1. food and drink

Project initiated
to combat
human-leopard conflict
PG 10
Project
Jyoti
persist amidst tepid
response
PG 07
Irina Shayk
Doesn’t ‘Believe in
Plastic Surgery’
Page 23
VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 35
JUN 06 - JUN 12 , 2015
PRICE `10
Rumi Nath
The most
controversial
legislator of
Assam Congress DEATH OF
Auto clampdowns, helpline numbers, frequent checking and much more initiatives were under taken in
the past too by the authorities to make sure that city auto drivers do not charge unreasonable fares. But
this time, after RTA directives, the DTO and other authorities have vowed to end the fare anarchy. Will
the autowalas follow the rules now?
Contd. in page 02
PG
13
2
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
Lead Story
Rahul Chanda
A
uto rickshaw fare in Guwahati
has always been a matter of
concern and the authorities,
inspite of making various rules for the
auto rickshaws every now and then,
have not been able to firmly implement the auto rickshaw meter charge
system in the city.
In October 2013, the minimum
fare for petrol-run autorickshaws
across the state was fixed at `30 by the
transport department. The auto drivers then did not agree to the decision
and even after the Gauhati High Court
ruling directed them to charge fares
according to meter rating, passengers
have always complained that autorikshaws in Guwahati do not ply according to the meter reading.
Recently, the district administration ordered strict action against
autorikshaws and following the directions, the district transport department started seizing autos which
were not following the rule and plying
without charging by the auto meters.
The drive is supposed to continue for
one month and authorities are confident that this time the meter rule will
be implemented fully in the city. But
will it exactly happen? Why is it so difficult for the authorities to streamline
the auto fare problem? Why are the
auto drivers adamant about whatever
charge they decide or fix for plying to
any destination?
The autowalas
An auto driver based in Chatribari said, “I stay in Chatribari but I am
not allowed to wait at the Chatribari
stand because of the local boys who
say that there is no place for a new
auto, so I have to wait near the railway
station. Wherever I go, I have to return
to the Railway Station for passengers.”
Similarly an auto driver based
at Jyotikuchi, Dilip Deb said, “At the
stands where we wait, we are expected
to charge the same amount of fare
which is asked by other auto drivers
even if personally we think that it is a
bit high. If we do not back the other
auto drivers, the local drivers act rudely with us.” He also said that charging
the passengers according to the price
meter is impossible in Guwahati as
huge traffic jams, poor road condition
etc, adds to the cost of the travelling
and maintenance of the vehicle. The
petrol price too keeps increasing every
second day according to him. He also
said that he tries to take reasonable
price from the passengers but it is not
possible always.
A city resident who works as a
medical representative and frequently
travels across the city for his work is
very upset by the way the auto drivers charge fares from him. He said,
“I have never met a single auto driver
who charges according to the meter
ratings. I go to any stand in the city,
the auto drivers have a fixed charge to
travel to any place in the city which is
often very high. Sometimes if I try to
hire a plying auto near any stand, the
stationary auto drivers do not allow
the plying auto to stop there, but usually the rate asked by those autos are
a bit cheaper. I will be very happy if
autos start charging according to meter readings as it will be helpful for all
and the auto drivers will not be able to
charge exorbitently from passengers.”
The leaders
By the end of 2013, when the
transport department revised the fare
structure, the auto associations were
against the decision and even went to
the extent of saying that fare meters are
not possible in Guwahati, but what is
their view now?
Guwahati Auto Rikshaw Malik
Sanstha president Prakash Medhi said,
“We are ready to charge according
to the meter reading and all the auto
drivers have been instructed accordingly, but, the problem is that there
are lack of meter repairing centres in
Guwahati which makes it difficult for
the auto owners to repair the damaged
meters in autos.” He further stated that
the auto drivers can park their autos
at any stand and there is no issue of
parking at particular stands but some
local drivers do not allow the drivers
from other areas to park autos in their
stand and even after a lot of discussion,
the situation is still the same. He said,
“We have submitted a memorandum
to the DTO and the DC to create more
centres where meters can be repaired
so that the damaged meters can be repaired and used but till then the autos
plying with damaged meters should be
spared.”
DEATH OF
Authorities vow to end auto drivers’
demands for unreasonable fares
Enforcement DTO Munin Das
said, “We have visited various spots
with the legal metrology department
to find out whether the meter repairing centres are working and there are
around 500 spots were meter are sold
and repaired.” He further added that
on 1st June, the DTO seized 19 autos
and another 30 autos on June 2 for
not charging the passengers according
to auto meter readings. He said that
this time legal action would be taken
against offenders as per provisions of
the Motor Vehicle Act if they fail to
comply with the directives.
DTO licensing and registration,
Gautam Das said that there are two
helpline numbers (9706070454 and
8402010333) where the public can call
and complain against the auto drivers
who do not charge according to the meter reading and their driving license will
be suspended. He further said that soon
there will be an initiative where badges
will be provided to authentic auto drivers so that public can know which auto
to hire. The drivers should have a minimum qualification of class 10 pass. He
also said that the traffic police has to
help the DTO in fully implementing the
directives by checking the autos as the
DTO is running short of man power.
Fare rule
Booking fee
Not applicable
Minimum fare
`30 for the first 2 km against the meter
reading of `10
Above minimum fare
`3 for subsequent 200 meter or part i.e Rs 15 for
subsequent 1 km
Waiting charge
`3 for every 5 minutes i.e `36 for every one hour
Night timing
10 pm to 5 am
Night extra fare
50% increase over the normal fare
Helpline number of the District Transport Office if auto drivers do not charge according to the above mentioned rate
84020 10333 / 97060 70454
[email protected]
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
3
City
4
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
In The News
Is the
traffic
police
powerless
against
the autos?
Rahul Chanda
D
TO officials say that without
the help of the traffic police it
would be difficult for them to
enforce the directives of the Regional
Transport Authority (RTA) which is
headed by the deputy commissioner.
The DTO officials also claim that they
have a shortage of manpower which
do not allow them to enforce things
on an everyday basis. Talking about
the city traffic police, personnel below the rank of a sub inspector cannot fine any vehicle and according to
police sources there are very few of-
ficers of the rank of SI and above in
the traffic department.
According to Munin Das, DTO,
Enforcement, the police do not have
the power to fine the auto drivers for
auto fare but they can hand over the
auto drivers to the DTO. So, if a constable catches an auto driver at Chandmari for not charging according to
the meter, that auto driver has to be
taken to the DTO by that constable.
Similarly another auto driver from a
different location has to be taken by
another constable which again does
“We are trying our
best to help the DTO
to enforce the RTA
directives on the
auto drivers and with
whatever manpower
we have, we will try
and make sure that
the auto drivers
charge their passengers according to the
meter reading.”
Pranab Jyoti Goswami
DCP, Traffic
not sound feasible as the traffic police
is also running short of man power
and also have to take care of other law
and order situation, VIP duties etc.
Traffic DCP Pranab Jyoti Goswami said, “We are trying our best to
help the DTO to enforce the RTA directives on the auto drivers and with
whatever manpower we have, we will
try and make sure that the auto drivers charge their passengers according
to the meter reading.” He also said
that the enforcement process should
be continuous to solve the issue.
However, according to highly
placed sources in the DTO, although
there are 18 inspectors, sometimes 9
inspectors are on leave at the same
time. There are also instances of
the entire DTO enforcement body
checking the vehicles for any reason together at one particular spot.
If 18 inspectors are deployed at 18
locations then there shouldn’t be a
problem to enforce things including
all the vehicular problems from autos to trucks. The DTO has decided
that intensive checking will be done
to check that auto drivers charge according to meter readings throughout the month of June, but the question remains why only June, and not
a sustained campaign remains the
moot question?
[email protected]
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
5
In The News
City
metro
rail
dream to come true
RAHUL CHANDA
W
ith an aim of making communication easier and addressing the ever increasing problem of traffic congestion in
Guwahati, the metro rail feasibility study was initiated by Guwahati
Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) in the month of January 2014. The estimated budget of
the study was RS 25 crore and the
objective of the study was to analyse
the feasibility, viability, cost and possibilities of construction of metro rail
in Guwahati. G plus expores the exact
status of the study and the possibility
whether Guwahatians will ever see
metro rail.
Status
GMDA Chairman Dhiren Baruah said, “Assam chief minister
Tarun Gogoi is very eager to start the
metro rail in Guwahati at the earliest
and the preliminary feasibility study
report says that it is possible to construct metro rail in Guwahati.” After
the approval of the concept paper
and terms of references for rail Mass
Rapid Transit System (MRTS) by the
union urban development ministry
in July 2013, GDD had said that it will
take atleast six years to complete the
first phase of the metro rail project in
the city. It was decided by the GMDA
then that the feasibility study and
DPR will be supervised by a 19-member monitoring-cum-advisory committee under the chairmanship of
the state chief secretary. The DPR
was expected to be completed in ten
to twelve months. Nine international
firms had participated in the bidding
process, including companies from
the USA, France, Spain, Germany,
Korea and Singapore for conducting
the study and the government enterprise RITES was chosen to conduct
a feasibility study and submit a detailed project report. The budget of
the study was Rs 25 crore.
The report
Highly placed sources in the
GMDA said that the preliminary report of the study was submitted to
GMDA on 22nd May 2015 and according to the report, metro rail is
feasible for Guwahati.
“Assam chief
minister Tarun
Gogoi is very
eager to start
the metro rail
in Guwahati at
the earliest and
the preliminary
feasibility study
report says that
it is possible
to construct
metro rail in
Guwahati.”
Dhiren Baruah,
Chairman, GMDA
According to the source, the report says that 203 km MRTS can be
constructed in three phases. Phase
1 – 58 km, Phase 2 – 76 km & Phase
3 – 69 km.
The phase 1 covering 58 kilometres will have three corridors
as suggested by the study (Airport
to Narangi – 28 km, MG Road to
Khanapara – 11 km and Jalukbari to
Khanapara – 19km). For operation of
phase 1, two maintenance and operation depot will be required and Rites
have identified locations for 5 depots
in the city. The study was conducted
in five districts (Kamrup, Darrang,
Morigaon, Kamrup (M) and Nalbari). The preliminary project cost of
the MRTS is estimated as Rs 13,588
crore. There will be a requirement of
20-25 hectre of land for the depots in
the first phase.
According to the GMDA chairman, it is a dream project but they
cannot declare the exact time frame
to start the project right now as there
are further scrutiny to be done. The
central government has to sanction
funds for the project and all the technical aspects has to double checked.
According to him, although the preliminary study says that it is feasible
to construct metro rail in Guwahati,
the entire process will take some
time. He also said that the entire project will be an over ground project.
Although the metro rail feasibility report mentions that construction
of MRTS is feasible in the city, many
observers also feel that Guwahati is
pretty small for such communication
options and it will further increase
the chaos. Besides, with the history
of various modern approaches failing
every now and then like the city ropeway, the question remains whether
metro rail will ever ply in Guwahati?
• Union urban development ministry approved
concept paper and terms of references for rail Mass
Rapid Transit System in July 2013
• GMDA appointed Rites as the organisation to
conduct feasibility study in a budget of Rs 25 crores
• Rites started the study in January 2014
• Study was conducted in six districts (Kamrup,
Darrang, Morigaon, Kamrup (M) and Nalbari)
• Preliminary feasibility study report submitted to
GMDA on 22nd May 2015
• Study findings say city feasible for metro rail
• 203 km MTRS can be constructed in three phases
Phase 1 – 58
km
Phase 2 – 76 km
Phase 3 – 69 km
• The preliminary estimated budget for the project is
Rs 13,588.00 crore
• Initially first phase work will be started in three
corridors
• Airport to Narangi – 28km
• MG Road to Khanapara – 11km
• Jalukbari to Khanapara – 19 km
• Technical clearance and fund allocation by the
centre yet to be done.
[email protected]
Prime Cabs environment awareness drive
O
n the occasion of World Environment Day, Prime Cabs,
Assam’s leading radio taxi
operator today initiated an awareness
drive amongst its commuters.
With it’s campaign ‘Our Planet,
Our Responsibility’, the company
wants to raise awareness on environ-
mental issues faced by us in the region.
Through the initiative Prime Cabs has
focussed on creating awareness on waste
reduction and forest conservation as the
primary concerns plaguing the region.
Dhimmant Bansal, COO of Prime Cabs
said, “ Through this campaign we wish
to bring environment at the forefront of
the conversation at a time when the customers’ attention is most captive within the
vehicle”.
Prime Cabs started its operations in
August 2012 and is the first company to
launch metered ‘Radio cabs’ in Guwahati.
It has grown exponentially from 30 cabs to
over 150 air conditioned sedans.
6
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
In The News
GMC proposes
`195
cr
project
to shift boragaon dumping site
Kalyan Deb
F
ollowing the Kolkata-based
Eastern Zone (EZ) Bench of the
National Green Tribunal (NGT)
imposing a fine of Rs.10,000 on each
of the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary-cum-Additional Chief
Secretary (Revenue) of the State for
their failure to file an affidavit on the
issue of an alternative site for dumping of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
of Guwahati from the present dumping site near Deepor Beel, the GMC
has proposed a Rs.195 crores project
to the government to shift the current
garbage-dumping site from Boragaon
near the lone Ramsar Site wetland of
the state.
The proposed site situated in Panikhaiti near Narengi as allotted by
the District Commissioner Kamrup
(Metro) is accessible through National
Highway 37.
GMC commissioner, Narayan
Konwar, said “Unlike the present
dumping site in Boragaon, the site in
Panikhaiti will be a garbage processing
unit and three projects will be carried
out viz. organic manure, waste to energy and RDF (Refuse-derived fuel)
plant for better utilisation of the collected garbage.”
However, the required span of
time required to setting up of the new
unit can not be estimated as of now
since the proposal has recently been
forwarded to the government and
there are several other necessary steps
in order to build the processing unit
such as boundary walls including a
6kms road, Konwar said.
Following the proposal, the government will file an affidavit on the
issue of alternative site for dumping of
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) within
the provided deadline by National
Green Tribunal.
