G Plus Vol 7 Issue 7 by G Plus

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Volume 07 | Issue 07 Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019 Price `10

INSIDE

Gutka syndicate on revival mode in face of ban in Assam

PG 02

Guwahati dividers ‘wrapped’ in plastic as protection against paan/ gutka stains

Guwahati Theatre Festival 2019

PG 12-13

PG 04

Guwahati beautification hitting top gear as its wheels of fortune spin hard Atiqul Habib @guwahatiplus

uwahati city, over the last few days, is getting a bridal makeover as the entire world is set to shower its attention to the northeastern part of India owing to the Indo-Japanese summit in which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Premier Shinzō Abe

for beautifying the city by placing ornamental plants raised in large clay pots along the medians on major roads and flyovers. “We have taken up the city’s beautification drive and eye-catching plants are being put up on the medians on important roads for adding greenery to the surroundings. Many volunteers had also come forward to donate the plants.

will hold their summit meeting and also undertake a tour of the landscapes of Assam. As a part of this, the city administration is leaving no stone unturned to get the city fully prepared for an assessment on its beautification front. Green concepts are being introduced by the GMDA in its drive

In fact, we had planned to plant saplings on the medians but later decided to raise plants in pots and place them there,” said a contractor. Further, almost all the concrete structures are either getting replaced or revamped with fresh coats of paint with workers working round the clock to get work done on time.

Story ON Page 13

PATTE KHUL GAYE [ HINDI COMEDY ] Director: Rakesh Bedi Cast: Rakesh Bedi, Avijit Dutt, Kishwer Merchant, Anant Mahadevan, Rupa Ganguly

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Lead Story

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Gutka syndicate on revival mode in face of ban in Assam The government might have banned chewing tobacco on paper but the on-ground reality is that it is still easily available and even if the ban is implemented in letter and spirit, the syndicate will return to earn huge black money in the process. G Plus News @guwahatiplus

he government of Assam might be claiming that it is concerned about the health of the citizens and has accordingly banned chewing tobacco in the state for one year. But this move will again only give birth to a

banned all chewing tobacco. We do not support this. We are still selling it as so far we have not received any notification from the government,” said Sarkar. But even if it is banned and the paan shop owners do receive a notification regarding it, the syndicate is ready to start the illegal sale of the tobacco across the state. A wholesale tobacco shop owner

smokeless tobacco is banned, so the government does not get any tax from such products. So, a nexus has come to exist which bribes the authorities at Jorabat and Silguri checking points and easily bring the product to Guwahati from where it further gets distributed. People from the nexus procure shop-to-shop orders and deliver the products at the shop itself and the paan shop owners do not have

State government banned smokeless tobacco in 2013 Paan shop owners moved GHC against the government’s decision GHC favoured the government The owners again moved the Supreme Court Supreme Court in July 2014 ordered that sale of smokeless tobacco cannot be prosecuted till the case is disposed The sale of such products started again in Assam without any prosecution from the authorities following the SC norms In September 2015, SC disposed the case saying that a similar issue is pending at the Gauhati High Court SC also directed the GHC to dispose the case within three months Tobacco sale was still not prosecuted and authorities were unaware whether the tobacco is banned or not in Assam The situation gave birth to a nexus which smuggled in smokeless tobacco from Jorabat and Silguri and made shopto-shop deliveries in Guwahati Except the state government everyone in the nexus earned It also wooed the government officials who backed corruption as even they made money After the new government took charge, the health department again issued an order to all DCs and SPs to prosecute the sale and purchase of smokeless tobacco After August 2016 the authorities acted against the business only for a few days

Gutka and paan masala products displayed at a Guwahati paan shop | G Plus file photo syndicate which will earn crores by supplying smokeless tobacco illegally across the state. “In 2013 when smokeless tobacco was banned, the only thing that happened was that the price of the smokeless tobacco items increased in the state. The claimed ban was never fully implemented,” said a city-based paan shop owner Sanjay Biswas. Biswas said that the same thing will happen now adding that the paan shop owners has not received any notification so far and have no clarity about the ban. Greater Guwahati Paan Shop Association (GGPSA) general secretary, Balram Sarkar, talking to G Plus said that it was the paan shop association which requested the government to ban the tobacco which is used for gutka as it is of poor quality and could only be sold to customers if the quality of the tobacco is improved significantly by the companies producing the same. “Now I hear that they have

said under condition of anonymity that smokeless tobacco like zarda and khaini used to be easily available earlier before it was banned in the state. Even now, there are ways by which it will be easily available to the public. “People will sell it to the paan shop owners after bringing it from Jorabat in Meghalaya and Silguri in West Bengal,” the owner said adding that there are some giant distributers in the northeast and all of them have godowns at Jorabat in Meghalaya. The paan shop owners have already started contacting the people based at Jorabat. There are some suppliers who used to bring in smokeless tobacco in small quantities from Jorabat and supply it across Guwahati. These suppliers have already started contacting the paan shop owners again, said paan shop owner Sanjay Biswas. Another wholesale shop owner described the situation thus: as, according to the state government,

to go to the wholesale market for their purchases. The police and other authorities fail to enforce the ban fully as the supply of such tobacco happens in small quantities. Meghalaya has not yet banned it and so the Jorabat godowns are legal, but the illegal transportation from godowns based at Siliguri will be affected this time as even West Bengal has banned smokeless tobacco. The West Bengal government has imposed a complete ban on the production and sale of gutka, paan masala in the state for one year with effect from 7th November 2019. The Mamta Banerjee government of West Bengal has issued a notification to put a complete ban on the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of gutka and paan masala in the entire state. As per the reports, the government has taken this step to control the adverse effects of using tobacco. It was found

The paan shop owners again started selling the item easily by managing police and health officials Thereafter the sale was legalised by a court order. Recently again Assam government banned it for a year The paan shop owners are yet to get notification regarding the ban and on-ground the tobacco is easily available Meanwhile the syndicate has united and has started contacting paan shop owners Paan shop owners see the move as return of the gutka syndicate in Assam that not only adults but minors were also consuming gutka and pan masala. Earlier, the Mamata Banerjee government of West Bengal had imposed a similar ban in May 2013 for a year, which was not successful. The only state which has successfully banned smokeless tobacco is Maharashtra. The Assam government has banned the gutka, paan masala and chewing materials containing tobacco and nicotine for a period of one year in the state under Clause (A) of Sub-Section 2 of

Section 30 of the Food Safety & Security Act, 2006, recently. It was also banned in 2014 but was not successfully implemented. As per the official notification issued by the Commissioner of Food Safety of Assam government, Dr Chandrima Baruah, the prohibition has been made under the regulations of 2, 3 and 4 of the Food Safety & Standards (Prohibitions and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations 2011 of the Food Safety & Standards Act. n

Cover Story

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Guwahati beautification hitting top gear as its wheels of fortune spin hard, yellow the colour of choice From Page 01

ources close to G Plus said that the entire stretch from VIP Road to Governor House in Guwahati is getting a detailed makeover along with the stretch leading to the Assam Secretariat. Another Guwahatian said, “We all should thank Japan’s Abe as because of him and the summit the city is getting a speedy makeover. I have seen earlier as per the Smart City Project, the state government

the poles, ornamental plants put up and garbage cleaned as per the massive clean-up and beautification drive. The statue of Lachit Borphukan installed in the middle of the Brahmaputra, too, has been given a fresh makeover. Meanwhile, the boundary walls of the Taj Vivanta hotel where the Japanese Prime Minister is scheduled to halt on the night of December 15 has also been beautifully painted on Indo-Japan themes under the initiative of the Guwahati Smart City Limited. Other places in Guwahati,

A highly placed source in Dispur informed G Plus that Premier Abe’s wife Akie Abe is likely to visit Sualkuchi, popularly known as “Manchester of Assam” for its large number of cottage handloom industries. Reportedly, the entire stretch of the road connecting Sualkuchi to Guwahati, which is around 35 kms, is been repaired and polished. The India-Japan summit in Guwahati on December 15-16, the first annual summit to be held in the northeast, is expected to give a major push to the India-Japan Act East Forum as Japan plans to

Painting of walls going on a war footing | G Plus Photo has done many beautification projects but there was no pace in the work, resulting in massive chaos among the citizens as well as commuters.” “Now we have a deadline for completion; hence all the contractors and officials are awake to make this happen and its happening,” he added. It is to be mentioned that three government departments — the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDC) — are working day and night to ensure Guwahati lives up to its ‘SmartCity’ tag. Roads have been repaired and polished with new technology called milling and paving; streetlights too have got a colourful look with LED strip lights being placed around

including the Machkhowa foot over bridge, the boundary walls of the Sukreswar Temple and the chief minister’s official residence have also been included in the beautification drive. The Brahmaputra riverfront has also got a facelift with PM Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scheduled to go on a cruise on the river. Interestingly, the entire stretch of buildings on the MG Road is reportedly getting a yellow paint that has been initiated by the government. Speaking to G Plus, a businessman said, “I have seen labourers at night installing bamboo ladders and painting the buildings yellow. I heard this is an initiative from the Assam government just ahead of Japanese PM’s visit as he will be using this road to travel.”

invest around Rs 13,000 crores in projects in the eight states of the region. A section of the people of the society also allege that although it’s good to replace the old with new but this also goes with a cost and the cost goes from the commoners. It is to be mentioned that the grills on the dividers towards the Assam Secretariat have been removed and reportedly it will be replaced

with a better design making it serve the same purpose with additional miscellaneous expense which could have been refrained from.

