G Plus Volume 1 Issue 45

VOL 01 | ISSUE 45 | AUG 9 - AUG 15, 2014 

PRICE `10 

CAG FLOORS 

GMC IN AUDIT 

PG 

02 

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation has come 

under fire following the audit report filed by the 

Comptroller and Auditor General 

Amrit Maghera 

Catching Up, Pg 24 

Women bus 

service to 

continue 

Despite the low turnout, ten more city 

buses, customised exclusively for women 

are likely to be added, with the authorities 

determined to make the service a success. 

PG 04 

NO-ENTRY 

ZONES 

OR MONEY MAKERS? 

The No-Entry zones of the city are also turning 

to be good money-spinners, albeit illegal. 

PG 03 

PG 

15 

You should 

not overexpose 

yourself 

Bobbeeta sharma 

Ward Watch 

@ 

jyotikuchi 

Ward No 27 

Page No 14

2 

Lead Story 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

CAG FLOORS GMC IN AUDIT 

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation has come under fire following the audit report filed by 

the Comptroller and Auditor General 

Mrinmoyee Hazarika 

For the last one month, the local 

authorities have been seen 

toppling down illegal dwellings 

and sweeping up the drains and other 

channels of the city in order to make 

it free from encroachment. 

All these exercises to mitigate the 

flash flood situation of the city, which 

took 11 lives occurred at the end of 

June this year, could have been avoided 

if the authorities had sincerely carried 

out their duties and responsibilities 

from the very beginning. 

In its performance audit report on 

the working of the GMC for the fiscal 

year 2012-13, undertaken by the CAG 

(Comptroller and Auditor General), it 

had mentioned that building bye laws 

were violated by NOC holders due to 

lack of supervision by GMC. 

“Rule 58 read with sub-rule 

(58.17) of the building bye-laws states 

that the structural design, constructional 

standard etc of all multi-storeyed 

building are required to be supervised 

during construction at three 

stages viz foundation, plinth/ground 

floor and upper floor. Scrutiny of records 

disclosed that the GMC had no 

system to supervise the under construction 

buildings as per rule. Taking 

advantage of the loopholes in the 

bye-laws and due to lack of supervision 

on part of the corporations, developers 

as well as individuals made 

gross deviations by contravening the 

approved building permission” the 

CAG report says. 

The report further mentions that 

an illustrative but not exhaustive position 

of penalties were imposed for 

violation of various provisions of the 

building bye-laws during the period 

of 2007-12. 

“A total number of 272 cases were 

penalised due to violation of various 

provisions of building bye-laws. Out 

of 272 cases, in 93 cases, penalty was 

imposed ranging from a minimum of 

`1.02 lakh to a maximum of `26.32 

lac. This indicated that the lack of supervision 

had enabled the promoters 

and individuals to violate the master 

plan and zoning regulation of the 

GMC,” the CAG report also states. 

The office of the Comptroller and 

Auditor General, which is responsible 

for carrying out audits at different 

levels of the government also stated in 

its report that the GMC did not follow 

the procedures prescribed in the 

bye-laws in regard to processing and 

approving building permissions. 

“Audit observed that during the 

calendar year 2010, as many as 392 

NOCs were issued wherein GMC 

cleared NOCs within 55 days in case 

of apartments or commercial establishments, 

while in residential houses, 

it took a minimum of 518 to maximum 

of 941 days. This indicated that 

authority had no mechanism to clear 

the cases in a first come first serve 

basis. Moreover, reasons for delay in 

issues of NOCs were not on record in 

Suspected mis-appropriated 

amount by GMC 

Year Date of collection Amount (in Rs) 

1/4/2010 28,700 

14/12/2010 32,812 

2010-11 01/01/2011 021,440 

18/01/2011 36,547 

Total 1,19,499 

Detailed cases of penalty imposed 

`1 lakh and above for violation of 

building bye-laws 

Year 

Total no of 

NOCs issued 

Total penalty 

cases 

% of violation Total penalised 

cases 

“ 

A total number of 

272 cases were penalised due to 

violation of various provisions of 

building bye-laws. Out of 272 cases, 

in 93 cases, penalty was imposed 

ranging from a minimum of `1.02 

lakh to a maximum of `26.32 lac. 

Total amount of 

penalty 

2007-08 399 18 4.51 12 43,86,524 

2008-09 480 77 16.04 41 2,31,43,164 

2009-10 496 67 13.51 22 1,14,57,359 

2010-11 589 58 9.85 14 65,38,936 

2011-12 471 52 11.04 4 27,13,563 

Total 2,435 272 11.17 93 4,82,39,546 

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GMC 

• A structured system of planning - long, medium and short term and 

systematic reporting mechanism needs to be implemented to enable 

improvement in the deliverables of the Corporation and provide adequate 

feedback to all stakeholders. 

• Budget formulation should be realistic and completed within the time 

frame as stipulated in the GMC Act, 1971. No expenditure should be 

made before the approval of the Annual Budget. 

• Effective monitoring, supervision by the higher authorities should be 

ensured to stop pilferage of revenue. 

• Effective action needs to be taken to ensure dwelling houses to urban 

poor are completed as per schedule. 

• Action needs to be taken to bring all of GMC’s landed properties to GMC 

own possessions and made encroachment free. 

the test-checked cases,” CAG report 

says. 

During its audit, CAG also found 

anomalies in the handing of financial 

matters of GMC, which includes 

delay in making budget estimates, 

huge variations in expenditure made 

without budget provision, deficiencies 

in maintenance of cash books, misappropriation 

of municipal fund etc. 

The report mentions, “Analysis 

of the relevant files relating to budget 

estimate of the corporation revealed 

that GMC took the initiative for 

preparation of annual budget with a 

delay of five to fifteen months while 

the adoption of budget estimates was 

delayed by six to eleven months. Scrutiny 

of records also disclosed that the 

GMC authority spent a minimum of 

`59.59 crore to a maximum of `104.34 

crore before the final approval of the 

budget during the period of 2007- 

2012” 

Besides, it was also observed during 

the audit carried out by CAG that 

the corporation spent `7.97 crore under 

the major heads during 2007-08 

and 2009-10 without budget provision 

which indicated absence of budgetary 

control over expenditure. 

Moreover, the report also mentioned 

that between June 2009 and 

March 2012, an amount of `10.21 crore 

was handed over by the six branches 

of the corporation to the three banks 

engaged by the corporation to collect 

day-to-day receipts directly from the 

different branches, for onward deposit 

into the representative bank accounts 

of GMC. The amounts so collected by 

the banks were not accounted for the 

municipal cash book. 

mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 3 

G-View 

NO-ENTRY ZONES OR MONEY 

MAKERS? 

rahul chanda 

The No-Entry zones of the city are also turning to be 

good money-spinners, albeit illegal. 

There are many roads and lanes 

in the city where particular 

vehicles are not permitted 

during some hours of the day, but 

still the roads become congested and 

chaotic. Recently, in view of increasing 

traffic congestion on public roads 

and as per the order of the Gauhati 

High Court dated 04/06/2014 in PIL 

No. 35/2014 for taking effective remedial 

measures to remove traffic hazards 

in different roads of Guwahati, 

the Governor of Assam constituted 

a committee with the involvement 

of various government departments 

and civic bodies. The committee is 

expected to make suggestions and 

recommendations for improving the 

regulatory framework, road design 

and enforcement to ensure effectiveness 

of the traffic management plan 

for the city. 

This proves that the situation of 

traffic is so pathetic that the Gauhati 

High Court and the state Governor 

had to interfere, but will this help? 

The idea of no entry zones are to ease 

the road congestion of certain areas 

but, it is seen that people violate the 

rules and cops keep fining them. 

The business 

Usually, it is the home guard personnel 

who guard the roads where 

there is a no entry sign and they make 

sure that the slow moving vehicles do 

not enter these roads during the specified 

timings. According to a notification 

sent to all the concerned officers 

by the city traffic SP, the movement of 

all slow moving vehicles, rickshaws, 

thelas, pony carts and handcarts are 

restricted from 8 am to 9 pm on the 

following roads:- 

There is always a home guard personnel 

deployed there, who makes sure 

that slow moving vehicles are not allowed 

into the road. 

Interestingly, any vehicle travelling 

towards Athgaon might get confused 

seeing the sign as it is not clear 

that it is off limits for slow moving 

vehicles only. 

The four-wheelers can enter 

the road and are not stopped by the 

guards whilst the cycle rickshaws and 

auto carriers are mostly halted by the 

guards and are allowed to pass after 

being fined. The fines taken are without 

any receipt and because Athgaon 

is full of business establishments 

and wholesale markets, the vehicles 

have to take the road anyway. As per 

observers in the area, this way, the 

guards stand to make money out of 

the fines collected and the traffic congestion 

is also never eased. 

Similar problems are seen in the 

“ 

I have to take the goods 

to many shops in Fancy 

Bazaar and this is a 

shortcut from the AT Road 

from where we get the 

goods. I pay `20 in fine 

saving `100 on petrol. 

So I enter the market 

crossing gate number 3 

which is a no entry zone” 

Fancy Bazaar market where the slow 

moving vehicles are not allowed to 

enter crossing Gate number 3, but 

they pay the fines and get in. 

Rajib Sarkar, an auto-carrier 

driver said, “I have to take the goods 

to many shops in Fancy Bazaar and 

this is a shortcut from the AT Road 

from where we get the goods. I pay 

`20 in fine saving `100 on petrol. So 

I enter the market crossing gate number 

3 which is a no entry zone.” He 

further added that he never receives 

any kind of challan or receipt of the 

fine paid by him. 

Danu Chetia, a home guard personnel 

deployed near the Marwari 

Hospital at Athgaon said that they 

cannot take fines as they do not have 

the receipt book. Only when the Assam 

Police officials are there then 

they charge fines. But the rickshaw 

pullers informed that the guard there 

does take fines. The amount can be 

anything from Rs 5 to Rs 50. 

It can be mentioned here that 

taking fines without providing any 

receipt do not generate any revenue 

for the government. All the fines collected 

goes into the pockets of the 

guards and some might also land up 

in the pockets of a few senior officials 

if they are aware of the racket. 

Trucks 

The city also faces traffic congestion 

majorly because of the trucks. 

The six wheeler trucks are allowed to 

enter the city limits after only 11pm 

up to 6.30 am only. The trucks having 

challans for places like Fancy Bazaar, 

Bharalumukh, Athgaon are allowed to 

enter via the Jalukbari Rotary, trucks 

having challans to Fatasil Ambari area 

are allowed to enter through Lokhara 

and Garchuk Road and the trucks having 

challans to Dispur and Bhangagarh 

area can enter through the Tripura 

road in Six miles. While going out, the 

trucks can follow the same route. 

During the no entry period for six 

wheelers, the restriction is imposed at 

the following points:- 

Jalukbari 

Sixmile 

Lakhara 

Garchuk 

Narengi 

BG Yard and FCI depot 

approach towards Geetanagar, 

Noonmati 

DG Road 

MG Road 

GNB Road 

RGB Road 

GS Road 

RP Road 

B. Barooah Road 

KLB Road 

National Highway 37 (from 

Khanapara to VIP Road) 

Now, no entry zones can be implemented 

in some roads and lanes, 

if required by the local police station 

to manage the traffic. There are many 

roads like the Athgaon Road, Fancy 

Bazaar and other roads connecting 

to the AT Road, which are no entry 

zones. While entering the Athgaon 

Road from the Marwari Hospital 

side, the road looks like a no entry 

zone with a board put up at the entry. 

However, for six wheelers plying 

from BG Yard and FCI Depot moving 

outside the city via the Express Highway, 

Sixmile and Tripura road and vice 

versa, the no entry timing is 7.30am to 

10.30am and 1.30pm to 3.30pm shall 

only be applicable as all the goods exported 

to the entire northeast region 

gets loaded at BG Yard. 

These trucks are also checked at 

entry points fined, with and without 

receipts. There are no restrictions on 

the movement of four wheelers and 

mini trucks for all 24 hours, however 

restrictions are there on some roads 

in the peak hours from 7.30am to 

10.30am and 1.30pm to 3.30pm. 

Because of the court’s concern, 

the Governor might have constituted 

a committee, which will deliberate on 

better traffic management, but before 

anything, the authorities should try 

and concentrate on how to solve the 

grass root level graft which goes unreported. 

It neither helps the general 

public nor the government. 

rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

4 

City 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

Women bus 

Despite the low turnout, ten more city buses, customised exclusively for women are 

likely to be added, with the authorities determined to make the service a success. 

service to continue 

mrinmoyee hazarika 

After stalling the much anticipated 

city bus service started 

exclusively for women last 

month for two days in a row, the 

government has vowed to ensure the 

smooth continuation of the same in 

the future. 

Following the hitch, the regional 

transport authority, Kamrup (M) 

has resumed the all women city bus 

service again announcing to add ten 

more customised city buses to the 

existing lot which will be imported 

from outside the state. 

“One of the reasons for discontinuation 

of the women city bus service 

for a brief period was the lack of 

adequate passengers. Therefore, now 

the transport department has introduced 

one new route where there 

is more possibility of getting more 

number of women passengers and 

the department promises to continue 

the service in the city,” Dwijen Das, 

secretary of the Kamrup regional 

transport authority who retired from 

active service last Thursday (31st July, 

2014) said. 

Das also cited that another reason 

for the unfortunate incident of 

cessation of the service though for a 

short period was the festival of Eid. 

Most of the drivers and other staffs 

had taken off days because of the festival 

and the women bus service got 

affected. 

“But, now we hope that this type 

of situation will not be created again 

and another ten buses exclusively for 

women will likely be added by 15th 

August. These new customised buses 

will be painted with blue and white 

coloured stripes for easy identification,” 

Das mentioned. 

Currently, 10 all-women city buses, 

which include six privately owned 

and four government run ASTC buses, 

are plying in two different routes 

of the city. The four ASTC buses are 

running on the existing route from 

Khanapara to Kachari via Ganeshguri, 

Bhangagarh, Paltan Bazaar, 

Panbazar Pani tanky and back via 

Md Tayabulla Road, District Library, 

Reserve Bank, Panbazar over bridge 

and Paltan Bazaar. The remaining 

six private buses are running on the 

new route from Basistha Chariali 

to Gauhati University via Zoo road, 

Chandmari, Handique college and 

Maligaon. 

Besides, the timing of the buses 

have also been changed. The buses 

are now plying between 8am and 8pm 

within a gap of half an hour, instead 

of the pervious timing of between 

7am and 11am and 3pm and 8pm. 

The buses are equipped with 

CCTV cameras and each one has 

a three-member staff that includes 

a driver and two conductors, all of 

them are women. 

“It is very hard to get skilled drivers, 

be it male or female. To solve this 

problem, we have come up with some 

new suggestions and request the unemployed 

youths to come forward 

and cooperate with us,” Gautam Das, 

DTO, (Registration and Licensing), 

Kamrup (M) said. 

Regarding the initiatives taken 

up by the transport department to 

engage skilled drivers into the profession 

of driving commercial vehicles, 

Gautam Das stated that the department 

is asking primarily for four 

categories of people to come forward. 

They are – persons holding a driving 

license for a year, persons with the 

educational qualification up to eighth 

class, people who have completed the 

age of 20 and educated unemployed 

persons. 

“We will provide training to 

those people and after completion 

of the training they will be provided 

with a certificate. The certificate 

holders will be eligible to drive commercial 

vehicles,” Gautam Das said. 

Zerifa Wahid 

(Actor) 

The brand ambassador of 

the initiative as well as noted 

Assamese actor Zerifa Wahid 

has urged the womenfolk of 

the city to use the all women 

bus service. 

Appealing the women of all 

walks of life, Wahid said, “The 

buses may not attract passengers 

initially, but things will 

improve. We have to applaud 

district transport officials for 

providing safe transportation 

for women. They are doing it 

on an experimental basis and 

we need to provide support” 

She further stated, “It is illogical 

to ask all the women 

to board on the all-women 

city buses only. They have to 

get on the first bus they see 

whenever they are in hurry. 

But, I am requesting them to 

avail the service when they 

get the chance to” 

“It is very hard to get skilled 

drivers, be it male or female. 

To solve this problem, we 

have come up with some new 

suggestions and request the 

unemployed youths to come 

forward and cooperate with us,” 

Meghali Bora, Entrepreneur 

Meghali Bora, proprietor of 

Meghna’s Driving Training 

Institute which is exclusively 

for women also lauded the government’s 

initiative of introducing all-women city 

bus service in Guwahati. 

“I have been involved with the initiative from the 

very beginning. I have come across several clients 

who prefer for a lady driver especially the situation 

getting worst day by day as far as safety and 

security for the women is concerned. Besides, it 

will also provide a decent way to earn money for 

many young and courageous girls,” Meghali Bora 

stated. 