In the same order, the EZ Bench of
the NGT has also asked the State Chief
Secretary and the Additional Secretary (Revenue) to file affidavits on the
issue of alternative MSW dumping site
within six weeks from May 28, 2015.
The EZ Bench of the NGT, in its
May 28 order passed in this connection with the Original Application
No.19/2015/EZ Rohit Choudhury
versus Union of India and Others, has
directed both the Chief Secretary and
the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) to deposit their fine amounts
with the EZ NGT Bar Council, Kolkata for being utilised ‘for the purpose of
filing different cases as public interest
litigation on the issue of environmental protection.
The NGT Bench said in its May
28 order stated, “Despite our direction on several occasions, no affidavit
has been filed by the Chief Secretary,
Government of Assam. In terms of our
earlier order dated 27/04/2015, we directed the Chief Secretary of the Government of Assam and the Principal
Secretary cum Additional Secretary
of the Revenue Department, Government of Assam to submit the report
in the form of affidavit for alternative
dumping site of municipal solid waste
as a last chance. Ld Counsel Pinaki
Ranjan Chakraborty appearing for the
Chief Secretary, State of Assam submits that he has no instruction about
filing of the affidavit in terms of our
earlier direction.”
Having regard to such state of
affairs, as it is causing hindrance for
speedy disposal of the matter by this
Bench, we are constrained to pass or-
der imposing a cost of Rs 10,000/- each
on the Chief Secretary of the Government of Assam and the Principal Secretary cum Additional Secretary of the
Revenue Department, Government
of Assam for non-compliance of our
orders on several occasions and to file
affidavit as to why our orders as passed
earlier on several occasions have not
been complied with, according to the
order, adding that “Let such affidavit
disclosing the reason for non-filing of
the report relating to alternative site
for dumping the municipal solid waste
be filed by six weeks.”
July 22, 2015 has been fixed as the
next date in this case for consideration
of the affidavits of the two senior most
officers of the State Government on
the issue of alternative MSW dumping site.
[email protected]
Meet on Political Science glossary in GU
T
he Commission for Scientific
and Technical Terminology,
Ministry of Human Resource
Development, Department of Higher Education, Government of India
organised a five day meeting in relation to the preparation of a Political Science Glossary (Assamese
language) in the Department of Political Science, Gauhati University
from June 1 to June 5.
Political scientists from different
parts of the state participated and
forwarded suggestions on different
aspects of the terms to be included in
the glossary. Those who participated
include Professor Alaka Sarma, Professor Akhil Ranjan Dutta, Dhruba
Pratim Sharma, Dwijendra Nath
Deka, Imran Hussain, Utpal Saikia,
Dibyajyoti Dutta, Priyanka Sharma
and Pranjal Sarma Bashistha. The
meeting was presided over by Professor Alaka Sarma, Head of the Department, Department of Political Science, Gauhati University.
She stated that work on preparation of the Political Science Glossary
(Assamese language) that started in
2013 is almost completed with about
3,600 terms being translated from
English to Assamese language. She
also highlighted the fact that the glos-
sary will be of immense importance
for teachers, researchers and students
and will provide useful insight in the
study of political science as well as
other academic disciplines.
Dhruba Pratim Sharma of
Gauhati University coordinated the
meeting. The entire programme
was the outcome of the sincere efforts made by the Chairman of
the Commission, Professor K.L.
Varma and the officer-in-charge,
Shahzad Ahmed Ansari, Assistant
Scientific officer (Political Science). Once published, free copies
of the glossary will be distributed
to all the participants and experts
of the seminars, orientation programmes and conferences organized by the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology
in Assam.
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
Project Jyoti
persist amidst tepid response
Kalyan Deb
T
he Guwahati Municipal Corporation’s (GMC) Project Jyoti: Own Your
Streetlight scheme, aimed at illuminating the city streets, has received a tepid
response from city residents. As part of the
project, earlier this year, GMC had planned
to install 10,000 streetlights across the city
after it receives applications from individuals and business establishments against a
one-time fee of `300 and average monthly
expense of around `25 per month.
The application amount of `300 was
later reduced to `100 as decided in a general meeting held in the month of February, in order to attract more people to come
forward in making the project a success. As
asserted by a GMC official, those who had
applied for the streetlight against the sum of
`300, the applicants will be refunded with
`200 on the completion of the project.
“Against the estimated target of 10,000
streetlights, 4,000 applications have been received so far and orders for 1,000 light poles
have already been passed, out of which the
foundation of over 200 light posts have already been initiated”, said a GMC official.
The final tender of installing the streetlights has been passed to Simoco Telecommunications (South Asia) Ltd. after an open
tender procedure was offered by GMC
where eight companies were selected for the
final bidding out of the 26 companies who
came forward.
“The company will also be responsible
for maintenance of the streetlight till seven
years of installation. The applicants will also
be provided with a help-line number to restore any kinds of fault in the streetlights
and the company will be given a particular time span in order to handle the faulty
“It is because
that people
have not
seen the
streetlights
yet so it has
not convinced
the people
enough to
apply for
the same,
but once the
lights are
inaugurated
it should
attract more
4,000 to 5,000
applicants”,
Narayan Konwar,
Commissioner, GMC
Mayor’s office
Uzanbazar
Head office
Panbazar
Electrical Branch
B Borooah Road (near Nehru Stadium)
East Zone
R.G.Baruah Road (near Ambika petrol pump)
Dispur Zone
Super Market
South Zone
South Sarania
West Zone
Fancy Bazar
Lokhra Zone
Lokhra (near Lokhra chariali)
streetlight and penalty will be charged on the
company if they fail to do the same within the
particular time period”, the official informed.
However, a section of residents complained about having to pay extra for well-lit
streets, which is also a major reason for the
apathetic response. According to them, their
taxes should cover a basic amenity like properly illuminated streets. A GMC official, however, attributed the poor response to lack of
publicity.
“A section of residents have welcomed
the initiative and most applications have
been received from areas such as Dispur
and Jalukbari but it is due to lack of publicity, that people have not responded as well as
we had anticipated. However, the project has
been discussed with the councilors and ward
members of all 31 wards of the city in order to
spread awareness among the residents and let
them know about the details”, the official further asserted adding, “Since the installment
of the general street lights is a much lengthier
process so in order to make the process more
convenient, the initiative of Project Jyoti was
taken up.”
GMC commissioner Narayan Konwar
informed, “The inauguration of the project
will be held by the chief minister which would
help create more awareness and would motivate more people to apply for the LED streetlights.”
“It is because that people have not seen
the streetlights yet so it has not convinced the
people enough to apply for the same, but once
the lights are inaugurated it should attract
more 4,000 to 5,000 applicants”, the optimistic
commissioner added.
It was mentioned earlier that the new
lights would be installed on a ‘first-come, firstserved’ basis. The GMC said the streetlights,
low-energy, 16-W, 15-ft-high LEDs, will be
installed within the premises of the applicant’s
building while the minimum distance between two streetlights will be 25 meters.
The application forms are available at six
divisional offices besides GMC commissioner’s office, Panbazar and electrical division office in B Borooah Road while the process is
simple as the submission of the form requires
no additional document, which is available
at the nearest offices against the installation
amount of `100.
[email protected]
7
Bazaar
8
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
City
MAGGI
FOUND TO CONTAIN MSG & LEAD
BANNED FOR 30 DAYS
Juthika Baruah
T
he state government has
banned the sale of perhaps, one
of the most popular food items
since ages, the most sold and all time
favourite of the youth, Maggi noodles
for a period of 30 days after it was recently found to contain Mono Sodium
Glutamate (MSG) and lead, beyond
the legally permissible limits.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday had sought a report
from the health department about allegations of presence of harmful material in popular snack Maggi noodles.
The tests were carried out on as
many as 40 samples of Maggi noodles
in the state out of which four samples
of the popular instant food was found
unfit for human consumption.
The Food and Drug Administration has already banned Maggi in
many states like Uttar Pradesh, Kerala,
Delhi and the authorities have also
lodged complaint against Amitabh
Bacchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta for manipulating the people
through their endorsement of Maggi.
M.M. Sarma, a consumer said that
he has stopped buying Maggi, which
used to be the favourite food item of
his children. “I don’t want to take risk
and therefore I stopped buying all
kinds of noodles as it might be harmful for the health of my children,” said
Sarma.
The recent news that Maggi contains
MSG is true and what should have
been tested earlier has come to
notice now. The children do not
get proper food value from Maggi
for which they become obese and
therefore, it should be avoided
Meanwhile, the Assam Government has also instructed all the retailers and shopping malls to stop selling
Maggi. An official of Big Bazaar said
that they have stopped selling Maggi
which used to be one of the highest
selling products.
Speaking to G Plus, Food Safety
Officer of Kamrup (M) Samiran Baruah said that excess of any food is
bad for health, not just Maggi. He said,
“Earlier we found problems in packaged drinking water and we closed
down the concerned factory. We also
filed a case against the factory but after
the case was solved, it was reopened.
Similarly, if we find any problem in
packaged food, we immediately send
instructions not to sell such products
in the market.”
Maggi has been the favourite food
among the youth since long as it can
be prepared in just two minutes. It is
especially popular among hostel students who prefer to have Maggi as it is
easy to prepare.
A private service holder, Mridula
Das, while speaking to G Plus said, “I
love Maggi more than anything else
although I know Maggi is bad for
health. Maggi was in news recently
because it contains MSG but still I
prefer Maggi although now sometime
I replace Maggi with Yippee, another
noodle brand.”
An employee of Big Bazaar also
said that Maggi or any type of noodles
is the highest selling item at the mall
as people from all age groups prefer
it. “Maggi is easy to prepare and it
is mostly students who come to buy
Maggi as it takes less time to prepare
and is also tasty. As the food quality in
hostels is generally bad, students opt
for noodles rather than have such insipid food,” the official said.
Another retailer said that Maggi
is the highest sold item with parents
mostly coming to buy Maggi as children prefer the noodle to rice or any
other food item.
A parent also said that her child
consumes Maggi two-three times a
day. “My son loves Maggi a lot and he
doesn’t have any interest in other food
items but if I give him Maggi, he will
have more in quantity than required.
Sometimes I don’t have any other option but to give him Maggi as he refuses to take any other food. Although
I know that eating so much Maggi is
not good for him but I am left with no
other option but to give him noodles
as I can’t keep him hungry,” said the
mother.
Even the noted Bollywood actress
Madhuri Dixit has been issued a notice by the Haridwar Food and Drug
Administration asking her to report
the nutritional value of the product
which she claims in the advertisement.
She has been given a period of 15 days
to prove her claims and if she fails, a
case will be registered against her.
Dr. Dipti Sarma, faculty of
Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), while talking to G Plus
said that Maggi is very harmful, especially for women, as it contains high
amount of protein. “The recent news
that Maggi contains MSG is true and
what should have been tested earlier
has come to notice now. The children
do not get proper food value from
Maggi for which they become obese
and therefore, it should be avoided,”
said Dr. Sarma.
Popular chef Atul Lahkar while
speaking to G Plus said, “The problem of Maggi is with the taste maker.
The MSG found in Maggi is 7 per
cent which is much higher than the
amount said to be present at 1.2 per
cent. The company should not manipulate the customers by presenting
wrong information. It is not only Maggi but all packaged food contains fat,
calories and protein in high amount.
Kurkere, different brands of potato
chips and even KFC items have high
MSG content which is also known as
Ajinomoto. People should be aware of
these facts and I request the people to
consume local food items rather than
such readymade food products.”
Lahkar said that people should
concentrate on regular and traditional
food, which is healthy and children
should make it a habit of consuming
such foods instead of packaged foods.
The future of the people and the society should be healthy, which is to be
found in home-made foods.
[email protected]
9
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
City
Is the quality of
education deteriorating
in city schools and colleges?
Juthika Baruah
G
uwahati schools failed to outshine their contemporaries
across the state this year in
the High School Leaving Certificate
(HSLC) examination of SEBA with the
first five positions being bagged by the
students from outside the city whereas
city students could secure only the
later six positions.
The results of the Central Board
of Secondary Education (CBSE) and
the Secondary Education Board of
Assam (SEBA) from the city have deteriorated since previous years but the
question that arise is why the results
have declined. “There is not a single
factor for the deteriorating results of
city schools. It is not that the quality
of educational institutions have gone
down in Guwahati but for the fact that
good schools are coming up in the rural areas as well for which students in
rural areas are also passing out with
flying colours. Most of the schools in
the city have shifted to CBSE curriculum which is also one of the reasons
that most position holders are from
outside the city. In CBSE there are no
position holders, there is the grade
system and even if a student passes
with good marks, they don’t come into
the limelight,” said Nirada Devi, Principal of Cotton College while speaking
to G Plus.
She said that the CBSE curriculum
has not yet reached the rural areas as it
has in the city. Devi said, “The infrastructure of the government schools
should be developed in order to bring
back the trend of enrolling students
in a government institution as most
private schools have shifted to CBSE
curriculum for which the city schools
under the state board fail to show the
best results.”
While asked about why the Cotton
College could not obtain top 5 positions, the Principal said that they guide
the students to be a good person and
prepare them to compete in the competitive examinations at the national
level rather than to secure a position.
“Securing a position is not the ultimate
goal, the real achievement is when a
student succeeds in passing competitive examinations and serve the society
“The infrastructure of the government
schools should be developed in order to
bring back the trend of enrolling students
in a government institution as most private
schools have shifted to CBSE curriculum
for which the city schools under the state
board fail to show the best results.”
at the end of the day. The marks in the
HSLC or HS are glimpses of their capabilities but the actual marks obtained
by a student is when they become good
human beings in their preferred choices of professions,” the principal added.
She also said that earlier students
used to come to the city for higher
studies but with the setting up of more
colleges and institutes in all districts
across the state which provide quality
education, parents now prefer to make
their children study in their own native places rather than outside. “When
students come outside for higher
studies, they have to live in hostels,
in rented accommodations or as paying guests which sometimes becomes
risky as there are related security issues. Therefore, parents now-a-days
prefer to get their children admitted in
local colleges,” added Devi. She further
stated that the government institutions
should follow some norms and they
don’t categorize the students. All the
students are treated equally while the
private institutions do not follow such
norms. “The private institutions take
care of the bright students leaving behind the weak ones and as the brilliant
students are being taken care of with
utmost concern, they bagged the top
positions,” she added.