Guwahati dividers ‘wrapped’ in plastic as protection against paan/gutka stains

To ensure that these dividers remain spick and span till the summit, the entire stretch of dividers along the busy GS Road has been reportedly covered with

plastic sheets to tackle the everpresent menace of paan and gutka stains. As witnessed commonly, a section of Guwahatians with no civic sense whatsoever, simply lower their car windows or slow down their two-wheelers and spit on the dividers. The authorities have now thought up this novel idea to keep them from staining the dividers. Meanwhile, the interesting part is that plastic is being used during a year when a plastic-free India is being promoted all over the country. n

4 City

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Viral story of the week: A Vox Pop feature

Guwahati dividers ‘wrapped’ in plastic as protection against paan/gutka stains G Plus News @guwahatiplus

head of PM Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe’s visit to Guwahati for a summit meeting on December 15, the city is getting a massive facelift. As a part of this beautification, almost all the road dividers in the city are getting fresh coats of paint with workers working round the clock to get work done on time. Meanwhile, to ensure that these dividers remain spick and span till the summit, the entire stretch of dividers along the busy GS Road has been reportedly covered with plastic sheets to tackle the ever-present menace of paan and gutka stains that result from the people’s practice of spitting out the same. Here, we present a host of comments on the shameful practice by some right-thinking followers of G Plus who made the story viral on social media with their numerous shares and comments. Thomas Pulamte The public should be ashamed. Our administration is doing as much as possible to maintain cleanliness around the city but we the public screw up everything every time. The intention of covering the divider is great but the reason is shameful. Grow up people. This is your city. Like you can’t even imagine spitting in your own house, you should feel the same for your city. If we wish to see our nation becoming a developed nation someday then we should also act in civilised manner. Chandan Barman People are making fun of “wrapped” plastic but it’s the responsibility of the so-called “citizen” of Guwahati to maintain it properly. The

government does its part but now it’s our responsibility to keep it clean. We have followers of Swachh Bharat, so these people should come forward and take initiative towards the cleanliness of the city. It’s our responsibility to treat our city like our home. And one thing, the people who actually spit on the roads of Guwahati are basically uneducated people, mostly labourers, sweepers etc. Educating them on cleanliness is the most important task right now. Neha Sharma Just because you can’t stop the “Assamese culture and colour” from the local people, the government has to take these actions. Slow claps for the innovative idea. Let’s see for how long this goes on. Ranjan Singha It’s such a shame for us Guwahatians. One can actually see the red paan stains all across the white coloured dividers on the entire GS Road stretch and no wonder this looks like the only option. Something had to be done. And before Modi-Abe summit this thing was needed because it will create a long lasting impact on their minds. How we portray ourselves defines a lot about us. Yuv Raj P. Single use plastic is being used in tons in Guwahati. Instead of this, they should have passed the rule to not spit on the dividers, simple! Such stupid ideas can only come from BJP. Just showoff nothing else! These things are temporary. The government has no love for this state. This is all done to impress the outsiders. Once gone, everything will be back to normal where people will again be seen spitting on the streets and as usual the government would not care. For years now this is how our country has been running. Raak S Kalita I would like to suggest to the government to paint the dividers in red. People will never understand. So to solve this problem, I feel this is the simplest solution. Our so-called educated

Protective plastic sheets covering road dividers of Guwahati on GS Road | G Plus Photo people of this city will never change. So instead of painting the dividers black and white, let’s paint it red. Also, the moment the plastic wrap will be removed, people will again start spitting on those dividers. Recently, I also saw the news of ‘gutka’ ban! So if it’s true, ban it as soon as possible. Saurav Chowdhury This picture that is viral on social media is a failure on multiple levels: 1. Failure as citizens, as they have no civic sense and take pride in spitting Pan/Gutka on roads 2. Failure of government, as they had to resort to plastic, which everybody else is trying to ban. Nasreen Sultana Most of the people in the world are fighting against using plastic and here in Guwahati the government is using plastic to cover the dividers to

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impress someone. Hats off! Don’t understand if this government is really working for the common people. There are a lot of ways to stop this thing but they choose the wrong way as usual. Rahul Sharma Huge applause to the administration to solve the pain of stain in a gentle way but meanwhile we must not forgot that India is promoting itself against the single use of plastic from the global aspect. This can bring a bad name for our country. If you choose to ban something, just do it. Amit Nath Why only when PM comes such initiatives are taken. Why not take a step to ensure it remains clean all year round? Fines can be imposed and a lot can be done. Have heard a lot about CCTV cameras but never

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saw a single one working. This government just knows how to show-off but what actually needs to be done is actually not happening. And in case you raise your voice against this then you are anti-national. Kalpa Saikia Put photos of goddesses or some holy pictures on the dividers like shown in the movie PK and then see the actual magic. People in our country are religious and can do anything for it. Bradley Spooner This is already making headlines in Japan about how backward we are in terms of money utilisation and solving problems in general. Shame on the administration! You have lost the faith of the people of this country. This party has done nothing but played with the humans in the name of caste and religion.

Concern

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

14 deaths reported in IIT Guwahati in 5 years, highest among 23 IITs Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

50 cases of suicide have been reported in 23 IITs in the past 5 years. 10 cases of suicide have been reported in IIMs in the past 5 years. IITG has recorded the highest number of suicides and accidental deaths – 14. The most recent case of suicide was at IIT Guwahati when a Japanese intern passed away. India records one suicide every 40 seconds. Government lays out counseling plan for premier educational institutions. 300 counselors to be part of government’s initiative to curb suicide.

he Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has recorded the highest number of suicides and accidental deaths across

all IITs in the country, reveals data shared by Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal, in response to questions raised on the issue of student suicide in the Parliament. Pokhriyal stated that of the 23 premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in India, 12 have had 50 cases of suicide in the past 5 years. The highest number of student suicides was recorded at IIT Guwahati at 14. IIT Bombay saw 7 student deaths, IIT Delhi saw 4, IIT Kanpur 1, IIT Kharagpur 5, IIT Madras 7, IIT Roorkee 2, IIT BHU 1, IIT Hyderabad 5, IIT Bhubaneshwar 2, IIT Jammu 1 and IIT Dhanbad saw 1 student death. Additionally, 10 student suicides have been reported at the 20 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the last five years, said the government in the same reply. Each day, about six students commit suicide due to academic failure in India. And there are many such students at the premier institutes of IITs and IIMs. In a recent incident in IIT Guwahati, an exchange student from Japan committed suicide on November 21. “He was supposed to return to his parent university on November 30 after completion of the exchange program. The police found him hanging from the ventilator in the bathroom,” informed the public relations officer of IIT Guwahati. The IIT-G authorities have informed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) about the tragedy so that the family in the student’s home country could be

Traffic snarl at a level crossing in Fancy Bazar | G Plus Photo intimated about the tragedy. Earlier, on January 7 this year, a B Tech student from Andhra Pradesh who was studying in the 4th semester committed suicide in IIT-G. Similarly, last year, an 18 year old mechanical engineering student from Karnataka was also found hanging from the ceiling fan of her hostel room in IIT Guwahati. A brief suicide note was also found in her room which

Government chalks out counseling plan for educational institutes

n India, a person commits suicide every 40 seconds. And India has the highest student suicide rate with nearly 38,000 students committing suicide since 2015. The country witnesses nearly 28% of global suicides despite accounting for 18% of the population worldwide. To curb the growing number of suicides, the government now wants all institutions to have wellness centers. The Ministry of Human Resource

Development (MHRD) has laid out a counseling plan for all the Indian Institutes of Technology and other higher educational institutes. The government is also considering associating with more than 300 counselors including private partners via online mechanism. It should be mentioned that IIT Guwahati has four counselors for around 6,000 students, according to its public relations officer. “Our efforts are always there to make students

not fall into such a state that they take aggressive steps such as suicide. We have counselors present inside the campus to help children dealing with depression or any other problems,” Labanu Konwar, PRO, IIT Guwahati told G Plus. He added that out of the 14 deaths reported in Guwahati, only two have been confirmed to be cases of suicide while six deaths have resulted due to natural or accidental reasons; the remaining six are still undergoing investigation.

read “Engineering sucks.” Replying to a question on the measures taken by the ministry on complaints regarding mental harassment, Pokhriyal said, “Systems are in place in IITs to

enquire and take action in all complaints from students in IIT campuses, which includes Student Grievance Cell, Disciplinary Action Committee, and Counseling Centers etc.”

6 In The News

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Assam becoming increasingly unsafe for women Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

he rape and murder of Hyderabad’s veterinary doctor Priyanka Reddy has once again brought into focus the rape culture prevailing in our society. Every day, multiple cases of crimes against women are reported in India. Now, girls and women are not merely being raped, they’re also being brutalized and burnt alive. Similar cases have also been reported in Assam and specifically in Guwahati. One such case was the Shweta Agarwal murder case wherein a bright college going student was murdered by her alleged boyfriend, put in a gunny bag and burnt. Initial reports in the Shweta Agarwal murder case also suggested that she had been raped. However, the Gauhati High Court later ruled the possibility out. Again, on July 21 this year, four men raped an 18 year old girl in

a moving truck, dumped her on the roadside and fled from the spot. In yet another unfortunate incident, a girl student was allegedly sexually abused by her uncle and cousin for several months in the city. The list of such cases is endless. According to Representative image the National Crime Records Bureau report women were recorded in Assam 2017, Assam recorded the highest in the year 2017 against 20,869 in rate of total crimes against the year 2016. These cases were women in the country in 2017, registered under various sections which was more than double the of the Indian Penal Code and the national rate. The crime rate is Special and Local Laws. calculated as a crime per one According to the data, in lakh of the population. Assam 2017, there were 27 cases of recorded 143.6% against the allmurder with rape and gang India rate of 57.9%. rape recorded in Assam, 193 A total of 23,082 crimes against

The rape and murder of Priyanka Reddy has shaken the entire country. Assam recorded the highest rate of total crimes against women in the country in 2017. Assam recorded 143.6% against the all-India rate of 57.9%.

dowry deaths, 43 abetment to suicide, three victims of acid attack, 10,598 victims of cruelty by husband or his relatives, 5703 victims of kidnapping, 123 victims of human trafficking, 14 cases of selling minor girls, 2,048 rape victims, and 3,596 cases of assault to outrage the modesty of women.

“Justice for Priyanka Reddy” protests held in Guwahati

he recent rape and murder of 26-yearold veterinary doctor Priyanka Reddy in the Shamshabad area of Hyderabad shook the entire nation. Protests are being carried out in various parts of the country to make sure the accused are brought to justice as early as possible. In Guwahati, the students and faculty of College of Veterinary Science staged a protest against the attack and demanded swift action against the four men who brutally gang-raped and murdered the victim by setting her ablaze. They took out a candlelight march on Tuesday, December 3. Several hundreds of students and teachers took part in the protest rally and demanded that the punishment system should be strict so that nobody would dare to commit rape. “This protest is not just for one victim but for all the girls who have ever faced sexual harassment and those who have been victims of rape. There is

23,082 crimes against women were recorded in Assam in 2017. 20,869 crimes against women were recorded in Assam in 2016. Protests being held in state to deliver justice to Priyanka Reddy. Students and faculty of College of Veterinary Science staged a protest in Guwahati. Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress held a candlelight protest. Former chief minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi joined the protests. Protests intensifying across the country. Police arrest four in connection with the crime.

Protest rally in Guwahati | G Plus Photo an urgent need for a change in the justice system and the enforcement of more stringent laws in our country,” a student of College of Veterinary Science

told G Plus. Similarly, on Wednesday, the Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress held a candlelight protest in Guwahati. The members of the

Mahila Congress expressed their deep condolences and demanded the government to enact a strong law against the crime. Former Assam chief minister

and senior Congress leader Tarun Gogoi also joined the protest. “Rape is a heinous crime and the government should take stern action against the rapists,” Gogoi said. The rape and murder of Priyanka Reddy has led to huge protests across the country with politicians and celebrities condemning it. Protests are also being held in other parts of the state of Assam and in the cities of Kolkata, Delhi and Hyderabad among others. Meanwhile, Hyderabad police have arrested four accused in the case and three policemen have been suspended for negligence in dealing with the case.

