G Plus Vol 3 Issue 49

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Your festive outfit guide!

Fans distressed over vanishing ISL tickets

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VOLUME 03 | ISSUE 49 OCT 01 - OCT 07, 2016

PRICE `10

Puja Fashion Special

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Dolie Joshi

G PLUS APR 23 - APR 29, 2016

New CHIC on the block

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G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Lead Story

Fans distressed over vanishing ISL tickets

KALYAN DEB

Queues from 5 am dispersed empty handed

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he expectations from the ISL football extravaganza reached its peak soon after it was announced that tickets would be made available from 26th September onwards. The icing on the cake was that Guwahati would be hosting the opening ceremony of the coveted league and the event would be attended by

People queue up for tickets at sarusajai sports complex | Adib zamali/G Plus

celebrities and high profile guests. The football fanatics of the region were enthusiastically and eagerly waiting for 1st October. Tickets were made available online through the website bookmyshow.com and at Sarusajai Sports Complex and RG Baruah Sports Complex. While long queues were seen from 26th September itself,

to the utter surprise of the public the online tickets were sold out within an hour from being made available. A sense of apprehension soon gripped the fans of the North East United Football Club when within merely two days all tickets were shown as sold out from both the outlets in the city. While many had to return from

the ticket stands with gloomy faces several hinted that tickets would be sold in the black market which was reported to have happened in the past two editions. The craze for football is immense in the region. At a time when stadiums in certain parts of India struggle to fill seats, the Guwahati attendance in the stadiums usually tends to go beyond capacity. The same was also mentioned by team owner John Abraham that the north-eastern team has the biggest fan base in comparison to any other team or venue. It was mentioned that NEUFC, over the past three years of its existence, has become the biggest brand in the region. However, the franchise seems to have failed in righteously addressing many of its fans and their demands. Along with the lack in availability of tickets the buzz is that there was is transparency in the sale of tickets. Apparently on 28th of September queues were seen outside the Sarusajai Sports Complex from as early as 5 am. The counter opened at 10 am. However by noon a completely different scenario emerged when fans had to be chased away by security personnel and police officials. Hundreds of fans had to return empty handed after the sold out board was displayed at the ticket counter. The same neither just hints towards the poor management of the organisers but also ignites suspicion of

anomalies in the same. The suspicion arises as there is no transparency in the process of sale of tickets. More questions arise as to how close to 30,000 tickets be sold within a matter of hours from the day when tickets were made available. Sarusajai Sports Complex has a capacity of 35,000 and a part from online booking tickets were sold at only two outlets which was only aggravating for the football fans that had to stand in queue for hours for the tickets. Moreover, only two numbers of tickets were allotted to each buyer. Things could have been better managed if the tickets were provided in other and more convenient outlets within the city. Especially for the office goers it is physically not possible to stand in queue for hours and perform their official duties at the same time. When it comes to transparency there was no information provided about how many tickets would be made available in the ticket counters and through online booking. The organizers were also urged by Hiren Nath, Commissioner of Police, Guwahati, to maintain transparency in the sale of tickets. Meanwhile, there are several reports that black marketing of tickets is on the rise and this was a practice seen in the past two season of the football extravaganza. When contacted by G Plus there was no response on behalf of the organisers.

Bollywood touch to add glitz to ISL opening ceremony in city

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he unbridled competition of the Indian Super League (ISL) sparked a football revolution in India with its inaugural edition two

alia bhatt, jacqueline fernandes and varun dhawan in the city to be part of the inaugural ceremony of isl

years ago, featuring eight franchises, renowned international football stars, coaches and a host of Indian talents. While Kolkata and Chennai had host-

ed the inaugural matches in the past two seasons, this year the stage is all set in Guwahati for the opening ceremony of the much anticipated third

season of the football extravaganza. The long queues for tickets itself narrate the enormous amount of footfall that the event will witness through the

tournament. Today all roads will lead to the Indira Gandhi Stadium which has a capacity of 35,000 as Guwahati is ready to host the spectacular opening ceremony. But given the vanishing tickets imbroglio, it will remain to be seen as to who will occupy the stands. The opening ceremony promises glitz and glamour with Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandes and Varun Dhawan geared up to set the stage alight with their performances on some of their most popular tracks in the presence of Abhishek Bachchan, Mumbai City FC owner Ranbir Kapoor, Kerala Blasters FC owner Sachin Tendulkar and Chennaiyin FC owner M.S Dhoni and Nita Ambani, Founder and Chairperson, Football Sports Development Ltd. India’s only Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu who brought glory to India at the Summer Olympics 2016 is the star attraction at the grand sports event. Football loving fans from the northeast region are expected to throng the stadium for the opening ceremony and the opening match of the season and can groove and sway to


G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

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Lead Story the music as the glamorous trio take to the stage. It has also been learnt that close to 500 performers and artists will take part in the fanfare of the opening ceremony. The ceremony will also provide a local flavour with the famed Shillong Chamber Choir along with over 500 artistes and drummers from the north east are slated to perform amidst a spectacular show. The star studded opening ceremony featuring Bollywood stars will commence at 5.30 pm followed by the first match of the season between home side North East United FC and Kerala Blasters FC will kick-off at 7.00 pm. The northeast region has consistently thrown up talented football players who have represented some of the biggest clubs in the country as well as the national team. Football Sports Development Ltd— a joint venture between IMG, Reliance Industries and Star India - have rewarded North East United FC with the coveted rights to host the scintillating opening ceremony to celebrate the region’s passion for the beautiful game. North East United FC Owner, John Abraham said, “I’m extremely happy to get this opportunity to host the opening ceremony. It’s a huge deal for my team as well as my people in the northeast region who have always showered the team with their love and have supported us throughout. The opening ceremony promises to draw the world’s attention to the potential of the north-eastern region and I hope this encourages more youth from the

area to take up football professionally.” As another exciting season of the ISL commences football fans are gearing up for the extravaganza. The season opener will witness home side North East United FC take on Kerala Blasters FC amidst a frenzy of excitement and passion in the region which has a long history with football. The two teams missed out on qualification to the semi finals of the league and they will be looking to go that extra mile this year. This promises to be a cracker of a season with a potentially explosive opening fixture. Earlier, North East United Football Club (NEUFC) had unveiled its jerseys for this season of ISL on 24th

September in the city. The unveiling was held in the presence of leading players of the team Didier Zokora (marquee), Rehenesh TP (goalkeeper), Nicolas Velez, local boy Holicharan Narzary and head coach Nelo Vingada along with owner of the team John Abraham. It was announced that Performax will be the official kit partner of the JA Football Pvt. Ltd. - Bollywood and cine actor John Abraham owned team. Interacting with the media, John expressed his happiness over the team composition and hoped that under Nelo they will be definitely among the top teams. He said that during the last two seasons, despite having some

good results against top teams they finally had to stay at the bottom of the eight-team ISL. John further said their plan to set up a football academy in this region is on and they are trying to start the academy soon. Head coach Nelo said that this time they have some good players in the team and they had a prefect training session at Dubai which will help them during the League. Both teams have had successful pre-season campaigns with North East United travelling to the United Arab Emirates while the men in yellow travelled to Thailand. Both sides have hired new managers with former Saudi Arabia gaffer, Nelo Vingada tak-

ing charge of the highlanders and Englishman Steve Coppell signing for the Blasters. The two teams missed out on qualification to the semi finals of the league and they will be looking to go that extra mile this year. The highlanders missed out by only two points to finish fifth while Kerala finished at the foot of the table in 2015. This promises to be a cracker of a season with a potentially explosive opening fixture. Interestingly the winners of the last two ISL editions, Chennaiyin and ATK, had the opening ceremonies at their respective home grounds. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

the venue of isl, indira gandhi stadium | Adib zamali/G Plus


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G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Special

Meenakshi Talukdar

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s our favourite festive time is just around the corner, our hearts have already warmed up in anticipation of the colours, lights, prayers and good vibes that will be all over the city. The excitement doubles as we think of new clothes, dressing up and spending time at the beautiful pandals. Whether you shop at Fancy Bazar, Ganeshguri or one of the boutiques on GS road; here are some quick shopping and styling tips to ensure you look your vibrant best for Puja. Your Puja Clothes: As the summer heat is yet to leave us, it is important to take care that you opt for clothes with lighter materials during the day. Comfort is important for you to enjoy the Puja days. The best daywear options are printed cotton sarees, handloom mekhela-chador and cotton anarkalis. For night time, go all out and experiment with colours - heavy georgette anarkalis and beautiful sarees are the best options. Often pandal-hopping is followed by get-togethers; if you happen to be attending one, it may be worth investing in a silk mekhela-chador as they

Tis’ the season of Puja

Your festive outfit guide! never go out of style in our city. For the few who absolutely don’t want to ditch the comfort of their jeans, I would suggest that you team it with an elegant long kurta. Your Shoes: Strappy slip-on sandals will complete your look beautifully and also be easy to remove as you enter the main altar for worship. The best investment would be in gold or silver colored shoes as they go perfectly with almost any outfit. Avoid

Manju silk centre

shoes that need too much effort to remove and put on. Also avoid platform sandals as they just don’t compliment the dressy Indian outfits. Your Jewellery: This is the time to show off all the jewellery you have been collecting. While Assamese traditional jewellery such as the Keru , Luka-paro or Bena go well with pretty much any Indian outfit; you can even opt for artificial art jewellery. The general styling rule is - if the zaree/print on your clothes has warmer tones (gold, yellow etc.) you should opt for golden coloured jewellery; while if it has cooler tones (silver, blue etc.) you should opt for silver coloured jewellery. The most fashionable art jewellery designs are the jhumkis and chand-balis (moon shaped earring). Put on some pretty bangles and rings to make your hands look even more graceful. Your Makeup: Keeping the humidity and unpredictable showers in mind, it is best to go for light make-up during the day. A BB-cream, compaq, kajal and a light lipstick (maybe in lovely shades of nude, peach or orange?) is all you need. For evening, go

4 days, four looks D urga Puja is one of the most pompous celebrations in our country around this time of the year. The entire nation rejoices in the glory of this festival, the mother of this universe. With less than ten days for Durga Puja, the city is already resonating with the joy this festival brings each year. The festival which will be celebrated from October 7th to 11th has people looking forward to ‘puja shopping’. The fervour towards shopping for this joyous occasion begins with clothing, footwear, make up, traditional gifts and much more. Ladies, we know the pressure (and the confusion) of going traditional during this festival: You want to indulge in nine yards of allure but stand out from the crowd. You want to drape your mom’s rich handloom sari and get that old-fashioned swag going; but you want to look a little sexy too and wear something that screams street cool. You aren’t quite sure if you want to wear a simple sari with heavy antique-looking jewellery or a heavy sari with light jewellery? But sweat not; we have experts telling you what to wear and what not to wear to make you look like a Bongdiva-gone-regal all along, from Saptami all the way to Dashami. Remember, you have to wait one whole year for the next round of Puja fashion, so give

in to the craze and deck up!

Morning vs Evening look: Saptami A favourite with celebs, a full length

suit is just what you need to shine on a Maha Saptami morning. The style staple from this Puja season will help you begin the festivities on a tasteful note. Or try an ethnic skirt in earthy colours teamed with a gold or copper crop top. “Wear a pastel color kurti with cigarette pants and bold jewellery along with an ethnic bag is an elegant look one can opt for.” –Fashion Designer Nandini Protim from Page 3 After a day of elaborate Pujas, draw some inspiration from bohemian fashion and go for a shimmery jumpsuit paired with a textured jacket in bright hues. “A plain saree teamed up with heavy chunky blouse is great for a Saptami evening. It’s not too dressy but will make you stand out in the crowd,” adds Nandini. Ashtami This Ashtami nothing less than an opulent sari will do. You can drape a bright saree with a matching cutwork off-shoulder blouse. Ornate, embroidered and embellished blouses with simple sarees are the order of the day and are perfect to start the day on a splendid note. “Handloom sarees in citric colours with a hue of turquoise would look fabulous. You can wear it as it is or drape it with a contrasting blouse to enhance its beauty

for dramatic eyes and brighten your cheeks with some blush. You may even go for a bright lipstick, especially if you opt for minimal jewellery. Remember to groom your nails and put your favourite nail paint, ladies; it makes all the difference. Happy Puja, pretty ladies!

Photo: Amodini fashions

Sonika Ajmera and grace” – Santasree Mallik Bhuyan from Hansini. Do you want to be the centre of attention on Maha Ashtami evening? Then arm yourself with a sari that steers away from conventional prints and patterns. Santasree suggests “Choose a traditional saree/lehenga or for a change a fusion dress with zardozi work on dupatta which will give a modern twist”.

“Wearing a white pat or cotton mekhela chador with red or bright blouse is great for the pious occasion. It works for all ages and is the perfect blend of tradition and comfort. Vijayadashami is the day to wear your traditional best” - Payal Chadha from Gallery 2000.

Navami “Rich textiles like brocade, satin, crepe and tissue, embellished with sequin, golden zari and luxurious motifs will give you a majestic appearance. Get a fusion look by pairing it with a backless choli or embellished quarter sleeves blouse” - Bijaylakshmi Phukan from Jovi Enterprise. Also keep your zari or stone work embellished saree or even an embroidered kantha or elegant dhakai handy dark colours such as marsal, blue or bottle green to elevate your look for the night. Use your artistic bent of mind and doll up your sari with a multi-coloured patch work blouse. Dashami Ma Durga will soon leave us for her place in heaven. So you need to put up your style quotient and look bewitching on the final day of festivity.

PHOTO CREDITS: Gallery 2000

(Price on request at Gallery 2000)


G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

City

Guwahati’s

swachhta check 56% Guwahatians feel city is still not clean enough and 20% feel

Rahul Chanda

Guwahati is improving

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wachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) was officially launched on 2nd October 2014 in New Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and according to the authorities it is India’s biggest cleanliness drive. It’s been two years since the campaign was launched. G Plus tries to find out the various strides taken in Guwahati over these two years to make the city swachh. What do the people feel about the city regarding its cleanliness? What kind of finance did the urban local body receive to carry out the campaign and is there any kind of noticeable difference in the look of the city? As GMC is the body responsible for keeping the city clean, G Plus looks at how the entire city cleaning exercise actually takes place.

