or light yellow colour in their offices. Those who are engaged in agency business or commission agents can use green colour. Doctors should use white colour in their chambers and hospitals as it is symbol of purity,

cleanliness and peace. They can also use light green colour. White, blue and to a certain extent, black can be used by lawyers in their chambers. A pharmacy should use pink, yellow or sky blue colour. The same combination can be used by book sellers and stationery stores. A garment shop should use pink, light yellow or green. White, pink and light green colours should be used by shops dealing in electrical items and accessories. A jewellery store should use

colour in showrooms of Compaq computers. Beauty parlours should use white or sky blue colours. Red and dark colours should be avoided. Hotels and restaurants should use white, yellow, orange and red colours. The yellow and red colours stimulate appetite. Blue is not suitable with food as it is associated with poison!

white, pink or sky blue colour in the shop. A department store or food store should use white, light pink or sky blue colours. White, blue, yellow and sky blue colours are preferable for shops selling gift items and toys. Shops selling computers and accessories should use red, pink or white colour. Red is the dominant

Assam youth makes biodegradable straws from jute

n a bid to curb the use of single use plastic, Sunam Taran, a resident of Assam’s Barpeta district has come up with a unique initiative to replace plastic straws with jute straws. Firstly, the hollow stems of jute are collected, which are washed and then cut and are later dried. These straws do not contain any chemicals or preservatives and can be reused multiple times at home. “Though there are other alternatives to plastic

straws like paper straws and wood straws, due to an uncompetitive pricing the market circulation of these products is less,” said Taran while talking to G Plus. “When plastic straws decompose they release toxins which are harmful to the environment. We are introducing the jute straw at a competitive price to plastic straws so that small restaurants can also opt for this organic product,” he added. Taran was inspired from

a Vietnamese man who first introduced this product to the world. He made straws using a certain type of grass named ‘Lepironia articulata’ that is prolific around the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Each year, there is a

staggering 8 million tons of plastic finding its way into our oceans. Among these are the plastic straws that are used daily. “Little steps like this can make a lot of difference in this world,” said Taran.

The Dream Leaving me in the Dark, She would run after the butterfly enjoying her life Far along the road side The fear of losing her was always haunting me. But I realised, The night was stealing all from my heart. In this cold snowy days, Would they march to me ! And snatch my daughter And hung her on cold woody trees ! They caught her and she left me, I ran breathlessly after them ……… Following the fire, hiding behind bushes, Running fast as my feet could take me. But, they are stronger and I am weak. I lost my energy, and fainted. Cause, they are on horses, but I’m on feet ! They caught me ….. Lying in the forest floor, Dragged me through the path, They would force me to leave my home. And pierce my heart, Then, suck my blood ! Looking into the deep pit, Cried the demon ….. Tears filled to its brim, He screamed …. “What a curse it could be ? My answer gave him peace, “The sufferings are much nearer to me Where the soul is hanging down from the tree, I can’t control myself In MY DREADFUL DREAM !”

Navaparna Gautam

Entertainment

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

Assamese adaptation of An Inspector Calls staged in Guwahati

he Assam chapter of Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) presented an Assamese play on the English drama, An Inspector Calls written by JB Priestly, on November 27 last. The play was staged at the Kumar Bhaskar Natya Mandir in Guwahati’s Uzanbazar locality. It comprised noted Assamese film actor Alok Nath along with Mrinal Das, Priyanka Sarma, Queen Hazarika, Hemanta Debnath, Sameer Jyoti and Jayanta Gogoi. The play was directed

by filmmaker Prodyut Kumar Deka. An Inspector Calls is one of Priestley’s bestknown plays and has been hailed as a classic of mid-20th century English theatre. It was first performed in the Soviet Union in 1945 and made its English debut at the Old Vic the following year.

ritically acclaimed actor Adil Hussain recently shared some details about his early travels during an interactive session at the 50th

edition of International Film Festival of India 2019 (IFFI 2019). Adil revealed that in order to debut in an Assamese film, he had rented a thatched hut in Guwahati exactly in front of a very famous director’s house in Assam. “I had rented a thatched hut in Guwahati in front of the most famous director’s house in Assam thinking that one day I would get a break,” Hussain said. “So one day the director comes out of his house

Parveen Sultana to perform in Guwahati on December 7

R 7.

enowned classical singer Padma Bhushan Begum Parveen Sultana will be performing in Guwahati on December

The musical evening has been organised by a sociocultural organisation called The Library at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra. The legendary singer was awarded the Padma Shri

Adil Hussain says he once rented a thatched hut to catch director’s eye and I come out and said, you are my hero,” the actor added. He was responding to a question from a film student who wanted to know if he ever tried to catch the attention of a filmmaker in Assam during his early days.

in 1976, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1998, and Padma Bhushan in 2014. Some of her notable works from mainstream Bollywood movies include, ‘Kaun Gali Gaye Shyam’ in Kamal Amrohi’s smash-hit ‘Pakeezah’ and ‘Humein Tumse Pyar Kitna’ from the movie ‘Kudrat’, for which she had won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Singer.

London Assamese community holds Bhupen Hazarika Sangeet Divas

he Assamese community in the UK recently celebrated Dr Bhupen Hazarika Sangeet Divas at London’s Srimanta Sankardev International Cultural Centre. The program was named Dr Bhupen Hazarika Sangeet Divas and it showcased the legend’s iconic songs with performances by both special guest artistes from Assam and artistes from England. Dr Hazarika was first invited by the Assamese community living in the UK, back in 1978. He was invited again in 1999 and 2000 to perform in England in front of a diverse audience which included Assamese, Bengali and people from various parts of India and England.

24 Catching Up

G PLUS | Nov 30 - Dec 06, 2019

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