1. society
2. welfare
3. healthcare
4. hospital

20
postures
for a healthy heart
PG 16
Love Vs Separation
Ishqiya
Aur Siskiya
PG 14
Sophie Turner
Sansa Stark will be a ‘player’ in
Game of Thrones season 5
Page 24
VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 26
APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
Are
PRICE `10
eviction
AT
Deepor
beel
radio
taxis
PG
04
Govt Art
College
in
deplorable
state
PG
10
Liquor black
market
continues
unabated
taking you
for a ride?
PG
08
WHAT MAKES
WARD NO 14
New city cab services are mushrooming at frequent intervals, but are they
actually providing satisfactory service to the Guwahatians?
CONTD. IN PAGE 02
THE BEST IN
THE CITY
PG 13
2
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
Lead Story
Are radio taxis
taking you for a ride?
RAHUL CHANDA
F
or any service people get, the
level of satisfaction is derived
by the demand raised by the
consumers for that particular service, and for Guwahati and Guwahatians, radio taxi is one of the most
talked about services in the city and
different people have different views
about the city radio taxi services.
We see many names in the taxi industry in the city with various kinds
of branding on the vehicles, but how
many taxi services are actually radio taxis and what do people think
about the services provided by these
taxi services? Are the taxis following
all the guidelines and are the fares
charged as per regulations? G Plus
peeps into the industry.
The passengers
A Delhi based doctor who is
a native of Guwahati said, “I easily
get taxis in Delhi and the service is
also very good, but in Guwahati if
it is around 10 at night, I cannot get
any taxi and even the customer care
number of even a single taxi service
does not respond.” He further said
that there might be radio taxi services available here but sadly none
of the service matches any of the national quality services.
Preeti Jain, a house wife and a
frequent traveller said that she is fed
up of radio taxi service in Guwahati
as services like Ola Cabs are very
poor with the cab never being on
time and the drivers behaving very
rudely. She further stated that Prime
Cabs provides good service but the
starting rate of Rs 180 for the minimum distance is quite high.
So, the passengers are not totally
happy with the taxi services available
in Guwahati.
radio taxis in
Guwahati?
After visiting the district transport office and the office of the commissioner and secretary, transport,
Government of Assam, it was noticed that only a few taxi services in
the city and the state can be called
radio taxis. The officials of commissioner and secretary, transport department said that only Prime Cabs
has the permission to ply as a radio
taxi in Assam because they fulfil all
the criteria of being a radio taxi and
they have taken permission from the
commissioner’s office and have valid
license and other required documents. The DTO (permit and secretary RTA) Kamal Das said, “We have
provided permits to three services as
radio taxi service in the city namely,
Green Cabs, Megha Cabs and Mini
Taxi. These cabs can ply in Kamrup
Metro district but other than this we
do not have any information about
other radio taxi services in the
city.”
He further stated that acquiring a permit from the DTO
allows them to drive within the
district and acquiring a permit
from the commissioner’s office
allows one to drive within the
state, so according to the DTO
office and commmissioner’s office Prime Cabs, Green Cabs,
Megha Cabs and Mini Taxi
are the only radio taxi services
available in Guwahati. The commissioner office officials also
said that there are some important criteria for companies who
apply for radio taxi permission
that needs to be fulfilled.
Criteria for radio taxi permit
Permit holder should have:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
24 x 7 monitoring system like GPS of the entire vehicle fleet under them
24 x 7 call centre facilities should be available for the safety and benefit of commuters
Parking yard for atleast 50 vehicles
Initially 25 vehicles and 50 vehicles after six months of starting the service
Permit holder must follow the guidelines of RTA act and MV laws
Every cab should be brand new at the time of induction and should be owned by the owner of the
service company
The vehicles should maintain proper hygiene and working order at all times. The cabs should be fitted
with electronic fare meters with printed bill on the front panel (dashboard) and to be maintained in a
proper working order
The vehicles should be fitted with GPS/GPRS based tracking devices which must be in constant communication with the central control unit while the vehicle is on duty.
The vehicles must be equipped with the first aid first box containing material as specified
The vehicles should be replaced on completion of ten years with a brand new vehicle meeting the prevailing emission standard
Photograph of driver and driving license details and details of the permit holder will have to be displayed conspicuously on the dashboard of the vehicle
The drivers should have good character and the verification should be done by the police
The hidden cost
Although the above are the requirements any taxi has to follow
to claim to be a radio taxi service,
in Guwahati, we see many other cab
services plying on the roads claiming the same without following any
norms.
Ola Cabs officials failed to respond to G Plus queries and did
not respond when they were asked
if their services are registered anywhere and whether they have any
permission to ply on Guwahati
Roads. Swiss Cabs officials said that
Swiss Cab is just a taxi service and
not a radio taxi service. Similarly, according to sources in the taxi service
industry, people get tourist taxi permit and start moving in the city and
are perceived by people as radio taxi
services. So, the question that arises
is- are people getting good services
from the taxi and the radio taxis in
the city?
If Ola Cabs charges Rs 50 as the
starting rate for any minimum distance covered, there are some hidden costs according to the passengers, like every kilometre travelled
has a rupee more added with the fare
and there are waiting charges etc
added with the fare which somehow
finally increases the fare. According
to sources in the cab industry, cabs
which do not charge service tax are
generally not registered with the
government as a taxi service. Interestingly the transport department is
expected to regulate the fare but it
is said by industry sources that cabs
can charge anything below Rs 20 per
kilometre which further makes the
fare calculation chaotic and unregulated.
According to highly placed
sources in the DTO, the taxi services which are not radio taxis usually have tourist taxi permits which
makes them a regular taxi but they
ply in the city giving off an impression to people that they are radio
taxis. The existing radio taxis are
somehow not providing 100 per cent
service to the customers as well - for
example, lack of service after 10 at
night is against the rules of a radio
taxi service. They might have their
own reasons but the fact remains
that Guwahatians are not recieving
satisfactory service form so called
radio taxis of the city.
[email protected]
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
3
In The News
CM flags off more
buses for city
KALYAN DEB
I
n a bid to infuse more mobility
into the city bus services, Chief
Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday flagged off 61 city buses to increase plying of government buses
in the city and its adjoining areas,
at a function held at the Rupnath
Brahma Inter-State Bus Terminus in
Guwahati.
The 11 AC and 50 Non-AC buses under Jawaharlal Nehru National
Urban Renewal Mission Phase-II
are special purpose vehicles and
they would ply between JalukbariNoonmati, Jalukbari-Beltola via
Paltanbazar, ISBT-Mirza and ISBTJagiroad routes. The buses are installed with bus driver consoles with
touch screen, CC cameras for inside
and rear view, display boards, lights
at doors and footsteps, stop request
switch on alternate stanchion tubes,
ventilator fans and several other features.
However, city denizens remain
critical about the availability and
the traffic congestion caused by city
buses around Guwahati. City buses
have earned the reputation of being the biggest traffic violators and
the stationing of more buses in the
city has added to the concerns of the
people.
Moreover, the availability of
public transport after a certain time,
especially late evenings remains a
question among the people.
Debajit Lahon, a businessman
who travels between Ganeshguri
and Paltanbazar everyday said, “As
a businessman, sometimes I have to
travel everyday and I am dependent
upon buses most of the time. Due to
my work, at times I also get late but
cannot find a bus and unwillingly
have to take an auto that charges
fares according to their whims. The
government’s move to deploy more
buses during the working hours
should also set a perimeter timing of
at least until 10 pm at night. Most of
the ASTC buses are unavailable after
8 pm and the ones that are supposed
to travel from Jalukbari to Khanapara only cover till Bhangagarh.”
Jyotismita Deka, a private sector employee further added, “The
buses are more preferred by women
as they are considered safer than autos or any other public transport and
since some of the working women
have to work late at times, in order to
make it more convenient for them,
the government should also look towards providing late night bus services with secure facilities.”
She added that in the ASTC
buses there are no specified seats for
ladies and elderly unlike the private
buses. The authorities should emphasise on initiating these facilities
in such buses.
Pitambar Talukdar a government employee asserted, “The private buses are a major concern for
traffic congestion in the city and
flagging off more buses will add to
it. The authorities need to look forward to tightening up the screws
on the buses. Rather than deploying more buses on the major routes,
the government and the authorities
should focus on areas that lack prop-
er transport services. Several areas
within the city lack proper transport
conveniences and bus services and
have to be dependent on trekkers
and autos that charge much more
than the legitimate fare.”
Earlier, speaking during the flag
off ceremony, Chief Minister Tarun
Gogoi said that in order to put the
state into a robust growth trajectory,
the transport system needs to be revolutionised and since 2001 his government has been putting in a lot of
importance to this sector. He further
said his government has been dedicating more number of buses to the
service of the state as approximately
10 lakh people of the state, on a daily
basis, use road transport as a means
of communication.
He further reiterated his government’s commitment to improve the
transport system of the state by stimulating adequate government intervention in road and water transport.
Addressing the event, Khagendra Nath Chetia, Managing Director,
ASTC and Urban Transport Corporation said, “JNNURM 2 is an
extended scheme of JNNURM 2005
under which 400 buses had been
sanctioned for the city out of which
200 are AC buses and the newly deployed buses will be installed with
ITS. Moreover, after the deployment
of the new buses, two buses will
be available within each minute to
make it convenient for the people of
the city.”
Assam Transport Minister Ajit
Singh, while speaking on the occasion underlined his objective of revamping the transport department,
which has the potential of bolstering growth of the state. Chief Secretary Jitesh Khosla, Chairman, ASTC
G.C. Langthasa, Additional Chief
Secretary, Power V.B. Pyarelal, Additional Chief Secretary, Transport
V.S. Bhaskar, along with others were
present at the event.
Although, the newly deployed
city buses in the city have already
taken over the streets, the arrival of
AC buses are still awaited. Eyes will
also be on the growing traffic congestion and how efficient the buses
will be against the growing number
of private vehicles.
[email protected]
4
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
In The News
eviction ON
AT Deepor beel
ADITYA GOGoi
K
amrup (Metro) district administration has started an
eviction drive in and around
Deepor Beel on the illegal constructions that are threatening the ecosystem of the water body. The district
administration has also lodged FIRs
against some of the encroachers for
violating a number of norms by constructing walls in the periphery of the
Ramsar site situated on the outskirts
of the city.
A major portion of the walls constructed by the National Public School
(NPS) authority was demolished, said
deputy commissioner M Angamuthu.
The district administration also said
that the eviction will continue till the
entire area surrounding the water
body is cleared. Besides, several other
constructions and business establishments have also been evicted by the
administration.
The order, which instructs the
eviction says that some individual
pattadars of kheraj myadi land at village Mikirpara Chakordoi and Pamohi under Ramsarani mouza have
constructed boundary walls, which
obstruct the natural flow of storm
water.
The order also mentioned that the
NPS authority has constructed walls
illegally and these are also blocking
the original water channel. “The NPS
authority has destroyed the Deepor
Beel by earth filling the perennial water body as well as by erecting bound-
ary walls and thereby disturbing the
natural flow in the Pamohi drains. It
has also caused damage to the biodiversity and ecosystem,” it said.
“We have filed an FIR against the
NPS authority and others under several acts. Even if they possess Myadi
patta land, nobody can construct any
sort of structure. For that, special
NOC has to be issued. The entire
stretch has to be free,” said Angamuthu.
Accordingly, the NPS authority
will face legal action under Guwahati Water Bodies (Preservation and
Conservation) Act 2008; Assam Land
Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2012 and
Assam Hill Land, Wildlife Protection
Act, Disaster Management Act, 2005
and Ecological Sites (Protection and
Management) Act, 2006.
The report from the district forest office of the Guwahati Wildlife
Division says that an area of 100
bighas of wetland are in possession
of the authority of NPS, which is situated in Chakardoi under Azara revenue circle and is a contiguous ecosensitive zone.
It has also come as a great relief
for the environmental activists as
they alleged that such walls and major constructions have been putting
a barrier to the elephant corridors in
the Deepor Beel area.
Earlier, Angamuthu had directed
all the concerned enforcement agencies including revenue circle officers,
district police, forest department and
planning and regulatory bodies like
Guwahati Municipal Corporation,
Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority and Panchayat functionaries among others, not to permit
any earth filling and construction
activities in and around Deepor Beel,
which is notified as water body under
the Guwahati Water bodies (Prevention and Conservation) Act, 2008.
The NPS authority, however, al-
leged that they were not issued any
prior notice before the eviction. “We
constructed the wall on the miyadi
land identified by the government
officials. We have had the possession
of this land for the last eight years.
We will ask the district administration and the revenue circle officials
to demarcate the land,” said a senior
official of NPS who did not wished to
be named.
In 1989, the state government
declared an area of 10.1 sq km of the
water body as Deepor Beel Wildlife
Sanctuary and also proposed that
the 4.1 sq km core area be designated
a bird sanctuary. Nearly 122 species
of seasonal, migratory and other varieties of birds fly down to the water
body every year. Because of its ecological importance,the Deepor Beel
has been included in the Asian Wetland Directory and it was declared as
a Ramsar site in 2002.
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
5
In The News
Gogoi blames medical council
G PLUS FEATURE
for SHORTAGE OF DOCTORS IN ASSAM
C
hief Minister Tarun Gogoi inaugurated a new patient care
floor of the Operation Smile
Guwahati Comprehensive Cleft Care
Centre located within the premises
of the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury
Hospital in the city. He was felicitated by Operation Smile for creating the world largest Public Private
Partnership comprehensive cleft care
model.
The centre facilitates operational
surgeries for children born with such
facial disorders everyday and in the
course of four years, has completed
13,500 surgeries so far. The record
number of surgeries has made the
centre a world class facility with surgeons and medical staff offering their
services from world over.
A one-of-a-kind centre that provides free surgeries and free stay for
patients and attendees, the flow of
patients from nook and corner of the
state and also from Northeast is indeed great. The effort and help from
the state government, especially
from Gogoi has earned him a felicitation from Operation Smile India.
The new centre will enable operational procedures to be carried out
in an efficient manner with the large
volume of patients that visit the cen-
It was under Gogoi’s
tutelage that the
Assam Rural Health
Regulatory Authority
Act was enacted in
2004. But Gogoi’s
ambitious project was
opposed by the Medical
Council of India and
the state chapter
of Indian Medical
Association. The act
was struck down by the
Gauhati High Court last
October.
tre on a daily basis. Gogoi extolled
the centre as a top facility and wished
that Assam will one day be cleft free.