Deepali Rajkhowa, Women Bus driver 

Appealing the women of the city to avail the 

all-women city bus service, Deepali Rajkhowa, 

the first female city bus driver of Guwahati remembered, 

“I have started driving my first city 

bus in the year 1989, when I was just 21 years 

old. It was a government project for the educated 

unemployed and I owned a Swaraj majda 

and started plying it on the roads of Guwahati. 

Later, I bought another three buses.” 

Mentioning about driving vehicles like 

Mitsubishi Canter, she also stated, “In my 

experience of more than twenty years in 

the field of city bus service, I have never felt 

insecure. I can still remember driving the bus 

at 11 0 clock in the night, but never confronted 

any untoward incidences. Now, the government 

has taken a good initiative by starting 

all women city bus service in the city and the 

women should take the benefit of it” 

Though Rajkhowa, who is now a contractor 

by profession, had discontinued driving city 

buses in a year or two after she started it in the 

year 1989, she used to drive her own city buses 

whenever there was need till 2011. 

She also stated that apart from driving, the 

students in her institute are being trained in 

martial arts and technical knowledge related to 

the vehicle also. 

“We have also trained some girls who cannot bear 

the expenses of training for free. After completion 

of training, we help them getting job opportunities,” 

encouraging the girls to take up the profession 

with pride, Bora, who acquired a professional 

driving license 24 years ago said. 

She is also planning to launch ‘Megha Cabs’ soon, 

which will cater only the female passengers from 

different parts of city locations including the air 

port and railway platform. 


G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 5 

City 

12-Year Old Brutally Murdered 

G Plus bureau 

The successors of our generation, 

mostly tagged as ‘gennext’ 

are supposed to get the 

very best from all corners of the society. 

However, reality has something 

very contrasting in store to reveal before 

us. At least, the figures of cases 

registered by the police, of crimes 

against children in the country clearly 

describe it. 

Child abuse has no place in the 

world we weave for our children here 

and now. Yet, child abuse, including 

murdering them, is gut-wrenchingly 

real, leaving thousands of children 

scarred and bewildered, and their 

parents distraught and furious. 

Sharing the same trend like other 

parts of the country, Assam is no different. 

Another such shocking incident 

occurred in the state’s Kamrup 

(rural) district when a 12-year boy 

was killed after he was abducted at 

the Changsari area on August 4. 

The victim, Nipon Nath was a 

student of class VII and was living 

with his family in the Bakultala area, 

some 30 kms away from the city. 

On that evil day, a 23-year-old 

youth Dipjyoti Kalita, a carpenter living 

near Nipon’s house, lured Nipon 

with some candies and asked Nipon 

to come along with him. Since then, 

Nipon went missing. A huge hue and 

cry occurred after Nipon’s parents realised 

that their son had not returned 

home in the evening. Soon after, the 

whole area came to know about him 

going missing. Police was informed 

after the parents received a ransom 

call of Rs 10 lakh. 

In Assam alone at 

least 14 minors were 

killed, 80 others 

were abducted and 

230 others were 

raped in 2013. 

“Then some of the local told police 

that Nipon was seen with Dipjyoti 

on Sunday. We immediately detained 

the accused and started quizzing 

him. Though initially he refused but 

soon he told police that he had killed 

Nipon,” Changsari police said. 

Immediately, police searched 

Dipjyoti’s house and found Nipon’s 

dead body squeezed inside a wooden 

box. With no cut marks found, police 

believed that he was strangulated. 

Dipjyoti was arrested. 

What came next was more 

shocking! It was not the first time 

that Dipjyoti had killed anyone. Interrogation 

revealed that Dipjyoti 

had previously killed his seven-yearold 

cousin Bitopan Mali and threw 

his body in the Brahmaputra. 

A huge public outcry followed. 

People pressed the police to hand 

over the culprit to them for public 

justice. Police had no other way but 

to resort to scuffle to control the mob. 

Locals suspected that it was not a case 

of simple murder but of a human organ 

smuggling racket. 

“Dipjyoti was living in a rented 

house of a medical practitioner Dr. 

Abed Ali. We believe Ali too was in- 

volved in the racket,” alleged Simanta 

Das, a local. Police in suspect too arrested 

Ali and currently interrogation 

is on. Dipjyoti was sent for three days 

of police remand by a lower court. 

But this is just an instance of the 

brutality that is even occurring in our 

neighbourhood. Homes, schools and 

all the other places where children 

are meant to nurture have recently 

become theatres of brutalization of 

children. 

In Assam alone at least 14 minors 

were killed, 80 others were abducted 

and 230 others were raped in 2013. 

“The stories pile up: teachers 

raping six-year-olds, tutors kicking 

three-year-olds, principals caning 

visually-challenged wards. It’s unspeakable 

brutality against the most 

tender and defenseless amongst us. 

When a particularly brutal case of 

abuse hits the headlines, there’s frenzied 

demand for instant vigilante 

justice but it does not address the 

systemic changes sorely needed to 

prevent child abuse. Clearly, the door 

has to be pushed open even more,” 

said Shilpi Hazarika, a student of human 

behaviour under the Delhi University. 

Syeda Ambia Zahan 

“We don’t want to die. 

There is a way to avoid 

death and that is by 

letting your organs live in someone 

else’s body after you and live life one 

more time” says Zublee Baruah, the 

singing sensation of Assam. 

In an effort to dedicate her service 

towards the needy section of 

the society, she founded the Zublee 

Foundation. It is aimed to be an endeavour 

to serve the local community 

with special focus on senior citizens 

and children and most importantly 

to the cause of organ donation. 

Around 400,000 people across 

the country await organ transplant 

Live life one more time 

every year but only 2 per cent of them 

get lucky. Around 10 lakh Indians 

suffer from corneal blindness and are 

awaiting corneal transplantation but 

only 38,000 corneas can be collected 

every year. Around 150,000 people 

are diagnosed with kidney failure 

in India every year but only around 

5,000 get donors. As a result, every 

five minutes, one person dies of kidney 

failure in India. 

The Zublee Foundation for the 

first time organised an ‘Organ Donation 

Day’ on the 6th of August in the 

Assam Engineering Institute Playground 

with an objective of creating 

mass awareness on the need of donat- 

ing organs. 

“Take a pledge to donate organs 

and the Zublee Foundation will help 

you in this noble gesture” said Zublee. 

On the event day, riders were seen 

wearing T-shirts and caps featuring 

organ donation during a motorbike 

rally within the city covering a radius 

of 25 km. Members of the foundation 

and more than three hundred voluntary 

donors came forward to donate 

blood in a blood donation camp organised 

as a part of the programme. 

A public awareness meeting 

was also held with invited doctors 

wherein the different aspects of organ 

donation including confusion of 

“We will very soon 

install a help desk 

for assistance and 

queries where 

organ donor forms 

and membership 

forms will be 

available for joining 

the foundation” 

donors, superstitions, difficulties in 

acquiring organs from the donor, role 

of the family of the donor were discussed. 

Noted doctors from the city 

took part and delivered their lectures 

in this context. 

Noted singers like JP Das, 

Zubeen Garg, Dr. Mousumi Saharia 

and others mesmerised the audience 

with their encouraging songs and 

thus took the prospect donors a step 

forward to the noble cause of organ 

donation. 

“We will very soon install a help 

desk for assistance and queries where 

organ donor forms and membership 

forms will be available for joining the 

foundation” said the songstress. 

The Zublee foundation has not 

only taken initiative regarding organ 

donation, but it has taken up different 

projects to help out the senior citizens 

and people with disabilities. 

Zubee says “India has twelve million 

children with disabilities and 

only one percent of them have access 

to school and 80 percent of them do 

not live beyond the age of 40. The 

foundation is considering identifying 

such people and helping them out to 

live a better life.”

6 

In The News 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

Expectations for a 

people friendly budget 

Popular support for tax increase on tobacco, liquor 

gplus feature 

BUDGET 2014-15 

AEC teachers 

upset over ASTU 

affiliation 

Ahead of the State Budget, 

2014-15 to be tabled next 

week, economist, academicians, 

trade bodies and the cross section 

of the society has put emphasis 

for a people friendly budget as a 

whole, while advocating for tax raise 

in commodities that have adverse affect 

on public health. 

Economist and former principal 

of the Cotton College Prof. Dilip Kumar 

Baruah stressed on the need of 

tax raise in tobacco products, liquor 

and other intoxicating substances for 

the betterment of public health in the 

State. 

“Regulating the use of such substances 

is an utmost necessity. I support 

tax raise in tobacco, liquor and 

other such substances. In the budget, 

the government should include funds 

to take up strong measures to stop the 

sale of tobacco and liquor near educational 

institutions. While measures 

should also be taken to eradicate the 

traditional, cultural and religious 

practice of tobacco and liquor use in 

the State,” Prof. Baruah said 

Disclosing his expectation from 

the State Budget, 2014-15, Prof. Baruah 

said the budget must have a 

plan to control the ever increasing 

price of the essential commodities 

in the State.“The budget must have 

a plan for proper implementation of 

the sections of the Essential Commodities 

Act to arrest the price rise in 

the State,” he said. He also advocated 

for the inclusion of a time bound action 

plan in the State Budget for the 

proper utilisation of the central fund 

in the State. The State budget is to 

be tabled in the Assam Assembly on 

Monday. 

“The State Budget should also lay 

emphasis on developing public private 

partnership models to develop 

the infrastructures of the government 

educational institutions and 

“ 

The State Budget should 

also lay emphasis 

on developing public 

private partnership 

models to develop the 

infrastructures of the 

government educational 

institutions and sports 

facilities in the State” 

Prof. Dilip Kumar 

Baruah 

(Economist and former 

principal of the Cotton 

College) 

sports facilities in the State,” Prof. 

Baruah said. 

Federation of Industry & Commerce 

of North Eastern Region 

(FINER) Chairman RS Joshi on the 

other hand put stress on rationalising 

the tax rate in the State Budget as the 

industries are yet to evolve from the 

recessive trend. 

He also supported the formula 

of increasing tax to decrease the consumption 

of commodities, which 

have adverse affect on public health, 

however, he feels high tax rates on 

tobacco products encourages smuggling 

of such products from neighbouring 

countries like Myanmar. 

Joshi said the State Budget should 

be prepared in such a way that the every 

section of the society feels that 

this budget is for them. 

He also emphasised on the need 

of developing the e-governance in the 

State to a greater height and widening 

of the tax net to encourage more and 

more people to pay tax. 

Academician and former principal 

of the B. Barooah College 

Dinesh Baishya is off the opinion that 

now-days both the governments at 

the State as well as at centre are not 

welfare governments and the budget 

these days are prepared following the 

diktats of the corporate world. 

“Budgets are now-day-days designed 

by the corporate world and 

international bodies like the World 

Bank and International Monetary 

Fund (IMF). On one hand the budget 

will raise taxes on commodities like 

tobacco and liquor while on the other 

hand right under the nose of the administration, 

illegal trade of these 

commodities will continue,” he said. 

Baishya also said that the government 

has no control over price rise 

and illegal trade. “Prices of medicine 

has increased manifold but no measures 

have been initiated to control 

the price of the life saving drugs.” 

Meanwhile, this correspondent 

gathered responses from across the 

society on their expectations from 

the State Budget, 2014-15. 

“Budget should have something 

to control the price of essential commodities. 

To compensate the loss in 

controlling the price of the essential 

commodities government should 

hike taxes in luxury items and commodities 

which have adverse affect on 

public health like tobacco, liquor and 

others,” said PK Saikia a retired Assam 

government employee. 

For a college going student like 

Kaustab Talukdar, the State Budget 

should lower the prices of electronic 

gazettes like laptops, tabs, smartphones 

and others so that the youths 

have more access to the IT world. 

In a statement, Engineering 

College Teachers’ Association 

(ECTA) general secretary 

Dr Utpal Nath said that an 

advertisement was published 

in a daily on June 26 regarding 

affiliation of AEC and Jorhat 

Engineering College (JEC) to 

ASTU. The advertisement was 

published by the Academic 

Registrar of Assam Science and 

Technology University (ASTU) 

informing that all government 

engineering colleges of Assam, 

including AEC and JEC, are affiliated 

to ASTU and the syllabus 

of ASTU will be taught in these 

colleges. 

“Without any full-fledged 

and standard syllabi and without 

the creation of a requisite standard 

educational and research 

environment, it is trying to bring 

the two colleges under its control, 

which are about 60 years old 

and has a well-known glorious 

heritage. The forceful co-called 

affiliation was done by the ASTU 

authority by misinterpreting 

and misusing a government letter 

(letter No. ATE.154/2012/58 

dated July 23, 2014). They went 

a step further to publish the 

advertisement to legalize their 

illegal action. The ECTA has 

strongly condemned such an illegal 

act of the university and has 

emphasized on withdrawing of 

the advertisement immediately,” 

the statement said. 

Expressing its resentment, 

the ECTA said that a meeting 

was held at NEDFi House on 

April 30, 2013, in the presence 

of the vice chancellor (VC) 

of Gauhati University, VC of 

ASTU, Education Commissioner 

of the Government of Assam, 

Director of Technical Education, 

and representatives of teachers 

and students from all government 

engineering colleges. 

“In that meeting, various 

anomalies of the ASTU Act 

and rules and regulations were 

pointed out and the ASTU authority 

had assured to remove 

these anomalies within a stipulated 

time. But the ASTU authority 

remained silent and inactive 

and did not take any step 

in this regard till today. In the 

meeting, a verbal assurance was 

given to the teachers’ association 

that in future if AEC and JEC 

were to be taken under ASTU, 

the same will be done only after 

prior discussion with their respective 

stakeholders,” said the 

statement. 

Moreover, the affiliation 

will be considered only if ASTU 

becomes a full-fledged university 

with all necessary infrastructures 

and only when it attains 

the equal status as that of 

Gauhati University, Dibrugarh 

University or any other Central 

university. It may be mentioned 

here that postgraduate (PG) 

courses in engineering subjects 

are also taught in these two colleges 

for a long time. But ASTU 

has not been able to prepare UG 

syllabi for all the semesters yet. 

The teachers’ body said that 

students have already taken admission 

under Gauhati University 

and Dibrugarh University 

for the 2014-15 academic year. 

Moreover, classes have already 

started. Such an advertisement 

by the ASTU authority has created 

a negative impact not only 

in the minds of the students but 

also in the minds of the parents.

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 7 

In The News 

THE VICIOUS CYCLE 

Why Assam is on the verge of a vicious Japanese Encephalitis death cycle. 

Syeda Ambia Zahan 

For the Assam Health department, 

if a person is above seventy, 

the government does not 

have to take care of his health as he 

is approaching the end of his life. In 

a state where an eighty year old man 

is the head as the CM, in his full capacity 

and strength, such notions of 

some officers heading the various 

health programs in the state simply 

sound ridiculous. 

“Actually most of the JE deaths 

have occurred among the people 

aged above 65. This is because these 

people were not vaccinated.” One 

highly placed official of the NRHM 

said to this correspondent when being 

asked about the scenario regarding 

the Japanese Encephalitis deaths. 

When asked about why were those 

senior people not vaccinated, he said 

“Actually, there are some national 

guidelines. Those people above the 

age of 65 are to be vaccinated under 

medical supervision. Now who will 

take so much care for these aged 

people who are anyway going to die 

soon.” 

The Monsoon in Assam seldom 

brings happiness. Floods, Malaria, 

and Japanese Encephalitis are the 

factors why we cannot have cheerful 

days. In 1978, the first case of JE was 

identified in Lakhimpur district and 

since then, for the last 35 years, it has 

become a household name. 

The pilot project of child vaccination 

of JE started in 1987-88 and 

then it stopped. Again the project, 

this time adult vaccination, started 

in 2011. The pilot project covered 

nine districts of upper Assam. But 

for some unknown reasons, the 

health authorities felt that there was 

no need to vaccinate the people from 

the lower part of Assam. As a result 

of which no vaccination drive was 

carried out in later years and now everyone 

can see the results. This time 

the outbreak that occurred in the first 

week of June and the maximum fatalities 

are from lower Assam districts 

of Barpeta and Nalbari. 

To utter surprise, the districts 

covered under the pilot project in 

2011, also have been seeing JE deaths. 

“The vaccine that is being supplied 

is not enough to cover the entire 

population. The pilot project covered 

70% of it. We need to import the vaccine 

from China and the number of 

vaccines that is to be procured have 

to be submitted much earlier. This 

was what happened last time.” Says 

Biren Boruah, Director, Vector borne 

disease cell. 

It seems that the state government 

did not take the vaccination 

drive seriously. And the shocking 

part is two deaths of JE were reported 

from upper Assam districts of people 

who were recorded as being vaccinated. 

In the last three years, the central 

government has granted a sum of 

`41.50 crore to deal with JE and acute 

encephalitis syndrome diseases. Still 

the district hospitals lack special care 

units, medicines and laboratories. 

“We are not setting up laboratories 

where cases are rare. At present we 

have 13 labs to take care of all the 27 

districts.” Says Boruah. 