City

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

The Devil Wears Bataa to be staged today at Guwahati Theatre Festival G Plus News @guwahatiplus

most awaited G Plus Guwahati Theatre

Festival kicked off its fourth season in the city on Friday last. This season of the 3-day festival opened with the play Patte Khul Gaye, directed by actor-director Rakesh Bedi. Mr. …………… of WAMUL (Purabi), Mr.…….. of Bank of Baroda, Mr.………….. of Assam Tourisminaugurated the fourth season of G Plus Guwahati Theatre Festival today by lighting the ceremonial lamp at Pragjyoti ITA, Machkhowa. The inaugural team included Abinash Sharma, Festival Advisor, Sunit Jain Publisher & Managing Director, G Plus & Festival Chairman and

Swapnil Bharali - Editor G Plus & Festival Director. The first play of the festival, Patte Khul Gaye was a Hindi comedy directed by veteran theatre actor Rakesh Bedi. The festival will end with its finale play on the 8th December with “Kusoor, The Mistake,” directed and performed by Amol Palekar. Slated today is Silly Point Production’s “The Devil Wears Bataa,” to be performed by Danesh Irani, Sajeel Parakh, Dilnaz Irani, Darius Shroff and Siddharth Merchant among others. The director of the play is Meherzaad Patel. For a brief

Nipon Goswami to be conferred ‘Life in the Theatre’ Award

File photo of Nipon Goswami In recognition of his contributions to Assamese theatre, veteran stalwart and legendary theatre and cine personality, Nipon Goswami, will conferred the “Life in the Theatre” award at the 4th G Plus Guwahati Theatre Festival, on its concluding day on 8th December at the Pragjyoti, ITA Centre for Performing Arts. The award carries a citation and monetary emolument. “It will be a moment of pride that we can use this platform of the theatre festival with thousands of theatre lovers from the city to honour Shri Nipon Goswami with the award which he is most deserving of,” said an elated Sunit

Jain, Chairman of Guwahati Theatre Festival and Publisher of G Plus. The 77-year-old veteran actor has dedicated almost his entire life to theatre and has been relentlessly promoting the art since a very tender age. Apart from being involved in the Assam theatre scenario, he has also trained and performed in Europe during his lifetime. n

snapshot of the play: The setting is pre-2014 Delhi, where Sonia Gandhi is trying to groom Rahul as the next PM. But here, Dr Manmohan Singh plays his own game. Along with this on a parallel plane, you have Donald Trump, Narendra Modi and

Barrack Obama to complete a classic political satire. This festival, organised by G Plus, the leading English weekly of Guwahati in association with Guwahati in association with Assam Tourism, Apollo Hospitals, Purabi Milk, Bank of Baroda,

Indian Oil and Life Insurance Corporationaim to showcase world-class performancesby leading theatre actors coupled with quality entertainment making it a prestigious landmark in the cultural landscape of Guwahati.

8 Feature

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Tackling the onion crisis: What to do without them and yet keep food tasty? Gunjan Sharma @guwahatiplus

f you have witnessed local chanawalas add shredded radish to their chana instead of onion, you should know that the onion crisis is here! Onion is that one ingredient that always finds top spot in majority of the savoury Indian dishes. For some it is almost impossible to imagine cooking without onions. Be it raw, fried or in the form of paste, onions always find its way into any Indian kitchen. The rising prices of onions and their shortage in the market have started to punch a hole in the kitchen budget of the average Indian. Onions were being sold at Rs 100 - 110 per kg in Guwahati as on December 6 last. Recently a bizarre incident took place in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district, where thieves escaped with onions worth Rs 50,000 along with some garlic and ginger but didn’t touch the cash counter. Which clearly states: Ye-pyaaz nahi hain aasan! Onion and garlic are the heart of major cuisines from around the world. And it has a strong hold in the Indian cuisine too. For some it is very difficult, nay impossible to cook or consume meals without onions. And with picky eaters it becomes even more difficult. Though there is no substitute for the kitchen master onion, here are some options that you might try given the current scarcity of onions. Panchphoron Panchphoron (or Pas Phoron) in Assamese is a very common household whole spice blend which is used in major vegetables, meat and lentils. This spice mix is believed to have originated from the Indian subcontinent. Panchphoron means “five spices”, which includes fenugreek

seed aka methi, nigella seeds/ black cumin seed aka kalonji, cumin seeds aka jeera, black mustard seed aka sarso/rai and fennel seeds aka sauf. Panchphoron is called Pachphoṛon in Begali, Paanchphorana in Maithili, Padkaune Masala in Nepali and Panchuphutana in Odia. This mix of whole spices works as a magic on the majority of meat, vegetable and lentil dishes making them smell and taste amazing. Sirke wali muli aur gazar Raw onions sprinkled with lemon are an indispensable aside of any Indian meal. Onions are also served as sirke wala pyaaz in majority of the north Indian restaurants. For those who miss the crunch, the most easily available crunch-providing substitutes for onions could be cucumbers, carrots, radish and spring onions. And in the absence of sirke wala pyaaz or vinegar diluted onions one can try sirke wal imuli aur gazar or vinegar diluted radish/carrot. This simple combination of vegetables is easy to make and tastes great with meals. Note: There are various benefits of radishes as they are a great source of fibre, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C and calcium. They are beneficial for your digestive system and can help relieve bloating or indigestion. Just in case you want to try, here is a quick recipe: Boil water and add black pepper, cinnamon, clove, beetroot, green chillies, ginger, vinegar, sugar and salt. Let the mix boil for a few minutes. Add chopped radish and carrot in a glass jar and top it up with the mix. Keep it for 24 hours. Your vinegar diluted vegetables are ready to eat. This option definitely provides the crunch to your meal. Speaking to G Plus, Shimu Dutta, a food blogger and

columnist said, “Initially our ancestors used to cook food without onion. With the use of Indian spices like cumin and nigella seeds, one can make delicious vegetables and meat items without missing the flavour of onion.” With the ongoing

winter season she also shared a quick seasonal salad recipe with us which will make you relish your taste buds: Add lettuce leaves, fresh blanched corn, chopped tomatoes, carrots, oranges, spring onions, kiwi (optional) and grilled chicken (optional) in a bowl. For the dressing mix 4 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil, red chilli flakes, lemon and salt. Add the dressing to the fruit and vegetable mix and enjoy your delicious salad. You can also add in other fruits and vegetables according to your preference. We also spoke to Gitashri Bhuyan, a Guwahatian, who said that she makes various vegetable and meat curries without onion which taste as good as the ones with onion. She also shared her homely Sagolir Manxo aka mutton curry recipe with us.

Here goes her recipe: In a pan, add oil, bay leaves, dry chillies, cardamon aka elaichi, cinnamon aka dalchini and let it fry. Then add green chillies and ginger paste and let it fry for a few minutes. Add mutton pieces along with some

potatoes and let it cook for a while. Later add a paste of smoked or boiled tomatoes along with turmeric, salt, cumin, black pepper powder and red chilli powder for colour. Mix it all and let the meat cook until it is cooked. According to some sources, ‘Maroi Napakpi’ (chives) is commonly used by the Manipuris while cooking in place of onion, garlic and ginger. Another masala plant leaf called ‘yenammana’, is also used in place of onions.These can also be used as a tarka or tempering in vegetables and lentils. Another Guwahatian, Gunojit Sharma told G Plus that she uses a paste of coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger and tomatoes to thicken vegetable/ meat curries instead of onions. “The freshness and dominating aroma of coriander leaves add

a different flavour to the curry which won’t let you miss the flavours of onion,” she added. Devanga Pallav Saikia, from the food & beverage industry told G Plus that, there are several dishes which can be made without onion that wouldn’t compromise its taste. “In dishes like pork curry or boiled chicken where we do not generally use onion, there will be no difference in the taste if we use the right amount of garlic, ginger, cumin and a few other spices,” said Saikia. Adding he said, “I feel ginger and garlic play a major role in cooking as they add in sufficient flavours to the dish and won’t let you miss onions.” He also mentioned that with the arrival of leafy vegetables in the market like coriander, Lai Zaak aka vegetable mustard and spinach, one can easily make various meat dishes without the use of onions. Spring Onions Spring onion or scallion is another member of the Allium onion species. It is majorly green in colour with a small bulb. Spring onions are used as a vegetable and can be consumed either raw or cooked. The leaves are used to garnish dishes and sometimes even used to cook along with other vegetables or meat dishes. They have a milder taste than onions. Note: Scallions also help in improving immunity and maintaining blood pressure. Cooking without onion is not a new phenomenon; it has been a part of the Indian culinary scene since time immemorial. Many home cooks and professionals make delectable food without using onion or garlic. As most of us are in love with the flavours of onion and have made it a major part of our food habits, the news of its price hike has saddened many. Hope these options help you deal with the on-going onion crisis.

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

Mostly Sunny

Partly Cloudy

26°14° C

25°15° C

24°15° C

25°14° C

25°15° C

SATURDAY Mostly Sunny

27°14° C

City

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Change of guard at NAP T he 65th Annual General Meeting of the New Art Players (NAP), Guwahati – a premier sociocultural organisation of the region, was held successfully on November 30 at its newly

constructed building which is proposed to be a cultural complex of performing arts with its President Dipok Kumar Barthakur in the chair. The Hony. General Secretary and the Hony. Treasurer of the club submitted their respective

annual reports and audited statements of account for the year 2017-2019 and after threadbare discussion the members adopted the same. The members also deliberated on different issues for the development and welfare of the organisation and bringing the proposed cultural complex for performing arts to reality. The President in his address stressed on fulfilling the motto of New Art Players members’ dream with the mission of art, culture and society into a vision. The meeting elected the following officebearers for the year 20192021. President - Dipok Kumar Borthakur, Vice-Presidents – Ajoy Dutta and Mallika Barua, Hony. General Secretary – Rathindra Narayan Bhattacharya, Hony. Joint Secretaries – Amarjyoti Bhagawati and Utpal

File photo of New Art Players’ building under construction near TC School rotary Goswami, Hony. Treasurer- Pulak Goswami, Secretary (Ladies Wing) – Madhurima Barua, Executive

committee members - Kalyan Kumar Das, Tapas Dutta, Anupam Choudhory, Pradyut Buzarbaruah,

Progoti Bora, Niroda Chakraborty, Meernanda Borthakur and Anupjyoti Choudhury.