Gogoi expressed that the service
provided by the city’s centre has been
a boon to thousands of children and
brought a sigh of relief to parents
with afflicted children.
But at the same time the Chief
Minister rued the fact that due to
shortage of doctors, many in the state
were not being able to avail health
care and cited that a healthy nation
needs healthy people.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi then
cited the impediments in making
health care available to the people.
He said he couldn’t understand the
system of medical education in the
country and expressed that he would
introduce new courses like anaesthesiology to bridge the shortage of doctors in the state.
It was under Gogoi’s tutelage that
the Assam Rural Health Regulatory
Authority Act was enacted in 2004.
But Gogoi’s ambitious project was
opposed by the Medical Council of
India and the state chapter of Indian
Medical Association. The act was
struck down by the Gauhati High
Court last October.
Citing this, Gogoi on Wednesday
referred to few examples from other
countries where, by introducing short
term courses in nursing and anaesthesiology, it contributed towards the
health sector and was able to reach out
to different strata in society.
“I do not understand the Indian
medical system of the Medical Council of India. How is it possible to reach
out to the people in our society in
need of health care? The MCI didn’t
understand the importance of the
matter. The education system has to be
changed,” said Gogoi.
Gogoi also assured that the state
health department should be now
engaged in identifying the areas in
the state where health benefits haven’t
been reached as of yet. He admitted
that malnutrition was affecting children of the state and needs to be addressed.
“Mission Malnutrition will be
programmed to bridge the gap. We
need to identify the areas where the
health facilities are lagging and what
can be done about it. We should focus on how health care can be made
available to the downtrodden and the
poor,” added Gogoi.
GHC direction
CITY Awareness on
to SSA over
autism to be measured
TET marking
through questions
PRANJAL BARUAH
G PLUS FEATURE
A
city based public charitable
trust working for autistic children and autism as a whole
has embarked upon a unique endeavour to measure the level of awareness
amongst the city’s denizens about the
issue and also to inculcate specific
perceptions among people on how to
approach autism in a positive tone.
On the occasion of World Autism Day that was observed here on
Thursday, the Assam Autism Foundation, a public charitable trust working
towards autism, began a month-long
public survey so as to know about the
level of awareness and understanding
towards autism in society.
The foundation organised a special exhibition with art works presented by autistic children at the
foundation’s centre in the city. The
talent exhibited by the children not
only mesmerised the people at the
event but was also successful in instilling a positive message to both the
parents of children with autism and
other people who were invited to witness the art display.
With awareness level towards autism in the state and in the city still in
requirement of a robust growth, experts in this field have expressed that
even though in comparison to yes-
teryears when awareness level about
autism was at a nascent stage, the
present day understanding of autism
has broadened but much more needs
to be done in terms of intervention
and reaching out, specifically in the
rural areas.
The survey will be carried out
for the entire month and the results
will be compiled next month. The
main purpose of the survey is to understand how much the citizens of
Guwahati understand about autism
and what opinions they hold towards
it.
The survey was carried out in a
questionnaire format with questions
about autism, how a support base
can be established for working towards autistic children, understanding the signs and symptoms of autism, basic opinions of people about
it and other relevant questions.
The questionnaires will be distributed amongst educational institutions in the city, to general public
and also to parents of normal children.
The foundation has been a pioneer in the Northeast region and has
been working for more than a decade amongst autistic children and
people and engineering a supportive
base in society about a complicated
subject such as autism.
“Autism needs to be taken in a
different perspective. It is different
from other forms of developmental
disorders. The main purpose of the
survey was to know how much students and people in the city understand about autism. We can build a
bridge and create an atmosphere of
awareness,” said Shabina Ahmed,
consultant doctor of the Assam Autism Foundation.
With most of the educational
institutions in the city and in the region not imparting training courses
for councillors in autism, those interested in such courses have to avail
it outside the state.
“Such courses need to be imparted. Autism is in a different league
and is separated from others. The
importance of training for counsellors is paramount in creating a feasible atmosphere for understanding
towards autism. Instilling interventional programmes for children with
autism requires expert knowledge,”
said Amrita Bujarbaruah, psychologist and counsellor of autism unit
of Shishu Sarothi, an organisation
working with specially abled and autistic children.
T
he Gauhati High Court
has recently directed the
Mission Director of Assam
Sarba Siksha Abhijan Mission
to manually re-examine the answers script of one Nikhil Gohain
who appeared in the Teachers
Eligibility Test (LP level) examination held in January.
Gohain had moved the court
after he found that he was disqualified in the exam by an automatic answer script evaluation.
The petitioner sought the court’s
intervention and prayed that at
least six of his given answers were
wrongly evaluated by the system,
resulting in him obtaining marks
lesser than the minimum qualification markz for the post.
“As per the norms of the TET
examination, out of 150 total
marks, one other backward class
(OBC) candidate is required to
obtain minimum 83 marks to
pass the examination. Gohain,
an OBC candidate, was awarded
only 81 marks and declared unsuccessful in the examination,”
said the petitioner’s counsel advocate Bishwajyoti Purkayastha.
However, when the petitioner
managed to obtained the optical
mark reader (OMR) sheet, the
approved answers’ key prepared
by the experts, via RTI and verified it with his given answers, he
found that in at least on six occasions, his answers were evaluated
wrongly despite being correct.
Then he challenged the question
paper with regard to above questions and approved answers as
provided in the answers key.
Responding to the petition,
the Mission Director had stated
that the question and answers
were framed by the experts and
therefore, they have no direct
control over that.
“The High Court has stated
that it is not an expert to evaluate the answer script and award
marks and it is the duty of the
examiner. However, the court
directed the Mission Director
to manually re-examine the answers script of the petitioner by
engaging one independent expert within a period of 30 days
and if the petitioner is declared
successful by the examiner then
he would be entitled to all the
legitimate consequential benefits as per law,” the counsel
added.
6
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
In The News
IIT-G student attempts suicide
undergoes treatment for broken bones
Juthika baruah
W
ith increasing competition
among students, increased
pressure from both families, teachers and their peers and the
resultant stress, incidents of suicides
have increased manifold among students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) across the country, with IIT,
Guwahati being no exception.
Last year, at least 4-5 students at
IIT-G committed suicide, shaking
the morale of the other students and
concerned persons alike as IITians are
considered some of the most brilliant
students and any self attempts on their
lives raises a lot of questions on the
education as well as the value system
of the country.
Last Sunday, on 29th March, a
female student pursuing B. Tech reportedly attempted to commit suicide
from the second floor of the Subansiri
Hostel of the institution.
“The girl has fractured her left
shoulder and is under treatment and
the doctors said that she is perfectly
fine and does not have any head or
spinal injury. As per the information,
it was not a suicide attempt, rather
she fell accidentally from the second
floor,” said Labanu Konwar, Public Relation Officer of IIT-G.
He further said that the actual
reason is unknown as the girl is not
in a position to give any statement to
police or the institute authorities. The
real picture will be clear only after her
statement is taken and the facts are
Excessive stress,
competition and lack
of counselling are
the major problems
for which students
commit suicide
verified by the authority.
When asked about the reason of
increasing number of suicides, Konwar said that there might be academic
pressure and IIT being the leading
institute, it only recruits talented students. The priorities of the students
have also changed and along with
changing human values and interpersonal dynamics, such incidents
are happening increasingly. There are
student counsellors who are working
round the clock to deal with the students but sometimes students become
helpless and commit suicide.
“Excessive stress, competition
and lack of counselling are the major
problems for which students commit
suicide. IITians or IIM students have
huge pressure from their parents or
teachers and people expect much more
from them as they are into a leading
institute. But correspondingly, there is
lack of counselling in the schools and
colleges here in the state of Assam that
can properly guide the students. They
cannot share their feelings with anyone, even their parents, as guardians
themselves put them under pressure
to secure good percentage or meet
their expectations and when they fail
to do so, they commit suicide,” said an
academician.
Depression, societal norms, unhealthy living standards are also
some of the concerns for committing
suicide which is increasing among the
youngsters.
[email protected]
Forest officialS
rescue IIT-G
students from
Garbhanga Forest
A
re security issues in educational institutions mere formalities or do they serve as
an effective measure for self preservation as the latest incident at Indian
Institute of Technology, Guwahati
revealed when a group of 19 students
had to be rescued by the forest officials from Garbhanga Forest after
they went for a trek without informing the IIT-G authority.
The incident took place when
members of the Adventurous Club
of IIT-G went for a trek in the Garbhanga Forest on 28th March and lost
their bearings on the way back from
the forest. According to the Public
Relation Officer of IIT-G, Labanu
Konwar, the students had gone to the
Garbhanga Reserve Forest headed by
a faculty member and professional
adventurer. They were to enter from
the Basistha side and exit the forest from the Lakhra side but during
on their return trek from the forest
they thought they heard the sound
of a herd of elephants. As they were
still inside the forest, they waited in
silence for the elephants to move on
so that they can come out safely from
the forest.
“While they were waiting, it became dark and they went to higher
grounds and lit a fire but unfortunately they couldn’t contact anyone
due to absence of mobile network
coverage inside the forest. But luckily, an SMS sent by a student to the
security officer several hours earlier
got delivered and the security officer
informed the Amingaon police at
around 11.30 PM,” informed Konwar.
The Amingaon police immediately informed the Gorchuk Police
station who in turn contacted the forest officials to rescue the team of students. At around 1.30 AM they were
rescued by the forest officials and the
students safely reached the campus
early Sunday morning without any
untoward incident.
Konwar said that investigation is
on whether the group went with due
permission from the authority. When
asked about the security system of
the Institute, Konwar said that it is
not possible to get the students to register their entry and exit details every
time they go outside the institute
campus. He said that the students are
mature enough and sometimes they
go out for 5-10 minutes which needs
no registration.
He, however, reiterated that the
authorities are working on the case
and necessary action will be taken if
any guilty is found in the group.
Chief Conservator of Forest,
Mrigen Baruah said that whenever
anyone goes for trekking in the forest, one needs permission from the
forest department and if someone
wants to go deep inside the forest, official staff are deployed to guide the
visitors as there are many wild animals inside the forest. But as per the
information available with the CCF,
the IIT adventure group didn’t take
any permission from the forest officials which should have been done
before they went for the trek.
Baruah said “We cannot stop
people from going inside the forest as
there is a revenue village which falls
under Meghalaya. The people should
be careful when they enter the forest
and take permission so that in any
case of emergency the forest officials
can take necessary steps.”
timber
smuggler
killed
O
ne timber smuggler, identified as Pulin Changso,
was killed in an operation conducted by state’s forest
department at Garbhanga reserve
forest located at the bordering
areas of city and Meghalaya on
Wednesday.
Forest official said a team
of some nine forest officials
launched an operation and found
at least 12 people, all suspected to
have come from Meghalaya, were
cutting trees.
“When we tried to stop them,
one of the miscreants fired a shot
and in retaliation our forest officials also fired. In the cross fire,
one among the miscreants sustained bullet injuries. Though
rushed to the hospital, he succumbed to his injuries,” a forest
official said.
Others in the group managed to flee the spot. The slain
miscreants was found to be hailing from Pilingpuri village in
the neighbouring state nearing
the Assam-Meghalaya border.
An axe, machete, bow and
arrows were also recovered from
his possession.
7
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
City
TB Hospital gasps
for survival
govt apathy continues
KALYAN DEB
G
overnment apathy has left
the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Tuberculosis Hospital
and Sanatorium at Birubari literally
gasping for life. Dingy rooms with
creaking fans, broken windows, dilapidated bathrooms and shortage of
staff — the indifferent attitude of the
successive state governments, has
ensured the maximum amount of
inconvenience for the patients.
Despite the government’s tall
claims about upgrading healthcare
facilities in the public sector, the
crumbling facilities at the city’s lone
tuberculosis hospital portrays its
dismal reality.
From a distance the hospital’s
premises gives a picture of a grazing
ground with greenery surrounding
the area and cattle roaming about
freely on the campus whereas a
closer view gives an onlooker the
real picture of the hospital that is
on the verge of ruin. Taking advantage of the situation, certain areas
in the hospital have already been
encroached upon by unscrupulous
elements.
The moment one walks into the
hospital, one is bound to have a nauseating feeling owing to the stench
emerging from the corridors and
rooms.
“The bathrooms are in a dilapidated condition while the septic
tank lies underneath the tap that
provides drinking water, creating an
unhygienic environment. Moreover,
the backyard is not cleaned regularly
which has turned it into a shrubbery,” said Hamid Ali, a patient residing in the hospital for the past
two months.
“The cottage ward of the hospital even lacks the basic amenities
such as proper lavatories and bathrooms. The beds are not changed
regularly, let alone the surroundings,
as no disinfectants are used to keep
the germs away, which turns the
condition worse for us patients,” said
Mohan Gopal who came all the way
from Goalpara for treatment.
“The medicines are also provided in inadequate quantity and
only last for three to four days. Most
of the required medicines have to
be bought from other pharmacies
which are mostly expensive and
can’t be afforded as we are from poor
families,” Gopal added.
A hospital staff informed, “After
the hospital building was constructed in the 1950s, no major renovation has been carried out till now
besides whitewashing the walls. As
a result, the Assam-type houses of
the hospital are in a very bad condition. During summer, the patients
suffer because most of the fans do
not work while in the winters, they
have to brave the chill as almost all
the windows are broken. Also during
any kind of inconvenience, the staff
members spend from their pockets
in order to keep the hospital functioning. Also several ill doings are
carried out within the premises of
the hospital since there are no street
lights and the area is wrapped into
darkness after sundown,” the staff
added.
He said, earlier there used to be
a branch of the Public Works Department in the hospital to look after minor repairing works but it has
also been withdrawn for reasons best
known to the authorities.
Acting superintendent of the
hospital, Dr. Gopal Sarma agreed
that a lot needs to be done to improve the condition of the hospital.
“The old rickety hospital buildings are in desperate need of renovation as the hospital is in a dilapidated
condition. The wards and cabins are
not in good shape and patients complain that there is lack of enough water and quality food. Since the wards
are spread around 50 bighas of land,
it makes the conditions even tougher
to function properly,” he said.
“The condition of the area was
even worse until a cleanliness drive
was carried out in the hospital prem-
ises under the succour of Swachh
Bharat Abhiyan by the hospital
staff,” the superintendent added.