Out of the 41.50 crore, the state 

“ 

The vaccine that is being 

supplied is not enough 

to cover the entire 

population. The pilot 

project covered 70% of 

it. We need to import the 

vaccine from China and 

the number of vaccines 

that is to be procured 

have to be submitted 

much earlier. This was 

what happened last time” 

Biren Boruah, Director, 

Vector borne disease cell 

government has been able to spent 

only 1.68 crore. 

“The Chief Minister has recently 

ordered us to set up laboratories and 

special care units in all the districts 

of Assam and we can make the expenditures 

now,” said a higher official. 

Call it the short sightedness of 

the health authorities or the two year 

long dissidence of Assam Congress 

which gave the health minister less 

time to concentrate on the real issues, 

the state suffered despite the Centre’s 

interest. Most of the highly affected 

districts do not have a laboratory to 

keep a check of JE. 

Next September, another drive of 

adult vaccination will be carried out 

in the 14 districts of Assam. But if the 

department does not learn from its 

mistakes soon, then the next monsoon 

will only be followed by another 

spell of death. It’s time for the real 

things to pick up pace. The promises 

and funds will do anyway. 

SMS ‘‘GPLUS APP’’ to 56677

8 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

In The News 

400 TECH ADVISORS 

TO AID COPS 

The 

Home Department recently announced that several technical advisors would 

be inducted into Assam Police to help the department to clear out pending cases 

and to train new recruits. 

RAHUL CHANDA 

State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi 

recently approved the state 

Home department’s proposal to 

create 400 posts of Technical Advisors 

on contractual basis in the state 

police. According to police officials 

the posts would be created to reduce 

pendency of cases in all police stations 

to 50 per cent within a year. But 

will it really do so? Who will be these 

advisors and how will they help reduce 

the pendency? 

Slow disposal rates of cases in the 

city and state is a long pending issue 

and with this new move of recruiting 

technical advisors, it seems like the 

authorities really want to work to reduce 

crimes and punish the culprits, 

but will this new strategy help or will 

it turn out to be just a waste of public 

money? 

The advisors 

According to senior police officials 

the technical advisors will be 

retired police officers. IGP (Law and 

order) SN Singh said, “All the district 

SPs are instructed to identify and 

submit the details of retired police 

officers who have a good history of 

career and have solved tough cases. 

The advisors have to be the best of the 

officers who have completed all their 

responsibilities with honesty and 

sincerity.” So, the technical advisors 

will be retired police officers, but the 

question is no matter how sincere or 

responsible they were, with police’s 

history of graft, will they add up to 

the reputation? 

The contract 

After receiving the details and 

the names of the compiled retired police 

officers, the present police officers 

will decide on who will be hired and 

who will not. But, group-ism is something 

which cannot be left out from 

a huge department like Assam Police. 

According to highly placed sources in 

the police, each and every officer has 

a group of people working under him 

and are his or her close lieutenants. 

Apparently, these tentative advisors 

who are retired are already aware 

of the information that 400 technical 

advisers would be hired across Assam 

and they have already started pulling 

the strings. Of course, everything 

will depend on the names submitted 

by the district SPs but who is to know 

if the names will not have group-ism? 

The officers deployed in all the 

police stations are known to the SPs 

and when biasness prevails in all 

sectors, how can a government body 

like the Assam Police be able to rid 

of it. All the technical advisors will 

be hired on a contractual basis for a 

one year time period, and then may 

be the service will be extended or a 

new process of hiring will be carried 

forwards. For this year the police is 

planning to hire all the advisors till 

the end of the financial year which is 

March 2015. 

The work 

Again this is an analysis by the 

police department that the young officers 

deployed in various police stations 

in the state do not understand 

the place and find it difficult to solve 

cases. They have less experience and 

do not understand how to deal with 

the cases efficiently for which they 

require guidance. According to the 

authorities, the retired police officers 

who will join as technical advisors 

will help these young officers solve 

the cases in a speedy manner. 

As claimed by the authorities, the 

“ 

All the district SPs 

are instructed to 

identify and submit 

the details of retired 

police officers who 

have a good history 

of career and have 

solved tough cases” 

advisors would be inducted from the 

financial sector to deal with banking/ 

non-banking frauds as well as from 

judicial sector to tackle cybercrime 

cases. The advisors also will have 

great law and order maintenance record 

as they will be expected to help 

the young officers solve all cases relating 

to law and order. Interestingly, 

the advisors will be deployed in the 

police stations located near their 

homes as they will have to know the 

area well. As cops are usually known 

to have some understanding with the 

criminals, will not the advisors be 

helping the young officers to establish 

new relations with the local criminals? 

No matter the advisors will 

provide better knowledge about the 

area and local criminals which will 

help maintaining the law and order 

scenario, but they can also teach the 

tricks of the trade to enter the graft 

world. 

The perk 

The advisors would receive a 

fixed salary of `20,000 per month and 

`6.4 crore has been proposed for this 

purpose in the budget. The process 

of hiring is also on and according to 

the police officials, the job history details 

of all the eligible retired officers 

have not yet been submitted by all 

the district SPs, which is delaying the 

process. The technical advisors will 

be officers who have served as subinspectors 

and inspectors in various 

police stations. 

The move sounds ambitious and 

efficient but the officers, if selected 

without any bias and if they guide the 

young breed well, then there might 

be a hope of change, which can be expected. 

All in all, it is a positive move 

and if everything works well, the society 

should reap the benefits soon. 


G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 9 

Politicking 

Daya Nath Singh 

ASSAM CONGRESS NEEDS 

DYNAMIC LEADERSHIP 

Assam, which has been problem-torn 

for several years is 

now passing through a critical 

situation in which the Congress 

Party-led state government seems to 

have turned a deaf ear and blind eye, 

despite the efforts of the local people, 

NGOs and media covering the news 

from each and every corner of the 

state. The party in power for the last 

thirteen years is now divided among 

several factions contesting to gain 

maximum benefit out of the prevailing 

situation. 

The entire state has witnessed 

serious violence like murder, theft, 

communal hatred, abduction, abuse 

against womenfolk and aged persons, 

but the administration remains in a 

standstill. Criminals are active and 

enjoy the patronage of some influential 

leaders. Under such circumstances, 

the people of the state want to 

bring in a ‘dynamic leader’ to tackle 

the situation and ensure peace in the 

state. The dilly-dallying of the state 

government by transferring certain 

police officials and constables from 

one place to another cannot improve 

the situation. The chief minister of 

the state provides assurances to the 

people of removing their problems 

‘shortly,’ which has not happened for 

years together. He is very fond of laying 

foundation stones, releasing new 

schemes but seldom completes any. 

The situation would have not 

have been as it is now if the Central 

leadership of the Congress Party had 

taken steps to realise and understand 

the situation by themselves instead of 

being guided by the Chief Minister 

Tarun Gogoi alone, who always tried 

to portray a one-sided picture of the 

situation and never allowed the Central 

leadership to have the opinion 

of other sections of the people. The 

failure of the Congress Party in the 

recent Lok Sabha polls is the result of 

the ignorance of the actual picture of 

the political situation of the state by 

SPLURGE URGE 

The entire state has witnessed serious 

violence like murder, theft, communal 

hatred, abduction, abuse against 

womenfolk and aged persons, but the 

administration remains in a standstill. 

the Congress high command, Sonia 

Gandhi, party vice president Rahul 

Gandhi and the former Prime Minister 

Manmohan Singh. The Central 

leaders of the party were kept in dark 

about the frustration growing among 

the party cadres, who decided to play 

the game in absence of a clear-cut 

guideline from their leaders. 

The people of state believe that 

the party failed to select the right 

candidates for the last parliamentary 

polls as the entire selection of the 

candidates were cleared by the party 

vice president Rahul Gandhi. 

The Bodoland Territorial Autonomous 

District (BTAD) is under 

the shadow of serious violence at 

present. Abduction of businessmen 

and murder of innocent people has 

continued and the state government 

is busy in transferring policemen 

from the places of violence and sending 

in new personnel, which cannot 

be taken as a foolproof security measure. 

No senior member of the state 

government has so far visited the 

affected areas to console the people 

who have lost their kith, kin and 

properties as well. Under the leadership 

of the CM, the people of the 

state feel neglected. The Barak valley 

people feel ignored by the party 

rulers and the Lower Assam people 

think themselves sidelined by the 

heavy weights of upper Assam. They 

feel that the situation cannot improve 

under present regime. 

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10 

The Week That Was 

City News 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

Plea to name Ghy railway station 

after Bhupen Hazarika 

Street plays staged on ragging 

All Assam Students Union 

has conveyed an appeal 

to the Home Minister 

Rajnath Singh to name Guwahati 

railway station after legendary 

singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika. 

The students’ body took 

forward the plea when an AASU 

delegation met Union railway 

minister DV Sadananda Gowda 

and apprised him about the constraint 

the state had been facing 

due to lack of broad gauge double 

line. They also asked him to 

City to get 14 

public toilets 

expedite broad gauge double line 

construction in the state. The 

students’ body also urged Gowda 

to restructure the boundary 

of the NF Railway by covering 

only the north-eastern state in 

order to give more emphasis for 

expansion of the rail connectivity 

to all the north-eastern states. 

The AASU delegation raised 

their long pending demand of 

establishing an integral coach 

factory in Bongaigaon district. 

34 cases of 

illegal parking 

detected 

In a bid to highlight the malevolence 

of ragging and to voice 

against this stigma of the education 

institutes, members of the All 

Guwahati Students’ Union (AGSU) 

and the Cotton College unit of AASU 

and student-artistes of Cotton College 

staged street-plays on August 1 st 

in several colleges of the city. The student-artistes 

staged the street-plays in 

the campuses of Handique Girls’ College, 

Cotton College, Guwahati Commerce 

College and B Borooah College, 

drawing attention and applause of the 

students. The activity continued for 

the next day in other colleges of the 

Administration asks GMC to 

clear drains 

city. The students’ body also urged the 

college authorities to be watchful and 

strict in bringing down the incidents 

of ragging. AGSU stated that ragging 

breaks down a student both mentally 

and morally and nothing but strict 

vigilance and awareness can only 

combat ragging. 

Teachers, 

workers 

demand job 

regularisation 

Kamrup (Metro) district administration 

has finally selected 

locations across the city 

to set up public toilets. Altogether 

14 locations have been selected in 

three revenue circles in the city and 

neighbouring areas. Accordingly, 

toilets will be installed at Jalukbari 

Charilai, Adabari, Maligaon, Bharalu 

(Guwahati circle), Khanapara, Beltola 

Bazaar, Basistha Charilai, GMCH 

(Dispur circles), Garal Bazaar, Bhattapara 

Chowk and Bhattapara PHE 

(Azara circle) besides three other 

places. “The GMC has been given the 

responsibility to construct and maintain 

the toilets. The process will take 

an approximate six months” said Kamrup 

(Metro) deputy commissioner 

M Angamuthu. Earlier, Gauhati High 

Court had issued notices to the state 

government, Guwahati Municipal 

Corporation (GMC) and Guwahati 

Metropolitan Development Authority 

(GMDA) to respond to a PIL that 

had prayed for adequate arrangements 

for separate public lavatories 

for women in the city. The GMC in 

another development move, has decided 

to install toilets and develop 

parking lots under the flyovers in the 

city to utilize the open spaces for public 

use. 

In a massive drive against 

the illegal parking on the 

city roads on August 2nd, 

34 cases with other issues under 

the Motor Vehicle Act were 

detected by the newly formed 

mobile squad of the Kamrup 

Metro District Administration, 

National Highways Authority 

of India (NHAI) and 

the DTO at the National Highway 

37 in the Khanapara to 

Jalukbari stretch in the city. 

The squad collected penalty 

amounting to a total of `19,500 

from the violators and also detained 

five trucks. 

Guwahati Municipal Corporation 

(GMC) has been 

directed to clear the drains 

from Christian Basti to Bharalu 

River in an order by the Kamrup 

Metro district administration to 

undertake a massive drain clearing 

exercise in the city. Kamrup 

Metro Deputy Commissioner Dr 

Angamuthu, after visiting the 

Bhangagarh Chariali area found 

that the drains of that area are congested 

and get frequently inundated 

during rains, therefore decided to 

clear the drainage system is blocked 

at many places. The cleaning drive 

was also taken out in Anil Nagar, 

Nabin Nagar and other nearby 

localities. On the other hand, the 

anti-encroachment drive in the city 

has completed one month on August 

1st with the eviction carried 

out at bye-lane number 2 and 3 at 

Anil Nagar. A total of 12 concrete 

slabs were demolished during the 

drive to clear obstruction to the 

outflow of rainwater. 

GU turns against ex-students in hostels 

The authority of Gauhati 

University is all set to take 

strong action against the 

university passed out students 

who are still staying in the varsity 

hostels. Sources in the university 

said around 30 to 40 ex-students 

are staying in the GU hostels although 

they work somewhere or 

study in other institutions, but 

to save money stay at the varsity 

hostels. According to the reports, 

the university authority is going 

to stop the age old practice of university 

by monitoring activities in 

the hostels and pay surprise visits 

to search ex-students still occupying 

hostel seats. Officials of the 

university will have the keys of the 

hostel rooms with them as well so 

that surprise visits can be paid to 

nab the errant students. A senior 

official of GU said that from August 

itself, monitoring of the hostels 

will be made strict. HK Nath, 

secretary of the university classes 

said, “Unauthorized stay is not an 

issue in the girls’ hostels. We have 

noticed this illegal practice only in 

the boys’ hostels”. 

Seeking the job security 

and solution to many 

other problems, members 

of at least seven organizations 

of teachers and 

health workers staged a protest 

demonstration against 

the government at Dispur 

Last Gate on August 5th. The 

state government had 384 

multi-purpose health workers 

in 2009. They were asked 

to work on a contractual basis 

at the rate of `6,000 per 

month for six months. Now, 

they are appealing for regularization 

of their jobs. Organizations 

of teachers of lower 

primary schools and secondary 

schools, among others, 

also voiced to regularize jobs. 

Siddique Ali, secretary of All 

Assam Contractual MPW 

(M) Employees Union said 

that they have been requesting 

the state government to 

fulfil their demands but the 

government is not showing 

any concern towards them, 

which has forced the protest 

for rights. Lack of proper vaccination 

and required steps to 

tackle the Japanese Encephalitis 

was among the reasons to 

protest.

GMC collects `23 lakh online 

property tax 

A 

total of Rs 23 lakh as property 

tax have been collected 

by the Guwahati Municipal 

Corporation (GMC) through 

its online property tax system. 

Around 558 online payments have 

been done since its introduction 

on January 6, this year. Earlier, 

the property tax used to be collect 

in individual zonal office of 

GMC as well as by the tax collectors 

going house to house for 

collection. The online property 

tax system is a vital municipal e- 

City magician 

plans new feat 

After creating a buzz by the accurate 

prediction on the Lok 

Sabha result for the State, Young 

magician ‘Jadu Samrat’ Vikram is going 

for another heart-stopping performance 

during the current month. On the occasion 

of Magic Day, the magician will stay 

in an ice box for 24 hours at a stretch. 

Like all his previous performances, this 

attempt too is aimed at popularising the 

art of magic in the State and drawing the 

attention of the government. The ensuing 

performance is scheduled to be held 

at the Ambikagiri Bihutoli.“The government 

has to come forward to promote 

this art as it has immense scope for creating 

employment opportunities. Magic 

can be an interesting career option for 

the interested,” said Vikram. He regretted 

that the art of magic has not received 

much patronage in the State despite 

Assam being famous for its rich occult 

heritage. 

Intensive 

drive against 

polythene 

47 bags of plastic in the 

Glass Factory of Fatashil 

Ambari and 12 bags in Bamunimaidam 

have been sealed 

by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation 

(GMC) in its intensive 

drive against plastics on August 

5. GMC has also collected a fine 

of `10000 during the drive at 

Fatashil. A senior GMC official 

said that on July 5 godowns used 

for storage of polythene were 

sealed and huge consignments of 

polythene of below 40 microns 

were confiscated. The administration 

is all set to intensify the 

drive for month long in collaboration 

with the Kamrup Metro 

district administration and the 

Pollution Control Board, Assam. 

As the use of items made by polythene 

and their unscientific disposal 

is among the major reasons 

for the blockage of drains and 

other water-bodies in the city 

resulting in incidents of artificial 

flooding, the GMC has 

called upon the public in the city 

to cooperate with it in the drive 

against polythene. 

governance reform and citizens 

can log onto www.gmcportal.in 

to view their property tax bill and 

make online payment of property 

tax. Online payment can be made 

through different banks using three 

modes – credit card, debit card 

and net banking.“The transaction 

charges for using this online payment 

facility is borne by GMC and 

so citizens need not have to pay any 

extra charges for making online 

payment of property tax,” said a 

GMC official. 