PWD divisions – 6 Zonal Engineers – 15 Junior technical officers – 12 Supervisors – 81 Hand carter – 422 Road sweeper -339 The bins and vehicles engaged for the secondary collection and transportation are: Garbage compactors – 22 Collection bins – 200 Dumpers – 26 (of various capacities) Excavators cum loaders – 12 Mini loaders -6 Push carts – 200 Dry waste collection centre and transfer stations In order for segregation of waste at source, GMC said that it has initiated a project for purchasing of dry waste from the citizens. In the transfer stations, auto trippers and tricycles ascend a ramp and unload the garbage into a dumper and compactor directly. There is adequate facility of water for cleaning and measures are taken for sanitization inside the station along with the provision of treatment facility. Because of the functioning of the transfer station, the adjoining areas have been made into a dustbin-free area. Four transfer stations and dry waste collection centres have been planned at the following locations in Guwahati:

For service related issues and customer care GMC allotted a helpline number (8811007000). Around 4050 complaints are received and addressed daily according to GMC. An app called the GMC app was launched in January 2016 which addresses the various grievances and complaints received from the public. Swachh Guwahati group has been formed for GMC staff on WhatsApp for update of daily cleaning status. Also the GMC officials said that around 30 cleanliness drives have been undertaken so far at various places by Guwahati Municipal Corporation. Funds

The claims GMC claims that NGOs have been engaged in the 31 wards for carrying out the task of house-to-house garbage collection. The NGOs have a total manpower of 450 workers who operate a total of 480 tricycles and 64 auto trippers across the city. Secondary collection and transportation is done by GMC. The staff strength engaged for the purpose is:

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a regular cleaning exercise in the city | Adib zamali/G Plus

Near Rajdhani Nursery (Operational) Near GMCH, Bhangagarh Near RK Mission Bridge, BK Kakati Road Behind Adabari bus station Processing plant The compost plant, which uses the Wind Row Composting Technology with the installation capacity of 50 TPD in Boragaon, was commissioned in 2010. Presently it produces 5 TDP of compost daily. The compost plant has been proposed to be augmented from 50 TPD to 200 TPD very soon. Daily Dump Project GMC officials said that the body accepted a pilot project proposal from PBK Waste Solutions Pvt. Ltd. which is deemed a sector expert organisation to facilitate home composting and the pilot project is likely to carry out activities which will be in accordance with the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. The main objective of the daily dump project is door-to-door provision of home composting facilities for 100 households within the GMC ward number 14, to install the pilot project “Kambha” in each household having four members, to install the organic waste composter “Aaga 550” (for bulk generators) in 4 apartment complexes (with 24 flats each). It was also directed in creating awareness of the significance of home composting amongst the people. GMC officials said that the pilot project has been a success and more households will be proposed for the project.

Individual household toilets A total of 7,135 applications from various wards have been received by GMC for setting up individual toilets. The application forms have been verified and approved by the member secretaries and chairmen of respective ward committees. So far, a total of 6,667 beneficiaries have been uploaded out of which a total of 3,016 beneficiaries have been verified online. According to the scheme Rs. 4,000 will be provided in two instalments as a subsidy to make the toilets. According to sources in GMC, only Rs. 20 lakhs has been received from the centre for the scheme and therefore the money has not yet been distributed to the applicants. Functional public toilets According to GMC officials, in response to the present scenario of sanitation and hygiene in Guwahati, critical locations have been identified around the city to erect toilets for public convenience. The officials said that the sites are located at prime locations where there is a high necessity of toilets. All the toilets have been designed so as to accommodate proper sanitary facilities especially for women and differently-abled. For women, modern squatting pans and lavatories have been provided for their convenience. Following are the locations where there are functional public toilets in the city executed by GMC in PPP mode: Fancy Bazar Nepali Mandir

Khanapara Bhangagarh (will be launched on 2nd October 2016) Toilets have been proposed for the following locations:Underneath Bhangagarh flyover Basistha Temple Mathgharia DC office premises Panbazar The public toilets constructed in the city have an innovative component of on-site disposal through bio-digester tanks for ecological and sanitary decomposition of the waste. E-Toilet On 17th May 2015, GMC had installed two blocks of e-toilets, one each for ladies and gents near the foot bridge of Maligaon Chariali. According to GMC officials, it was the first time in the entire north-eastern region of India that e-toilets were installed in any city. Similarly, due to space constraints faced in Guwahati, portable toilets are proposed to be installed in various areas of Guwahati both for men and women. Following are the locations where portable toilets are installed: Near SB Deorah College Underneath Six Mile Flyover Near Dispur College Near Zoo Tiniali Anil Nagar near Gayatri Sweets Panbazar near water works office Under Chandmari flyover Rukminigaon Addressing of public complaints

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is expected to cost over Rs. 620 billion. The central government provides an incentive of Rs. 12,000 for each toilet constructed by a BPL family. Total fund mobilised under Swachh Bharat Kosh (SBK) as on 31st January, 2016 stood at Rs. 3.69 billion. An amount of Rs. 90 billion was allocated for the mission in 2016 union budget of India. The government and the World Bank signed a US$ 1.5 billion loan agreement on 30th March 2016 for the Swachh Bharat Mission to support India’s universal sanitation initiative. The World Bank will also provide a parallel $25 million technical assistance to build the capacity of select states in implementing community-led behavioural change programmes targeting social norms to help ensure widespread usage of toilets by rural households. But surprisingly, GMC received only Rs. 20 lakhs in the last two years from the centre for the abhiyan. A highly placed source in GMC said that all the campaigns have been carried out by the urban body and only Rs. 20 lakhs was received which is still unused as it is for providing subsidy for individual toilets and the scrutiny is still going on. So, Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has not provided enough funds to Guwahati till now. The people’s view G Plus randomly talked to 100 Guwahatians within the age group of 25 to 50 to find out what they felt about the city and would they consider the city “swachh” after two years of the mission being initiated by the centre and the state. 56% people said that Guwahati is still not swachh, whereas 20 people said that Guwahati is improving. 15 people said that Guwahati is clean and 9 people are not sure about the situation. Many people said that the door-to-door collection is not up to the mark as the NGO people do not visit the city households on daily basis. Meanwhile some NGOs said that during the commencement of the project GMC provided some auto trippers and tricycles. But till date, there has been no maintenance provided to the instruments and vehicles. GMC officials said that there some financial crises which the body faces every now and then which has to be solved. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in


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G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Puja Special

Juthika Baruah

Creativity and innovation

of Puja pandals to give new dimension to celebrations

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ike previous years, this year also the city is all geared up to celebrate Durga Puja with much enthusiasm and fervour. Puja pandals will have different themes each with the intention of passing a message to the society. The Puja is much awaited by the people of the city who are looking forward to enjoy the festive season with prayers to Maa Durga that all the evil be eliminated from the society and from their lives. G Plus samples and details a few of the leading pandals of the city.

Santipur Sluice Gate Sarbajanin Durga Puja Samiti The Santipur Durga Puja, which is one of the more famous pujas of the city, will have the concept of women empowerment in the puja mandap this year. The committee has come up with a unique idea of making the pandal with a 60-foot tall Durga idol through which people would be able to enter the eco-friendly mandap. The lights will be brought from Kolkata. The pond of Pragjyotish College, which always remains the main attraction of the puja, will have a live show this time showcasing the slaying of Mahixaxur that will be performed by local artists. On the other side of the pond the social evils like drug abuse and other illegal activities that take place in the city will be highlighted. The budget for the puja is Rs. 16 lakhs.

Bamunimaidam Railway Colony Puja The Railway Colony Puja has taken the theme of human-elephant conflict which is rising in the state and it will pass a message on how to reduce the menace. This will be depicted live. It will also highlight the illicit use of drugs. The idol of Maa Durga will be 24 feet tall. The puja committee has set a target of Rs. 10 lakh in the budget for the entire puja.

Geetanagar Sarbajanin Durga Puja The 41st Durga Puja of Geetanagar is mounted on a budget of Rs. 25 lakhs and the theme of the puja is based on the children cartoon Chota Bheem, the castle of the King of Dholakpur. The entire structure on which local artists are working will be made to resemble the castle and the idols will be eco-friendly as no chemicals will be used in the colours. Even the clothes will be made of clay. There will also be cultural shows on Saptami, Asthami and Navami. On the day of Saptami there will be a religious program and on the second and third days, there will be cultural nights and performances by local artists. For the children there will also be additional attractions like the character of Chutki, Raju, Jaggu Bandar, Kalia, Dholu and Bholu from Chota Bhim which will be performed live.


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Puja Special

Rest Camp Kalibari Durga Puja The idol of Rest Camp Kalibari Puja will be brought from Kumartoli, Kolkata. It is an 18-foot tall idol and it will be of marble colour. The mandap will be decorated in a colour similar to the colour of the idol. There will also be cultural programs from 5th October, the day of Panchami till Dashami and there will be two stage programs. People can perform Rabindra Sangeet, Manipuri dance, play by children etc. There will also be exchange of literature which will be an opportunity for the new writers to exchange ideas. The lights will come from Chandan Nagar, Kolkata and there will be an effigy of a dinosaur by the side of the mandap.

Latasil Durga Puja The Latasil Durga Puja which attracts large crowds irrespective of caste, creed and religion will have a 60-foot idol of Maa Durga this year with cultural programs on Asthami, Navami and Dashami. On the first day there will be Nagara Naam. Artists will perform Bawli from West Bengal, Gatipua dance from Orissa and Purulia dance.

Athgaon Sarvajanik Durga Puja Committee Unlike the other puja committees, the Athgaon Puja Committee is also prepared to welcome Maa Durga and this year the theme of the puja is patriotism - salute to real heroes. Artists will perform live on how the British harassed the jail inmates and how inmates spend their lives in jail. The idol is made of thermocol and for the first time in the northeast the idol will be illuminated with radium leaving the entire mandap in darkness. The budget of the puja is Rs. 18 lakh. Lights are being brought from Kolkata.

Nayantara Club Puja Samiti The Nayantara Club Puja, which always attracts crowds for its unique themes, is one of the most famous pujas of the city and this year the committee has set the theme of primeval period. The idols and mandap have been decorated in a way which depicts the primitive age. The budget of the puja is Rs. 15 lakh. The lights are being brought from Kolkata which are exceptional and people will get to enjoy the Nayantara Puja with different lights and pandal.

juthika.baruah@g-plus.in


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G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Governance

Measuring Assam Police muscle power Rahul Chanda

As the state celebrates Assam Police Day, G Plus explores the police strength in total and also tries to find the historical significance of the day

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ssam Police Day is celebrated annually on 1st October. The day is celebrated with a plethora of events that include quiz competition, peace processions and rallies, cultural evenings by police personnel and so on. But what exactly is the historical significance of Assam Police Day? What is the present total strength of Assam police? How many IPS and APS officers are there in Assam Police? What kinds of weapons do the police personnel handle? Searching for answers to all these questions G Plus explores the Assam Police department and tries to throw some light to understand our protectors better.

The history According to information available on the Assam Police website and having talked to some senior police officials it came to light that when India became Independent in 1947, the police administration consisted of the Inspector General of Police at the apex and 2 Deputy Inspectors Generals - one for the CID and the other for Administration. The posts were created in 1935 and 1945 respectively. A large number of police personnel of various ranks went to East Pakistan then in the wake of the transfer of the Sylhet District which had been part of Assam since 1874. Similarly, those police personnel who had roots in Assam moved back to the state. There were two significant developments having far reaching impacts. (a) The British officers left the state and their positions were occupied by Indian officers. All the high positions in the police administration during the colonial era were occupied by the British and after they left, there was a vacuum in the administration because of the absence of experienced and qualified officers. (b) There was complete separation of the Assam Rifles from the Assam Police. These two branches had been working as one unit and with the numerical growth of the Assam Police the need to separate these branches was felt to ensure greater efficiency and control. Several problems connected with the partition of the country kept the police busy during 1949 and there was hardly any time for them to un-

dergo proper training in professional skills, discipline and control of crime. The force proved inadequate for the various complex problems arising that time. Large gaps in the cadre of superior officers led to rapid promotions of inexperienced or old officers. Demands on the armed reserve of the state by other departments and the requirements of security on the Pakistan border brought to the forefront the utter inadequacy of the armed police strength. On top of all this, the appearance of the cult of violence propagated by certain elements made the situation menacing. It is gratifying to note, however, that in spite of all these short comings and difficulties, Assam Police, by and large, managed to tide over this difficult transitional period without too much of its reputation tarnished. The strength of police force in Assam at the time of independence

was around 8,000. From just 3,352 officers and men in 1874 when Assam was separated from Bengal and placed under the administration of a Chief Commissioner to the strength of 8,000 at the time of independence was not a spectacular development. But the British left behind a disciplined force with a set of rules and regulations which provided the basic foundation of the present police administration in the state. After independence the police administration in Assam has grown from strength to strength. Talking about Assam Police Day, according to present DGP Mukesh Sahay, in the month of October 1949, the first Indian police officer KR Choudhury took charge as the IG of Assam Police and therefore the Police Day is celebrated on 1st October every year. So now, what is the total police strength and how many IPS and APS officers are there in Assam Police?

According to a senior police official in the Assam Police, there are unarmed and armed branch in the police. The arms training is provided to all the branches but the armed branch personnel basically follow orders and the unarmed branch personnel mostly do the decision making. So talking about unarmed branch the total present strength is 20,030 personnel, let’s see what is the total strength in armed branch.

Present strength Actual Strength of Assam Police (Unarmed Branch) (Male & Female) from the rank of DGP to Constable as on 28-09-2016

Rank

Actual Strength (includes women)

Only women

Total IPS Officers

106 450 3 15 5 11 104 66 318 464 2,099 1,957 1,622 488 12,322

7 57 Nil Nil Nil Nil 8 7 47 2 98 19 31 2 1,452

Total APS Officers Total DGPs Total ADGPs Total IGPs Total DIGPs Total SPs/Comdts. Total Addl SPs/2 I/C Total Dy. SPs Total Inspectors Total SIs (UB) Total ASIs (UB) Total No. Of HC(UB) Total No. Of NK(UB) Total No. Of UB Constables

Total

20,030

1,730

Strength of armed branch Assam police as on 28-09-2016 Sl No

Rank

Sanctioned

Male

Female

1

ABI

strength 295

239

5

Strength 244

2

ABSI

1048

905

19

924

3

ASI/Clk

238

147

0

147

4

Hav/Clk

318

279

9

288

5

Hav(GD)

6408

5637

21

5658

6

NK

1087

895

4

899

7

LNK

1787

1657

5

1662

8

CONST.

29320

23726

1349

25075

9

D/CN.

2767

2263

0

2263

43268

35748

1412

TOTAL

Actual Strength

Total Actual

37160

So the total strength of armed force branch of Assam Police is 37,160 personnel. Adding armed and unarmed branch the total strength of Assam police at present is 57,190 personnel. From these, some are chosen, trained and prepared to form the elite commando battalion.