Earlier the state government had
proposed to renovate the Lokapriya
Gopinath Bordoloi TB Hospital as
it is presently in a shambles. The
decision to reconstruct the hospital
came only after the hospital authorities raised their voice against the
appalling condition of the hospital.
However, no such initiative has been
taken.
The TB hospital at Birubari, established in 1954, was the first-of-its-kind
in the state. The hospital used to get
patients from all over the state in its
glory days, but the number of patients
is now decreasing due to the lack of
proper facilities and cabins, and unhygienic condition.
The superintendent said, “It was
proposed that after the reconstruction, there were plans for a respiratory
hospital, an administrative building
and a 2,500-bedded trauma centre.
The proposal of the new building was
initiated over a year ago though no
such process has been carried out yet.”
Former Assam Chief Minister,
Bisnuram Medhi had laid the foundation stone of the hospital on January
30, 1954. The hospital was formerly
run by Lokopriyo Gopinath Bordoloi
Micro Tuberculosis Aid Society until
the hospital was taken over by the state
government in November 1972.
It can be noted that the TB threat
to the people is equal for both the
rich and the poor, as there is no private TB hospital in the city. For most
patients, the Gauhati Medical College
and Hospital (GMCH) is the preferred
destination.
The superintendent who is also
a specialist in gynaecology said the
awareness level is still very low among
the people.
“Discontinuation of the prescribed medicines by the patients is a
major problem. Once a patient starts
feeling better, they stop taking the
medicines whereas the bacteria still
survives within. The same also spreads
the disease once he is socially exposed
as the disease is spread through the
respiratory system.”
[email protected]
8
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
City
Liquor black market
continues unabated
Juthika baruah
D
efying the District Excise
Department’s directive to
the liquor shops to observe
the last and the first days of every
month as dry days, the illicit liquor
trade continues to flourish unabated
in the city.
According to the new rules, the
most fundamental change that took
place was the timing of sale and purchase of liquor throughout the state.
The wine shops can now only open at
2 pm shut by 10 pm, whereas previously, the timing was from 10 am to
10 pm. The bars and clubs can serve
liquor from 1 pm to 10 pm, and such
premises may be kept open up to 12
midnight under a separate late closing licence on payment of a fee of
Rs 75,000 per annum issued by the
collector of the district with previous
approval of government in the Excise
Department.
According to the new rules,
some days will be considered as dry
days throughout the state. The first
and last day of every month, except
31st December of every year will be
dry days and no sale and purchase
of liquor can be done on these days.
The 26th January of every year, 15th
August and 2nd October of every
year will also be considered as dry
days.
On 31st March, the Excise department had raided different places
of the city and found that the highway dhabas sold illegal liquor on the
dry days. Two cases each have been
registered against selling of illegal
foreign liquor and illicit liquor.
According to the officials of excise department, 31 litres of foreign
liquor including brands like McDowell’s whiskey, Blender’s Pride
whiskey and Budweiser beer and 40
Brief about
Kanaklal Barua
litres of illicit liquor were seized.
The officials said that eight people
were arrested on 31st March for selling alcohol illegally from places like
Khanapara, Lokhra Chariali, Beltola,
Lalmati and Patarkuchi.
On 1st April, the excise department officials raided five places and
seized five cases of illegal foreign
liquor sale while one case of illicit
liquor sale has been registered. Six
people were arrested from Beltola,
Dispur, Ganeshguri and 10APBn,
Kahilipara.
Speaking to G Plus, a highway
dhaba employee said on the condition of anonymity that their owner
has settled the issue with police officials and therefore, they do not face
any problem in selling illegal liquor
on dry days. During dry days, the
rush of customer is more other than
On 31st March, the
Excise department
had raided different
places of the
city and found
that the highway
dhabas sold illegal
liquor on the dry
days. Two cases
each have been
registered against
selling of illegal
foreign liquor and
illicit liquor.
GHC fumeS at LACK OF
law on witch hunting
T
he Gauhati High Court
has ordered the state’s
home secretary to appear
in person on April 6 before the
court and inform it about the
steps taken by state government
in enacting a strict law against
the menace of witch hunting in
Assam.
The GHC order came in response to a PIL filed by one Rajeeb Kalita seeking the court’s
intervention in directing the
state government to frame strict
laws against witch hunting.
Last year the court had
asked the then home commissioner GD Tripathi to expedite
the process of enacting a law to
check the menace.
“The court pulled up the state
government saying that despite
having directed the state to enact
a stringent law, the state government has failed to do so yet,” said
petitioner and advocate Rajeeb
Kalita who moved the court two
years back.
He added, “Though the state
government informed that it has
recently completed drafting the
bill, the court expressed its displeasure for not bringing an ordinance during the state assembly session that concluded today.
Unhappy with such lethargic approach, the court has asked for
answers.” Senior advocate B D
Konwar argued in the case.
At least 42 men and 36 wom-
en were killed after they were
termed as ‘witches’ in the state
since 2010. Over 140 persons
were killed in Assam since 2002
for the same reason.
Another 64 people suffered
injuries and some 94 cases were
registered in the same period.
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi
last month informed that the
state government has already
prepared a draft bill to prevent
and protect persons subjected
to atrocities and physical and
mental harassment on the pretext of witch hunting. Gogoi
said that the new law would
give more teeth to the law enforcing agencies.
the normal days.
According to the district excise
department officials, they received
the new rules on January 13th and
it was implemented across the city
from January 17, 2015. All the bars
and wine shops have been informed
about the new rules and strict action
would be taken against the bars and
wine shop owners who do not abide
by the new implemented rules. But
the rationale behind the government’s change in the timings and
announcement of dry days every
month remains to be seen.
Most of the dhabas are also seen
running without any license and
they sell liquor at a much higher
price but still the people tend to buy
liquor which reflects that consumption of alcohol is increasing in the
city.
One of the dhaba owners himself said on the condition of anonymity that they have to pay local
police and excise officials to run the
business and sometimes when there
is strict vigilance, they themselves
ask the dhaba owners to stop for
some time and when the situation
becomes normal again, they resume
selling the liquor illegally.
One of the customer said that the
government makes laws and rules but
they are the ones who break them
thereby giving an opportunity to illegal liquor sellers to expand their business. On dry days, they themselves
take money from the dhabas and permit them to sale liquor which sets a
bad precedent. The rules must be followed strictly and anyone found violating the norms should be punished.
[email protected]
Two held with arms at
Guwahati railway station
T
he government railway police (GRP) arrested two
persons along with two fire
arms and huge cache of ammunition from the railway station here.
The duo identified as Rajib Ranjan
and Mukesh Kumar, both from Bihar, were allegedly taking the arms
to their home town in Bihar from
Nagaland.
“They claimed to have bought
these weapons in Nagaland and
carried two fake arms’ licenses
too,” a GRP official said.
The seizure included one .32
pistol and one .315 rif le along with
some 130 rounds of live bullets.
The duo claimed that they had
procured the arms for their personal safety.
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
9
City
VEHICLE TAX COLLECTION
THAN `110 cr
INCREASES MORE
collected in 2014-15
Juthika baruah
R
evenue collected from motor vehicle
tax payers has been increasing steadily in recent years, signifying that
the people are now much more concerned
about paying their taxes on time.
The District Transport Officer, Registering and Licensing, Kamrup (M) collected a revenue of Rs. 110, 19,16,528.00
(Rupees One Hundred Ten Crore Nineteen
Lakhs Sixteen Thousand Five Hundred
Twenty Eight only) in the fiscal year 201415, whereas the revenue collected for the
year 2013-14 was Rs. 1,04,78,36,371.
Details of Revenue collection for the
year 2014-2015
M V Tax:
Road Safety Cess: M V & License Fee: Arrear Tax: HSRP Royalty: Total:
Rs 102, 99, 11,340.00
Rs 74, 70,830.00
Rs 6, 41, 59,781.00
Rs 2, 77,248.00
Rs 97,329.00
Rs 110, 19, 16,528.00
City girl makes
Assam proud
J
urismita Puzari, a girl from Guwahati has
brought laurels to the State by bagging two reputed awards for her work as a media and communication trainer. Jurismita, daughter of JK Puzari and
Deepali Puzari is a final year post-graduate student
of Mass Communication and Journalism at Tezpur
University. She was honoured with the awards at the
iCongo’s REX Conclave 2014-15 held in partnership
with the United Nations in New Delhi recently.
She was awarded with the National Silver Karmaveer Chakra, 2014-15 for her best contributions
towards education and the Apeejay Karmayuga
Bronze Chakra, 2014-15 for Social Empowerment,
nominated by the AFRC. Jurismita volunteered for
AFRC in Wayanad, Kerala as a media and communication trainer.
The District Transport Officer
(R & L) Gautam Das said that the
achievement is due to the overall
team effort of the DTO (R & L),
DTO (Enforcement), DTO and
Secretary, RTA and all the motor
vehicle inspectors and enforcement staff.
Das said that the motor vehicle
tax includes fees collection against
issuing licenses, penalty and road
tax. Road tax collected from new
private vehicles and commercial
vehicles have mainly contributed
in the increase of motor vehicle
tax in the district along with the
increasing number of vehicles.
Earlier, the DTO had also taken up the initiative to take classes
on road safety measures to educate
the students so that they are also
made aware of the rules and regulations of traffic.
Precautions suggested by
the Administration
While Turning
• Give proper indication.
• Start changing lane only when the vehicles behind you have understood your intention.
• Slow down while approaching the turning
point.
• Turn only when there is sufficient gap between
you and vehicles coming from the front and vehicles coming from behind.
• Vehicles going straight along the road have the
right of way.
• Watch out for pedestrian as well as vehicles
coming from your right side.
• While turning left, give way to vehicles coming
from behind on your left.
• While turning right, give way to vehicles coming from behind on your right.
Santanu Das, a tax payer said that
it is the responsibility of every citizen to
pay tax but the DTO should also have
the responsibility of regulating traffic
norms which are often violated by people, especially the youth, who perform
bike stunts on the road leading to accidents. Road accidents are increasing
day by day and therefore, the traffic
police and administration should implement strict law to prevent such cases
on roads.
Although there are traffic rules, it
seems that the rules are being violated
by the people, leading to increasing
numbers of road accidents. Most of
the road accidents are caused due to
bike riders not wearing helmets, talking on mobile while driving, drinking
and driving, rash driving etc. for which
there should be strict punishment so
that it could be prevented, said a passenger.
[email protected]
New life for 20 handicapped
persons
S
tepping into its 25th year of establishment, Tolaram Bafna Artificial Limb and Caliper Centre recently implanted artificial
limbs to twenty handicapped people at their Amingaon centre.
Tolaram Bafna Centre is the only institution in the North East that
has been working for the benefit of physically handicapped people
since 1991 by implanting artificial limbs free of cost.
Speaking on the occasion, Shubhkaran Bafna, trustee of the Caliper Centre said “We have tried our best to give people a new lease
of life through our work. We want greater awareness amongst the
disabled people and their families about the centre such that more
and more people can benefit from the free treatment.”
M G V K Bhanu, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, J Balaji, Deputy Commissioner (Kamrup) , Dhiren Baruah,
GMDA Chairman and President, Save Guwahati Build Guwahati
and Indrani Baruah, SP (Rural) were some of the dignitaries present
at the event.
FIR filed against
illegal construction
A
mirul Islam, a labourer got buried in the mud
after a wall collapsed at Bhudhar Choudhury’s
residence where Amirul was working at Kharguli area in Guwahati on Monday. Officer of Guwahati
Circle office, D Kakati filed an FIR against the resident
for constructing concrete wall by performing earth
moving activities on Government land. Despite the
orders of the administration, the construction of large
concrete walls and earth cutting activities in the hill
areas are raising such incidents.
Local people and SDRF jawans pulled out Amirul
and shifted him to hospital in critical condition. With
the coming of monsoon season, such incidents of landslide are becoming a matter of concern as last year also
several incidents of landslide were witnessed in the city
killing many.
10
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
City
Govt. Art College
in deplorable state
Juthika baruah
T
he Government College of Art
and Craft, the only art college
in the city is in a deplorable
condition, with government officials
still being woefully unaware of the
existence of the college.
Art and culture, which depicts
the traditions of the state have lost
its dignity with the college not
having any proper infrastructure to
produce a good student of art. “The
college has not been taken as a part of
education by the government, rather
it has been a part of the culture only.
The funds have been misused by the
Government and of the Rs 5 crore
sanctioned a couple of years ago, not a
single rupee has been utilised for the
development of infrastructure,” said
Ankur Hazarika, Magazine Secretary
of Government College of Art and
Craft while speaking to G Plus.
Hazarika said that it would
be like a dream if anyone comes
out to help the college because the
condition of the college deteriorates
day by day. Earlier it had its own
college bus but now, students can’t
even think of accessing one. Rather
the students who stay in the hostel are
living at their own expenses. Students
require model study, canvas, colours
for painting, which is not available in
the college.
The college has not been offered
UGC Grant although it is under
the Gauhati University. A total of
150 students pursue the course and
the students union has demanded
that instead of a five year course, it
should be reduced to four years. This
is because although the course is of
five years, the students ultimately
lose around seven years because
results are not declared on time.
The students have to go outside the
state for pursuing the PG course and
as such, late declaration of results
becomes a problem for them.
Hazarika also informed that
there is a lack of teachers and in each
department there is only one teacher
available when it needs at least four.
There are still vacant posts lying in
the college but the government is not
concerned about filling up the posts.
Even the office staff who have been
working there more than 30 years do
not get proper salary and still expect
to get their dues from the government
some day. The college, situated at
Basistha does not have a proper
boundary wall nor does it have a
proper building, although there are
spaces lying vacant. In fact, people
are using college land to construct
their own houses but the government
still remains silent.
He said that the government
does not want the college to come to
limelight as it is full of corruption.
One can easily imagine that if the
condition of the only art college in the
state is so pathetic, then how can one
expect to create the tradition of art and
culture. Speaking about the present
scenario of art, Exhibition Officer of
State Art Gallery, Manoj Roy said that
there is no market for art in the city as
well as in the entire state. In the state
art gallery at Rabindra Bhawan, four
to five exhibitions are exhibited in a
month but still the artists do not get
the right platform.
Roy said that many artists tried
to start the market of art but all their
efforts went in vain because the people
don’t have cultural consciousness
and do not have any taste for art. The
people buy the so called commercial
paintings (decorative art pieces)
paying a lot of money but cannot
afford to buy a proper water colour
painting which costs only Rs. 10001500. “People don’t give value to fine
art,” he lamented
“There are plenty of practising
artists still working but don’t get
proper guidance and critiques.