The pass percentage of HSLC this
year is 62.20 per cent which has deteriorated since last two years which was
70.71 per cent in 2013 and 61.42 per
cent in 2014. The pass percentage of
Kamrup (M) is 77.21 per cent while
the number of appeared candidate was
1,4,655 and the number of candidate
passed was 1,1315. The pass percentage of male was 66.54 per cent while
that of female was 58.14 per cent.
The first position holders in HSLC
examination is Ripunjay Kalita (97.8
per cent) from Barpeta and out of the
34 rank holders, only six students have
bagged positions from the city, namely
Nabankur Deka (6th), Sabira Farheen
(8th) and Gargee Sarma (10th) from
Sudershan Public Academy, Bijit Kalita (6th) from Angel English High
School, Krishna Chakravarty (7th)
from St. Stephen High School and
Ipshita Bhuyan (8th) from St. Mary’s
High School.
[email protected]
Weather report for the week
SAT
06 June
SUN
07 June
MON
08 June
TUE
09 June
WED
10 June
THU
11 June
FRI
12 June
Heavy rain
Heavy rain
Heavy rain
Heavy rain
Tons of rain
Showery. Mostly cloudy
Thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy.
24 / 30 °C
24 / 32 °C
23 / 29 °C
23 / 27 °C
23 / 28 °C
20 / 24 °C
20 / 24 °C
10
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
City
Project initiated to combat
Kalyan Deb
H
uman leopard conflicts have
become a persistent problem in urban Guwahati with
residents in several areas of the city
encountering these ferocious felines
at least once, in an experience which
is both disturbing and exhilarating.
However, several researches and initiatives are now being initiated in order
to bring down such conflicts.
It is not a fact alien to most Guwahatians that areas such as Nilachal
Hills, Maligaon, Pandu, Sundarbari,
etc. are most prone to such encounters
and authorities and environmentalists have all geared up to avoid such
encounters and make people aware
about the dos and don’ts during such
encounters.
Earlier this year, the Wildlife
Trust of India (WTI) announced its
collaboration with the Assam forest
department to come up with a project
to mitigate leopard-animal conflict in
Guwahati.
The project - Human-Leopard
Conflict Mitigation through Community Participation in Guwahati Metro
– with the slogan ‘Save the Phantom’
is being implemented by the zoology
department and is being carried out
by Anjan Sangma and Mridul Bora,
scholars, Gauhati University and project advisor professor Prasanta Kumar
Saikia.
The project aims to sensitise local
communities as well as all the stakeholders involved in this regard for
better management of the conflict and
also aims to organise altogether 18
awareness camps around the city concentrated towards spreading awareness about the dos and don’ts during
any such encounter. The project also
aims to form 18 teams of volunteers
in different areas across the city, where
the volunteers will motivate the people against the killing of leopards and
informing the forest department immediately.
human-leopard
conflict in the city
Guwahati is said
to be the only
city in the world
with a huge
urban wildlife
concentration.
However,
destruction of
wildlife habitat
due to unplanned
expansion of
the city poses
grave threat
to Guwahati’s
otherwise rich
urban wildlife
population.
Following a recent camp that was
organised at Pandu Templeghat on
May 7th the project has been successful in forming the country’s first ever
all-women, human leopard conflict
volunteer team. A similar camp was
also organised within the premises of
Gauhati University and the same will
continue in areas where leopards are
sighted frequently.
The city of Guwahati has seen a
spurt in the human-leopard conflicts
since the 90s. In the last few years, the
conflict has taken a turn for the worse
with a number of the species being
killed by local residents in areas frequented by these felines. Large-scale
encroachment of forestlands and in
the hills that used to provide safe refuge for the big cat has shown a disturbing trend that the leopard is set
for extinction in the city.
Guwahati is said to be the only
city in the world with a huge urban
wildlife concentration. However, destruction of wildlife habitat due to
unplanned expansion of the city poses
grave threat to Guwahati’s otherwise
rich urban wildlife population.
Leopard is a non predatory animal and both humans and the big cat
have co-existed over the centuries.
However, decrease in the number of
preying food like small animals due
The country’s first ever all-women, human leopard conflict volunteer team with project co-ordinator Mridul Borah
to encroachment in the fringe areas of
forests, have forced the animal to develop a tendency to prey on cattle and
livestock.
This has led to reduction in the
tolerance levels of the people towards
the animal, leading to killing of leopards.
However, there is no history of
leopards attacking people unless they
are provoked or threatened as the big
cats attack only in self-defense. There
is 99.9 per cent negative casualty in the
Pandu area, which is one of the most
leopard sighted areas in Guwahati.
Such encounters are witnessed only
during winter as the leopards appear
in human habitations in search of water and decreasing natural prey populations in the wild.
However, from the months of
June to October, leopard encounters
is equal to none as the availability
of preys in the denser forest areas is
much favourable.
“Awareness is the first step of conservation and we firmly believe that
the project will help in the sustainable conservation of leopards in the
city. We hope that after the successful
completion of the project, we will have
sensitised the people of the city how to
deal with man-animal conflict scenarios,” said Mridul Bora, project coordinator of the first of its kind project.
“The conflict has come up due to
the extensive loss of natural habitats,
intensive urban human population
and encroachment in forest areas. It
can only be brought down if such encroachments can be confined and the
only process is through controlling of
human population. The project will
also hold awareness camps in schools
in order to reach the children and
make them more aware of their ecological surroundings”, Bora added.
Meanwhile, it is hoped that the
chief minister’s ambitious afforestation programme at Chakradoi, Rani
that was recently initiated at restoring
and enhancing the green cover in the
city’s hills and reserved forests would
play a major role in restoring the natural habitat for the members of the cat
family.
In the programme, eighteen hills
of the city and eight reserved forests
are to be covered under the plantation
drive initiated by the Kamrup (Metro)
district administration and the Forest
Department. A total of 20 lakh saplings are to be planted as part of the
programme.
The chief minister had also
stressed on the need for awareness and
action on the ground for increasing
and maintaining the city’s green cover
and said that similar plantation drives
should be carried out across the state.
Bora said that a positive prediction could be made with the afforestation process and such conflicts can be
minimised in the times to come.
Bora also informed that after
evaluating the success of the project,
the volunteer teams will be made a
state level team and will be paid for
their job along with a well-equipped
team. There are several other projects
under way initiated by NGOs such as
Aranyak.
[email protected]
11
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
College Admissions
Important Dates
Application form Issuing Date Application form Submission date
Admission Date
H.S. 1st year
03.06.2015
12.06.2015
18.06.2015
B. Com 1 year
03.06.2015
16.06.2015
01.07.2015
st
Cotton College
Course
Application form Issuing
Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
H.S. 1st year (Sc) day shift
01.06.2015 to 11.06.2015
11.06.2015
12.06.2015
H.S. 1st year (Sc) 2nd shift
01.06.2015 to 11.06.2015
11.06.2015
13. 06.2015
H.S. 1st Year (Arts)
01.06.2015 to 11.06.2015
11.06.2015
15.06.2015
B.Sc 1 Semester
05.06.2015 to 29.06.2015
29.06.2015
06.07.2015 & 07.07.2015
05.06.2015 to 29.06.2015
29.06.2015
08.07.2015 & 09.07.2015
06.06.2015 to 29.06.2015
29.06.2015
10.07.2015
05.06.2015 to 29.06.2015
29.06.2015
10.07.2015
st
B.A. 1st Semester
B.Sc (Biotehnology) 1
Semester
st
BCA 1st Semester
B Borooah College
Course
Application form
Issuing Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
B.Sc 1st Semester (Day & Afternoon)
03.06.2015
11.06.2015
12.06.2015
B.A. 1 Semester (Day & Afternoon)
03.06.2015
11.06.2015
13.06.2015
H.S. 1st Year (Sc) Day & Afternoon
05.06.2015
12.06.2015
15.06.2015
st
Gauhati Commerce College
Course
City
Shrimanta Shankar Academy
H.S.1 year (Arts) Day & Afternoon
05.06.2015
13.06.2015
16.06.2015
H.S. 1st year Commerce
05.06.2015
17.06.2015
18.06.2015
B.B.A. 1st Semester
05.06.2015
17.06.2015
18.06.2015
B. Sc (IT) 1st Semester
05.06.2015
17.06.2015
18.06.2015
Application form
Issuing Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
st
Dispur College
Course
HS 1 year Arts
02.06.2015
16.06.2015
17.06.2015
BA 1st Semester (Section A & B)
02.06.2015
16.06.2015
18.06.2015
st
HS 1st year Commerce
02.06.2015
22.06.2015
24.06.2015
B Com 1st Semester (Section A & B)
02.06.2015
22.06.2015
25.06.2015
BBA 1st Semester
02.06.2015
25.06.2015
26.06.2015
BCA 1 Semester
02.06.2015
25.06.2015
26.06.2015
st
Arya Vidyapeeth College
Application form
Issuing Date
Course
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
Course
Application form Issuing Date
Application form Submission date Admission Date
TDC-I (Science) Day Shift
05.06.2015
18.06.2015
22.06.2015
Science
01.06.2015
12.06.2015
15.06.2015
TDC-I (Arts) Day Shift
05.06.2015
20.06.2015
23.06.2015
Arts
01.06.2015
12.06.2015
16.06.2015
TDC-I (Arts) Morning Shift
05.06.2015
22.06.2015
24.06.2015
Commerce
01.06.2015
12.06.2015
16.06.2015
Pandu College
HS-I (Science)
05.06.2015
22.06.2015
25.06.2015
HS-I (Arts) Day Shift
05.06.2015
24.06.2015
26.06.2015
HS-I (Arts) Morning Shift
05.06.2015
24.06.2015
27.06.2015
Application form
Issuing Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
H.S. 1st year Arts
05.06.2015
12.06. 2015
15.06.2015
H.S. 1st year Science
05.06.2015
12.06.2015
16.06.2015
H.S. 1st year Commerce
05.06.2015
12.06.2015
17.06.2015
BA 1st Semester
05.06.2015
12.06.2015
18.06.2015 & 19.06.2015
Course
Application form Issuing
Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
B Sc 1st Semester
05.06.2015
12.06.2015
23.06.2015 & 24.06.2015
HS 1st year
03.06.2015
12.06.2015
19.06.2015
st
B Com 1 Semester
05.06.2016
12.06.2015
20.06.2015
B. Com
03.06. 2015
12.06.2015
24.06.2015
BCA 1st Semester
05.06.2016
12.06.2015
22.06.2015
B.B.A. & B.C.A
03.06.2015
12.06.2015
29.06.2015
B. Sc Biotechnology 1st
Semester
05.06.2015
12.06.2015
25.06.2016
Course
HS-I Commerce
05.06.2015
25.06.2015
27.06.2015
TDC-I Commerce
05.06.2015
27.06.2015
29.06.2015
K C Das Commerce College
Handique Girls’ College
Application form Issuing
Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
H.S (Science)
01.06.2015
15.06.2015
20.06.2015
H.S (Arts)
01.06.2015
15.06.2015
20.06.2015
B. Sc
01.06.2015
15.06.2015
19.06.2015
Course
S B Deorah College
Course
Application form
Issuing Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
HS 1st year Arts
05.06.2015
20.06.2015
22.06.2015
HS 1st year Commerce
05.06.2015
22.06.2015
23.06.2015
BCA
01.06.2015
15.06.2015
19.06.2015
B.A. 1st year (Semester I & II)
05.06.2015
15.06.2015
17.06.2015
BA
01.06.2015
15.06.2015
22.06.2015
B Com 1st year (Semester I
& II)
05.06.2015
16.06.2015
18.06.2015
Paschim Guwahati Mahavidyalaya
Course
Application form
Issuing Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
B.Com 1st Semester
30.05.2015
10.06.2015
12.06.2015
B.A. 1st Semester
30.05.2015
10.06.2015
13.06.2015
H.S. 1 year (Arts)
30.05.2015
10.06.2015
16.06.2015
H.S. 1st year (Commerce)
30.05.2015
10.06.2015
17.06.2015
st
Lalit Chandra Bharali College
Course
Application form
Issuing Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
BA
04.06.2015
13.06.2015
17.06.2015
B. Sc
04.06.2015
16.06.2015
18.06.2015
B. Com
04.06.2015
23.06.2015
B.C.A, B. Sc (IT) & B.B.A
04.06.2015
HS (Arts)
04.06.2015
Icon Commerce College
Course
Application form Issuing
Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
B.Com
02.06.2015
24.06.2015
25.06.2015
B.B.A
02.06.2015
24.06.2015
26.06.2015
Swadeshi Academy
Course
Application form
Issuing Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
HS 1st year (Science)
05.06.2015
13.06.2015
15.06.2015
HS 1st year (Commerce)
05.06.2015
13.06.2015
16.06.2015
R. G. Baruah College
Course
Application form
Issuing Date
Application form
Submission date
Admission Date
B. Com 1st Semester
01.06.2015
10.06.2015
16.06.2015
25.06.2015
B.A. 1st Semester
01.06.2015
10.06.2015
18.06.2015
17.06.2015
19.06.2015
HS 1st year (Arts)
01.06.2015
12.06.2015
19.06.2015
12.06.2015
15.06.2015
HS 1 year (Commerce)
01.06.2015
12.06.2015
20.06.2015
st
12
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
Society
Assam Sishu Kalyan Sadan
running without
government aid
Juthika Baruah
T
he Assam Shishu Kalyan Sadan (Children Home) which
was established in 1956 with
an urge to develop the physical and
mental state of destitute children, is
running successfully without any
help from the state government.
The children home was built by
Late Amalprabha Das, Rajabala Das,
Padmashree Malati Baruah, Tillttama Raichoudhury, Padmashree Hem
Bharali, Hema Kakaiti and runs completely on donations with the women
social workers taking great pain to
create the institution for the underprivileged women and children.