G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

9

Governance Strength of commando battalion of Assam Police as on 27-09-2016 Rank

There are total 346 police stations and 221 police outposts in the state. Total police stations – 346 Total police out posts – 221 In Guwahati city East District police stations – 4 Central District police stations – 8 West District police stations – 5 Guwahati city out posts – 11

Sanctioned Actual Vacancy strength Strength

Inspector Sub – Inspector(AB) ASI (AB) Hav (M) Hav (GD) NK LNK CONST. D/CN.

Total

23 88

20 81

3 7

1 12 135 Nil Nil 497 40

0 8 131 Nil Nil 483 38

1 4 4 Nil Nil 14 2

796

There are some training academies and battalions in Assam Police. There are also counter insurgency and anti-terrorism schools (CIAT), counter insurgency and jungle warfare schools (CIJW). They are:

TOTAL BATTALIONS AND TRAINING INSTITUTES 1. 2. 3. 4.

Police stations

AP Battalions - 24 Nos. APTF Battalions - 4 Nos. Commando Battalion -1 No. Training Institutes - 4 Nos. (PTC,BTC,APTC and RTS) 5. APA for Advanced Training – 1No. (4th AP Bn ) 6. CIAT Schools - 3 Nos. (APTC, 8th AP Bn and 23rd AP (IR) Bn) 7. CIJW School - 1 No. (CDO Bn, Mandakata )

761

With the growth and development of the police administration in the post-colonial era, a number of new branches were established to meet the increasing demands of law and order and also of a peculiar situation obtained in the state, such as the largescale infiltration of the foreign nationals from across the border causing a serious imbalance in the demographic structure of the state and threatening national security. Some of the branches are:

35

Equipments The Assam Police also use some sophisticated equipments. According to some police officials and information available on the net, all the equipment for the Assam Police are manufactured indigenously by the Indian Ordnance Factories controlled by the Ordnance Factories Board, Ministry of Defence, Government of India. • 1A SLR Rifle • 1B1INSAS Rifle (Present Standard Issue) • Sterling submachine gun • AKM (For Special Operations) Indian • AK-47 Bulgarian • Heckler & Koch MP5 • Bren light machine gun

• PK Machine Gun (Limited Quantity) • Pistol Auto 9mm 1A (Standard Service Weapon for Officer's) • Glock 17 (Special Security only) • Revolver (Officer's Service weapon. Being phased out)

Vehicles Vehicles are used by senior officials and also for general duty purposes. Vehicles used by senior officials • Toyota Innova • Mahindra Scorpio • Tata Safari (VIP Protection & Convoy) • HM Ambassador (Being phased Out)

Vehicles used for general duty purpose • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Mahindra Bolero Maruti Gypsy Tata Sumo Tata 407 Trucks Buses for transportation of troops Bajaj Pulsar Bikes (Patrolling) Royal Enfield Maruti Omni (For Guwahati City traffic only) Mahindra Commander Jeep (Phased out) Tata Spacio Mahindra Legend Mahindra Invader Mahindra Thar Vajra by VRDE for Riot control Varun by VRDE for Riot control Chevrolet Tavera Traffic Interceptor vehicle

• Bureau of Investigation (Economic Offenses) • Special Branch • Criminal Investigation Dept (CID) • Assam Police Border Organization • Assam Police Radio Organization • Assam River Police Organization • Directorate of Forensic Science, Assam • Village Defence Organization • Fire & Emergency Services, Assam DGP Mukesh Sahay said that the Assam Police will keep working for the people and the nation and Assam Police Day will be celebrated every year with same enthusiasm as the day resembles our own identity and a sense of responsibility which should always remain. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in


10

G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Snippets

GPLUS News

Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics Forum ’16 to be held on 8th & 9th Nov

World’s leading botanist Peter Raven, musical maestro Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, global technologist Shri. S. Ramadorai, International vocalist Mrs. Mala Ramadorai and over 10 participating countries and 30 noted organizations, department of environment & forests Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal, Tripura and Assam to participate

S

uccessors and inheritors of the 3rd Asian Elephants in the Wild Conference and 4th Balipara Foundation Awards will present the Eastern Himalayan NaturenomicsTM Forum, 2016 which will be held in Guwahati on 8th and 9th November, 2016 at Vivanta by Taj.

This year’s forum seeks to provide a single platform for all stakeholders to engage with each other and collaborate to find innovative long-term solutions to pressing issues at hand, including, climate change, depletion of essential natural resources like water and the overwhelming influence of

technology and culture, on successful conservation. The Asian Elephant will continue to be the mascot of the event. The NaturenomicsTM Forum will be addressed by prominent personalities, individuals and organizations, authorities from the government of India and neighboring countries, forest

departments of Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal, Tripura, Assam, conservationists and activists, international scientists, researchers and technologists, media influencers, conservation influencer, societal entrepreneurs and outreach specialists, who are actively involved in working on the issues of

Asian Elephants in the Wild, Asian Elephants in Captivity, Environment Conservation, Legal aspects of conservation and Social Impact Case Studies. The NaturenomicsTM Forum will feature a unique conversation between music maestro, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia and leading technologist, Shri. S. Ramadorai, on the influence of technology and musical conservation. Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia will communicate his views on music in conservation through a bamboo flute and Shri Ramadorai will present their wisdom on technology as it pertains to the preservation on natural wealth. World’s leading Botanist Dr. Peter Raven along with Prof. Xu will also address the Forum. Bruce Rich, an environment writer and lawyer will share his views. Speakers at the Conference include Nicholas Claxton, Lisa Mills, Dia Mirza, Bittu Sahgal, Anish Andheria and moderator nominees from The Guardian, Economist, Discovery and National Geographic. The Eastern Himalayan NaturenomicsTM Forum 2016 will also recognize and honour Ecological Champions, who are working tirelessly to create social, economic and environmental impact in protecting the very essential natural resources and restoring the pristine beauty of the Eastern Himalayas. These environmental entrepreneurs will receive a Social Impact Recognition Citation which comes with a Certificate of Commendation and a contribution to the Organization or Individual from the Social Impact Recognition Fund.

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN 02 Oct

MON 03 Oct

TUE 04 Oct

WED 05 Oct

THU 06 Oct

FRI 07 Oct

Mostly Cloudy

T-storm

T-storm

T-storm

T-storm

T-storm

32 / 26 °C

32 / 25 °C

30 / 25 °C

29 / 24 °C

30 / 24 °C

29 / 24 °C

SATURDAY

01 October

Isolated T-Storms

32 / 26 °C


G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

11

Fashion

This Durga Puja, Guwahati sets a high bar in fashion

Chandrika Das

W

Where to find the shops?

ith less than a week left for the Durga Puja, fashionistas of Guwahati city are gearing up to look their best this festive season. From ethnic salwar suits to western gowns, markets across Guwahati city are getting flooded with new trends of all sorts. Amidst all the rush in fashion within the city, GPlus peeks into some of the most sought after trends and some of the new fads that have entered the market and eventually into the lifestyle of people.

Silkalay - JR Mansion Shopping Arcade, Dr JC Das Rd, Kamarpatty, Pan Bazar, Guwahati

Dulhan - 2, Hem Baruah Rd, Sikh Temple, Fancy Bazaar Annus - Hem Baruah Rd, Opposite Mangharams, Near Khela Ghar, Kamarpatty, Fancy Bazaar Mayuri - 7-8-A, SS Rd, Babu Bazar, Fancy Bazaar Lords and Ladies – Mouchak Market, SS Road, Lakhtokia

Going by the fashion trends in Guwahati this festive season, it is obvious that the mantra for this year’s Durga Puja fashion is “intellectual style quotient” which includes a heady mix and match of psychedelic printed skirts teamed with tops, and long kurtis paired with skirts Another design which is much in demand this season is the mekhela chador done with net work along with a mix and match combination. These designs are perfect for the evening hours of Puja hopping. So Assamese, yet so modern!

The fashion trend in sarees also has the handloom Kanjivaram patterns in demand. The decent and simple patterns are hot selling compared to the beads and sequence studded ones. Sarees with simple colours, minimalistic borders with glitters are in. The trends in lehengas are much sought after this season.

Trends in Indo-ethnic wear

A Guwahati based designer, Bijaylakshmi Phukan, owner of Jovi Enterprise, brings another range of wardrobe collection for the ladies. She has in store specially woven ghisa cotton mekhela chador sets which are available within a range of Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000 depending on the detailed works done on it.

Fashion trends in footwears There’s a very popular saying, “For women, shoes are the most important. Good shoes take you good places.” A walk across the city markets, and you know what you need to flaunt your feet and your attitude. Short backless dress or a colorful saree, fashionable shoes help you make the right impression.

Jovi Enterprise – Riparian Apartment, Kharghuli, Guwahati

Trends in Mekhela Chadar and sarees The popular Mekhela Chador shops of Fancy Bazar like Silkalay, Chayanika, Buwaari have a wide range of collection this year. From the pure cotton mekhela chador, which is commonly known as the Buwaa mekhela chador, to the ones with unique adornments in Kanji Paat material, new designs have hit the market. Speaking about the Puja rush, a sales person of Silkalay said, “In Durga Puja, people prefer to go the glitz and glamour way, which is a bit difficult to work with a pair of mekhela chador. It is good that old motifs in mekhela chador are trending once again and people seem to be accepting it with all the heart. Some two or three years ago, mekhela chador in contrast patterns were in demand. Women today pick the simple and traditional designs and they know how to pair those with well cut and knitted blouses.”

is big this puja, with suit pieces in ‘khesheh’ work. Even skirts have got a festive makeover with suits with kalidar and ghera styles.

Talking about sarees, Dulhan’s collection for the season is as colorful and vibrant as the name itself. The transitional look of eveningwear calls for something much more lush: chiffon! Dulhan has come up with a wide range of chiffon sarees which are ready to be decked with gorgeous pattern blouse.

When it comes to indo-western collection, kurtis are ever in. However, bringing a change in the fashion statement, girls have started to pick more of Indo-western kurtis. Annus, one of the most popular destinations for Indo-western dresses, has some of the beautiful collection of long kurtis and dresses. The owner of Annus said, “Palazzos are more for elderly women now. Palazzos are very much flared, so people look fat in that. Girls this year are teaming long kurtis with flare skirts. Straight pants, crop pants and jogger pants in denims are very much in this season. Off-shoulder tops and dresses too are much appreciated and girls are picking those in bulks.” A fashionable set of designer salwar suit could be availed within a range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 in the markets of Fancy Bazar.

Mayuri, another very old and popular destination when it comes to salwar suits, has very unique designs this year with Gujrati work in bright colours being popular pickups. Salwar suits with pearl work and mirror work is creating a lot of buzz. Also, a quirky shift has entered in the market this year – simple pattern suits, teamed with heavy dupattas. Plain skirts with blouses of various motifs, has become a Go this season as also kurtis and blouses with stone work.

Commenting on the style statement of salwar suits Mayuri said, “Ever since readymade kurtis have entered into the culture of Indian society, it’s very obvious that salwar suits have lost its buzz. But during occasions like Durga Puja, girls prefer to pick suits like Anarkalis. And strangely enough, this year, people seem to be very much influenced by celebrity style statement. They have come up to us with designs from movies. So, it’s evident that even in ethnicity, the fashion bar has gone much higher this year.” The show stealers, however, are the ornate golden thread-embroidered white suit pieces set to be sewn into salwars or churidars. Threadwork

Heels! The fashion world of shoes has become more versatile than ever this season. Ladies who are planning to step out in Indian wear can pick one from the wide range of glamorous heels mostly available in golden colour or shoes with fancy heels and imitation works on it. Lords & Ladies is one of the hotspot to step in for the varieties of fashionable footwears which are in this season.

Style is defined by every piece of the outfit including the shoes. Nude heels, black heels and pumps are the must go with dresses. Strict color matching is not really required this year. And now, accessories! Earrings, neckpieces, bangles - there is so much a lady can get tired off. Intricate silver trinkets and Jhoomar style earring can balance any glamorous outfit and are much in demand both in silver and metal.

From a proliferation of chain bags to higher-than-thou platforms, the Durga Puja loot this year is proof once again that it’s all about the extras. The dressing games, ahead of Puja, have begun.


12

G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Campus

Juthika Baruah

Cotton elections AASU prevails in absence of NSUI

Although ABVP and SMSS had given tough competition, AASU has consolidated its previous record and position in Cotton College AASU records a glorious win in Cotton College elections

T

he All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has recorded a glorious win in the general election of Cotton College Students’ Union after a triangular fight against Akhil Bhratiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Satra Mukti Sangram Samiti (SMSS). Jintu Thakuria from AASU has been elected as the General Secretary winning against Bedanta Bikash Bora by 109 votes while Surajit Dutta has been elected as the President against Bikash Jyoti Bora by 200 votes. The Vice-President, Sudarshina Bora, is the first lady VP who has won against Nibir Jyoti Mridyutta by 300 votes. Speaking to G Plus, General Secretary Jintu Thakuria said, “I am very obliged that the students have elected me as the GS and now it is my responsibility to fulfil the expectation of the students. There are many loopholes which need to be rectified and the most important thing is to improve the classrooms. There is a long pending demand to improve the classrooms and make them into smart classrooms and this work needs to be completed immediately.” He also said that campus interviews should be started immediately so that it would help the students to get placed in jobs immediately after passing out. Students often allege that the contestants assure to meet the demands during their campaigns

Jintu Thakuria elected as the General Secretary Sudarshina Bora elected as the 1st ever woman VicePresident Surajit Dutta elected as President

but forget to fulfil the promises after they get elected. To this Thakuria said that one year is not enough to fulfil all the demands and to improve the infrastructure. “We try our best to fulfil the demands of the students but sometimes we do not get the funds for which the work gets delayed,” Thakuria said. Talking about the uniform of the college that the Education Minister had announced earlier, the GS said that none of the students want to wear a uniform. A proper dress code should be maintained but uniform is not required as Cotton College does

SBI felicitates

Gplus news

Dipa Karmakar

not have a history of wearing uniform since its inception.