IIT-G professor resigns from committee investigating Brijesh Rai case

n a surprising development to the IIT-Guwahati corruption case, Uday S Dixit, Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, IIT-G has resigned from the three-member high power committee to investigate the case against whistleblower professor, Brijesh Rai. In a mail addressed to the Registrar and Secretary, Professor Uday wrote, “Kindly place my resignation from the High Power Committee to investigate cases against Dr BK Rai. Recently I had to face undue pressure and also observed that proceedings have not been conducted properly. Hence, my professional ethics does not allow to be part of the

committee.” Reacting to this, Brijesh Rai took to social media and said, “This is how the director of IIT Guwahati conducting inquiry! By putting undue pressure on committee members to give an adverse report against me. I admire Prof. Dixit that he did not succumb to the pressure of the director and instead preferred to resign. Later, the director abused, insulted and threatened Prof. Dixit because he did not do what the director wanted him to do. I cannot imagine how these people get so much courage that they are not afraid to threaten people, indulge in criminal intimidation. Perhaps, they are assured that whatever they do,

no action will be taken against them. Government is so much adamant to increase fee but does nothing against these officials and does not act on complaints of corruption.” It is to be mentioned that Brijesh Rai is now expecting termination after he purportedly unearthed several cases of corruption in the institute that have snowballed into virtual “scams.” “The management has given me a show-cause notice and I have replied. They are also not allowing me to take classes. A final decision was taken but I have not been informed officially,” Dr Rai said talking to G Plus. He is alleging that the

management is indulging in large-scale corruption thereby

compromising with the future of the students.

10 Guest Column

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Incidents of rape: Causes and Solutions E ven though the human civilization has undergone tremendous improvement in terms of the living style or the thought processes, the civilization to an extent is yet to understand the ethos of modernization or urbanization to the very essence of the words. And the conspicuous fact is that the vintage animal instinct that was prevalent among the dwellers during the early years of survival unfortunately still hasn’t left their characteristic behaviour even in the modern century, as

around the salubrious society has spread just like an epidemic, where even after numerous discussions and deliberations, we have actually not found the perfect solution to it. In a rather analytical way, if we disintegrate the word ‘rape’, and find out the reasons of its occurrence, we might come across three probable factors: a) the sickening mindset of certain individuals to jump upon the female section of the society, and thus express their animalistic attitude b) the notion that darkness or unchaperoned roaming are the

the poor upbringing of certain individuals is the basic cause behind this. Moreover, lack of education, illiteracy, proper awareness programme etc have also put a negative impact on the overall mentality of those individuals who commit heinous acts like rape. And the matter of the fact is that even after stepping into the 21st century, if people still feel ashamed to discuss about sex education or about youths attaining puberty in public, and in the process if the individuals in their adolescence period are kept in dark regarding all these vital aspects, then their

GUEST COLUMN

come across instances where more and more women are raped especially during the night-time, when they shuttle alone. And if this scenario is known to one and all, then it perplexes everyone to not to witness adequate number of streetlights being constructed by the roadsides. These streetlights, if constructed in adequate numbers, would at least to an extent make the isolated streets look bright, thus nullifying the effect of darkness, which the miscreants often take advantage of. Furthermore, if the government can come up

Bishaldeep Kakati are also of the mindset that even after committing rape, they won’t be liable for capital punishment. Hence in this regard the role of the Indian Judiciary is quite crucial. Although the judiciary of late has become stern in this regard, however the concept of ‘human rights’ often prevents the judiciary to execute the judgement within the stipulated time period. However the basic

Rape basically occurs because of the obscene mentality of certain individuals. If an individual always perceives the female section of the society as pieces of flesh to be pounced upon, then in no way incidents of rape would be reduced. a result of which many a time, human beings fail to maintain a pragmatic approach towards crucial elements constructing the society at large. The matter of fact is that even though the society demands harmony and brotherhood among people, much to the disappointment of all, in reality, it is the frequent conflicts and heinous acts that have actually covered the atmosphere of the society we reside in, thus degrading it to a great extent. And that is the reason we really need to question: Are humans really civilized? It is indeed a well established fact that in the current context, whenever we confabulate about the society, we cannot discard from its circumference the occurrence of heinous activities like cold-blooded murders, child trafficking, robbery, dacoity, mob lynching, witch hunt, etc and of course the one that is presumed to be the most atrocious of all, which is none other than ‘rape.’ And when we talk about rape, we can’t deny the fact that of late this disturbing factor lingering

Representative image two biggest foes of women, and c) the concept of human rights more often than not coming to the aid of the miscreants. And if we carefully analyze these three aspects and in the process find out the solutions, then somewhere down the line, the incidents of rape could be stopped for good. In reality, the incidents of rape basically occur because of the obscene mentality of certain individuals. If an individual always perceives the female section of the society as a piece of flesh to be pounced upon, then in no way incidents of rape would be reduced. However, if we carefully scrutinize the root cause for the development of this abhorrent mentality, then somewhere down the line, we would realize that

curiosity to know the person of the other sex would simply keep on increasing, and at a certain point if they fail to control their temptation, then that desire might pull them to commit the immoral act. However the entire deliberation is not to bestow any sort of sympathy upon the criminals, but only to eradicate this problem from the core by analyzing the causes leading to that heinous act from the base level. And thus in this regard, the role of the government as well as the guardians is very important. The second probable cause of frequent occurrence of rape has to be related to the scenario where women commute alone during the night. In fact, if we examine the incidents of rape, we would

with ideas like FASTags for vehicles to track the movement of the vehicles, then it would be also beneficial if such types of devices are provided to the female section of the society, so that the same could be used by them especially when they pass through a deserted zone. And if these devices become successful in providing pinpoint information about the location of a woman to the nearest police station, in case of emergency (by having options like SOS), then it would also become easier for the police officials to reach the spot and rescue the female individual. However, for this system to work properly, a combined effort would be required both from the IT sector as well as from the police department. Added to this, the criminals

point regarding this matter is that if someone destroys the rights of another for no valid reason, then in no situation the concept of human rights should be made applicable in the case of that criminal. And thus a change in the mindset could be really handful in order to stop the incidents of rape from occurringagain. Nevertheless, it is high time to come up with the best measures possible to stop the frequent incidents of rape, be it by raising awareness or by laying down proper legislations for the same. And in the longer run, if Indiacontinuously fails to prevent the heinous act of committing rape, then the nation would lose its pride and prestige in the global level. Thus a change at the earliest is a must. n

News This Week

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

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

Amit Shah sets 2024 deadline for NRC across pan India

Union Home Minister Amit Shah set 2024 as a deadline for implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) across the country on December 2. According to reports, before the next general election “each and every” infiltrator will be identified and expelled. “Today, I want to tell you that before the 2024 polls the NRC will be conducted across the country and each and every infiltrator identified and expelled. Rahul Baba (Congress leader Rahul Gandhi) says don’t expel them. Where will they go, what will they eat? But I assure you that before the country goes to polls in 2024 all illegal immigrants will be thrown out,” said Amit Shah in election rallies in Chakradharpur and Baharagora.

JEE Mains exam in 11 languages from Jan 2021

The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Mains) will now be offered in 11 regional languages from January 2021. According to reports, the ministry of the human resource development has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to prepare for conducting the test in at least 11 languages including Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. At present the examination is offered in English, Hindi and Gujarati only. JEE (Mains) is the national level competitive test for admission to various undergraduate engineering and architectural courses — mainly in National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institute of Information Technology and other government-funded technical institutes.

Centre extends mandatory FASTag deadline

The Centre extended the date for making FASTag mandatory for toll payments on national highways to December 15. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had earlier announced that from December 1, toll payments on highways would be accepted through FASTags only. Meanwhile, the highest FASTag per-day issuance was of 1,35,583 tags on November 26, 2019, whereas 1.03 lakh tags were issued on the day before. Post the deadline the vehicle owners will have to pay double user fee for entering FASTag lane without FASTag.

Sundar Pichai takes over as Alphabet CEO

Google CEO SundarPichai will now undertake the leadership role at Alphabet after Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped down from the post of CEO and President. Page and Brin stepped down as CEO and president, respectively, on November 3. In an official letter Page and Brin wrote, “And Alphabet and Google no longer need two CEOs and a President. Going forward, Sundar will be the CEO of both Google and Alphabet. He will be the executive responsible and accountable for leading Google, and managing Alphabet’s investment in our portfolio of Other Bets.” This move has made Pichai one of the most powerful corporate leaders of the world.

Reliance Jio to increase Tariff by 39%

Reliance Jio will raise mobile call and data charges by up to 39 per cent from December 6 through its all-in-one plans. The all-in-one plans will provide at least 1.5 GB per day of data and increased number of offnet calls, the company said in a statement. The tariff hike, which is planned to match similar increases by rival Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd will give 300 per cent more benefits. According to the new tariff plans, Jio customers will have to pay Rs 555 for 84-day validity and 1.5 GB of data per day, which is 39 per cent higher than the earlier plan of Rs 399 offering similar benefits. These plans will go-live on 6th December 2019,” Jio said in a statement.

CAB fundamentally unconstitutional: Shashi Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that the Citizenship Bill undermines the fundamental tenets of the Constitution. “I think the bill is fundamentally unconstitutional because the basic idea of India has been violated in the bill. Those who believe that religion should determine nationhood... that was the idea of Pakistan, they created Pakistan. We have always argued that our idea of nation was what Mahatma Gandhi, Nehruji, Maluana Azad, Dr Ambedkar have said, that religion cannot determine nationhood,” Tharoor told reporters. It must be noted that on December 4, the Union Cabinet cleared the bill that seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Fugitive godman Nithyananda establishes own ‘nation’ called ‘Kailaasa’

Self-styled fugitive godman, Nithyananda, has set up the ‘Republic of Kailaasa’ on an island off Ecuador in South America. A website, Kailaasa.org, believed to be run by those close to the self-styled guru, has declared that Nithyananda has founded a country that is an island off the coast of Ecuador. According to the website, Kailaasa is a nation without borders created by dispossessed Hindus from around the world who have lost the right to practice Hinduism authentically in their own countries. Earlier, the Gujarat Police announced that Nithyananda had fled the country after being named in an FIR for alleged abduction, child labour, criminal intimidation and causing hurt.

Centre approves extension of SC/ ST reservation for Lok Sabha, state assemblies

The union cabinet approved the proposal to extend the SC/ST reservation for Lok Sabha and state assemblies on December 04. It has been extended for the next 10 years. The reservation for these categories in the Lok Sabha and the assemblies was to expire on January 25, 2020. The government will bring a bill to extend the reservation in this session. It is to be noted that this system was introduced by the Constitution of India in 1950 and was supposed to be in place for the first 10 years, to ensure participation in politics by these groups which were deemed weak and needing special protection. Under the 95th amendment to Indian Constitution, this reservation is to last until 2020.

ISRO chief rejects NASA’s claim; says our own orbiter located Vikram lander

Post NASA’s claims of locating the debris of the crashed Vikram Lander on the lunar surface, Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan said that the Indian space agency’s own orbiter had located the lander and declared it on its website. He stated, “We had already declared that on our website, you can go back and see.” On September 10, ISRO had tweeted, “Vikram lander has been located by the orbiter of Chandrayaan-2, but no communication with it yet. All possible efforts are being made to establish communication with the lander.” It is to be noted that ISRO is planning to launch Chandrayaan-3 probably in November next year.

Chidambaram moved out of Tihar jail

12 Centre Spread

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Guwahati Theatre Festival 2019

The 4th edition kicked off with Patte Khul Gaye directed by Rakesh Bedi before a full house at Pragjyoti ITA, Machkhowa on 6th December to a full house. The play had the crowd in raptures, laughter that was unseen in Guwahati prior to this. Enjoy the pics...