GMC holds camps on 

revenue collection 

For the renewal of trade licence, collection 

of property tax and mitigation 

of public complaints relating 

to taxation matters, the Guwahati Municipal 

Corporation (GMC) has started 

a series of camps in all the wards in the 

city. The camps will be conducted in various 

wards till August 11 and will start at 

10 am every day. On August 6, the camps 

were held at Gandhibasti Kali Mandir for 

Ward No. 13, at the GMC Mayor’s residence 

for Ward No. 18, Kalangpar Bazar 

for Ward No. 22, Hatigaon High School 

for Ward No. 29, Lalganesh, Udalbakra, 

Beharbari and Lokhara for Ward No. 

27 and Durga Mandap, Bora Bazar for 

Ward No. 4. On Tuesday, the camps were 

held at Chandmari Colony for residents 

of Ward No. 12, Chitala Mandir at Kalapahar 

for Ward No. 15, KFC Building 

at Zoo Tiniali for Ward No. 21, Beltola 

Tiniali for Ward No. 28, Birubari Colony 

Bazar for Ward No. 17 and Adabari Tiniali 

for Ward No. 3. 

Prime Bakes, the retail bakery 

brand of Guwahati, announced 

the launch of a limited edition 

Rakhi inspired confectionery 

to mark the festive occasion of Raksha 

Bandhan. Inspired by the sacred 

thread, the confectionery range 

adorned with traditional floral motifs 

will be made available starting at Rs 

Bollywood actor Raghubir Yadav 

staged a play Piano at the 

Rabindra Bhawan on the concluding 

day of Nataxurjya Phani Sarma 

Drama Festival on August 7. The 

play is a Hindi adaptation of a Hungarian 

drama penned by Ferenc Karinthy. 

Yadav, who worked in films 

like Lagaan and Dil Se, who has directed 

the play besides playing one of 

the three characters in it, hoped that 

the play would be able to give answer 

to the people of this modern age on 

how to encounter loneliness. The play 

is about a person who works whole 

day in a library and returns empty to 

an empty home in the evening. His 

wife has deserted him and he has no 

friends. One day he comes across an 

advertisement where a piano is on 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 11 

The Week That Was 

City News 

Raghubir Yadav performs in Ghy 

sale. He dials the number given in the 

advertisement and is answered by a 

lady and the story begins from there. 

The festival completed 18 successful 

years and has presented a handful 

of selected plays in its 19th edition 

this year. Last year, the organisers 

of Nataxurjya Phani Sarma Drama 

Festival celebrated golden jubilee of 

mobile theatre in Assam. 

IT Dept stops issuing forms to tax payers 

50. The fresh range comprising of 

cakes, brownies, cupcakes, decorated 

chocolates etc. will be made available 

in traditional flavors like rich dry 

fruit, kesar almond etc. apart from 

the regular flavors. This one of a kind 

confectionery can also be customized 

making it a novel gifting option. 

Available from 8th April onwards 

The decision of the Income 

Tax (IT) Department to not 

supply free-of-cost return 

forms to the tax payers has left the 

salaried income tax payers in the 

city depressed. As to attract the 

income tax payers towards online 

submission of their returns, the IT 

Department has taken the initiative 

of online filing of the returns. 

This is why the Department has 

stopped issuing forms to the tax 

payers. The income tax payers alleged 

that contrary to the existing 

practice of supplying the return 

forms free-of-cost to them; the IT 

Department has this year asked 

them to download the forms from 

Prime Bakes launches Rakhi 

inspired confectionery 

the special confectionery can be preordered 

at any prime bakes outlet in 

the city. “Through our offering we 

seek to celebrate the sweetness of the 

brother-sister bond. The interesting 

fusion of western style confectionery 

with traditional motifs shall surely 

catch the fancy of city dwellers,” said 

Nirupam Muklania of Prime Bakes. 

the Department’s website. As the 

forms are three-page coloured 

ones, a tax payer is to spend Rs 30 

to get his or her set of forms downloaded. 

IT Department has requested 

those tax payers, who are 

still clinging on to the old habits, to 

download their sets of forms for filing 

their respective returns. 

SFI holds 

protest at GU 

Activists of the Students’ 

Federation of India 

(SFI) held a protest 

programme at the Gauhati 

University on August 5 to press 

for fulfilment of various demands, 

including increasing the number 

of seats in the post-graduate 

courses and commensurate rise 

in the number of faculties, building 

of new hostels for girl students 

and allowing BA-LLB students to 

take ‘Honours’ course. The SFI 

members took out a rally from the 

GU main gate to the office of the 

university Vice Chancellor.They 

later held a discussion with the 

GU authorities, following which 

the latter conceded to some of 

the demands of the agitating students. 

The university authorities 

agreed to open a hostel for accommodation 

of 110 girl students. 

They also promised to raise the issues 

of increasing the number of 

PG seats and infrastructure development 

and the BA-LLB ‘Honours’ 

matter at a special meeting 

of the university council. The GU 

authorities also agreed to extend 

the deadline for admission into 

the BA-LLB course.

12 

Society 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

THE GUWAHATI DAIRY 

Being one of the most prominent landmarks in the city, the place has made a name for its 

own as one of the oldest hangout joints in Guwahati. 

SHUBHOJIT ROY 

Established in the year 1928 at 

Panbazar, the Guwahati Dairy 

is one of the oldest sweet shops 

in Guwahati city. The shop is currently 

being run by its third generation 

owners and is hopeful about continuing 

its legacy for the many years 

to come. G Plus visits the shop; share 

its history while enjoying an early 

morning cup of tea. 

The history 

In the year 1928, while fighting 

for India’s independence, Late Dhirendra 

Kumar Deb started the Guwahati 

Dairy. Deb was raised in the Sylhet 

district (in Bangladesh now) and 

after completion of his education in 

Dhaka, he came to Guwahati. While 

in Guwahati, he participated in the 

non-cooperation movement against 

the British raj from 1920s. 

In 1923, he first started a business 

of selling umbrellas and five years later, 

he took a shop on rent and named 

it Guwahati Dairy. While running 

his business, he fought side by side 

with Gopinath Bordoloi and Subhash 

Chandra Bose and was also an active 

member of the Congress. After India’s 

independence, Deb bought the 

shop and during the same time, the 

Guwahati Dairy also got extended as 

a sweet shop cum departmental store. 

In the year 1950, the Guwahati 

Dairy was expanded further as a 

newspaper agency and got associated 

with the ‘Times of India.’ Later in the 

year 1957, Deb left for Brindaban and 

stayed there until 1963 in search of 

tranquility. He was brought back to 

Guwahati as his health deteriorated 

in 1963, and a year later he left for 

his heavenly abode leaving Guwahati 

Dairy in the hands of his son. 

Current years 

Since 1964, Late Dhirendra Kumar 

Deb’s son Ujjal Kumar Deb is 

in charge of Guwahati Dairy. Rajnish 

Deb, son of Ujjal Kumar later 

joined in his grandfather’s business 

and now, both Ujjal and his son are 

looking after the shop. While talking 

to G Plus, Ujjal says, “The business 

has gone down in the recent years 

by around 50%. Many new outlets 

have replaced the old ones and we too 

have been pushed back somehow over 

time. We will also have to renovate 

the shop and modernise it at some 

point or the other pretty soon. Moreover, 

price rise has also affected our 

sales to a great extent.” 

Interestingly, Ujjal informed us 

that the shop still enjoys the support 

of loyal customers who have been 

coming in since the 1960s and are 

octogenarians. “The locals who have 

been coming here since a long time 

have a great trust in our products 

and service. It is a great feeling when 

The business has 

gone down in the 

recent years by 

around 50%. Many 

new outlets have 

replaced the old 

ones and we too 

have been pushed 

back somehow over 

time. We will also 

have to renovate the 

shop and modernise 

it at some point or 

the other pretty 

soon. Moreover, 

price rise has also 

affected our sales to 

a great extent 

Ujjal Kumar Deb 

In charge, Guwahati Dairy 

people of different generations appreciate 

your service. We have also been 

covered by the news channel NDTV 

on one occasion some few years back 

for the history that is associated with 

this place,” reveals a proud Ujjal. 

Products and prices 

Guwahai Dairy is not only 

known for being the oldest shop in 

the city, but its ‘Rasmalai’ has been 

its USP since its beginning. “We 

have other products as well, but the 

‘Rasmalai’ has been our single major 

unique selling product throughout,” 

says Ujjal Kumar Deb. Speaking of 

the price differences; Ujjal says that 

when he joined the shop, the price 

for a cup of tea was 25p while now 

it’s priced at `10. “Milk was available 

during those days at `4 - `5 per litre 

but now the price has risen to `45 per 

litre,” says Ujjal. 

The Guwahati Dairy has come 

a long way since its birth and It is a 

hang out place for many Guwahatians, 

especially for the office goers 

and the local businessmen in the 

area, from 1 pm to 3 pm. It is not just 

a sweet shop in the city, Guwahati 

Dairy has become one of the landmarks 

of the city.

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 13 

Business 

ASSAM GOVT TO TAX 

ONLINE SHOPPING 

In a seemingly discouraging move against a fledgling industry, the government 

is planning to charge a premium to the customers indulging in online shopping. 

Mr. Arijit Basu takes 

over as Managing 

Director & CEO of SBI 

Life Insurance 

GPLUS BUREAU 

The Assam government has 

found a cash cow in the booming 

e-commerce trade. The 

government has readied a legislation 

for taxing the online purchase and e 

commerce goods in the state as Assam 

proposed to bring online shopping 

under the tax net. To tax the online 

shopping through the entry tax 

route, the government has proposed 

amendment in the Assam entry tax 

(amendment) bill 2014. 

The size of online shopping industry 

of the Northeast India is between 

`75 Crore to `100 Crore. The 

e-commerce trade of India is US$2 

billion while size of this business in 

China is $190 billion. 

The bill stated, “The commissioner 

of taxes, with the prior approval 

of the state government, may 

by notification in the official gazette 

formulate simple procedure for the 

collection of entry tax on entry of 

specified goods into any local area 

made through online purchase or e- 

commerce and such procedure may 

also provide for collection of entry 

tax from a person other than an im- 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Those who are purchasing online 

are affluent people so they should 

not mind paying VAT on the items 

purchased. Huge online purchase 

is going on” 

 

 

Chief minister, Tarun Gogoi 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

porter but on behalf of the importer.” 

The bill seeks to insert a residuary 

entry for levy of entry tax on 

goods not specified in any of the entry 

of the schedule. Chief minister 

Tarun Gogoi in budget last year said 

, “Those who are purchasing online 

are affluent people so they should 

not mind paying VAT on the items 

purchased. Huge online purchase is 

going on.” 

Myntra.com conducted a study 

last year, which highlighted the growing 

prominence of online shopping 

among the youth in Guwahati. This 

study ranked Guwahati 11th among 

the top 15 cities in India for online 

shopping. In the top bracket were 

Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Mumbai. 

The industry feels that this will 

be counterproductive and will unnecessary 

burden the consumer. The 

online sector is growing and it is not 

desirable at this juncture to tax the 

sector. The biggest user of this sector 

is the youth. Even the Myntra study 

revealed that Myntra.com receives 

around 350 - 400 orders per day from 

Assam only. 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Arijit Basu has taken over 

as Managing Director & CEO 

of SBI Life Insurance, the largest 

private life insurer in the country, 

from Mr. Atanu Sen, who retired on 

31st July, 2014. 

On assuming his post as Managing 

Director & CEO, Mr. Basu said, 

“The key focus for SBI Life Insurance 

would be to further tap the immense 

potential in the market and reach out 

to millions of Indians who do not have 

a risk cover. For us it is important to 

build on the trust that the Group and 

the Company enjoys. Our endeavour 

will be to grow significantly but ethically 

and with prudence.” 

Honda Amaze 

crosses 1 lakh sales 

Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL), 

leading manufacturer of premium 

cars in India, today announced 

that its family sedan Honda 

Amaze has crossed the 1 lakh sales 

milestone.The compact family sedan 

clocked phenomenal sales since its 

launch in April 2013 thus crossing this 

milestone in just 16 months and fastest 

in HCIL history since its inception 

in the Indian market. 

Bank complaints 

decrease 

The number of complaints pertaining 

to banking services has come 

down. Complaints to banking 

ombudsmen, which was 64 in 2003- 

04, had increased to 807 in 2012-13. 

However, in 2013-14 the number of 

complaints plummeted to 770. Among 

the Northeastern states though, a 

large number of complaints are still 

emanating from Assam. 

Across the country the banking 

ombudsmen gets around 75,000 

complaints annually. The RBI Banking 

Ombudsman (North East) Anand 

Prakash said, “One of the probable 

reasons for the decrease in the complaints 

is may be that people are 

somewhat satisfied.” 

Among the banks, around 384 

complaints were against the SBI 

Group banks while other nationalised 

banks accounted for 234 complaints. 

Prakash added that most of the complaints 

were related to ATM cards and 

credit card.

14 G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

Ward Watch 

“AUTHORITIES DO NOT 

HEED THE MAYOR” -COUNCILOR 

RAHUL CHANDA 

Taking a drive from Paltan 

Bazaar towards Lokhra, just 

after crossing Lal Ganesh, 

there is a place named Jyotickuchi 

Tiniali, more popularly known as 

Shankar Hotel. Taking a right from 

Shankar Hotel, the road will lead you 

to Budh Bazaar near Lokhra. 

The weekly survey that G Plus 

undertakes in the various wards and 

roads, this time, takes us to check out 

the living conditions of people in that 

area. Considering the fact that this is 

on the outskirts of the city, the road is 

not expected to be so congested. But 

when we reached there, we noticed 

that it was crammed. 

The congestion 

There are garages selling vehicle 

scraps located in the road and these 

work in a very unorganised manner. 

They usually have a huge garage 

area, but the scraps are loaded and 

unloaded right on the road. The 

heavy vehicles carrying the goods are 

usually parked near the garages and 

not inside the garage in spite of a big 

area being covered by the garages. 

The heavy vehicles parked outside 

the garages, take up all the road space 

and blocks entire traffic which makes 

the road very chaotic. 

Local people of the area are fed 

up of complaining about the problem 

and according to them, the road 

gets damaged every now and then 

only because of these heavy vehicles 

plying through the road because of 

the garages. The drainage system 

is also pathetic, which leads to the 

problem of water logging in the area. 

Jona Rabha, the councillor of 

the area said that the garages or the 

scrapyards in the area have been 

creating a problem since a long time 

and I have been working against 

the garages ever since, but still the 

heavy vehicles are parked on the 

roads creating problems for the 

commuters. He said, “I think there is 

an understanding between the garage 

owners and the police as the police do 

not do anything against the chaotic 

environment created by the garages. I 

do not want to go to the police, as they 

will just ask for money. I am planning 

to complain about the situation to 

the Deputy Commissioner.” The 

councillor further added that there 

are many other problems in the area. 

Other problems 

He said that because the 

streetlights in the area are not 

working properly, at night it is very 

dark, and some guys who are mostly 

drunk during the nights makes it 

Sub Division 27A/ 27B/ 27C 

Ward population 32,000 (approx) 

Concentrated region Jyotikuchi Dhupolia 

Falls under 27 A 

I think there is an understanding 

between the garage owners and the police 

as the police do not do anything against 

the chaotic environment created by the 

garages. I do not want to go to the police, as 

they will just ask for money. I am planning 

to complain about the situation to the 

Deputy Commissioner.” 

WARD NO 27 

Population 10000 (approx) 

Area’s population 2000 (approx) 

Major Issues Alcoholism, theft, congested roads 

difficult for the common people to 

reach home. The drunkards pass 

comments and sometimes even 

harass innocent people. There are 

also thieves in the area which have 

good relations with the cops and so 

roam around openly. There have also 

been cases of murders reported in the 

area in the past. 

As a councillor Rabha has just 

completed one year, and he is upset 

with the speed at which the authorities 

work to develop the city areas. He 

said, “There is a lot of problem in 

my area like drainage system, street 

lights, garbage management, theft 

and many more, but the authorities 

do not respect our views and do not 

give importance to our complains. 

The authorities do not even respect 

the Mayor.” He further added that he 

often fights with the GMC engineers 

for their slow work rate. He feels that 

he is not a government employee 

and so he cannot be sacked, the 

people will not elect him as their 

representative if he doesn’t work, so 

Councilor’s Name 

Jona Rabha 

Address 

Bank of India lane, Udalbakhra 

Phone number 

09864144400 

he doesn’t care. 

Garbage management 

After Ramky’s exit, the newly 

hired NGOs are expected to manage 

the garbage on a daily basis but it 

has not yet started in the area. The 

councillor said that GMC did not 

provide the cycle rickshaws and the 

auto vans yet and hence the NGOs did 

not start the work yet. He said, “We 

have talked to the GMC regarding 

the issue, and they informed us that 

the work will anyhow start before 

15th August. I will make sure that 

the NGOs work efficiently once they 

receive all the required essentials 

from the GMC.” 