Criticising a work means the real fact
can be known, the mistakes and how
it can be improved but now-a-days
people have become negative. There
is no constructive criticism. Celluloid
and fine art is a necessary part of
culture but the presence of people has
been declining when it comes to art
exhibitions. Instead of visiting an art
exhibition, they will visit other places,
will enjoy other things which can’t
give them any knowledge for which
the art scenario is suffering,” said Roy.
In today’s date, photography
exhibition is increasing after the
introduction of digital cameras as
many youngsters are interested in
photography. In order to bring back
the culture of art, agitation like media
support, proper utilisation of art is
necessary. Fine art should be given
importance as many youths have the
urge to learn art and painting but
they do not get proper guidance and
platform. The people who can afford
it, go outside the state to pursue their
careers and the rest remain helpless
due to the lack of proper platform.
[email protected]
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
11
Vox Pop
I
f you are on any form of social media, you would have likely stumbled upon the recent video starring Deepika Padukone on women’s empowerment. The video was released jointly
by Deepika and director Homi Adajania in association with Vogue India as part of their
campaign on women’s empowerment.
In the past few days, ‘My Choice’ has garnered over five lakh views, but has also raised a few
eyebrows in the online world. The short film has 99 women - most of them celebrities - talking
about the freedom of choice, challenging a highly patriarchal society.
While My Choice is now trending on Twitter and Facebook, the video has generated strong
opinions from men and women; while some believe that its message is truly feminist, others
feel it represents only a small segment of privileged women. The question that has now arisen
is--‘is feminism a practice/ a choice or has it become a publicity stunt’?
DEEPIKA’S
MY CHOICE VIDEO
G PLUS FEATURE
G Plus brings some views that Guwahatians have shared-
Ballabi Manjul
Student
Rupshikha Dutta
HR Professional
In my opinion, feminism was
a practice, which got enveloped in
choice. Feminism has always been
wrought in controversies since its inception. Hating men and opposing
their views – is not what feminism implies. If I have to define it, then I would
proudly say, ‘yes’ I am a feminist who
takes up the CHOICE to oppose patriarchy, oppression and also wants to
fight for own rights.
The video on empowerment says“to have sex before marriage, to have
sex outside of marriage, or not to have
sex- MY CHOICE”. I don’t think its
wrong to say so because we too should
have an equal access to the same rights,
pay and status that men have historically enjoyed. That does not imply indulging in multiple sexual activities.
Again, “to be size zero or size 50-MY
CHOICE”-- yes...we don’t have to
change our vital statistics for any men.
We are who we are.
It is my choice to look the way I
am. “CHOICE is the power of Feminism” and it should be the power of
every woman to remove the basic
threats and create a society where they
can live a self, full determined life.
Feminism is revolutionary.
“Yes, I am a feminist and Choice
is my power”.
Of course the video is a publicity stunt. Why Deepika Padukone
had to be more specific about a
woman’s choice. I believe both men
and women have their own choices
and rights and we all know our
limits and needs. Of course it’s my
choice and it doesn’t have to come
from Deepika Padukone to make
me realize. We are free beings and
rather than making such videos, I
believe we should put such things
into action. After all, actions speak
louder than words.
Barsha Sarma
Student
John Phukan
Musician
Feminism started off as something, which would bring equality among men and women, not “sex
outside of marriage is my choice”. I
found the video quite absurd. Personally, I feel such videos won’t bring any
change, because if we need equality,
it must come from each individual.
Women can’t have reserved seats in
public transport and demand equality in the same breath.
For people who really mean it,
they don’t show it off, they just go
ahead and do it. Their actions are
louder than words. But again my answer might contradict others because
for those who are already famous, it
becomes a publicity stunt and as there
is a possible chance that their voice
might reach to the mass. But few people might misuse it for showing off of
to the society.
This issue has definitely become a publicity stunt especially by some of the
Bollywood celebrities. They pick up such issues and topics that are sensitive.
It is basically an indirect way of product selling and their core motive is just
to make it viral. And that’s it! Their job is done. Be it any video story or image
the funda is to make it viral. So welcome to this new age of marketing and
some where they are hugely successful. No one does anything for free. Deepika
Padukone, I am sure she must have been paid in crores for that video. All
they want is more than million views and that’s it. Be it a positive or negative
response, they give a damn. There are many men and women in India who are
actually fighting for such issues but they don’t seek any publicity, neither do
they want to tom tom about it. In my own career, I have met people who have
inspired me and my listeners. They are today’s ‘freedom fighters’ and
that is how I would term. It’s high time such brands and high profile
celebs stop such viral fundas because we are not FOOLS!!
Feminism is none of these in the current scenario as people are either unaware
of the real meaning of feminism or are just
using it as a cloak for getting a clean chit on
moral grounds. Feminism is not about giving
women a free pass to come late, be adulterers,
disrespect men neither it is not about having
complete control over their life, body and
choices.
Feminism is the equality of sexes. The
ideology is not that if men can do it, so can
we, but it is that whatever a human in his/her
physical, emotional and intellectual might is
capable of should be given the opportunity to
do so. A girl can ride a bike like a boy, a boy
can cook and clean like a girl, both can have
sex, be unmarried, have the right to choose
one amongst the billions as their partner.
The flaw is in the phrase, “My Choice”.
Let us practice “Our Choice”, then probably
no sex will feel inferior or mistreated and the
ideology of the equality amongst sexes will
propagated.
Priyanka Adhikary
Technical content developer
Nivedita Bordoloi Hazarika
Lawyer
As regards to my views,
Feminism now has become
more of a publicity stunt to
grab media attention. But yes,
one cannot deny that there are
some real hard core feminists
out there who do not give a
damn about what the world
thinks about them. They are
headstrong on what they feel
and believe in and never let
go of a chance to voice it out,
which is a great help in disguise in today’s cruel and selfish man-eat-man world where
the rights and privileges of
women remains denied in
some parts of India and also
other countries.
Feminism is a right of every
woman to react to things accordingly.
It is a natural thing that occurs within
themselves which cannot be termed
as a publicity stunt, choice or force.
Feminism defines a woman or any
person it defines what he/she is.
Teresa Rehman
Managing Editor, The Thumb Print Magazine
RJ Mandy
Radio Jockey
Shayanika Das
Client Services
Dhanjit Saud
Corporate Professional
Feminism is not a choice or a publicity stunt. It is
about believing in equality of both the sexes. When I
first watched the video “My Choice” it perplexed me
and left me with mixed feelings.No doubt It is a beautifully made video but I feel it is problematic. When we
talk about choices, why just limit it to only one gender
and not the other?
We talk about feminism but yet we have separate
coaches for women in metro trains. That is not equal
no? We live in a patriarchal society where women are
not raised on a pedestal as high as men. What needs
to be changed is the mindset, and to make people understand the fact that she is not just someone’s mother
sister daughter or wife. She is a person and those tags
are just priorities. Videos like “My choice” will live and
die on social media platforms. people will not even remember after a couple of weeks. Change cannot happen just by making videos and sharing it. It will happen
only if we strive to make it happen and not just be an
arm chair activist. Patriarchy is an age old nasty disease. Videos about empowerment by a high end fashion magazine with its standardized notions of beauty,
will not change the condition of thousands of women
who are fighting everyday to find an equal place in the
society. If you want empowerment and equality start
it from your home.
I am against any kind of dogmatic feminism. A feminist is not a person who refuses to look after her children
or cook for her husband. A real feminist realises her potential as an individual and strives to achieve her goal.
And a man can be a feminist too.
We should all practice feminism though we don’t
most of the time. However, sometimes it does turn into a
fashion statement.
12
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
Society
TEXTILE INSTITUTE
SUFFERING FROM NEGLIGENCE
KALYAN Deb
Kanaklal Barua (1872-1940)
was a prominent writer,
essayist, historian and
politician from Assam. He was
one of the literary stalwarts
of the Jonaki Era, the age of
romanticism of Assamese
literature. He was also the
president of the Assam
Sahitya Sabha in 1924 held
at Dibrugarh. In 1929 he was
elected to Assam Legislative
Assembly. He also served as
a member of the Viceroy’s
Executive Council and was
the founder president of the
Kamarupa Anusandhan
Samiti (Assam Research
Society). He was rewarded
with the “Raibahadur” title by
the British Government.
T
he Assam Textile Institute
(ATI), Guwahati, established
in 1920 is the only institute,
which offers courses on Textile Technology, Garment Technology and
Fashion Technology under one roof.
It is a premier institute for textile
education in Northeast India and has
contributed substantially in the socio-economic development of the region. In pursuance of the recommendation of the Sericulture and Weaving Department of the government
of Assam, the Government Weaving
Institute was amalgamated into the
present Assam Textile Institute.
Founded by Raibahadur Kanaklal Barua, the institute was earlier
known as weaving school and introduced technical courses in polytechnic and textile technology in the year
1976. The institute has been working
towards manpower development and
imparting training in conventional
and non-conventional trades and
skills.
In the year 2004, two additional
courses – technology and fashion
technology were introduced to the
institution adding a step further.
The institute over the years has
produced students that are currently
working in various states of the country including counties like South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
However, being one of the prime
institutions in the northeastern region, it is now on the path of rapid deterioration due to ignorance and apathy of the state government. The nine
decade old institute has no provision
for providing degree courses even after the government being repeatedly
approached to start such courses in
the institution.
Another cause of deterioration of
the institution is the lack in appointing permanent faculty members since
the year 2004.
“Not a single regular staff has
been added since the introduction of
the two additional courses and the
faculty members are only appointed
on a contract basis, which deprives
the students of quality education”,
said an official of ATI.
“The AICT approved institute,
according to norms, is required to
have regular staff members along
with mandatory permanent faculty
which is lacking in the institute.
Moreover the current principal, Paromita Kakoti was appointed in the
year 2013 only as an in-charge of the
institute and she is not a permanent
staff, which is also a major cause of
the deteriorating condition of the in-
All Assam Polytechnic
Gazetted Teachers’
Association (AAPGTA) and
the Assam Textile Institute
Suraksha Samity along
with students’ association
had resented the move
of the State Government
by stating that the
Assam Textile Institute
is the lone institute for
textile education in the
entire northeast region.
It has made significant
contributions to the socioeconomic development of
the region.
stitute. It is also due to the lack of initiatives taken up by the principal to
add degree courses and upgradation
of educational quality in the institute.
The machinery and instruments that
are installed are sufficient for that of
a degree college and only require the
state government’s approval”, the official added.
In the recent past, through a
fund sanctioned by the central government under the project NEQIP
(Northeast Quality Improvement
Plan), an amount of Rs 5 crore had
been sanctioned for the development
of infrastructure quality and student
correction of which the first installment of Rs 1.3 crore has been received
by the institute and was used in several developmental purposes.
Controversy hit the institution in
the year 2012 when the proposal to
move Assam Textile Institute from its
current location to establish an engineering college under the Society Act
on the institute campus, by evicting
the Assam Textile Institute, which is
the oldest technical institute of the
NE region was taken up by the then
education minister, Himanta Biswa
Sarma.
A government order referring to
the transfer of the institute mentioned
that the Assam Textile Institute
would be upgraded to an engineering
college.
“The existing infrastructure at
the ATI would be used to convert it
into a full-fledged engineering college
with regular engineering disciplines.
The new engineering college would
be under an autonomous society fully
funded by the Government of Assam,” the order said.
All Assam Polytechnic Gazetted Teachers’ Association (AAPGTA) and the Assam Textile Institute
Suraksha Samity along with students’
association had resented the move of
the State Government by stating that
the Assam Textile Institute is the lone
institute for textile education in the
entire northeast region. It has made
significant contributions to the socioeconomic development of the region.
The institute is the only one of
its types offering courses in textile
technology, garment technology and
fashion technology under one roof.
It needs mention that research and
scientific application will enhance
technological advances and innovation of the weaving tradition of the
northeast region. The region’s skills
and technology need to compete with
the advancements made elsewhere
while keeping the rich tradition of the
region alive and that is possible with
an institution like the Assam Textile
Institute.
[email protected]
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
13
Ward Watch
WHAT MAKES
WARD NO 14
THE BEST
IN THE CITY
KALYAN DEB
Ward number 14
Councilor
Ashima Bordoloi
Phone number
9435010647
Area Sabha member
Rupali Mukherjee 14(a)
Naren Medhi 14(b)
PopulatioN
22,000 (approx.)
Voters
18,000 (approx.)
I
n what may come as a boost to ward
councillors and members across
the city, Ward 14 has been adjusted
the best in the Mission Clean Guwahati initiative for 2014 that was initiated
last year in November as a part of the
Guwahati Development Programme
in which 31 NGOs entrusted by the
GMC to carry out cleanliness work in
each ward of Guwahati, took part.
The results were announced after
judging the NGOs on the basis of set
guidelines on pre-decided parameters
like garbage collection, disposal system/segregation, cleanliness, innovation carried out, public complaint
mitigation, etc. The winning wards
received development funds of Rs.
10 lakhs, Rs. 6 lakhs and Rs. 4 lakhs
respectively, which will be routed
through the Ward Committee as announced by City Mayor, Abir Patra at
the time of the commencement of the
contest.
During the award ceremony Chief
Minister Tarun Gogoi said, “I am happy to see that CII — Yi has organised
the Clean Guwahati Contest for the
second successive time and this time
in partnership with the GMC. We
need more private participation in our
effort to make Guwahati a world class
smart city,” while felicitating the winners of Mission Clean Guwahati Contest 2014 organised by Confederation
of Indian Industry (CII) in association
with Young Indians (Yi) supported
by Guwahati Municipal Corporation
(GMC) today at NEDFi House in the
city.
Earlier, S K Barua, Vice Chairman, CII Assam State Council and Director Finance, Numaligarh Refinery
Ltd, giving a perspective on the Smart
Ward number 14
that has received
the best ward award
includes the areas
Piyoli Phukan Road,
Dr. B.K.K. Road, A.K.
Azad Road Manipuri
Basti, and parts of
Sharabhatti, Solapara,
Bil Paar, and Paltan
Bazar.
Cities concept said that, “CII considers urbanisation and development of
smart cities as one of the key enablers
to unlock the growth potential of India and we are working closely with
the Government on many initiatives
aimed at assuring sustainable urbanization in the country.”