Another scene of hilarity

Laughter and more laughter

Roopali Ganguly in full flow

Ranjeev Lal Baruah having the laugh of his life

Patt

Centre Spread

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Lighting of the ceremonial lamp at the inaugural ceremony

Host Kopil Bora introducing GTF 2019

te Khul Gaye being performed

The performers taking their final bow to a standing ovation

Monalisa Goswami and Debajit Saikia Laughing all the way

14 G Talk E

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019 T

Spruced up Guwahati

IPs visiting the city, I always felt, was an unnecessary irritant. Their travel routes, which are essentially the city’s arterial roads, would be blocked leading to massive traffic snarls that would lead to delays and wastage of the Guwahatian’s precious time. To top that would be the irritating movement of the VIP convoys with their blaring sirens that would make you wonder whether our very future is doomed if the particular VIP-in-a-hurry failed to show this urgency on the streets unmindful of the choking traffic. But Guwahati today has come a long way from being a city where there was the occasional VIP visiting once in a blue moon. Guwahati today is a happening city and will play host to slew of prestigious events from December through February: the Indo-Japan summit slated for 15th December, the Khelo India Youth Games starting from 10th January next and thereafter, the Filmfare Awards slated for February 2020. And so rightfully, Guwahati is being given a bridal makeover and contractors are literally burning the streets’ midnight lamps to finish the sprucing work on time which essentially is a tight but not unachievable deadline. I had the occasion to share a

cup of tea with a very senior government bureaucrat who happens to be an important part of the Khelo India event and he was fervently hoping that the cosmetics being applied right now to the city would hold good till the end of the Filmfare Awards. Be that as it may, whenever the government is on this sprucing-up-the-city mode (yes, it has happened before with Advantage Assam, South Asian Games etc) the debate mills start rolling with people often expressing dismay at the “wastage” of public money on the “cosmetics” rather than tackling the genuine problems of water supply, cleaner drains and better by-lanes among others that the city actually needs. This is understandable as besides the city becoming the cynosure of all eyes – albeit momentarily – such events hardly have anything more than news value and never appear to be contributing towards the city’s earnings by way of money. So, are hosting events of such magnitude really good for the city? Or should the government take tangible steps towards its “Smart City” promise that would perhaps make it more endearing to the voting public? The debate will rage on but for the moment, let’s bask in the fresh looking Guwahati. Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

Dirty politics ruining the country

nion is selling for Rs 140 to Rs 150 per kilo and the prices of petrol, diesel and other impactful products are gradually increasing in India. Unemployment still remains a major issue which is deterring development in the country and similarly there are many more such issues which require serious discussion. But our elected policymakers are busy with their own development through their politics. The state and central governments have vowed to bring in the non-Indian Hindus from Bangladesh and other countries by amending the Citizenship Amendment Act, snubbing the protests going on across northeast. How this will develop the country is known only to the politicos. Recently we witnessed a political drama in Maharashtra, where political parties misused the chair of the Governor and even the President of the country for their personal gains. Other political parties were seen compromising their long claimed ideologies for capturing the chief ministerial post. Even in Assam, development is hardly seen as some of the government departments have continuously failed to provide utilization certificates of funds given to them for development. Rather, the state politicos are busy wooing sections of the society who can back them on the move of allowing non-Indian Hindus and other non-Indian minorities to enter the state comfortably. One of the regional parties which is in power now for claiming to be anti-Bangladeshi is also gradually backing the saffron brigade to allow the non-Indians specially from Bangladesh to enter the state. Crores spent on another citizenship identification solution process named NRC which was monitored by the highest court of the country is in limbo because the elected leaders are not happy with the published list. They again want to spend some more so that their selfintended result is achieved. Therefore, all we can see in the country is dirty politics which is ruining the development process.

Aren’t we Guwahatians IDIOTS??

e at G Plus uploaded a piece of news on our Facebook page on the evening of 4th December last. To our satisfaction, the piece of news got us 90 shares within the first 20 minutes along with a plethora of comments giving indications that it will eventually go viral and which it surely did. There was however, a morbid sense of dissatisfaction as well that we happened to be the ones to break the news; dissatisfaction stemming from a deep realization that we Guwahatians are nothing short of idiots when it comes to respecting our city and keeping it clean. The headline of the news read thus:

The author writes on the shameful practice of Guwahatians spitting paan/gutka on the freshly painted dividers of the city thereby leaving ugly red stains and how the authorities have resorted to using plastic sheets for maintenance. “Guwahati Dividers ‘Wrapped’ in Plastic as Protection Against Pan/ Gutka Stains” This dirty practice of spitting paan/gutka on the roads and especially the freshly painted road dividers has had every right thinking individual of the city scratching their heads to find a solution. I recall a tweet from advocate Anita Verma a few days ago which I quote verbatim: “We need to find solutions to this menance ,people will not stop from

eating pan tamul, gutka etc.Let’s all put up our suggestions &govt can take a decision & implement the ones which is feasible. Strict measures are definitely reqd” Among a number of replies to this was one from senior journalist Mrinal Talukdar who also attached a video that bore testimony to our shamelessness. I quote him verbatim too: “Looking at the brand new divider of the GS Road, wonder do we citizens actually worth it. Why are we so shameless? Just see tomorrow, how the whole divider have been “Paan Puked” by “Citizens of Guwahati”. https://t. co/93wqrHxEIB” Anita Verma went on to tweet a number of suggestions on how to stop the menace and each

suggestion, while making a lot of sense, hardly seemed to be a solution to the idiocy that is deeply ingrained in the veins of us apathetic Guwahatians. Let me reproduce the six suggestions here just so this discussion is taken even more seriously. 1. How about closing the right side windows of the buses? 2. When people buy tamul pan, a small paper bag must be made mandatory to be given to them (like paper bags provided in the flights to puke). 3. Every public transport should have a public announcement system (recorded) reminding people not to puke on the roads, not to dirty the surroundings etc etc. 4. A little harsh, but imposing of fine can also be thought about. 5. Please bring in a compulsory subject or period in schools creating awareness

rMandatory self-defence classes for girls

O pinion Swapnil Bharali

for environment, nature, management of waste etc educating the young will definitely make them responsible citizens. 6. Have spaces for discussions amongst like-minded people, who would give finesse to the ongoing projects. I see so much development everywhere and feel happy. All the city lacks is proper sense amongst its people. @himantabiswa @ sarbanandsonwal Point no. 1 is very pertinent here. From long observation of who actually spits on the dividers, I have reason to state that it is the private city bus drivers and cabbies that are the champions of this game. More often than not, I have personally seen this. Thereafter, the spitting comes from the passenger windows of the city buses; clearly these are people who may be residents of the city but who have no sense of belonging to Guwahati or may be outsiders and happen to be just passing through on work in which case their apathy towards the city is understandable but unpardonable. Guwahati’s traffic is such that it is impossible to catch the errant idiot in the bus ahead either physically or on a camera. The whole spitting activity takes place in a jiffy and finding an immediate solution seems a far cry. The municipal authorities using plastic sheets to protect the newly painted dividers, especially when the hue and cry for discontinuing plastic usage has reached its peak, is a nothing but a great shame on us that make us look like listless nincompoops in front of the whole world. Paan/gutka and tamul will always be consumed so long the stuff is available. But we Guwahatians truly need to stop being the idiots that we are with this spitting practice and we have to stop right now.

Letter to the Editor

Today, sexual harassment is a burning issue in our country. Almost every day cases of harassment are taking place in India. Female security has become a major issue nowadays. Cases of rape and gang rape are increasing rapidly. Where the world is talking about equality, a girl cannot even park her vehicle on the roadside without questioning her safety. India especially has become a rape prone country. Most of the time the victim is blamed and no action is taken against the accused. Since increased brutality has become a normal thing we need to take some serious measures to protect the girls of this nation. One of the measures could be introducing self defence classes for students in every institute. In the system of “mandatory 75% attendance,” they should also add “mandatory self defence classes.” I hereby request the authorities concerned to take note of this safety measure and try to implement it for the safety of the girls of this nation. Susmita Baruah Royal Global University, Guwahati, Assam

In Focus

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Ghy gets its first Bicycle Lane at Dakhingaon-Sawkuchi stretch I cyclists were run over by a speeding car in front of Janata Bhawan in Guwahati recently. Reacting to the news, Guwahatians mostly gave a mixed reaction and shared their views on the social media channels of G Plus. Bicycle Mayor of Guwahati, Arshel Akhter stated, “We have been demanding for dedicated cycling tracks in the city since a long time. This project was taken up by PWD on its own. This is a small start and I am hopeful more will be done after getting positive feedback from the people. I look forward to the government agencies to take our views and feedback while going ahead with future projects. It will be the responsibility of all of us to keep the tracks away from encroachment and destruction by irresponsible people.” Bhargav Dutta wrote “Guwahati, Smart City needs more bicycle lanes. It will bring the ‘Pedal Culture’ among Guwahatians, which will bring good health, less pollution and reduced traffic.” On the other hand, some citizens were sceptical on the proper functioning of these

n a bid to make the city more environment-friendly, the state government has constructed the first bicycle lane for cyclists in Dakhingaon area. With several citizens becoming environmentally and health-conscious, this stretch will give people the pleasure of cycling, without the chaos and danger of doing the same on the roads. Speaking to Arshel Akhtar, the Cycle Mayor of Guwahati, “This is a good initiative from the state PWD department and is done under Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) and we expect this should be done inside the city also.” “The current stretch which is constructed at one corner of the city has been built with all technical specifications and based on the feedback of the citizens, the government may develop such tracks in other parts of the city,” he added. It is to be mentioned that a cycle track is also being constructed inside the ‘Tech City’ in Mirza, Guwahati. It is to be mentioned that this lane should minimise the chances of road accidents; two

lanes. “I hope it doesn’t turn out to be a parking place for two wheelers. Also illegal encroachments by street vendors who will later cry foul over eviction,” wrote Bishal Bharadwaj.

“Great work... but awareness is also required... vendors, motorcyclists, even people walking should be strictly prohibited,” added another citizen. “Strict rules and regulations

should be made... At the same time those rules need to be circulated through different media to the public so that everyone knows the consequences of breaking the law!” wrote Sarborsing Hanse Nongpli.

Cycle track at Dakhingaon-Sawkuchi stretch In a bid to make the city more environment-friendly, the state government has constructed the first bicycle lane for the cyclists in Dakhingaon area. Comments on the digital channels of G Plus: Chiranjit

Chandan Das

Nilutpal Kashyap

Sarborsing Hanse Nongpli

The constant thought is coming in my mind is that a few weeks later people may ride motorcycles or pedestrians would be seen roaming in that bicycle lane. And as much as I know the people of Guwahati, this will surely happen. People here lack civic sense.