A student of HS 1st year said, “The college elections are held every

year but we don’t get the desired results as the union members, once elected, forget their assurances given to the students. The college election is complete politics; they pretend to be serious during their campaigns but actually they are not. Our infrastructure is not developed despite being one of the most reputed and oldest colleges of the state.” The student also alleged that the Physics and Chemistry departments are so unhygienic that it becomes difficult to attend the classes. Another student of TDC 1st semester said, “We expect certain new things from the new union. The infrastructure needs to be developed and the security system should be improved. Being such an old college there is no security guard manning the college gates. The AASU has too much influence in the college which should not be the case. This is a college election only and the contestants are students and not seasoned politicians.” Significantly, National Students’ Union of India had not fielded any candidate in the election but had extended support to one of the candidates. Some of the other elected candidates are Prithviraj Goswami (Debating Secretary), Bandita Das (Girls’ Common Room), Madhusmita Deka (Social Service Secretary) and Dhritiporno Boro (Minor Games Secretary). juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

NOTICE

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGICAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP (BOTH FRESH & RENEWAL) FOR THE YEAR 2016-17 Online applications at www.dteassam.in are invited from students of Assam who fulfill the following: The scholarship are available for awarding during the academic session 2016-17 to the meritorious students admitted in the various courses in Engineering & Technology in recognized University/ College/ Institution in India during the current academic session i.e. 2016-17. For submission of renewal application form will also be provided in the same time as mentioned below: • For students in Post–graduate degree in Engineering & Technology (all branches) @ Rs 1,000/- p.m. (both outside/ inside the state) • For students in Post-graduate degree/diploma courses in Business Management and Administration @ Rs.250/p.m. (both outside/inside the state) • For students in degree course in Engineering & Technology (all branches) the candidates must obtain at least 50% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in qualifying examination @ Rs. 150/- p.m. for inside the state and @ Rs. 250/- p.m. outside the state. • For students in Diploma Courses (including girls) @ Rs. 150/- p.m. (both outside/inside the state). With the above scholarship the benefit of L.S. book grant and travelling allowances for degree and diploma courses will be provided for entire course of study (one time). To submit the application form the candidate must mention the category of scholarship mentioning the subject and value of scholarship for which he/she intends to apply. The application form (hard copy) duly filled in together with the duly attached copies of mark sheet of examination of university/board passed and certificate of qualification, conduct and character, age, Permanent Residential certificate as detailed in the application form must reach the office of the undersigned through the head of institution in which the candidate is admitted within the period mentioned below. Intending candidates must apply on-line at www.dteassam.in in between 01/10/2016 to 31/10/2016 and take print out after on line submission and submit it to the Principal/ head of institution along with the necessary copies of certificates/mark-sheets etc. The application should submit their Bank Accounts details in the appropriate space of the application form. (also submit the copy of the first page of the bank account along with the application).

S

tate Bank of India felicitated India’s only Olympic gymnast Smt. Dipa Karmakar of Tripura along with her coach Bishweswar Nandi. The felicitations were offered by Sri Rajnish Kumar, Managing Director (National Banking Group), SBI, Corporate Centre, Mumbai on 22nd September, 2016 in Tripura. Rajnish Kumar, on his one day visit to Tripura, handed over a cheque of Rs. 10 lakhs to Karmakar for her outstand-

ing performance in the Rio Olympics. A memento with a 10 gram gold coin was offered to her coach, Mr. Nandi. In this programme the bank also donated a school bus to Pranabananda Vidyamandir (school run by Bharat Sevashram Ashram, Tripura) and a utility vehicle, computers to Kalyan Ashram Tripura. Shri Panna Lal Das, Shri OP Mishra, General Managers of the bank also attended the donation programme.

The Principal/Head of institution are to send the applications after verifying to the office of the Director of Technical Education, Assam, Kahilipara, Guwahati 19. On or before 15/11/2016. A form of bond (available at website) must be submitted along with the application form. These scholarships are open to those who are permanent residence of Assam only. For award of scholarship for each course of Engineering & Technology, the candidate must be fresh entrants to the course in the current academic session i.e 2016-2017. The undersigned reserves all rights to accept or reject an application or suspend award of scholarship.

Janasanyog 1082/16

Director of Technical Education Assam, Kahilipara,Guwahati-19


13

G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

GPLUS News

K

Mowgli revives childhood nostalgia

ahilipara High School (Provincialized) of Kahilipara Colony, Guwahati celebrated the closing ceremony of its yearlong golden jubilee celebrations on September 24-25, 2016 at its campus with a vibrant cultural extravaganza. Established in 1966, the school has stuck to its legacy of excellence both in academics and co-curricular activities. The formal session of the first day program began with the ceremonial flag hoisting followed by “Swahid Tarpan” and tree plantation. A science exhibition was also organized

KPHS celebrates golden jubilee

among the students of different schools which was inaugurated by Dr. Amarjyoti Choudhury, former Vice Chancellor, Gauhati University. The other dignitaries who graced the occasion included Padmashree Ajoy Dutta, former MLA and social activist, Dr. Amalendu Chakraborty and Dr. Usha Ranjan Bhattacharjee of Gauhati University, Dr. Pannalal Goswami, retired professor, Cotton College among others. The cultural nights of the twoday celebrations had a variety of performances like dance, recitation, singing and dramatics. Dance

performances included Odissi, Kathak, “Stuti,” “Tandava,” Bollywood and Bihu. Among the musical performances, the former and present students presented Rabindra Sangeet, Baul, Bhupendra Sangeet, Jhumur, Bhajan and Bollywood numbers. The students also presented three skits criticizing social ills like drug addiction and dowry and encouraging girl power. The skits were directed by Manjushree Basu. The biggest attraction of the festivities was the play “Ei Samay Shei Samay,” written and directed by Subhrajit Roy, a former student of the

Art school. Based on the theme of lost childhood, the play was entertaining as well as satirical. Mowgli, being one of the most popular characters in the fantasy world, has its own relevance both in literature as well as in visual media. Inspired by the same, the writer-director created a similar character. Mohan, the lead protagonist and a present day kid, being disturbed with the competitive rat race of present day world wants to play independently. One night, Mowgli enters his room and both fly away to explore the beautiful nature from which Mohan had been totally disconnected. The time travel of Mowgli to future and his friendship with Mohan bring about some interesting twists in the play. Mohan travels 500 years into the future where he meets a robot who blames the present generation for becoming mechanical in their practices and attitudes. The play raised serious questions on the present day education system and social structure which keep kids detached from nature and in a hyper competitive urban lifestyle. The play was presented on an open stage amidst a crowd of over 2000 people. The director used appropriate pictures and graphics projected on a giant LED wall to signify the theme of a particular scene. The background score included AR Rahman’s Oscar winning creation of “Slumdog Millionaire,” Bangladeshi writer-director Humayun Ahmed’s “Ghetuputro Kamola,” Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Black,” Satyajit Ray’s “Aha Ki Aananda Aakashe Batache…” among others. The prelude of “Jungle Jungle Baat Chali Hain…” jingle in the background brought a sense of

nost a lg i a among the crowd.

What the

Tweet!?

#Rahul RattlesBJP with his arrival in Guwahati

NG #withRG @ ‫ ‏‬ng_withINC A govt that was elected 4 months back has impose Sec144 just because RG is in Guwahati, gives an impression its undemocratic #RahulRattlesBJP Suhas Inamdar @ ‫‏‬ suhasinamdar When competency & capability cannot get the media exposure, one desperately seeks spotlight by choosing to appear in court #RahulRattlesBJP seema @seemaadhikari Imposing section 144 is clear sign that BJP is nervous abt Rahul Gandhi’s increasing popularity #RahulRattlesBJP maanmohan singh @ ‫‏‬ msgpahujaa No matter how hard Sanghies try to pin RG down he will rise like a phoenix from the court cases against RSS #RahulRattlesBJP Parth Patel @iparthpatel #rahulrattlesbjp BJP care about businessman RG cares about poors farmers MUDIT AGARWAL @mudit_ aggarwal #RahulRattlesBJP RG will appear in Guwahati court for a case filed by d RSS last year. Shockingly,before his visit d BJP has imposed sec.144 Abhishek singh @ ‫‏‬ absingh01234 Shockingly, before his visit the BJP Govt has imposed section 144,so that Congress supporters cant accompany RG the court #RahulRattlesBJP Isolated@LifeKiKLPD UNESCO has just declared #RahulRattlesBJP as the most funny trend on twitter. ananya saikia @ ananyasaikia4 3h3 hours ago Imposition of Sec 144 in Ghy without any rhyme n reason is an indication of Hitlarian mentality. #RahulRattlesBJP Raviraj Surti @ ‫ ‏‬raviraj98248 3h3 hours agoAhmadabad City, India So they know that there would be a huge turn out in support of #RahulGandhi hence Sec 144 imposed in Guwahati! Kitna darr! #RahulRattlesBJP


14

G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

In Conversation

“We will take action against all corrupt people” Parimal Suklabaidya,

Minister for Excise, PWD and Fishery Rahul Chanda

B

orn and brought up in a rural environment, Parimal Suklabaidya is not scared of the “mountains of problems” in his departments and iterates that three years from now the people of Assam will witness the paribartan which the present government has promised. He talks exclusively to G Plus and explains his strategy to overhaul the department of excise, PWD and fisheries.

Guwahatians want to know you better. Please enlighten us about your background. When did you join politics and what are the major profiles you have had before becoming a state minister? I was born and brought up in Irongmara, a village located in Dholai constituency under Cachar District. I started my education in a government school of Irongmara and I further studied in Pyaricharan Borjalenga High School which is 3 kilometres away from Irongmara. Later, I did my graduation from Guru Charan College, Silchar. Essentially I am a still village boy. I don’t have a house in any town or city. My father was a small time businessman in Irongmara. He also had a tea shop where I used to help him. In Irongmara later, we established ME and high schools and in the ME school I was appointed as the headmaster. When I was working as the headmaster, the local people wanted a local man to represent the people of the area and in 1991 I contested for MLA and won. I was an MLA from the Dholai constituency from 1991 to 1996, then from 2001 to 2011 and now in 2016. Before this we didn’t have our government in the state; in spite of that I fulfilled all my responsibilities as an MLA. Also since 1991 I was made the chief of Yuva Morcha in Assam and I headed it for three tenures. Then I worked as Bhartiya Janata Party’s secretary. I worked as BJP’s vice president and also worked in many other profiles in the party. As you are the minister for excise, PWD and fisheries, what are the major problems you are facing in these departments? If you talk about problems, these three departments have mountains of problems. Barak Valley has pathetic road conditions. Brahmaputra Valley does not have very good roads either. I don’t say that the department is not working, but people’s expectations have remained unfulfilled. Corruption is one of the major reasons for the present state of affairs. Now that our government has taken charge we have to improve the situation. But in PWD only there is a pending liability of around Rs 1,000 crores. In total, we have more than Rs 10,000 crores in liabilities. Even in excise department there is a lot of corruption and we are working against it. There are some good people in the department who are supporting us because of which we have generated 20% more revenue than last year in excise

Date of birth – 21st January 1958 Date of joining BJP – 1984 First political contest – 1991 (MLA Dholai) Date of marriage – 29 April 1989 Spouse – Uma Suklabaidya (house wife) Children – Utpal and Pratiksh (both students) department. Similarly there are problems in the fishery department. In our state around 90% people prefer fish in their diets. The requirement is mainly imported from places like Andhra Pradesh. We need to increase our production to stop this. I don’t know what initiatives the previous government took, but now we are planning to increase production. In Assam, people can survive by selling fish bred on their own land. So we are planning on these lines. So as the minister of these departments what are the immediate changes you want to drive? We took time to change the infrastructure. We announced some workflow in 100 days against severe criticism that no work has been done yet. But we have made the base and they can see the changes in the coming days. If you talk about fisheries, we have decided that if anyone has land and feels that fishery will help them survive, we will help them. We have distributed around 70 lakh fingerlings free of cost to fish farmers recently. To cure ill fish we have opened up a medicinal shop for fish in Panbazar. For breeding of fish we have planned to make hatcheries. Similarly, in excise we are planning on increasing revenue. When we formed the government there were some check gates from where undue money used to be collected, the generated revenue used to be shown less but huge amounts used to be collected. We removed all those gates. Rules framed under excise in 1945 and 1965 have been reformulated with around 400 new rules which have been introduced in September. As for PWD, until a few days back, it was tough for vehicles to ply towards Tripura from Assam because of poor road conditions in our state, and the price of petrol went up to Rs 300 per litre. To solve this issue we used a new technology called geo cell and worked on the roads and even

during rainy season we repaired the roads. Now vehicles are plying smoothly. Now it is the rainy season and we cannot construct new roads but we took steps so that vehicles can easily ply on the roads. We have decided that in the next 3 years we will construct 15,700 kilometers of Pradhan Mamtri Gram Sadaks. Many things are going to change. Talking about excise is the government planning to withdraw the decision of keeping the first and last days of a month as dry days? It is not decided yet, but we are observing that dry days on first and last days of a month do not have much effect in the society. We were thinking that instead of this if we can declare all the days during festivals as dry days, people will be happy. We have noticed that during festivals if people drink they create a lot of nuisance. We are still thinking on these lines though. During budget session the state finance minister said that the locally brewed liquor will be branded. How much work has been done? What kind of branding will it be and how will people benefit from the decision? This brings to the mind Fenny which is Goa’s local product but it is made hygienically and sophisticatedly and then put on the market. Consuming fenny is not harmful. So fenny is legalised in Goa which helps in generating tax and also people get a hygienic drink. In Assam we have many communities who make local drinks. The excise people keep raiding to stop the production but it cannot be totally taken out of the cultural paradigm. Today we cannot make a day completely dry. We can stop sale of IMFL, country liquor but stopping sale of illicit liquor is very difficult. So we felt we can do something which will generate revenue while people get a hygienic drink. Our excise department officials are visiting different states like Rajasthan etc. We are studying the pos-

sibilities and we will even require public view. We have also formed the Zindal committee headed by a retired IAS officer. Taking everything into account, we will arrive at a decision. Some BJP ruled states have been declared dry. With your government in Assam people here assumed that Assam might be declared as a dry state. Can Assam ever become a dry state? See, there is difference between people living in Assam and in other states. Different kinds of people live in Assam and all of us have different kinds of thought process, living style etc. Therefore, before deciding on anything we have to discuss with our people, the media and intellectuals and then decide. We have formed the committee for branding of local liquor. Similarly we will have to study various factors regarding this issue. Talking about PWD, road conditions in Assam are pathetic. When do you think people will get proper roads in the entire state? We came into power during the rainy season – a season when work is not possible. In Assam the no work season lasts six months. From October over the next 6-7 months, we have planned that the national highways in the Barak Valley, upper and lower Assam will be made properly usable. I mean, at least people will be able to move around without any hassle. I have declared some roads as “four-lane,” but NHAI has experienced land acquisition problems during conversion of roads into four-lane. We don’t have financial problems, but people do want to let go of their plots. Our government is speedily trying to resolve these issues. If in the next two years we can complete the NH section, and as I already mentioned that 15,700 kilometers PMGS construction, the scenario will be different. We have announced Rs 600 crores for the maintenance of roads. Things cannot

be changed in one year. But surely after three years, people will say that this government has worked and the changes will be visible. In your departments like excise and PWD, people are always blamed for corruption. In PWD contractors do not get their dues cleared on time. There is a huge nexus of corruption for getting contracts. Similarly, in excise there is corruption for license. People sell liquor in black without any license and still keep doing business because of corruption. So how will you tackle the menace and eradicate corruption? In four months I am not saying that we have eradicated corruption, but we have put in an effort. Now you came into my office at 8 pm. After you go I will clear all the files on my table. If required I will sit till 11 pm so that contractors’ payments are cleared. PWD cannot work without contractors. Previously they had to wait for three months, but now it is mandatory that the file gets cleared within three days. There are many people outside my office but not a single contractor. Files get cleared quickly. If good work is done, payment will be released. If the work is not up to the mark, there will be inquiries. Making the system corruption-free will take some time. Some people have understood that things will not work like before. Even in excise, I suspended many people because of corruption. In fishery department also I have suspended. An enquiry is going on against the former MD who is an IAS officer. We will take action against all corrupt people but it will take some time. Talking about Guwahati, people are confused which roads belong to PWD and which belong to GMC. Also there are many roads in Guwahati which are in poor condition. There are many by-lanes which are not constructed. As declared that it will one of the smart cities. According to you when will Guwahati not have even a single unconstructed road, lane or by-lane? We recently had a meeting with the chairman to identify all the PWD roads. Also, if required, we will take over some of the roads from GMC which require construction. In some places we also might ask GMC to construct the roads. When we took charge there were mountains of problems. Once we resolve more than 50 problems individually then the problems will look less. There is no city in Assam which can be said to be in very good state. Proper planning is required. Every year roads get constructed and then gets broken. At the same time the height of the roads get increased by 2 or 4 inches during repair. Eventually, road levels become higher the residences causing problems. All this happens because of unplanned road construction. To properly plan things we need to brainstorm and strategize. After two-three years all the changes planned by Modiji will be visible to the people of Guwahati. Do you have any message for Guwahatians? The message is that we, under the guidance of honourable Sarbananda Sonowal, are working hard. We are trying our best to build a developed and corruption-free Assam and we request all the citizens of Assam to help us in our endeavour. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in