Earlier it was aimed for the welfare
of destitute women and was known
as Assam Nari and Shishu Kalyan
Sadan. It was in 1957, that the institution was renamed as Assam Shishu
Kalyan Sadan.
Speaking to G Plus, House Mother Kabita Deka said, “The plot of 8
bighas of land was donated by Late
Kamakhya Ram Baruah, Professor of
Mathematics of Gauhati University.
The main aim of the Sadan is to provide shelter, food, clothing and education to the children.”
Accountant H.K. Patowary said
that the aim is to make the children
good and responsible citizens by providing all kinds of facilities which
will help them in every walk of their
life. “Ours is a voluntary organisation and based on donation. We have
many helping hands and one of them
is Vikram Das who has been associated with the organisation since the
last two years. They have also organised a Marathon walk in London and
the fund collected through the Marathon will be donated to the Children
Home. We received fund from the
state government for only two years
during 2013-14 and we never approached them again as we are getting donation by the people,” said
Patowary.
With 31 children, the children
home is being run with utmost care
by the people who have keen interest
in helping the children. “The children
are being provided with vocational
training in different subjects so that
at a certain age after completion of
their education, they could engage
in some work and earn their own
livelihood. The children come basically from the age of five years so that
they could be admitted in school. The
Children Welfare Committee (CWC)
sends the children under the Juvenile
Justice Act and accordingly we follow
the guidelines,” Patowary added.
The House Mother said that
A file photo of the children with actor Raveena Tandon
With 31 children, the
children home is being
run with utmost care
by the people who have
keen interest in helping
the children.
the children are being trained in
all kinds of activities like cooking,
cleaning of the campus, stitching etc.
so that they could learn something.
“The children are also being trained
in computer education, music, drama
etc other than the academic qualification. Yoga classes are also being
arranged for them. It has been an immense pleasure to spend time with
the children as they are very innocent
and spending time with them makes
me feel happy,” said Deka.
Deka also said that many girls
have got married and established
themselves and some are even engaged in jobs. She said that they have
never expected any government fund
as it is not an undertaking by a certain individual or a family and people from different walks of life have
developed an attachment for this
home. Earlier there were provisions
for lodging both boys and girls but
now according to the JJ Act, boys
should be separately accommodated
and therefore, the home does not
take any boys now. The girls are admitted in the LP School and Model
High School besides which, they are
also being taught art and craft in the
Sadan premises itself every Sunday.
Patowary also said that a weaving
house with traditional looms and tailoring facilities has been maintained
in the Sadan where the girls are being
trained but now that one of the weavers got married, the weaving house
is not in use now. A kitchen garden
has been set up where fruit trees have
been planted, while a fishery pond in
one bigha of land is maintained from
which fish is supplemented for the
children. The Sadan also maintains
a cattle house and a bio gas plant is
under operation to supplement their
cooking gas needs.
[email protected]
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
13
Politicking
The most
controversial
legislator
Syeda Ambia Zahan
of Assam Congress A
rrested Assam Congress legislator Rumi Nath finally got
out of jail on Wednesday after her month long stay in Guwahati
Central Jail. The Gauhati High Court
approved her bail application after rejecting it four times earlier.
Rumi Nath was arrested in early
April after much hullabaloo in connection with her alleged nexus with
a high profile care lifting case. She
was arrested under sections 120(B),
420, 212 of the IPC, which stands for
criminal conspiracy, cheating and
harbouring an offender.
Be it leaving the party at the
last minute and being the cause
for BJP’s defeat in Rajya Sabha
polls or be it changing her faith, it
seems Rumi Nath, the young legislator of Assam Congress never fails to
be in the news and the public’s eye.
Her story from being a victim of a
mob attack on account of her controvercial second marriage to her alleged nexus with the country’s “most
wanted” car lifter Anil Chauhan is a
saga of one too many controversies in
Assam politics.
Here are the top ten controversies
associated with Rumi Nath that has
kept her in the headlines:
Horse Trading
Rumi Nath, who previously was
a BJP MLA from Borkhola constituency first came to the limelight when
she joined Congress on the day of
Rajya Sabha election in the year 2010
and supported Congress candidate
Silvious Condpan by allegedly taking
a whopping sum of money from the
Congress. The Congress party won
both of the Rajya Sabha seats from
Assam after four of the BJP MLAs
and two AIUDF MLAs decided to
vote for the Congress candidate defying a party whip to vote for Opposition’s common candidate Jayanta
Baruah.
Marriage
controversy
A serious controversy begun
in Assam Congress politics after
Rumi Nath suddenly left her first husband, Rakesh Kumar Singh and her
two-year-old daughter and eloped
with her Facebook friend Jackie Zakir and convert to Islam before marrying him. Rumi’s reported marriage
to Zakir caused widespread outrage
among the Hindu community in
Silchar. Many saffron outfits burnt
her effigy to protest the conversion.
It has been alleged that an Assam
minister Siddique Ahmad who is also
on the run at present was instrumental in the marriage of Rumi Nath in
2012.
Mob Attack
Rumi Nath and her second husband Jackie Jakir, whom she married
without divorcing her first husband,
were beaten up and injured by a mob
of 200 people at Karimganj town in
July 2012. They were beaten up at a
hotel where they were staying. The
mob was angry at the second marriage of Nath to Jakir. Nath, who was
pregnant and Jakir were severely injured. The incident sparked off violent protests and a bandh in south
Assam`s Barak Valley as police resorted to lathi charge and apprehended five persons involved in the attack.
FIR by Party MLA
Rumi Nath was again trapped in
another controversy after Congress
legislator Kabindra Purkayasha filed
an FIR against Rumi Nath in Dispur
police station, in July, 2012 alleging
that she along with her second husband had illegally entered his residence and beat up visitors suspecting them to be involved in the attack
on the couple. Purkayastha alleged
that Nath, her second husband Jackie
Zakir and two of her escorts forcibly
entered Purkayastha’s official quarter
at Dispur capital complex and beat
up at least four of his visitors and a
caretaker.
Case against second
Husband
Jackie Zakir, the second husband of Congress Rumi Nath was
arrested by police and later released
on bail after Rumi leveled charges
of extortion and physical assault
against him. Rumi Nath said she
was forced to seek legal help as the
physical assaults by Jackie went
beyond all limits. The case took
an interesting turn when Jackie
claimed that Rumi Nath’s vote
bank had been badly affected for
obvious reasons and so she was doing all this drama just to get public
sympathy with an eye on the next
elections.
In the year 2012,
Rumi Nath again
occupied the headlines
with the release of some
intimate video clips and
private pictures of hers
which stormed Youtube
and other social
sites. Rumi Nath leveled
allegation against her
first husband Rakesh
Kumar and claimed
that after Rakesh
Kumar Singh came to
know about her love
affair with her second
husband Jackie Zakir
Nexus with Car
Lifting case
Nexus with notorious car lifter
Anil Chauhan once again brought
trouble for this 35 year old Congress
MLA. Anil Chauhan is associated
with 3,000 car stealing cases across
India. Rumi Nath made headlines
when Anil Chauhan stated to the
police that he has gifted Rumi Nath a
stolen BMW car. Rumi Nath had also
managed car passes for Anil Chauhan for entering the state assembly.
Rumi Nath who got arrested had
filed two application of anticipatory
bail. But the Guwahati High Court
recently rejected the plea. The MLA
has also cases of illegal arms keeping and animal smuggling in her
kitty.
MMS Scandal
In the year 2012, Rumi Nath
occupied the headlines with the
release of some intimate video
clips and private pictures of hers
which stormed Youtube and other
social sites. Rumi Nath leveled allegation against her first husband
Rakesh Kumar and claimed that
after Rakesh Kumar Singh came
to know about her love affair with
her second husband Jackie Zakir, he
released the pictures and the video
clips. She also claimed some of the
pictures were morphed.
Rumi Nath
Photo courtesy: Facebook
Conversion to
Hinduism
Rumi Nath who converted to
Islam to marry her second husband
Jackie Zakir, reportedly reverted to
Hinduism again in 2014, soon after
the spilt-up. Her father took the lead
to organize a huge ceremony with
Hindu rituals to revert Rumi Nath to
Hindusim again. Rumi Nath’s repeated change of religion within a span of
three years created hullabaloo in her
home district in Silchar.
Rumi Nath’s third
marriage
Soon after Rumi Nath reverted to
Hinduism again, reports came pouring in of her third marriage with a
Hindu businessman. Reports said,
she again got married in Kamakhya
Temple of Guwahati to the businessman. Some people claimed to have
seen her exchanging garlands with
the businessman in presence of pun-
dits. This report against raised the
eyebrows of many and suddenly, the
MLA from Borkhola once again became the talk of the town.
“Hema Malini” title
Rumi Nath made headlines
when Assam Chief Minister Tarun
Gogoi, while hitting out at BJP in a
public meeting at Borkhola, compared Rumi Nath, the controversial
MLA of the constituency, with Hema
Malini, the glamorous actress of
yester years. The Chief Minister, in
a humorous way said, “Rumi is my
Hema Malini.” Hema Malini continues to be a distinguished Member
of Parliament and a star campaigner
of BJP. It is understood that it’s
because of Rumi Nath’s controversial image, allegation of bigamy
and multiple marriages that her
comparison with the BJP leader
Hema Malini, though an attempt at
political relief, created a furore in
Barak Valley.
14
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
Ward Watch
WARD NO 27
LOKHRA ROAD
Kalyan Deb
LAGS BEHIND
Concentrated area Lokhra Road
Phone number 9854158495
Ward number 27
Area sabha member 27(b) Ananta Rabha
Sub division 27(b) and 27(c)
Phone number 9954984526
Councilor Jona Rabha
Population of ward number 27 40,000 (approx.)
Phone number 9954739542
Voters 35,000 (approx.)
Area sabha member 27(b) Kina Ram Swargiary Problems Uneven breadth of road and delay in progress
T
he Lokhra Road adjacent to
NH 37, a connecting road
from Lal Ganesh to Lokhra
is one of the important roads in
the city, used by vehicles, both light
and heavy moving ones. Besides its
connectivity to several areas such
as Lal Ganesh, Adagodam, Saukuchi, Jyotikuchi, etc. the road is further connected to AK Azad Road.
With rennovation of the road
in full swing after the developmental initiative was recently initiated
for the stretch connecting several
areas of parts of the city, locals are
now hopeful for better connectivity
and road conditions. The construction of the road began in the year
2014 with work still in progress.
For the widening of the road, several households residing by the road
have been evicted with more still in
the process. However, people still
have concerns regarding the ongoing process.
People’s Say
According to the locals, the momentum of work being carried out is
unsatisfactory as it has been in progress for over one year now with a
large portion still to be completed.
Moreover, as alleged by locals there
are also parts of the road that needs to
be looked into but has not have been
paid enough attention by the authorities.
A local resident, Utpal Kalita
mentioned, “Through the road seems
broad enough from the Lal Ganesh
area, as it gradually progresses towards
Lokhra, the width of the road becomes
uneven. In some places it can be seen
that the road is constructed from one
side of the footpath to the other side of
the pavement whereas in some parts
of the road, only the middle of the
road is being constructed overlooking
both the sides of the road.”
“It is usually seen during construction of any road that the work is
initiated from one end and gradually
moves to the other end covering the
entire road. It is hard to tell whether it
is the contractor who has commenced
the work without any planning or corruption in the concerned department,”
Kalita added.
Locals also expressed their concern at the laidback pace of the construction of the road. Kamal Das, a
shop-owner in Jyotikuchi said, “The
slow progress in the construction of
the road is very unsatisfactory. There
are also parts of the road that has
been left unconstructed for reasons
unknown. Besides the rash driving of
trekkers and heavy moving vehicles
such as trucks and dumpers on the
road for most part of the day is a major problem. There was also a case of
accident recently where a trekker hit a
school student riding a bicycle.”
Das also informed that areas such
as Survey and Saukuchi face the problem of flood that deluges the main
road itself and lasts for three to fours
hours.
Regardless of the inconveniences
and unsatisfactory progress in the
work, people have expressed relief at
the construction of the road. It was
only after the year 2006 that the road
has become commutable for vehicles
and public transport have gradually
increased in the area. Earlier, there
were only few buses available on the
road and people had to wait for hours
in order to reach a particular destination. Though, trekkers act as a savior
in providing public transportation but
the rash driving remain a prime concern.
Says the
area sabha
member
Talking to GPlus area
sabha member Kina Ram
Swargiary said that the most
part of the construction
work of the road has been
completed and since the
road is under the domain of
PWD so GMC does not have
much say over the road.
“Repairing works in several parts of the road is being carried out but the pace
of the work as concerned by
the people is very unsatisfactory but if continued with
the appropriate man-power
and equipment for breaking
the rocks for the repairing of
the road it is only a month’s
job”, Swargiary said.
“The widening of the
road is still in progress as the
breadth of the entire road
from Lal Ganesh to Lokhra
is supposedly 30 to 32ft. few
of the residences beside the
road have also been evicted
for the widening of the road”,
the area sabha member
added informing that there
are also some parts of the
Saukuchi area that requires
concern and positing of few
basic amenities.
[email protected]
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
AROHAN
Kalyan Deb
15
Business
Rise of the
city’s meat
entrepreneurs
F
or pork lovers across the city,
there are only a few additional
choices other than buying raw
pork from the market to cook. But
this is all set to change now with an
Assam-based guild initiated by three
B-school alumni offering pork lovers a
new choice through an exclusive processed pork brand called Choice Pork
Natural.
Started by three Assamese enterpreneurs - Anabil Goswami, Arindom
Hazarika and Rana Pratap Brahma,
the venture was launched in December 2012 under the rubric of Arohan
Foods Pvt. Ltd. The brand was able to,
within a year, spread its reach across
the northeastern states and by the year
2013 the brand now touches the mainland with its reach in twenty-two states
across the country. From pork sausages and pork cocktail sausages to pork
salami and pork bacon, Choice Pork
Natural has sixty different varieties of
pork-based delicacies to offer that can
be found in over thirty-five outlets
over the city.