They could have fixed hundreds of potholes with that money. Could also have covered a number of manholes that are left uncovered. But cycle track was important for the government. Worthless! In coming days we will see teenagers drinking and dating in that place.

Dhritiman Sharma

Shocked to see the slew of negative comments after this initiative by the government. This initiative has happened in our locality and we use it daily. And we will make sure it remains a cycle track and does not turn into anything else. I urge everyone to try and use this facility to make sure that it turns into a success.

Arshel Akhter

It’s a great initiative by the government. This will help in building the habit of cycling which is indeed a brilliant physical exercise and also will handy in the efforts of building a clean environment. Sarbananda Sonowal, your efforts are outstanding and praiseworthy.

Strict rules and regulations should be made from now on. At the same time those rules need to be circulated through different media to the public so that everyone knows the consequences of breaking the law. I hope bikers don’t bring their bikes on these tracks during traffic jams like we see on a normal day in our city.

Animesh Sonowal

To be honest the cycle lane is very small comparatively to other states. Hope they utilized the whole fund for this project because it’s a matter of suspicion. Quite visible that half of the money is in administrations’ pocket.

Thanks for covering the news. We have been demanding for dedicated cycling tracks in the city since a long time. This project was taken up by PWD on its own. This is a small start and I am hopeful more will be done after getting positive feedback from the people. I look forward to the government agencies to take our views and feedback while going ahead with future projects. It will be the responsibility of all of us to keep the tracks away from encroachment and destruction by irresponsible people.

16 Buzz

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Guwahati Taekwondo

302 students placed player wins two medals at South in two days at IIT-G Asian Games

arsha Singha, a Taekwondo player from Guwahati, won gold medal in (U-29 pair) and bronze (individual) at the South Asian Games 2019 held in Kathmandu, Nepal on December 2 last. Singha won the gold with Gaurav Singh in the pair poomsae (23 years above to under-29 category) event. India bagged as many as nine medals, including two golds, in the Taekwondo event of the 13th edition of the games. The second gold for India was won by male team poomsae (17 years above to under-23 category) with the trio of Lalthlamunapuia, Lalafakzuala and Daniel Lalhumthanga claiming the top honours.

Dipshikha Baruah becomes first Assamese woman to become international Taekwondo referee

ssam’s Dipshikha Baruah has become the first Assamese woman to be certified as an international referee of taekwondo. The International Taekwondo

Federation held the programme in Wuxi, China. Baruah is a resident of Noonmati area and currently resides in Manama, Bahrain where she is the physical education teacher at the Indian School. She is also the umpire of Bahrain Taekwondo Association. She has been practicing the

sport since 2007 and has won several competitions at state and central levels. Talking to G Plus, she said, “I am grateful to my home state of Assam for my upbringing and I can’t express it in words, the immense love I have for Assam. I am proud to be an Assamese and a proud Indian.”

lacements at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati is going on in full swing for 201920 with a total of 302 offers made in the first two days. Monday was the second day of campus recruitment and the

American Express, Quadeye, Oracle (14 offers), Bajaj, Google and more. These offers are for SDE, Analyst, Systems Engineer, Product Engineer, Analog/ Digital Engineer, Engineer Trainee, etc job profiles.

premier institute has received offers from companies like Microsoft (19 offers), Uber, Goldman Sachs (9 offers), JPMC (9 offers), IBM, Nutanix,

The Institute has also received several international offers from companies like Microsoft, Uber, Accenture Japan, SOU Japan and BNY Melon USA.

City school organises International Quality Circle Programme for students

PS International School launched the 1st International Quality Circle Programme for students in its school campus titled NPSQC-2019 from December 02-04. Two international schools from Mauritius along with 10 schools

for Peace and Prosperity of Mankind.” The students took part in various competitions like math competition, singing competition, debate competition and more. The chief guest for the event was Madhukar Narrain, Head of the Delegation, Chairman

from Guwahati took part in the event. The theme of the programme was “Sustainable Development

Mauritian Society for Quality Control Circles, Director General, World Council for Total Quality and Excellence in Education.

Feature

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Emotional Intelligence W

hat does the idea - the concept of “Emotional Intelligence” mean to someone like the author who is a 23 year old fresh college pass out ready to take on the increasing sophistication and adrenaline of the 21 st century lifestyle? There happen to be numerous instances on a daily basis which have successfully reinforced my belief in an already obvious conclusion: that in modern day society, emotional intelligence should (and does) demand greater importance and significance than rational intelligence (typically called the IQ level). Look around and you will find impatient, occasionally grumpy, and increasingly

Emotional Intelligence refers to the ability of an individual to respond accurately to social situations and complexities. An emotionally intelligent individual has a positive temperament, the ability to properly assess the situation he or she find themselves in, and respond accordingly.

volatile elements at a variety of locations you happen to be present at during the course of a typical day, be it your workplace or when you are in the middle of the road (regardless of being the driver or the driven), at restaurants and shopping malls and even in movie theatres. The interesting part, however, is that in many cases these volatile elements are highly educated, intelligent and respected members of society. The ever-increasing strains and demands of modern lifestyle leading to “neural hijackings” (physiological term indicating exaggerated responses to relatively trivial issues, which the person later regrets upon introspection) has made things worse, and this problem seems to plague a large section of the society, particularly the youth. To understand what Emotional Intelligence is all about, consider

the following lines from “The Nicomachean Ethics”- a treatise on ethics by the great 4th century philosopher, Aristotle: “Anyone can become angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.” A concise, to-the-point statement which brilliantly encapsulates the dilemma modern society finds itself in. The statement can be successfully extended to a range of other emotions whose unrestrained and unchecked flow could prove to be detrimental in social interactions. In other words, Emotional Intelligence refers to the ability of an individual to respond accurately to social situations and complexities. An emotionally intelligent individual has a positive

temperament, the ability to properly assess the situation he or she find themselves in, and respond accordingly. They make more relevant and informed decisions and stay balanced throughout thus making them good leaders and better team players. In today’s day and age of increasing selfobsession and the unfortunate weakening of the social fabric, the emotional intellect plays a crucial role in holding together the threads of this fabric and ensuring the survival of a cooperative, caring and understanding society. It is also important to realise that divorcing emotions in order to make a suitable and proper decision is not a solution in itself. In fact, from a purely biological point of view, millions of years of evolution has ensured that the “emotional brain” (regulated by a region called the Amygdala) has intricate connections to the “rational brain” (the region of the cerebral cortex) and plays a major role in influencing our assessment of a particular situation and subsequent behaviours and responses. In addition to this, positive emotions such as empathy, optimism and compassion have, time and again, proved to be the glue that binds a healthy society

Dhiman Kakati

together, as discussed earlier. And this is where the role of the society’s youth comes into play which is all the more important because they are the future of this society. From a professional point of view, it is not enough to have vast academic knowledge and a commendable set of soft skills to survive in the professional world. Emotional Intelligence helps us get along with colleagues and work as a team by means of empathy and collaboration, in maintaining a positive approach to work and give mature and sensible responses to various complications emerging out of the workplace. It will make us better and more efficient professionals. On top of that, the importance of emotional intelligence in our personal lives cannot be overemphasized. Managing our emotions and understanding those of our loved ones are the keys to maintaining healthy and durable relationships. It adds quality to our relationships and strengthens them further. Emotional Intelligence is no rocket science, either. All one needs to do is manage one’s emotions, behave in a gentle and suitable manner and try and empathize with the other party. And with patience and noble intent, it is not difficult to master at all. Hence, for a better quality of life, a proper combination of emotions and logic is of utmost necessity. And it calls for immediate action on the part of the individual to realise this dream of a healthy and cooperative society. n

Now married couples can avail pension by investing Rs 100 per month

he Narendra Modi government has launched two social security schemes under which married couples can ensure a yearly pension of Rs 72,000 by investing just Rs 100 each per month from the age of 30. The schemes are Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) and National Pension Scheme for Traders and SelfEmployed Persons (NPSTraders). Speaking at a ‘Pension Week’ event last week, Union Minister for Labour and Employment

Santosh Kumar Gangwar said that both the schemes are and simple and hassle-free. One needs just Aadhaar and Savings Bank account or Jandhan Account to enrol in the scheme. “It takes only 2-3 minutes to get oneself enrolled under the schemes. The monthly contribution has been kept at the lowest level that ranges from Rs 55 to Rs 200 per month depending upon the entry ages of the

subscriber,” the minister said. Gangwar explained that if a person is 30 years old, his monthly contribution in the schemes would be around Rs 100 per month. Thus, he will have to contribute just Rs 1,200 in a year and Rs 36,000 in his entire contribution period. However, after attaining 60 years, he will get Rs 36,000 per year as pension. The minister said, “The life table clearly indicates that if a person reaches 60 years, he is likely to survive around 80 years of his age. In this way, he will get Rs 36,000 pension per year.”

18 Review

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Starring: Kartik Aaryan, Bhumi Pednekar, Ananya Panday, Aparshakti Khurrana Director: Mudassar Aziz

Patni Aur Woh

irst thing first. The makers have changed the word ‘balatkari’ with ‘bada sanskari’ in the long dialogue about the plight of husbands. Who says public outrage doesn’t bother Bollywood filmmakers! That doesn’t mean director Mudassar Aziz’s Pati, Patni Aur Woh is without misplaced priorities and wrong validating sermons. But all this is so funny, intentionally, that you’d be reeling with laughter. Married for three years, Chintu Tyagi (Kartik Aaryan) and Vedika Tripathi (Bhumi Pednekar) live in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur. Tyagi is an IIT Kanpur graduate working in the Public Works Department.

His uneventful life doesn’t go beyond his office and home, and it seems pretty much on track except there’s no thrill. He still talks about his college crush and wants more intimacy from his relationship with Tripathi. A twist in the tale comes with Delhi girl Tapasya Singh (Ananya Panday) who wants Tyagi’s help in opening a garment store in Kanpur. What seems like harmless fun in the beginning soon puts Tyagi’s marriage at stake. Before we proceed, take a little pause to talk about Aparshakti Khurrana, who plays hero’s best friend Fahim Rizvi. Khurrana has been there, many times, but how does he get it different and

funny, everytime? Subtly, he brings in nuances to a mostly typecast character. It’s not just about comic timing but reading the milieu distinctly. His ‘friend’ game is on point, thanks to quirky dialogue delivery style without being subdued in the presence of the lead actor. Pati, Patni Aur Woh belongs to Aaryan though as he hasn’t put any foot wrong in the film. He delivers more than what was promised. He is funny, sincere, affable and in control. The same goes with Pednekar, who keeps switching gears at right moments despite giving strong Tanu Weds Manu Returns vibes. In fact, at one point, I thought she almost spoke the ‘bewafa-badchalan’ dialogue. She plays a physics teacher who aspires to live in Delhi for its restaurants and clubs. Her character plays the sheet anchor for both Aaryan and Panday. She is never docile and displays a very believable undertone of being adventurous, something that supplements the film’s quirkiness. A shout out to Mudassar Aziz’s dialogues, who has transformed an ordinary story into a laugh riot without demeaning any of the characters. Though some of the reasons given for behavioural patterns come straight out of his imagination than actual studies but he makes up for it with super comic situations. Pati, Patni Aur Woh leaves you guilt-free even if you laugh on somebody else’s expense. At 126 minutes, Pati, Patni Aur Woh is an easy-breezy watch, provided you don’t take it as the final word on relationships. It’s really funny to see the chaos in Chintu Tyagi’s life. Don’t be judgmental though!