Out of the 31 contesting NGOs,
the first, second and third prize went
to Suraj of Ward no. 14, Jiban Sathi
Welfare Society of Ward no. 10 and
Bahnisikha Women and Child Welfare Society of Ward no. 12. The winners were presented an Alto Car, prize
money of Rs. 1,00,000 and Rs. 60,000
respectively.
“Mission Clean Guwahati is a
movement towards sustainability
which has helped in enhancing the
competitiveness of the NGOs. Almost
a year after the appointment of these
NGOs, the results of this sustainable
initiative measures the impact of the
efforts put in by them all geared towards having a cleaner city.” said Sunit Jain, Immediate Past Chairman of
Young Indians, Guwahati Chapter.
S Viswanathan, Commissioner,
GMC solicited support of the various
other stakeholders to make this initiative a huge success commenting this to
be part of the Chief Minister’s vision
of Clean Assam through the ‘Manasa’
programme.
Ward number 14 that has received
the best ward award includes the areas
Piyoli Phukan Road, Dr. B.K.K. Road,
A.K. Azad Road Manipuri Basti, and
parts of Sharabhatti, Solapara, Bil Paar,
and Paltan Bazar.
Talking to G Plus, councilor of
Ward number 14, Ashima Bordoloi shared her views and upcoming
projects post receiving the best ward
award.
“With an initiative of creating a
clean Guwahati, a tender was floated
for all the 31 wards of the city in April
last year in a two bid system primarily for door to door garbage collection
namely, technical and financial. The
initiative took place after the twenty
years contract with RAMKY had to
be terminated due to unsatisfactory
results and problems in proper functioning of its purpose, the main reason
being deficit in fund. During the bid-
ding process the experience, turnover,
etc. were the prior concern. A minimum number of manpower was also
an important criteria for the bidding”,
said Ashima Bordoloi.
“Door to door garbage collection is one of the primary step that is
required to be taken to build a clean
city. The process is divided into three
steps of which the initial step of garbage collection has to be done by the
NGOs from the households who will
dump the garbage in the garbage bins
and the post steps are to be carried out
by GMC”, the councilor said.
Regarding the utilization of the
prize money awarded to the councilor, Ashima Bordoloi informed that
a meeting is to be held on Tuesday
with the council members where the
same will be discussed. The councilor
is also looking forward in building a
children’s park and a particular space
for the elderly to take an evening walk
within the ward.
“The ward being very congested,
finding a site for such construction is
a bit of challenge. Although few sites
have been proposed but they are being
utilised by the neighbouring residents
for purposes of carrying out pujas and
other functions, so we are still looking for suitable sites”, the councilor
asserted.
Regarding the controversial area
of H.P. Brahmachary Road which is
a business hub of travel agencies and
a major way of convenience for the
passersby of Rehabari and A.K.Azad
Road, the councilor informed that the
city mayor and ward committee has
been approached several times. However, no response has been received.
“The area can not be handed for
Flood Disaster Relief Fund (FDRF) as
during the process the flood hit areas
are only restored and not constructed,
whereas the H.P. Brahmachary road
has to undergo proper construction”,
the councilor added.
It can be noted that in its endeavour to project Guwahati as a
world-class city, the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) in association
with Young Indians (Yi) supported
by Guwahati Municipal Corporation
initiated the Mission Clean Guwahati
2014 after the tremendous success of
its programme in 2012.
Earlier, under the aid of Mission
Clean Guwahati 2014, a contest was
initiated among the NGOs entrusted
by the GMC to carry out cleanliness
work in different wards of Guwahati.
Judged by a competent jury, the NGOs
were judged on the basis of prescribed
guidelines on parameters like garbage
collection, disposal system/segregation, cleanliness, innovation carried
out, public complaint mitigation etc.
The entire exercise is proposed to
be carried out within a frame of three
months, with top three NGOs being
awarded at its conclusion.
[email protected]
14
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
Art
Love Vs Separation
Ishqiya Aur Siskiya
Subhrajit Roy
P
ortrayal of middle class morality and middle class mentality
has always been the specialty of
famous playwright Vijay Tendulkar’s
creations. Recently, the fusion of two
such short plays, namely, “Pehchan’
and ‘Madi’ was staged at the Assam
State Museum Auditorium in Guwahati. Produced under the banner of
‘Angana’ Theatre, the fusion, named
‘Ishqiya Aur Siskiya’ was staged on
March 25, 2015, in association with
National School of Drama. Designed
and directed by Amit Pathak, the
two short plays were translated into
Hindi from original Marathi by Sanjay Mahapare and Amit Pathak himself. Ujjala Barman was the associate
producer of the play which was staged
here in Guwahati in presence of limited spectators.
The plot of the play, ‘Ishqiya Aur
Siskiya’ starts at the platform of Kurla
Railway Station, where two strangers,
Madhukar and Nirmala meet each
other coincidentally. The undue conversation started by Madhukar and
the continuous ignorance of Nirmala, made their conversation more interesting and a little bit funny as well.
At certain point Madhukar wanted
to express his love at first sight to her,
but could not do so due to Nirmala’s
strong warning. The aromatic and
romantic environment of that rainy
evening finally encouraged Madhukar to share his feelings with her, but
Nirmala raised the issues related to
her family background and the responsibilities she had, beyond which
she could think nothing. Though rejected, this was the beginning of their
relationship. With the flow of time,
they bound themselves with the knot
of love.
But their relationship did not last
long. The bonding, which they cultivated with immense effort, came to
an end when they met each other at a
hotel in Khandala, after four years of
long courtship. In this final meeting,
the couple ruminated their past moments, how they met, how they proceeded for a married life, the passion-
‘Ishqiya Aur
Siskiya’ was staged
on March 25, 2015,
in association with
National School of
Drama. Designed
and directed by Amit
Pathak, the two short
plays were translated
into Hindi from
original Marathi by
Sanjay Mahapare and
Amit Pathak himself.
Ujjala Barman
was the associate
producer of the play
which was staged
here in Guwahati in
presence of limited
spectators.
ate times they spent together and the
loop holes, which damaged their relationship. At certain point, if someone proposed to get reunited again,
the other rejected it thoroughly with
strong points. Before her final departure from the hotel room towards
Pune, Nirmala requested Madhukar
to get a final opinion on their reunion, but Madhukar did not do so.
It can be termed as the rewind of
the wheel of time as once Madhukar
sought her love at the Krula Railway
Station and after four years of legal
separation Nirmala was seeking his
affections at the Khandala hotel. In
addition to this, the building and
breaking of a relationship by both
the characters were the two turning
points of the play. In both the situations, the characteristics of middle
class mentality made the play progressive. How different circumstances change the attitude of a person was
invariably projected in the play. Time
may have elapsed at many folds after
creation of the two short plays, but
among so many changes the situation
of middle class remained the same
throughout.
Every element of a successful
presentation was available there.
Excellent performances by Amit
Pathak and Pranami Bora as the
two lead protagonists were the most
strong points of this presentation.
The chemistry between both the protagonists on stage, made Madhukar
and Nirmala lively on stage. Music,
designed and arranged by Trishan
Barman including some classic Bollywood numbers and the light projection by Gunajit Boro, ornamented the
play very well. But selection of stage
and auditorium could be the wrong
decision on the organizers’ front. Because the stage and auditorium of Assam State Museum are not appropriate for dramatic presentation as the
artists faced disturbances at several
occasions during their perormances.
Otherwise, it was a good play what
every theatergoer should admire to
watch, if presented on a proper stage.
Weather report for the week
SAT
04 April
SUN
05 April
MON
06 April
TUE
07 April
WED
08 April
THU
09 April
FRI
10 April
Passing showers.
Showers late.
Showers late.
Morning clouds.
More sun than clouds.
Passing showers.
Morning clouds.
18 / 30 °C
18 / 27 °C
18 / 28 °C
18 / 29 °C
17 / 32 °C
18 / 23 °C
18 / 29 °C
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
15
In Conversation
Lack of facilities in Guwahati
deprive youths from getting opportunities
Rewati Chetri
RAHUL CHANDA
R
ewati Chetri, the girl from
Assam who has made her way
to contest in the Femina Miss
India 2015 won two titles—Miss
Popular and Miss Multimedia. G
Plus shares a candid moment with
the young beauty queen.
Can you narrate
your journey from a
small town Lumding
to Mumbai?
I was born at Haf long on 4th
July, 1993 and I had completed my
schooling from Haf long itself. I
completed my graduation from
Lumding. In 2014, I shifted to
Guwahati to try my luck in modelling and in November, 2014, I gave
an audition for a fashion show with
Neha Dhupia at Guwahati. I was
selected for the show and somehow
I was noticed and after that I did
two-three shows and gave audition
for Miss India 2015. I was selected
and then I went to Kolkata where
Miss India, Kolkata was organised
which had contestants from the entire North East zone of India.
I was selected among the top
five finalists and then I was called
for Miss India Mumbai contest
which started on February, 28. Altogether 21 contestants from across
the country participated and I was
one of the selected contestants.
The finale took place on March 28,
where I bagged the titles of Miss
Popular and Miss Multimedia.
you reached the
finale and achieved
two titles, will you
further participate
in any other
contest?
how did you manage
to BAG the two
titles?
I am not sure about it and I don’t
have any plans. I can participate in
contest like Miss Diva which selects
candidates for Miss Universe but I
want to make my career in modelling. I have not yet decided to participate in any contest but I will pursue my career in modelling.
For Miss Popular, two lakhs voters voted for 21 contestants through
We-Chat and I received 1 lakh 50
thousand votes. For Miss Multimedia, the jury checked how can
a contestant engaged in social networking sites like how many people
views the page and depends on the
likes and comments and I was the
one who mostly engaged with the
social networking which let me won
the Miss Multimedia title.
DOB - 4th of July, 1993
VITAL STATS - 32-25-36
HEIGHT - 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
THE modelling
industry has a lot of
glamour and people
do get misused, doES
your family support
you entering the
modelling industry?
According to me, people get
misused in every profession in today’s world but it depends on the
individual’s perspective whether
someone is misused or not. My parents believe in me and are confident
that I will not do anything wrong
morally and with their support I am
here today.
A lot of senior
models say that the
bikini round should
be removed from the
modelling contest.
What is your view
about it?
I am confident enough to face
any challenges in my coming days
and can also face bikini rounds. But
I feel that if this round is removed,
a lot of girls will also join modelling
who are now scared for the round.
So you started your
modelling career
from Guwahati and
got recognition
in Mumbai. What
difference have you
noticed between
these two cities?
There is a great difference between two cities and in Mumbai
there are talents and they have opportunities and facilities to develop
their talents but in Guwahati, youth
do not get opportunities and have
no facilities to develop their talent.
So where will you
settle down in the
future?
I have not yet decided.
Do you have
any plans to do
Assamese Films?
I am getting a lot of offer for
South Indian movies, TV serials
and movies but have not yet decided
anything regarding acting and if I
do any Assamese film, everyone
will come to know about it.
What will be
your next step,
further studies or
modelling?
I am pursuing my law degree
and as a career, I understand that
sometime modelling do not work
for girls for the entire life. I will
continue my study which might
help me in future.
Rewati Chetri is the youngest in
the family and has two sibling, an
elder sister who works in a private
multi-speciality hospital, Narayana
Hrudalaya and her brother is a government employee in Assam State
Electricity Board (ASEB). Her father is also an employee of ASEB
while her mother is a housewife.
20
16
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
Health
Courtesy
www.artofliving.org/yoga
Tadasana
(Mountain pose)
Y
postures
for a healthy heart
oga is the art of reposing in different postures while keeping focus on the breath. As a result, every yoga
posture has a particular effect on the respiratory system; and therefore affecting the heart as well.
The following postures begin with mild ones, gradually increasing to more demanding ones that require
greater stamina and strength. The body gets relaxed and rejuvenated with the concluding postures.
Vrikshasana (Tree pose)
The Mountain pose helps strengthen
the heart and also adds flexibility to
the body.
The Tree pose calms and brings equilibrium to the mind. Reposing in this
yoga pose is useful as a calm mind
leads to a steady and healthy heart
functioning.
Utkatasana(Chair pose)
Marjariasana (Cat pose)
In this yoga posture, you can feel the
heart and respiration rate increase.
It is a heating and strengthening
posture.
This yoga posture is a welcome relief
after the Chair pose as it allows the
heart rate to settle and become soft
and rhythmic again.
Setu Bandhasana
Salamba Sarvangasana
(Bridge pose)
Less demanding than Bow pose, the
Bridge pose facilitates deep breathing,
opens and improves blood flow to the
chest region.
(Half Shoulder stand)
The Half shoulder stand pacifies,
activates the parasympathetic nervous system and creates space in the
chest. It is a restful and rejuvenating
posture.
Utthita Hastapadasana
(Extended Hands and
Feet Pose)
This yoga posture requires more focus
and strength to balance.
Adho Mukho Svanasana
(Downward facing dog pose)
This yoga posture is used as a resting
position as it calms the system and
energises the body.
Ardha Matsyendrasana
(Sitting Half Spinal Twist)
The Sitting half spinal twist works on
the whole spine and opens the chest
sides alternately.
Dolphin pose
Dolphin plank
Sphinx pose
The Dolphin pose is a little more
demanding than Downward facing
dog pose as it helps by increasing
stamina and strengthening the upper
body in preparation for more heart
opening postures.
The Dolphin plank pose gets the heart
pumping again.
The Sphinx pose allows the chest to
open again. It is a mild backbend that
gently opens the chest, stretches the
lungs and shoulders.
Trikonasana
(Triangle pose)
Veerabhadrasana
(Warrior pose)
This is a heart opening standing
yoga posture designed to promote
cardiovascular exercise. The chest gets
expanded while breathing deep and
in rhythm increases stamina.
The Warrior pose improves balance
in the body and increases stamina. It
also releases stress while calming the
mind and helps keep the heart rate
in check.
Bhujangasana
(Cobra pose)
Dhanurasana
(Bow pose)
This yoga posture increases the
stretch to the chest and requires more
strength and stamina than the Sphinx
pose.
Stimulating and a deep stretch for the
whole body, the Bow pose opens and
strengthens the heart region.
Paschimottanasana
Dandasana (Stick pose)
(Two-legged forward bend)
Serving as a resting posture, the
seated forward bend brings the head
lower than the heart facilitating
the reduction of the heart rate and
respiration while allowing the system
to rest.
Shavasana
(Corpse pose)
Deep rest is the counter pose for
all yoga postures as it allows the
body and breath to make the subtle
adjustments necessary for the overall
health of the system.