So, if the councillor and the city 

Mayor himself is not respected by 

the authorities, who will make the 

city liveable? Who will represent the 

people and fight for the rights? 


G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 15 

In Conversation 

You should not 

overexpose yourself 

Mrinmoyee Hazarika 

Bobbeeta sharma 

Bobbeeta Sharma needs no further introduction. The actress, who rose to fame with various popular TV series 

including ‘Bidexot Apun Manuh’ and ‘Geetimalika’ has now made her debut into writing with ‘The Moving Image 

and Assamese Culture - Joymoti, Jyotiprasad Agarwala, and Assamese Cinema’. The book, launched last 

Saturday, has been published by Oxford. 

In an exclusive interview with G Plus, Sharma opens up about her maiden venture into the field of literature, the 

present Assamese film scenario and her political ambitions. 

The inspiration 

to write 

In 1993, when I was working as 

a lecturer of history at the Pandu 

College, I enrolled myself as a fellow 

in the film studies department 

of Jadavpur University. At that time, 

it was the only film studies department 

in the country and since I was 

from the industry, I was interested 

in conducting research in the Assamese 

film industry. 

I met Professor Mihir Bhattacharyya 

there who was my supervisor 

and also the founder professor 

of the film studies department of 

Jadavpur University. I had gathered 

a lot of materials for my research, 

but, somehow, in between I got busy 

with ‘Geetimalika’. The year was 

1998 and after Geetimalika, I got 

busy with ‘Bidexot apun manuh’ in 

2001. 

Therefore, my research got relegated 

to the background and in the 

meantime, I left my job too. I could 

not manage time to carry out my job 

and my heart was more in ‘Bidexot 

apun manuh’ than teaching. 

I got fully involved with television 

but in the back of my mind, I always 

had the itch that I did not complete 

my Ph D. Since I had gathered 

so much material related to the Assamese 

film industry and had kept 

it locked in a cupboard, I thought of 

giving something back to the industry 

which has given so much to me. 

Professor Mihir Bhattacharyya 

has been one of the guiding forces 

behind the entire initiative of publishing 

my book. He has been encouraging 

me all the time and also 

helped me with different chapters 

as well as the naming of the book. 

which was the topic of my research. 

About the book. 

When I was gathering materials 

for my research, there was nothing 

to be found on the subject. I was very 

fortunate to find lots of first hand 

materials including original newspaper 

clippings, interviewed veterans 

like Aideu Handique, Lakshyadhar 

Choudhury and Ishwar Prasad 

Choudhury who are now no more. 

I have also interviewed other 

senior people who are still around, 

their experiences working with the 

then film industry. I have also talked 

with the likes of Jahnu Baruah, Nipon 

Goswami, Moloya Goswami 

and Gyanada Kakoti, all of which 

have been included in the book. 

The book is mostly about the 

history of Assamese cinema in relation 

to the cultural history of Assam. 

I am trying to trace it from the 

folk elements like Bihu and Satriya 

dance. It is a history of performing 

arts into the technical art called cinema 

and chapters of the book are being 

divided in that way. 

While I was going through various 

writings of J P Agarwala and 

other people, it was evident that 

he did not make ‘Joymoti’ just as a 

piece of entertainment. He wanted 

to make it as a symbol of cultural 

identity of Assam and also a protest 

against injustice (of Lora Roja). 

The film was made during the 

freedom movement and infiltration 

of other cultures into the Assamese 

culture and it was very unfashionable 

to sing Bihu songs and the trend 

was to cherish other’s culture and 

looked down upon our own culture. 

I have included all these things in 

my book including the making of 

‘Joymoti’. 

I have translated whatever materials 

I found on ‘Joymoti’ and included 

them in my book, so that it 

reaches to the wider audience. Fortunately, 

I have a friend in Oxford 

and he was after me and kept insisting 

me to come up with a book 

of the research I have done on the 

Assamese film industry. That really 

motivated me to give a proposal to 

Oxford and they went through a lot 

of changes with my script. I am very 

happy that my debut book has been 

published by Oxford. 

It took me 18 years to do the 

entire research, which I started way 

back in 1995. 

Present scenario 

of Assamese 

cinema 

There is a chapter on the 75 years 

of Assamese cinema in my book. 

We have seen very good movies in 

the seventies and eighties. After the 

introduction of television, it went 

down and people did not want to go 

out to watch movies. 

Today people want to watch 

movies because of the effects used. 

But, I think people have so many 

choices and they just do not want to 

go out just because it is an Assamese 

movie. The sense of patriotism is not 

there in the minds of the people. 

I have been looking after the Assam 

State Film (Finance And Development) 

Corporation for the last ten 

years and from the government side, 

we have tried to create an environment 

of making Assamese films by 

providing grants, subsidies and public 

private partnership (PPP), mini 

cinema halls. 

Earlier, people did not show any 

interest to invest in Assamese films, 

but now that is changing. We made 

‘Bandhon’ on our own and under 

PPP, three films are in the pipe line. 

We hope that this way, the government 

will be able to help making 

films on good and new ideas. The 

quality of the movies will have to go 

up, but, within a limited budget. We 

have to think of new ways of marketing 

Assamese films and shave to attract 

the younger crowd. 

How do you see 

yourself – as 

a politician, 

an actress or a 

writer? 

(Laughs). As of now, whatever 

responsibility, the party (Congress) 

has given, I tried to do my 

best in it. Of course, I have not 

given responsibility in electoral 

politics, but, I do not mind. Because, 

in other ways, I have been 

able to contribute in a positive 

way. 

Writing is one thing I would 

continue. My ‘sir’ has already given 

me ideas on what I should do 

in my next project. It is still early 

but, yes, I will come up with another 

one, most probably about 

my series ‘Bidexot apun manuh’ 

and then I will do a political one. 

For long, I have not been associated 

with television. I think 

you should not overexpose yourself. 

‘Bidexot apun manuh’ went 

on for eight years and after that I 

did not want it to continue. I think 

it should be left at that stage. If 

something is worth taking up, 

I will surely do it, maybe a talk 

show. 

mrinmoyee.hazarika@g-plus.in

16 

Reviews 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

Director: Sajid, Farhad 

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Tamana 

Bhatia, Sonu Sood, Prakash Raj 

Director: James Gunn 

Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe 

Saldana, Dave Batista, 

Bradley Cooper (voice 

of Rocket Rackoon, 

Vin Diesel (voice of 

Groot) 

If ever a film could be described 

as a risky proposition, Guardians 

of the Galaxy would be it. 

Despite being handled by Marvel 

— who have made it their mission 

to spin every summer into a lucrative 

box office revenue stream — a 

film about Andy Dwyer teaming 

up with a tree and a raccoon 

to fight evil in space is certainly 

something rather left-of-field for 

an industry all too comfortable 

with playing it safe. 

Indeed, the majority of the 

film is spent establishing the 

main characters, led by the eminently 

likeable — and newly rugged 

– Chris Pratt as Peter Quill. 

Quill, taken from Earth as a child, 

roams the galaxy, bedding women 

and stealing artifacts to sell to 

the highest bidder. It helps that 

his supporting cast are perfectly 

balanced. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) 

offers a powerful, righteous counterbalance 

to Quill’s tomfoolery. 

Drax the Destroyer (wrestler Dave 

Bautista) is a Hulk-esque mountain 

of muscle, who seeks revenge 

for the death of his family. Bradley 

Cooper lends his voice to Rocket, 

a raccoon bounty hunter, skilled 

in both wise-cracking and weaponry. 

Rounding out the group is a 

humanoid tree (Vin Diesel) who 

offers more emotional depth than 

the entire Twilight saga with just 

the words “I am Groot.” 

The characterization and dialogue 

sparkles in a way only the 

dazzling special effects can match. 

The whole film feels alive, buoyant 

on the energy of its main cast and 

an excellent soundtrack that plays 

like a greatest hits compilation of 

the ‘70s and ‘80s. 

Guardians of the Galaxy’s 

unconventional premise may not 

sound like a recipe for success, but 

it ultimately revels in its ridiculousness. 

Even if the plot can occasionally 

get away ,it remains an 

utterly joyful experience, devoid 

of the slightly cheesy, soapbox 

nature of some of Marvel’s more 

pompous leading characters. 

Are you recovering from a lobotomy? Do you have 

the Ghajini-variety amnesia that makes you lose 

your memory every few minutes? Or do you perhaps 

have the attention span of a flea and a five-year-old’s 

humour? If the answer to any of these is yes, then Sajid- 

Farhad’s Entertainment is perfect for you. 

Starring Akshay Kumar and Junior, the “wonder 

dog” whose wonders are limited to walking, sitting, barking 

and pressing a switch, Entertainment is the story of a 

canine Paris Hilton. He’s pretty, vacuous, wears bling and 

has inherited a lot of money which makes him the target 

of fortune hunters. That’s Junior, not Kumar, by the way. 

Watching Entertainment is an education in some 

ways. It gives you a visceral appreciation of the saying, 

“it’s a dog’s life”. In the age of pet spas and animal psychologists, 

it doesn’t seem like much of a hardship to be a 

dog. Junior, for instance, seems to be a pampered pooch 

both on and off screen. Yet, throughout Entertainment, 

the dog looks into the camera with a stunned expression 

on his adorable face that seems to ask, “What did I do to 

deserve this?” 

“This” refers to an idiotic film that is full of overused 

gags, overacting humans and perhaps the worst 

CGI Bollywood has coughed up till date. At least Junior 

holds on to his dignity. Other dogs in the film aren’t so 

lucky. One little critter was cast only to latch on to Sonu 

Sood’s crotch and dangle from it. In another scene, an 

enormous pack of dogs lumbers towards Kumar, Raj and 

Sood, who seem to have somehow gone from Bangkok 

into a Windows XP wallpaper. 

First, Kumar talks to the dogs, as though he has 

turned into a dog whisperer. Then they attack him and 

finally, he bursts out of the pile of dogs like a stripper 

coming out of a cake. It’s quite obvious that the flying 

dogs are (terribly done) CGI, but one can only imagine 

the psychological impact of these dogs knowing they 

were the cake to Kumar’s stripper. 

You 

SHOULD 

read 

Author: Veronica Roth 

When read together, these 

long narrative pieces illuminate 

the defining moments 

in Tobias Eaton’s life. The first 

three pieces in this volume – “The 

Transfer,” “The Initiate,” and “The 

Son” – follow Tobias’s transfer from 

Abnegation to Dauntless, his Dauntless 

initiation, and the first clues that 

a foul plan is brewing in the leadership 

of two factions. The fourth story, 

“The Traitor,” runs parallel with the 

events of Divergent, giving readers a 

glimpse into the decisions of loyalty 

– and love – that Tobias makes in the 

weeks after he meets Tris Prior. 

You 

SHOULD 

LISTEN 

NOW 

SHOWING 

Apsara Cinema 

Anuradha Cineplex 

Fun Cinemas 

Gold Cinema 

(Fancy Bazar) 

Gold Cinema 

(Paltan Bazaar) 

Gold Cinema 

(Narengi) 

In the course of Entertainment’s 140-minute running 

time, there are a few amusing instances, mostly before interval. 

Depending on your mental age and how repressed you 

are, there will probably be a reaction to Kumar pulling out 

a (small) bone from his shorts. “It’s a haddi in his chaddi!” 

squealed someone in the theatre during the press screening, 

and so it is. 

On paper, Entertainment probably sounds like a funny 

spoof that plays on Bollywood stereotypes and is by temperament 

like the Carry On series. But the film is tacky, terribly 

lazy and the same jokes are regurgitated again and again. It 

says a lot about how starved for real entertainment this country 

is when Entertainment, with its stale jokes and stupidity, 

gets a laugh. 

Entertainment 

Daily at 11AM, 2, 5 & 8 PM 

Daily at 11.30 AM , 5.15 & 

8.15 PM 

Daily at 9.45 AM, 12.25, 

5.30, 8.45 PM 

Daily at 11AM, 2, 2.30, 5, 

5.30 & 8 PM 

Daily at 11, 11.30 AM, 2, 5, 

5.30 & 8 PM 

Daily at 11 AM, 2, 5 PM 

Author: Spoon 

Guardians of the 

Galaxy 

Daily at 9 AM 

(3D-H) & 2.30 PM 

(3D-E) 

Daily at 12.10 & 

8.30 PM 

Kick 

Director: Steven Quale 

Cast: Richard Armitage, 

Sarah Wayne Callies, 

Matt Walsh 

Into the Storm” is not just the latest 

disaster movie, though it embraces 

all of those tropes. It is a disaster 

movie presented as a partial foundfootage 

affair, complete with herkyjerky 

shots and lots of breathy asides 

into the camera. 

No doubt director Steven Quale 

(“Final Destination 5”) wanted his 

cast to employ a natural style, something 

akin to subjects in a documentary. 

But someone should have told 

him there is a difference between realism 

and somnambulance. And the 

producers didn’t even include sharks 

for them to be eaten by, or bother to 

shoot it in 3-D to juice the visuals. 

“Into the Storm” may not set box 

office records, but it may represent 

a movie milestone (or future trivia 

question). Apparently, excessively 

wooden dialogue has its rewards. 

They Want My Soul 

Spoon have spent the past 

two decades proving that 

minimalism doesn’t need to 

mean thinking small. Throughout 

their eight albums, the Austin 

band has stuck with a bedrock 

sound built on chugging guitar, 

crisp hooks and frontman Britt 

Daniel’s wryly incisive vocals. It’s 

what Spoon have done with that 

sound that’s interesting – adding 

studio craft and classic-pop 

dynamics to songwriting that 

often cuts deeper than it lets on. 

The tensely coiled anxiety of their 

2002 watershed album, Kill the 

Moonlight, was perfect for kids 

feeling burned by the Bush years; 

2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga snuck into 

the Top 10 thanks to a bona fide 

pop jewel, “You Got Yr. Cherry 

Bomb.” No failed electronic experiment 

or breakup drama has 

sullied their run. It’s just been one 

long stretch of slow-build greatness. 

Daily at 11.30 AM 

& 8.30 PM 

Daily at 2.30 & 

8.30 PM 

Daily at 8 PM 

Hercules 

Daily at 3.10 PM 

(3D-E) 

Daily at 2.30 PM 

Telebooking numbers: Anuradha Cineplex; 03612656968, 9954544738, Fun Cinemas: 9864800100, 9864800200, 

Gold Cinema (Fancy Bazaar): 03612735367, 9854077177, Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazaar): 9854066166, Gold 

Cinema (Narengi): 8811001898

Cigarette butts to power gadgets 

A 

group of scientists from South 

Korea have converted usedcigarette 

butts into a highperforming 

material that could be 

integrated into computers, handheld 

devices, electrical vehicles and wind 

turbines to store energy. The researchers 

have demonstrated the material’s 

superior performance compared to 

commercially available carbon, graphene 

and carbon nanotubes. 

It is hoped the material can be 

used to coat the electrodes of super 

capacitors — electrochemical components 

that can store extremely large 

amounts of electrical energy — whilst 

also offering a solution to the growing 

environmental problem caused by 

used-cigarette filters. 

It is estimated that as many as 

5.6 trillion used-cigarettes or 766,571 

metric tonnes are deposited into the 

environment worldwide every year. 

In their study , the researchers 

demonstrated that the cellulose acetate 

fibres that cigarette filters are 

mostly composed of could be transformed 

into a carbon-based material 

using a simple, one-step burning technique 

called pyrolysis. 

As a result of this burning process, 

the resulting carbon-based material 

contained a number of tiny pores, 

increasing its performance as a super 

capacitive material. “A high-performing 

super capacitor material should 

ASUS launches Chromebox in India, a 

mini-desktop PC that runs Chrome OS 

In a bid to attract consumers who 

are looking for space-saving desktop 

solutions, ASUS launched its 

own iteration of the Google Chromebox 

– a compact home or office 

computer that runs on Chrome OS. 

On the hardware front ASUS has 

gone with Intel’s Haswell processors 

on all three variants, starting from 

the Celeron 2955U SKU priced at 

`21,000 right upto the Core i7-4600U 

priced at an eyebrow-raising `58,000. 

Of the three SKUs the base model 

does not support 4K but the other 

two do. 

To get an idea of how small the 

have a large surface area, which can 

be achieved by incorporating a large 

number of small pores into the material,” 

said Professor Jongheop Yi from 

Seoul National University . 

“Our study has shown that usedcigarette 

filters can be transformed 

into a high-performing carbon-based 

material using a simple one-step process, 

which simultaneously offers a 

green solution to meeting the energy 

demands of society. Numerous countries 

are developing strict regulations 

to avoid the trillions of toxic and nonbiodegradable 

used-cigarette filters 

that are disposed of into the environment 

each year — our method is just 

one way of achieving this,” he added. 

Google Maps 

now lets you 

explore Moon 

and 

Mars 

Google has added 3D, explorable 

versions of Mars and 

the Moon right into Maps. 