The inception
Goswami, Brahma and Hazarika,
completed their studies in 2007. (Brahma is an alumnus of IIM-Indore and
Goswami and Hazarika are both from
IBS, Hyderabad). The trio quit their respective jobs at Tata Chemicals, Bank
of Baroda and Kotak Mahindra Bank
respectively in 2011. With the desire
to make a mark as entrepreneurs “at
the back of their minds” and emerge
as a brand from Assam, Goswami and
Hazarika returned to state and started
the venture after meeting Brahma in
Guwahati.
Piggery as an industry in Assam
and the northeast is very high and
pork is a widely consumed meat. Piggery and pork production consists
primarily of backyard and unorganised sector producers. The complete
absence of organised players in the region’s pork business, especially in the
processed-packaged segment, caught
the attention of the trio. Soon, the idea
of a processed pork brand emerged.
“The potential of engaging in
entrepreneurship can be seen in the
youth but taking the leap is the major
deal. We saw people being associated
in different sectors of entrepreneurship
such as application development, food
service, information technology and
many others but what made Assam
among the biggest producers besides
tea, oil and silk got our attention. Pork
is loved and consumed by people as
much as ten percent of the population
of the country but there was no such
initiative to introduce the food that is
loved by many, in a much better form.
Since we come from an agricultural
background, so we decided on starting an agri-based venture”, said Anabil Goswami, co-founder of Arohan
Foods.
Competitions and
Challenges in the
way ahead
Arohan Foods
is uniquely
positioned as the
first integrated
pork processing
business in India.
They have a firstmover advantage,
as pig farming is
underdeveloped
nationwide.
Business model
Arohan, one of country’s first pork
integrator, buys pigs from farmers it
has tied up with and processes pork,
packages the product and distributes
it through the fast moving consumer
goods model.
Before they tie up with any farmer,
they set a condition on raising pigs in
a hygienic and scientific way with the
assistance of veterinarians who advise
farmers, spread across many villages,
in pig farming.
“We tell farmers what nourishments are needed to be given, how to
keep pigs healthy, what vaccinations
are to be given and at what time and
provide nutritional advice. We intervene in those things but leave pig rearing to them, as they have been doing
this for generations and only provide
them the modern scientific advisory
support. That ensures we get healthy
and hygienic pigs for manufacturing
our products. Matured pigs are purchased from the farmers at the stable
market price, irrespective of the seasonal prices and are brought to the
factory, where the products are slaughtered and the meat is processed, packaged and sent to the market. We have
representatives in each state who carry
out the marketing procedure”, said
Goswami.
From a couple of farmers in 2012,
the ISO 22000 registered company
claims to currently have over 2,000
farmers from which it sources pigs.
Processing
“We travelled to various parts of
the country to see which were the best
pig farms that can be replicated here
and we also talked to experts. This is
how we learnt about this business and
after having gained exposure, we tied
up with farmers in nearby villages to
source pigs and started producing the
products”, said Arindom Hazarika,
Head Sales and Marketing and cofounder of Arohan Foods.
With its processing plants situated
in Rani, Arohan Foods carry out the
entire process with a tie up with the
National Research Centre and ICAR
(Indian Council of Agricultural Research) in Guwahati and in Ludhiyana
in association with GAVASU. Arohan has gone up from around 100 kg
monthly production in the initial period to 1,000 kg at present.
Apart from the northeastern
states, the predominant pork-eating
region of India, it is also consumed
in sizable quantity in Kerala, Goa and
parts of east and south India. Urbanisation and the country’s booming middle class is also driving growth in cities
and metros.
“In India, the food processing industry has inherent challenges. Food
safety, from farm to fork, is at the top.
The exporting part of the products is
more challenging as to deliver within
the deadline is the priority. Lack of
cold storages is certainly an impediment in our growth but things are expected to be better outside the region
and that eases our challenge as we
move to other parts of India. However, in competition with foreign goods
in sales and product quality, Arohan
Foods stand comparable with imported goods. Meanwhile, Arohan stands
on top in the northeast in terms of
sales and are looking forward to penetrating the market across the country”,
said Goswami.
Arohan Foods is uniquely positioned as the first integrated pork processing business in India. They have a
first-mover advantage, as pig farming
is underdeveloped nationwide. Also,
the market for processed pork (sausage
and bacon) is still at a nascent stage.
Arohan has now sets its eyes on urban
markets across India and overseas.
“At present, apart from exporting
our goods in 22 states across the country, Choice Pork Natural products are
also exported to Bhutan and Nepal. We
are also looking forward to extend our
venture overseas”, Goswami added.
[email protected]
16
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
Life
WAKE UP, LUIT!
PART 2
Contd. from last issue
I
t saddens me and leaves me worried when I see the yellow and
sometimes green auto vans parked
at funny angles in front of people’s
homes, while the pipes from the vans
snakes their way into reservoirs, which
will probably hold only that much water for three days, if the family is not
too lavish. While the ‘paaniwallas’
are having quite a field day, getting
richer by the day, it is taking a toll on
the Guwahatians. Having to dole out
Rs.200-300, the middle class now has
a choice of water vans; whether to take
a 1000 litre or a 600 litre. But when it
comes to water, we don’t have much of
a choice, do we? Either we use it, or as
Shobha De in Superstar India says ‘be
miserably relegated to dirty Indians’. Well, at the rate the city is moving,
we can’t much blame the middle class
office going person when he resorts to
his stylised ‘modus operandi’ to move
a file. “Ki Korim, upai nai?”
Assam has been my pride and
I carry this feeling wherever I go. A
very close friend, disgusted with the
traffic, heat, dust and what not just
gave up; there’s no charm in staying in
Guwahati anymore, she said. I begged
to differ. I would rather be here than
anywhere else in the world. This is my
universe.
A couple of days out of Guwahati
and my heart yearns to be back; back
to the sunset over the Brahmaputra
while taking a lazy walk on the sandy
beach, while a cool breeze plays with
my hair, to the humid, sweaty morning and evening walks around the Dighalipukhuri Tank, the endless drive to
the Kamakhya, the ride across the vibrating Saraighat bridge, when a train
moves on the tracks below the road to
North Guwahati, the visit to the Ganesh Mandir near Latasil Field, to the
lady at the corner who sells milk chai
with steamed pithas, to getting stuck in
traffic jams on G.S. Road, while the FM
stations belts out ‘cool numbers’ by the
cocky RJs. The list is endless. And of
course, dressing up in muga and paat
for Rongali Bihu to the distant beat of
the drums, pipe and the harp. Can anything beat this? I think not!
It was a couple of years back on
5th of June. It was World Environment
Day. The whole city was agog with
seminars, workshops, while the news
channels started the day early with the
anchors gravely portraying the dismal
crisis we are all going to face because
of our lack-luster attitude towards the
environment. Rightly said!
Gauhati Commerce College too was
buzzing with activity. ADDA, as the
name goes is a non-profit association
of young people with a creative bend of
mind. They teamed up with the college
students’ union for a two hour programme, with exhaustive deliberations
on how to save the environment. Jitul
Sonowal and Debojit Saha were joined
in a chorus by the team from ADDA;
a song composed especially for the occasion by Jitul himself. The street play,
enacted by five artists did not find many
takers, more for the fact that most of the
bystanders did not even understand its
implications and rather tittered at the
sweaty underarms of the only woman
performer!
It was humid and I sneaked away
for some respite to my favourite spot in
the city; the road leading to the Governor’s house; the view of the Luit and
the ambience at the turn of the road invariably has an intense control over my
senses. I feel calm, collected and at peace
with myself. The wind runs its fingers
through my hair, lovingly and tenderly
caressing it.
The river was in full spate, as if
rushing to inform someone about the
brewing storm. There was a distant
murmur over the river. The view got
smoky on the other side and I could
visibly see huge pelts of water approaching me. The first few hit my forehead.
I closed my eyes. Everything came to a
standstill. I just stood there, in full view
of the sky, the river and wind, oblivious
to the world, while the rain came down
on me and washed me from head to toe.
It was close to eternity when I realised
that the water had unabashedly made
its way through the crevices and curves
of my body only to join the rushing water from the top of the road. My clothes
clung to me like a creeper to a tree. I felt
blessed and A couple of months later, the
same year, Tirus, my son, all of three
years then, missing the rains asked
me, “Mom, where are the rains gone?”
This left me speechless.Little did Tirus
know that in spite of the endless, seminars, talks, workshops, news flashes
and arguments about the environment,
miniscule has been done for the growing green house effect and the depleting ozone layer. Hybrid conversations
concerning ‘this layer’ in the sky have
propelled some activity but on a scale
too small to be considered appropriate
enough to save the environment. Inaction of the people is the major deterrent, I would say.
There was a time when the whole of
the Northeast was known for its green
coverage. Trees, trees and more trees;
a feast for the eyes. Now, a tour of the
city, the outskirts and also the whole
state shows a heartrending story. Miles
and miles of barren hills, bereft of the
green foliage. Rampant earth cutting,
felling of trees and thoughtless building of houses in the hills is only taking
a major toll on the changing climatic
conditions of the state. And thanks to
us, we show least humane emotions of
what’s happening! On a trip towards
Mongoldoi, Tirus asked me, “Ma, who
has cut these hills? Can we build these
hills back again? Can we use some gum
and stick trees to the hills again?”” This
left me speechless again.
It was 2004. I was part of the five
member GSE team leaving for Canada.
We were to visit three districts there- Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.
It was a four weeks tour and we had a
wish list of what we wanted to see. Apart
from radio and television stations, I
chose to see how they managed their forest area. What I saw left me impressed
to the core.
One lady, maybe in her late 40’s,
dressed in knee-length hunting boots, a
pair of faded jeans, an off white warm
shirt and a half jacket. When we met
her, it was just 9 am. Cathy smiled
warmly when we were introduced to her.
She was driving a pick up truck and save
for a couple of saplings of trees in the
trailer; she had already planted a hundred in their respective places since the
morning. And that too single-handedly!
Cathy took up this job with the government because she was concerned about
the forest. She told us that the trees
planted in ‘her’ area were especially used
to build houses. However, for every tree
felled, three saplings of the variety were
planted immediately. Canadians believe
very strongly in afforestation. Only this
process will keep them and their wildlife alive, Cathy said. And Cathy was
looking after ‘her forest’ as if it was the
flower garden in her backyard!
The state government has time
and again showed us ways and means
for a greener Assam. With posters,
hoardings, quickies and what not, they
have tried to impress upon the people
that ‘it’s time to heed the warning’. We
surely don’t want to wake up one fine
morning and find that our greens are
gone, that there are just miles and miles
of flat desert land and our women have
to walk long distances for water and
that the only sign of rain is for the next
year! I am getting goose bumps. But if
this is going to ultimately happen, then
I would have to get new shoes to wear
in the desert. So wake up Sid or should
that be ‘Wake up Luit’!
tinat ATIFA MASOOD
Ride on The
Divine Power
T
here is so much talk about
success. Have you ever
thought what success is?
Success is simply ignorance about
one’s own capabilities. Success is
ignorance about the power of the
self. We assume that we are capable of doing very little. If there are
obstacles, we become clear about
our objective. With a calm and serene mind, think of all possibilities. Know that failures are stepping
stones for greater success. Actually,
there are no failures in life. All the
seeming failures are only stepping
stones for greater success. If you
feel the obstacle is too much, deep
prayer can work miracles.
The feeling that “I am blessed”
can help you overcome any failure.
Once you realize that you are blessed, then all the complaints disappear, all the grumbling disappears,
all the insecurities disappear, a sense
of not being loved disappears, wanting love disappears. Ego is always
ambitious and wants to do tough
jobs like climbing Mount Everest.
Whereas in a simple act like
watching a butterfly, watering the
garden, watching the birds or the
sky, can bring deep relaxation, and
relaxation connects you with your
source. Seemingly trivial actions
open a new dimension and bring in
immense peace and rest. Just come
out of your little shell and feel free.
There is a saying: Behind every
successful man is a woman. I will
modify this: Behind every success
there is the Divine saying “I am behind you”.
Prayer is a vital tool to improve
your life. It also nurtures values like
integrity and honesty. Prayer happens in two situations, or in a combination of situations. When you
feel grateful or when you feel utterly
helpless. If you are not grateful and
prayerful, you will be miserable. In
either case your prayers will be answered.
What you can do, you do. What
you cannot do, you pray for! It is said
that the divine dawns in you when
you pray for it, when you cry for it,
when you sing for it. The divine is
only waiting for you to dig a little
deeper into yourself. Because, it
can then fill you with much more
nectar! Divine wants you to create
more space in you.
Cry from your soul for help.
This is for those seekers who are
weak. Those seekers who are
strong-with the power of knowledge-can sing with that joy of
what they have achieved! The
moment you sing in gratitude, in
glory of the divine, it immediately
dawns in you, and fills you up
again. One type of people is grateful for all their growth. The other
type is helpless and weak. Both
will be helped.
Spirituality is not some ritual, or an act. It’s a very pleasant,
uplifted state of being and being
able to see that the whole world
is all spirit or consciousness. Use
prayer to bring integration in
your personality. Whatever you
do, know that the higher power
has the final say and it will always
be for the best.
The higher goals in life can
only be realized through a few
minutes of meditation and introspection. Any joy you experience
in life is from the depth of your
self, when you let go all that you
hold on to and settle down being centered in that space. That
is called meditation. Actually,
meditation is not an act; it is the
art of doing nothing! The rest in
meditation is deeper than the
deepest sleep that you can ever
have because in meditation you
transcend all desires.
Meditation is letting go of anger from the past and all the planning for the future. Meditation is
accepting this moment and living
every moment totally with depth.
Just this understanding, and a
few days of continuous practice
of meditation can
change the quality
of our life.
His Holiness
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji
www.artofliving.org/yoga
Follow Sri Sri @SriSriSpeaks on twitter
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
17
Vox Pop
Celeb Endorsement
RIght or Wrong
Writer and ACADEMICIAN
Do celebs endorse products without conducting any research
on their quality? Being a public figure, should they exercise
more caution?