Samsung Galaxy M10s The Galaxy M10s shares the same design as the Galaxy M10, with the highlight being a big display with a waterdrop notch. Samsung has increased the size of the display, and it now measures 6.4 inches. It has thin bezels at the top and the sides though the bottom bezel is chunky in comparison.

The waterdrop notch houses the selfie camera and has a tiny earpiece grille above it which is easy to miss thanks to its black finish. Pick the phone up and you will notice that it is relatively light at 169g. The sides of the Galaxy M10s are curved which makes it comfortable to hold. It measures 7.8mm

Pati Patni Aur Woh 09:10 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 02:50 PM, 03:25 PM, 05:40 PM, 08:30 PM, 09:20 PM Panipat 09:30 AM, 10:05 AM, 01:40 PM, 05:15 PM, 08:50 PM Pratighaat 01:00 PM, 06:55 PM Frozen 2 (English) 01:45 PM Hotel Mumbai 04:10 PM Knives Out (English) 06:10 PM Commando 3 09:00 PM Anuradha Cineplex, Noonmati 0361 2656968 Pati Patni Aur Woh 10:30 AM, 06:00 PM Aamis (Assamese) 12:45 PM Panipat 02:50 PM Pratighaat (Assamese) 08:20 PM

Grande Cines, Paltan Bazar 09854017771

Pati Patni Aur Woh 10:00 AM, 12:30 PM, 03:00 PM, 05:30 PM, 09:00 PM Panipat 10:10 AM, 05:45 PM, 08:15 PM

same about the volume buttons.

Specifications

In order to compete in the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment, Samsung launched the Galaxy M10 earlier this year. While it was affordable by Samsung’s standards, it wasn’t very well equipped to take on the competition. Samsung has now launched an update to the Galaxy M10, aptly called the Galaxy M10s. This new smartphone brings in a lot of improvements over the Galaxy M10 Rs. 7,499 in the form of a fingerprint scanner, an AMOLED display, and more. Do these improvements make the Galaxy M10s Rs. 8,499 more desirable? We review it to find out.

Design

Cinepolis, Christian Basti 09435025808

in thickness and packs in a 4,000mAh battery. All the buttons are on the right. We found the power button to be easy to reach but we can’t say the

The Galaxy M10 had a weak processor, but the Galaxy M10s seems to have gotten an upgrade in the form of the Samsung Exynos 7884B. This is an octacore processor with two ARM Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 1.6GHz and six more Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.35GHz. The Galaxy M10s is available in one configuration only, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, priced at Rs. 8,999. You’ll get around 22GB of storage free for use out of the box. You

Pratighaat (Assamese) 01:20 PM Aamis (Assamese) 03:30 PM

PVR Cinemas, Dona Planet 08800900009 Panipat 09:00 AM, 12:20 PM, 05:50 PM, 09:20 PM Pati Patni Aur Woh 09:30 AM, 12:30 PM, 03:50 PM, 06:40 PM, 09:30 PM Pratighaat (Assamese) 03:20 PM

PVR Cinemas, CITY CENTRE 0124 470 8100 Panipat 09:00 AM, 10:30 AM, 02:00 PM, 05:30 PM, 08:05 PM, 09:00 PM Pati Patni Aur Woh 09:10 AM, 10:10 AM, 01:00 PM, 02:50 PM, 03:50 PM, 06:05 PM, 06:40 PM, 08:00 PM, 09:30 PM Bala 10:00 AM Frozen 2 (Hindi) 12:30 PM Frozen 2 (English) 05:40 PM Pratighaat (Assamese) 12:30 PM, 05:35 PM Commando 3 12:50 PM Ratnakar (Assamese) 03:00 PM Aamis (Assamese) 03:40 PM Hotel Mumbai (UA) 08:55 PM

do get the option to expand storage by up to 512GB using a microSD card.

Verdict However, competition is brutal and the Galaxy M10s does not have a lot to offer in terms of performance. The Exynos processor is only good for simple tasks; throw anything heavy and it does stumble. Samsung also needs to put some more work into the cameras if it wants to dominate this segment. We don’t need lots of additional cameras, but improving lowlight performance and bumping up the focus speed with software updates would help the Galaxy M10s immensely. If you are looking specifically for a Samsung device on a budget, the Galaxy M10s will do just fine. However, you should also consider options such as the Realme 5 or the Redmi Note 7S at this price level. If you value battery life, then you could consider the Samsung Galaxy M30. (Review from NDTV Gadgets)

Trotter

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Delay in cycle repair prompts boy to write to Kerala Police

10-year-old boy from Kerala decided to approach the police when his and his brother’s cycles were not repaired for over two months. Abin, a student of class 5 in Kozhikode, sent a handwritten note to Meppayur police station seeking their help in the matter. In the letter dated November 25, Abin wrote that he and his brother had dropped off their cycles to be repaired on September 5. The letter, written in Malayalam, explained that the shop owner failed to return the cycles despite multiple calls. “He’s closed at the shop,” the 10-year-old wrote, asking the

police for help and adding that there is no one at home who could intervene on their behalf. Recently, Kerala Police shared a photo of the letter, written on a page out of a notebook, on Facebook. They revealed that they acted on the complaint and their officer, Radhika NP, went to the shop to enquire about the

delay. The shopkeeper reportedly said that he had not been able to repair the two cycles as he was sick and busy with his son’s wedding, and promised to deliver them soon. Kerala Police later shared an update on Facebook saying that the brothers had been reunited with their cycles. They also shared a photo of Abin and his brother with their cycles. Kerala Police’s post has collected over 65,000 ‘likes’ and more than 4,000 ‘shares’, along with thousands of appreciative comments. “Good job,” wrote one person, praising Kerala Police, while another said “Thank you for helping.” (Source: ndtv)

Company giving non-smoking employees 6 extra vacation days

company in Japan is giving employees who don’t smoke an extra six days off to make up for smokers’ cigarette breaks. Tokyo-based marketing firm, Piala Inc, introduced the policy after an employee complained about cigarette breaks affecting productivity. The company’s office is on the 29th floor, and anyone needing a cigarette break would have to go to the basement. The breaks would usually last 15 minutes, which led to resentment amongst employees who don’t smoke. After hearing about the complaint, the company’s CEO,

Takao Asuka, decided to grant six extra days of paid leaves to non-smoking employees as compensation. “One of our non-smoking staff put a message in the company suggestion box earlier in the year saying that smoking breaks were

causing problems,” said Hirotaka Matsushima, a spokesman for Piala Inc. “Our CEO saw the comment and agreed, so we are giving non-smokers some extra time off to compensate.” “I hope to encourage employees to quit smoking through incentives rather than penalties or coercion,” Asuka told a daily. An increasing number of companies in Japan are stepping up efforts to curb smoking, where most bars and restaurants allow customers to smoke. Last year, Tokyo’s city government also passed strict anti-smoking rules ahead of the 2020 Olympics. (Source: ndtv)

Mum gives birth to rare conjoined twins with three arms and shared organs

woman has given birth to conjoined twins who have one body with three arms. Babita Ahirwar, 21, and husband Jaswant Singh had been told they were expecting twins, but doctors realised something was amiss 34 weeks into the pregnancy. They were told that an ultrasound revealed the very rare form of conjoined twins. Jaswant said, “My wife fainted after she saw the baby. We are shocked. It is unbelievable. Everyone is shocked to see them. We cannot believe our child has two heads. We were told after ultrasound that we are going to have twins. We were very happy to have two kids but it is one baby with two

heads. “This is my baby and I will raise him as he is. I am yet to hold him in my arms. People are saying many things but he is my baby and I will take him home. I do not have money for an operation. As long as he is alive, I will love him and take care of him.” The babies share internal

organs and are now under round-the-clock observation. Child specialist at their district hospital in India, Dr Surendra Sonkar, said the baby would be moved to an advanced unit for further treatment. She said, “They are a case of conjoined twins. We are taking care of the baby and will take opinions of expert doctors in Bhopal and Delhi, who had earlier done operations on such kids.” Dr Pratibha Oswal said, “This is the first child of the woman, who was married one and a half years ago. She had come to the hospital in the 35th week of the pregnancy and during the ultrasound we found she is carrying conjoined twins.” (Source: metro.co.uk)

Patient in Britain diagnosed with monkeypox

person in England has been diagnosed with the rare viral infection “monkeypox,” Public Health England (PHE) has said. The patient is believed to have contracted the infection while visiting Nigeria and is currently being treated at the specialist high consequence infectious disease centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. Close contacts of the patient, including those who travelled in close proximity to them on the flight from Nigeria to the UK, are being contacted. PHE said monkeypox is a rare viral infection that does not spread easily between people and the risk to the general public in England is very low. It is usually a self-limiting

illness and most people recover within a few weeks. However, severe illness can occur in some individuals. PHE said the patient was staying in south-west England before they were transferred to Guy’s and St Thomas’. It said it is working with the NHS to implement “rapid infection control procedures, including contacting people who might have been in close contact with the individual.” (Source: metro.co.uk)

Woman builds pub in back garden to deter husband going to his local

ayne Tapper, 48, had enough of her husband Paul going to the local pub all the time. So she created a pub at home to keep him nearby. The cabin-style pub, called Doghouse Inn, took five months to build and now hosts parties for Paul and his pals. Jayne, a nurse from Newton Abbot, Devon, said, “My husband Paul, 53, an engineer, had always loved popping down to our local and I could never seem to keep him at home. And so I got thinking – why not create my own pub, become my own landlady and then I can really tell people – my husband’s in the doghouse! We’d had to get the garden levelled out anyway, which had been expensive – over £15,000 – and it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to play out what I’d always wanted. “He won’t want to go to the

local anymore. We have three basset hounds and a mate was able to create us a sign for the front of the pub, with one of our dogs, Rufus on. Then I worked on making it like a proper pub because to start with, it was just like a log house. But I wanted people to be astounded so we continued to transform it into a mini pub.” Jayne’s three children, Tom, 31, Lorren, 24 and Jack, 26, all love the pub in the garden too as they’re able to have friends around and get in the drinks without spending all their cash. (Source: metro.co.uk)

20 Fun Jayashree Bose

9th and 13th December will be great days for you to schedule your important meetings and share your ideas with your seniors. 12th December you will be emotionally hurt by your colleagues or superiors. 11th December you could have a fall out with a superior or someone at work. Be careful while dealing with the opposite gender on 8th December, ladies should avoid blind dates. December 12th and 13th 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 will feel betrayed by someone at work or your senior on 9th December. It’s not a day to trust others with your secrets.