Google added the heavenly bodies 

to commemorate the Curiosity 

rover’s second year cruising the 

Martian surface. 

To view Mars and the Moon on 

the maps, users have to go into the 

‘Earth’ view and keep zooming out 

till you see a little blue dot framed 

by stars, tap on the ‘Explore’ button 

will show images of moon and Mars. 

You can click and drag both 

Mars and the Moon and rotate 

them. To explore users can zoom 

in and out, similar to how it works 

with Google Earth. Google has 

crediting NASA, USGS, JAXA and 

SELENE for moon’s imagery and 

for Mars, Google has given credit to 

NASA and USGS on the list. To see 

the new additions on Google Maps 

users have to download the latest 

version unveiled earlier this year. 

Microsoft Xbox One to be sold exclusively 

on Amazon in India 

Microsoft has announced the 

entire range of its Interactive 

Entertainment Business 

(IEB) portfolio, including Xbox 

One gaming console, would be available 

in India exclusively on Amazon. 

in beginning September 1. 

The range also includes Xbox 

360, Kinect, Xbox Live, Xbox Accessories 

and all Microsoft-published 

Xbox game titles. Amazon.in also 

announced exclusive pre-orders for 

Xbox One beginning August 6. 

Chakrapani Gollapali, country 

general manager, consumer channels 

group, Microsoft India, said, “We believe 

this collaboration with Amazon 

gives us the platform to build scale at 

an unprecedented level for the gaming 

and entertainment category in 

India.” 

device is consider its dimensions – 

12 cm x 12 cm. This makes it small 

enough to be tucked away effortlessly 

behind any VESA-mountable monitor 

or HDTV. With an HDMI and 

DisplayPort thrown in, the ASUS 

Chromebook allows users to connect 

to multiple displays at once. 

Gmail now recognises 

email ids with non Latin 

characters 

Google has now announced 

that Gmail now recognizes 

email addresses with non- 

Latin and accented characters. This 

new feature is already available for 

Gmail, and Google says it will coming 

for Calendar in the near future. 

Google is adopting an email 

standard introduced by Internet 

Engineering Task Force in 2012 and 

says this will encourage broad adoption 

of the new standard across other 

email providers in the future. Gmail 

users will now be able to send and 

receive emails from others with 

email addresses containing non- 

Latin characters, though they wont 

be able to create emails using those 

characters yet. Google plans to roll 

out the support for account creation 

in accented characters soon. 

He said this was the first time 

that they would be focusing on retailing 

their products through an 

online-only channel. 

Earlier the company had said 

that it is bringing the gaming console 

to India at a price of `39,990 without 

Kinect and `45,990 with the Kinect 

sensor. 

Xbox One bundles will include 

the Xbox One console — which features 

a 500GB hard drive, Blu-ray 

player and built-in Wi-Fi, one Xbox 

One Wireless Controller and a free 

14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold for 

new members. 

With the Kinect sensor, the console 

offers features like gesture controls, 

biometric sign-in, controller 

paring, Skype video calls, personalization, 

instant scanning of QR codes, 

and enhanced features available with 

games such as ‘Kinect Sports Rivals,’ 

‘Dead Rising 3,’ and ‘Project Spark.’ 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 17 

Web Watch 

Download Torrent 

Files Directly To 

Your DropBox 

Account 

Torrent is the popular way 

of downloading stuffs 

from the Internet. We all 

use some torrent client and then 

start downloading files from 

Internet. There are some web 

based clients are also available 

that allow us download torrent 

files. But in schools, colleges 

and office, torrents clients are 

blocked but those places have 

high speed Internet. If torrent 

clients are blocked then we can 

not use that high speed Internet 

to download our favorite files 

from the web. 

For this kind of 

situation,there is a nice web 

based torrent client called BoxoPus. 

BoxoPus works in different 

way. It downloads file from 

torrent and then upload it directly 

to your Dropbox account. 

It does not have any limit and 

offers unlimited traffic. 

Boxopus is very simple and 

work fast. Just visit Boxopus and 

register for a new account. You 

can use your Facebook, Twitter 

or Dropbox account to login on 

Boxopus. 

Then you well see a big text 

box with browser button. Now 

pick a torrent file from your 

system and click on “Put IN My 

DropBox” button. 

Then it will show you the 

detail of the torrent with a “Start 

Download” Button. Click on the 

button to start download. 

You also need to authorize 

the app to access your dropbox 

account to put the file in it. After 

that it will start downloading 

the file and it will directly saved 

in the DropBox account inside 

a folder Boxopus.This app is really 

helpful for those who want 

to download movies from the 

high speed Internet in office or 

schools. 

Indrajeet Bhuyan is 

a 16 year old tech 

blogger and security 

researcher. He 

is passionate about 

computers and believes 

in sharing 

knowledge and information . He 

uses his spare time helping people 

and companies secure themselves. 

fb.me/indrajeet.bhuyan

18 

Health 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

Do it at home 

g plus feature 

Combating skin monsoon threat 

We’ve all been there—the 5 

o’clock after-work rush to 

the gym. It’s loud, crowded, 

and you’re waiting forever for 

equipment or free weights. But why 

deal with that mess when you can get 

a workout from home? Well, here are 

some routines we’re confident you’ll 

approve of. 

Pulling 

Pulling exercises like rows and 

pull-ups use your body weight against 

you, and allow you to control the degree 

of difficulty by manipulating 

leverage. They also happen to be two 

of the most primal, most functional 

exercises you can do, creating a larger 

anabolic response than isolation exercises, 

leading to greater gains in 

size and strength. 

Lunges 

No home workout routine 

would be complete without a good 

lower-body exercise. Enter the walking 

lunge. You don’t need barbells, 

dumbbells or kettle bells to make this 

exercise challenging; you just need 

strict form and persistence. But if you 

are looking to make this harder for 

yourself, you can hold dumbbells by 

your side or a plate above your head. 

The key to the exercise is to forcibly 

contract your gluts rather than relying 

on your quad muscles to get you 

out of the hole. This will emphasise 

the proper motor pathways, correcting 

the bad habits you learn by 

spending all day sitting at a desk. 

Pushups 

One of the oldest exercises is still 

one of the best. From primary school 

to the Marines, pushups are a great 

test of upper body strength. Add intensity 

either by doing more reps or 

by giving yourself a time limit and 

seeing how many pushups you can 

do within a given time. Whichever 

variation you choose, make sure your 

form is good: legs and back in line (do 

not arch your back or allow your pelvis 

to drop), hands underneath your 

chest. Control your descent and be 

explosive. 

Planks 

are one of the most basic ab exercises 

available, but don’t be fooled: 

They may look easy, but they will 

have you sweating and shaking in 

seconds. The main benefit is to your 

core, which is forced to brace itself 

against the weight of your body. 

Standard planks work your upper 

and lower abs, and side planks target 

the oblique. As with all body-weight 

exercises, you can manipulate your 

body position to increase the degree 

of difficulty, try, for example, doing a 

side plank with your upper leg raised 

off your body. 

Agility and anaerobic 

conditioning 

Few people do agility work or 

anaerobic conditioning. And there’s 

a good reason for that: It’s hard. It’s 

not as glamorous as working on your 

bench press, it’s not as fun as running 

outdoors, and it won’t stroke your ego 

like doing bicep curls in front of the 

mirror. In fact, agility work and anaerobic 

conditioning will kick your 

ass. It will humble you. And that’s exactly 

why you have to do it. You don’t 

need much: some open space and a 

pair of good shoes will do. The goal 

is to push yourself to your limits for 

short periods of time and to take long 

rests between sets to give your body 

time to recover. This is not something 

to do when you’re already tired -- you 

want to force your nervous system to 

adapt by working at maximum intensity 

at all times. 

Finish with Cardio 

By the time you’ve finished the 

preceding exercises; your body will 

be in a state of glycogen depletion. 

The advantage to being in such a state 

is that any further exercise forces 

your body to draw on your fat stores 

for energy, making this an ideal window 

to do some running, swimming 

or other form of cardio. 

It’s not enough to train hard; 

sometimes you have to train smart. 

And taking advantage of the natural 

changes in your body chemistry is a 

great way to see improvement and 

make the most of your workout. 

Monsoon is indeed a 

beautiful season. Splattering 

rain and cool 

zephyrs captivate your heart, and 

you find yourself falling in love 

with the dark sky above. Yet, with 

cold rain drops comes humidity. 

Despite its beautiful disposition, 

this season is not a friend to 

your skin. Your skin might have 

to endure a number of irritants 

and problems during Monsoons. 

Here’s how you can take care of 

your skin during the rainy season. 

For dry skin 

Keeping the skin hydrated 

all the time is very important. 

Cleansing is important during 

the monsoons. The high humidity 

causes sweat, build-up dirt, 

and dust along with other toxins 

on the surface of skin, keeps skin 

nourished. Loss of moisture from 

skin makes it appear dry and lifeless. 

Use a good moisturizer at 

least 2 to 3 times a day. 

For oily skin 

Use a very mild cleanser to 

get the dead skin and dirt off from 

skin. Use pure oatmeal scrub to 

cleanse oily skin or use ripe papaya 

pulp as a mild exfoliate. 

Skin Care 

Apart from cleansing, toning 

is a necessity at night. During 

monsoon, a lot of airborne and 

waterborne germs are let free. So 

a good anti-bacterial toner will go 

a long way to prevent skin infections 

and breakouts. It is a good 

idea to get anti-bacterial face 

wash too. 

Moisturizing 

Moisturizing in the rains is 

as important as it is in summer. 

Monsoons can mean a de-hydrating 

effect on dry skin and an 

excessive-hydrating effect on oily 

skin. The skin gets wet often and 

with the constant wetting and 

drying, a lot of dehydration takes 

place. That explains the itchy feeling 

one gets during monsoons. 

Use a non-water based moisturizer, 

if you happen to get wet often. 

Otherwise a water- based moisturizer 

will do just fine. Though 

its monsoon, still don’t avoid the 

usage of SPF, minimum is SPF 

15 as UV A rays are all the time 

around us hence do follow the use 

of sunscreen on daily basis. 

Fungal problem 

Major issue during rainy 

season is the fungal infection. So 

never keep your skin and body 

wet for long time. Lukewarm 

water for bath, antifungal soap, 

cream and talc will be beneficial. 

Ayurveda and 

monsoon skincare 

During rainy season our 

body is weak and susceptible. 

Ayurveda experts say, “According 

to Ayurveda, rainy season is 

the most unfavourable time for 

health. Dosha imbalances will 

have their manifestation on feet, 

nails and skin too.” 

Some simple tips: 

Eat a warm, unctuous diet 

(ghee and olive oil are best). 

Avoid drying foods like crackers. 

Drink plenty of warm water 

throughout the day and eat sweet, 

juicy fruits. Avoid alcohol-based 

skin cleansers. Increase intake 

of nuts, (almonds, walnuts and 

their oils), seeds (sesame, sunflower 

and their oils), grape seed 

oil, soybean oil, whole grains, and 

legumes. 

Wash your face two to three 

times a day with a mixture of 

green gram powder and channa 

powder (equal proportion) made 

into a paste with water. 

Make a paste of papaya, honey, 

milk. Apply on face, and leave 

for 15 minutes and then wash off. 

A paste of neem leaves mixed 

with honey can be used as a face 

pack. Remove the pack before it 

dries up on your skin. 

Use a mixture of honey and 

curd for body massage before 

shower. 

Keep your feet dry and clean 

at all times and moisturise them 

daily. Cut your toe nails regularly 

and keep them free from dirt.

‘Hero Pleasure-5th 

Miss India North East’ 

Venue- GMC Auditorium Date- 3rd August, 2014 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 19 

Events 

Former Mr. Universe-Mahadeb 

Deka as the show stopper 

Winner- Sangeeta Baishya,1st Runner-up- Daisy Deuri, 

2nd Runner-up- Papari Kalita 

‘Rhythmix-the International Dance Studio’ 

Next7days 

DATE EVENT VENUE 

9 th Aug Bollywood meets EDM party Club Ozone 

9 th Aug No sleep for the Wicked 1.1 - A roof top party Hotel Bhargav Grand 

9 th Aug Eclipse Live Cafe Hendrix 

10 th Aug S.W.A.G feat DJ KAN-i Crest, 8th floor 

10 th Aug Sunday Madness 2 Club Ozone 

10 th Aug John Phukans’ Project Live Cafe Hendrix 

11 th Aug September 20, 1920 - Assam’s Ultimate Sacrifice 

for Independence 

Pragjyotish ITA Centre 

15 th Aug Independence Day Celebration Shradhanjali Kanan 

THE JUDGES, Garima Saikia Garg, Anjum Hazarika, 

Papori Dutta, Urvashi Lahiri, Shyam Kanu Mahanta 

Want your event to be featured on this page? 

Just mail us at info@g-plus.in

20 

G-Talk 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

SEX EDUCATION SHOULD BE 

INTRODUCED IN SCHOOLS 

N Manoj Kumar Singh 

Doctor 

Chirojyoti Bhattacharjee 

Artist 

POINT 

COUNTERPOINT 

Sexuality is an important aspect of the life 

of a human being and almost all people, 

including children, want to know about 

it. Hence, if the information on the physiological 

and sociological aspects of sexual 

response and reproduction is not provided 

to a child in its formative stages, he/she will 

look for other sources to learn from. Today, it 

is a well known fact that students are exposed 

to a lot of information from various sources 

like internet and television. In such a scenario 

students need to have this information made 

available to them through a classroom environment. 

I feel many parents are unwilling or unable 

to do so because of the insecurity they 

face in exposing their kids to this fundamental 

aspect of life. But parents should remember 

that it is not just okay to teach our 

children about maths, science and history 

only. If they are not informed by means such 

as a classroom environment, they will try to 

learn it from other sources, such as television 

and pornography, which will somehow put 

some kind of negativity into the process of 

learning. The problem of using these sources 

is that they provide a distorted image of sex 

and also do not provide information on the 

serious, consequences that come from using 

it improperly. 

Various statistics show the impact of not 

having sex educations in schools. The highest 

STDs and teen pregnancy is observed in 

schools with no sex education. Parents say 

that abstinence is definitely the safest of all 

safer-sex measures and hence children should 

follow only abstinence but there also comes 

a point at which we have to accept reality. 

Children today engage regularly in sexual 

Providing a healthy 

sex education program, 

that responds 

when children begin to 

ask about bodies and 

babies and develops as 

they do, is our responsibility 

practices without having any knowledge of 

the consequences. Hence sex needs to be dealt 

with in a smart, productive and educational 

setting by professionals. 

On the other hand, some parents feel their 

children are given details that are too explicit 

of sexual nature. It should be borne in mind 

that a good sex education program, delivered 

by confident adults only increases children’s 

knowledge about their health, equips them 

with communication and relationship skills. 

It supports them to develop positive attitudes 

to themselves and others. Failing to provide 

good sex education leaves children and young 

people vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, fear, 

misinformation and ill health. Children have 

the right to education, protection and healthcare. 

Hence providing, a healthy sex education 

program, that responds when children 

begin to ask about bodies and babies and develops 

as they do, is our responsibility. 

Sex is too sensitive a subject to be taught 

to school going children. Sex education 

cannot be taken as normal education as 

it involves a peculiar aspect in which children 

try to explore more and more .Even if schools 

teach the children about sex they will still 

watch pornography if the same is made available 

to them. Sex education will only make 

The Indian government 

has 

rejected westernstyle 

sex education 

programs, 

saying they do 

nothing to solve 

the problem of 

teenage pregnancy 

but only exacerbate 

the problem 

by promoting 

sexual promiscuity 

them more conscious and curious to experiment. 

Many surveys, which have questioned 

thousands of parents, found that majority 

do not agree with the fact that sex education 

should be taught to children in schools, even 

from a young age. Sex is a sensitive subject 

and parents have their own way to approach 

it and want to control what their children 

know, even more so at a young age. 

Sex education might encourage girls to 

carry condoms and boys to use them, rather 

than pointing out to them to stay away from 

sex till marriage or attaining legal age. Under 

age sex is illegal, so why should schools 

increase the desire. Giving sex education to 

underage children is like teaching drug addicts 

the safe way of having drugs. If a thing 

is illegal it has to be abstained from totally 

and the safe way of having it should not be 

preached at all. 

The Indian government has rejected 

western-style sex education programs, saying 

they do nothing to solve the problem of teenage 

pregnancy but only exacerbate the problem 

by promoting sexual promiscuity. 