S
Md. Anisul Haque
Director,
Resonance Brand Communications
Celebrities get to endorse brands
simply because they are celebrities.
It’s a fantastic income-generating engine for them. Before deciding on the
endorsement, they and their agents
ponder over the whole brand connect between the celebrity brand and
the product brand, apart from the
monetary issues. No celebrity, in the
right frame of mind, would endorse a
brand, which would jeopardise their
core professional career. Maggi is a
trusted and loved brand in India for
years and as none of us has given a second thought on relishing the 2minute
magic time to time, so also the concerned celebrities who had no reason
to get into investigative mood once
they were approached.
Nishita Goswami
Actor
Utpal Das
Actor
In my opinion since Maggie is
a big and trusted brand among the
people definitely the social responsibility of a celebrity is way more.
Since I am associated with several
brands when one choses to endorse
for a product since, the face of the
celebrity will be representing the
brand one should thoroughly research about the product. However
mistakes do happen while choosing
to endorse for a brand even I have
made certain mistakes and have
learned from them. When it comes
to Maggie although we have heard
about it all our life it not a daily consumable product as it might create
health problems but and is more
famous among children so one
should be even more careful. Since
Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri
Dixit are promoting for the product it increases their responsibility
even more. So before endorsing any
brand they have full responsibility
to the people.
The celebrities really have to understand the social responsibility and
I am sure the big celebrities have done
the research before endorsing the
product. In this case it is an unfortunate scenario where the company such
as Nestle probably had not looked in
to the quality aspect. The celebrities
cannot crosscheck in every batch of
product and every ingredient that they
put into the product, even after the
endorsement. I am they are sensible
enough and think that they should not
be blamed because they understand
the social responsibility to the people.
It is just the product and the manufacturing defect that should be looked after by the concerned authorities.
Prastuti Parashar
Actor
A celebrity is definitely responsible since several people follow them.
But I also think when Madhuri Dixit
took to endorse Maggie, it was only
done after carrying out the valuation
of the product if it is consumable and
viable for the people, otherwise responsible artistes such as Amitabh
Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit would
not have endorsed the product. The
controversy took over news only in
the recent time after certain defects
were found whereas, when Amitabh
Bachchan endorsed Maggie there was
no such problems and the company
should be liable for that rather than
creating any controversy on the artiste
as they certainly had only endorsed
after checking the authenticity of the
product. If I go for endorsing a product I will only go for it if everything
is clear on papers since we ourselves
cannot verify a product but if the same
product is found violating certain
norms after two years of the original
endorsement, then it is only the responsibility of the company. If Maggie had the inconsumable elements,
then how was the clearance certificate
provided to the product be produced
before the people. There must be some
other elements and hidden story in the
entire controversy with the product.
Zublee Baruah
Singer
Definitely it is the social
responsibility of a celebrity to
inquire about a product before
endorsing one but when it comes
to Maggie and brands like Nestle
and we have been consuming its
product from our childhood. I am
not speaking for them but when it
is a new brand, we inquire about it
but for brands like Nestle, which
is already an established brand
and has won the trust of the people for its products, maybe this is
the reason that celebrities agree
to endorse the product. But, then
again, when we go for endorsing a
product, we should definitely inquire about it as we have a social
responsibility. And artistes have
a fan following, many people follow us and brands approach celebrities in order to increase the
popularity and sale of a product
so it is the responsibility of one to
know about a product before endorsing it.
Divya Chabra
Advertising professional
“Holding celebrities responsible
for endorsements is like shooting the
messenger. Going by this logic, the
advertising agency who did their campaign, the newspaper that released
their advertisements and the TV channels that broadcasted their commercials should also be held responsible.
Because the government appointed
agency did not do its job efficiently,
everybody else is to be blamed. Ridiculous!”
Samiran Baruah
Food safety officer
Celebrities are public figures
and the public value their words and
therefore, they should be careful before appearing in any advertisement.
They should enquire before giving any
comment and certifying a product by
advertising for it since their followers
may want to buy the product on the
basis of their advertisement. The responsibility should not be restricted
to only food products but to any kind
of product before endorsing it. As the
society follows them so it makes it the
responsibility of the celebrities to inquire about the quality of the product.
rutimala
Duara,
known as a writer and
a professor by profession started writing right
from her school days, both
in English and Assamese simultaneously although she
completed her schooling
from St. Mary’s. Her mother
has been a guide for her in
writing Assamese books and
according to her, an English
medium or a vernacular
medium school doesn’t matter if anyone wants to learn
their mother tongue
“Being a student of St.
Mary’s where Assamese was
only a subject, it was my
mother who always taught
me the language because of
which today I don’t hesitate to write a book in Assamese. Both the English
and the Assamese languages
are necessary for a daughter
of the motherland Axom.
I used to read Assamese
books like children magazine and
gradually when I started growing up
I started writing children short stories in Assamese and English myself.
I used to write in Sentinel when D.N.
Bezbaruah was the editor and after
that I wrote for Dainik Asom and
Melange which was again in both
Assamese and English,” said Duara.
Duara has number of short story
collections- The Sunset Hour and
Other Stories, Waiting for the Last
Breath and The Jhoolan Evening in
English. Her writings in Assamese
include Maan Gahanat, Sadhukathar
Desh, Sadhukathar Bagicha, Sadhukathar Topola etc. She also wrote a
number of novels including Ashes
in the Seas, Maya’s Party and Travelling with Dreams. Her children novel
Joonmukhir Pukhurir Pora Kola
Nadir Dekhaloi is about to released
soon.
“I am concentrating more on
children books and novels as one
should make it a habit of reading
books since childhood. And today’s trend has become such that if
a child is going to an English medium school they forget to write and
read Assamese or their own mother
tongue which is shameful. Parents
too have the wrong conception that
if their child is going to an English
medium school, they should learn
only English, which ironically is not
a matter of pride but something to be
ashamed of,” said Duara.
Other than writing, she also has a
professional and personal life which
she maintains equally well. She was
an announcer in Doordarshan from
1986 to 2004 and has been a Radio
drama artist since 1981 having acted
in more than 50 plays. She has also
acted in television plays, serials and
stage plays and written scripts for
television documentaries.
“I have a passion for teaching
as my mother was also a professor
from Handique Girls’ College. I love
my profession and I looked for a
new morning to come everyday to
the college as the girls’ are my life.
We have a very friendly relationship
especially with the Major students
of my department. Earlier, I was a
Professor of R.G. Baruah College
in 1999 and later joined Handique
Girls’ College in 2000. As I graduated from this college itself, it was
my dream come true to join here as
a Professor,” Duara said.
Duara has two children- a
daughter and a son who is settled in
UK. She said that time management
is very important to manage both
the personal and professional life. “It
is not that we do not get time but we
should manage time out of the busy
schedule to look after our children
and family. I never insisted or pressurized my children to get examinations which is not the ultimate goal.
The achievement is when our children stand as a good human being
serving for the society,” said Duara.
She also has a passion for travelling and every year she travels for a
month during the summer vacation
and writes book on travelling. European Rhapsody, a book on travelling
has also been published by Modern
Book Depot.
18
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
Reviews
u
Yo LD
TEN
SHOU
LIS
GAME
IEW
REV
project cars
P
Mov
Revi ie
ew
Cast: JFarhan Akhtar, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka
Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Anil Kapoor
Director: Zoya Akhtar
K
amal Mehra is a millionaire
who is facing bankruptcy
with his company AYKA.
Trying to fix the issue he plans
to call his friends and family on
an exquisite cruise citing his 30th
anniversary as the reason for celebration. Through this tour Kamal
and Neelam plan to set their son
Kabir up with Nurrie, the daughter of richie rich Lalit Sood. The
planner of this cruise and Kamal’s
daughter Ayesha is a successful entrepreneur who is facing a rough
patch in her marriage with Manav
which gets aggravated after having
her ex-lover and best friend Sunny
Gill on the tour.
In the mean while, Kabir is
born with a silver spoon, the heir
of Mehras but while his parents
want him to fall in line of the business, he dreams of becoming a pilot. On the cruise, Kabir meets a
free spirited Farah Ali who he is
attracted to him right in the first
go. Thus, the cruise turns out to be
an eye opener for many relationships as emotions come out in the
open for this classy Punjabi family.
Will Kabir convince his parents about his choice or will he
give in to the pressure and marry
Nurrie? Will Ayesha end her
marriage to get back with her exlover? Watch Dil Dhadakne Do to
find it out.
What sets Dil Dhadakne Do
apart from any other family dramas is that it delves into relationships much more than just family
as a unit. The multi-layered plot of
the film gives us the right insights
into oftenly masked emotions that
gather over 30 years of marriage or
for that matter the advised we hurl
at our siblings when either of them
has tasted the bitter truths of life.
Above all, Zoya and Reema’s writing proves that no matter which
class you come from, there is always the ‘log kya kahenge’ mentality.
Interestingly, through Ayesha’s
character, she throws light on how
difficult it is for a self-made successful woman to break the shackles of marriage at a point when
she realizes that there is not much
emotion left in it. Also on the
other hand it is her pompous husband Manav who even in the 21st
century finds it important to have
a say in the career decisions of his
wife. It is quite clear from the start
that this cruise is not a palatable
one for the masses since it is a tell
all on the lives of those affluent,
yet I would say it has something in
store for everyone when it comes
down to brother-sister or fatherdaughter or mother-son relations.
There are also certain drawbacks in the story and they are
quite evident in the last part of
the film where the end seems to be
packed up too quick. It is nothing
you can compare to her previous
works, it may not be as polished
content wise as those but a decent
attempt.
Dil Dhadakne Do is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is a high society drama that may tackle regular family issues too but may not
suffice as entertainment for all. I
am going with a 3/5 for this niche
family drama.
roject CARS doesn’t have any
unlockables. You don’t amass
a fleet of high-performance
vehicles. You don’t buy any new
drivetrains or earn prototype engines. You can choose to work your
way through a long career of tiered
racing events, but even this is optional. You can just as easily start
at the highest racing class, with the
best cars, facing the toughest competition. Project CARS doesn’t deliver a fantasy of accumulation and
progress. What it does deliver is a
simulation of racing as tense as it is
deep.
This simulation is rolled out
across four modes. The Solo Race
and Online modes let you build any
race you’d like from the set of cars,
tracks, motorsport restrictions, realism settings, and weather conditions
available. While the range of vehicle
types is wide, there are some notable absences: if you’re desperate to
drive a Ferrari, Porsche, or Honda,
for instance, Project CARS isn’t go-
Album: Django and Jimmie
Artist: Merle Haggard / Willie Nelson
W
ing to meet that need. But the cars
that are available look appropriately
lustrous, and learning each vehicle’s
intricacies offers a singular pleasure.
Holding the reins of a growling Ford
Mustang is wildly different from
zipping around the track in a little
superkart.
That’s Project CARS at its best.
No experience points. No parts to
buy. No cars to add to your collection. The audacious decision to offer
everything up front informs the rest
of Project CARS’s design, making
it distinct (and sometimes frustrating). Other games in the genre work
like Skinner boxes, offering rewards
according to a special schedule designed to keep you hooked. These
games offer the fantasy of plodding,
constant accumulation or lowstakes (if high-speed) action. Project CARS offers a different fantasy,
one that’s a little less attractive and
a bit harder to enjoy: the fantasy of
learning how to do something difficult.
illie Nelson and Merle Haggard first teamed up on record for Pancho & Lefty in
1983, a record released some 20 years
after both singers began their careers.
Back then, they were both hovering
around 50, already considered old guys,
but Django and Jimmie arrives 32 years
after that record, when there’s no question that the pair are old-timers. Appropriately enough, mortality is on their
minds throughout Django and Jimmie,
a record whose very title is taken from
Willie and Merle’s childhood idols.
These are made-to-order originals
by some of the best in the business -Buddy Cannon, Jamey Johnson, and
Ward Davis wrote “It’s All Going to
Pot,” Jimmy Melton and Jeff Prince the
title track -- and it shows how producer
Cannon has a sharp ear for material,
along with a way with a relaxed groove.
That comfortable, familial atmosphere
is one of the best things about Django
and Jimmie and extends far beyond
the marquee names; the studio pros,
friends, family, and fellow travelers who
support Willie and Merle help give this
a warm, worn-in feel that’s appealing on
its own terms. As comforting as the vibe
is, it’s the singers and their songs that
linger.
Book: After All This Time
Author: Nikita Singh
W
hat if you find out it’s the end of the road for you? Lavanya
gets the shock of her life when she discovers that she’s HIV
positive. The revelation shakes her out of the monotony that
her life has become. It’s time for a change. She finally dumps her loser
boyfriend, quits her high-paying but extremely demanding job and goes
back home to meet her family after nearly seven years. At home she finds
a bucket list and she knows it’s a sign of what she needs to do. With her
is an old neighbour and friend who’s just broken off with his girlfriend.
Sparks begin to f ly! However, what she learns is that you need to really
live before you begin to love!
You
SHOU
Rea LD
d
NOW SHOWING
Dil Dhadakne Do
Tanu Weds Manu
Returns
Apsara Cinema
Daily at 10.45 AM, 2.00, 5.15 &
8.15 PM
Anuradha Cineplex
Daily at 10.30 AM, 5.00 & 8.30
PM
Daily at 2.00 PM
Fun Cinemas
Daily at 9.15 AM, 5.00 & 8.30
Daily at 2.30 PM
Gold Cinema
(Paltan Bazaar)
Daily at 11.00 AM, 2.00, 2.30 &
5.00 PM
Daily at 11.30 & 5.30
PM
Gold Cinema
(Fancy Bazar)
Daily at 11.00 AM, 2.00, 2.30 &
5.00 PM
Daily at 11.30, 5.30 &
8.00 PM
Gold Cinema
(Narengi)
Daily at 11.00 AM, 2.00, 5.00 &
8.00 PM
San Andreas
Piku
Daily at 12.15
PM
Daily at 8.30
PM
Telebooking numbers: Anuradha Cineplex; 03612656968, 9954544738, Fun Cinemas: 9864800100, 9864800200,
Gold Cinema (Fancy Bazaar): 03612735367, 9854077177, Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazaar): 9854066166, Gold Cinema
(Narengi): 8811001898
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
UNDER-15 MOBO CUP
Who said the good things in life don’t come cheap! We bring you some of the best Smartphones under 15K. With
the growing competition, there are a couple of pre-requisites when people look for a budget Smartphone including
2GB RAM and multi core processors. We want our gadgets to be well priced, not cheap, in terms of performance and
looks. For this segment, we’ve restricted the list to devices with 4 cores or higher, a minimum of 2GB RAM and that
can run the modern day games which crunch your GPU.