Ideal time to just take a break from work. 7th 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. Lay low on 11th and 12th December, you are bound to have disagreement with people at work or there could be changes in your work place. 13th December will be a great day for you to share your ideas with your seniors and build a relationship with them. Host your important meetings on this day. 9th December be careful of your words and actions, you will create your own problems. 8th December you will be betrayed by someone close to you.

You have a better than average week ahead of you. 7th and 12th 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 11th December, you could create your own problems. You could have a fall out with your workmates or seniors on 8th December.

This will be an ideal week to take a break from work. Utilize the time catching up with your chores at home. If you can’t take a break then avoid scheduling important meetings the entire week. 12th December will be a slow day for you. Avoid scheduling important work for 11th December, you will not get the desired outcome.

Avoid meeting up with your seniors or extended family on 8th December, things will not go according to plan. 9th 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. Avoid scheduling important work for 11th December, you will not get the desired outcome.

7th December will be a great day for you to share your ideas with your seniors or simply just connect with them. You could schedule your important meetings on this day. Watch yourself on 9th and 12th December, avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation.

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

If you have been wanting a holiday then this will be the week to go for it. However, your week will be eventful. Avoid hosting any meetings 13th December, you are bound to have disagreements. On 10th December you will feel others are ungrateful especially your senior or your parents. 7th December will be a slow day for you. 12th and 13th December will be excellent days for you to schedule your important meetings. Your seniors will be receptive to your ideas. 10th December try to keep a low profile. Avoid hosting any meetings especially with your seniors on 11th December, you might not get the outcome you desire. 8th and 9th December will be great days for you to build a rapport with your seniors and people at work, host your important meetings on 9th December. You could host a brunch or a dinner on 8th December and catch u with your extended family. Avoid hosting any meetings on 7th December, you will get into a confrontation.

You are going to have an amazing week. 7th, 8th and 12th December are ideal days for you to mingle with your seniors and people at work and build your work network. You could be betrayed by someone close on 13th December. Avoid hosting any meetings on 10th December, things will not go according to plan.

Sudoku 8 2 1 3 1 4 46

3 3 5 51 2 4 7 9 6 9 8

5 4 8 5 4 2 94 7 25 6 6 7 86 2 9

Daily Sudoku: Fri 6-Dec-2019

9 2 1 2 93 6 4 6 39 24 3 1 4 8 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 29-Nov-2019

very hard

last week solution

9 6 8 2 7 19 38 21 43 96 46 52 73 65 87 67 15 34 58 49 51 27 48 94 13 84 73 92 39 25 35 86 59 12 61 78 99 15 86 54 23 41 66 77 32 Daily Sudoku: Fri 6-Dec-2019 2 4 7 1 8

3 5 1 5 57 76 4 1 93 89 1 8 69 32 2 7 28 93 6 6 8 4 7 2 3

4 28 42 17

56 15 61 47 39 24 73

74 82 16

Horoscope of the week

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

9 41 58 85 9 very hard 5 3 6 9

Daily Sudoku: Fri 29-Nov-2019

very hard

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

Who recently referred to himself as ‘the Ernest Hemingway of tweet’?

Complete the list Sutanuti,Gobindapur and ........?

Dura Kaso is the local name of which endangered species found only at the Manas National Park?

Identify this famous album from this 30th commemorative cover?

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

Dilbert By Scott Adams

curio-city

Which esoteric religion derives its name from the Arabic word for Glory or Splendour?

2. 3. 4.

Which popular place of pilgrimage in India is also known as Kaliyuga Vaikuntham?

Tirupati, because Lord Venkateswara is believed to have rescued humanity from the travails of Kaliyuga here Bahaii from Baha, Arabic for Glory or Splendor Who else but Donald Trump Kolikata, the three villages which amalgamated to form Kolkata Assam Roofed Turtle Joshua Tree by U2

http://www.dailysudoku.com/

5. 6.

curio-city

Across

Word of the week bonhomie knackered

[ bon-uh-mee, bon-uh-mee; adjective [nak-erd] French baw-naw-mee ] British Slang. noun frank andexhausted; simple good-heartedness; very tired a goodnatured manner; friendliness; geniality.

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

Entertainment

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

Assam’s first 3D animation film to be screened in USA

Blind Dog – the first 3D animation film of Assam – has been selected for screening at the Cine Next Festival section in Bay Area South Asian Film Festival 2019, in San Jose California.

The film has been produced by Axl Hazarika and directed and animated by Riyan Hazarika. It has also been selected at the 29 th Istanbul International Short Film Festival, 126th APA Convention, 60 th International

Petersburg Festival Film, Cardiff International Film Festival, and Golden Peak Film Festival among others. Along with A Blind Dog, Reema Das’s Bulbul Can Sing, has also been selected for screening in the same category.

Guwahati International Guitar Festival to be held on December 19-20

he Guwahati International Guitar Festival (GIGF) and Workshop for Children will be held at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati on December 19-20. The event is being organised

by Directorate of Museums, Assam along with Indian Guitar Federation (IGF) and Camoes (Portuguese Cultural Centre). A number of renowned and internationally acclaimed musicians will be a part of the event and it will also put emphasis on music workshops as

well to boost the skills of young musicians. Some of the notable musicians to take part in the event will be Spain’s Vi Blau, Hugo Gamboias and Diogo Passos of Portugal and Ranajit Sengupta (sarod) and Andre Krengel (guitar) with Kaushik Banerjee (tabla).

Assam’s Sanghamitra Deka shines at beauty pageant in Colombo

ssam’s Sanghamitra Deka was crowned as the 2nd runners up in the Miss & Mrs Global Universe Contest 201920 held at Mount Lavinia Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Deka also won the coveted Mrs. Elegance Award at the event.

The event was supported was Ministry of Tourism, Sri Lanka and Deka was the only contestant to represent India at the platform. Apart from various modelling campaigns, Deka is also associated with various social welfare activities in Guwahati.

Rakesh Bedi conducts theatre workshop at GTF 2019

round 100 students from Sanskriti the Gurukul and IIT-Guwahati participated in a theatre workshop hosted by G Plus Guwahati Theatre Festival and Brahmaputra Foundation and supported by Numaligarh Refinery Limited and North Eastern Council today at the Pragjyoti ITA Machkhowa auditorium as part of the

an opportunity to learn communication through acting and dramatics focussing on voice and movement techniques with specific learning goals that were demonstrated through the workshop. The artist spoke at length about the nuances of acting, the use of hand gestures, expressions and the importance of timing in theatre.

Guwahati Theatre Festival 2019. The workshop was conducted by popular and veteran actor and director Rakesh Bedi. The youngsters got

Actor Rakesh Bedi said, “The students were very welcoming and interactive and showed a keen interest in learning the nuances of theatre and drama.”

22 Lifestyle

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

The Tulsi Plant Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.

oly Basil or Tulsi is a sacred plant of the Hindus. It belongs to the family of mints and it is native to India. This plant has a lot of significance in our religion. You will find Tulsi in almost every Indian household. It is said that keeping this plant in

your home can invite good luck and prosperity. Tulsi is also known as Ocimum sanctum or Holy Basil. It is also considered as ‘Queen of Herbs’ and can be consumed as ‘Ayurvedic’ medicine. Tulsi gives out oxygen for 20 hours and ozone for four hours a day along with the formation of nascent oxygen which absorbs harmful gases like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide

and sulphur dioxide from the environment. Tulsi is highly beneficial for humans. It has dynamic antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It is used for most common ailments, cough and cold, sore throat, skin disorders, and other bacterial and viral infections. Chewing a few leaves of Tulsi daily will help to manage of health and resolve any other viral issues.

Benefits of Tulsi/Holy Basil If we put Tulsi roots in the basement while building a house, it prevents all negative energies from getting in. Keeping a Tulsi plant at home avoids the harmful effects on health and reduces the negative energy of Vaastu Dosh. Worshiping Tulsi daily promotes love and affection amongst the family members. If your daughter’s marriage is getting delayed or late

then one must keep the Tulsi plant in the south-east corner of the house and the girl should regularly water it. There is a chance of an early marriage with a suitable groom. It has been proven that Tulsi leaves are good juice for the nerves. Recent studies reveal that one should take the juice made of Tulsi leaves and honey daily. It helps in reducing the uric acid level in the body and collapsing

the kidney stone. Most importantly, Tulsi is a very good medicine for controlling blood pressure and controlling cholesterol level in the body. Tulsi leaves help to relieve stress and allows proper digestion. So have a cup of tea made with the leaves of Tulsi. Tulsi leaves are also good for skin when applied externally and when consumed too.

Where to place a Tulsi plant as per Vaastu The eastern side of your house is the ideal direction for a Tulsi plant. If it is not possible, then keep balcony or a window in the north or north-east direction of your house.

Never plant the Tulsi in the ground. It should always be planted in a pot or container. The plant should be located on a raised horizontal surface and make sure the surface of the plant should

be above the level of the foundation of your home. As per Vaastu Shastra, make sure to keep the planted areas in clean condition and it must not be surrounded by junk or any of the unused things.

Peas & Corn Cutlet... An evening snack Chick pea flour: 2 tbsp Shimu Dutta

Ingredients:

Carom seeds: 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp

Peas: 1/4 cup

Black pepper: 1 tsp or as required

Corn: 1/4 cup

Refine oil for frying: 3 tbsp

Potatoes: 3 meduim sized

4 tbsp of milk

Grated carrots: 1

1/2 cup breadcrumbs or as required

Chop green chilles: 2 Chop Coriander: 2 tbsp Salt as required Cumin powder: 1 tbsp

then strain and keep it aside. Boil the potatoes and keep aside. Now mash the potatoes and mash the peas and corn very lightly in a bowl. Add besan, and mix all the spices together and make round shaped cutlets.

Method:

Dip the cutlets in the milk bowl, then dip in the bread crumbs and then shallow fry

Boil the peas and corn together for few minutes,

Hot and crisp cutlets are ready as evening snacks.

(Shimu Dutta was born in Guwahati and currently based in Kolkata. She is a home-chef,

recipe developer and also takes interest in culinary history research)

Event

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

‘G Strings’ featuring Murchona & Ankita’s live performance at India Club, Guwahati on 30th November A groovy Bollywood show that had the party on its dancing toes and truly ushered in the winter into the Guwahati partying scene

(L-R) Murchona, Ankita with Sumon Dutta

Anita Verma and Arzoo Ahmed

The creme de la creme

Rajiv Dutta, Altaf Hussain and Tridib Borah

Rajiv Dutta (L) with friends

The entertainment brand that has come to stay

Jiving Murchona

Ankita

24 Catching Up

G PLUS | Dec 07 - Dec 13, 2019

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