Countering the previous postures,
this yoga posture facilitates good
posture, strengthens the back and at
the same time stretches the shoulders
and chest.
Anjali Mudra
The Anjali mudra opens the heart,
calms the brain and reduces stress
and anxiety. It also prepares the body
better for pranayama and meditation.
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
GET UP
GET GOING!
I
remember as a plump, fat kid
of 4 years, I was quite the ambitious runner, always managing to touch the finishing line first
from the last, long after everyone
had got their breath back. However, nothing had deterred me
from going back to every competition in town thereafter. Once, I
was competing with tall, lithe girls
who sprinted and lunged like bulls
while I watched them jumping
in glee at the finishing line. And
there I would be, my mother narrated years later, of how I, a round
blob would be running all alone
in the field but definitely making
sure to reach the finishing line
from the back.
Fast forward to April, 2011. A
comment by one of my fellow Rotarians made me sit up and ponder. “Tina, you’re looking great
but you’re on your way to looking obese and ugly, very soon!” I
almost passed out. After years of
being told that I was looking great,
suddenly when a well-wisher
comes up and says I am looking
startlingly ugly, the only reaction
would be one of disappointment
and self-accusation.
And so, I start off the next
day and the subsequent days
with a fever and fervour, which
was otherwise nascent in me. I
set the alarm for 5am. Woke up,
brushed my teeth and after a brief
prayer, jumped into my track suit,
plugged in my ear-phones and
started walking slowly at first and
then sped up. Barely a kilometre
into my walk and my heart started beating wildly; not because I
was overwhelmed seeing a goodlooking man but because I was
breathless from the excess weight
I was carrying around in my body.
I felt I was waging a lost war as I
panted and puffed and wished my
‘fairy Godmother’ would wave
her magic wand and I wake up
trim as before one fine morning!
Wishful thinking! I knew I had to
start from scratch and start from
scratch I did!
When I started, I thought I
would pass out in the first kilome-
tre itself but after a month and a half,
I could do 3km and in a year’s time, I
went onto do 7kms. At 7kms, everything looked pretty easy for me. I felt
I had that much energy to go on and
on for several more kilometres had
it not been for the humidity, time
and my raging migraine. I would get
home soaked in sweat and still have
the last drop of energy to do a couple
of push-ups. And 2 years later, people are looking at me in appreciation. I started loving my new avatar.
However, to maintain this new
avatar, I had to sweat it out every
day, continuously, come hail or
storm. But sometimes, it did become difficult when I was travelling.
Nevertheless, I would take out some
time to do a quick 5 minute strain
inside my hotel room; some basic
warm-up and then a stretch later.
This regimen would energise me for
the rest of the day.
Fortunately or unfortunately,
I realised through a bit of research
that a hypo-thyrodic person needs
to work out more than a normal
healthy individual. However, in brief
intervals. The regimen shouldn’t be
that hard that it takes a toll on the
routine and not so light that it has no
effect on the body. Sipping water in
between an exercise regimen is important and splashing water on the
face is a must or else a hypo-thyrodic
person may pass out with too much
facial heat and stress(speaking from
experience). I feel drained out at
times and I have to rest for a while
to get my battery recharged for a
second round. However, with rest in
intervals, I am able to go the extra
miles I had planned in the beginning.
Incidentally, even as a young
girl, my flexibility was zero. I used
to see my friends sit cross-legged in
the play-ground or in the assembly
or for that matter anywhere and I
used to envy them so much. I tried
yoga workshop but was disillusioned
when I saw my friends bend, curl,
move in the most graceful and controlled moves ever. And I was stuck.
Years later, with a new found confidence and the knowledge that yoga
possibly could be the best exercise
regimen for me, I started practicing yoga at a school, taught by a
young master whose flexibility left
everyone awestruck and run by a
young girl who herself lost oodles
of body fat with yoga. I found my
yoga moves to be well appreciated by
both the teachers and this somehow
boosted my morale to try yoga on
a long-term basis. Ever since I have
been going for my classes, I have noticed an energy course through me
that I had never felt before. I was not
drained off energy at the end of the
day but could now work more. Evenings are fresh for me and a feeling
of elation surrounds me. I am happy
and spirited. The otherwise sleepy
and lifeless me has now been transformed to a lively, healthy, active
person.
I would suggest that the daily
regimen of exercise is a must, whether one is young or old, fat or thin.
And it is never too late to start exercising. Procrastination is the biggest enemy for someone who wants
to get onto the fitness wagon. If you
need to get started, start this very
moment. If you keep it away fortomorrow, somehow I have seen that
tomorrow never comes at all. It’s
all about now. Start with baby steps
and the steps will make you leap and
jump for joy when you actually get
appreciative looks from friends and
family.
It’s all about commitment to
yourself. If we don’t promise ourselves now, then there is one thing
clearly written for the future. You
have to carry a burden far huger
than you can possibly imagine. If
we start taking care of ourselves
now, we stand a very big chance to
be healthy and fit to love our family
and friends.
Then, the oft repeated quote by
lovers, “I love you more than myself ” will hold water. ‘Cause you
cannot love someone else more than
your own self, without first taking
care of yourself.
tinat ATIFA MASOOD
A Way To
Always Win
17
Life
Will the world financial crisis soon be over? Will
global corruption diminish and will our dream of a
new world become reality?
Y
es, when you become active all this is possible.
India had the same problem
for last 10 years, scam after scam after
scam, and corruption hit the ceiling,
rather went beyond the ceiling. People
thought change is not possible and this
will continue. Many of our people, Art
of Living volunteers, they worked very
hard to bring change.
Thousands of our volunteers in
India went door to door and did the
Happiness Survey and asked people to wake up and vote. All our
Swamis participate in Vote For Better India, It is a huge campaign.
Today there is such a big change and
a stable government has come. A government which can take decisions. In
the previous government they made a
council in each department with 5-7
ministers in every department being
decision makers, and so if they make
any wrong decision no one person will
be held responsible for it. They took
group decisions. To cover up corruption
they made groups of people ministers
in every department to take decisions
and nobody took decisions. The country was in paralysis. From 10 percent
industrial growth, India went down to 2.5 percent. Poor people were suffering.
It was the good work of volunteers
that increased awareness in people,
though we never said which party
they should vote. I thought it is not
ethical for me to say that, so I remained completely apolitical, but for
me it was like walking on a razors edge.
I cannot say which party they should
vote for, but I have to tell people to
bring a change. It’s not an easy job,
not at all because if we say vote for
this party or that party you become
political, you become one among
them. I never want to be that because
we have our place, we have to inspire people. We are for everybody.
I have always said that I’m for everyone.
Not one party or one ideology in the
world; not one race, religion or community. I would go even further to say
I don’t belong to one nation, I belong to
the whole world.
Whenever you feel that in your
country corruption is a problem like
in Greece, Italy and many European
countries, all that you need to do is
work together with everybody and
make people understand. This can
only happen when human values come
up. Without a rise in human values,
without a rise in consciousness this
problem is not going to get solved.
In South America violence has become an issue. Argentina lost in soccer and there was street violence. My
dear, it’s only a game! How does it
matter who wins. Games are to enjoy
whether you lose or win. If you take
game as a war or contention then you
have to bring the police into the celebrations. So many people got hurt.
This happens even here in Germany.
Whenever games happen people hit
each other; they get violent. This is sim-
ply lack of human values. I say you should
have this attitude: Either I win or I make
others win. Then you are always winning.
When you play a game with a 5 year
old boy or girl, or with your kids, do
you always win? Is there joy in winning
over your children? No, you get happiness when you give up and make them
win. They are happy, you are happy.
You should have the same broad mindedness all the time. Then you will say,
‘This time I make you win, next time
I will win’. Then it’s a win-win situation and in either case you are happy.
This should be the attitude in games.
Today we have made games like war like
and wars like games. War has become a
game.
We are having a conference at FIFA
(International Federation of Football
Association) in September. I am addressing them. Somebody today asked
me, ‘Now that Federation of Football is
under lot of scams and some corruption charges, what is your take on it?’
I said , ‘That’s good, that’s why I am
going’ (laughter from the audience).
Some told me not to go there because
there is corruption. A doctor’s job is
where there are sick people. Similarly,
there is no job for me to do if FIFA
was free from corruption; there would
be no need for me to go there and talk.
We don’t need an ethics conference
in a place where there is already lot
of ethics. We need to bring ethics to
places where you find it is eroding.
A doctor has no job in a burial
ground, or in a place where everybody is healthy. His job is there
when people could be made healthy.
We all have that job to do. We all must
reach out to people, and the best way to
do it is through the Happiness Survey.
Nobody ever asks another if they are
happy, what their problem is. That is why
people are getting into depression.
40 percent of Europe is suffering
from depression. It’s a huge number.
A few of you join together and go to all
your neighbours with the Happiness
Survey form. Knock on the door and
say we have come to do a survey and
want just two minutes of your time. Ask
them if they are happy. If they are not
happy then ask, ‘Are you not happy all
the time, most of the time or sometime’.
And if they are not happy what are the
reasons: financial, relationship or health.
If it is anything else, note it down. Do the
survey, and ask them how we can help.
Nobody objects to a survey. If one or
two do object never mind, move on.
Many people have said that for the first
time somebody has come and asked me
if I am happy, and what do I need to be
happy. That care and concern, that itself
will make many people feel better. Their
life becomes better. This is needed. We all
have to do some such
work. Do you agree?
Yes!
His Holiness
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji
18
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
Reviews
u
Yo LD
TEN
SHOU
LIS
vie
Moview
re
Album: A Fool to Care
Artist: Boz Scaggs
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Anand Tiwari,
Swastika Mukherjee
Director: Dibakar Banerjee
B
Mov
Revi ie
ew
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne ‘The
Rock’ Johnson, Jason Statham
Director: James Wan
A
globally popular film
franchise that centres on
tough guys with fast cars
and big guns, the Fast and Furious
series’s final chapter is one gigantic nostalgia trip.
Furious 7 sees Dominic
Toretto (Vin Diesel) & Co back
in Los Angeles after their antics in
London.
No longer wanted criminals,
they believe that they are safe
enough to lead normal lives.
However, things begin to go
awry very soon. Dom, who lives
with Brian (Paul Walker), Mia
(Jordana Brewster) and their son,
watches his home get blown to
pieces.
Not long after, the crew learns
that Han (Sung Kang) was involved in a fatal car crash that was
no accident.
With the help of Agent Hobbs
(Dwayne Johnson), Dom and
crew connect the dots to the leftovers of their London job, only to
find, as the oft repeated line in the
film goes, “the hunter becomes
the hunted.”
Dom embarks on the near
impossible task of taking down
the shadow that is hell-bent on
wiping out the crew, and (predictably) gets into a whole lot of trouble/adventure along the way.
While the film does feature
the fare that the franchise is famous for – zany cars, exotic locations and uncomfortably close
shots of women’s barely clad backsides –- at its heart, Furious 7 is all
about the family.
This is something the protagonists will keep reminding
you repeatedly, verbally and even
through the soundtrack, until
you’re cringing in your seat.
Furious 7, being the final installment, tries to say everything it
can before it says goodbye, which
means that this film is overflowing with excesses.
The run time is far too long at
two hours and nineteen minutes,
the subplots run wild, there is just
too much drama and dialogue for
an action film.
While action movie skeptics
often complain of the genre only
concentrating on violence without much context, Furious 7 has
too much context.
Nevertheless, the film taps
into the deep emotional connect
between its characters which the
series loyalists may find evocative.
Dom and Letty’s (Michelle
Rodriguez) romance drags on
through death, resurrection and
amnesia only to end in one of the
most clichéd scenes ever.
Brian O’Conner and Mia
go down a similar road. It is Tej
(Ludacris) and Roman (Tyrese
Gibson) who are delegated the
responsibility of keeping things
upbeat as the jokers of the pack.
Despite all its flaws in every
other department, Furious 7
means business when it comes
down to the film’s forte -- it takes
its stunts to the next level.
Strip Furious 7 of mundane
dialogue and barely believable
plot points, and it is sheer awesomeness.
Bollywood actor Ali Fazal’s
strained attempt at a Middle Eastern accent is just as embarrassing
as Australian rapper Iggy Azelea’s
awkward cameo.
yomkesh Bakshi -- or, if we go
with the spelling picked out by
director Dibakar Banerjee, Bakshy -- never liked to be called a detective.
It is the same in this film too, the
man abhorring the stigma and sensationalism a label like “gumshoe” (or,
in Bangla, “goenda”) comes with, and
instead focussing firmly on seeking the
truth, on opening his eyes as wide as he
can and drinking it all in.
Thanks to Banerjee, there is a lot for
his man -- and, indeed, for us -- to drink
in: this sumptuous period adaptation
fondly recreates 1940s Calcutta right
down to the tram signs and the posters
for Jane Russell movies, and Detective
Byomkesh Bakshy! is a gorgeous, gorgeous film.
Yet for all its stylishness and period grandeur it is not as intelligent
a film as it yearns to be, the plot isn’t
cunning enough and the convenientlyunravelled puzzle never quite sucks the
viewer in.
It is, in short, a mystery movie that
doesn’t mystify.
There is nothing at all wrong with a
slowly seared whodunnit, one that simmers long and hard before coming to
the boil, one that makes you think.
But the narrative must intrigue and
entice and seduce, taking turns obscuring the viewer’s vision and lifting the
blindfold while doing the same (in differing degree) to its protagonists.
Byomkesh stumbles considerably
because of its simplistic plotting, with
an original story which ups the stakes
considerably for Saradindu Bandhyopadhyay’s terrific character without giving him enough to deduce.
The man is an absolute master of
chiaroscuro, using shadows to reveal
the mood and to conceal the obvious,
and there are several sequences to rave
about: my favourite is one stunner of a
shot framed through the rolled-down
window of one of Calcutta’s ubiquitous
Ambassador cars, one that follows a
character hurrying through a busy sidewalk and bumping into a stranger, who
then, in turn, unerringly bumps into the
man chasing the first character up the
street.
B
oz Scaggs follows 2013’s
killer Memphis with a second Tennessee album. A
Fool to Care was recorded over
four days with producer/drummer Steve Jordan and a core band
of guitarist Ray Parker, Jr. and
bassist Willie Weeks at Nashville’s
Blackbird Studio. These 12 songs
are primarily covers that reflect
various sources, the most prevalent
among them being R&B and soul.
The band is augmented occasionally with strings, horns, and Music
City luminaries including guitarists Reggie Young and Al Anderson
and pedal steel boss Paul Franklin.