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Ward Watch

Kumarpara exercises perfect communal harmony

Gaurav Pratim Dey

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Concentrated Area: Shanti Sabha (Panchali) Ward Number: 8 Councillor of Ward: Sunita Bhilwaria Phone Number: 94357 06657

“I just try to help as much as I can. We look after the procession which is carried out on the final day. They tell me what they need and I provide boys and men for its smooth conduct. Unity is what we pray for,” said Nurul Amin, former president of Kumarpara Muslim Jamaat

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he Panchali at Kumarpara is an important commercial hub of the city and the spiritual nerve-centre there is Shanti Sabha. It was established in 1938. Ever since, Durga Puja at Kumarpara has been celebrated at this location. It’s been 78 glorious. It was not Assamese people alone who had established this Shanti Sabha; there were people of every religion and language (Bengali, Bihari, Marwari, Muslim, Nepali etc.) who laid the foundation of Shanti Sabha and came together to conduct Durga Puja. Krishna Chandra Baruah, who is the secretary of Shanti Sabha Puja Committee and a retired Indian Railways Superintendent of NFR said, “It is not that people who are residing near Panchali have helped Shanti Sabha in its growth but people from Kedar Road, Athgaon, Bharalumukh, Kumarpara, Fatasil have large contributions towards the temple. Madhav Baruah and his family have a large contribution in Shanti Sabha even today. The land on which Shanti Sabha was established belonged to a Marwari family. Dr Bhabit Das, who was a religious preacher, purchased the 4 katha land from the Marwari family for Rs. 1,700 keeping his house and other important documents as mortgage. As he had taken a loan to buy the land, the committee paid the interest to the bank. When the entire amount was cleared Dr Bhabit Das handed over the land to the committee. On receiving the land, the committee started developing it. Local residents started

Shanti sabha at kumarpara panchali |Adib zamali/G Plus

contributing by way of donation; the gate for the temple, the roof came from such donations. Eventually, the entire area was renamed as Shanti Sabha. There are basically 4 temples in Shanti Sabha viz. Lakshmi Mandir, Durga Mandir, Shiv Mandir and Ganesh Mandir. The community hall on the upper floor of Shanti Sabha was constructed through donations and it is today given on rent for occasions like annaprasanna, personal receptions, etc. But the community hall is basically used for meetings. The hall however cannot be compared to a regular bibah

bhawan. Nominal fees are charged from the poorer sections which are used for development of the temple. The cosmopolitan characteristic of Kumarpara allows Durga Puja to be celebrated with much enthusiasm. And Shanti Sabha Durga Puja plays its part in promoting brotherhood among the cross-section. Every year when Durga Puja is celebrated the local boys and men of the Muslim community help out with priceless contributions. Such people extend their support and help by controlling the crowd and directing the heavy traffic during Puja, coordinating

with traffic police as volunteers and managing the traffic as the Panchali is always known for its traffic snarls. Moreover, they help out in collecting donations from the area, distributing bhog to the devotees. During the Dashami Visarjan procession they provide water and juices for the devotees. Communal ill-feelings take a complete backseat and that is a huge contribution of Shanti Sabha. This huge communal harmony was aptly described by Baruah who said, “There are many Muslim families who are actively involved with Shanti Sabha. But I would like to specifically talk about Nurul Amin who is a former president of Kumarpara Muslim Jamaat. He himself is a very influential litterateur and stays at FA Road near the Kumarpara Masjid. His assurances and support has helped us solve many ticklish issues. He also advises us regarding the development. His contribution towards our communal harmony is priceless.” Besides Durga Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Kali Puja, Janmastami, Shivratree and Ganesh Puja are also celebrated at Shanti Sabha. Speaking of the arrangements for the ensuing Puja, Baruah added, “We have two assistant secretaries of the committee who are looking after the coordination. We have informed Bharalumukh Police Station and are in regular touch with them. They are cooperating for arrangement for car passes during Durga Puja, installation of CCTV camera, police booth and fire emergency service assistance. We have our own security personnel

who will be deployed during Puja so that the devotees have no problems or face any issues while visiting our Puja. The food of the police personnel and security personnel deployed are provided by us and we treat them as a part of our family.” The area has 50% Assamese speaking people and the rest 50% are people speaking other languages. The donation which is collected is more from people coming and depositing money themselves rather than from door-to-door collections. Baruah said, “It’s the love and affection of people who donate. Bhog of all 3-4 days are donated by someone or the other. The pratimas or statues of the Goddess are booked till 2025. This year, the entire expense of Kumari Puja on Navami will be borne by Gitika Barma and Biju Bharali and of Xandhi Puja by Deepu Bharali.” Needless to say, Shanti Sabha has always played an important role in coordination of peace and harmony among the people of different religions, caste and languages. Mr Nurul Amin, former president of Kumarpara Muslim Jamaat and resident of FA Road, Kumarpara takes pride in his active participation in the Shanti Sabha Durga Puja. He humbly said, “I just try to help as much as I can. We look after the procession which is taken out on the final day. They tell me what they need and I provide boys and men for its smooth conduct. Unity is what we pray for.” gauravpratim.dey@g-plus.in


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Shredding the Assam Accord So now, the situation has come to such a pass that we are looking at a Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that will essentially entitle foreigners to usurp our soil on humanitarian grounds. And Assam looks set to take on a burden that it just cannot afford any more. To my understanding of the new Bill, the BJP government is so sympathetic to Hindus and other religious minorities in the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who are supposedly facing religious persecution in these countries that it will extend a warm welcome to such people through the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and absorb them as citizens of the country. Such people will have the freedom to choose any part of India to live in and thereafter have the same rights as citizens of the country. Fine! India historically has been a great host rather than visitor. We have never invaded but have remained witness to numerous invasions. Our humanitarianism is beyond doubt. But can we be a bit practical rather than be blinded by our political compulsions – whatever they are? How does one ensure that the person seeking the Indian citizenship is indeed a genuine victim of religious persecution in his country of origin? Or if that is too convoluted a question, how do we determine whether the person is a Hindu or from another religious minority? Unfortunately, human beings do not come with a stamp of religious identity. So, an Abdul Matin crossing the Indo-Bangla border, supposedly fleeing “religious persecution” and assuming the name of Anil Das, in his attempt to be a regular migrant, can

in no way be detected to be a mala fide entrant into India. Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in his weak attempt at providing clarifications and justifying the Bill, has mentioned that the Bill does not provide for only Assam to take this burden. Come on Sir, you will know better with your years in Indian politics that the Indian constitution provides for free movement of its citizens to all parts of the country. It is to their credit that the hill states of the northeast have been farsighted enough to have enacted laws that protect their identity. Assam has already taken the huge burden of Bangladeshi migration and history is replete with this. Further addition to this burden is what the Assam agitation and the subsequent Assam Accord was all about. And now, opining that the Assam Accord cannot be a ground for refusal to take on the proposed additional burden amounts to a virtually criminal utterance that is roundly condemnable. The Assam Accord, signed between the Centre, the government of Assam, the AASU and the AAGSP in 1985 stipulates that people who entered Assam from Bangladesh after 24th March, 1971 must be detected and deported. In a volte-face, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, once passed by the parliament, will grant citizenship to Hindus and other non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh. Assam is set to be swallowed; the Assam Accord is set to be shredded. Swapnil Bharali Editor

For the lack of a better joke

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o a celebrity (read Tannishtha Chatterjee) walked out of a TV show because there were jokes made on her skin tone. Questionable humour content or just close mindedness of the Indian audience? Speaking of acceptability, from public disclosure, the show Comedy Nights Bachao is based on the roast format which means, the guest invited to the show is meant to be the butt of all jokes. Firstly, if a celebrity is coming to a show, it is their responsibility to research the background of it all and the possible content of the show. Might I compare this to the roasts televised in other countries which by the way are widely popular on the internet and India’s search tabs too? The AIB roast was widely discouraged by a section of the populace but that only has been the breeding ground for more content for stand up artists and comedians to widen the content of jokes. Humour is subjective – while someone can find racist jokes funny, others could think that cats trying to use the TV remote is even funnier. Not everything can be filtered, monitored and curated although the partly sanskaari Indian audience wants that – make internet free and

also no Manforce condom ads on TV please! “A roast is an event in which a specific individual, a guest of honour, is subjected to good-natured jokes at their expense intended to amuse the event’s wider audience.” I feel as artists, the content of the joke is up to the writers and their success is and always will be determined by public acceptance (because they are the source of revenue! Duh!). These very artists have managed to entertain a section of the audience in the past and I am certain that there are people who find skin tone based jokes acceptable too. As for the controversy around marginalizing dark skinned people, if the actors have had problems with such content, why weren’t they vocal about it before? Why have models and actors continued to endorse fairness products? Why do Ponds and Lakme fairness cream commercials continue to be televised? These small squabbles have surprisingly been more entertaining than the show actually, which is good TRP for both parties involved I guess. Personally, I’m not a big fan of the show. SIDHARTH BEDI VARMA

Opinion

The American Presidential Elections – I

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he American electoral system is a mystery to most people, including the American public that has the privilege of participating in its esoteric process. A landmark moment in the history of American democracy is scheduled to occur on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 when the participants will decide by secret ballot whether to elect a demagogue as the 45th President of the Republic or send a woman into the highest office of the land for the first time in its 240 year history as an independent nation. The first question is, who gets to vote in the American Presidential elections? The common belief is that any person who is a citizen of the United States is eligible to cast an individual ballot. The trouble with that statement is that there are many citizens of the United States of America who are not residents of the 50 United States, which includes the states of Hawaii and Alaska. This special group of citizens inhabits the US territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands which are located in the middle of the Caribbean Sea and the territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, which are a chain of islands close to the Philippines. Any citizen who is registered to vote in these territories cannot cast an official presidential ballot. Additionally, the tiny chain of islands that comprise American Samoa in the South Pacific is also a US territory but its legal residents are regarded as US “nationals”, not citizens. They have the same rights as citizens but they cannot vote in any nationwide elections. Citizens who live in the US territories (including the “nationals” of American Samoa) have the right to elect representatives to the “primaries” of the two main political parties that vie for power in the USA – the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Which begs the question –

Arnav Mahant what is a “primary”? The “primary” can be compared to a free-for-all boxing competition where a bunch of people swarm into one side of the ring while another group swarms into the other corner. The people in each corner have different ideologies, philosophies and goals but they choose a corner based on some common underlying beliefs and objectives. They then pound each other into a pulp in each corner until one person emerges bruised and scarred but at the same time, far more experienced and savvy about the brutal game of politics. The main match is then between the two survivors of the dogfight that just ended in each corner. Whoever wins that final battle wins the top prize – in this case, the Presidency of the most powerful nation in the world. The two corners of this presidential boxing ring are occupied by the two leading parties in the United States – namely, the Republican Party (also known as the GOP or the “Grand Old Party”) and the Democratic Party, which does not have a meaningful acronym attached to it. The Republican Party is the party of the “right” –it’s emphasis is on individuality, less government, fewer regulations, more guns, less sympathy for the “losers” of the economic race and a belief that there really is no compelling reason to share one’s good fortune with the less fortunate. Paradoxically, the people who believe in the GOP’s ideology tend to be the primary church-goers in the country and most branches of the Christian religion encourage their followers to be compassionate, charitable, tolerant and kind to fellow human-beings. The Democratic Party is the traditional “left” – more government involvement in people’s lives, more regulations, a strong belief in the even distribution of wealth and overall, a more compassionate regard of one’s fellow human being. Despite the chasm between the philosophies of the two parties, they share many

common strands in the serious world of American politics – they are both extremely well-funded organizations that are backed by individuals and businesses alike, they have millions of staunch “grassroots” volunteers who are willing to sacrifice their time and resources to promote the party, they both possess massive databases of potential voters that gives them a pulse of the overall political mood of the nation and they both firmly believe that the other party will lead the nation over the proverbial cliff to utter destruction. The two big primaries culminated this past summer with much fanfare and a lot of hot air from both sides at two separate conventions. The GOP’s convention was held between July 18 and July 21 in the city of Cleveland, sitting by the shores of Lake Erie in the state of Ohio. The months leading up to the convention was a brutal and vicious battle between the many candidates vying for the Party’s nomination but ultimately, the man with the crudest mouth and no political experience secured the Party’s nomination, much to the chagrin of the Party’s elders. The Democratic Party held its convention a few days later from July 25 to July 28 in the city of Philadelphia and the first woman candidate for the American presidency was shooed in without much opposition. Part Two of this series will focus on the mechanics of the US presidential vote. Arnav Mahant is an NRI based in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He is a teacher of Mathematics in high school and an astute political observer and analyst

Letter to Editor A grand theatre festival Firstly, thank you for organizing Guwahati Theatre Festival, and giving the city a theatre experience which was beyond expectation. The people of the city had almost lost hope from the scenario of movies and theatres across the region, and there could have been no better time for the Guwahati Theatre Festival to make the change, and set a bar so high. I personally watched all the 6 plays of the festival, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Hamlet compelled me to watch the rest of the plays. To get to watch something that I read years back, was a brilliant experience. The other play that I absolutely loved was 2 To Tango, 3 To Jive. It was ‘intensely funny’, and somewhere in the plot lied the story and truth of each of our lives. Being an audience who is thankful for the experience, I’d however advise few things. The prices of the tickets were a bit too high. The prices have limited the common people to afford the experience of watching something new, and the festival was meant only for the elite class of the society. But, our society is more than just the elite class, right? Also, the sitting arrangements were quite a hassle. You fix these small issues, and Guwahati will certainly be ever thankful. Looking forward to Guwahati Theatre Festival getting bigger and better next year. Thank you gain. Rahul Kumar via email


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In Focus A drunken-drive accident caused the death of young Guwahatian Kaayum Pegu at Noida when an Uber driver rammed into a stationary truck sending the student flying through the windshield. Here are a few emotional public reactions.