It should be noted that sex education 

should be in line with the societal ethos. In 

India we do not preach sex before legal age 

and marriage which is in sharp contrast to 

western culture. Hence the Indian school 

course curriculum cannot have a sex education 

course in line with western culture. As 

found in a government report sex education 

in schools would strike at the root of the cultural 

fabric of our society that had been nourished 

over the millennia. If implemented it 

would corrupt Indian youth and lead to collapse 

of the education system. 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR 

Dear Editor: 

Through your newspaper, I would like to draw the attention of the concerned authorities towards frequent power failures in our area. There are repeated power cuts in 

my area. The load shedding is happens at night around 1:00 AM which lasts for an hour to hour and a half. It has become a regular feature. As a result we have to face a lot of 

trouble. At night the whole area plunges into total darkness and our communication system goes for a toss. We don’t get any news, information and entertainment. Students 

and patients really suffer due to the lack of electricity. Electrical appliances are badly damaged. I had to suffer a lot during my shortly finished semester and all the students 

of my area are facing the same problem. My power supply company is APDCL and Division is Garbhanga. I made a call to the complaint number to lodge complaints but 

nothing has been done. We have been facing this problem since the last two months. The concerned authorities are requested to please restore regular electric supply to our 

locality as soon as possible. 

H. Kalita, 

Student, Bhetapara 

Dear Editor, 

Being a resident of Beltola Tinali, I do not feel any communication problem basically as the distance between my home and the bus stoppage is just a one minute walk. 

But the whole situation gets worse when the city goes through the assembly sessions. The Bashistha-Paltanbazar city buses changes their routes from the regular ones. The 

buses take the Six Mile road as the Survey-Supermarket route completely gets shut during every assembly session. I am not against the session but the concerned authorities 

should think about the commuters too. The Six Mile route takes too much time compared to the Survey- Supermarket and therefore the passengers especially, the students 

and office goers has to deal with a great trouble. And this has been happening since a long time, so I request to the authorities to find a permanent solution to this problem. 

Moushmi Dey, 

Beltola Tinali

itu gupta 

gritu21@yahoo.com 

There is a difference between 

living a life and 

loving to live this life. The 

choice is yours. To love this life, 

we as individuals have to create 

happiness. Happiness comes 

from within so stop looking for 

it here and there. Happiness is 

the only ingredient needed to 

make you love your life. If you 

really want to be happy then 

manifest more in your world to 

be happy. Keep giving instructions 

to your sub conscious 

mind that you are a happy 

person. The moment your subconscious 

mind accepts your 

instruction, it programs your 

mind to stay happy. 

Rather than focussing on 

all the unhappiness, put your 

entire focus on things, which 

make you feel happy. Your intentions 

play a very important 

role. If you intend to stay happy 

and compassionate then nothing 

can affect your happiness. 

Change negative vision about 

yourself and it will help you 

I 

wish for my little boy Tirus to grow up to love his girl, companion, 

wife, lover and treat her like a princess. I know he will ‘cause I see 

the care he takes of me when I am ill and distraught. He sits next to 

me and strokes my hair, pulls the blanket over me and barely whispers 

while entering the bedroom. So, when I tell him that I want him to 

grow up to be a wonderful man, who has to protect all the women he 

knows and even those who would be strangers, the only thing Tirus 

does is to listen intently. I know for sure he is recording everything I 

am saying to him, which is really good ‘cause the World will need a lot 

of good people, especially men to protect the women. 

So, what I felt when I completed reading Gaddafi’s Harem was 

that we would probably need more good parents, especially mothers 

to love their sons. 

Gaddafi grew up in a Bedouin family and never got much love 

and attention while he was growing up. So, at 27, when he took over 

Libya, it was not so much as to liberate it but to set up his own kingdom; 

a kingdom which bled inside a veil of innocence. Gaddafi gave 

this impression to the rest of the world that he believed in equality of 

women and to make it more authentic, he even had an army of women 

as his guards. He traveled with them to diplomatic tours abroad, making 

him the cynosure of most leaders. 

However, Libya was crying under the cover of Gaddafi’s pseudo 

prophetism to ‘enhance the position of women’; and all beautiful 

women from the age of 12 onwards, who probably had dreams of 

becoming a doctor, a nurse, a beautician some day and serve their 

country well had their dreams snuffed out at the verge of their flight. 

Gaddafi’s Harem is a chronicle of Soraya, a girl born of a Libyan 

father and Tunisian mother, kidnapped by Gaddafi’s clique when she 

was barely 14 years old and repeatedly raped by him for more than 

a decade. Even after Gaddafi was overthrown by the rebels after 42 

years of his excruciatingly torturous regime and murdered in public, 

Soraya was never accepted by society and is now living a life of utter 

remorse, repeatedly asking the question, “Why me?” 

It is not only Soraya but 1000s of others just like her, who were 

either kidnapped or trapped into prostitution. So many women have 

perpetually gone into hiding, some fleeing the country after Libya was 

temporarily taken over by the rebels, more so from the fear of being 

shammed by society. 

A riveting novel, which has more goose bump effects when 

Soraya narrates her story in the raw, making it somewhat unreal in 

parts of the nightmare she faces in the hands of the dictator. 

LIVE, LOVE AND 

KEEP GOING 

achieve whatever you want in 

life. Positive things happen with 

positive people. Always stay 

positive. 

It’s hard to feel happy if you 

feel powerless and hopeless and 

some people have good reason 

to feel this way and perhaps happiness 

eludes them. You’re not 

one of them. Empower yourself. 

Most people have no control 

over their emotional well-being. 

They feel ecstatic when good 

stuff happens and depressed 

when things go wrong. Their 

lives are roller coaster rides: 

sometimes up, sometimes way 

down. But what if you could be 

happy no matter what happens? 

Some people run after the 

vague meaning of happiness 

which makes them fall apart. 

More money. more power, more 

friends more importance... Will 

this make me feel happy? Is this 

happiness? Do reconsider... If 

you are just running after these 

things then you really need to 

work more. Wanting more in 

life is okay, but don’t forget to 

relax and enjoy life for what it 

is – in the present. 

Instead of blaming others 

for what’s wrong in your life, focus 

on what you can do to make 

things better. Never sulk and try 

not to feel sorry for yourself too 

often. It’s your responsibility to 

make yourself happy: nobody 

else’s. 

Gaddafis’ Harem 

Annick Cojean, the French writer however, did get death threats 

for trying to reach out to most of the people involved in Gaddafi’s 

Harem, Bab-Al-Azizia and get the pieces of the story together. 

Closer home, there isn’t a single day when we don’t hear of rape 

of women, starting from as young as 2 years. 2,3,6, right upto 60! 

These are no longer numbers but ages of women who have been raped 

gruesomely and then most often killed. When we ask this most literal 

question, “What made that man rape a woman?”, we have thoughts 

of nothing but the most monstrous punishment for the rapist! But have 

we ever thought of talking to this criminal; about why he had come to 

such a psychological impasse that led him to tear apart ‘the delicate 

woman’? Probably not! 

But on a personal level, I thinking talking about a problem, 

which we as individuals don’t give much importance, should be done 

more often. Today, we have less time to talk or listen to a problem 

when it comes to our child. Listening to our child, getting him/her to 

talk about the inherent fears, insecurities, disturbing thoughts should 

be done on a daily basis. 

Rest I think Love will do the magic to create some fantastic 

people for the future! So just spread the love 

and feel the thrill! 

tinat ATIFA MASOOD 

In India, there is a famous story of Eklavya (a character 

from the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata). Eklavya is considered 

the epitome of a disciple. 

As the story goes, Eklavya wanted to learn archery to 

save the deer in the forest that were being hunted by the 

leopards. He was the son of a poor hunter. So he went to 

Dronacharya(a master of advanced military arts) and requested 

him to teach him archery, butDronacharya rejected 

him because he was the teacher of the Royal family, he was a 

Raj Guru. He was teaching the royal princes of Bharat (India). 

Wisdom is a quality of consciousness. It can be developed 

through sadhana, or grace, not through information. 

Wisdom can directly be instilled in two ways: 

1. Through spiritual practices (sadhana). 2. By putting 

your attention on it. 

In those days, if you are a teacher of the royal princes 

then you cannot take someone else and teach them archery 

and make them equal to the prince. It was not considered 

ethical. 

You are teaching archery to the prince so that you 

make him a great archer, to protect the nation. So you cannot 

teach someone from the street the same knowledge. It 

was forbidden to make anyone as powerful as the prince. 

His duty is to make the prince very powerful, so he cannot 

create a competitor. Otherwise the nation would not be safe 

and secure. 

So, Eklavya wanted to take Dronacharya as his Guru, 

but Dronacharya could not accept him. This was the law of 

the land, that you have to exclusively train the princes. 

Nevertheless Eklavya accepted Dronacharya as his 

Guru, and he went home and made a statue of his Guru. 

He learnt archery and became even better than the prince. 

He became an expert. He would just hear the sound of the 

animal and shoot an arrow at it. 

One day, Arjuna, the prince found out about this. He 

saw that Eklavya was far better than him. So he went to 

Eklavya and asked him, ‘Who is your Guru?’ 

Eklavya said, ‘Dronacharya is my Guru’. 

Arjuna then goes to Dronacharya and shouts at him. 

‘What is this? This is cheating. You are supposed to teach 

only me, but you taught this man and made him more skilful 

than me’, he questions Dronacharya. 

Dronacharya was baffled as to who was this student of 

his, whom he had not taught, and who has become a competitor 

of the prince. Then they both go and meet this boy. 

Eklavyaleads them to the statue that he made of Dronacharya 

which he considered as his Guru. 

Dronacharya then says, ‘You have to give me some 

Dakshina (a gift as fees for learning)’. He asks Eklavya 

to give him the thumb of his right hand as a gift (without 

the thumb there is no archery). Eklavya without a second 

thought gives the thumb of his right hand to the Guru. 

This story is viewed as the Guru to have a very cruel 

attitude. The boy has learnt on his own, while Dronacharya 

goes and asks for his thumb taking away his skill. How bad 

this Guru was! This is one way to see: the Guru robbed the 

student of his skill. But from the other side, if you see, if it 

were not for this incident, nobody would have ever known 

Eklavya. 

Though on the outer level it seemed as if Dronacharya 

had done injustice to Eklavya, but actually Dronacharya uplifted 

Eklavya because this one act made him immortal. So 

when people think of devotion, they think of Eklavya, and 

not Arjuna. 

When you wake up in the morning, think of the Guru, 

or any wise person, or any saint, so that your consciousness 

becomes like that. Then the whole day passes by like that 

because you have incorporated wisdom (by remembering the 

Guru), and the quality of consciousness has changed to that 

level. This is called Pratah Smaraniya. 

See the greatness of Dronacharya, he took the blame 

on him and uplifted his student.That is why, even if the Guru 

is wrong, if your devotion is there you can never go wrong. 

But the Guru is not wrong, it appears he was partial but he 

uplifted Eklavya and preserved his Dharma (duty) also. His 

duty was to maintain the law of the land: You cannot have 

anyone much better than the prince. 

This is a beautiful story. There is a full dialogue on this 

which people say is very good. 

Yoga Vashishtha is another very nice story of how 

Vashishtha gives knowledge to Sri Rama. You should read 

Yoga Vashishtha, it is a very beautiful way in which Vashishtha 

gives knowledge to Sri Rama and uplifts him from 

depression; makes him realize that he is an incarnate of the 

Divine and the light of the world. 

So again, wisdom is a quality of consciousness. It can 

be developed through sadhana, or grace, not through information. 

Wisdom can directly be instilled in two ways: 

1. Through spiritual practises (sadhana). Through 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 21 

Life 

Wisdom Catches Wisdom 

sadhana that quality of consciousness develops in you, or 

2. By putting your attention on it. 

See, whatever you put your attention on, that quality 

comes into your consciousness. You become that. If you keep 

thinking about monkeys all your life, then... (laugher). Or if 

you keep thinking of someone who is angry all the time, you 

will also get into that state of anger. Haven’t you experienced 

this? (Many raise their hands) 

So wherever the mind goes it absorbs those qualities. 

So when you put your attention on wisdom, then your consciousness 

becomes like that. 

That is someone who is enlightened or very wise is 

called Pratah Smaraniya. It’s a very common word used in 

India. It means, that which is worth remembering first thing 

in the morning. 

As soon as you wake up whom do you think of? 

Whomever or whatever you think of, your mind assumes 

that quality. That is why it is said, when you wake up in 

the morning, think of the Guru, or any wise person, or any 

saint, so that your consciousness becomes like that. Then the 

whole day passes by like that because you have incorporated 

wisdom (by remembering the Guru), and the quality of consciousness 

has changed to that level. This is called Pratah 

Smaraniya. 

Wisdom catches wisdom. In the company of wise 

people, your quality of consciousness also shifts. 

A man of great achievement and a saintly person 

is called Pratah Smaraniya. Pratahmeans Morning, and 

Smaraniya meansWorth Remembering. That which is worth 

remembering first thing in the morning. 

Usually people say a prayer before going to bed, and 

as soon as they wake up, they say a prayer. Like that, in the 

morning it is worth remembering those with wisdom so that 

you become wise. 

That is a practice, and it makes a lot of sense. 

We are in a world where emotion catches emotion. If 

some people have an emotion, others catch that emotion. 

Similarly, wisdom catches wisdom. In the company of wise 

people, your quality of consciousness also shifts. If it doesn’t, 

then you have to think why not? Maybe Time could be a 

factor, because it is impossible not to change when there is 

wisdom in somebody around you. 

Remember this: Wisdom is not information. It is a 

quality of consciousness. 

When you walk around today, or any day from today, 

think that you have a diamond inside of you, a gem inside. 

You have acquired some gems, some wisdom. Walk in life 

with the feeling that you’ve been given something very precious. 

A lady saint called Meera, a devotee of Lord Krishna, 

could not make progress without a Guru. So she went to a 

cobbler (a person who makes shoes), and he became her 

Guru, and then she sang the song, ‘Payoji Maine Ram Ratan 

Dhan Payo’ (meaning: today I got the most precious wealth). 

Though she was a devotee of Krishna, the Guru gave 

her the mantra ‘Ram’ (laughter), and Ram and Krishna are 

completely opposite. Whatever Ram did, Krishna undid it all. 

Have you heard the comparison between Ram and Krishna? 

(Audience says, ‘No’) 

Ram was born at 12 noon and Krishna was born at 

midnight. 

When Ram was born there was a big celebration, but 

when Krishna was born there was fear all around. 

Ram was born in a palace, Krishna was born in prison. 

Ram will not cross the line and would obey what his 

father said, and Krishna never listened to his father. 

Many such things, completely opposite. That’s why 

people say, you should follow Ram and not Krishna. You 

should listen to what Krishna said but you should act like 

Ram. It is easier for the parents and the spouse. 

Remember this: Wisdom is not information. It is a 

quality of consciousness. 

So she used to sing the name of Krishna all the time, 

and her Guru gave her the mantra ‘Ram’, and so she sings, 

‘Payoji Maine Ram Ratan Dhan Payo’. 

What I am saying is that, even though her Guru gave 

her the mantra ‘Ram’, it did not cause any conflict in her. 

If someone is Christian, a Sikh, a Budhist or a Hindu, 

it doesn’t matter. Whatever religion you are born into, or 

whatever religion you practise, it doesn’t matter. The spiritual 

wisdom carries you forward, so honour the knowledge. 

That is why Meera sings, ‘Payoji Maine Ram Ratan 

Dhan Payo’. 

It is a very famous song in India; most Indians have 

heard this. So Meera says that this 

is a wealth I received, a blessing I 

received. It is a great wealth. 

His Holiness 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji

22 

Fun 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

Your weekly dose of TIMEPASS 

HOROSCOPE 

Aries 

You’re a remarkable positive force as the week begins, with the gumption 

to get stuff going and all the necessary follow-through, too. Which areas 

of your life need some advancing? Tackle them now, because around 

Wednesday, your energy changes a bit — you’re dreamier, thinking in 

more abstract terms. You may even be indecisive about a certain situation 

or someone. Allow your feelings to evolve and don’t get frustrated, 

because on Friday or over the weekend, a sweet new possibility’s there 

for you. All you have to do is seek it out — and you’ll love the process 

of looking. 

Taurus 

Something truly different may come your way as the week begins, 

whether in the form of a person, an idea or maybe an opportunity. Don’t 

let the oddity throw you; take a look, and you may see something amazing. 

Around Wednesday, the company of family and friends feels just 

right. You might find that a collection of people comes up with a great 

idea — or just has a fun celebration! From Friday through the weekend, 

do the opposite of clamming up. Try confiding a feeling, giving your two 

cents, making a wish. Somebody’s got something to add that might just 

rock your world. 

Gemini 

Your stellar ability to set preconceptions aside really comes in handy as 

the week begins. Your curiosity — about a situation, another person, 

yourself — can be richly rewarded now. Work or another commitment 

may be driving you nuts around Wednesday, but you’ll want to think 

things through and determine the real issue prior to speaking your mind. 

A mentor, a partner or a friend can help alter your perspective. Seeking 

out multiple points of view is favored from Friday through the weekend. 

The more you know, the more your own vision grows. 