Lenovo A7000
Price: `8,999
Xiaomi Mi4i
Price: `12,999
Asus Zenfone 2
2 GB variant
Price: `12,999
19
Tech Watch
Android M has
arrived
Here’re the Top
New Features
G
oogle launched developer preview of Android 6.0 aka Android M. Here are the top new
features of this latest version of Android OS, the Android M.
Google Now – Now on Tap
If you are using Google Now in
your smartphone then you will find
many improvements in the new version. This new version of Google Now
will answer your questions too. Google
Now will activate quickly by just tapping on Home page.
Fingerprint Sensor support
T
his 5 inch, full HD display device is
powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon
615 Octacore processor with 4 cores
at clocked at 1.1 GHz and 4 cores at 1.7 Ghz.
it features an Adreno 405 GPU for excellent
gaming and display output. The company
boasts a hardware enabled ‘sunlight display’
to give best colours in the worst of lighting. It
houses 2GB of RAM and 3120 mAh battery,
features a 13MP primary camera and a 5MP
secondary camera
L
enovo also announced a string of devices
hoping to capture the Indian market with
competitive pricing and it seems like they’ve
been well received. It features an ARM Cortex A-53
processor clocked 1.5 GHz with 8 cores and 64 bit
architecture for optimal performance. Its Mali
T760MP2 GPU, which runs at about 450-500mhz
offers good gaming performance, although you
may get a slower frame rate than its competitors. The phone is quick to receive OTA updates
addressing bug fixes, which should be noted and
comes with the regular array of sensors including accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and
gravity sensors. The device boasts Dolby ATMOS
feature for best output on small speakers.
YU Yureka
Price: `8,999
T
he Zenfone series entered the market with
multiple variations in the internal storage
(16/32/64) and the RAM (4GB and 2GB variants). However since we’re targeting the 15K budget,
we’ll be looking at the 2GB variant with 32GB of
internal storage. The device houses an Intel Atom
Z3560 processor with quad cores clocked at 1.8 GHz
and the GPU PowerVR G6430 (the same one in iPhone 5S). The device has been the talk of the town
ever since it was announced and is ready to hit retailers by the end of this month.
Meizu M1 Note
Price:`12,000
Intex Aqua
Xtreme
Price: `11, 970
M
N
ow it may not sound like much, but this
phone offers excellent value for money.
The phone houses 2GB RAM with an
Octacore processor courtesy of MTK (MediaTek)
clocked at 1.7 GHz. It comes with a 5 inch HD IPS
display with with scratch resistant Dragon Trail
Glass, upgradable to Android 5.0 Lollipop and dual
sim capability. Added benefits include expandable
memory via micro SD and dual cameras (13MP
and 5MP).
Mobile Payments – Android Pay
With this new version of Android
OS Google added its own mobile
payment system – the Android Pay.
It sounds like Google copied it from
Apple Pay but truly Android Pay has
much more different from Apple Pay.
Android Pay also work with Near Field
Communications (NFC) .
Reversible USB C Ports
M
icromax still plays this card even
though it launched back in December 2014. The device has a 5.5 inch
HD with 2500mAh battery. Powered by a
Qualcomm Snapdragon 615, this phone offers
great performance for the money. The processors are clocked at 1.7 GHz (4 cores) and 1.0
GHz (4 cores). The primary camera is 13MP
and secondary camera is 5MP which offers average photo quality. It has the usual Bluetooth
4.0, micro USB, external SD card and also
houses 2 sim slots.
Just like Apple’s operating system
iOS , now Android operating-system
also integrate with fingerprint sensor technology. Currently only some
smartphones like HTC One M9, Samsung Galaxy S6 etc. have fingerprint
scanner. But, now Google launched
Android M with fingerprint sensor so
there are chances to have this feature in
low-budget Android smartphones too.
eizu recently announces the Meizu M2
with improved specs but that shoots out
of our budget. So focusing on the M1 instead, the phone offers better specs to pricing ratio
compared to most mainstream brands like Sony and
Samsung. The phone features an octacore processor
designed by MTK and is clocked at 1.7GHz. Added
with the Mali T760 MP2, 2GB RAM and 5.5 inch
screen, the phone is ideal for gaming and entertainment. The rear camera on the device has an f/2.2
aperture and the front camera has f/2.0. This offers
good quality photographs and is backed with top of
the line hardware. Not to say that this is a con, but
the phone does not feature external storage and only
has 16 and 32 GB variants.
In conclusion, its pretty obvious this isn’t the
final list and the smallest of changes in my search
parameters will drastically change the outcome.
But this sure should help people in search of a good
budget phone that offers a bang for your buck.
Apple has already launched reversible USB C ports for Macbook & now
Google too supports the new USB C
ports . Now, all smartphones with
Android M OS will support reversible USB C ports. USB C ports is equal
from both sides, means you can insert
your device from any side.
Better Battery Life
Batter life is the major problem
faced by most of the smartphone users.
With new Android M operating system, Google enhanced the battery life.
In conference they claimed that battery
life of all Android 6.0 devices will be
better than before. Besides, you don’t
have to worry about charging issues,
they also added thr new fast charging
features in Android M.
Indrajeet Bhuyan is
a 17 year old tech
blogger and security
researcher. He is passionate about computers and believes in
sharing
knowledge
and information . He
uses his spare time helping people
and companies secure themselves.
fb.me/indrajeet.bhuyan
20
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
Entertainment
Keeping it real with Papon Best Newcomer Award
A
Rimi Hazarika
dance reality show ‘Boogie Woogie’
aired on Sony TV. At the age of 14, she
represented Assam in a Rajasthani
Traditional Folk Dance Competition
and secured the first position.
Rimi Hazarika’s first movie titled
‘The Face’ was produced by Barnali
Hazarika under Santoshi Maa Productions. It released on 26th September last year and was very well
received. She is now busy with her
second movie titled ‘30 October’, produced under the banner of Santoshi
Maa Productions. She is playing the
lead role in the movie which is being
filmed in various locations of Delhi,
Jaipur, Agra, Manali and North-East.
ctress Rimi Hazarika was
recently awarded the ‘best
new comer actress’ of the
year for her performance in the Assamese movie ‘The Face’.
She received this award by
‘Anajori’, a Socio-Cultural Organization. The program was held
on 30th April at Srimanta Shankardev Kalakhetra. Rimi Hazarika
received the award from Nipon
Goswami, a veteran of Assamese
Film Industry.
Rimi started her acting career
at the age of 10 and participated in
Doordarshan’s dance reality show
‘Runjhun Nupur’. At the age of 12
she also participated in the popular
N
ortheast’s musical star Angaraag (Papon) Mahanta,
recently held a twitter chat
with his fans under the Red Bull
India banner and tagged it #FolkFest. This summer #FolkFest was
grooving to the tunes of Papon,
Maatibaani (pronounced as Maatea
Baani) which literally means language of the earth, of YouTube fame
and Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Cafe who
are well known to sing around the
verses of Kabir and his philosophy.
This was an AMA (AskMeAnything)
session, so the fans got to asking
random questions to the pop icon. It
was good to see that all the questions
got responses, (no matter how vague
they were) and people totally kept
him busy in the 2-5 PM slot he left
open for the Q&A. Our correspondent did ask him a couple of questions
and his responses seemed honest.
He did express his sadness about
the unruly behaviour of crowds during Bihu functions saying that large
Photo Courtesy: Facebook
crowds tend to be rowdy. On being
asked about his entry into Bollywood
he said he feels good and welcome.
He’s asked young budding artists to
keep practicing their discipline. Not
everyone gets the exposure, so its best
you respect the gift of nature.
Apart from the usual ‘which is
your favourite song?’ and ‘where do
you love to perform?’ and ‘what are
your inspirations?’ fans asked him
about his favourite gadget to which
he said ‘my phone’. According to the
feeds he does plan to collaborate with
a lot of other artists in the near future
and plans to sing in more languages.
True to his roots, he picked pork over
duck. What we’ve learnt is that Papon
wants you to be a better human being
and carry on with your endeavours
and that the worlds’ a stage with the
Internet around.
Angaraag Mahanta’s latest ‘Humnava’ from the movie ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ has already had over
1,000,000 hits on YouTube.
New Assamese movie
‘Pratyahbaan…The Challenge’
A
fter ‘Morisika’, a new Assamese movie ‘Pratyahbaan…
The Challenge’, directed and
produced by Nipon Dholua under
the banner of NBDK Productions
has successfully completed its shooting. Director Nipon Dholua is also
responsible for the film’s story, script
and dialogues.
The story revolves around a boy
who is physically handicapped. The
film depicts how in a high functioning, career driven family, kids often
get neglected. This results in the boy
Hrithik Roshan makes twitter faux pas
O
n Thursday, news came in
that at least 20 soldiers were
killed and 11 others injured
when militants ambushed their
convoy in Manipur in the worst
such attack on the Indian Army in
a decade.
Hrithik Roshan took to Twitter the same day to condemn the
attack and wrote, “My heartfelt
condolences to d families of the 20
(Inputs from Kalyan Kumar Kalita)
jawans killed in a mindless ambush
by Manipur tribals...Salute” Expressing disapproval over the use of the
word ‘tribals’ instead of militants in
Hrithik’s tweet, Twitterati started reacting. Though the ‘Bang Bang’ actor
corrected his mistake five hours later
in a tweet that read, “Correctionunidentified Manipur tribal militant
groups .. To be more precise”, the
damage had been done.
looking for attention in the wrong
places. Surrounded by vices all around
him, the movie depicts how he gets
direction from all the wrong places in
life.
The key roles have been played by
Baharul Islam, Trishan Khan (Mumbai), Bhagawat Pritam, Maiyatree
Goswami, Ranjiv Lal Baruah, Dishan
Dholua, Anurag, Kethrin Dholua etc.
The music has been composed by Arup
Patgiri. The film’s song have been written by Diganta Bharati and sung by
Zubeen Garg and Gargee Dutta.
The movie has been essentially
shot around scenic locations in Assam and the rest of Northeast by
Prithviraj Dutta. Barnali Dholua is
the executive producer of this film.
The film’s publicity designer is Kamal
Kumar and Focus Media.
‘Morisika’ too has been directed
and produced by Nipon Dholua under the banner of NBDK Production,
and is soon to release. Some stills
from the movie have been put up on
YouTube under the Director’s channel
Vidya returns to small screen
T
he graceful beauty of Bollywood, Vidya Balan has proved
herself as one of the finest actors in the county over the years. Vidya
will be seen hosting a special episode of
Savdhaan India- Fight Back Now.
This episode will highlight the
gruesome torture of an over possessive
husband as he turns his wife’s life for
the worse. Further it shows the struggle
of the wife as she fights back and tries
to put the broken pieces of her life back
together.
Contrary to her happy and full of
life nature, Vidya while hosting, was
seen having some serious discussions
with the team of Savdhaan India as she
was to narrate a tale of a tortured wife,
similar to the character she portrays
in her upcoming film ‘Humari Adhuri Kahaani’
21
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
Fun
Your weekly dose of
Horoscope
There’s nothing wrong with this week that a little social planning can’t set to
rights. Although you may encounter resistance from a friend, or even a love interest, discussion could help find a creative solution. Later, misgivings can give
way to a lighthearted and joyous tone. Feelings of perfectionism may heighten
on Sunday. Try to see the best in yourself and others without too many expectations. Friendly vibes can make this a fun time for all.
Gemini
Conversations lead to productive encounters along with opportunities to get
involved in creative projects. Take it easy on Tuesday, though, as intense feelings could stir up issues involving your sweetheart. This isn’t the time to make
snap decisions or say anything you could regret later. The rest of the week
seems delightfully upbeat, bringing encounters that inspire and delight. Sizzling chemistry may endear you to someone very quickly. The weekend brings
a chance for all-out indulgence.
Leo
Translate restless urges into plans that can pave the way to a better future!
A part of you may be looking for something new, fresh, and exciting in life.
Moving in new circles and networking with key people could have a positive influence on your well-being and happiness. Venus dancing into your sign might
encourage you to change your style of dress or hair, giving you a glowing new
image. If it boosts your confidence, go for it!
Tauras
Sudoko
The desire to splurge could be the reason your shopping list keeps getting longer.
The Full Moon in Sagittarius on Tuesday could coincide with a strong temptation to
purchase a big-ticket item you’ve coveted for some time. Don’t immediately go for
it. Wait a few days and see how you feel about it then. The move of Venus into Leo
is excellent for entertaining or hosting guests in the coming weeks. It seems you’re
going to be busy on the home front - in a good way.
Cancer
You’re at that time of year when it’s good to relax and recharge. Use this chance to
tune in to your heart’s desire and tune out the world’s distractions. As Venus moves
into Leo you’ll be more in touch with your core values, which might help you make
a key decision. Even so, it helps to pace yourself, particularly if you’re busy professionally or socially. You’ll get more done if you lighten your schedule and focus on
what needs to be done.
Virgo
Career matters come very much to the fore, with this week’s alignment excellent
for networking with the right people, getting advice, researching your options, and
getting your face known in the right places. You’ll benefit from listening to your
intuition, too, as it could be a crucial factor in finding the right job for you or hooking up with someone who turns out to be on your wavelength as well as fantastic
company. Make time to have fun.
Sudoku is an easy to learn logicbased number placement puzzle.