Knowing your way about

The beautiful smile brought smile on my face and it left pain to realize that this smile is gone forever. This can happen to anyone, anybody. It can be me tomorrow or it can be you. So it’s better we keep our beautiful humanity alive, help each other and forgive. It is so hurtful to even think. I convey my heartfelt regards for the family and prayers are with you. God be with you.

Dina Konjengbam My heart goes to the deceased and her family. A promising career and life went away like this. The world’s full of such pathetic people for whom the lives of others mean nothing to them. Here this driver is a classic example of inhumanity and criminal instincts. However I have an ardent request to all my innocent brothers and sisters. Try to avoid late night travels and commutations. Be safe and live a beautiful life. May justice be rendered to the victim. It’s indeed so sad.

Arundhuti Baruah The driver should be charged with manslaughter. It was not even an accident where two vehicles rammed into each other. He hit a perfectly stationary, parked truck!! If that’s not reckless than nothing is.

Monika Thounaojam RIP... Do not let UBER Co. get away in this case this time. When a company is so renowned I guess thorough interrogation of the driver should be done before handing over them their responsibility. Come on it’s a matter of life and death and not any joke. Security of passenger should be made tight by UBER by any means.

AYvid TeNsab

Stop the racism! We lost a person - not Delhite or someone from NE region. May who is injured should heal soon and pray for a daughter missing their parents, siblings, friends and other human being.

Suchendra In

The Indian Super League football tournament is one of Guwahati’s biggest events where public engagement is massive. We thought it prudent to carry the following information with regard to transportation, traffic and parking management on the match days. Our regular column in this space “Meet the Person” will continue from the next issue.

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Untimely demise of this young girl indeed has left us shocked plus the way she died who could have imagined? Can’t trust anyone these days. Ola/Uber drivers are indeed very careless and do reckless driving. Some even drink and drive. However I believe the driver should be taken into police custody.

he office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), in an official document, released the details of the traffic arrangements made in and around the Sarusajai Stadium Complex in connection with the Indian Super League:

I don’t think that the driver rammed into that truck willingly. It was an accident. I’m sorry for her and her family. A few days back a post on Facebook said that she needed blood. How many staying there went ahead to donate? It was O+ perhaps. I don’t have to reiterate that this group is common.

Regulations for buses coming for witnessing matches:

Ankeeyung Panyang

Rustom Lahon G Plus accessed a letter of request from a state minister asking for 100 passes including “a few VIP passes” from the ISL organizers and flashed it on its digital timeline. The post triggered a huge public angst. Here are some of the reactions.

This is not at all fair and it’s an act against citizens. These people only waited for coming to power and the rest I don’t have to explain. Really a shame and it is hurting.

Santanu Bora As per my way, they request you to arrange passes with the word “please.” They were not demanding from you. Everyone wants passes so they request in their own way. G Plus please don’t make an issue of it. Yes, they are ministers and in India a minister is often known for corruption, demanding, gunda, chor etc. etc. Please stop and change your mind-set. We choose them so we should respect them. There are many who are working for us for our better future. GPLUS please don’t make us to think against them... DESH BADAL RAHA G PLUS BHI BADLO....

Abhishek Jain It is surprising how quickly people say this is such a small thing, it’s ok. Is it really ok? Tickets are available on bookmyshow. They can easily be bought. Even on bookmyshow only 4 tickets are being issued per person. If you consider he is right in asking for 100 tickets, he should have provided a list of names also. Or he doesn’t need to do that too? Who will check what happens to those tickets and VIP passes?

Rhinusmita Kakoty Lahkar It’s better to watch it on TV instead of taking a 400 rupees ticket at 2000 rupees from the broker. Heard that the ministers and officers from DIG rank got tickets for free. The capacity is around 26k I guess but don’t know where and how all the tickets are sold out.

Junait Ahmed

• Buses coming from Basistha side will be regulated at Beharbari and for Gate No. 2 (CRPF Camp) will be diverted by Beharbari Hockey Stadium Road. • Buses coming from Basistha side for Gate No. IC will be regulated at Beharbari and after deboarding of spectators at Beharbari, buses will be diverted to be parked at service road. • Buses coming from Jalukbari side will be regulated at Lokhara and for Gate No. 2 (CRPF Camp) will be diverted to AK Azad Road and take turn at Saukuchi and allowed to go to Barman Hardware point and the spectators will get down and go on foot. • For Gate No. IC, at Lokhara the spectators will get down and the buses will be parked at service road. • Vehicles bound for Gate No. 2 should take the route from Bhetapara Lokhara Road and Saukuchi - Bhetapara Road coming from inside Guwahati. • Vehicles coming for Gate No. 2 should take right turn at Lokhara Point then to take Saukuchi - Bhetapara Road and vehicles from Basistha side for Gate No. 2 will have to take Beharbari - Hockey Stadium - Saukuchi Point Road.

Inside Parking: • Light vehicles and two wheelers coming to witness the match by Gate

No. 2 (CRPF Camp) will be parked at designated place earmarked for parking beside indoor stadium. • Vehicles earmarked as VVIP will be parked at the designated place of the left side of the main stadium premises after entering from Gate I A. • Players vehicles will be parked at the designated place earmarked.

Outside Parking: LMVs and scooters bound for Gate No. IC will have to be parked in the earmarked private parking spaces on the service road to the eastern side of Rongmon Point.

No Parking: • No vehicles shall be allowed to park on the road from Northern gate (Rear gate) of Sarusajai stadium to Bhetapara Chariali. • No vehicle shall be allowed to park on the carriageway of NH way 37. • 100 meters of the service roads on both sides of the National Highway 37. • No Parking from Rongmon point to Main Gate.

Restriction of movement of vehicles: There will be restrictions of plying of heavy commercial vehicles in National Highway 37, from Khanapara to Jalukbari Point, from 10.00 am till the programme is over. Trucks of BG Yard and FCI Godown will also be restricted from 2 PM. Once the parking inside stadium for LMVs and two wheelers are exhausted, these vehicles will have to be parked in the service road beyond 100 meters from the Rongmon Point of all sides.


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G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Lifestyle

VAASTU SHASTRA Xiaomi’s latest revolution! Launches the Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus.

DIFFERENT METHODS OF SOLVING VAASTU PROBLEMS

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ech giant Xiaomi unveiled their Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus, two flagship smartphones packed with features and innovation that will redefine gadgets in the remainder of the 2016 line-up. Mi 5s Plus is the company’s first flagship equipped with a dual-camera system – 2x13MP cameras with a dedicated monochrome sensor – for stunning photography. Check out the tech specs: Mi 5s Plus - Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 821 flagship processor - 6GB LPDD4 RAM, 128GB USF 2.0 flash - AnTuTu score of 164,119 - 5.7” display with a comfortable hand feel - Dual-camera, Sony 13MP + 13MP with ClearSight technology. Equipped with RGB sensor plus a dedicated monochrome sensor for higher contrast, superior image noise reduction and more sensitive light capture - 3800mAh 699Wh/L high-density battery with Fast Charge 3.0 technology - NFC equipped; Mi Pay ready Expected price in India Rs. 23,000 – 24,000 (4GB + 64GB); Rs. 26,000 – 27,000 (6GB + 128GB) Mi 5s Alongside this, they also announced the Mi 5s that comes with an ultra-large camera sensor with 1.55 micron pixels and a new ultrasonic under-glass fingerprint sensor. Yep, no more physical

buttons, everything is on the glass itself. Amazingly revolutionary! - Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 821 processor - 600-nit vibrant and crisp customized display, with Sunlight display and Reading mode - Sony IMX378 1/2.3” CMOS sensor with larger 1.55 micron pixels captures more light for sharper details and more vibrant colors (same sensor size used in some of the latest compact digital cameras) - Full-metal premium unibody with seamless button-free front design (just a “dip” on the glass for eyes-free operation of the home virtual button) - Ultrasonic under-glass fingerprint technology recognizes a 3D map of your fingerprints using ultrasonic waves, allowing it to be scanned, removing the need for a physical button - NFC equipped; Mi Pay ready - 4G+ 3xCA LTE carrier aggregation - RMB 1,999 (64GB), RMB 2,299 (128GB) Expected price in India Rs. 20,000 – 22,000 (64GB) Rs. 23,000 – 25,000 (128GB)

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here are several ways of rectification of bad vaastu. Some are traditional methods and some are with the help of energisers. These methods are listed here but an expert should be consulted in case of any doubt. The second method suggested is the traditional way of vaastu correction. This involves demolition and reconstruction of a structure. But it may not be viable and cost effective. So experts are now suggesting different ways to change the negative energy patterns. 1. By changing the entrance, negative orientation can be corrected 2. Changing the structure of the building 3. By Making changes in a room 4. Providing required opening to-

wards North & East Side of a building 5. By making Changes in toilets & Bathrooms 6. By changing the colour of the walls 7. By closing wrongly placed doors and windows and making new ones 8. Closing the south and west sides and creating openings at north and east 9. Shifting persons from one room to another according to suitability 10. Making proper placement of furniture including beds and study tables 11. Making proper lighting arrangements

recipe of the week Koldil Chops As a prelude to the festival season, I’m sharing with my readers a recipe that is easy to do and a great option to keep at home during the festival time. This is a vegetarian dish, which makes it ideal to cook and serve during the Pujas.

PROCESS

Remove the top hard layers of the banana flower, chop the tender part, use the blossom as well, getting rid of the stamens. Soak in water and keep for a while, an hour. (Soaking helps to get rid of the bitterness) Strain it out of the water and pressure cook with minimum water and a teaspoon of salt. Cook for about 3 whistles. Let it cool. Drain the water. Now, mash it up with an wooden spoon or if you are lazy, like me, use a hand blender and give just one blitz. Few rough bits, adds texture, so don’t make it too fine. Pour the banana mix into a large bowl. Add the mashed potatoes and all the other ingredients, except the chick pea flour and the oat meal. Check seasoning and adjust the salt. Add water to the chick pea flour and make a runny batter. Keep aside. You have to use your hands now, dust it lightly with corn flour and take a small portion and dip into the chickpea batter and roll into the oat meal. You will get about a dozen or more. Take oil and heat in a pan, when it is smoking hot, drop these croquettes, fry for about 3/4 mins or until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve with the tomato relish.

12. By removing or adding walls wherever necessary 13. Having proper placement of balconies and terraces 14. Closing unwanted water bodies and creating proper ones 15. Proper positioning of the electrical and sanitary fittings 16. Making or shifting staircases wherever needed 17. Having proper water flow, water storage and drainage 18. Using mirrors to change dimension or regulate flow of energy 19. Using pyramids 20. Using Yantras to remove negative energy and generate positive ones 21. By performing various Puja, Homa or Havan, invoking positive energies within Idols, Healing stones etc. But these have to be performed on a regular basis 22. By planting different trees and plants in different directions 23. By practising Yogic systems like meditation, Pranayama,Reiki, Art of Living, Pranic Healing etc. regularly. 24. Using different types of healing stones like quartz, Tourmaline, Obsidian Crystals etc. 25. Using wind chimes, bells or Mantras to create positive vibrations. Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist

Ingredients • 1 banana flower • 2 medium sized boiled potatoes • 4/5 cloves of garlic, chopped fine • 1 tsp fresh ginger grated • 1/2 cup of fresh grated coconut • 1 tsp salt, adjust to your taste. • 1 tsp cumin powder • 1/2 tsp coriander powder • 1/4 cup chick pea flour • 1/2 cup oats, blitz it to make a coarse powder. Kashmiri Nath Foodie, owner at XOXO cupcakes, food blogger, recipe developer and expert on Assamese cuisine


G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

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Lifestyle THE LIFE BAKERY - by Madhur Jain

Simplest health hack – Drinking water

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often wonder who the hell named our planet “Earth”. I totally believe it should have been called “Ocean”. 3/4th of this third rock from the sun is covered with water, 3/4th of our body is water, every space exploration project looking for LIFE beyond is actually looking for water; that’s how significant water is. Ever had that moment when you need nothing but water; no cola, no coffee, no beer; just water! Since almost 75% of our body is water, it is amazing how just consuming ample water daily can keep us fit, energetic and free from many health problems. Water can be a miracle cure for many common ailments such as headaches, fatigue, joint pain, and much more. We can go for weeks without food, but only 3 days without water! I’ve always been ready to defend myself with brilliant excuses for not drinking water. You might too fit into this description of a person with readymade excus-

es not to drink water. If you think you’ve got a really good reason why you don’t drink water, the thing is, you don’t! I’ve rounded up a few of my best attempts to dodge drinking water, and well, tried giving a really simple, really smart, really common sense way to go ahead and down that H2O. 1. I’m not thirsty! I beg to differ. Once we feel thirsty, we’re already dehydrated. Thirst is our body begging for water. We should drink consistently to stay ahead of thirst. 2. I never remember to drink water. Set markers for yourself throughout the day and always drink water then. Maybe it’s before each meal or at the top of each hour. And when

Smudge proofing your eye kohl!