Simply put, there is no filler here -virtually every song is a highlight.
The opener is a swaggering, horndrenched presentation of Dorothy
LaBostrie and McKinley Millet’s
“Rich Woman.” Scaggs’ reading
is inspired by Li’l Millet & His
Creoles’ 1955 version more than
Canned Heat’s or Robert Plant and
Alison Krauss’. The title track was
cut as a country swing tune by author Ted Daffan in 1940.
Book: Dream with Your Eyes Open: An Entrepreneurial Journey
Author: Ronnie Screwvala
I
n Dream With Your Eyes Open, firstgeneration entrepreneur and UTVfounder Ronnie Screwvala details
his vast experiences and the myriad lessons learnt from more than two decades
of building some successful (and some
not-so-successful) businesses, bringing
clarity to a quickly changing business
landscape and making an impassioned
case for the role of entrepreneurship in
India’s future.
If you’ve ever had an impactful, disruptive product or business idea, been
curious about owning your own busi-
You
SHOU
Rea LD
d
NOW SHOWING
Fast & Furious 7
ness, or have already taken the first steps
on your entrepreneurial journey, this is
the book for you.
If you’ve been running your own
company for the last seven-odd years,
and scale, brand and value-creation are
some of the crossroads for you now, keep
reading.
If you think your parents or family
would freak out if you dared to suggest
ditching your safe haven—your professional job—to pursue your dreams of
owning your own business, relax. Better
yet, share this book with them.
Detective Byomkesh Bakshi
Apsara Cinema
Daily at 11.00 AM 2.00, 5.00 &
8.00 PM
Anuradha Cineplex
Daily at 11.00 AM 2.00, 5.00 &
8.00 PM
Fun Cinemas
Daily at 9.30 AM 3.00 & 8.45 PM
Daily at 12.10 & 5.45 PM
Gold Cinema
(Fancy Bazar)
Daily at 2.30 & 5.30 PM
Daily at 11.00 AM 2.00, 5.00 & 8.00 PM
Gold Cinema
(Paltan Bazaar)
Daily at 11.00 AM 2.00, 5.00 &
8.00 PM
Daily at 11.30 AM 2.30, 5.30 & 8.30 PM
Gold Cinema
(Narengi)
Daily at 11.00 AM & 5.00 PM
Daily at 2.00 & 8.00 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 APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
19
Tech Watch
New Google Glass could teach
you dance moves
G
oogle has filed a patent to
create a system by which
Google Glass can recommend dance moves to those who
wear the high tech device.
That means that Google Glass
will be able to determine what particular song is playing in the background before suggesting dance
moves from a possible library of
moves stored in its database, according to reports. The wearable
may also show the user, videos of
other people dancing to the same
song, so that they can understand the
moves they should be doing.
The patent reads, “The content
identification module may provide
information associated with a content of the media sample, such as
identification of the song and the
dance, to the wearable computing
system. The wearable computing
system may determine dance steps
corresponding to the content of the
media sample and may generate a
display of the dance steps on the
HMD (head mounted display).”
HP launches new devices, targets enterprise segment
H
P has launched its HP EliteBook
Folio 1020 series, which it touts
as the industry’s slimmest and
lightest business-class notebooks. The
HP EliteBook 1020 and the HP EliteBook 1020 Special Edition (SE) are ultrathin at 15. 7 mm, and weighs about 1 kg.
The HP EliteBook 1020 and EliteBook 1020 SE are focussed on enterprise
segment. The notebooks deliver up to
9 hours of battery life. HP says like the
rest of the EliteBook family, the new
netbooks are designed to pass militarygrade (MIL-STD 810G) testing – drops,
shocks, and exposure to extremes of
temperature and humidity, and high
pressure testing. These notebooks also
deliver both speed and near silent operation with a fanless design and solid state
storage, supported by latest Intel Core-M
processor technology.
Both devices come with HP Client
Management Solutions and optional
LANDesk and Intel vProM technology.
The notebooks include certified Trusted
Platform Module (TPM) 1.2/2.0i, pre-boot
authentication, fingerprint reader and the
HP Sure Start self-healing BIOS for device,
data and identity protection.
The HP EliteBook 1020 with optional
touchscreen and HP EliteBook 1020 SE feature 12.5-inch diagonal Quad HD (QHD)
display. The notebooks feature 720p webcam, front firing speakers featuring HD
Audio with DTS Studio Sound and HP
Noise Reduction Software.
The starting price of HP EliteBook Fo-
lio 1020 is INR 90,000/- onwards.
HP overall launched eight new
mobile devices today. It announced HP
Pro Slate 8 and HP Pro Slate 12 – 8-inch
and 12-inch – HD Android tablets. The
tablets are powered by a Quad-Core
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series processor.
HP Elite x2 1011 G1 is a lightweight 11.6-inch diagonal 2-in-1 Windows device running Windows 8 Pro
easily transforms from a tablet to a
laptop with Ultrabook configurations
available.
Microsoft unveils Surface 3, features full Windows and Intel SoC WhatsApp enables voice
calling with its new update
622 grams. The tablet is powered by Intel’s
icrosoft has introduced a
M
system-on-a-chip, the Quad-core Intel
Atom x7 processor.
The Surface 3 also has front- (3.5MP)
and rear-facing (8MP) cameras that both
capture 1080p video. Microsoft says the
battery should last up to 10 hours. The tablet also features a micro USB charger.
The Surface 3 can also be used as a laptop with Microsoft’s new Surface 3 Type
Cover keyboard. The tab has a kickstand
on its rear, supports three positions. The
tablet has a full size USB 3 port, mini DisplayPort, microSD card reader and headphone jack. It supports several sensors
such as ambient light, proximity, accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope.
new tablet, called Surface 3,
which is running full 64-bit
Windows 8.1 (not Windows RT) and
is upgradable to Windows 10 when it
launches. The Surface 3 is said to be successor to Microsoft’s Surface and Surface 2 tablets. Microsoft says Surface 3
the thinnest and lightest Surface it has
ever shipped.
Apart from the full Windows version, the Microsoft Surface 3 comes
with one-year subscription to Office 365
whereas pricing starts at $499, roughly
Rs. 31112.63. As far as specifications go,
the Surface 3 has a 10.8-inch display
with a 3:2 aspect ratio and 1920 x 1280
resolution. It is 8.7mm thin and weighs
Twitter launches Curator for
media publishers
Micromax launches two
new 3G phones
W
hatsApp’s new update brings voice calling feature
to all Android users. Currently, to activate voice
calling in the messaging app, users had to receive a
call from someone who already had the calling feature.
A user has posted a screen shot on PhoneArena that
shows the voice calling feature. The images show a third new
option titled ‘Calls’ along with Chats and Contacts tabs. Users
can make calls simply by tapping on the Call icon at the top of
the screen to all users in the WhatsApp contact list. The update is being rolled out slowly and users may receive it in a few
days. If you are unable to update to v2.12.19 via the Play Store,
you can try downloading the app directly from WhatsApp site.
Gmail’s latest update brings
unified inbox
T
witter launched ‘Curator’ for
media publishers to search,
filter and curate Twitter content that can then be displayed on
web, mobile and TV. The service
is available for free for news organizations, production companies,
broadcasters, local governments,
and even concert venues.
The new tool will help publishers create keywords and hashtag
queries to identify streams of high
quality Tweets. Curator allows publishers to further find content by
follower counts, location, languages
and more to create collections of the
most relevant Tweets pertaining to
that topic.
Twitter lets you work with company certified partners such as Flo-
wics, Livefyre, ScribbleLive, Spredfast
and Wayin to ensure more advanced
integrations, customisations and
hands on support.
“Together with our partners, our
goal is to make it easy and seamless
for publishers to incorporate powerful conversations, interactivity and
engagement into their programming,”
says Twitter in a blog post.
The latest tool is likely to help media organizations serve better content
on the social networking platforms.
After Facebook launched Twitter-like
media-centric features such as trending topics and hashtags, Twitter has
been under pressure to catch up with
competition. Media has been one
stronghold for Twitter, making the
platform news-friendly.
M
icromax has launched two new 3G smartphones under its Bolt series - Bolt S300 and
Bolt D320 starting with an exciting price tag
of Rs 3,300. The smartphones come bundled with attractive 2 months free data plans for Vodafone users.
“With one of the widest distribution networks in the
country spanning across more than 50,000 smartphone
retail outlets, we are uniquely positioned to accelerate
the 3G ecosystem further, thus contributing to country’s
vision of 600mn broadband users by 2020. As always
we have taken time to understand the consumer need
& delivered superb value to the first time 3G user. The
new range of 3G smartphones is designed to deliver an
unparalleled experience through a combination of faster
speed, large screen, good battery life and optimal processing power.”
First up is the Micromax Bolt S300. The smartphone features 4-inch WVGA display. It runs Android
4.4.3 KitKat OS and is powered by a 1GHz processor.
Other important features of the phone include is 512MB
of RAM, 1200 mAh battery, 32GB expandable storage,
0.3MP front and rear cameras, and dual-SIM support. It
is priced at Rs. 3,300.
G
oogle has finally brought the combined inbox feature,
a long awaited feature, to its Gmail app. The feature is
pretty simple and looks well executed as it combines
all your linked email accounts to give you a combined inbox.
If you have IMAP or POP accounts (like Yahoo and Outlook)
linked in your Gmail app, emails from those accounts will also
show up in your combined inbox as well.
The latest update to Gmail brings conversation view to
IMAP and POP accounts. This functionality was limited to
your Gmail accounts till now. So, now all your non-Gmail accounts will also show up as stacked conversations.
20
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
Entertainment
Katrina’s statue steps in while
Kareena’s goes missing
K
areena Kapoor Khan’s wax
statue was missing at the
time of the unveiling of
Katrina Kaif ’s statue at Madame
Tussauds in London.
The Bollywood section of the
museum houses the waxworks of
Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh
Khan, Salman Khan, Aishwarya
Rai and Madhuri Dixit. Bebo’s
wax figure is currently at another
branch of Madame Tussauds to enable her fans elsewhere to capture
the moment with their screen idol.
Remember Bebo’s candid comment on Karan Johar’s chat show
when she referred to Kat as her
sister-in-law? It left Kat and her
beau Ranbir Kapoor not exactly
amused.
Has Sunny really grown
up now?
A
ctress Sunny Leone, who is
gearing up for the release of
“Ek Paheli Leela”, says the audience will see her growth as an actor
in the film.
The adult film star made her
Bollywood debut with Pooja Bhatt’s
“Jism 2”. Though the film was not a
hit, but it made Sunny a sensation in
Hindi filmdom. She then did films
like “Ragini MMS 2”, “Shootout at
Wadala”, “Jackpot” and “Hate Story
2”.
“Audience will see my growth in
this film (‘Ek Paheli Leela’) as an actor
and as a dancer,” the actress said during
an interview.
“During this film, I learnt a lot, acting, dancing...everything,” she added.
For this film, the adult film starturned-Bollywood actress also learnt
the local language of Marwari to get
under the skin of her character.
Directed by Bobby Khan, “Ek Paheli Leela” also features Jay Bhanushali,
Rajneesh Duggal and Rahul Dev.
Abhishek to do cameo in
Aishwarya’s comeback film
S
anjay Gupta’s action film “Jazbaa” is special in many ways. It not only
marks the comeback of actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, but also features
her husband and actor Abhishek Bachchan in a special role.
The film’s director took to micro-blogging site Twitter to share the news.
“Big excitement at the shoot today as Abhishek Bachchan shoots his special
appearance in JAZBAA,” Gupta tweeted.
The duo showed their chemistry in the film “Guru”, which garnered plaudits. And in Mani Ratnam’s “Raavan”, which failed to sizzle at the box office.
Earlier, Gupta used the social media platform to announce the release date
of the film which also stars Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi, Abhimanyu Singh and
Atul Kulkarni. The date which has been locked for the film is October 9.
Kapil croons for
his debut film
C
omedian Kapil Sharma has
carved a space of a multitalented star with his acting
and singing capabilities. He is now
working on a new song for his debut movie and he wishes the song
strikes a chord with his fans.
“Recording my first song for
Bollywood with the one n only @
drzeusworld hope u all will like it...
Bum bum bum,” Kapil tweeted.
Working with Nawaz in Big
B’s wishlist
A
mitabh Bachchan’s favourite actor is Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Buzz
is that the Big B has told filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh to pen a script
featuring him with the talented actor.
Bachchan loved Nawaz in Badlapur and considers him a powerhouse
actor. Now Nawaz has a reason to be thrilled. Bachchan and Nawaz together - that would be something to watch.
‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ shoot in Kashmir suspended?
T
he Kashmir schedule of Kabir Khan’s ‘Bajrangi
Bhaijaan’ was to take off shortly, but sources say
it has been postponed due to flash floods in the
northern state. The deluge, which has claimed 19 lives so
far, has been triggered by incessant rains causing severe
damage to property besides snapping road connectivity in
the Valley.
Everything is
planned for
Swastika?
B
engali actress Swastika Mukherjee, who is making inroads into
Hindi movies with Dibakar Banerjee’s “Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!”, says she
wanted a “meaningful” film and it could not
have been bigger than this.
Swastika said,“I started with TV and did
lots of commercial films, but when this new
age films trend started in Bengali film industry, I stopped doing commercial films and
moved on to that kind of films.”
“So, (I knew) if I am working in Bollywood, then it had to be in a meaningful film,
which I should be proud of. I could not have
asked for anything bigger than this.”
“Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!”, releasing
on Friday, features Sushant Singh Rajput as
the protagonist.
Swastika managed to land a role in the
film after its makers held auditions in Kolkata
and approached her.
“I was reluctant about it. Then I heard
that it’s Dibakar’s film. So, the excitement
was there. I gave my auditions and then I was
waiting for a long time. Ultimately, I stopped
thinking about it, but then finally after four to
five months, I got a call from them.”
Sources suggest a major portion of the Salman Khan
and Kareena Kapoor Khan-starrer has already been filmed
and about 25 per cent was to be shot in Kashmir from
April 7. “Kabir wanted to shoot a few action scenes, a war
sequence and a song amidst the beautiful valley. But now
he has put the schedule on hold and the unit is gauging the
situation,” says an insider.
21
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
Events
AIM QUEST
Date: 27th, 28th and 29th March
M
echuka, also known as Menchukha, is located in a forested
valley in the West Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh and is
home to the exotic Memba tribe. This picturesque valley is just
29 kms away from the China border and is considered to be one of the
most beautiful destinations in Northeast India.