The word Sudoku is short for Su-ji wa
dokushin ni kagiru which means “the
numbers must be single”.
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.
last week solution
Aries
TIMEPASS
just for Laugh
Libra
Find something to celebrate this week, as the active influences can make for
a memorable time. A focus on relationships suggests that being a team player
could be more useful than working alone. Plus, when Venus glides into Leo a
romantic bond could deepen as a result of one or two fabulous dates. You may
be inspired to make travel plans over the weekend. Any innovative ideas that
can expand your horizons should be considered, too. It’s time to have fun!
Sagittarius
Don’t be so serious about life that you forget how playful your true nature can
be when encouraged. If you’ve had a lot of responsibilities to contend with
lately, it might be time to relax and seek some fun. The Full Moon in your sign
on Tuesday is perfect for parties and celebrations. With the current alignment,
you may be champing at the bit in anticipation of travel adventures and other
opportunities to explore.
Aquarius
Your curiosity is piqued, enticing you to consider dating if you’ve been out of
the loop for a while. You’re in your element this week and eager to enjoy the
pleasures of life. Even so, you might want to lighten your schedule around the
time of the Full Moon in Sagittarius. As feelings could run high, it would help
to ease off the accelerator and go with the flow. Later, social opportunities look
especially encouraging, with a chance of a delightful meeting.
Scorpio
Business matters seem to go well this week, with the wheels of commerce turning in
your favor. You might pick up a few tips by hanging out with others who are experts
at closing deals and making money. If you’re already an expert, consider teaching
others how it’s done, as it could be a lucrative source of income. If you enjoy theater
and drama, you’ll do well on stage, or you could excel in general by making the
most of your natural charisma.
Capricorn
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good
meal and a bottle of wine, they laid down for the night, and went to
sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend.
“Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson replied,
“I see millions and millions of stars.” “What does that tell you?” Watson
pondered for a minute. “Astronomically, it tells me that there are
millions of galaxies, and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically,
I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is
approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is
all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically,
I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell
you?” Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke. “It tells me that
someone has stolen our tent.”
Useful Life hacks
Though creative conflict could show up, the motivation to make a start on an idea
you’ve been mulling over should bring results. Don’t let doubts about your ability
prevent you from going ahead. The move of Venus into Leo might be enough to
chase away doubts, boosting your confidence and enthusiasm and helping you get
ahead. Success happens when you take that first baby step and keep going. You’ll
also benefit from a chance to relax and recharge.
Pisces
This week career and job prospects may be on your mind, along with parental concerns and home-based projects. Take advantage of opportunities to solicit opinions,
as there could be a lot to discuss. In addition, the temptation to indulge could show
up as a result of Venus moving into Leo on Friday. If you’re eager to keep off the
pounds, you may want to step up your workout routine or make notes to yourself
to persevere with your diet.
Like a boss
If you have issues peeling eggs, peel part of the
thicker end, and glide the spoon around the egg
until the peel loosens and comes off.
22
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
Citypedia
classifieds
VACANCY
Required Sr.
Sales Executives,
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Accountant,
Marketing
Executives (F) ,
Office Executive.
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in an Unisex salon
For details contact
97076 35294
Peon Required
Qly-H.S.L.C.
Salary-5,500/-(+)
Contact -9864306246
Urgently Require
Telecallers
Salary: 5,000-10,000/Contact-98646-08375
Receptionist Required
Salary-Up to 10,000/Contect-98640-62103
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Delivery Boy
On a famous Courier
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Back Office
Executive Required
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Delivery boy
Required
For Online shoppingSalary-up to -9,000/Contact-98646-08375
Hotel Industry
Front Office
Executive Required
Salary-6,000-10,000/Contact-98640-62103
Showroom Executive
Required
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Marketing Executive
Required
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Back Office
Executive Required
On A well known
Hotel
Salary-Up to-10,000/Contact-90859-90528
In house sales
Executive
Qly-B.Com with
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background
Salary-Up to-15,000/Contact-98543-71481
To post
classifieds
call us at
+91 8486002319
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Want pure cowdung agarbatti?
Contact: 9093196925
TO-LET
2 BHK With 2
Bathroom , Parking,
Balcony And Lift At
G.S. Road
Rent-12,000
Ph No.-98644-31944
3 BHK 2nd Floor Flat
At Ghy Club, Rent18,000
Call-76630-59321
3 BHK Newly
Constructed Flat At
Jayanagar, Rent14,000
Call-83999-65686
3BHK Independent
House At Jonali,
2Bathroom , Parking,
& Kitchen, Rent10,000
Contact-76630-59321
3BHK 3Rd Floor
Flat With Bathroom
, Parking, Balcony
And Lift
Rent-12,000
Contact-83999-65686
3 BHK At Ganeshguri
Rent-15,000
Call-7663059321
Any type of Rented
House Available
At Zoo Road,
Chandmari
Contect-98647-39316
2 BHK Flat With
2Bathroom, Parking
& Balcony With Lift
At Chandmari
Rent-10,000
Ph No.- 83999-65686
Any type of Flat
Available At Zoo
Road, Chandmari
Contect-98647-39316
Any type of Office
Available At Zoo
Road, Chandmari
Contect-98647-39316
3BHK Flat At
Second Floor With 2
2 / 4 WHEELER
Discover 2014 Model
For Sale, Colour :
Black And Red
Ph.- 98599-10119
Alto LXI 2011 Model
Colour: Maroon
Contact-88110-91965
Yamaha FZ – S
Year of
Manufacturing04/20111, Colour
B. Green
Contact-95778-21645
Bathroom , Balcony
, Parking With 3
Wardrobe And Lift.
Rent- 15,000 Ph No.98644-31944
3BHK Flat With 2
Bathroom, 3rd Floor
, Parking, Balcony &
Lift in Beltola
Rent- 14,000
Pn No.-76630-59321
720sqft showroom
with toilet in athgaon
suitable for boutique/
computer classes etc.
Contact- 98641-59713
5 Room Flat In
Maskhowa For Rent.
Contact-98641-59713
3BHK New Flat
With 2 Bathroom ,
Parking , Balcony ,
Lift At Dispur, 2nd ,
3rd , 4th Floor, Rent16,000
Call-9864431944
400 sqft Rcc godown
available
At opp.Nichols
school, Chatribari.
With Shutter and
road facing facility.
Ph.No.- 9864159713.
200 sqft Rcc shop
inside market.
Available and nearby
godown.
Suitable for any type
of CNF work.
Ph.No. - 9864159713.
3 room residential
flat on third floor
1300 sqft in Krisna
Nagar, Chatribari.
Ph.Nos. - 9864159713.
FOR SALE
3 bigha land in
Thakurbari Road
, Rangapara with
clearcut title & sale
deed. Contact- Gopal
Das Phone No088768-59216
For immediate sale.
Brand New Flat at
Kahilipara Road,
3BHK with car park
and all modern
ammeneties. 1560
sq.ft, 8th floor.
Contact: 94351 15098
2 WHEELER /
4 WHEELER
Vento (D)
Top Model 2011
Colour: White
Ph-88110-91965
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
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
Splendor 2013 Model
Colour Black
Call- 98641-06333
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
Honda Activa
2004 Model
Colour : Black
Call- 88110-91965
Swift VSI 2012 Model
Colour: Silver
4.50 Lacs Fixed
Call:88221-41557
Bajaj Pulsar 135
2010 Model
Colour – M.BLK M.
98540-91738
Scorpio For Sale
2010 SLX
Colour – Silver
Ph.- 98599-10119
Pulsar 150 2009
Model, Colour: Black
Contact- 88110-91965
Scorpio 2010 LX
Colour: Black (D)
Contact-98641-06333
Honda Dio 2013
Model, 2013 Model
Colour: P.T. Yellow
Contact-98640-21414
TVS Apache RTR
08 / 2011 Model
Colour : Red
98544-01660
Scorpio Model: SLX
2004, Colour: Silver
Contact- 88110-91965
Honda Activa 2012
Model, Colour- Blue
Call-95773-69908
Wagon R For Sale
2009 Model
Colour : Maroon
Contact-98599-10119
Hundai i20 Sportz
ABS CRBI
Price – 5.20 Lacs
Colour – Grey
88221-41557
Swift Dzire: 2010
Model, Colour: White
(D), Ph- 98599-91965
Activa, Colour: Black
2012 Model
Contact: 98641-06333
Mahindra Duro
2011 Model
Colour : Maroon
Contact: 88110-91965
Public Notice
I, Neelakshi Bordoloi,
have changed my name
to Neelakshi Bordoloi
Saikia by an affidavit
before the Notary
Public Kamrup (Metro)
dated: 19-02-15
HOSPITALS
Arya Hospital, Ulubari
(2606888, 2606665)
B Baruah Cancer Institute
(2472364/66)
Brahmaputra Hospital Ltd
(2451634/678)
Chatribari Christian
Hospital
0361-2600051, 9207044374
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)
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
TB Hospital
(2540193)
Wintrobe Hospital
0361-2519860,
98647-77986
IHR-Institute of Human
Reproduction
0361-2482619,09864103333
GNRC Hospital 0361
2227702
GNRC Life First Ambulance
9401194011
24-HOUR PHARMACIES
Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665)
DEAD BODY CARRYING VAN
GLP Social Circle 2737373, 9435047046
Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251
GGUMTA 98640-16740
ELECTRICITY
SUPPLY
Call Centre –
9678005171
OTHERS
Fire Emergency 101
State Zoo 2201363
GMC Carcass Pickup 9435190720,
9864047222
LPG Emergency/Leakage 2385209,
2541118
RADIO TAXI SERVICES
Prime Cabs
0361- 2222233
Green Cabs
0361-7151515
My Taxi
0361-2228888
Cherry Cabs
8876222288
Cinema Hall
Anuradha Cineplex – 0361-2656968, 99545-44738
Fun Cinema (HUB)- 98648-00100, 98648-00200
Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazaar) – 98540-66166
Gold Cinema (Salasar) – 0361-2735367, 98540-77177
Gold Cinema (Narengi) – 88110-01898
police station
SP, Kamrup District: Ph- 2540278
DGP Control Room: Ph- 2540242
SB Control Room: Ph-2261511
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
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
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
23
Catching Up
Royal Enfield announces limited
edition motorcycles and gear
R
Streetside selfie: Getting ready for customers, let’s see how I look. Photo: Adib Zamali
PIC
OF THE
WEEK
oyal Enfield unveiled a range of limited edition motorcycles and exclusive riding gear which are inspired
by the “despatch riders” of the two World
Wars. The unveil took place at their newlyopened flagship gear store.
The limited edition model is based
on the Royal Enfield Classic 500 cruiser,
and only 600 units will be made by the
company. It will be available in three different army camouflage colors, namely
Battle Green (international markets only),
Squadron Blue and Desert Storm, and only
200 units will be finished in each color.
The bike it’s based on packs a 499 cc,
single cylinder, 4 stroke twinspark engine
with Keihin Electronic Fuel Injection de-
livering 27.2 bhp at 5,250 rpm and 41.3 Nm
of torque at 4,000 rpm. Power is fed to the
wheel by a five-speed transmission meshed
with a wet, multi-plate clutch.
Complementing the limited edition
bikes are the riding gear that RE also unveiled. It includes exclusive leather jackets
with unique stitching pattern, shoes with
ankle guards, t-shirts and water-resistant
canvas bags that can be installed on the
bike.
The limited edition bikes will be sold
online only and deliveries would begin
on July 15. Royal Enfield will also be selling the bikes in other countries, where the
company has a presence such as European
and American markets.
Indian version of 911-style emergency
response service signs over 10k subscribers
1
Irina Shayk
0,000+ subscribers have received
benefits from India’s first of its
911-style, One Touch Response
(OTR) Emergency Services.
The service, accessible via the
OTR app or on the phone, offers a single point of contact for all emergencies
such as road rage situations, stalking,
eve-teasing, physical threat, being
stranded on the road late at night, being caught in a minor or major accident, fire or a medical situation, be it
at home or on the road.
Founder of One Touch Response,
Arvind Khanna said that they had
launched the service for employees of
large corporates.
Doesn’t ‘Believe in Plastic Surgery’
T
he 29-year-old model - who is rumoured to be dating actor Bradley
Cooper - claims cosmetic procedures aren’t necessary and simply believes being confident can help women to
“feel special” at any size.
She said: “I don’t believe in plastic
surgery. I believe women have to love
their bodies, and that it’s all about confidence. When I do shoots, I say to myself,
I love my body and I’m not afraid to show
it. I hope every woman will feel special
and be in love with her body, whatever
her size.”
She explained: “To get into lingerie
or a swimsuit for a shoot you have to feel
your best, and of course you have to train.
Lately I’ve taken up ju-jitsu, which is great
fun and also great cardio. You have to find
something that works for your body. I get
bored very easily, so I’m always trying to
find something different.”
Many of these employees enquired about
One Touch Response for their family members
and when employees use OTR they recognize
that in times of emergencies, professionally
trained response can make all the difference, he
further added.
Following the successful response in DelhiNCR, the on ground physical assistance service
would now be extended to 6 more cities by 2016,
as part of OTR’s expansion plans.
‘Love locks’ to be removed from
Paris’ famed Pont des Arts bridge
F
or years, tying a love lock
on the Pont des Arts before throwing the key into
the River Seine right below has
been followed as tourist tradition. But the now-iconic bridge
is buckling under the weight of
such devotion, and authorities
are desperate to stop the craze.
Last year police hurriedly
ushered tourists off the Pont
des Arts when a section of the
footbridge collapsed under the
weight of the locks covering
the 155m (509-ft) long bridge.
Plastic panels were put up in
places to deter lovebirds, and
authorities launched a drive to
get tourists to upload selfies in-
stead of attaching a lock.
Deploring
‘destruction
of heritage’ and a security
risk for tourists on the overloaded Pont des Arts, Paris
officials have decided, enough
is enough and will remove all
locks.
24
G PLUS JUN 06 - JUN 12, 2015
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: Koushik Hazarika.
Phone: 0361 2737737, Email: [email protected], RNI No: ASSENG/2013/52641