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f there’s one beauty product Guwahati girls love, it’s their Kajal. Unfortunately, most of us reach the dreaded “smudged Kajal” hours too soon. We blame it on humidity or the brand of Kajal we use, but often the real reason for smudging is your oily eyelids (You may have oily eyelids even if the rest of your skin is normal/dry). If Kajal tends to spread, smudge or disappear from your eyes too soon; here are some hacks you’ll love:

you feel hungry, drink a glass of water before reaching for a snack. We can also take help from some amazingly simple smartphone apps that help us in remembering to drink water like Waterbalance, Hydro coach – drink water, Water your body and many more. 3. I don’t like the way it taste. Then drink a different kind! Water in every city tastes different based on the way its filtered and its unique mineral make up. Every brand of bottled water has a different taste, so choose a brand you like. I prefer drinking lemon water and fruit flavored vitamin water every now and then. One such brand that’s readily available and could also be ordered online is Wild Vitamin Water. Alternatively, you can also choose to consume Gatorade or something else of your choice, just mind the sugar content. 4. I’ll have to pee constantly. This is a common one among those who work in office settings. And it’s valid - but only for a short time. It takes just a few days for your body to get accustomed to being properly hydrated. Once that happens, your body will instinctively better utilize water and your bladder will get stronger. It’s amazing how after you change your habits and start to drink more water your body begins to crave it and you realize how important it is. So, next time, when you feel like gulping down a bottle of soft drink to quench your thirst, try picking up a bottle of water instead.

Madhur Jain

Madhur Jain is the founder, author and podcaster at The Life Bakery. The Life Bakery is focused on sharing life hacks, tech and tools to make life awesome. Visit www.thelifebakery.com

Cool Couture 1. Prep your skin: It is crucially important to clean your face before starting any beauty regimen. Clean your eyelids and apply some rosewater using a cotton swab. Let it dry naturally before going on to apply your Kajal. 2. Set your Kajal: Just as you set the make-up on your face with powder to make it last long, you can set your Kajal in place too. Most Kajals are cream based and can be set with your face powder. Translucent powder is the best option; but if regular face powder is what you have available, this is the order in which you can put the products so the Kajal still looks dark enough- Apply Kajal, set it with powder and top it with another dash of Kajal. Be careful not to apply powder in the waterline of your eye. 3. Eyeshadow trick: Black eyeshadow is perfect for setting your Kajal in place and making it stay longer. By the end of the day, if your Kajal does smudge a bit, you’ll have a nice smokey eye rather than a diplaced dark circle of kohl. 4. Explore a change: Despite doing your best to avoid oil and humidity, if you just cannot get your Kajal to stay in place for the 9 hour work-day, you probably really are using a brand that does not suit. If you are willing to put in 5 seconds of extra effort for fabulous eyes (sharpening the pencil, using an eye brush etc.); some smudge-proof Kajals that I like are Plum Natur Studio All-Day-Wear Kohl (pencil Kajal available at Nykaa.com ), Maybelline Drama gel tub (available online and at stores near you). Cheers to beautifully defined eyes all day! Meenakshi Talukdar Blogger at www.afravelmovie.com. You can follow her daily styling on her Instagram handle @meenakshi_afravelmovie.

Whey protein and fat burning

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hey Protein as we know is one of the hottest selling products of the Fitness & Sports Nutrition Industry. You name it, and a brand of protein comes in front of our eyes available in an alphabetical order. But very few are actually proven to work for building muscles and provide you the desired health benefits to reach your fitness goals.

Whey protein comes in a different types which includes whey protein isolate(WPI) which is basically a fast absorbing protein loaded with all the essential aminos, BCAA’s, and peptide bonded aminos, ideal as the first thing in the morning when your body is deprived of protein and as a post workout. Secondly whey protein concentrate (WPC) is a protein which is moderately slow digesting and contains sugar in the form of lactose helpful as a between meal snack there are also other forms of protein which are basically slow digesting for example- casein protein and bled protein. Whey protein helps to control hunger by controlling the blood sugar and helps in boosting up the metabolic rate. It also enhances immunity. Although whey protein has many benefits like building muscles for which is actually used for, but to examine whether it helps in losing unwanted fat from the body a study was done with a total of 626 healthy adults. Five studies were done during the experiment. The objective of the

analysis was to examine the effect of whey protein (WP), with or without resistance exercise; on body weight and body composition in generally healthy adult study populations. During the test the subjects were divided into two groups to study the effects of whey protein in exercising individuals and non exercising individuals. Furthermore one group was given whey protein as a supplement and the other group was given a placebo. After the tests were over it was found that the subjects who were regularly ingesting whey protein along with exercise have increased their lean body mass were significantly increased and body fat was decreased visibly. CONCLUSION: The current body of Sports Nutrition literature supports the use of whey protein, either as a supplement combined with resistance exercise or as part of a weight loss or weight maintenance diet, to improve body composition parameters. But to get the desired results one should consult a qualified Sports Nutritionist to get the maximum benefits. (Source: Journal American College of Nurition, 2014; Miller PE, Alxander DD, Perez V)

BIBHU MONI SINGHA,

Gym Manager Training & Nutrition Head, SFL Fitness Gym & MMA For further Workout Programs & Diet follow me on Facebook or log on to my website – www.bibhuuniversalfitness. com. You can also watch my videos on my YouTube channel.


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G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Reviews Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput , Disha Patani Director: Neeraj Pandey vie Mo view Re

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o create a true, fullblooded biopic, filmmakers need a free-hand: MS Dhoni The Untold Story, which claims to give us Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Uncut, is much more generous with details from his childhood and his days of struggle than from his blazing tenure as star wicketkeeperbatsman-captain of the Indian cricket team. The result, with the exception of a few interesting bits and pieces, is bland and predictable. The over-long film cherry-picks the details it wants to serve us, skirting all grey areas and controversies: there are no smart nose-digs, only ingratiating bouquets; only hurrahs (the critique is so muted that we can barely hear it), and loud background music which is used to drum up emotion and drama. It begins with promise. Young

Mahi is more interested in football, badminton and tennis, and tries to blow off his first coach (Rajesh Sharma) who spots his potential. The entire ‘bachpan’adolescence section, featuring the father (Anupam Kher) who thinks a job will take his son much further than sports, the mother who believes in her son, the sister (Bhumika Chawla) who is a solid support to him, his bunch of loyal friends who just know he can do it, has been crafted with heart and feels authentic. We see Mahi (Sushant Singh Rajput) trying and failing and trying again, despite all the roadblocks, to keep his eye on his goal: to be part of the Indian team and play for his country, and we root for him. Up till here, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s story, the mostly untold part for most of us, holds us. It tells us that it is right for us to aspire,

and that anyone can do it. Then the curse of the second half strikes, and it goes into an irreversible slide. Two romances arrive in swift succession (Disha Patani, Kiara Advani, both sparkly, both reduced to sidebars). There are songs and dances. There is a stab at the intrigue that governs selection processes at various cricketing bodies, including the mighty BCCI, but it is laughably feeble. This film had potential to present us with the recent Indian cricketing story, warts and all. Sadly it’s more hagiography than biography: the cricketer is reduced to a being singingdancing Bollywood hero rather than a top-flight cricketer, a master strategist, and a captain who led from the front.

Cast: Shreyas Talpade, Manjari Phadnis Director: Ajit Sinha

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e know that the Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan but did you know that the land, on which it was built, belonged to a Maharashtrian farmer? Well, at least that’s what the film wants us to believe. Tukaram (Shreyas Talpade) dressed in a kurta-pyjamajacket and Sundari (Manjari Phadnis) in a low-waist nauvari sari, pitch a tent on the banks of Yamuna in the sweltering Agra-heat, laying claim to the land that the Taj Mahal stands on. As if that isn’t unbelievable enough, there emerges proof, in the form of an age-old letter signed by Emperor Humayun, to back the claim. The hullabaloo draws media attention and puts pressure on

the government to resolve the dispute. A jail-mantri named Visarjan Yadav, the Chief Minister, the leader of the opposition, a top-cop and a social worker; all of them get involved and this, as expected, leads to more problems than solutions. The film then follows the beaten path; one that involves clichés and used-to-death situations. Ever since the film starts, one thing is clear that there’s an underlying motive behind Tukaram and Sundari’s actions. But the filmmaker conveniently keeps that reserved for the climax. Not that the motive explains much but well, at least we get to know the makers’ reason behind making us endure the 100-odd minutes of illogi-

cal genius. As the protagonist, Shreyas goes overboard with forced-humour. His Marathi manoos impersonation doesn’t help things either. Manjari looks beautiful but falls short when it comes to showcasing her acting chops. Hemant Pandey gets his act right though. Wah Taj aims to put focus on the pitiable conditions of farmers and the devil-maycare approach of the government machinery. The end result, however, is a film that has its heart in the right place but nothing new to offer. A few scenes, like the one in the courtroom, stand out in this otherwise average attempt. You can risk watching it once.

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Are we deranged? One of India’s greatest writers, Amitav Ghosh, argues that future generations may well think so. How else can we explain our imaginative failure in the face of global warming? In this groundbreaking return to non-fiction, Ghosh examines our inability at the level of literature, history and politics to grasp the scale and violence of climate change.The extreme nature of today’s climate events makes them peculiarly resistant to the contemporary imagination. In fiction, hundred-year storms and freakish tornadoes simply feel too improbable for the novel and are automati-

cally consigned to other genres. In the writing of history, too, the climate crisis has sometimes led to gross simplifications. Ghosh suggests that politics, much like literature, has become a matter of personal moral reckoning rather than an arena of collective action. But to limit culture and politics to individual moral adventure comes at a great cost. The climate crisis asks us to imagine other forms of human existence a task to which fiction, Ghosh argues, is the best suited of all forms. The Great Derangement serves as a brilliant writer’s summons to confront the most urgent task of our time.

About the Author Amitav Ghosh is an awardwinning novelist and essayist whose books include ‘The Circle of Reason’, ‘The Shadow Lines’, ‘In an Antique Land’, ‘Dancing in Cambodia’, ‘The Calcutta Chromosome’, ‘The Glass Palace’, ‘The Hungry Tide and the Ibis Trilogy: Sea of Poppies’, ‘River of Smoke’ and ‘Flood of Fire’.

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ell, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when I started up Zenith. The concept seemed pretty basic, an RPG structured world with upgradeable equipment and spells, an interesting and dynamic cast of characters such as mages, elves and emperors, and a story woven straight out of medieval fantasy adventure. However, Zenith is much more than just your run of the mill fantasy adventure.Putting on a more comedic tone than other games in this genre, as well as being quite the refreshing departure from the J.R.R Tolkien-esque dark storytelling

that we’ve all come to know. Storytelling that can be found in games such as Dragon Age, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge and The Elder Scrolls series. Comparing Zenith in terms of story isn’t exactly fair when it comes to those bigger budget titles, though. No, Zenith is more closely linked to InXile Entertainment’s notable success The Bard’s Tale in that regard. With the meta humour, the mocking of cliches and the main character’s total departure from the rest of the cast, it really feels like Infinigon was paying homage in a way, or at the very least, giving a wink and a nudge.

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G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Entertainment

‘Ruf & Tuf’

terest in the Assamese movies made by new producers and directors. In this period, Mani Sinha recently completed a full length Assamese film titled ‘Ruf & Tuf ’ which is going to hit the theatres on NovemKALYAN KUMAR KALITA ber 18. The film has been produced by Narendra N. Sinha under the banner of ‘Norman Studio Works’. The film’s story-screenplay and dialogues have been penned by director Mani Sinha. The story revolves around a boy and a girl “Ruf & Tuf’ who are the exis fully a act poles of each commercial other; the boy is a entertainment suspended police film which all officer having a kind of movie rough character and the girl is lovers can a doctor with a enjoy” simple and sweet disposition. Although they are totally different, situations conspire to bring them closer to each other and they fall in love. Yet in their journey they face a lot of problems and for producers which will definitely difficulties and overcoming these obencourage the producers and more stacles is what ‘Ruf & Tuf ’ is all about. people to invest in the Assamese film The romance and love shown in the industry and thereby create quality film is complete new twist. The movie films. It has also been seen that now features some amazing action scenes the Assamese film audiences show in- directed by action director Pradhan

– slated for release on November 18

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few days ago, the edited version of the three chapters of the ‘Assamese Film Policy’ by the new government brought a ray of hope to the Assamese film producers. This new act reduces the service tax

A tribute to Bonkonwar Anandiram Das

Dewri who has recently risen to fame in the state. The key role in the film has been essayed by Gunjan Bhardwaj, Gargi Kristi supported by Pran Krishna Mahanta, Satyen Sarma, Biren Hazarika, Anurupa Deka Raja, Jharna Bishoya, Rajen Neog, Bangkim Rabha, Gunajit Boro, Doli Rani Devi, Debojit Majumdar and Rupam Chakraborty. The music of the film has been scored by Rideep Das. One romantic number of this film has been beautifully rendered by Zubeen Garg and Priyanka Bharali. The cinematography is done by Mumbai based cinematographer Aman Jha through Red-Epic Camera. Make-up is done by Nihar Ranjan Goswami. The director shared his feelings about this movie by saying that, ‘Ruf

KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

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ergreen bongeets was released which received a warm reception in the market. Produced by

Sanchita Saikia under the banner of C.D.S. Creation, the main intention behind the making of this album, entitled ‘Toi Kun Birikhor Pakhi’, is to familiarise, promote and propagate our precious Assamese traditional songs and tunes among the young generation of the twenty-first century. The bongeets by Anandiram Das have been a great source of inf luence among singers, musicians, enthusiasts in the state and even outside. The music in this album has the intrinsic feel of the indigenous traditional music of Assam. All the songs are tuned by noted singer Munindra Kumar Saikia, who rendered four songs – ‘O Maramare Harina Puwali’, O Moina Ture Uraniya Sit’, ‘Kinu Bhab Gun’ and ‘Toi Kun Birikhor Pakhi’, while the other two songs – ‘Jubilee Botahor Aage Oi Faguni’ and ‘Keteki Binale’ are rendered by Dr Anamika Deka (Saikia). The singers make their presences felt with some sincere and heartfelt renditions. An album that truly holds preservation values, the music in ‘Toi Kun Birikhor Pakhi’ is expertly arranged by noted musician Anup Kumar Sarma. Everyone associated with this album has made an effort to reach out to the public, especially the young generation.

& Tuf ’ is fully a commercial entertainment film which all kind of movie lovers can enjoy with their families and he also hoping that the Assamese audiences will accept the film and make it commercially successful one.