Mechuka is mostly famous for its lake, the gentle hills, snow-capped
mountains and the Siyom River that runs through the valleys.
How to reach
Mechuka Lake
Mechuka is easily accessible by
air, rail and road.
It is a snow fed lake with pristine
natural beauty. It is situated at high
altitude with scenic surroundings.
One should not miss trekking &
hiking on the high mountains, rafting
at river Siyom and camping in the
forests.
By Air
The nearest airport to Mechuka
is Mohanbari airport, Dibrugarh and
the Lilabari airport at Lakhimpur.
There is also a commercial chartered
flight service from Guwahati.
What to eat
Traditional North East
delicacies like
By Rail
Pork chilli, roasted mithun meat
– a must eat, sticky millet cakes, pork
strips with red chilli chutney, momos
etc.
The nearest railway station to
Mechuka is Silapathar station & the
Simen Chapari station. From the station, tourists can hire a taxi/cab or a
bus to reach Mechuka.
Best time of the year
By Road
Mechuka is well connected to the
neighbouring towns by well-maintained roads. To enjoy the scenic
beauty of the country side, the tourists can board a bus from Along or
hire a taxi.
The most convenient way is to
reach Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh
and from there the tourists can hire
cab/jeep/sumo. Itanagar can be easily
reached by bus, air or hired cars.
Mechuka can be visited all throughout the year.
Things to remember
Where to stay
What to see
Apart from Hotels, Circuit House
and Inspection Bunglow, Mechuka
also has a lot of Home stays which are
quite famous amongst the tourists.
The tariffs are also quite economical.
It is a 400-year-old Buddhist Monastery and one of the most popular Buddhist Monastery of Arunachal Pradesh. The monastery has a Golden statue of
Lord Buddha. Apart from being a religious centre, it is a treasure house of century old carvings, ancient statues and other artifacts.
Samten Yongchamonastery
If travelling by road, make sure that
you have sufficient fuel in your vehicle. The weather is quite soothing, so
try and carry woollens.
This article has been contributed by
Pushpak Air Travels.
22
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
Fun
Your weekly dose of
TIMEPASS
New projects and ideas have been gaining strength, so this might be a good
time to test the waters and see if it feels right to go ahead. Romance fairly sizzles as passions intensify. You could just as easily close a lucrative deal if you
put your mind to it. Balance excitement with a realistic appraisal of the facts
for best results over the days ahead. Avoid a falling out over the weekend, as
it might not be in your best interests.
A conversation may set you thinking about the potential for romance with
someone. Try to avoid obsessive thinking, as it won’t be helpful. When Mars
moves into your sign on Tuesday you’ll feel energized and ready to tackle
those projects that have been on the back burner. Even so, it pays to listen
to your intuition over the days ahead. It could give you valuable guidance
on financial and family matters. A spat may be unavoidable unless you can
soothe troubled waters.
You may be very confident that you can carry off your latest idea or project as
Mercury glides into Aries on Monday. This is a good time to get the advice of
others, especially if they’ve succeeded with similar plans. Where career matters are concerned, the presence of Mars in Taurus gives you staying power,
meaning that you’ll be happy to work hard now if you can enjoy positive
results later. If adventure calls, you’ll be ready and willing to follow your heart.
Sagittarius
This week you’ll feel more like your usual self, ready to take charge and blaze
a new trail. Mars in Taurus could be the catalyst that shakes up your routine
just enough to revive your enthusiasm in a plan or task. Creative activities and
pleasure options call out to you, too, so dive in and have fun in whatever way
suits you best. If you’ve been thinking about traveling, perhaps you should
firm up plans. Go easy with spending over the weekend, however!
SUDOKU
You know what you want and people admire you for taking decisive action.
Go about your business quietly, as this week’s influences indicate you’d do
best in the background plotting your next move carefully. When it comes to
socializing you’ll be very much upfront and eager to enjoy yourself wherever possible. You may be motivated to pay attention to your intuition, as it
could provide accurate information on a number of key issues. Later, take a
friend’s words with a grain of salt.
If you’re looking for love, this week spotlights romantic possibilities. One
person may entice you with an offer you can’t refuse. Moderation should
be your mantra. Have fun, but use your common sense, too. Your social
life perks up as Mars zips in on Tuesday. This is a grand opportunity to
expand your network of friends and have more fun. If you’ve been busy,
this is your chance to kick back and relax. But if a lucrative opportunity
shows up, grab it.
Scorpio
Libra
Virgo
Leo
Cancer
Gemini
Taurus
Aries
HOROSCOPE
The focus zeroes in on matters associated with finances and shared resources.
Perhaps it’s time to discuss important issues with your bank or financial adviser, especially if your cash situation has been edgy lately. If you’ve been
hard at work, you may be inspired to make travel plans this week - finally.
Thoughts of a well-deserved vacation may motivate you. Where romance
is concerned, tread carefully over the weekend. Your love interest could be
especially sensitive.
An item you’ve coveted for some time could be calling out to you. Perhaps it’s
time to make that special purchase! Your love life and social life seem very
upbeat this week. You may get an invitation to go on a date or to a delightful
get-together. If someone comes to you with a plan or idea, check the facts
before you commit. Over the weekend it helps to compromise and cooperate,
especially regarding a home or family issue. Don’t rock the boat!
If someone has a proposition for you, give it careful consideration. It may be a
worthwhile option. In the main, this week seems to be a busy one as Mercury
heads into your work zone. You’ll likely be in a fiery mood and determined
to beat off the competition. This could stand you in good stead if you don’t
overdo it. Relationships may get antsy as Mars enters your relationship sector.
You can reach a new understanding by clearing the air.
Pisces
Aquarius
Capricorn
A dating opportunity sizzles, but you’ll need to be quick to take advantage of it. You can make a lasting impression if you spread on the charm
thick enough. Life at home seems rather hectic, and could involve plans
for redecorating or remodeling. Don’t jump into action without planning
ahead first. Leisure and pleasure options show up, too, encouraging you
to put down the tools and take a spa day or get a massage. Romance is
sensuously alive and yours for the taking.
Home-based activities may appeal for the chance they afford to unwind
and let go. If issues have bugged you and left you feeling tired recently,
then a retreat might do you a world of good. You’ll need the peace and
quiet because you’ll be busy planning, discussing key issues, and negotiating terms for much of the week. The more rested you are, the more
successful you can be. Think carefully about volunteering your time. It
might be more trouble than it’s worth.
You might have mixed feelings if you’re meeting with an old pal or ex. If
you’re willing to chat, you could be pleasantly surprised at how much he
or she has changed. Regarding goals and ambitions, it might be a good
idea to proceed with caution until you’re certain you want to continue. A
review of your priorities can help you out here. The weekend can be a lot
of fun, but avoid taking someone’s words the wrong way. An inoffensive
approach is best.
Useful Life hacks
Tame frizz with a
toothbrush and hairspray
U
sing hairspray to control frizz is a delicate
balancing act: use
too little and it doesn’t make
much difference, but spray too
generously and you’ll end up
with unpleasantly stiff hair. In
order to make sure you have
just the right amount to tame
frizz, spray an old toothbrush
with hairspray and run it over
those pesky flyaway strands.
It’ll hold your hair in place
without turning it into a helmet.
JUST FOR LAUGHs
An Economist beautifully
explained two reasons for
having two wives:
A - Monopoly should be
broken
B- Competition improves
the quality of service..
If you have one wife she
fights with you, if you
have two wives they will
fight for you
Feel the difference and
decide:
Disclaimer: We are not
having such experience
and not responsible for
any side effects!
Girl: It is very tough to
have love affair with a
person who works in
bank.
Man: Why?
Girl: I sent him love letter,
he send me back remarks
-- “signature different”
Solution (Last Issue)
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
classifieds
VACANCY
Required Sr.
Sales Executives,
Showroom Sales,
Accountant,
Marketing
Executives (F) ,
Office Executive.
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Hair Styler required
in an Unisex salon
For details contact
97076 35294
Peon Required
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Salary-5,500/-(+)
Contact -9864306246
Urgently Require
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Hotel Industry
Front Office
Executive Required
Salary-6,000-10,000/Contact-98640-62103
Showroom Executive
Required
Salary-5,000-6,000/Contact-98543-71481
Marketing Executive
Required
Salary-10,000/-(+)
Contact-98640-62103
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
English medium
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,
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Rent-12,000
Ph No.-98644-31944
3 BHK 2nd Floor Flat
At Ghy Club, Rent18,000
Call-76630-59321
3 BHK Newly
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Call-83999-65686
3BHK Independent
House At Jonali,
2Bathroom , Parking,
& Kitchen, Rent10,000
Contact-76630-59321
3BHK 3Rd Floor
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, Parking, Balcony
And Lift
Rent-12,000
Contact-83999-65686
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Rent-15,000
Call-7663059321
Any type of Rented
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Chandmari
Contect-98647-39316
2 BHK Flat With
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Ph No.- 83999-65686
Any type of Flat
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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
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Contact-95778-21645
Bathroom , Balcony
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Rent- 15,000 Ph No.98644-31944
3BHK Flat With 2
Bathroom, 3rd Floor
, Parking, Balcony &
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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
2 WHEELER /
4 WHEELER
Vento (D)
Top Model 2011
Colour: White
Ph-88110-91965
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
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
3 bigha land in
Thakurbari Road
, Rangapara with
clearcut title & sale
deed. Contact- Gopal
Das Phone No088768-59216
Activa, Colour: Black
2012 Model
Contact: 98641-06333
3 Bighas fully 6 ft
higher boundary wall
land in Bhojkhowa ,
Tezpur interested in
condition or direct
sale. Contact-Vijay Kr.
Bagri Contact No.98641-59713
Mahindra Duro
2013 Model
Colour: White
Contact-98599-10119
Mahindra Duro
2011 Model
Colour : Maroon
Contact: 88110-91965
Pulsar 150 2012
Model, Colour Black
Contact-98641-06333
Citypedia
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
BLOOD BANK
Splendor 2013 Model
Colour Black
Call- 98641-06333
Honda Activa
2004 Model
Colour : Black
Call- 88110-91965
23
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
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
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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,
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Chandrapur PS: Ph-2788237,
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Panbazar PS: Ph-2540106
Pragjyotishpur Ps: Ph-2785237
Women PS Panbazar: Ph-2524627
24
G PLUS APR 04 - APR 10, 2015
Catching Up
David Cameron reveals he is related to
Kim Kardashian
D
avid Cameron has been keeping a secret.
He is related to American television and
social media personality and model Kim
Kardashian.
In an interview with the Heat magazine, in
which he also revealed he is afraid of rats, Cameron
was asked if he watches Keeping Up With
The Kardashians?
His surprise response? “No
but I’m related to them. Did you
know I’m 13th cousins with
them? That’s close isn’t it?” he
said.
The magazine did some digging and suggests Cameron is related to the Kardashians through a
shared ancestor, Sir William Spencer,
born in 1555. Asked if he fancied a family
reunion, he replied: “That would be great, thanks.”
Now, see up to 50m in darkness
with these night vision eye-drops
S
cared of the dark? Fear not as scientists have now created night vision
eye drops, which enables one to see up to 50m in the dark.
The team behind it, an independent Californian biohackers, Science for the Masses, theorised that Chlorin e6 (Ce6), a natural molecule that
could be created from algae and other green plants, could improve eyesight
in dark environments.
The molecule, which is found in some deep sea fish, forms the basis of
some cancer therapies and has been previously prescribed for night blindness.
An apple a day may not
keep the doctor away
A
n apple a day may not keep the
doctor away, according to a new
research which found that daily
apple eaters had just as many doctor
visits as those who did not regularly eat
the fruit.
However, the study also found that
daily apple eaters are less likely to use
prescription medications.
Researchers compared daily apple
eaters (those who consumed at least one
small apple per day or 149 grams of raw
apple) with non-apple eaters.
The authors analysed data from the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2008 and 2009-2010).
Of the 8,399 survey participants who
completed a dietary recall questionnaire,
753 (9 per cent) were apple eaters and
7,646 (91 per cent) were non-apple eaters.
Researchers at the University of
Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor,
and colleagues measured “keeping the
doctor away” as no more than one selfreported visit to a physician during the
past year.
Sophie Turner
Sansa Stark will be a
‘player’ in
Game of Thrones season 5
S
ophie Turner says that Sansa
Stark is going to be a “player”
in the upcoming fifth season of
Game of Thrones.
The actress reassured fans of the
fantasy drama who have been frustrated by her passive alter ego in the
past that things will now be changing for Sansa, as she grows stronger
in the new batch of episodes.
She said “Let’s just say after this
series there should be a lot more
Sansa fans. It’ll be really nice when
people start to accept she’s not just a
stupid girl. She started off very vulnerable but she has learnt a lot and
will transform from being a chess
piece to a player.”
The show has been criticised
for the amount of nude scenes, but
Sophie believes both the sex and violence are essential to the plots.
She told,“There’s violence and
there’s sex - I think it’s necessary to
show it.
“Women in those times didn’t
have a huge amount of power, so
they had to use what they had to
manipulate men. But it’s not just the
women who strip off - there’s more
male nudity than in any other show.
I don’t want to see any more willies!”,
she added.
Downey Jr
asks fans for charity for ill children
A
ctor Robert Downey Jr is
requesting all his fans to attend the world premiere of
Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron”
and help his charity to donate for
children who are suffering from terminal illnesses.
The 49-year-old in his latest
post on his Facebook page requested his fans to donate to a charity
event that is supporting Julia’s House,
that provides care and support for lifelimited children and their families.
Hi folks, here’s the skinny: we’ve
raised $1.3 MILLION for kids with terminal diseases. That’s incredible, but I
think we can do better.
`Our goal is to reach $2M to help
build a brand spanking new wing for
Julia’s House. There’s just ONE WEEK
left to enter to win the chance to go
to the premiere of ‘Marvel’s Avengers:
Age of Ultron’ with me. Click the pic
and ASSEMBLE,” said the`Avengers:
Age of Ultron` star, according to a
statement.
Marvel
Studios
is
presenting`Avengers: Age of Ultron`,
the follow-up to the biggest superhero
movie of all times.
The film’s cast includes Chris
Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy
Renner.
The movie is written and directed
by Joss Whedon, produced by Kevin
Feige and is based on the popular Marvel comic book series`The
Avengers`, which was first published
in 1963.
The movie is slated to release on
April 24.
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