Cancer 

Dang, a certain someone seems cold as the week begins! But before 

you get miffed and tell them so, consider that maybe they’re just not as 

expressive as you. Looking into interpersonal matters like this is favored 

around Wednesday, and you’re also much more likely to be in the same 

groove as others now. Listen for your best instincts to chime in. From 

Friday through the weekend, what seems like an instinct could be more 

of a knee-jerk, and perhaps oversensitive, reaction. Avoid assumptions 

— they could cause problems, while clarity could be a question 

or two away. 

Leo 

Virgo 

Libra 

Scorpio 

Save the power plays for an appropriate arena as the week begins — 

like (maybe) work. It’s not so much about getting ahead now; concentrate 

more on exploring the unknown and finding a fresh perspective. 

A certain someone may be a little touchy-feely or wishy-washy for your 

taste around Wednesday, but be gentle — there’s likely more to this 

situation than meets the eye. Finesse it rather than forcing it. Then, from 

Friday through the weekend, fun’s absolutely in your stars. The more 

oddball things you try and weird people you meet, the happier you’ll be. 

Let the weird, good times roll! 

Renovations and innovations are favored in all aspects of your life as the 

week begins, so make some changes, major or minor. (However, don’t 

forget to spend some downtime right in your comfort zone, too.) Around 

Wednesday, you may want to put the brakes on and reevaluate existing 

projects, relationships and so forth. The cosmic light’s yellow now, if 

not blinking red. Money counts from Friday through the weekend, and 

you may be counting yours — or counting on someone else to do their 

financial part. Give these matters due consideration in a timely fashion. 

Balance getting back to work with a little fun as the week begins. You’ve 

got great intellectual power and some extra oomph in the love department 

now — wow! There’s plenty of time to buckle down and work on 

ongoing projects and responsibilities around Wednesday, but note that 

this may not be the time to kick off something new or make a major 

decision. From Friday through the weekend, though, confronting an 

interpersonal angle — good, bad or to be determined — is best done 

right away and head-on. You’ll feel way better once you do. 

If life’s less than harmonious as the week begins, well, the drama 

makes all the world a stage. Don’t forget that you’re the author of your 

own part, though; make this production lead to growth. A love scene 

just might be in the cosmic script around Wednesday, with an intimate 

heart-to-heart a distinct possibility. If you’re coupled up, make it happen 

with your costar; if you’re single, how about some auditions? More 

behind-the-scenes stuff is important from Friday through the weekend. A 

supporting role can be very satisfying now. 

Sagittarius 

Capricorn 

Aquarius 

Pisces 

You’re all revved up as the week begins if the stars have their say, and 

if you’re open-minded, you just might find a surprising (and surprisingly 

great) route to take. Feel free to go off the map! Your energy’s 

downshifted around Wednesday; to get anything done, you may need 

a jumpstart. Think exercise instead of more coffee — it’ll center your 

thoughts, too. From Friday through the weekend, it’s happy-go-lucky fun 

and games — life’s more like bumper cars than rush-hour traffic now, 

and you might bump right into some romance! 

How about starting a new tradition or trying on another style as the week 

begins? Whether it’s at work or at home, thinking differently should be 

much appreciated (and even fun). Then, around Wednesday, you just 

might find yourself engrossed in a creative enterprise or an interpersonal 

one (or both!). There are all kinds of delights and satisfaction to be 

found; give big ambition a rest. From Friday through the weekend, your 

challenge may be to balance some opposites — work and play, maybe, 

or responsibility and daring. Later on in the day Sunday, romance is in 

the stars! 

If the stars have their say, you’re all passion and courage as the week 

begins, intent on making the world turn your way. Let those around you 

in on your plan — they’ll love it (and they’ll very likely love you!). 

Around Wednesday, some more mundane duties require attention; it 

may be financial matters or miscellaneous numbers. You may not want 

to change your focus, but you’ll have major issues later if you don’t. And 

never fear, because from Friday through the weekend, the stars send big, 

amazing stuff to you, along with a heightened sense of your interconnectedness 

to others. (That’s hot!) 

Certain expectations put on you on Monday or Tuesday might mean 

you already feel like you need a break (and the week’s just started!). 

Set some limits; don’t push yourself to the point of stress. Around 

Wednesday, life looks much easier (and love may, too). It’s a gorgeous 

time to commence or continue something creative, something that’ll 

really change your world. You might be entirely absorbed in something 

or someone from Friday through the weekend — but don’t miss an 

element that’s not immediately apparent! 

SUDOKU 

Quick recipe 

5 Minute Cake/ Instant Cake in a Mug 

All purpose flour (Maida) - 4 tblsp 

Sugar - 4 tblsp 

Cocoa Powder - 2 tblsp 

Egg - 1 

Milk - 3 tblsp 

Oil - 3 tblsp 

Vanilla extract - 2 drops 

Microwavable safe mug - 1 

Method 

1. Apply cooking spray in the coffee mug so that the cake wont stick. 

2. Add flour(maida), sugar and cocoa to the mug and mix well. 

3. Add the egg and mix nicely. 

4. Pour in milk and oil and mix well. Be careful to mix properly till 

the bottom. 

5. Add vanilla extract and mix again nicely till all lumps are 

removed and you get a smooth batter. 

6. Put mug into the microwave and cook for 3-5 minutes at high 

power (1000 watts). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but 

don’t be alarmed. 

7. Allow to cool. Tip out onto a plate and enjoy. 

JUST FOR LAUGHs 

After a very busy day, a commuter 

settled down in her seat and 

closed her eyes as the train departed 

Montreal for Hudson. As 

the train rolled out of the station, 

the guy sitting next to her pulled 

out his cell phone and started 

talking in a loud voice... 

“Hi sweetheart it’s Eric, I’m on 

the train - yes, I know its the six 

thirty and not the four thirty but 

I had a long meeting - no, honey, 

not with that floozie from the accounts 

office, with the boss. No 

sweetheart, you’re the only one in 

my life - yes, I’m sure, cross my 

heart etc. etc....” 

Fifteen minutes later, he was still 

talking loudly, when the young 

woman sitting next to him, who 

was obviously angered by his continuous 

diatribe, yelled at the top 

of her voice, “Hey, Eric, turn that 

stupid phone off and come back 

to bed!” 

Eric doesn’t use his cell phone in 

public any longer. 

Solution (Last Issue)

COLOR PHOTO LAB 

G Plus will keep on publishing such relevant and useful 

information in this page in the coming issues. 

AARKE PHOTO LAB 

Address: AC Market, Fancybazar, Ghy-1 

Contact: 0361- 2513436 

ANUPAM COLOR LAB 

Address: TRP Rod, Fancybazar, Ghy-1 

Contact: 0381- 2516369 

BLUE STAR COLOUR LAB 

Address: GS Road, Lachit Nagar, Ghy-7 

Contact: 0361- 2521695 

CHHOBIGHAR 

Address: SS Road, Lakhtokia, Ghy- 1 

Contact: 0361-2603125 

COLLEGE STUDIO & COLOR LAB 

Address: MLN Road, Panbazar, Ghy-1 

Contact: 0361- 2544512 

COLOUR MUSINGS PVT LTD 

Address: Ganesh Market Complex, 

Silpukhuri, Ghy-3 

Contact: 0361- 2661273, 9854045169 

DM CORPORATION 

Address: SS Road, Lakhtokia, Ghy-1 

Guwahati, Contact: 9864055587 

DIGI WORLD 

Address: Brahmosamj Complex, 

lakhtokia, Ghy-1, Contact: 9864022967 

DIGITAL FOTOFAST 

Address: Krishna Market, Fancybazar, 

Ghy-1, Contact: 0361- 2548253 

EVES PHOTO LAB 

Address: GS Road, ChristianBasti, Ghy-5 

Contact: 0361-2599020 

FINE ART GALLERY 


Contact: 0361- 2636852 

FOTO FAIR 

Address: Kamal Complex, Maligaon, 

ghy-11, Contact: 0361-2670904 

FOTO WORLD 

Address: Zoo Tiniali, Ghy-21 Guwahati 

Contact: 9207043894 

IMAGES COLOR LAB 

Address: Near Assam Tribune, 

Chanmari, Ghy-3, Contact: 0361- 

2663792 

IMPRESSION LAB(P) LTD 

Address: GS Road, Ganeshguri, Ghy-5 

Contact: 0361- 2342709 

JP CORPORATION 


Contact: 9435100100 

KAMAKHYA PHOTO LAB PVT LTD 

Address: Purabi Complex, AT Road, 

Ghy-1, Contact: 0361- 2602136 

NEW PHOTO DEALS COLOUR LAB 

Address: Dayam Arcade, Lakhtokia, 

Ghy-1, Contact: 0361- 2608537 

PHOTO HOUSE 


Contact: 0361- 2544203 

Compiled by Mautapa Dhar 

PHOTOVISUAL 

Address: AT Rad, Bharalumukh, 

Ghy-9, Contact: 0361- 2514077 

PHOTOKINA 

Address: MC Road, Ghy Club, Ghy-3 

Contact: 9207047690 

SUBHAM COLOUR LAB 

Address: New Field, Paltan Bazar, Ghy-8 

Contact: 0361- 2541970, 2634530 

STYLO COLOUR LAB 

Address: Opp DDK, RGB Road, 

Ghy-24, Contact: 9864050999 

UTSAV LAB 

Address: Syed Market, Bhangagarh, 

Ghy-5, Contact: 9864036418 

XPRESSION IMAGING LAB 

Address: GS Road Ulubari, Ghy-7 

Contact: 0361- 2454980 

ZOOM 

Address: SS Road, Lakhtokia, 

Ghy-1, Contact: 0361-2730769 

PHOTO POINT 

Address: S S Road, Lakhtokia, 

Ghy -1 , Contact: 0361-2510029 

ACCS COLOUR FILM PVT LTD 

Address: M C Road, Chenikuthi, Ghy- 3 

Contact: 0361- 2665132 

BENEDICTON PHOTO GRAPHIC STUDIO 

Address: Kabita Mansion 5th Floor, Opp 

Commerce College, Ghy- 3 

Contact: 9864120739 

PINE DIGITAL STUDIO 

Address: Barowari, M C Road, Ghy- 3 

Contact: 9864092939 

QUICK PHOTO SERVICE 

Address: Habib Market, S S. Road, 

Lakhtokia, Ghy- 1 

Contact: 0361-2515737 

TRUE VERSION 

Address: Lakhtokia, Guwahati, 

S S Road, Panbazar, Ghy- 1 

Contact: 9954724817 

STUDIO JULIE 

Address: Lakhtokia, Guwahati, S S Road, 

Lakhtokia, Ghy- 1 

Contact: 9435017901 

STUDIO APSARA 

Address: Panbazar,M.l.Road, Near 

Ombridge, Panbazar, Ghy- 1 

Contact: 03612634035 

RAINBOW PHOTO LAB 

Address: Ananda Plaza, Ganeshguri, 

Guwahati GPO, Ghy- 1 

Contact: 0361-2221788 

PRINCE STUDIO DIGITAL 

Address: 2nd Floor, Akram Business, 

Opp.Hotel Kuber International, 

H B Road, Fancy Bazar, Ghy – 1 

Contact: 9435555034, 

9864063124 

EMERGENCY NUMBERS 

AMBULANCE 

Ambulance 102 

Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665 

Downtown Hospital 9864101111, 9435012669 

GLP Social Circle 2737373 

GGUMTA (Mirza) 03623-227109 

Marowari Yuva Manch 2542074, 2547251 

HOSPITALS 

Arya Hospital, Ulubari 

(2606888, 2606665) 

B Baruah Cancer Institute 

(2472364/66) 

Brahmaputra Hospital Ltd 

(2451634/678) 

Chatribari Christian 

Hospital 

0361-2600051, 92070- 

44374 

Downtown Hospital 

2331003, 9864079366, 

9435012669 

Guwahati Medical College 

(2529457, 2529561) 

Guwahati Medical College 

Emergency (2263444) 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 23 

Citypedia 

BLOOD BANK 

Arya Hospital, Ulubari 2606888, 2606665 

Ganga Blood Bank 2454742, 2455029 

Lion’s Club of Ghy Central 2546611 

Marwari Yuva Manch 2546470, 2547251 

Saharia’s Path Lab (24 hours) 2458594 

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 

Cinema Hall 

Anuradha Cineplex – 0361-2656968, 99545-44738 

Fun Cinema (HUB)- 98648-00100, 98648-00200 

Gold Cinema (Paltan Bazaar) – 98540-66166 

Gold Cinema (Salasar) – 0361-2735367, 98540-77177 

Gold Cinema (Narengi) – 88110-01898 

SP, Kamrup District: Ph- 2540278 

DGP Control Room: Ph- 2540242 

SB Control Room: Ph-2261511 

Police Control Room: Ph-2540138, 

2540113 

Azara PS: Ph2840287 

Basista PS: Ph-2302158 

Bharalumukh PS: Ph- 2540137, 

2731199 

Borjhar PS: Ph-2840351 

Chandmari PS: Ph- 2660204 

Chandrapur PS: Ph-2788237, 

2785237 

Dispur PS: Ph-2261510 

Fancybazar PS: Ph- 2540285 

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 

police station 

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 

GNRC Hospital 0361 

2227702 

GNRC Life First Ambulance 

9401194011 

RADIO TAXI SERVICES 

Prime Cabs 

0361- 2222233 

Green Cabs 

0361-7151515 

My Taxi 

0361-2228888 

Cherry Cabs 

8876222288 

Fatasil Ambari PS: Ph-2471412 

Geetanagar PS: Ph-2417323 

Hatigaon: Ph-2562383 

Jalukbari PS: Ph-2570587 

Jalukbari Out Post: Ph-2570522 

Jorabat: Ph-2896853 

Khanapara: Ph- 2281501 

Khetri PS: Ph-2787699, 2787220 

Latasil PS: Ph-2540136 

Noonmati PS: Ph- 2550281 

North Guwahati PS: Ph-2690255 

Paltanbazar PS: Ph-2540126 

Panbazar PS: Ph-2540106 

Pragjyotishpur Ps: Ph-2785237 

Women PS Panbazar: Ph-2524627

24 

G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014 

Catching Up 

Amrit Maghera 

Who’s she? 

Amrit Maghera is an Indian 

- English model, actor, singer 

and a dancer from the United 

Kingdom. She has had formal 

acting training in London and 

has a first class degree in drama 

and dance. 

So what? 

She is trained professionally 

in many different styles of dance 

from a very young age such as 

ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, 

Bollywood and hip hop. 

Now what? 

Shraddha Kapoor was replaced 

by Amrit Maghera in 

upcoming Bollywood film ‘Mad 

About Dance’, for having better 

dancing skills. Amrit Maghera, 

reports say, was preferred over 

Shraddha Kapoor and Isha 

Sharvani who couldn’t match 

Maghera’s dancing skills at the 

auditions. 

Time Warner to go it alone as Fox exits stage 

Time Warner Inc will not have to worry about 

any overtures from Twenty-First Century 

Fox for the foreseeable future. “As you know, 

we walked away. This is our resolute decision,” 

Fox Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert 

Murdoch said in a rare appearance on the company’s 

conference call late. Murdoch, conceding 

defeat, was further explaining the company’s rational 

for pulling its bid. Earlier, Time Warner Chief 

Executive Jeff Bewkes, speaking on the company’s 

EU may ban import of paan 

own earnings conference call, also weighed in on 

the scuttled Fox bid, which the CNN and Warner 

Brothers studios owner had aggressively resisted, 

as well as the merits of megadeals in general. Bewkes 

said he feels that Time Warner is already at 

scale, especially for its studio business Warner 

Bros which he described as the “biggest producer 

of content in the world” to its collection of cable 

networks which also dominate. “We are not lacking 

something we need,” he said. 

TV actor Sreejita 

De attacked in 

Mumbai 

Pic of the week 

After imposing an import ban on five agriculture 

commodities from India in the 

past six months, the European Union 

(EU) is gearing up to extend the ban to Indian 

paan (betel leaves) as well. Frequent bans on Indian 

food products by the EU have prompted the 

Indian government to invite the officials of the 

EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) to let them 

assess the food safety standards followed by India. 

An EU delegation is expected to visit India in the 

first week of September, said an official with the 

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export 

Development Authority (Apeda). 

Actor Sreejita De and her 

cousin were robbed on 

the Western Express 

Highway, near Dahisar, on Friday 

night. The two had met for 

dinner at a dhaba close to the 

highway and were returning 

to Sreejita’s Mira Road home 

when the attackers struck. She 

said, “It was around 12.30 am 

and we were travelling in an 

autorickshaw. Suddenly, a car 

stopped right in front of us and 

three men stepped out. They 

slapped our driver and attacked 

my cousin. While one man 

snatched her phone, the other 

two attacked me. I tried to push 

them away and even slapped one 

of them, but they took away my 

phone as well.” 

A large flock of geese, on the road near the Latasil field, forces vehicular traffic for a few moments. 

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: info@g-plus.in, RNI No: ASSENG/2013/52641

G Plus Volume 1 Issue 45

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