Nalbari girl makes her mark in Mumbai

- ‘Toi Kun Birikhor Pakhi’ T

new audio CD containing six of Bonkonwar Anandiram Das’s ev-

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KALYAN KUMAR KALITA

he chances for aspiring talents within the Mumbai film industry has grown dramatically over time. An Assam-born girl has now joined the growing lists of artistes and technicians who have found their niche in the entertainment hub. A native of Nalbari and a former resident of Guwahati, Rayya Labib has sealed the leading role of the heroine in the upcoming Hindi feature film titled ‘Lakme’, where the young actress has poured her heart and soul into it. The film directed by Sanjay Khandelwal under the banner of Look Films, will soon hit the theatres. After completing her early education in Nalbari and higher studies in Guwahati, Rayya embarked on a journey to Mumbai where she aimed to be a model and an actress. After struggling for while, she got an opportunity to work as a professional ramp model in various fashion shows and events. The belle from Nalbari also made a lot of heads turn with her physical beauty and demeanor. It was during a fashion show where she met Sanjay Khandelwal, who was on the lookout for an actress to star in his film ‘Lakme’. It turned out to be a turning point in her career when Rayya was offered the leading heroine’s role. After performing in the upcoming ‘Lakme’, Rayya Labib has also acted in Look Films new venture ‘Hidden’. More recently, she has also been considered for the lead role in a big-budget movie titled ‘F Company’ which is being directed by Rupesh Paul. Interestingly, ‘Lakme’ has been edited by Ram Gopal Verma, one of the famous directors of the Bollywood film industry.


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G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Citypedia Horoscope of the week

Gemini

You will be popular with everybody. Your will be able to overcome your enemies. A gift or inheritance money will come your way. You will also do well in your field of interest. Beware of speculation as it can prove damaging for you. You are likely to be involved in noble deeds. Some auspicious ceremony in your family is on the anvil. Your income will increase . Your proficiency will let you handle even difficult situation. There will be unseen expanses pinching your pocket. Beware of speculation as it can prove damaging for you.

Your all problems will be sort out this week. Promotion or increment is on the anvil for the people in service. You will have a good understanding with your seniors. Business men will get new deals and contracts. Money will simply pour in from all avenues. Family wise it is a very fortunate week as you will enjoy most of the happiness and comforts. Stars foretell that this week is going to be a little complicated for you. Be careful and do not speculate recklessly. Do not take any kind of major risk to repent later.

It is indeed a good time to feel loved and respected by others. Affection and respect will welcome you with open heart. Your hard work and labor will fetch you dividends. Short distance travels will be fruitful. Good news from abroad is possible. Your brothers and sisters will also assist you. Meeting with old friends is also indicated. If you are involved in any speculation, encouraging results are on the anvil. You will bask in the glory of the artistic expression and interpretation.

Sudden and unexpected problems might erupt at end of the week thus spoiling your peace of mind. Try not to be stressful. Speculation and new investments should be controlled. Unemployed natives may have good chance of clearing all the interviews and getting good job. Therefore, be confidant and put your sincere efforts, success would be yours whatever you will undertake. Share inner emotions and feelings without any hesitation. There will be financial progress during this week and you may get money from various sources.

Your all problems will be sort out this week. Promotion or increment is on the anvil for the people in service. You will have a good understanding with your seniors. Business men will get new deals and contracts. Money will simply pour in from all avenues. Family wise it is a very fortunate week as you will enjoy most of the happiness and comforts. Stars foretell that this week is going to be a little complicated for you. It bring along with it heavy and sudden expenditures for you. Be careful and do not speculate recklessly.

You might have to shell out extra money due to some unexpected expense coming up. A partner might behave in a very odd manner. Be willing to listen first before evaluating. Financially it will be an extremely beneficial week. Don’t put off the important tasks in hand. Some of you may go overseas, and initiate the new beginning in their career. Health will remain generally fine baring few minor ailments like headache, cough or cold. You must exercise your patience in certain delicate and emotional matters.

Cancer

Libra

In matters of health there is an exciting chance to begin a new exercise and fitness routine. Socially and romantically, this could be a terrific week. You may travel over this week. Guests from afar may visit you, and you may have a really sweet time entertaining them. Possibly, this week, you may change your investments or make new contractual arrangements. Career wise, you seem to be making progress. You should be patient with your subordinates and listen to what your boss has to say to you this week.

Capricorn

There is possibility that your opponents may win. During this period, your confidence will make you unbeatable. You will also command much regard and respect. This is also a very good week for love and romance. Suddenunexpected gains are also possible. You will come into contact with higher officials and authorities. People in job will have strong chances of promotions and perks. You will feel strongly inclined towards religion and might visit sacred places.

GUWAHATI

Leo

Virgo

Sagittarius

Scorpio

New contacts or ideas may impress, urging a review. Prepare for a test of confidence at home, bringing uncertainty or confusion. This week, your stars focus on simple work transactions. There’ll be furtive incidents in the air. Try to find out happening behind the scenes. A partner or close associate will be under pressure from extended duty. You might focus on ways to earn money in or from your home. Your proficient demands will clash with your requirements. Put your energy cheerfully into your health and fitness.

Aquarius

Relax and enjoy activities happening around you. Initial days of week will keep you happy and contented with everything happening around you. Good news is on the anvil that will pep up your week. Your family will render cooperation letting you focus on opportunity elsewhere. Your financial position will remain satisfactory but will not match up luxuries that you are eyeing. Review and revise your investment plans to make most of the economic situation. Look after your health, taking great care of cleanliness around you.

Your relationship may be slightly upset with family members and friends. You may buy new property or vehicle during this week. Habitually, you will spend extravagantly over household things. It is good week for students and those preparing for any sort of exams. Your relatives will ditch you causing loss of wealth. Overall, this week is going to produce some troubles at work place. There are lots of chances you may get injured during this week so be careful while driving or even while walking on road.

Pisces

Your efforts will bear the preferred results. Even you may also get a golden possibility of foreign traveling. Your name and fame will increase during this week. You will able to come midst famous and powerful people. You will have adequate vigor to accomplish your creative pursuits successfully. Money would be flowing very easily. You will have lot of chances to increase your income. Good news on all fronts will make you much cheerful. You will find great amusement in the nitty-gritties of life.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS RADIO TAXI SERVICES Prime Cabs 0361- 2222233 Green Cabs 0361-7151515 My Taxi 0361-2228888 Cherry Cabs 8876222288

24-HOUR PHARMACIES Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) D Modern Medicos, Maligaon (9864366763) Candid 24x7, Panbazar (2604422) DEAD BODY CARRYING VAN GLP Social Circle 2737373, 9435047046 Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251 GGUMTA 98640-16740 OTHERS Fire Emergency 101 State Zoo 2201363 GMC Carcass Pickup 9435190720, 9864047222 LPG Emergency/Leakage 2385209, 2541118, LPG Booking (ivr System) 7670024365 Child line Guwahati 1098

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY Call Centre – 9678005171

BLOOD BANK

Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665 Ganga Blood Bank 2454742, 2455029 Lion’s Club of Ghy Central 2546611 Marwari Yuva Manch 2546470, 2547251 Saharia’s Path Lab (24 hours) 2458594

AMBULANCE

Ambulance 102 Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665 Downtown Hospital 9864101111, 9435012669 GLP Social Circle 2737373 GGUMTA (Mirza) 03623-227109 Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251 Free Ambulance to GNRC Hospitals Toll Free: 1800-345-0011

police station

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About Sudoko

A Sudoku puzzle consists of 81 cells which are divided into nine columns, rows and regions. The task is now to place the numbers from 1 to 9 into the empty cells in such a way that in every row, column and 3×3 region each number appears only once.         

   

Fatasil Ambari PS: Ph-2471412 Geetanagar PS: Ph-2417323 Hatigaon: Ph-2562383 Jalukbari PS: Ph-2570587 Jalukbari Out Post: Ph-2570522 Jorabat: Ph-2896853 Khanapara: Ph- 2281501 Khetri PS: Ph-2787699, 2787220 Latasil PS: Ph-2540136 Noonmati PS: Ph- 2550281 North Guwahati PS: Ph-2690255 Paltanbazar PS: Ph-2540126 Panbazar PS: Ph-2540106 Pragjyotishpur Ps: Ph-2785237 Women PS Panbazar: Ph-2524627

Marwari Hospital & Research Centre 0361-2602738/39 Marwari Maternity Hospital 0361-2541202/01 Nemcare Hospital 0361-2528587, 2455906, 2457344 Pratiksha Hospital 0361-2337260, 2337183/84 Basistha Military Hospital (2304617/0351) Railway Central Hospital Casuality (2671025) Redcross Hospital (2665114) Sri Sankardeva Netralaya 0361-2233444, 2228879, 2228921

GMC helpline number for garbage collection

Comissioner of Police: 0361-2540278 DCP, Traffic: 0361-2731847 DCP, (Central): 94350-49599 DCP, (East): - 94350-83103 DCP, (West): - 94350-27744 Police Control Room: Ph-2540138, 2540113 Azara PS: Ph2840287 Basista PS: Ph-2302158 Bharalumukh PS: Ph- 2540137, 2731199 Borjhar PS: Ph-2840351 Chandmari PS: Ph- 2660204 Chandrapur PS: Ph-2788237, 2785237 Dispur PS: Ph-2261510 Fancybazar PS: Ph- 2540285

Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) B Baruah Cancer Institute (2472364/66) Brahmaputra Hospital Ltd (2451634/678) Chatribari Christian Hospital 0361-2600051, 92070-44374 Downtown Hospital 2331003, 9864079366, 9435012669 Guwahati Medical College (2529457, 2529561) Guwahati Medical College Emergency (2263444) International Hospital 0361-7135005 Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (2541477, 2543998)

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last week solution

Taurus

Aries

Hospital

TB Hospital (2540193) Wintrobe Hospital 0361-2519860, 98647-77986 IHR-Institute of Human Reproduction 0361-2482619, 098641-03333 Dispur Hospital Reception 97070 20370 82539 99124 361-2235759 (Landline No. / Fax) Hayat Hospital 8011003110 GNRC Hospital 1800-345-0022 (Toll Free) GNRC Ambulance 1800-345-0011 (Toll Free)

Vigilance and anti corruption toll free number

1800-345-3767


G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

7

23

Event

Days

Events

Oct 01st to Oct 07th

Over 5000 participate in Walkathon

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arayana Superspeciality Hospital Guwahati, organized a ‘Walkathon’ themed ‘Power Your Life’ on the occasion of World Heart Day on 29th September at Judges Field. Over 5000 fitness enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, budding athletes, students, police personnel and health professionals from across the city came together to campaign for one cause – to power your life and care for your heart. More than 5000 people walked around the Dighali Pukhuri tank after assembling at Judge’s field. Walkathon saw group participants from National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), SSB (Sashsastra Seema Bal), NF Railways, National Cadet Corp. (1st Assam

BN NCC, 60 Assam BN NCC), Indian Red Cross Society, and various institutes such as Modern English High school, Faculty High School, Gauhati Commerce College, amongst others. The participants also carried banners and placards displaying messages to create awareness about healthy heart and healthy life. . The walk was followed by felicitation of all representatives from different participant groups. Actors from Assamese Film Industry such as Mr. Nipon Goswami, Ms. Poornima Saikia, Ms. Megha Ranjini, Mr. Utpal Das, Mr. Bhrigu Kashyap and singer Ms. Tarini Sharma graced the occasion and flagged off the walk. Bunches of heart-shaped balloons were also released in the air on this occasion.

Celebrity night with Gurmeet Rehal and Varun Sood of Splitsvilla fame at Topaz. Photo Credits: Abhishek Sharma

Oct 8th

Oct 1st, ISL Opening, NEUFC vs Kerala Blasters IGA Stadium

Spring Valley Resort

Oct 3rd

Cafe Copa

Oct 6th Terra Mayaa

Oct 6th

Hotel Vishwaratna


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G PLUS OCT 01- OCT 07, 2016

Catching Up Most shared story of the week New

Chic on the block

211 63 GPlus brought to the public this week a major revelation, a possible reason behind the crisis for ISL tickets in Guwahati. A document with the seal and signature of a Minister of the state government placing a request to the ISL organizers for 100 passes was published of social media and this had the public infuriated. This news was picked up by various media houses and got social media abuzz. facebook.com/guwahatiplus

Guwahati

twitter.com/guwahatiplus

GYAN

Did you know?

Bhimeswar Dwadas Jyotirlinga Dham

G

uwahati is often termed as a spiritual gateway with the Kamakhya Shaktipeeth. However, not many are aware that Bhimeswar Dwadas Jyotirlinga Dham, located at Dakini Hill just beside the Deepor Beel, is one the

twelve Jyotirlingas which represents the radiant sign of Lord Shiva. It is believed that Lord Shiva had incarnated here to destroy a demon called Bhimasura and protect his devotees. There is a mention of real Bhimeswar Dham in Guwahati according to the Shiva Purana which states that Bheemashankar Jyotirlinga is in Guwahati. But this holy shrine remained unknown to the general public for a very long time. The archaeological department has put a board outside in Assamese proclaiming it as Dimbeswar Swamy. However, there is no temple here but a hill stream surrounding the Shivalinga with continuous water flowing over the Linga. Panchadhara (water flowing in five directions over Jyotirlinga) and the name of the Shivalinga, known to local people here, is Panchdhara Dimbeswar Swamy. There is also a Lord Ganesha temple half way up to this dham.

Dolie Joshi About Me Hello Guwahati! This is me Dolie Joshi from the beautiful state of Assam. I completed my graduation in Commerce from Gauhati Commerce College. I have been modelling since 2015 and it’s been a great ride so far. I have made two major highlights in my year long career – I won Miss Photogenic in Fashion Diva, Guwahati 2015 and also Best Personality in Mega Miss Assam 2016. I have recently stepped into the field of acting which is new to me. I believe in sleeping less and dreaming more, because I dream to make it real and I believe in myself and my abilities. I am very passionate about my career. I don’t easily give up and understand that “failure is the pillar of success”. Success is defined by how happy and satisfied you are with your profession. God has shown me the way but to realize it is my destiny. I have a long way to go and have made no plans of stopping. Coordinated by Nisar Ahmed

Ka m u r of the week

PIC OF THE

T

he issue of the vanishing ISL tickets is the main kamur this week as Guwahatians had a tough time calling up people, waiting in long queues at the ticket counters, loading the book my show website every time just to discover that all tickets have been sold out. Many also alleged that the ticket sale process was not transparent and Guwahati’s football fans are a thoroughly upset lot.

WEEK

WHAT DID I JUST HEAR?

asdra

E

xpressing his support towards the Centre’s move of carrying out a surgical strike across the LoC on terror launch pads, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi serted that this was the first step by Prime Minister NarenModi in years worthy of his stature. “I want to thank Modi ji. This is the first step he has taken in two and a half years, worthy of a Prime Minister,” Gandhi said. The slowly receding heat | Photo: Adib Zamali

Printed & Published by Sunit Jain on behalf of Insight Brandcom Pvt. Ltd. and Printed at Arkashish Publications (P) Ltd., Katahbari, Garchuk, Guwahati and Published at H/No. 34, K. C. Choudhury Road, Chatribari, Guwahati - 781008, Editor: Swapnil Bharali. Phone: 0361 2737737, Email: info@g-plus.in, RNI No: ASSENG/2013/52641


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